The Fruit of Righteousness

"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

Hebrews 12:11

When I was trained to be a union insulator for years on the job and classroom, there was a lot to learn.  We were taught to understand the systems we insulated, how to read a set of drawings and lay out patterns.  Knowing how to insulate mechanical systems also required skill in fabrication:  cutting out material and applying it correctly.  Working in the field meant we also needed a degree of physical fitness to climb up and down ladders all day and make the most efficient use of our time.  Different foremen had additional techniques and approaches which apprentices practiced and adopted to improve our skills.  Being trained was hard work, but those who committed themselves to the process with a good attitude would go far.

The writer of Hebrews told the readers they had forgotten the Old Testament exhortation found in Proverbs 3:11-12:  "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest His correction; ¹² for whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights."  It was a bitter pill to swallow your hard work was not up to scratch and the foreman demanded all the material applied for hours needed to be ripped off and the work performed by someone more suited for the task.  Chastening is not joyful at the time, but that tutoring and instruction is done with the future in mind.  God chastens His beloved, adopted children because it yields afterward the "peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

The training God employs is strenuous as it nurtures and conditions us to walk in holiness as God is holy.  How blessed is the child of God, for Jesus has taken upon Himself all the punishment for our sin.  Just as seeds are planted in the ground and must grow into plants before fruit can be produced, so painful chastening is the process for the peaceable fruit of righteousness to be yielded in our lives.  Training is effective for those who in a desire to learn and please their teacher submit their mind, bodies and efforts to the guidance of their master.  Many skilled insulators were out of work because they failed to yield in one of these areas:  they argued with their foreman, refused to arrive on the site on time or work the full day, or disobeyed directives to suit their own opinions.

The pain God allows is a demonstration of His love and care for us and the glorious future He has in store for us.  What is presently painful will prove to be most practical, for the sweet peaceable fruit of righteousness is evidence we are holy and His.  All along He has consolation and comfort for us, for we are not in this alone.  It is God who supplies healing, wholeness and endurance by His grace.

Deal With Your Sin

An important part of our Christian walk and being sanctified is dealing with our sin as God deals with us.  He treats believers as His own adopted children, having freely provided us access into His presence and an eternal inheritance in heaven.  A father disciplines and corrects the son he loves, and we ought not to despise God's chastening.  Recognising our sin and wicked tendencies is a necessary start, but for us it ought not to end there.

It is a wise man who notices common pitfalls of sin and does everything possible to prevent opportunity and invitation to transgress.  A person who knows they cannot be trusted to have one alcoholic beverage because once the door is opened they will drink themselves drunk is wise not to drink at all.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, the cliche goes.  The simple act of not being alone with a boyfriend or girlfriend has prevented temptation to fornication.  I have witnessed many people in competitive gaming "rage quit" because of frustration with losing despite their best efforts.  They shout, "That's it, I'm deleting this game!"  But was the game itself the problem?

So you delete the game from your computer, you avoid "chilling" with your girlfriend alone, you avoid drinking alcohol:  have you dealt with the sin in the heart that leads to outbursts of wrath, lustful thoughts, sexual immorality and drunkenness?  This is the necessary action our sinful behaviour ought to prompt us to undertake by confession, repentance and determination to obey God in the future.  Circumspect boundaries can sink into the mire of legalism unless our hearts are transformed by putting off the old man and walking in the Holy Spirit.  We can imagine we are more righteous by avoiding temptation rather than taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ and put sin to death in our bodies (Colossians 3:5-11).

Paul exposed this error of believers in Colossians 2:20-23:  "Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations--²¹ "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," ²² which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men? ²³ These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."  By all means avoid sin and refuse to place a stumbling block in the way of others, but our own sinfulness must be confessed and forsaken.  Not one of us can purify our hearts, minds and hearts by "temptation avoidance:"  it is by the power of Jesus Christ revealed in the Gospel by grace through faith in Him.

James wrote the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:20), and when God allows circumstances to stir up sin and brings it to the surface through our behaviour we must deal with the source of sin in our hearts.  A man once told me of his ex-wife, "I never stopped loving her, but she made me more angry than anyone else."  Divorcing a spouse does nothing to divorce anyone from their sinful pride, anger and hardness of heart.  Praise God the LORD who opens our eyes to our sin by conviction of the Holy Spirit and God's word is able to purify us of all guilt.  By the Gospel we are made righteous in God's sight, and in Christ we joyfully abide.

Be Free of Greed

When we read the word of God, how it can strike at our heart!  Our conscience can be smitten of a thing done long ago, a regrettable mistake which we wish we could have taken back.  It is in those times, having sorrow for sin in repentance, we can remind our conscience how Jesus has washed us clean of all sin and purified us past, present and forever by His atoning sacrifice.  Oh, how sweet is the freedom God gives from guilt and shame!  Praise the LORD He allows us to make mistakes so we will learn from them and walk uprightly in the future by His grace.

After Naaman the Syrian was cleansed from his leprosy in the Jordan according to the word of the LORD through Elisha, Namaan paid a return visit to thank him.  He offered him a reward for the healing he received.  2 Kings 5:15-16 reads, "And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, "Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant." ¹⁶ But he said, "As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing." And he urged him to take it, but he refused."  Elisha was a man who walked with God and would not be swayed by a powerful, rich man to take a gift.  He offered healing from God without price, and was free of the greed which has plagued many souls and pierced countless through with many sorrows.  Exodus 23:8 says in judgment gifts blind the wise and pervert the words of the righteous, and Elisha gave no opportunity to suggest his motivation was for glory or riches:  it was so Naaman would know there was a prophet in Israel, and the LORD is God over all.

Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, was a different sort of man.  Proximity to a man of God in no way purged the greed for wealth which corrupted his heart.  He chased after Namaan and lied, for he said he had been sent on an errand by his master.  A couple of prophets had come from Samaria and he requested one talent of silver and two changes of clothes.  Now a talent of silver is about 26 kilos, a LOT of silver.  2 Kings 5:23 says, "So Namaan said, "Please, take two talents." And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him."  Lying Gehazi agreed to take a second talent of silver, while Elisha would not receive a single shekel of gold or silver from his hand.  He did allow Namaan to haul away 2 mule's worth of dirt so he could build an altar for burnt offerings unto the LORD in his own land.

2 Kings 5:25-27 tells us what happened later:  "Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, "Where did you go, Gehazi?" And he said, "Your servant did not go anywhere." ²⁶ Then he said to him, "Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? ²⁷ Therefore the leprosy of Namaan shall cling to you and your descendants forever." And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow."  The greed of Gehazi made him more rich than he ever dreamed, yet it cost him his health, future and life.  Proverbs 1:19 puts it perfectly:  "So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its owners."

I wonder:  was Gehazi willing to trade his health and the privilege of ministry with Elisha for silver and clothes?  It seems that way.  It is a terrible thing the leprosy of Namaan would cling to Gehazi and his house, for God that day had already proven Himself powerful to cleanse Namaan of it.  How things could have been different if Gehazi had confessed, "I have spoken lies and sinned:  pray that God would heal me of the leprosy and I will return all."  God healed the withered hand of idolatrous Jeroboam and the leprosy of the Syrian Namaan so I have no doubt there was healing for Gehazi if he wanted it.  Gehazi went out from the presence of Elisha white as snow.  This is one of those moments which should give us pause due to the gravity of what happened due to greed, lack of repentance and faith in God.

1 John 1:9-10 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."  We have sinned, and praise God there is healing and wholeness in Jesus Christ.  No sin or stigma attached to it need remain upon us because we are new creations through the Gospel by grace through faith.  May we, like Namaan, be moved to thank God and offer ourselves as living sacrifices to Him, for that is our reasonable service.

Walk in the Truth

In the days of Ezekiel the prophet, there were many false prophets in Israel.  They claimed to speak for the LORD, and God's people hearkened to their falsehoods.  Ezekiel 13:1-8 reads, "And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ² "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, 'Hear the word of the LORD!' " ³ Thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! ⁴ O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. ⁵ You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD. ⁶ They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, 'Thus says the LORD!' But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. ⁷ Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, 'The LORD says,' but I have not spoken." ⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you," says the Lord GOD."

God was against the masquerading prophets of God who prophesied out of their own hearts yet claimed to speak for Him.  They followed their own spirit in their spiritual blindness envisioned futility because the LORD did not send them.  God compared them to slinking foxes in the desert, crafty creatures that are destructive pests to wildlife.  Solitary by nature, a single fox can do great damage to poultry, flocks and spread communicable diseases.  The false prophets preyed on the people, and it is ironic the people preferred it to be so.  Ahab gathered hundreds of prophets of Ba'al to himself after Elijah executed 450 prophets during the incident on Mt. Carmel.  Ahab knew Micaiah the son of Imla was a prophet of God he could inquire of, yet sought the counsel of those who would speak good concerning him.  Jeremiah 5:31 affirms, "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?"

No priest, prophet, pastor or parishioner is excluded from potentially speaking nonsense and following their own heart under the guise of honouring God.  Like in Israel in days of old, there are many with itching ears and wayward hearts who prefer lies over truth.  I do not want to ever be numbered among them!  It is only by the grace of God we receive the Holy Spirit, are given understanding of the scriptures and are connected to the Body of Christ the church.  John wrote to beloved Gaius in 3 John 1:2-4, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. ³ For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."  Those who walk in truth are those who realise they need correction from God, for unless He actively guides us we will lose our way.  Who among us would walk uprightly without Him?  This reveals the wondrous wisdom of God, for it is in willingness to be corrected, to humble ourselves in repentance and in love for one another, we walk in truth.