By consuming all these fruits of the Spirit, we show people the work of Christ as He simultaneously works in us in this Christian metamorphosis of being made new. Consuming these fruits is how we are in Christ and made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). This isn't an option we are given as Christians; it is our duty. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:13-16). We are the salt of the earth. To understand what this means, let's examine what it is that salt does. It has three functions. Salt enhances the taste of our food, it stings and heals wounds, and it preserves food from spoiling. This is how we are supposed to be spiritually, never losing that flavour.
Jesus is using emphatic language here. You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world. This isn't something that you try to do. You either are or you aren't. Be salty Christians by adding flavour to the fruits of the Spirit — that is, by practising these fruits and instilling them in the lives of others. You add flavour by actually doing them, hence James 2:17, which I covered on the fruit of goodness. By practising these fruits and by impacting the lives of others with these fruits, you enhance their lives. You also sting them with the Law (the diagnosis of sin), but then it is necessary to heal them with the Gospel (the remedy of sin). After that is done, you continue interacting with them and guiding them and loving them in order to preserve their spirituality from spoiling. As the light of the world, influence others. When we're driving on the highway at night and see a city off in the distance, the entire city is lit up and it looks very attractive. The sight of this city attracts us and makes us eager to come towards it, and we do because we don't spend our entire lives on the highway. Likewise, we have the light of Christ within us. Shine that light with the fruits of the Spirit, and people will be attracted to that light and will want to experience it. You either are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, or you're not. If you stop salting the fruits of the Spirit and lose your flavour, how can it be restored other than doing those things again? Jesus says that it becomes worthless and is thrown out into the streets and trampled under people's feet. In biblical times, when salt became worthless, they just threw it out into the street and people would inevitably trample over it. That's why Jesus uses this imagery. In the same way, if you lose your flavour as a Christian — if you have no good works in response to your faith (as we discussed with James 2:17 on the fruit of goodness), then your faith is worthless; it is dead and you might as well have no faith at all. It's harsh, but true, and the truth is harsh at times.
Ephesians 5:6-11, "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." The "sons of disobedience" are people who choose to be independent of God — to disobey Him, for they have been deceived by the words of the world ("empty words"). Paul points out that this is no longer to be our lifestyle because we were in darkness, and now that we're in Christ, we are the light of Christ. The fruit of light is that of the fruit of the Spirit. Since the fruit of light consists of the light of Christ, and God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are One, then the fruit consisting of Jesus's light is therefore that of the Holy Spirit. As God's children, we walk in this way, for all would agree that the fruits of the Spirit are indeed good, right, and true. The works of darkness are what Paul listed before the fruits of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21). Those attributes, and others like them, are the works of darkness, and all would agree that they are unfruitful. We are to expose the unfruitfulness of this darkness by eliminating them with the light of the fruits of the Spirit that are in Christ our Lord.
Verse ten, "and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord," might come across as confusing to some people. How do we discern God's will? Exactly as Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." To be conformed to this world is to put its ways, beliefs, and practises over what God's Word says. For a simple example, God's Word prohibits a myriad of sins, and it is the world that condones sins such as premarital sex, homosexuality, stealing (particularly music and movies), and many other things. God's Word explicitly says that all those things and many more are sinful, but by being conformed to the world, one will accept sin as something right and true. This verse may also bring up some confusion: "How do our minds become transformed and renewed?" It's simple: by abiding in God's Word. The word abide means "accepting or acting in accordance with." Accept God's Word as the truth and act in accordance with what He says, and you will begin to experience the transformation of your heart and the renewing of your mind. It doesn't happen over night for many of us. It can happen, but it's extremely rare. It usually takes months or years.
I'll explain this. For me personally, it's been taking me years. Since the moment I accepted Christ into my life, that is when I first began to be transformed and renewed, which the same thing happens to everybody. I have found that transformation is a longer process than renewal. Transformation is that of the heart — growing the ability to love yourself and love others as you love Christ. For the longest time, I dealt with self-loathing and hatred for others, and it took me many years, even after accepting Christ, to conquer that anchor in my heart to begin loving myself and other people. After learning to love myself, I then grew to love others. It's a long work in progress, but as you grow, it starts to become natural. You notice the change in you that Christ started and continues to work in you. By being able to finally love myself and love others, my heart is transformed. Renewal is that of the mind — always contemplating on the ways of the Lord. The more time you spend in God's Word and the more you meditate on it, the more you will know His Word and knowing His Word is knowing what His will is. This was a much shorter process for me, and a process that I'm still growing in. Since I've come to know Christ, I've been spending a lot of time in the Word by reading it and not only that, but also living it. What's the point in reading God's Word if you don't live it? The more I read and the more I do my best to live it out, the more and more I know God's Word and ultimately what His will is because again, God's Word is His will. It took only a year, approximately, to get to the point where no matter what situation I'm in I always think, "What does God's Word say about this?" Of course, being human, there are times when I fail; but it is God's Word that reminds me that I did fail and causes me to repent. God's thoughts start to become your thoughts, and God's morals start to become your moral. You know God is speaking to you when there are Godly thoughts in your head that are in line with God's Word, and you will know this by either memorisation or by looking it up. (You can work at memorisation or memorise verses by chance. For me personally, I've accidentally memorised a few verses simply because of how much I read my Bible. The objective is not to have verses memorised and say, "Hey look at me!" but to become familiar with God's Word.) When you hear that small voice in your head telling you that something is or is not in line with God's Word, that's when you know God is speaking to you and what God's will is. By God's Word being in my mind constantly in every situation, my mind is renewed. This transformation and this renewal enables you to discern what God's will is, which is what He finds good, acceptable, and perfect, "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).
Colossians 4:6, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." I only have a few words to say about this. Be kind in your speech; be meek, be compassionate, and be sympathetic by being seasoned with the salt of God's fruits. Do not criticise, condemn, or complain. Rather, speak love, truth, and genuineness into people's lives.
The final stage of our metamorphosis is salvation! As we consume each fruit of the Spirit, the goal of their digestion is our faith, which is salvation. First Peter 1:8-9, "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." I don't know how to expand on Peter's words here, honestly. He said it perfectly. Loving Jesus and believing in Him despite the fact that we've never seen Him is exactly what faith is, as is defined for us in Hebrews 11:1, 3; and it is through that faith in Christ by which we obtain its goal — its outcome, and that is salvation.
Acts 4:12, " 'And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.' " Need I say anything more? Salvation is given by no one but Christ, whom we obtain faith from and whom we have faith in. "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him" (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).
Romans 1:16-17, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.' " God's power enables salvation for those who believe — believe what? In whom Christ was, is, and is to come — the Messiah, Redeemer of our sins. God reveals His righteousness and gifts salvation to us from His gifted faith for the purpose of faith itself. God is amazing! A voice from Heaven will say, " 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God" (Revelation 12:10). Salvation is coming!
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