1. powerpoint presentation designed by claro ruiz vicente http://clarovicente.weebly.com Adult Bible Study Guide Jan Feb Mar 2010 Adult Bible Study Guide Jan Feb Mar 2010

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3. Contributor Richard O’Ffill Principal Contributor T HE F RUIT OF THE S PIRIT

4. The Fruit of the Spirit Contents 1. “By Their FRUIT…” 2. The Fruit of the Spirit Is LOVE 3. The Fruit of the Spirit Is JOY 4. The Fruit of the Spirit Is PEACE 5. The Fruit of the Spirit Is PATIENCE 6. The Fruit of the Spirit Is KINDNESS 7. The Fruit of the Spirit Is GOODNESS 8. The Fruit of the Spirit Is FAITHFULNESS 9. The Fruit of the Spirit Is MEEKNESS 10. The Fruit of the Spirit Is SELF-CONTROL 11. The Fruit of the Spirit Is RIGHTEOUSNESS 12. The Fruit of the Spirit Is TRUTH 13. The Fruit of the Spirit: The Essence of CHRISTIAN CHARACTER

5. The Fruit of the Spirit Our Goal {5} The purpose of this quarter’s lessons is not to focus on how we can become more patient or more loving or more gentle or more faithful but on how we can let the Holy Spirit make us more like Jesus, who is patience, love, gentleness, and faithfulness personified.

6. The Fruit of the Spirit Lesson 7, February 13 The Fruit of the Spirit Lesson 7, February 13 The Fruit of the Spirit Is Goodness

7. Key Text Ephesians 2:10 NKJV “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

8. The Fruit of the Spirit Is Goodness Initial Words {85} In Scripture, “goodness” involves not only exhibiting right behavior but also avoiding its opposite, evil. Goodness is holiness put into practice. Goodness is what we do; otherwise, it’s not “goodness” at all. Good intentions, good thoughts, good motives are fine and have their role, but in the end, goodness is to do good.

9. The Fruit of the Spirit Is Goodness Quick Look 1. God Is Good (Nahum 1:7) 2. God’s Law Is Good (Romans 7:7-12) 3. Called to Be Good (Matthew 25:37-40)

10. The Fruit of the Spirit Is Goodness 1. God Is Good Nahum 1:7 NKJV “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.”

11. 1.God Is Good Absolute Goodness {86} Although there are good and bad individuals, although it is possible for Christians to do good works, although everything that God created He pronounced very “good”, Jesus declares that God alone is “good”. Only God’s goodness is absolute. All others have degrees of goodness as measured against this absolute standard.

12. 1.God Is Good His Goodness Revealed {86} 1. In creation. 2. In a fallen world. 3. With sickness, pestilence, and natural disasters. 4. In nature. 5. In human relationships: love, concern, caring for others. 6. In human sexuality.

13. The Fruit of the Spirit Is Goodness 2. God’s Law Is Good Romans 7:7-12 NKJV “Is the law sin? … I would not have known sin except through the law. … And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.”

14. 2. God’s Law Is Good The Role of the Law {90} The problem some have with the law of God is a misunderstanding of its role in the plan of salvation. The law of God not only serves as the standard, it also occupies a diagnostic role in the salvation process. In the plan of salvation, the law of God is indispensable, because without the law there is no sin, and without sin there is no need for a Savior.

15. We sometimes think of law as a prohibition— a “thou shalt not.” Yet, at the same time, there are infinitely more things that we can do than we cannot do. Think, too, of all the practical benefits of keeping God’s law. Think of the ways it improves the quality of our lives here and now. Shouldn’t we trust in God’s goodness enough to know that if He forbids it, then it must not be good for us? 2. God’s Law Is Good The Role of the Law {90}

16. Matthew 25:37-40 NKJV “ ‘Lord when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and gave You drink? … A stranger and take You in, or naked and clothed You? … Sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ‘Assuredly, I say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ” The Fruit of the Spirit Is Goodness 3. Called to Be Good

17. All Have Sinned {88} There can be some very gifted and talented, charming, charismatic people, people of great skill and insight whom we label as “good” when, in fact, they are rotten to the core. The word good can be so readily and cheaply thrown around that it loses its true meaning. When we keep God’s goodness before us, we can much better understand what human goodness is really about.

18. The fruit of the Spirit that is goodness is more inward, touching on every thought, word, and action of the godly person. This demands that motives be right before we call any action “good.” It means that the good person is one from whom righteousness (right doing) flows from inward devotion and love toward God. 3. Called to Be Good Walking in Goodness {92}

19. We can be “good” in the biblical sense of the word, not “good” as if we deserve salvation but “good” in the sense that our hearts, our motives, our deeds reveal to the world the reality of the God whom we profess to serve. 3. Called to Be Good Goodness Expressed {94}

20. Testimonies 9:21 Final Words {96} “It is not only by preaching the truth, not only by distributing literature, that we are to witness for God. Let us remember that a Christlike life is the most powerful argument that can be advanced in favor of Christianity, and that a cheap Christian character works more harm in the world than the character of a worldling.”