Learning from Galatians...

Galatians Ch.5
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love.

The acts of the sinful nature are: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery(excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures), idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions(strong disagreement usually of a violent nature), factions(people that join together to form a cohesive usually contentious minority within a larger group to cause strife), envy...notice jealousy has already been mentioned...so what is the difference? Envy is a feeling of discontent in regard to another's advantages and possessions. It is usually accompanied with some degree of hatred. It denotes a longing to possess something belonging to another, while jealousy denotes a feeling of resentment that another has gained something that you rightfully deserve. Jealousy is born out of fear. It fears rivalry, unfaithfulness, anything that could affect one's individual happiness. Also mentioned are drunkenness, orgies, and the "like" meaning rowdy parties, any actions that proceed unbridled indulgence of passions. Some of these acts listed here are obvious to us as sins while some are not so obvious...like the selfish ambition, the jealousy, hatred. Looks to me that this type of freedom is no freedom at all. These acts all lead to being enslaved and eventually to our deaths.

But the fruit(character traits) of the Spirit is: love, joy(intense happiness...deep within the heart that can be felt even though outward circumstances are not pleasant), peace, patience(composure and willingness to suppress annoyance when confronted with pain, delay, or misfortune), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these traits because they are born from a life lead by love.

Acts are things we physically do, deeds, behavior performed or carried out. Fruit is produced from the seeds that have been planted and cultivated in our hearts and minds. It is usually sweet and edible. Fruit grows above ground where everyone can see and take a taste test. Fruit is what is produced from actions taken earlier. I realize we are all prone to carry out the deeds of the sin nature but I want to challenge each of us to take a closer look at these two groups. Our only way to freedom is through the Holy Spirit. The only course of action we should be taking...joining our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ and allowing Him to produce the right qualities in us that will help others to finally see who He really is. In this great process, we learn that life is an awesome gift and He has made us to be overcomers of evil desires. Talk about a great adventure!