It has become unfortunately all too common to hear of another heralded Christian leader falling into sin. Whether it be of a sexual, financial, or theological nature, it is still hard to bear. We have all heard of their shock and surprise to find themselves caught in one of the snares mentioned by Paul in verses 19-21. However, their downfall almost always is rooted in ignoring Paul’s simple instruction in verse 16, to “Walk in the Spirit.” Somewhere along the way they simply stopped walking in the Spirit.
Dr. Tom Constable wrote:
“Walking ‘by the Spirit’ means living moment by moment submissively trusting in the Holy Spirit rather than in self… We could translate the Greek present tense imperative as ‘Keep on walking.’ To the extent that we do this, we will not at all carry out our fleshly desires. This is a promise to all believers.’ (Constable’s Expository Notes: linked here)
Paul then gives us the antidote to this damning list of “works of the flesh”, in the form of the fruit of the Spirit. These godly characteristics are an obvious result of an individual believer effectively walking in the Spirit.
As you prepare to embark on the difficult but rewarding task of deputation it is imperative that you cultivate the fruit of the Spirit by walking in the Spirit every waking moment. Contemplate the various pitfalls that might await the deputation missionary as he/she travels the road raising their financial and prayer support. In at least 3 paragraphs describe these scenarios and then detail how implementing the concepts in this passage of Scripture can help the missionary avoid these pitfalls.
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