Thanking Joan

New creation is the person who has accepted Christ and now he no longer lives but Christ lives in him. In contrast the old creation looks like a sinful person gratifying the sinful nature . The old creation lacks the spirit of god which the new creation now possesses. Being born again is having a fresh birth in Christ and when the old goes and new is come in a person..he is no longer the same old person but has born anew for God.

We become weary living out our faith because we are impatient when we dont see the result at our time,we doubt the goodness of God and we yearn more for our blessings than have Christ formed in us. The promise Paul gives us is we will reap a good harvest if we do not give up. We should do good with our spiritual family first because they are with us and they become our brothers and sisters in Christ and e ought to love them as did Christ for us.

To sow in the flesh means to do the very things the flesh wants to..or sin The synonyms Paul uses are to live and be led by the spirit Sowing to the spirit in the congregation looks like a fruitful harvest of spirit filled Christians and reaping the fruit of the Spirit. The results of a congregation sowing in the spirit is Christ is the head,there is love ,there is fruit of the spirit. `prayers are answered,miracles and wonders happen and there is great annointing of the `holy spirit and the congregation flourishes. When the congregation is sowing in the flesh there will be destruction only.

Caught in sin means you find a person actually committing a sin and disobeying God. Restoration of such a brother or sister looks like carrying his burden of sin and restoring him to life. Restoration should be done by the one who is spiritual and obeying the `holy spirit. `it should be done with love and humility and likeJesus who had the heart of a servant If restoration is done without humility,the person will not be restored ,he will get back to the same sin feeling even more worse and angry.

To crucify the flesh with its passions and desires means dying to the old self and not gratifying the desires of the flesh. To walk in the spirit of God and not continuing with the work of the flesh. No a person cannot be a Christian without crucifying the flesh. Christian means a follower of Christ and who follows Christ and not self. we have produced such a crop of luke warm Christians because most of us have not really crucified self to live for the `lord. We are luke warm because we hear from the spirt and do works of the flesh..

The Holy spirit produces this fruit in us by allowing us to grow and lead us step by step. He guides us and counsels us through various trials of life and gives us the grace to overcome and bear fruit. Through the `holy spirit we are given the grace to abide and remain in Jesus and we are able to produce fruit. The theological term for this process is sanctification or even refining. A person who is a Christian for years will not bear fruit if he is in name only and has not given his heart to the `lord. There is absolutely no yielding to the Holy spirit and therefore no fruit. James says that faith must accompany deeds. `it also means that if i profess Faith in Christ `i must also reflect the nature of Christ by showing Christ like action which is evident by the fruit we bear in our lives. Faith is Christ is bearing fruit of the Spirit and putting it into action Yes.. harsh to the one who only proclaims to have faith but no action or no evidence of any fruit of the spirit.

Patient forbearance is important personal character element because it helps us to endure and tolerate any person . We need to have it to reflect the nature of Christ in us. It is important for peace in the family and Christian community because we can easily get along with everyone and keep and pursue peace at all times.

God is love. Only when we have God in our lives can we love.... When God is in us we have love and this love enables us to love our neighbor. Now only love can bring joy and peace. With God's love in our hearts we are joyful and peaceful.

Some Christians resist Paul's warnings because they have actually not surrendered their lives totally to Christ. Only a person who is deeply rooted in Christ and wants to live for Christ will not gratify the desires of flesh or not sin. If the Scriptures had to be reworded accordingly it could be something like this.... God is love,He loves us no matter what.we are but weak!

If I were asked to divide the works of the flesh into different groups they would be Sins committed against God, Sins against others. or Sins of the body sins of the mind.

We are told that its impossible for a Christian to live a sinless life. Bit Vs16-18 teach us that we must live by the Spirit of God and then it is possible for us not to gratify the desires of the flesh. We have to be led by the Spirit not to sin. While we yield to the spirit of God we have the power of the Holy spirit to suppress our old nature. Only when we totally follow the leading of the spirit however difficult it may seem we are able to walk in freedom from sin and not do the things of our old sinful nature. People who claim that its impossible not to sin are surely not the ones who have crucified their flesh and Christ does not live in the them. there is no Christ formed in the person at all. The one who is Spirit led only can overcome sin.

Yes.. seen that Christians have acted lawless Spirit led Christians fulfill the spirit of the Law by fulfilling the Law of Christ.. that is to love the Lord Almighty with all our heart and strength and love others as self. By yielding to the Spirit of God and walking in obedience to the voice of the Holy spirit. Backbiting and rudeness in a congregation reveals that the spiritual environment is not good and there is no submission to the will of God. There is no walking in the spirit but walking in the flesh which brings about rudeness and backbiting.

The offense of the cross is Jesus is crucified and the death of Jesus on the cross saved mankind and not the law of the Jews. The cross offends people in our day is one it points out the sin in us and secondly people still hold to law and not grace that we have attained by the death of Jesus on the cross. Yes.. the proclanation of the cross is softened by law and wrong ideas of man.

The spirit has become the new mark of identity of the believer because it has made a sons of God a new creation in Jesus Christ.Our identity has been changed to heirs of God. According to Vs 6 the presence of the Holy spirit is faith expressing itself through love.

Falling from grace means turning away from the truth of the Gospel and going back to the law. The fact that they went back to the law and alienated from Christ caused this fall from grace. Present day Christian legalism can cause such a fall from grace if they get back to law and traditions of men .