that concept), rather it tells us that Cod was good for He did some thing practical for sinful man. And what did He do? Titus 3:4 and 5 tells us that the kindness of God was the coming of Jesus Christ as our Saviour. (Incidentally, even the word kindness in Titus 3:4 comes from the same Greek word that was translated "gentleness" in Gala tians 5:22 and "goodness" in Ro mans 2:4. Another passage that illustrates this principle is Romans 11:22, "Be hold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, good ness, if thou continue in his good ness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." God was moved in com passion toward the Gentiles. Some branches of the tree which were unproductive because they had no personal relationship to the Lord were cut off so that we might be grafted in. This should not cause pride on our part since it is nothing we have done on our part. God has done it all for us. He brought us in to the household of faith by grace. The Lord may be very severe toward those who have turned their back on Christ but consider His good ness toward those who will accept His grace. The action is for the benefit of those who will respond. Goodness, then in their passage may be seen as being practical, ac complishing something. The old translation "gentleness" misses the boat. Gentleness, in Galatians 5:22 therefore, shows us that we as Christians are to be useful, practi cal, and accomplish something effective for the cause of Christ. Consider the so-called Great Com mission (Matthew 28:19-20) where
the apostles were given this tre mendous challenge to proclaim the Word of God. This should be our mission as well. This service can and should be narrowed down further. Consider this exhortation from Galatians that immediately follows an exhortation to gentle ness. "Brethren, if a man be over taken in a fault, ye which are spir itual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (6:1). We are to help those who have problems. We are not to gos sip about them but seek to restore them from the error of their ways. It is unfortunate that so many seem to get their greatest joy in hearing some kind of "dirt" about other Christians. We like to feel that may be we are better than the next per son. If some fellow believer is in difficulty seek to help him. This way your life can be more service able to Christ. The next verse urges us, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so ful fil the law of Christ" (6:2). You can do this by simply breathing a quick prayer which does not cost you anything. So often we do not want to get involved. We are afraid that it will take some of our time which we have reserved for personal sat isfaction. This is not to minimize the power of intercession. Yet there may be some very tangible things which can be achieved for the Lord. The word "bear" means we are to lift someone else's load._ We can lift the weight which has them bogged down in defeat and dis couragement. Just about a hundred years ago, what we know as the "social gos pel" came into prominence. There were people at the outset who Page 11
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