This past Sunday, I preached on the fruit of kindness in our Fruit of the Spirit sermon series. Kindness is a tender concern for others and a desire to serve them. It is desperately needed today, and we are called to exhibit kindness, along with all the other qualities, as we are filled with the Holy Spirit. We can be kind not merely because we try harder or are naturally empathetic, but because the Lord has shown kindness to us. As Romans 2:4 states, "Do you presume on the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"
After church, my son Benjamin asked an important question: What happened when Jesus overturned the tables in the temple? He doesn’t always seem kind. That’s a great question. In the Bible, Jesus says and does things that can appear harsh:
- He calls the Pharisees "whitewashed tombs," beautiful on the outside but dead on the inside (Matthew 23:27-28).
- He tells them, "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?" (Matthew 23:33).
- After Peter tells him it's not a good idea to go to the cross, Jesus rebukes him with, "Get behind me, Satan."
- When someone tells him they need to bury their family before following him, Jesus replies, "Let the dead bury their own dead; come follow me."
-To the rich young ruler who asks how to gain eternal life, Jesus says, "Go, sell all your possessions, and come follow me."
-In the Sermon on the Mount, he addresses lust by telling his disciples, "If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out."
Does a kind person speak like this? The money changers and those buying and selling in the temple occupied the Gentile prayer space, hindering people from receiving God's kindness and love. Turning over the tables was an act of kindness that revealed the seriousness of their sin. People need to be shocked by the reality of their disobedience.
Romans 11:22 states: "Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you too will be cut off." God's kindness is not unprincipled or sentimental. He is both holy and loving, and these qualities are perfectly blended; He never sacrifices one for the other. God is severe toward those who have not continued in the kindness He offers. The severity of His judgment is intertwined with His displeasure in dispensing it. As Ezekiel 33:11 declares: "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?"
We are to continue in the goodness and kindness of God that we have received. Our salvation depends on our continual trust in Jesus and our desire to remain in Him. Presumption is fatal. F.F. Bruce states, “Throughout the New Testament, perseverance is the test of reality.” A healthy fear of God can keep your faith from deteriorating into presumption since true faith, despite the ups and downs is a continual dependent humble trust in the Lord.
