Ep 163: Faith and the Fruits of the Spirit (Sunday Sermon)

The Protestant Libertarian Podcast

This episode is a sermon I preached at my church on Sunday, October 27, during a series covering the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. My topic for the week was faith and faithfulness. I explore how the concept of faith is central to Galatians and the rest of the New Testament, and why it would make sense for Paul to incorporate it into his list of spiritual fruit. When then look at the Greek word behind faith/faithfulness, pistis, and explain how it is a dynamic term that can be translated in many different ways. While pistis generally denotes faith/faithfulness in English, Biblical scholar Nijay Gupta argues that it is understood as ‘belief’, ‘trust’, and ‘obedience’ in various New Testament passages. We explore faith as ‘belief’ in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, faith as ‘trust’ in Romans 1:16-17, and faith as ‘obedience’ in James 2:14-26. I also explain how ‘faith’ is what brings us into a relationship with God but is developed and refined by the Holy Spirit if we allow Him to help us grow.

Media Referenced:

Nijay Gupta, Paul and the Language of Faith: https://a.co/d/gduqK89
The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.

Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [e-mail]. You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and Youtube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!