Fruit of our Salvation

⁹ I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. ¹⁰ For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. ¹¹ May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
-Philippians 1:9-11 (NLT)


I hope and pray that you've applied the principles of what Paul is teaching us in these verses. So far, we've seen how our love (for God and others) must overflow in our lives. We've seen how we must keep growing in our knowledge (of God and Jesus) and understanding (of His Will for you life). We've seen how this knowledge and understanding help us understand what really matters in our lives. As a result of understanding what really matters, we'll be able to live pure and blameless lives. Let's look at verse 11 and tie up these verses.


Verse 11 says, "May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation-the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ-for this will bring much glory and praise to God."  We, as sinners, needed salvation. Our sin kept us from God. The word salvation means "deliverance from the power and penalty of sin.* Since our salvation is dependent upon our faith in Jesus, the fruit of our salvation is totally dependent on Jesus, and His work through the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 reveal to us the fruit of the Spirit, or the character that is produced through Jesus. "²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" Look at this list. Are these found in your life? 


The result of having the right character in you life is that "this will bring much glory and praise to God." By living life in the way that God expects, we will bring much praise and glory to Him. Is that your desire today, to bring glory and praise to God? If so, then allow the fruit of the Spirit to grow in your life, so that you can become the person that God expects you to be. Think About It.


*source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/salvation