Gentleness

INTRODUCTION

Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is….love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Has anyone been able to memorized this verse?

Tonight we are going to talk about Gentleness

Louw Nida: “gentleness of attitude and behavior, in contrast with harshness in one’s dealings with others”

Gentleness manifests itself in our lives when we respond to conflicts, insults, unfairness, harsh words spoken to us, rejection with Christlikeness.

Gentleness means that we are aware that other people are sinners just like us and they have feelings, they have things going in their lives on that we cannot see, and all of this guides our response to them.

Gentleness does not mean we say nothing.

It has to do with how we respond and the words we choose to use in our response.

It is the ability to speak truth in a way that others will receive it.

It is the ability to be straight forward yet do so in a soft manner.

Jonathan Edwards (great revivalist) said this, “all who are truly godly and are real disciples of Christ have a gentle spirit in them”.

THE GENTLENESS OF JESUS

Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

It is not often that Jesus identified Himself with a term or word, which makes this verse even more profound.

Ex: Jesus never said, “I am the most loving man you’ve ever met”

Yet the world always attributes this characteristic to Jesus.

The very nature of Jesus was gentle and meek. He was humble and lowly. He was a servant and when he dealt with people he did it with a gentle heart.

QUESTION: What does Jesus tell his disciples to do in this verse? (Plain reading of the text)

“Learn from Me.”

Jesus, provides the finest example of what a gentle spirit should look like.

And that is what I want us to look at tonight and learn from

I want us to look at some different examples of Jesus’ gentleness and then Make some application to our lives

1) Jesus was not legalistic (Matt 11:29)

In Matt 11:29, Jesus is contrasts His gentleness that he demonstrates to His followers with the legalistic law of the Pharisees.

Jesus was gentle and humble

The Pharisees were harsh and prideful

The Pharisees got onto a man who had just been healed of a lifelong paralysis because he carried his mat

Jesus asked which one of you would not pull your animal out of a hold that fell in on the Sabbath?

The Pharisees accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath because plucked some grain from the field

Jesus said, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath

Application

It seems almost second nature that those who have a spirit of legalism often do not have a spirit of gentleness

There is the desire to enforce the rules and make people play by our rules, and our convictions

That is what prompted Jesus’ to say, “take My yoke upon you for I am gentle and humble in heart”

QUESTION: What is legalism?

It is not obedience to Bible, but enforcing manmade rules

Application:

We must make sure we do not let a legalistic spirit creep into our lives

There is freedom in Christ. There is freedom in Christianity

And make no mistake, Jesus did say “take My yoke”

There is a yoke, and it is difficult!

But it is much better than the life of a legalist

I think Billy Hanks said, “a legalistic spirit will kill discipleship”

Christianity is not about making sure we follow all the rules!

Its freedom from sin, and life in Christ.

2) The woman caught in adultery (John 8)

The Pharisees were ready to stone her. She had broken the law, and sinned. They had no mercy. They had picked up stones ready to enforce justice

What did Jesus do? He did not condemn her. He did not talk harshly to her. He was kind and merciful to her.

And then He told her: “go and sin no more”

Gentleness does not mean we cannot say anything. It is unloving to never say anything. Its how we say it.

And all that woman needed to hear was the call to sin no more

QUESTION: What does this teach us about dealing with a sinning brother or sister?

Do it with gentleness!

Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.”

Be very cautious about speaking harshly to someone who has been caught in sin

Often harshness pushes them further away

Do it out care for that person, care for their soul and their well-being.

One way to know if you have the right spirit is this: “are you happy to do it?” “Is it something that you look forward to?”

3) Jesus' restoration of Peter (John 22)

Peter committed a serious sin against Jesus. Peter idd not just abandon Him, He disassociated with Him, and denied Him.

But Jesus did not speak harshly to Him, demand an apology, nor ridicule him for turning his back on Him. He restored him with gentleness. (Peter do you love me, Peter do you love, Peter do you love me”

QUESTION: What are some ways Jesus demonstrated gentleness with Peter?

Jesus did not ignore Peter, nor gossip about him, nor did he talk down to Him

He forgave Him

He let Him know that he loved him

Listen to what Jesus says to us

Matthew 5:23–24 “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

I have always read this verse almost as if it did not mean what it says, but it means exactly what it says.

if your brother has something against you, then you go and be reconciled

Jesus went to Peter, Peter did not go to Jesus

4) Jesus was willing to serve ungrudgingly God

Philippians 2:8 “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

The word “gentleness” also includes the idea of humility

Jesus served the Father by humbling Himself and giving His life

Jesus served the sick by healing many of them

Jesus served the people by sharing truth with them

Jesus served His disciples by dying for them

Application:

Our call is not just to serve, but to do it without complaining

And gentleness has much to do with how we respond, even how we respond to God

QUESTION: What is your first response when you are given an opportunity to serve?

5) In sharing God’s truth with the world

1 Peter 3:15 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”

God’s people should always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within them with gentleness.

There are some people who want to provoke you

There are some people who question you just to argue with you

But arguments and harshness will never win souls

It must be done with a gentle spirit

I think the key with this is in the verse: “always be ready”

When we are confident in what we are saying, we are able to keep our composure much better.

When we are well studied and prepared, we are much more able to maintain control over our response.