Dr. Charles Stanley (The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life) said, “To walk in the Spirit requires a moment-by moment sensitivity to and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Spiritual fruit is the proof.” Christians can never produce this fruit; they can only bear it. The Holy Spirit is the only One who produces it.

Spiritual fruit consists of such attributes as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). These are characteristics displayed by those who walk in the Spirit and stay close to God.

Let us all keep in mind that a Christian cannot, for example, resolve some morning to be good, kind, patient, gentle, etc. that day. No. He can only display this fruit by allowing the Holy Spirit to control him by staying mindful of the Spirit that is within him.

This is a very common mistake made by many Christians. They think that they can be good and patient and have all the other desirable traits volitionally through enough effort on their part. But it never works. All people, including all Christians, have an old, evil flesh. Satan only too often succeeds at tempting us and getting us to sin.

Christians who walk in the Spirit are not afraid, or too proud, to admit their faults. They have reconciled themselves to being sinners. However, they do, unlike unbelievers, realize that they have within themselves a power that can lift them above temptation. No Christian has to sin; all unbelievers do. Still being in bondage to sin, they have no choice in the matter.

Remember that the Apostle Paul declared, “He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). He was, of course, referring to the Holy Spirit, Who is within every Christian. Charles Stanley also said, “The fruit of the Spirit is a byproduct of being tuned in to the Spirit of God. The more Spirit-conscious we become, the more fruit we will bear.”

Many Christians try to substitute Spiritual gifts and natural talents for fruit. The problem is that both fleshly believers and unbelievers can be very talented. Some preachers deceive their congregants with their gifts for preaching inspiring sermons while displaying no Spiritual fruit at all. Some of these men are crowd pleasers, and you will see large church attendance and many cars in their parking lots.

Stanley reminded us that it is easier to exercise a gift than to walk in the Spirit. Some of the best preachers may never have actually walked in the Spirit. The only way to distinguish godliness from this type of fakery is to look for fruit in the man’s life. Giftedness and talent are not determinants of greatness in God’s eyes.

Great preachers are not always great Christians. This is most unfortunate. It is a lot easier to preach on patience, for example, than to be patient. Spirit-filled Christians are certainly not perfect, and they know this very well. In fact, they can be as unkind and inconsiderate as anyone else. But Christians who do walk in God’s Spirit are quick to sense it when they are wrong. And they are quick to admit it and apologize for it.