The Face of Faith Sermon Series: Mouth (3/5)

The Face of Faith: A Sermon Series on James
Mouth
James 3: 1-12
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
September 16, 2018

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.

For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh. - James 3: 1-12


It really could have happened to anybody.

It was Thursday evening and the sanctuary was nearly full. Everyone gathered to remember the Last Supper that Jesus had with the disciples before his arrest and death on the cross.

The lights were dimmed and the choir sang that slow and solemn hymn, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?....Oh-oh-oh-oh sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble….” The song made everyone sit with bated breath, just listening for the Spirit’s presence.

Suddenly, a woman’s high heeled shoe flew off of her foot and went flying over head through the sanctuary. In that split second, her mouth opened and yelled, “SHOOT!” except that was not the word that fired off. Hearing that word fly out of her mouth in that sanctuary caused the woman to tremble.

The pastor was singing baritone in the choir and could not quite restrain himself from laughing. Some silently wondered, “What just happened!” A mother gave her child “the look” when he giggled.

This gives a whole new meaning to James’ words, “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing” (James 3: 10). We never really know on any given day what might fly out of our mouths, do we?

James holds up the mirror of God’s truth today. He invites you and me to look at our mouths within the face of our faith.

The mirror of God’s Word encourages us to mature in our Christian character. Maturity comes through the wisdom of reflecting upon our lived experiences; the good, the bad, and the ugly in our successes and failures.

The best thing we can ever do is learn from our mistakes and help others to do the same. James implies that our spiritual growth allows for us to keep the whole body in check by honing the Holy Spirit’s gift of self-control. Spiritual maturity also acknowledges when our sense of restraint breaks down.

Therefore, the mirror of God’s Word challenges us too. When we look into God’s mirror of truth it reflects the shadows of human sin in the light of God’s mercy. James’ words today are moving us to confess the sin of our speech: All of us make mistakes…but no one can tame the tongue, a restless evil, full of deadly poison…With it we bless the Lord and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God (James 3:2a, 8-10).

As we become adults we are to put an end to childish ways. There was a time we all have said, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But that is not really true, is it? The truth is we wield words like weapons that create deep wounds in others. Our words dishonor God and dishonor the gift of faith.

Jesus taught that our words matter to God. He said, “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles a person” (Matthew 15:11; Mark 7: 14-15). The heart in the Jewish culture is the gut; the center of human will. And the words we choose to say come from the heart.

If our hearts are far from God and if we are not daily keeping in step with the Spirit then we easily talk the talk and do not walk the walk. This is what disgraces the face of faith we project to God and to others.

We bless the Lord while we curse those who are made in the image of God (James 3:9). Our rash words become sword thrusts and our harsh words stir anger for death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 12:18; 15:1; 18:20). And if we honor God with our lips but our hearts are not Spirit-filled and if mouths do not embody the gospel we proclaim, then our worship and faith are worthless (Isaiah 29:13; James 1:26).

The greatest temptation in our society today is to say words behind a computer screen or a cell phone that we normally would not say face to face.

Our words are like fire that fuels the embers of dissension in an already polarized world.
We dehumanize those we disagree with. We have lost the finesse of civility and decorum.
We fail to revere the image of God in the face of the other – the poor, the immigrant, the refugee, the prisoner, the disabled, the Republican, the Democrat.

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters this ought not to be so (James 3:10).

And yet the confessional nature of James’ words today asks us to look in the mirror and ask:
How has my mouth, my tongue, my words stained my face of faith and the larger body of Christ?
How am I complicit in fanning the flames of dissension?
When have I dehumanized those I disagree with?
Do my words embody the gospel I proclaim?

The past few weeks I am again deeply reminded that our human divisions are leveled when a national tragedy or national disaster strike. When the day that no one imagined arrives, we go out of our way to reach across the road, the sidewalk, and the aisle to help the other – the neighbor we do not know and to speak words of love. Every time we do this, we act with a renewed spiritual reality - we need each other.

We need one another in the midst of all our differences to rebuild a sense of meaning and purpose in life. This is a God-given insight and it is intrinsic to who we are and whose we are.

The world and all of creation was brought into being through the power of God’s spoken Word (Genesis 1:3). God breathed life into humanity, making all of humankind in the image of God (Genesis 2:7). God gave humanity the gift and responsibility of naming all creatures of the earth (Genesis 2:19). Therefore, speech is a gift from God to bless all God has created.

We are called to speak and teach the language of God’s steadfast love. But we can only speak and teach the language of love if we are committed to be students of God’s Word. We teach by living into Jesus’ example. We speak and teach by walking the walk and using words when necessary. James says as teachers we are held to a higher example. But truthfully – as disciples of Jesus Christ we are held to a higher example just the same.

All of us make mistakes, but we must look into the mirror of God’s Word daily to see ourselves in light of the Law of Love.

I put my foot in my mouth daily, so Psalm 141:3 is an important verse to keep in my back pocket: “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” As we grow in God’s wisdom, the Spirit will be at work in us to restrain our tongue.

The Apostle Paul says our face of faith is most authentic when we remember Christ teaches us to put away our old self and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. You and I are children of God, created in God’s image of righteousness, and connected as members of one another (Ephesians 4: 22-25).

We are God’s co-creators of right relationships. Our mouths are to use the gift of speech to speak with words that build up, as there is need, so that our words may give grace to those who hear. We are to be kind to one another, compassionate, and forgiving. We are to be imitators of God, as his beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us, and gave himself up for us. (Ephesians 4:29, 31-32, 5:1).

God sends us back out into the world this morning with a new word in our hearts and on our tongues: love. God’s self-giving love is the bridle that keeps our individual bodies and the communal body of Christ in check. God’s love leads us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19). God’s love shapes our mouths with wisdom to speak words of healing (Proverbs 12:18).

God’s love leads us to be patient, kind, and rejoice in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:4, 6). God’s love leads us to bear God’s truth with our actions and especially with our words when the society says, “It’s a dog-eat-dog-world”. God’s love leads us to believe God’s truth will rise up to reveal the best of humanity in times of turmoil. God’s love leads us to hope for and endure in God’s truth against all odds (1 Corinthians 13:7).

You and I are members of the body of Christ. We each have an individual and a communal responsibility to remember the purpose of our speech is to glorify God and to build up one another. Our speech is to be infused with this rich vocabulary of faith. The power of our words reaches well beyond the church walls and into our homes, our schools, our work, and our civic life.

In a polarized world it is time for the Church to reclaim God’s influential voice of mutual respect, humility, and Christlike love. The transformation God desires does not point fingers at other Christians. The transformation God desires begins with me (please say these 7 words with me).

May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to God.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sermon Influenced by the Following:
New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary Volume (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), pp. 655-656.

The Face of Faith Sermon Series: Eyes (2/5)

The Face of Faith: A Sermon Series on James
Eyes
James 2: 1-17
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
September 9, 2018


James holds up the mirror of God’s Word again and invites us to look into the face of faith. Today we are focusing on the eyes in James 2: 1-17. Listen for God’s Word to you this morning.

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?

For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

For the one who said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’, also said, ‘You shall not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.

For judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?

So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. - James 2: 1-17

You have heard it said, “The eyes are the window to the soul.” Anatomically, the pupils are the centering windows to the human eyes.

The word “pupil” comes from Latin, meaning “little-doll.” The name references the” tiny image one sees of oneself reflected in the eye of another.”

Scientifically, our pupils truly do reveal something about our inner thoughts when we look at another.

The pupil regulates the amount of light coming into the eye. Just as light and darkness cause the pupils to either contract or dilate respectively, the levels of our emotional interest do the same. All of this is involuntary; our eyes are always working on a subconscious level.

“Psychologists consider pupil dilation to be an honest cue to social interest.” If we fake our interest while engaging someone, then our pupils get smaller. Our eyes switch gears to a visual sensitivity mode causing our pupils to dilate when we get excited, when we need to detect something around us, or when we go into a fight or flight response. To really see someone and or something, we need our pupils to be wide open [1].

To spiritually see the gift and responsibility of faith, we need our teachability to be wide open.

James holds up the mirror of God’s truth for the community of faith to look into. His words are both encouraging and challenging.

James says if we are to truly recognize the face of faith which God projects to us then we need our spiritual eyes to switch gears. He encourages us to adjust our spiritual sight. The pupils of our eyes must move from being narrowed by a human point of view and become opened wide to a God point of view.

James also makes a prophetic challenge: we as Christians who profess our faith in Jesus Christ are not fully living into the ministry of Jesus Christ that God’s Word proclaims. These are hard words to say and equally challenging to hear.

The ministry of Jesus Christ proclaims that God is with us (Matthew 1:23). Jesus Christ became poor, vulnerable, and helpless – a little babe lying in a manger - for our sakes so that by his poverty and humility we might know God’s spiritual abundance today and into eternity (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Jesus’ God-given mission was to usher in God’s upside-down kingdom; lifting up the lowly and feeding the hungry while bringing down oppressive authority by scattering the proud (Luke 1:50, 52-53).

Jesus’ self-giving love proclaims, “Good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight of the blind, and freedom to the oppressed” (Luke 4:18).

Jesus’ mercy announces, “Let the one who is without sin throw the first stone” (John 8:7).

Jesus mandates that we love one another as Christ has already loved us, for by doing this everyone will know that we are his disciples (John 13: 34-35).

The ministry of Jesus Christ embraces all of this because God shows no partiality (Romans 2:11). God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Not some of us, but all of us.

When we read God’s Word asking Holy Spirit to shine God’s light something incredible happens - God’s Word actually reads us. This is why God’s Word is a mirror.

If we really allow our hearts to be honest with God and ourselves then God’s Word will show us the contradictions in our faith. I call these contradictions 'growing edges;' these are the area of our faith which need to grow and mature.

James says the faith we enact is not the gospel we proclaim.

When we pass judgment making others feel less than human then we dishonor the image of God in one another (James 2: 5-6a).

When we pick up the stone of vengeance then the measure of judgment we give is the measure we will get (Leviticus 19:18b; Matthew 7:2; James 2:10).

When we refuse to forgive we fail to remember God has already forgiven the inexcusable in you and in me (Leviticus 19:18b; John 8: 10-11; James 2:11).

The truth is that all have fallen short of the glory of God.

While God alone is the one who executes judgment, our God says mercy triumphs over judgment (Psalm 75:7; James 2:13). God’s mercy and steadfast love shine brightly in the darkness through the cross.

The Law of Love in the whole of Scripture points to God’s kingdom vision which is already here and not fully here yet. God's kingdom has already come in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And yet we are still waiting for it to be fully revealed.

The vision of God’s upside-down kingdom is what we are to focus the eyes of our faith on. We are called as the body of Christ to continue Jesus’ ministry of faith, hope, love, justice, and peace.

James’ letter is not about pointing the finger at what other Christians do and say. James’ letter is about seeing the log in our own eye.

Bringing about the change, the transformation, that God desires to see in the world and all humanity begins with one word: “me.”

Say it with me: The change God desires begins with me.

We cannot put the gift of our faith into action unless we behold the Law of Love. If our convictions and conduct of faith embody anything less than loving our neighbor as self, then we miss the mark. This is why James says faith without works is dead (James 2:17).

Faith without the works of God’s merciful love is dead – it is powerless, inoperative, bankrupt.

In our Call to Worship this morning we said: Open the eyes of our hearts Lord. Open the eyes of our hearts – we want to see you!

We want to see God’s eyes of unconditional love.
We want to see the eyes of Christ’s mercy.
We want to see the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

The gift of faith gives you and me a deep longing to see God.

God’s truth is always on the move to open our spiritual eyes. God wants us to see the face of Christ in God’s Word and in the world.

I want for you to imagine the face of Jesus Christ and his unwavering faithfulness to God. Christ wants nothing more than for you and me to look for his faith in everyone we meet.

To see through the eyes of God’s love is to be on a mission to re-family all who have been marginalized by the world’s standards. To re-family means that we are to look into the eyes of the poor in spirit, the condemned, and those who are struggling to lift their voice. Look into their eyes and if you dare get close enough look for that mini-reflection of yourself shining in their pupils.

To re-family is to see our shared humanity and to work as agents of God’s love to restore unity in God’s family among our sisters and brothers. This is to see the bigger picture of God’s love for all humanity.

To see through the eyes of Christ’s mercy is to look at the cross and remember that because God said you and I deserved a second chance then we are to forgive as we have already been forgiven.

To see through the eyes of Holy Spirit’s wisdom is to deepen our commitment to join God in this holy work of reconciling the world.

This morning after the Word is proclaimed, and after the prayers are said, and after the songs are sung God will once again send us back out into this beautiful yet broken world.

This week there will someone who crosses your path and mine whom society has judged by the world’s standards. And he or she might see you or me and expect us to look down on them just like the rest of world.

When she or he looks into your face or mine, they deserve to be held in the light of God’s love. The light of world is Jesus Christ. The light shines dignity, mercy, and self-giving love. The light abides in you and in me.

May you and I take James’ words of encouragement and challenge to heart.

I pray God will nudge us when our spiritual vision is narrow and soften our hearts to look for our shared humanity- even the best of humanity - in our sisters and brothers.

I pray Jesus will open our pupils of faith to teachable moments of mercy.

And I pray Holy Spirit will deepen our commitment to see the work of faith that Christ has called us to do.

In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] David Ladden, PhD., “Your Eyes Really Are the Window to Your Soul,” Psychology Today, December 31, 2015.

The Face of Faith Sermon Series: The Mirror (1/5)

The Face of Faith: A Sermon Series on James
The Mirror
James 1: 17-27
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
September 2, 2018


James is a letter of wisdom. The author puts pen to paper to persuade Christians to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ. Just as I shared in last week’s sermon, faith is both a gift and a responsibility.

For James, the greatest marker of a Christian’s identity is that we love God and love our neighbor as ourselves[1]. So, he goes to great lengths teaching about the Law of Love. James raises his prophetic voice to encourage us and also to challenge us to look deeply within the image of faith we project to God and one another.

James is not only concerned about one’s personal image of faith, but also the faith which is projected by the community of believers. This includes our moral attitudes and behaviors, our intentionality to see one another as sisters and brothers of God’s greater family, and our commitment to seek the wellbeing of all.

Listen for God’s Word in James 1: 17-27.

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James uses a rich metaphor to gaze into the face of faith: the mirror.

Legend holds the first person to look in the mirror, so to speak, was the young Greek hunter Narcissus. He was born from the Greek river God and a nymph. Narcissus was known for being devastatingly handsome. When he looked at his reflection at the water’s edge, Narcissus fell in love with his face and never left his reflection [2]. His name gives us the word narcissist; one who is engrossed in self-admiration.

During the first century, mirrors were more than reflected water. They were made of polished metal – commonly bronze or copper. The progress of the Roman empire began to make glass mirrors with a metal layer finish [3].

Mirrors like we have today were not crafted until the 16th century. Both ancient mirrors of the 1st century gave quite a distorted image; you literally looked into a mirror dimly as the Apostle Paul says (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Therefore, in order to get a more accurate reflection of one’s image, you had to look into the mirror from several different angles.

James holds up a metaphorical mirror for the community of faith to look into. So, let’s join him in looking at the face of faith together – yours and mine.

Gaze into the mirror. Whose image do you see?

One angle reflects the projection we generate for others to see.

This reflection is not our true selves. James says when our commitment of faith only goes skin deep then we are mere hearers of the word and not doers (James 1:23). We are merely playing a part and living behind a “stained-glass masquerade”.

Some of you have heard of the Christian worship group, Casting Crowns. They sing about this; listen to these lyrics:

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be?
Would your arms be open?
Or would you walk away?
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay?

CHORUS:
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain?
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade.[4]

When faith is only skin-deep, one of two things is happening in life. We either mask our inadequacies or we mask our fear of vulnerability.

We mask our inadequacies – our fear of not being enough. So we project that we have our lives all together, when really on the inside everything is falling apart. We hear God’s word, but we cannot do it. That inner voice deceives us to believe that if our faith was stronger then we would be a better Christian and life itself would be better too.

We mask our fear of vulnerability. So we project that we are in control. We hear God’s word, but we cannot do it. We resist being honest with God and ourselves and it just leads us to pride. Instead of fully relying on God, we rely on ourselves and the self-made "ideals we espouse.” We project a faith of “self-deception” [5].

Marrianne Williamson says, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure (through God’s grace at work in us). It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us” [6].

And yet to get a more accurate image of faith, James needs us to look at another angle – look deeper into the mirror. Although the reflection is distorted, look past the inadequacies, fears, and the self-made projection.

And by all means look past that awful chin or nose hair you missed while tweezing or the Mount Rushmore pimple about to pop!

Look into the mirror for the projection God wants you and me to see. God renders a deep truth about our nativity; something honest and authentic about our true selves. Look into the mirror and see the true face of faith; we are beloved children of God.

Marianne Williamson says, “We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; It's in everyone” [7].

We are more than we can ever imagine because of God’s great faithfulness. In fulfillment of God’s own purposes, God gave us birth by the word of truth. “We belong— body and soul, in life and in death - not to ourselves but to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ” [8].

You see, Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh – the word of truth, is the truest reflection of our humanity.

The person and ministry of Jesus Christ reflects nothing less than love for humankind and creation; joy that praises God’s grace; peace found in God’s wisdom; patience in trusting God’s presence; kindness in serving others; generosity in extending mercy; faithfulness in submitting to God; gentleness in being empowered by God’s strength; and self-control in using godly actions and words to build up [9].

The word of truth is the true mirror that corrects all human distortions. God’s Word rectifies our spiritual sight so that we might see ourselves and the world as God sees.

The Christian life is dying to our old selves and claiming the new life of Jesus Christ. James implies the Apostle Pauls’ words, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit [and the word of truth] then let us also be guided by the Spirit [and the word of truth] (Galatians 5:24-25).

The mirror challenges us to reflect God's Law of Love. On any given day, at any given time - you and I might be the only reflection of Jesus Christ that someone else sees.

What a privilege! And what a scary thought! Sometimes we reflect Jesus Christ in beautiful ways. And sometimes we get it all wrong. Sometimes I get it all wrong.

But when we take a good look in God’s mirror we see our truest image of humanity is to strip away all the layers that oppose God’s righteousness.

Just imagine the liberation of peeling away conceit, competition, and envy. Imagine the Spirit stripping away fear and anger, pride and self-interest. What might your and my face of faith look like without the mark of complacency?

Would the love of Jesus be enough to make you stay and look into the mirror to behold the person and the community God desires us to be? This week look into the mirror of God’s truth and just imagine.

It all rests on this – when you and I look into the mirror of God’s truth, we are looking for all that sustains you and me from the inside.

When everything else falls away, the reflection that will never fade is the power of God’s love.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.

Sources Referenced:

[1] Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22: 37-40; Mark 12: 30-31; Luke 10:27
[2] “A Brief History of Mirrors,” Bite Size History, November 17, 2017
[3] “A Brief History of Mirrors,” Ibid.
[4] Lyrics from “Stained Glass Masquerade” on Lifesong album. Unofficial video
[5] New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary: Volume X (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), pp. 640-641.
[6] Marianne Williamson, “A Return to Love” (New York: Harper Collins, 1992)
[7] Williamson, Ibid.
[8] The Book of Confessions, Part 1 of Presbyterian Church (USA) Constitution, The Heidelberg Confession Question and Answer 1.
[9] Galatians 5: 22-23.....Love (James 2:8); Joy (James 1:2-4; 5:13); Peace (James 3:17-18); Patience (James 5:7-8, 10); Kindness (James 2:26); Generosity (James 1:17); Faithfulness (James 1:27; 4:7-8; 5:19-20); Gentleness (James 3: 13,17); Self-Control (James 1:19; 3: 3-5).