St. Augustine on the spirit of gentleness

Tomorrow (well, today in less than eight hours, actually) I'll lead the second session in my study of the Flesh and the Spirit in the writings of St. Paul.

In the first session, I tried to ask and answer questions about life in the Spirit: what is it, why do we want or need it, who is the Spirit, and how do we get him?

The second session will focus on the fruits of the spirit. Again, I'll approach the subject by asking and answering questions (or at least attempting to). What are the fruits of the spirit, both generally and specifically? Why do I need to know them? How do I bear them? How do I help my brothers and sisters in Christ bear them? How do they relate to the gifts of the Spirit?

I had originally planned to talk about the gifts of the Spirit next, but something I read by St. Augustine changed my mind:

"There is no surer test of the spiritual person than his treatment of another's sin. Note how he takes care to deliver the sinner rather than triumph over him, to help him rather than punish him and, so far as lies in his capacity, to support him." Epistle to the Galatians, 56.

As we discussed briefly last week, Christians today too often view their faith as an individual experience. Godly admonition is viewed as judgemental and unwarranted. But St. Paul clearly contradicts this notion, both in Galatians 6 and elsewhere. It is critical that we keep an eye to the fruits of both our Spirit-filled life and our brother's, so we can "restore him in a spirit of gentleness."

To bear the Spirit's fruit, we'll need the Spirit's gifts, both ours and our brother's. But that's for session three.