Galatians 5:19-26 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
In the above focus, Paul lists some of the negative characteristics of the flesh. These negative traits have been inherent in mankind since the fall from God’s grace and goodness due to Adam and Eve's disobedience to his authority. From the beginning, man has had problems controlling his self-willed, selfish actions. During Noah’s time, God categorized all mankind as being evil, corrupt, and violent. The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. (Genesis 6:5). In modern times and throughout history man has rejected this assessment of mankind’s nature by God. Even today, with the imminent threat of nuclear annihilation always with us, we balk at this evaluation of God about man’s innate sinful state. For many today, eradication of disharmony and violence within the human society can easily be solved by education and self-help tools that bring about the better person within us. Many religions are based on that concept. But the Bible is true and always will be true. Within the hearts of men and women there is a contaminant that will destroy relationships and communities if allowed to operate out of control. Consequently, we have police, regulating authorities of all kinds, and laws that attempt to keep harmony and cooperation within a nation, community, or neighborhood. Paul says the acts of the flesh are obvious. A person does not have to analyze any society, community or persons very deeply before you discover the negative traits within humans that Paul listed. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. The question for each of us as Christians in our relationship with God is do we harbor any of these negativities in us? Are we clean of all of these sinful thoughts and activities when we suddenly die of a heart attack or if we waste away with cancer? We often claim that certain acts consistently manifested in a man or woman’s lifestyle will cause them never to see God without judgement on their lives. But, if we die in a fit of rage, stressing our hearts out, causing a heart attack, will we be received into the kingdom of God? If we die possessing dissensions, factions and envy toward others in our community will we see God? If we sit in the house of judgment, hating our enemies, not loving or forgiving them, is God going to allow this small piece of disharmony to his will to enter into eternal life with him? Is that our understanding of a righteous, holy God whose power and authority manifested itself on Mount Sinai by fire and smoke, when not an animal or human could be on it without extermination. Is our God the one who can allow a bit of sin in his presence forever? Did He make a mistake when He destroyed the people in Noah’s time? Jesus said, He did not come to condemn or to judge: only God in the last day will judge the true character of men and women. Only God will determine the depth of commitment to his authority and to the Lord, Jesus Christ. God in his absolute holiness and perfection will divide the sheep from the goats. He will choose eternal redemption for those who are completely righteous, perfect. Only the perfect animal without blemish could be offered to God as a sacrifice. Jesus was without fault, without blemish. He was offered to God for the salvation of men and women, but Jesus is not the determiner of eternal life, God is. To be perfect, Jesus said, you must be born again, without blemish or untruthfulness in your souls.
Jesus often was very harsh with the people He spoke with in his time. They had ears, but they really did not hear what He was saying. They did not like his judgement of them at all. In fact, some of the priests were determined to murder him. They rejected his teaching. They did not like the light that contrasted with their darkness. They loved the darkness and did not want to come out into the light, for the light would expose their hearts. If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:46-47). The darkness was comfortable to them. Their ears were stopped to the voice of Jesus Christ. But Jesus assures the people He has not come to judge them but to provide a way for them to be right with God. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (John 3:17-21) Jesus brought light into the world because he was THE LIGHT, the complete reflection of God among men. However, the people rejected his words and teachings and their eyes discounted the miracles they saw, for they had another father other than God. Jesus tells the unbelievers and especially his critics that their father is the devil, and that he is originator of all lies. The devil understood that Jesus’ presence would soon ruin his rule over the people of the world. Jesus had come to set men free from eternal damnation through his sacrifice for all mankind on the cross. The demons understood well Christ's presence was detrimental to their mission of leading humans away from God’s authority. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:23-24) Man’s nature, his inability to please God because of the works of the flesh inside of him, was coming to the end with Jesus Christ on the earth. The devil no longer would be in control, making sure men were clothed in Adam’s nature of disobedience to God, but soon with Jesus on the cross, men would be clothed in the nature of Christ, establishing righteousness in the lives of men and women. They would wear forever the cloak of Jesus and his perfection, not of the imperfection of the flesh.
Paul understood well the purpose of God, to disentangle men and women from the grip of evil and its characteristics. He knew death was the consequence of living in the flesh under the control of self-will and the devil. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:1-5) The message to the Galatians was set in Paul’s mind, not by the works of the law have you inherited the grace and mercy from God, but by faith in Jesus Christ and the cross. As Paul tells the Colossians, Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. (Colossians 2:20-22) The law is weak to control human nature. It functions for only a short time and is set on earthly behavior, not on eternal conditioning that will last forever. Only Christ and him crucified can satisfy the work of the law by fulfilling God's standard of holiness. Since that is the truth of the gospel, change your way of thinking about life. You have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3). Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, for you have been born again, fix your new-life sight on the realities of heaven, not on the things of earth. For you died to this life of the flesh and the realities of living in the flesh. Place your life in the the presence of Christ, who sits by God’s right hand. Concentrate on the attributes of God: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Let the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT flow abundantly through your life. Reckon your fleshly pursuits and attitudes as dead, for your life is new IN CHRIST JESUS. Eternal life is a gift to you. Therefore, feed the living, eternal life inside of you. You have died IN CHRIST, therefore live for Christ, not for the old works of the flesh. Flee from the works of the flesh, for you owe it nothing. Your flesh will never be good enough to satisfy God’s requirement of holiness on your life. Eternal life if a gift to all humans who place their faith in CHRIST’S WORK. It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10) SO BE IT! Remember you are God’s creation with good works in your spiritual DNA created in advance by God to bring glory to his name.
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