The Flesh or The Spirit

Content Warning

One note before we get into the content of the sermon for this morning I want to give a slight content warning for parents. While I aim to be careful and appropriate - and never crass - when we get to the works of the flesh section in verse 19 - I will be defining what Paul means by sexual immorality, which involves some discussion of what June has become in

Beginning

Russell Brand - Jordan Peterson…

no one wants a judgmental Jesus… you don’t really have a choice.

You don’t get to choose who Jesus is. (Insert plug for upcoming Sunday school.)

Just as you do not get to choose who Jesus is, you don’t get to choose what sin is.

There’s a graphic that has been floating around the internet for a few years that says “If God says that it is a sin then it really doesn’t matter what your opinion is.”

Yet today in 2024, we often hear the question “Is it really sin?”, or “Who said this was sinful?” which both of those sounds like one of the oldest questions… the words of Satan in the garden “Did God really say…?” And much of the text for today deals with the subject the deeds of the flesh aka sin, and contrasts them with the fruit of the Spirit.

We will look at this text in three sections this morning. The first of which is the desires of both Spirit and the flesh, the second is the works of the flesh and final is the fruit of the Spirit.

Desires

verses: 16-18

Paul begins this section by demonstrating two ways to live. You can either walk by the Spirit or you can walk in the deeds of the flesh.

If you walk by the Spirit you will not walk by the flesh, and the opposite is also true. If you are walking by the flesh you are not walking by the spirit. And while this might seem a bit obvious Paul is stating this to lead into the point that you cannot live in two worlds - as these two worlds are contradictory. But as Paul states in verse 15, the flesh naturally wants to do the deeds of the flesh - sin. However, the Spirit leads us to do that which glorifies God. But as we see in Romans 7 - Paul shows that there can be a tension between these things. We will on this side of eternity not always do the righteous thing.

This sounds a lot like Paul language in Romans 7:15

Romans 7:15 ESV

15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

However, as Paul describes them in this text - we see that it’s not about perfect, but rather what you practice and what you bear. Do regularly make a practice of the deeds of the flesh? Or do you aim to live a life marked by righteous living, repentance and bearing fruit?

Or to restate verse 16 - “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

In further comparison, Paul states that those who are led by the Spirit are not under the law. This should remind us of arguments Paul has made earlier in this chapter. If you are led by the flesh, then the law condemns you. But if you are led by the Spirit, then it is because you have already been forgiven through faith in Jesus.

At this point Paul has already demonstrated that it is far better to walk in the Spirit than to gratify the works of the flesh - but in the remainder of the text Paul is going to drive this even further.

Keeping this in context to the entire book of Galatians - Paul is further showing why we cannot earn our salvation - our flesh does not desire to do righteous deeds - but rather our flesh desires to sin. And Paul will continue to show in this text today that righteous deeds come as a result of salvation, not that they are the cause of salvation.

From this text today, and from the book of Galatians Paul ultimately shows that choosing the deeds of the flesh, and thus trying to earn ones salvation by working for it will always lead to damnation. Your deeds are not good enough to save you.

Paul in verses 16-18 bases his argument on this juxtaposition between these two ways to live - yet it forces the reader to ask the questions what does it look like to walk by the spirit and what do the desires of the flesh look like. And that is what Paul answers from 19-23.

And from verses 19-21 Paul will demonstrate a list of deeds that are the works of the flesh, and the after that in verse 22-23 he will compare that with the deeds of the Spirit. And Paul’s juxtaposition shows that the spirit and the flesh are completely incompatible.

Works of Flesh

Verses: 19-21

The NIV states that the works of the flesh are obvious - it’s plain. And reading this list you likely can understand how they are evident or obvious.

Then Paul gives this list of various deeds that are clear examples of the deeds of the flesh. And to a certain extent I don’t think we need a definition for each individual word here - however some of the words have been misunderstood, or misdefined.

Now I want to first point out that this is a pretty broad list, it lists 15 sins - However, it is not an all inclusive list.

And it seems that they are grouped by sexual sins, spiritual (or religious sins), social sins and sins of excess. I’m not going to group them individually but

The first three fit into that sexual sins category, witchcraft and idolatry into the Spiritual category. Enmity, strife, jealous, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions and envy fit into the social sins category, and then finally drunkeness and orgies fit into the category of excess.

I don’t get to decide what is or is not a sin any more than anyone else does.

So as Paul is defining these deeds of the flesh it shouldn’t really surprise us that we see the world embracing these works. “These are the actions toward which sinful humans instinctively gravitate.” ESVSB

I’m not going to define all of the words that Paul uses here - as some of them are self explanatory…

But I do want to look at that first category. The month of June has become devoted to celebrating that first category… the sexual immorality, the impurity, the sensuality.

The first word that Paul uses gets poorly defined in many ways. Paul is using a very specific word. It is an all encompassing word for any sexual activity outside of a marriage. The Bible’s sexual ethic is much stronger than saying a man and a man cannot get married, or that a woman and a woman cannot get married.

We cannot merely just stand up and say “homosexuality is a sin” it is - and I pray that as the world around us celebrates pride month - we boldly proclaim not only that pride itself is a sin, but all of those things that they celebrate are also a departure from God’s design for humanity.

BUT we cannot merely just leave it at “this is sinful” but we must boldly proclaim that God has ordained for sexual intimacy to be an exclusive action for a man and his wife within the context of marriage over the course of a lifetime. Anything outside of that very exclusive relationship is condemned by this phrase.

And though people have made many claims about how the Bible doesn’t condemn homosexuality - the manner in which Paul stacks these words demonstrates not only is that not true - but that God’s design for sex is significantly more exclusive than the average American thinks.

impurity - moral uncleanness that is broader than sexual immorality. It includes sexual sin but it moves beyond that.

Sensuality - or as some other translations list: debauchery - total disregard for all decency. Most broad of these first three terms. This was used in at least one instance in the Jewish historian Josephus’s work Antiquities to describe one roman soldiers indecency on the temple groups.

This is the most broad word that Paul uses here. There’s almost this sense where it is kind of like you just know how you are supposed to act - and this isn’t it. The manner of which many people may operate themselves in the pride parades that will occur this month will certainly be covered by this word.

I’ve heard it said in recent days that the word homosexual wasn’t condemned in the Bible because it wasn’t in the Bible until the 1940s. Well the real reason for that is because the word didn’t exist until the late 1800s, and didn’t make its way into regular use until a few decades later - so when the ASV - American Standard Version was published in 1901 - the word wasn’t widely used - and the first major Bible translation after the word became popular was the Revised Standard Version - which supplied that word. There’s more to be said for that argument - but that moves away from our text for today- EVEN if the point that is often made from that argument is true - the language of what Paul is saying in this text condemns any instance of sexual intimacy outside of marriage.

Idolatry - worshipping of idols, graven images. And yet ultimately, we ought to acknowledge that idolatry is not merely about forbidding the act of physically worshipping and image.

Sorcery/witchcraft - This is not just magic - though the word does convey seeking to harm someone with something like witchcraft or sorcery, but it also conveys the idea of drugging someone or poisoning someone. From the word that Paul uses here develops our word for pharmaceuticals - but at the point of Paul’s writing this wasn’t referring to medicine. Seldom do we necessarily see people doing these things but they still very much exist. And yet sadly it seems that it is certainly making a comeback.

There are a few more words that I want to point out - but I want to do so collectively. When we get to enmity, strife, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy - we read of these social sins. These are sins that ruin communities. While the church is made up of sinners who have found forgiveness in Christ Jesus - we are not yet perfect. But these attitudes here split churches apart.

I’ve seen churches shrivel and die because of dissensions, divisions…

And its easy for it to happen - it starts with gossip, gossip spreads like wildfire and brings about rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy - while we must be mindful that we put the deeds of the flesh to death - we must also be mindful to protect the church from this deeds as well.

And Paul’s follow up to all of these things is in verse 21 - those who do these things will not inherit the kingdom of God. This isn’t news to them - he has warned them before- and is doing so again.

Paul does not provide an inclusive list and in such he ends with the phrase “and things like these” Yet Paul includes a similar list in 1 Cor. 6:9-10:

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ESV

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

While there is overlap between these two lists there are not identical.

But these lists are not reason to be smug. There is no place for the Christian to look at the sinner and think “Haha! You’re going to hell!” Or even “at least I’m not like those sinners.” These lists show us that the road to hell is wide. If we’re being honest - while we may not be guilty of everything on this list we are all guilty of at least something on those lists.

But yet Paul in 1 Cor. 6 uses this list as a reminder of who were before Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV

11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Though the road to hell is wide, the road to heaven is not closed. It is narrow but Christ has opened that road.

Fruit of the Spirit

But Paul does not merely leave the reader with a list of “These are evil deeds do not do them.” But rather he continues on to say that the redeemed person, who has been saved by Jesus will instead of doing these wicked deeds of the flesh will bear these fruit of Spirit.

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

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

I had a pastor growing up whose testimony was that when he was in high school he was listening to his pastor teach on this text and as he was hearing the sermon he noticed that none of these fruits described him. He wasn’t loving, he wasn’t joyous, peaceful, patient, kind, good faithful, gentle, nor self controlled.

Paul the compares the deeds of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. And there is a significant difference in the manner by which he presents the two different lists. Paul describes the works of the flesh, as actions, as works - as something that one practices. Whereas the fruit of the Spirit he presents as fruit - the natural out-cropping of Holy Spirit in us. Trees bear fruit. It is what they do.

So Christians bear the fruit of the Spirit. It is what they do.

We ought to be cautious that we do not think that trying to do the fruits of the Spirit will earn us salvation. The fruit does not earn anything - it’s a result of what has already been given as a gift from God - through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.

Since the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit are incompatible the idea that love should then support immorality and impurity.

It is interesting that the first word in the first list, and the first word in this second list are often poorly defined.

We don’t necessarily define love well either. And we ought to be cautious concerning how we define love. Not every instance of love in the Bible is positive. One significant example of this is of Demas in 2 Timothy 4:10. Where Paul laments that Demas is in love with present world.

So contrary to what The Beatles sang “love is not all that we need.” Not all love is good. Love is not love.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Look at these fruit here - are yourself…

loving? joyous, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, self controlled?

I’m sure all of us could look at these and think “I could be more…” But if you’re entirely life is market by the opposite - then you must also ask where is your hope?

24-26 - application

The Christian is called not to indulge in the flesh and the deeds of the flesh, but rather to crucify the flesh and the passions of the flesh.

Thus the cross creates a separation between us and the law, but also us and the flesh. The cross is the torture device by which our savior died, but it has also become the model by which we ought to live our lives. Certainly we ought to aim to be Christlike - but we are also instructed as Christ was crucified for our sins, so we who belong to him, who have been purchases him ought to crucify our flesh and its passions.

So no longer return to the sins that nailed Jesus to the cross, but instead leave them in the grave. Live to righteousness. Live out the fruit of the Spirit. Put the old flesh to death - and repent of your sins. The long list of sins that Paul states along with those in 1 Cor 6 and elsewhere in Scripture demonstrate to us that none of us have been good enough to earn salvation. On our own none of us will inherit the Kingdom of God… but all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved. All who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and confess their sins can be be saved.

Benediction

John 15:1–5 ESV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.