Getting Real, About Virtues & Vices

Sub-series: Virtues & Vices

Galatians 5:19–26 NASB95

19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 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. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

[I prefaced this series with a discussion on “Holiness” because I wanted to ensure that as we talk about these ‘vices’ our considerations would invloved how God feels (not just us and other people)]

Paul continues to push the practicality of the passage, by drawing our attention to the product of a life led by the Spirit and one led by the flesh.

Paul makes it clear that these two are antagonistic towards each other, fighting to gain control of you.

# The Flesh

Paul reminds us in Galatians 5:17 “17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”

The flesh wants to rule.....But, in the Spirit, WALK and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh

The Flesh is the carnal and fallen nature of man that is inclined to trust self above trusting God hence the hostiltiy.

It’s that part of man that wants you to be in charge of leading your life, instead of God leading your life.

It’s the part of man that seeks its own fulfillment, satisfaction, indulgence and acclaim.

Flesh wants to determine its own way

When has that ever worked out for man?

Eve thought she could determine what was right and what was wrong

Those that built the tower of Babel said, “let us make a name for ourselves” Gen 11:4.

In the time of the Judges, all men did that which was right in their own eyes

Israel said give us a king like the other nations

Jeremiah, in the closing prophetic word to a nation headed for exile said, Jeremiah 10:23 “23 I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.”

Paul summarizes it well in Romans 8:8 “8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

It never ends well, when the flesh takes over

Here’s the thing, this is the struggle and the tension;

The desires of the flesh want to be fulfilled, it wants to take over, it is not something that exists passively;

It fights

It struggles

It shows up

It announces itself

It wants to be your master

But if, by the Spirit you walk, God promises it will not happen

Your desire to develop fruit in the Spirit is tied to your willingness to resist the pull and direction of the flesh

For the Galatians, their freedom in Christ allows them to be led by the Spirit which further frees them from the demands of the law

Paul has already establish that this new life is not fueled, informed or enhanced by one’s effort and ability to perform; this is what the flesh wants.

A Christ-plus, legalistic, merit-based, law-driven gospel, conforms the mind to trust in your personal effort to keep it

To that Paul says, “be led by the Spirit”

But, this is not the way some of us work

We need a list, we need a form of measurement, we need a “how to manual” - And while Paul does not relegate the gospel to these cheap perspectives, he does give an obejective basis for knowing if:

I’m walking in the flesh

Or, if I’m walking in the Spirit

I.e. I can know who’s influencing my walk

The deeds are evident

These deeds of the flesh seem to be naturally grouped together in the following catergories:

Immorality (Sexual)

Idolatry (Religious)

Animosity (Relational)

Intemperance (Excessive)

He calls them works and He says they are evident, the flesh works itself out and becomes plain to the mind, to God and eventually to others.

They aren’t always hidden postures of the heart (some are) but not all of them.

Sometimes they are things that you are caught up in but not caught in

Sometimes they are not present in the congregation but are visbible in your closet

Whether someone knows about it is inconsequential to the fact that it is present. God knows, He knows the secret of your heart. He knows who you really are and what you have been up to.

Paul is not saying this to frighten, threaten, or coerce the Galatians, He does want them to know that:

A life characterized, led by, influenced by and committed to the flesh is a life that:

Reaps corruption Gal 6:8.

Forfiets your inheritance Gal 5:21.

You are able to tell, based on the deeds Paul proceeds to mention

# Immorality

The Greek term behind this word is “porneia”

The Definition

Porneia refers to any illicit or unlawful sexual acts (adultery [though there is a narrower word for that moicheia], sex outside the marital covenant, incest, sexual abuse, homosexuality, bestiality, [specifically] prostitution)

This is not to demonize or degrade sex, it is perfectly fine in the marriage covenant. Hebrews 13:4 “4 Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.”

The Context

The mention of this is very interesting as it relates to the culture of the day that said:

Sex was natural and necessray like breathing an deating

Men arre permitted to have extra-marital affairs as long as they don’t violate another man’s marriage

Sex with prostitutes, though somewhat frowned on, was ok if done in secret

Sex was tolerated between young men

Sex in the context of religious rituals and rites was fine if you are seeking favour from the Gods

Essentially, you had a world/culture that had a very liberal view of sex, but we are not of the culture we are of the kingdom

We are not of the flesh we are of the Spirit

To this Paul says, if you make this your way of living, this is not living or being led by the Spirit, your living after the flesh

This will only lead to corruption

This will cause you to miss your inheritance

The reason why immorality messes you up is

It’s against God’s will

It’s against God’s created order

Just before you can pull your notebook out and say, “I don’t any of these”, Paul give the other one

#2 Impurity

The Greek term behind this word is akatharsia

This speaks to things that are unclean and corrupting in nature

This has a much wider scope than porneia becasue I might be boasting, “I don’t fornicate”, “I’m faithful to my spouse”, ‘I don’t practice homosexuality” etc. But do you engae in things that have a corrupting nature?

Am I into porn? That messes with you physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually and spiritually - Well I am not doing X-Y-Z but that is corrupting you.

This corrupting influence is not only tied to sexual things, it can be “religious things” especially regarding teaching concerning Jesus and His word. It can be the political landscape we traverse and discuss and argue that has the capacity to corrupt you (all of a sudden I (UNC) don’t like my (PNM) brother or sister.

Ephesians 4:19 “19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”

Is it corrupting you? Will it corrupt you?

That’s a general question you can ask when making or about to make a decision (not just the classic “is it sinful?”, but will this corrupt me).

The Pharisees tried making this an outside issue (washing hands, wearing clothes and appendages to the clothes etc.) Mk 7:15-16 This is something that Jesus says is happening on the inside Mt 23:26.

Jesus makes it clear that a purity that is only concerned about the external things is not a concept of purity that is biblical or adequate.

God did not just come to make sure you watch, read, dress, go out right, have the right friends - Purity does not start their

Jesus came to clean you up, from the inside, and when my inside is clean - it will then inform me of what I watch, read, how I interact with friends, where I go

There were those in the early church who denied the resurrection, to which Paul warns, “Evil communication corrupts good morals” 1 Cor 15:33

Consider Proverbs 6:16 “16 There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:”

Something that is foreign to the ways of God

Something that is inconsistent with the “holy calling by which you are called”

Something that does not add up to “walking worthy of your call”

It disregards the HOLINESS of God

# Sensuality

The Greek term behind this word is aslegeia

This is also translated lasciviousness, licentiousness,

Here’s the one that’s plainly understood: unrestrained indulgence

What this word describes is a person who has dispostion that no longer cares about what God or anyone else thinks about their shameful/sinful deeds

It describes a mind that shame, guilt, care no longer effects them in their practice of the deeds of the flesh

ANALOGY: Little Johnny or Judy use to wonder if anyone will notice them when they practice thier sinful deeds. They would do it far away from where they think any Christian who knows them, will see. They used to be careful about what they post on Facebook, or IG, prob using a very confusing name to do it. They used to feel bad walking into the sanctuary knowing what they practiced during the week.

But now....

They have thrown of the restraints

They no longer care who sees and who knows. They are no longer worried about somebody finding out. They are no longer bothered by what “someone” would think about their post.

There is a total loss of limits: This is the mind SENSUALITY

Jeremiah 6:15 “15 “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.”

To these (and such like) Paul says, if you practice them you will not inherit the kingdom

Are you ready for some good news?

Jesus said, Luke 5:31–32 “31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. 32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.””

Jesus did not come for the self-righteous folk, the pretentious people, the people who don’t sin, they can’t even spell sin anymore

He’s there for the folks who need some help, going through hell, struggling in the battle with the flesh, who can admit I don’t always have it together.

The good news today is even though I’m struggling with these vices, I have a Jesus who can help me

I have a God who is not afraid of the mess I get into from time to time

He’s not willing that any should perish, but is calling me to repentance

I have a God who does not give up on me

He will reach down in the muddy messiness, pull me out, clean me up, set my feet on a solid rock

His steadfast love never ceases, His mercies never come to an end

If He decided to count all my trangressions no one will be able to stand before Him but,.....there is forgiveness with God

The culture that we need to have, is a kingdom culture

A culture that realizes that people mess up, they are not perfect (Jesus did not come to save perfect people, He came to make people perfect)

A culture that is desirous of:

Applying balm of healing vs. snares of shame

Pick you up and not stamp you down

Forgives of sin and not continue to dangle your sins in your face

We can’t always say, “He again?” “She again?” - Where else do you want them to go?

If people can’t come to the church house with their mess and their ugliness, where on God’s green earth do you want them to go?

We can’t always say, “when will he or she stop sinning?” - When will you stop condemning, judging, gossipng about them and start helping and lifting and praying?

When will you stop thinking they will never change and start praying for God to make a turn around in their life

Thank God, God is not you and God is not me!

Start pointing people back to Him

Point them to Jesus

Their Advocate, Healer, Deliverer, Who knows what they are going through

Grab on to Jesu

Even if you just get a hem, that’s enough to get a healing

Even if it’s just a crumb, it can bring some change

Even if the faith is like a mustard seed, tell the mountain, “mountain”, get ready to move

If you need salvation, restoration, revival, strength for your struggles come

Those who need prayer now for your struggles in the flesh, Let us pray right now.

This encouragement is not meant for you to be passive but active

This for us to get real about the struggles that we face in our own lives, and to develop the right perspective as we engage with the world around us.

This is why we need to get real about these things

We need to acknowledge that we stand bare before a holy God. I am called by Him to a holy calling, so that I can be a living sacrifice “holy and acceptable”

We need to be honest about the struggle with the flesh. “Only the sick need a physician Lk 5:31.” - It’s only when I am willing to admit I’m sick, I need help, I struggle sometimes, only then I will God operate

If you confess - He is fatihful and just to forgive

It is possible to enter into a space where my self-rigtheousness kicks in (that’s really the flesh) and I begin to think it’s about me and not God - It’s by the grace of God you are what you are, not your effort, planning, contingencies, GOD

You never outgrow your need for God

While in the physical world, you will always have to contend with sin and this fleshly nature - It is unwise to assume that I do not need God’s help with that

[Trust in the efficiency of Divine activity, but don’t ignore human responsibility.]***