Galatians 5:19-20a. The Awfulness of Sin

Galatians 5 19-20a. “The Awfulness of Sin” Safe Haven Worship Centre. Sunday February 10th, 2019. Galatians 5:19-21 [19] Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, (enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions), (ESV) People mark off times and celebrations in different ways. In Belgium (since 1394, in Binche), Brazil (a four-day celebration in Rio de Janeiro), Italy (in Venice, six months of celebrating in the 18th  now 12 days), Trinidad and Tobago (featuring a daylong competition among calypso bands), and the United States (most notably, the New Orleans), as well as other regions, people are coming up to the years most elaborate festival (Fahlbusch, Erwin ; Bromiley, Geoffrey William: The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leiden, Netherlands : Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 1999-<2003.). Universally, this celebration is known as “Carnival” or Mardi Gras specifically in New Orleans. Carnival comes from a combination of Latin words meaning "farewell to the flesh." There is a great deal of irony in that name because there is by no means a time when the desires of the flesh are denied or bid farewell. Instead they are lavishly indulged. Anything goes—gluttonous eating, massive consumption of alcohol, even public displays of sexual immorality (to say nothing of what goes on behind closed doors). The streets, sidewalks, shops, and hotels on Bourbon Street in New Orleans are indeed X-rated during this festival of debauchery. So why the name "farewell to the flesh"? Carnival or Mardi Gras coincides with the traditional last day before the fasting season that some practice as Lent, a 40-day period of self-denial and repentance, instituted by some in the early church as a way of preparing Christians for Easter. The beginning of this period is known as Ash Wednesday, so the final day of Carnival is known as Shrove Tuesday. The word "shrove" is derived from the Latin scribere, meaning, "to prescribe penance." During the middle ages, religious leaders would ensure that "shriveners" (priests) were available to hear the confessions of the multitudes of presumptuous sinners who had committed all types of iniquity during Carnival. Unfortunately, the job of the priest was not to call these people to a deep and true repentance, but rather to prepare them ceremonially for Lent. In other words: Have your fun! Drink as deeply as you need of the lusts of the flesh! Just be sure to confess your sins to the priest before Lent. The priest who hears your confession will prescribe fasting and the right sort of penance (self-inflicted penalty) for you to make amends with God. (Daryl Wingerd @ http://www.ccwblog.org/2009/02/heres-skinny-on-fat-tuesday.html) Paul has shown that no human work, penance or otherwise, can atone or repair a broken relationship with God, which sin achieves. The Judaizers claimed that Paul’s teaching would encourage people to forsake all restraint, and indulge in all types of sins. Paul however showed that no external system, law or otherwise, could restrain sin. It could only be achieved though the supernatural work of Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables godly obedience called walking in the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is the natural result of walking in the Spirit. But what about those who do not walk in the Spirit? God says they walk in the flesh, with the objective and pattern of life which can be externally seen as the deeds of the flesh. We want a connection with another person that’s deeper than mere ideas. We want our loneliness relieved, our isolation ended. We want security. Satisfying the hunger gives us, in all our physicality, a sense of belonging, acceptence, and security—at least for the moment. The problem is, we see these things as ends in themselves. We think we have the power to define how we use them, and this makes them destructive. Warming by the fire is wonderful, but outside the fireplace, the flames will reduce your cabin to cinders. Using things and other people for our ends leaves us standing in a heap of ashes.( Bush, D., & Due, N. (2015). Live in Liberty: The Spiritual Message of Galatians (p. 190). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.) In Galatians 5:29-21, Paul lists the nature of “the Awfulness of Sin” in the categories of four specific defilements. He identifies 1) Sexual (Galatians 5:19), 2) Spiritual (Galatians 5:20a), 3) Social (Galatians 5:20b-21) and 4) Self-defilement (Galatians 5:21b). We will deal with the first two categories this morning from verses 19-20a. First, we must beware of The Awfulness of Sin, in terms of: 1) Sexual Defilement (Galatians 5:19), Galatians 5:19 [19] Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, (ESV) Paul specifies in: Galatians 5:19a[19] Now the works of the flesh are evident: (sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality), (ESV) “Works” (in the plural) are attributed to the “flesh,” because they are divided, and often in conflict with one another, and even when taken each one by itself, betray their fleshly origin. But the “fruit of the Spirit” (Ga 5:23ff) is singular, because, however manifold the results, they form one harmonious whole (Jamieson, Robert ; Fausset, A. R. ; Fausset, A. R. ; Brown, David ; Brown, David: A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. Oak Harbor, WA : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997, S. Ga 5:19) The works/deeds of the flesh reflect the sinful desires of unredeemed humanness, which are in spiritual warfare against the desires of the Spirit (vv. 16–17;  24). As we have seen, “Flesh” the N.T. often employs the term to designate the sinful tendencies that exist in people, most of which are related to bodily appetites and ambitions. The works of the flesh are hereby spelled out. These works/deeds are so evident that Paul mentions them primarily by way of a reminder. These works are: “Evident/which are these”—Greek, “such as,” for instance. That is why Jesus says in Matthew 7:16 [16]You will recognize them by their fruits. (Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?) (ESV) (Believer's Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Ga 5:13) • We use the term denial to describe the all-too-frequent habit people have of overlooking problems in their lives, refusing to accept responsibility, and neglecting to take required action. Denial fits well with Paul’s warning that acts of the flesh are clearly evident/identifiable. Denial does not mean the inability to see something wrong; rather, it means the unwillingness to see what is wrong. Denial must be overcome before we can repent. The psalmist’s prayer can help us be honest in our relationship with God: “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression” (Psalm 19:12–13 niv).( Barton, B. B. (1994). Galatians (p. 183). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House ) Though the sins that Paul lists here in Galatians 5 (cf. Rom. 1:29–31; 2 Cor. 12:20–21) are natural characteristics of unredeemed humanity, not every person manifests all of the sins or manifests them to the same degree. However, every person possesses the flesh, which is sinful and will therefore be manifested in sinful behavior, whatever the particular forms of it may be. These are normal and continual behaviors for unbelievers in their course of life in the flesh, but are abnormal and interruptive behavior in the lives of Christians, who live in the Spirit. A Christian can walk in the Spirit and avoid them all, or they can give in to the flesh and fall victim to any of them. In to beware the awfulness of sin, we must first be aware of its danger. Paul now begins to list specific areas of sexual defilement that are sins against the Sixth Commandment. These sins are placed first, not because they are necessarily the worst sins, but because they are the most common. Sex, remember, is God-given. ‘Marriage is honourable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge’ (Heb. 13:4). As Hebrews makes clear, it is not sex that is sinful, but rather its misuse. We live in a society where sex outside marriage is considered normal and acceptable behaviour. Even so-called churches have ceased to regard fornication, and even homosexual activity, as sinful. But God has not changed the rules; sexual immorality will be judged. (Andrews, E. H. (1996). Free in Christ: The Message of Galatians (p. 294). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.) The first on the list is most generally described as a sin of “Sexual immorality” (πορνεία, porneia) which originally meant to have sexual relations with prostitutes (πόρναι, pornai, from a verb meaning “to sell”), but later grew to include any form of sex outside of marriage (Hauck/Schulz, TDNT, VI: 580–581, 590.) By this term Paul includes all abuses of lawful sexual relations: fornication, adultery, incest (1 Cor. 5:1), and those things that tempt one to these acts. He also condemns all perversions of sexual relations: homosexuality (1 Cor. 6:9, ‘effeminate, nor homosexuals’), bestiality, pornography and prostitution (1 Cor. 6:15–18). (cf. 1 Cor.5:1, 6:13, 18; 7:2; cf. Eph. 5:3; 1 Thess. 4:3). (Pipa, J. A., Jr. (2010). Galatians: God’s Proclamation of Liberty (p. 197). Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.) Promiscuity was rampant in the Graeco-Roman world in Paul’s time. It was so common, that one author notes, that “except when carried to excess, it was not regarded as specially reprehensible.”( Bruce, p. 247.) From incest in the Roman imperial family, to homosexuality in Greek society, to casual adultery and fornication in the streets of villages, sexual life was described by one author as “a lawless chaos.”( Barclay, Flesh and Spirit, p. 24.) Society had come to accept sexual immorality as routine, philosophy had concluded that the physical body was naturally evil and its actions of little importance, and (common) religion had embraced prostitution in its ritual. (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 5:19) But, humanity has been created for a purpose: 1 Corinthians 6:13 [13]"Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"--and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. (ESV) Many young people search for God’s will in terms of a mate or job. The very first place to start in finding this out God’s will is to follow what God has revealed explicitly as His will: 1 Thessalonians 4:3 [3]For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; (ESV) Since there are times that Christians do not walk by the Spirit, sexual immorality, like others sins will be committed. But how can this sin be battled? The worst way is to think that you are beyond temptation and ignore it. 1 Corinthians 6:18 [18] Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. (ESV) Please turn to Ephesians 5 The second sin listed in the area of sexuality, is Impurity/Uncleanness/Lewdness (akatharsia,). This word has both a medical and ceremonial connotation. (It originally was used medically to refer to an infected, oozing wound. ) Even today doctors speak of cleaning a wound before they apply medication to it. (In Scripture the term is used of both moral and ceremonial uncleanness, any impurity/Uncleanness/Lewdness that prevents a person from approaching God.)… then, speaks of the defilement of sexual sin and the separation from God that it brings. Paul asserts that not only actions violate the law of God, but in addition all lusts and fantasies, worked out in thought, word, and deed, are sinful. The term impurity/Uncleanness/Lewdness encompasses immoral conversations, as well as books, movies and music that promote sexual impurity. The term also condemns lustful thoughts and fantasies (Matt. 5:28). (Pipa, J. A., Jr. (2010). Galatians: God’s Proclamation of Liberty (p. 197). Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.) Paul explains the link in Ephesians 5: Ephesians 5:3-5 [3] But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. [4] Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. [5] For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (ESV) • Perhaps no sexual act has taken place, but the person exhibits a crudeness or insensitivity in sexual matters that offends others and leads them to false conclusions about the other person’s character. An example today would be the excessive use of sexual humor (or what is supposed to be humor), where people make statements with a sexual double meaning (Barton, B. B. (1994). Galatians (p. 183). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.). • The remedy for such sins is confession and repentance. If we confess and repent, the promise of God’s Word is that Christ is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse/purify (katharisē) from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).(George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 393). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.) Please turn to Romans 1 For a society to continue to disregard God’s standard for sexuality holiness, He allows them to become consumed with their own desires, and suffer the consequences of their actions This is a Judgment to a culture that will not heed God Romans 1:26-32 [26] For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; [27]and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. [28] And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. [29] They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, [30] slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31] foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. [32] Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (ESV) • These sins are God’s judgement that He allows for a self-consumed society that will not repent and seek Him. The third sin listed in the area of sexuality, is Sensuality/Lasciviousness/debauchery/lewdness (aselgeia), which originally referred to any excess or shameless lack of restraint but came to be associated primarily with sexual excess (cf. Mark 7:22; 2 Pet 2:18). This term was used to describe an attitude of utter disregard for the opinions and conventions which governed others (KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 2398) It is the total disregard for all decency. It is the broadest of the three terms used thus far, and also the strongest. In ancient literature it referred to the blatant impudence of a Roman soldier who publicly urinated on the temple grounds at Jerusalem (Josephus, Antiquities, 20.5.3.) It is the final state of the person who no longer cares about either public censure or divine wrath In speaking of the unbridled wantonness of the children of Israel in his day, the prophet Jeremiah asked: “Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush” (Jer 6:15). It is unrestrained sexual indulgence, such as has become so common in the modern Western world. It refers to uninhibited sexual indulgence without shame and without concern for what others think or how they may be affected (or infected). (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 5:19) • Consider the state of a society when it moves from ignorance of explicit sin, to committing it in secret, overt public display, to prideful celebration and institutionalization of the sin. Just because something is legal does not mean it is healthy or morally condoned and without consequence. Please turn to Mark 7 Jesus includes this sin as indicative of humanity’s basic problem. Jesus made clear that humanity’s basic problem is not with what is outside but with what is within. He draws the relationship together in Mark 7: Mark 7:20-23 [20] And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. [21] For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, [22] coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. [23] All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (ESV) • In Mark 7 Jesus mentions three times that the sins come from within people themselves, and Paul identifies his list of sins as works/deeds of the flesh, that is, works produced by either people’s own unregenerate nature or unredeemed flesh. Jesus’ list is much like Paul’s, and in both passages the point is made that these evils originate from within human beings themselves, not from Satan or the world outside. Satan and his demons will challenge Christians. The World around will provide challenges with temptation and bad influence, but the choice to act on these evils is an internal one made by everyone. Illustration: Where Is Your Heart? The body of the missionary David Livingstone was buried in England where he was born, but his heart was buried in the Africa he loved. At the foot of a tall tree in a small African village the natives dug a hole and placed in it the heart of this man who they loved and respected. If your heart were to be buried in the place you loved most during life, where would it be? In your pocketbook? In an appropriate space down at the office? Where is your heart? ( Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.) Finally, we must beware of The Awfulness of Sin, in terms of: 2) Spiritual Defilement (Galatians 5:20a) Galatians 5:20a [20] idolatry, sorcery, (enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions), (ESV) Paul now begins to list infractions of the First and Second Commandments. They would naturally be listed after the sins of sexuality because ancient idolatry often included male and female prostitution These second group of sins, specifically idolatry and sorcery, relates to man-made religion, which is as much a product of the flesh as are sexual sins. The deeds of the flesh not only defile people themselves but also their relationship to God. All human religion is based on self-effort, on people’s sinful insistence that they can make themselves acceptable to their own humanly-conceived god by their own merits. Consequently, human religion is the relentless enemy of divine grace and therefore of the gospel. (Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:607) Idolatry (eidōlolatria) includes false worship in all its forms. By this term Paul includes the worship of false gods and the false worship of the true God. He condemns seven things. First, he condemns the failure to worship the true God: atheism (Ps. 14:1; Eph. 2:12); polytheism and the worship of all false Gods (Exod. 20:3; Jer. 2:27, 28); all non-Trinitarian cults (Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses), Jews, and Muslims. Second, idolatry is the worship of the true God through images (Isa. 40:18–20; Exod. 32:1–5). God is a spirit and we are not to make images of Him or worship Him through such images (Exod. 20:4–6; Deut. 4:15–20; L.C. 109). Third, idolatry is the refusal to come to the true God through the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s appointed mediator (John 14:6). Fourth, it is the failure to worship the true God according to Scripture (Deut. 12:21–32; John 4:21–24). Fifth, it is the failure to worship the true God from the heart by the Spirit (Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:7–9). Sixth, it is the failure to put God first in trust, affection, and priorities—trusting in things for our security or happiness (Deut. 8:17; Eph. 5:5), loving other people more than God (Matt. 10:37), putting things before God (Matt. 6:24–33). Seventh, and finally, it is the failure to believe what God has revealed in his word and base our lives on it (Heb. 4:2; Isa. 8:19, 20).( Pipa, J. A., Jr. (2010). Galatians: God’s Proclamation of Liberty (p. 197). Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.) Idolatry is the act of putting things ahead of God. We are to worship God, love people, and use things, but too often we use people, love self, and worship things, leaving God out of the picture completely. William Barclay makes this important observation about ancient idolatry: “The essence of idolatry is the desire to get. A man sets up an idol and worships it because he desires to get something out of God. To put it bluntly, he believes that by his sacrifices and his gifts and his worship, he can persuade, or even bribe, God into giving him what he desires.”( Barclay, The Letter to the Colossians, p. 182.) Please turn to Colossians 3 As sexual immorality was more often than not entailed in Idolatry —witness the hundreds of “sacred” prostitutes in the temple of Aphrodite in Corinth, with whom the devotees of the love-goddess entered into sexual union as an act of worship (cf. 1 Cor. 6)—the idol-worshipper could be committing a double, if not triple, offense (against God and his own person, if not also against the person with whom he had sexual intercourse). In the broadest sense, of course, idolatry is the worship of anything which usurps the rightful place of God; so Paul can speak of “the ruthless greed which is nothing less than idolatry” (Col. 3:5), for the object of greed becomes an object of worship.( Fung, R. Y. K. (1988). The Epistle to the Galatians (p. 256). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.) Luther reminds us that ‘All such religion whereby God is worshipped without his Word and commandment is idolatry.’ Augustine calls it ‘the ultimate fornication—that of the soul’.( Barnes, P. (2006). A Study Commentary on Galatians (p. 258). Darlington, England; Webster, New York: Evangelical Press.) The Judaizers mistakenly believed that external law and religious adherence would stop the deeds of the flesh. In Colossians 3, Paul shows that they do not prevent sexual sins, which are in themselves a form of idolatry: Colossians 2:20-3:9 [20]If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations-- [21]"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" [22](referring to things that all perish as they are used)--according to human precepts and teachings? [23] These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. [3:1] If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [3] For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. [5] Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. [6] On account of these the wrath of God is coming. [7] In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. [8] But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. [9] Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices (ESV) • One of the clearest ways that the sins of sexual immorality are a form of idolatry, is the nature of how this sin fills and consumes the mind. Instead of having a concept of the kingdom of God as the filter for actions, a sexual focus becomes the lens by which thoughts and actions are consumed. Fulfilling sexual desire becomes the mental or physical objective instead of glorifying God. Because believers have died with Christ (Col. 2:20, 3:3) they can get rid of sinful practices (Rom. 6:11; 8:13). Next, sorcery/witchcraft translates the Greek word pharmakeia, from which we get pharmacy and pharmaceutical. “sorcery/witchcraft” (φαρμακεία, pharmakeia) began as the attempt to use drugs and potions to harm one’s enemies. (Ironically, on the positive side, it was out of this dabbling in drugs that modern medical science and the pharmaceutical industry originated.) By the time of Paul the word had come to include magic, incantations, drugs, and all the occult means by which people attempt to manipulate the dark powers of the supernatural world. In New Testament times pharmakeia in fact denoted the use of drugs with occult properties for a variety of purposes including, especially, abortion… (Today we see drugs administer to intentionally kill at the beginning, through abortion and at the end, through euthanasia) Both are flagrant violations of Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 394). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.) Sorcery/witchcraft and idolatry, alike are condemned by God (Deut 18:10–12), were also alike in their motive: the attempt to use the power of the unseen world for one’s own selfish purposes (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 5:20) In the present context it would include all forms of seeking the control of one’s fate including astrology, palm reading, séances, fortune telling, crystals, and and anything else involving occult powers (Picirilli, R. E. (1973). The Book of Galatians (p. 91). Nashville, TN: Randall House Publications.). It would include psychic games like ‘ouija boards’ (Lev. 20:6; Deut. 18:10, 11; Isa. 8:19; 47:12–15). He forbids all superstitions and superstitious acts, like ‘knocking on wood’ or crossing one’s fingers, as well as attributing the outcome of events to luck or fortune (James 1:17).( Pipa, J. A., Jr. (2010). Galatians: God’s Proclamation of Liberty (p. 198). Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.) Illustration: As a summary of this section and a segway to the next, J.I. Packer described the propensity to Other Gods: “What other gods could we have besides the Lord? Plenty. For Israel there were the Canaanite Baals, those jolly nature gods whose worship was a rampage of gluttony, drunkenness, and ritual prostitution. For us there are still the great gods Sex, Shekels, and Stomach (an unholy trinity constituting one god: self), and the other enslaving trio, Pleasure, Possessions, and Position, whose worship is described as “The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Football, the Firm, and Family are also gods for some. Indeed the list of other gods is endless, for anything that anyone allows to run their life becomes thier god and the claimants for this prerogative are legion. In the matter of life’s basic loyalty, temptation is a many-headed monster”. (Your Father Loves You by James Packer, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986, page for April 17)