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welcome to everyone for our call to worship this evening you can turn in your Bibles to Psalm 28 Psalm 28 beginning in verse one a Psalm of David to you I will cry oh Lord my rock do not be silent to me lest if you are silent to me I become like those who go down to the pit hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to you when I lift up my hands toward your holy Sanctuary do not take me away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity who speak peace to their neighbors but evil is in their hearts give them according to their deeds and according to the wickedness of their Endeavors give them according to the work of their hands render to them what they deserve because they do do not regard The Works of the Lord nor the operation of his hands he shall destroy them and not build them up blessed be the Lord because he has heard the voice of my supplications the Lord is my strength and my shield my heart trusted in him and I am helped therefore my heart greatly rejoices and with my song I will praise him the Lord is their strength and he is the saving Refuge of his anointed save your people and bless your inheritance Shepherd them also and bear them up forever amen well please turn in your Trinity himels to himym number two hymn number two will'll stand as we sing together bless hisy and to all glory all love and mercy words ofing of mercy and love is to all cre all his my bless all amen let us pray great God most High We Gather in your house again on this Lord's day and we call upon you and we confess that you are most high that you are glorious and wondrous and worthy to be praised we acknowledge that you are the one true and living God who is Father Son and Holy Spirit three glorious persons equal in power and majesty and we ackowledge your handiwork in creation and in Providence and in Redemption and on these s Sabbath days it is good for us to rehearse and to recall those spiritual blessings that you have poured out upon us we praise you father for Sovereign Grace and election we praise you for the work of the son on our behalf in obedience to the law and in death on the cross and Resurrection on the third day and we bless you for the the the irresistible power of the holy spirit that when we were dead in our trespasses and sins you made us alive you gave us the Graces of faith and repentance repentance she caused us to see that Christ Alone is the way to Salvation to a holy God and certainly as we consider these things it causes us to worship it causes us to praise and to glorify and to honor your Your Great Name we would ask that tonight you would Ren the heavens and be uh uh come down and be found among this Among Us in this place we pray that you would encourage our hearts and strengthen us with might in the inner man that we would know know The Nearness and the the goodness of God most high in our midst we would pray that you would just speak to us through your word that as we speak to you in prayer and as we sing to you and to one another that in all of this you would be exalted and praised and glorified we ask that you would forgive us now for all of our transgressions for certainly as we rehearse who you are as we consider what scripture says concerning you we see such a distance not just because we're creatures and you are the Creator but because we're sinful and You Are Holy we would ask that you would forgive us now and cleanse Us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray that you would Supply the Holy Spirit to each and every one of us and cause us to pursue those things that are pleasing in your sight may we strive to to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts and may you cause us to shine as as lights in this crooked and perverse generation ation cause us to be salt and and to be faithful to you in this lower world we ask that any and all who have come here tonight that are outside of Christ we would pray that this would be the day of salvation we know that your gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek for we know that in this gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from Faith to Faith and we would pray that you would work in hearts and in minds and show Sinners their waywardness and their rebellion and show them the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ revealed preeminently at the cross we ask that you would look with favor upon each and every one in our church that suffers physically we know there are many with ongoing physical trials and difficulties we think of our brother Joe ditto and of Shane Abby and we just commit these men into your care that you would graciously visit them you would encourage their hearts you would strengthen them bodily and cause them to just be worshippers of of the Great and the holy God we ask that you would be pleased to bless each one in our church as well in terms of spiritual difficulties and trials we would be Liars if we said that we have no heartaches or hardships or TR or Temptations in this world we pray that you would fortify us and strengthen us we pray that you would grant us the grace to walk through the valley of the shadow of death grant us the grace Lord God to Bear up under the the the the spiritual struggles and the difficulties that we all go through and cause us to be a faithful people a consistent people a people of your word and a people of prayer we pray for your grace and your blessing to be upon the persecuted church we know there are so many that suffer in ways that we have we have never even known and we would just ask God in heaven in these lands that you would just fortify and and bless your people there we think of Asia BBY and how her case has been prolonged once again we do pray that when it does convene she would be released we pray for others like her that are in prison or those who have suffered greatly for the the cause of Jesus Christ we think of those in the the Muslim world that you would just uh strengthen your people there cause them God not to recant or not to shrink back but to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the Saints we pray for the situ situation in America concerning the political elections we know as the Book of Revelation tells us that Christ currently presently is the ruler over the kings of the earth and in this we greatly Rejoice we do pray however God that you would put the fear of God in the hearts of men in high places we pray they'd take David's counsel in Psalm 2 that they would indeed kiss the son lest he be angry and they perish in his way when his wrath is kindled but a little we know that all those who Trust in you are blessed we would pray that you would be merciful to governing authorities and if they will not be saved if they are not converted then may you exercise your Sovereign restraint so they would no longer perpetuate the sorts of sins and the crimes that seem so commonplace in our generation we do pray for an end to abortion and and sodomy and and and euthanasia these these publicly sanctioned and in many cases uh federally sub iodized acts of evil God we look at this and we can only say with the prophet that in your wrath you would remember Mercy you would send forth your glorious gospel changing the hearts of men and women and boys and girls so that such things would even be Unthinkable we pray that you would be merciful to the churches you would revive your people you would cause us to think your thoughts after you and cause us to be prayerful in this world to be a faithful lot and to serve you and to glorify you and to honor and praise you we pray that you would continue with us now as we worship grant us the holy spirit so that we may worship you in spirit and in truth and we pray these things through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well you can turn in your Trinity Himel again to number 268 number 268 we'll stand as we sing together allly forever all to temp glory to and to the father and to the son to the glory you can turn to the prophet Ezekiel we're in chapter 28 Ezekiel chapter 28 I'll begin reading in verse one the word of the Lord came to me again saying son of man say to the prince of Ty thus says the Lord God because your heart is lifted up and you say I am a God I sit in the seat of gods in the midst of the Seas yet you are a man and not a god though you set your heart as the heart of of a god behold you are wiser than Daniel there's no secret that can be hidden from you with your wisdom and your understanding you have gained riches for yourself and gathered gold and silver into your treasuries by your great wisdom and trade you have increased your riches and your heart is lifted up because of your rich therefore thus says the Lord God because you have set your heart as the heart of a god behold therefore I will bring strangers against you the most terrible of the Nations and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your Splendor they shall throw you down into the pit and you shall die the death of the slain in the midst of the Seas will you still say before him who slays you I am a god but you shall be a man and not a God in the hand of him who slays you you shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of aliens for I have spoken says the Lord God moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying son of man take up a lamentation for the king of Ty and say to him thus says the Lord God you are the Seal of perfection full of wisdom and perfect in Beauty you are in Eden the Garden of God every precious Stone was your covering sardius topaz and Diamond Barrel Onyx and Jasper Sapphire turquoise and emerald with gold the workmanship of your timbral was and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created you were the anointed cherub who covers I established you you were on the Holy Mountain of God you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery Stones you were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till an iquity was found in You by the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within and you sinned therefore I cast you out I cast you as a profane thing out of the Mountain of God and I destroyed you o covering cherub from the midst of the fiery Stones your heart was lifted up because of your beauty you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your Splendor I cast you to the ground I laid you before kings that they might gaze at you you defile your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities by the iniquity of your trading therefore I brought fire from your midst it devoured you and I turned you to ashes upon the Earth in the sight of all who saw you all who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you you have become a horror and shall be no more forever then the word of the Lord came to me saying son of man set your face toward sidon and prophesy against her her and say thus says the Lord God behold I am against you o sidon I will be glorified in your midst and they shall know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her for I will send pestilence upon her and blood in her streets the wounded shall be judged in her midst By The Sword against her on every side then they shall know that I am the lord and there shall no longer be a pricking Brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them who despise them then they shall know that I am the Lord God thus says the Lord God when I have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to my servant Jacob and they will dwell safely there build houses and plant Vineyards yes they will dwell securely when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them then they shall know that I am the Lord their God Amen well let us pray Our God in heaven I pray that you would help us to see that any who rise up against the living and the true God will ultimately fall we know that you are holy that you are good that you are merciful and kind and gracious but you are a god terrifying in judgment a god of absolute Justice and righteousness as David says this is indeed the foundation of your throne and we would pray that you would bless each and every one of us here that we would be fit and ready for that day of judgment when we meet you we pray that we would be safely clothed in the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ that we would know the blessings of being found in him that we would have that covering that protection and I pray that you would just extend this mercy here I pray for other churches in chilak that you would bless the preaching of the Gospel that it would go forward and that many would come out of Darkness into Marvelous Light many would be turned from their useless Idols to the true and the Living God do this for your glory do this for the the good of Souls and we pray these things through Christ Our Lord amen well please turn to the back of the Trinity Himel to be thou my vision be thou my vision we'll stand as we sing together heart to be all true I ever with now and heart my I well please turn in your Bibles to Galatians chapter 5 Galatians chapter 5 I'll read the chapter and then our focus is on verses 19 to 21 The Works of the flesh then God willing next Sunday evening will take up the fruit of the spirit are the fruits of the spirit but I want to read beginning in Galatians 5 at verse 1 Stand Fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with the Yoke of bondage indeed I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised Christ will profit you nothing and I testify again to every every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debor to keep the whole law you have become estranged from Christ you who attempt to be justified by law you have fallen from grace for we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but Faith working through love you ran well who hindered you from obeying the truth this persuasion does not come from him who calls you a little leaven leavens the whole lump I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will have no other mind but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment whoever he is and I Brethren if I still preach circumcision then why do I or why do I still suffer persecution then the offense of the Cross has ceased I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off for you Brethren have been called to Liberty only do not use Liberty as an opportunity for the flesh but through love serve one another for all the law is fulfilled in one word even in this you shall love your neighbor as yourself but if you bite and devour one another beware lest you be consumed by one another I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the fles or the lust of the flesh for the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish but if you are led by the spirit you're not under the law now the works of the flesh are evident which are adultery fornication uncleanness lewdness ID idolatry sorcery hatred contentions jealousies outbursts of Wrath selfish Ambitions dissensions heresies Envy murders drunkenness revelries and the like of which I tell you beforehand just as I told you in time past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God but the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace longsuffering kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control against such there is no law and those who are christs have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit let us not become conceited provoking one another envying one another amen let us pray Father in heaven we thank you for your word we we pray again for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gave us the word we know all scripture is given by inspiration of God we acknowledge its profitability in our in our lives and we pray that you would make it such this evening this is a very important passage of scripture certainly as Believers we are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love and we would ask that you would hedge Us in and that you would restrain us and keep us and cause us to know the power and the presence of the holy spirit so that we may indeed obey your holy law we ask that you would just fill us now with the spirit guide our minds and thoughts again forgive us for all of our sins and transgressions and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen now the Apostle is dealing with the Believers in galatia and very specifically this was a group of churches in a particular region wasn't just one church called The Church of galatia but rather galatia was a region and there were several churches there and Paul visited these churches and he established these churches on his first missionary journey so Paul goes in he preaches the gospel Sinners get converted they plant these local churches well not long after Paul leaves there was a group of people called the judaizers and they would come in to these churches and they would essentially say that what Paul says is good but it's not enough in other words you need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you need to see him as Israel's Messiah you need to uh close with God through Christ but you also must keep the law of God you must keep the ceremonies of Moses the big issue specifically in the book of galatia focuses upon circumcision because it was a religious obligation to Old Covenant Israel these Gentiles are being told by the judaizers you need Jesus plus these works that's the point that Paul is addressing in the book of of Galatians he is highlighting it's not Jesus plus anything it's Jesus alone in order for salvation Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone you see a uh evidence of this in verse three notice in Galatians 5 I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debor to keep the whole law what he is saying is that if you think that by your circumcision you Merit favor with God you have become a debtor to keep the whole law in other words there's only one of two approaches to God it is through Christ or it's through your own obedience if you try to mingle the two of them you move Christ right out of the equation that's the point that the Apostle is dealing with and if you drop down to verses 16 to to 18 I think it helps us to understand what he says in verse 18 but note in verse 16 I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh for the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish but if you are led by the spirit you are not under the law I think there is this faulty understanding that Believers have no relationship whatsoever to the law of God well it is obvious in what follows it is obvious in what precedes there is a law and Believers are not to break it when he says here specifically in verse 18 if you're led by the spirit you're not under the law you're not under the law as a covenant of Works you're not under the law as a means by which you are trying to gain acceptance with God but you're certainly under the law if you have by the grace of God believed on the Lord Jesus Christ the spirit now indwells you the spirit uses the law as the means by which you understand what God requires and what God despises so if you read verse 8 18 and you end up in antinomian you're not reading it in its context and you're not understanding Paul's argument he's not suggesting that Believers have no relationship to the law they are not related to the law as I said as a covenant of works it's not the case that we try to get through uh to God by our own lawke keeping so that's the sense in which he speaks but notice in verses 16 to 18 He introduces this whole idea of the spirit and the flesh he has called the Galatians to walk in the spirit he highlights the ongoing battle in the life of the believer in Galatians 5:17 the flesh lusts against the spirit the spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish there is this battle going on in the heart of the believer Paul describes it in Romans chapter 7 the good that I wish to do I don't do and the evil I don't want to do I find myself doing that's the doctrine of remaining corruption other words when a Believer when a man comes to the Lord Jesus he is Justified freely by Grace but he has remaining corruption on this side of heaven and then Paul deals specifically and identifies what the works of the flesh are and what the fruit of the spirit is fun says to illustrate fun is the name of a commentator to illustrate the state of opposition between the Flesh and the spirit Paul provides representative lists of their respective activities so he sets forth the works of the flesh he sets forth the fruit of the spirit so that Believers have may I say it law that would indicate how they are to function or how they are to live so let's look at verses 19 to 21 under two considerations first the identification of the works of the Flesh and secondly the condemnation of those who practice these Works note in the first place this is EV evident Paul says in verse 19 now the works of the flesh are evident how are they evident I would argue they're evident by the law in other words what the law condemns it exposes as a work of the flesh look at what he says concerning the fruit of the spirit verse 22 the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace longsuffering kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control now note the end of verse 23 against such there is no law there's no law that stands against you saying don't be joyous don't be p uh peace peaceful don't be longsuffering don't be uh uh faithful don't be self-controlled against such fruit there is no law what is the clear implication there is a law that condemns these works of the Flesh and that law is the law of God written on the heart of man at is creation summarized at sin in Ten Commandments that abiding revelation of God's moral law concerning his creatures so that's what he says in verse 19 The Works of the flesh are evident they are evident because God has shown us through his law what is condemnable in his sight and as we look through this specific works of the flesh I think it breaks down into four categories in the first place there are the sins of the flesh secondly there are the sins of religious apostasy thirdly there are the sins related to personal relationships and then it ends with the sins of intemperance again certain things that we ought to remind ourselves often as we live in a debauched age as we ourselves have remaining corruption we ourselves are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love we ought to by his grace strive to walk in the spirit and not to engage in these works of the flesh let's look at the sins of the flesh the first is the sin of adultery now the new King James and the other versions differ here I'm following the new King James adultery heads the list for the Apostle Paul now obviously that is sexual relations with another person when you are married it is a violation of the Covenant that two persons swear before God I don't think we fully appreciate what happens in a in a wedding ceremony I mean there's a lot of Pomp and a lot of show and a lot of you know pretty dresses and and and handsome tuxedos whatever you would call it there's a lot of things that often times take our minds off of what really is important it is a solemn oath sworn before God to love and to cherish and to be there for one another in the good times and in The Bad Times adultery is a vile trashing of that particular Covenant it is to break it it is to stomp on it it is to ruin it it is a violation of God's holy law the seventh word says you shall not commit adultery I think the Westminster larger catechism as I have read you know scripture and several other things concerning the law I think Westminster larger catechism is one of the best explanations of the sin of adultery it says in 138 what are the duties required in the seventh commandment in other words what are we supposed to do this was the traditional reformed way of dealing with the Ten Commandments What are the duties required and what are the sins prohibited that's a good way to get at the teaching of the Commandment so what are the duties required in the seventh commandment the duties required in the seventh commandment are Chastity in Body Mind affections words and behavior and the preservation of it in ourselves and others watchfulness over the eyes and all the senses Temperance keeping of chaste company modesty in apparel marriage by those who have not the gift of continency in other words if you're not celibate you ought to be getting ready for marriage the prevention of uncleanness is helped by or the prevention of uncleanness is one of the the the the blessings that marriage affords and then it says conjugal love and cohabitation diligent labor in our callings shunning All Occasions of uncleanness and resisting temptations there unto then it asks in one 39 what are the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment now you may just think this is a rehearsal of the you know an Antiquated law of God Brethren look around us if something needs to be preached frequently it is the seventh commandment if something needs to be preached often it is sexual Purity because we live in a sensual age we live in a day and age where sex is all over the place outside of the covenantal context in which God God has provided blessing sex was given by God and it is a blessing provided it is used in its proper context says what are the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment the sins forbidden in the seventh commandment besides the neglect of the duties required besides the neglect of 138 are adultery fornication rape incest sodomy and all unnatural lusts all unclean imaginations thoughts purposes and affections all corrupt or filthy Communications or listening there unto wanten looks impudent or light Behavior immodest apparel prohibiting of lawful and dispensing with unlawful marriages allowing tolerating keeping of stews stew there means a house of prostitution it doesn't mean that you what you have for lunch keeping of stews and resorting to them entangling vows of single life undue delay of marriage having more WI wives or husbands than one at the same time unjust divorce or desertion idleness gluttony drunkenness unchaste company lascivious songs books pictures dancings stage plays and all other provocations to or acts of uncleanness either in ourselves or others again that's a pretty extensive C uh listing concerning that particular commandment but if you reflect upon it you have to consider the fact that they are not far far as straight notice how both of these questions address the issue or include the issue of drunkenness I think I mentioned to you several weeks ago David was no fool I mean it was diabolical but David was no fool when he plied Uriah with alcohol to get him drunk so that Uriah would then go into his wife that stuff lowers inhibitions that along with drugs gets to the gets people to a point where they're far more open to those sorts of things condemned in the seventh word gluttony Andy Hamilton well said if we don't control our passions in each area we're not going to control them in any area so he has recommended I remember some of the most helpful stuff I heard on sexual Purity was many many years ago by Andy Hamilton he says be moderate with food be moderate with drink be moderate with those things because it bleeds over if you're not pursuing Holiness universally if you are approaching it peace meal well I want to really be Godly here but I'm not going to give so much attention there you're not going to be Godly here it is a holistic approach we seek to glorify God in our minds in our hearts with our souls and with strength so adultery is condemned and the shame and the ruin and the hardship and the difficulties that it inevit inevitably brings to families don't do it resist the temptation resist the spirit of the a age guard your hearts guard your minds and flee from it be like Joseph in pifer's house for him it wasn't well it was adultery because she was married but he ran how can I do this wickedness and sin against God it's better to run than to engage in this particular activity the second sin of the flesh he mentions is fornication he moves from adultery to fornication any type of sexual sin really this is very very broad the language is of the Greek word is pora which encompasses sexual immorality and it's a very broad category it's not just one particular thing but it is extensive it is somewhat comprehensive of all manner of wickedness when it comes to this whole issue of sexuality fun in his commentary makes this observation Paul also begins his catalog of vices with sexual sins in Romans 1 1 Corinthians 6 Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 their prominence in these lists is due to their prevalence in current Society there is ample evidence to show that the sexual life of the Greco Roman world at the time of the New Testament was sheer chaos sheer chaos so it's not the case that you know we're the worst that there ever has been they were bad too we might be the worst that there ever has been because it's more prevalent in some sense and that wretched internet not that the internet is evil but the internet is used for evil intense and it is a means by which people fornicate it's a terrible use of a good resource on the one hand you can listen to SP uh you can read Spurgeon sermons and on the other hand see that base terrible wretched God uh stuff that God despises guard your hearts all of us we need to guard guard our hearts we live in a decadent debauched and wretched age notice after adultery and fornication he speaks to uncleanness now uncleanness could have a general connotation Perkins in his recently republished commentary says this is the incontinency against nature as incest the sin of Sodom and such like so basically what Perkins says is that it's incest which is clearly forbidden by the Bible and as well the sin of Sodom that would be homosexuality now we know that homosexuality is pretty blatant in our generation and there are even so-called Evangelical defenses of homosexuality the argument goes like this Paul really didn't have a problem with legitimate monogamous homosexual relationships what Paul has a problem with is promiscuous homosexuality no Paul had a problem with homosexuality it reflected his understanding of Old Testament law the scriptures clearly declare that it's a sinful practice Leviticus 18 Leviticus chapter 20 Paul rehearses in Romans 1 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy chapter 1 other words this is not condoned by God this is not a legitimate expression of one sexuality you are to guard your hearts you are to guard your minds and you are to forsake that desire and seek by the grace of God to mortify the Deeds of the body this is a work of the flesh it is sin it is condemned and then Paul speaks to lewdness he's got adultery fornication uncleanness and then loudness this is unrestrained living unbridled acts which shock the public sexual excess and Indulgence I remember reading Ed's commentary on the book of Ephesians and he gave some particular illustrations of such things public acts of wickedness public acts of vess well you see that today in these priv parades you see that today in a whole host of ways and Paul says that less is wicked it's a work of the flesh we need to guard our hearts we need to guard our minds and just because we want to do something doesn't mean it's okay to do it now let's just suppose for a moment that we have sinned in this particular regard let's just suppose for a moment that we have strayed we have wandered we have rebelled against God and we have embraced one of these works of the flesh what is the answer for us repentance forsake it Proverbs 2813 whoever confesses and forsakes it forsakes his transgression will find Mercy don't cover it don't continue to hide it don't continue to visit it don't continue to indulge it but rather stop some sense brethren we got to take seriously all not in some sense we've got to take seriously these things things so the necessity of repentance as well the necessity of abstinence look at two passages that speak to this whole issue 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 I hope you're listening young people not that old people or older people are immune from this particular sin David was a you know wasn't a 17year old when he went into bath Sheba but this is a peculiar challenge to young people young men testosterone young women with their you know emotional desires and needs that this is a real life issue and if you don't listen to what God's word says concerning this particular issue and you transgress I'm not suggesting there's no hope for you there's no forgiveness with Jesus for you it's not the unpardonable sin but it's a vile thing it's a wretched thing and the more that you pamper your flesh the more your flesh wants to be pampered the more you feed your sinful in inclinations the more they want to be fed you got to starve that stuff you got to starve the Sumo don't feed him the 9,000 calories that he wants each day notice in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 for this is the will of God your sanctification that you should abstain from sexual immorality that's the will of God for each and every one of us if we are not married we don't have that legitimate expression of covenantal uh uh uh Union if we don't have that what's the answer abstain don't do it that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor not in passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God look at 1 Peter chapter 2 1 Peter chapter 2 if we have fallen into these things we need to repent we need as well abstinence 1 Peter chapter 2 at verse 11 you know sometimes young men or young women say I'm struggling with you know these thoughts or I'm struggling with the Internet or I'm struggling with this or I'm struggling with that memorize first Peter 2 the Lost Art of scripture Memory what does the psalmist say concerning its value Thy word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you perhaps if first Peter 2 or first Thessalonians 4 was in your heart when you reach for that Mouse in order to click onto something you ought not to be looking at the spirit will use that passage to stop you from engaging in such activity notice in first Tim uh Peter 2:1 beloved I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which notice what they do they war against the soul you're not going to have joy and communion and Union and blessing and and Delight in the Lord God most high when you Harbor sin what's the psalmist say in Psalm 66 if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me if I rebel against him if I resist him if I practice The Works of the of the flesh instead of manifesting the fruits of the spirit I'm not going to get a smile I'm not going to get his Blessing I'm not going to know joyful communion I'm going to know his absence I'm going to know this war against the soul and he says having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles that when they speak against you as evildoers they may by your good works which they observe glorify God in the day of visitation so repent abstain or get married you know the best thing young people can do is to get a job or get their education work hard and get ready for marriage I'm just struggling with lust then find a wife find a man that is a blessing given by God to deal with this particular issue I often joke that you know that's not the way that people view uh marriage today a man doesn't come to a woman and say I won't really want to marry you for the prevention of uncleanness wow he's so romantic people don't Facebook that he he said he wanted to marry me for the prevention of unclean it just doesn't fly does it but that is a vital element First Corinthians chapter 7 it's vital it's not just man and woman it's woman and man find you somebody that by the grace of God you can marry marriage is a good thing marriage was ordained second London Confession 252 it was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue and the preventing of uncleanness again young men probably don't want to use that in your sort of proposal to the young woman but these are objective reasons why people should do these things it's not all just about this wave of romance and get that out of your head God's law is far more important than romance and then the necessity of faithfulness within marriage isn't it intriguing we read it not too long ago in the Book of Ezekiel when the Lord God is giving a sign to Israel concerning the destruction of their Temple the desire of their eyes in Ezekiel 24 the Lord God says son of man behold I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke isn't that an incredible way that God describes ezekiel's wife think about it the desire of your eyes not your soulmate though I'm sure Ezekiel and his wife had that connection not that you know one that helps you prevent uncleanness though I'm sure they had that con she was the desire of his ey Ezekiel didn't say which one Lord cuz you know I've got this Entourage I've got a a whole whole bunch of women that I I think of the desire of my no it was his wife Ezekiel was a faithful man Ezekiel looked upon one woman Ezekiel was faithful turn to Proverbs chap 5 Proverbs chap 5 I think in Proverbs 5 there are three Rs to sexual Pur those three Rs are found in verse 8 verse 18 and verse 21 three Rs of sexual Purity verse eight remove your way far from her just like Joseph in pifer's house he removed his way far from her he ran outside I love what he goes on to say do do not even go near the door of her house he doesn't say Don't Go Near the bed of her house don't go near the door because son if you go near her door it won't be long before you go to her bed the second R is in verse 18 and I think this is imperative with reference to guarding against adultery Verse 18 let your fountain be blessed and rejoice with the wife of your youth yes the rejoicing that means having a nice supper together walking in the park but the context is one of sexuality and then the third R is remember verse 21 for the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord and He Ponders all his paths you need to remember that wherever you find yourself God Is Watching he's pondering your path and if you're going in to a woman or a man that is not your own God sees it the eyes of Yahweh are in every place beholding the good and the evil now notice as back we get back to Galatians the next category are sins of religious apostasy we're going to move heresy from verse 20 uh the end of verse 20 and put it at the beginning of verse 20 just to help our categories here but there are three things indicated in the sins of religious apostasy the first is the sin of idolatry note The Works of the flesh are evident adultery fornication uncleanness less idolatry that is when we worship another God that is when we have another God before God the first commandment tells us you shall have no other gods before me no molok no Baal no ashra no Mamon no sex no drugs no rock and roll there's nothing that ought to come first there is nothing that you ought to spend more time and more money on than you do on the living and true God not saying you spend money on God but I think a very good indicator Ator of what's important to people is where do they spend their money where do they spend their time and if you are giving all of this Devotion to a particular item or a particular thing it might be an idol so the Commandment the first word tells us we are to have no other gods before God the second commandment tells us we're to worship the true God properly see that's a sin too when Aaron fashioned those calves he said that was Yahweh when jeroboam fashioned his calves he said that's Yahweh Yahweh says do not fashion Cales and call them me Yahweh says do not make for yourselves an idol do not make for yourselves a representation do not try to capture the Creator and put him on a canvas don't try to capture the Creator and put him in an image so the second commandment says that we can worship the true God in the wrong WR way and be guilty of idolatry this is why we often times speak about what's called the regulative principle of worship in the final analysis our desires our felt needs and our emotional release is not Primary in worship it's our obedience to what God has revealed so that we do not offer Strange Fire to Yahweh when we're supposedly entering in for worship so Paul Paul says here this is a violation of the first commandment the second commandment it is a work of the flesh notice secondly he says sorcery sorcery now this is a neutral word it's the word Pharmacy literally and it denoted a use of drugs in connection with magic and Witchcraft it's used similarly in Revelation 9 Revelation 18 and of course witchcraft is prohibited in Leviticus 20: 2 7 but it is intriguing they would use drugs in order to contact the spirit world Paul says that's wicked that's a work of the flesh you're not supposed to use drugs a and you're supposed to Ser certainly not supposed to use drugs to try and conjure up familiar spirits and certainly if you're under a doctor's orders and you're you have medications that are prescribed by all means those are drugs that you are to use under the supervision of a doctor just not supposed to use drugs other than that the sixth commandment gets detailed treatment in the Westminster larger as well and it speaks of the responsible use of physic or medicine you don't just willy-nilly take handfuls of pills cuz you know I want to see what this will do no that's wrong it's a work of the Flesh and if you're using it to trying to come into contact with the spirit world this is Witchcraft and it's wrong and it's prohibited and it is a work of the flesh so certainly the practice of occultism I like perkins's description witchcraft signifies all curious Arts wrought by the operation of the devil and then in the third place with reference to religious apostasy as I said we move heresy from the end of verse 20 to the beginning of verse 20 just so we can uh niftily categorize it with idolatry and sorcery as a sin of religious apostasy now heresy heresy is a work of the flesh now in this context it may have had the the connotation of a party Spirit certainly the judaizers coming into these galatian churches would have a party spirit and through their heresies in terms of You Must Believe and Obey in order to be saved this would cause party Spirits it would cause divisions among the people it would cause a rift among the people that might be the narrow definition or connotation and context but heresy is broader isn't it heresy is religious error of a damning nature not all religious or not all you know Bible error is necessarily damning Vis Matthew 24 we probably differ some of us differ on how we interpret that you can interpret that differently and still end up in heaven but if you deny the Trinity you deny who Jesus Christ is you deny the way of salvation by grace through faith that's heresy and that will land you in hell Jesus said if you do not believe that I am you will die in your sin again what Perkins says it's an error in the foundation of religion and he cite several examples some of the numbers that we've run up against in 1 and 2 Samuel we're going to see them in First Kings as well you see a bit of a difference in terms of numbers say for instance in Samuel versus Chronicles or or men interpret those differences in numbers a bit differently that's okay we can do that and still be justified freely by Grace but if we deny the way of salvation by grace we have broached religious heresy and again it's intriguing to me how many times pastors rightly will be fired for adultery and they should be but heresy oh come on you're being unkind you're being narrow-minded you're being harsh I submit that if a man gets up behind a Pulpit never explains the way of Salvation by Jesus Christ if he's a do Gooding a do good or moralist that's heresy that is heresy he ought not to occupy a Christian Pulpit it's bad it's like a you know a hip doctor trying to work on your brain no no no don't do that your specialty is with big hip bones don't get in there and start messing with my brain you might have the skills to be a motivational speaker to go around and rally the the the people all over the place to a better quality of life to harder work in their workpl but to preach the gospel you ain't got it heresy is something that the church ought to take seriously and start to apply the scriptures too third category the sins of uh sins related to personal relationships I mean there's a whole host of things here note the sin of hatred the sin of hatred or enmity as the old King James has it again per Perkins describes it this way it is a perverse disposition of mind whereby men remember injuries disc courtesies and unkindness and carry about them a purpose and desire to requite like for like I love the way the new uh International the NIV renders 1 Corinthians 13 it says it that that love keeps no record of wrongs it doesn't have a list in its wallet I remember when I was you know studying with Whitfield Seminary and you had to have all these books and you know I would wrote the all the books on a piece of paper and I kept it in my wallet so if I was in a thrift store I was in a used bookstore and you know I spied a book I thought I might need I'd pull out my wallet and I'd look at my list and I'd say oh yeah I I need that one and I'd cross that off and put the list back in my wallet and get the book and be a happy camper maybe do a little little jig there because I found something that was really nice I think sometimes we do that with people who have offended us we have a list in our wallet and you know 19 years ago you said this or you smiled didn't smile at me here this is the disposition that that Paul says don't do enmity hatred just keeping a record of wrongs I mean God doesn't do that with us God takes our iniquity and he casts them into the depths of the sea now certainly we need to maintain short accounts with God we repent before God the Lord is gracious he's merciful he forgives us but if we confess our sins we we ask for forgiveness what does he do forgives us if we extend forgiveness to someone we need to cross it off the list don't keep bashing them over the head with it Paul says it's a work of the flesh don't do this Christians I've said many many times it's probably not cam or me going to come up here and preach that Jesus is a creature that will destroy this church it's this kind of stuff that Paul is condemning as works of the Flesh in this section of gal Gans 5 the sin of contentiousness after hatred contentions Paul wants it out of the churches it is Strife it is Discord it is quarreling does God give us a remedy or a means by which we can limit reduce or remove The Strife Discord or quarreling that we have he does it's called talking through situations confessing your sin and being willing to forgive sin as the people of God who have the spirit of God certainly we ought to be able to deal with the sorts of things that rise up in our lives I tell the people that I'm going to marry that one of the things if you can communicate then you can deal with problems if you can't communicate it's going to be very difficult if you can't talk you can't open scripture you can't be rebuked you can't rebuke then it's going to be quite tough to make this go to make this work you see we need to be able to rebuke people but we also need to be rebuked you know one of the things that I think is very difficult to try and deal with are people that are hyper defensive or people that just don't see that they've ever done anything wrong I mean Brethren come on we've all got you know massive lists of things that we have done people don't know the half at how bad we really are I think I think that attitude displayed by Spurgeon or those old brothers when somebody says you know I've got to I got to tell you something there's something wrong with you he said if you knew the half of it you'd probably explode the sin of contentiousness notice thirdly the sin of jealousy again a neutral word that can speak to the proper type of zeal in a vice list however it refers to sinful jealousy sinful jealousy it's just a wretched disposition too isn't it why would we be jealous of somebody because we don't acknowledge the Earth is Yahweh and the fullness thereof we don't acknowledge that God is Sovereign over all things and he has given to some beauty he's given to some riches he's given to others not so much Beauty and others not so much riches being jealous about stuff isn't going to fix your life it really isn't man I'm just so upset that that person has this and I don't okay what now that's not going to get you anywhere and Paul says in the church it can hurt it can ruin it can bring disharmony as it is a work of the flesh notice fourthly outbursts of Wrath outbursts of Wrath and I I have several passages next to each of these quick definitions to other Epistles of Paul where they're fleshed out or they're explained in a bit more detail if you're interested email me I'll send you the notes so you can do some further research or study but for the sake of time I feel like I kept you in that dentist chair way too long this morning and for that I apologize so I want to move through this without getting bogged down too much but outbursts of Wrath that ought not to be the people of God ought not to be outbursting with wrath they ought to be outbursting with with joy and with with praise and with adoration not screaming at the top of their lungs because a light's red not screaming at the top of their lungs because somebody body goes so slow in front of the Royal Hotel outbursts of Wrath shouldn't be in church meetings outbursts of Wrath shouldn't find themselves in annual General meetings we've had very blessed annual General meetings over the last few years they weren't always like that there were some really hard ones and really difficult ones we're not wanting wrath in our general meetings we just want to rehearse the blessings of God and give give him glory and praise outbursts of Wrath are terrible notice what he goes on to say selfish Ambitions again why why why would we have this why are we selfish and ambitious why are we adanas remember First Kings 1 from the other night David is old he's about to die he can't even keep warm so they they get abishag to to to Nestle up to him and to keep him warm and then the scene shifts and we have adonijah acting like the king exalting himself like the king getting horses and getting soldiers and getting all the Pomp and glory to assert that he is the king problem was he wasn't the king talk about selfish ambition talk about Folly and yet sometimes in the church there's this selfish ambition that drives us it's love to God and love to men that ought to motivate us to do the things that we do not so people will see me hey he was at prayer meeting three times today or he was at all three meetings today I don't have a list at home I don't keep attendance if you are here or you're not I don't check you off there's no bonus points or credit at the end of the week or or a star that's not what happens mean I hope people are here I hope that you know sheep come to the table and the meal is served I mean I think that's just the way sheep ought to function me being a sheep too wherever the word is the Sheep ought to be banging after it right there lapping it up there's no bonus points for doing what you're supposed to do selfish ambition ought not to drive us in our conduct in the church and then the sin of dissensions again this division this divisive Spirit addressed by Paul in several places certainly its application here would be those who listen to the judaizers What would happen if Paul didn't write Galatians and didn't deal with the situation facing these churches what if you had some who held to Paul's doctrine of justification by faith alone and then you had this other party spirit that said no we need to have faith in Christ but it's not alone we need to mingle it with our just uh we need to mingle it with our circumcision we need to mingle it with our lawke keeping that would cause great dissension in the context of the church it's why you know sometimes you say oh there's all these different denominations of protestantism all these different people all these different things well that's for a reason Christian churches seek to agree on the most amount of Truth they can together we're not saying by having this confession of Faith or or or drawing our Line in the Sand that everybody else is unconverted we have just seen the benefit and the joy and the aid of agreeing on a whole host of cardinal truths together but dissension would cause or these things would cause dissension and then the sin of Envy the sin of Envy Envy is not just like jealousy jealousy is when I want your car Envy is when I don't want you to have your car isn't that diabolical I mean Sinners are like that aren't we it's bad enough that we're jealous but we got to add another darker Dimension it's not only that I want what you have but I don't want you to have it terrible isn't it we're told to Rejoice with those who Rejoice not hope they you know lose it and it ends up in my parking lot Envy is just wretched horrible stuff Bruce says it is the grudging spirit that cannot bear to contemplate someone else's prosperity it's the grudging spirit that cannot bear to contemplate someone else's Prosperity if somebody said in the prayer meeting hey Brethren I want to publicly praise God because I got to I got to raise at work and you and your heart of hearts are saying he doesn't deserve that raise that's not fair that's not right I should get that's not right you're supposed to Rejoice with those who Rejoice Socrates the philosopher said the envious are pained by their friends successes they're pained by their friend successes don't be that way this is what Paul is saying these are works of the Flesh and he ends the list again there is a textual variant here it's in the new King James it's not in the ESV or NIV I suspect but murders now murder doesn't necessarily mean causing someone's heartbeat to stop certainly murder does include causing someone's heartbeat to stop but as Jesus tells us in Matthew chap 5 we murder when we sin with anger we murder when we sin with name calling we murder when we hate somebody this is the manifestation of it John treats it in 1 John 3: 10 and 12 we're not to be like Cain who murdered his brother in the context of the imperative of Brotherly Love one to another and then the fourth major category is the sins of intemperance the sin of drunkenness you're not supposed to drink to the point of drunkenness the Bible does not condemn the moderate use of alcohol the Bible condemns the the the the drunken use of alcohol it's just wrong be not drunk with wine Paul says in Ephesians 5 but be filled with the Holy Spirit you're not supposed to get drunk your Christian Liberty isn't about getting drunk you may have a beer you may have you know I'm not here to be the the the licens police and check your credentials and all that sort of thing but the Bible prohibits drunkenness that much is absolutely positively clear and Paul highlights that it is a work of the flesh and then he ends with revelries revelries this is essentially carousing or orgies this is precisely why the Westminster larger uh includes drunkenness in the prohibition drunkenness has the propensity to lead to carousing and orgies Luther comments on this as well in his commentary on Galatians and I I I said that was it but notice there's a catchall the end of verse 21 or towards the middle of verse 21 after the um the revelries he says and the like and the like this is not an exhaustive list of the works of the flesh you can't say well well none of those really describe me so I'm okay no and the like you're guilty probably under and the like I've told you before the uniform code of military Justice in the US service has article 134 and basically what article 134 is if 1 to 133 didn't get you 134 will you've done something wrong and 134 will expose it it's the general article I mean if you look at an officer wrong you'll probably get done for article 134 Paul does this here and the like if your particular sin or your particular work of the flesh was not mentioned conspicuously don't pat yourself on the back as some specimen of absolute Holiness no it's and the likee the list is suggestive it is not exhaustive so that is the identification of the works of the flesh quickly quickly quickly notice the condemnation of those who practice these works the end of verse 21 he says just as I told you in time past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God you need to note the language employed by the Apostle Paul Galatians 5:17 deals with remaining corruption the flesh lusts against the spirit the spirit lusts against the flesh the two are contrary to one another so that you don't do what you want other words as you want to do something that glorifies God the flesh rises in opposition the moment you want to pursue something that is wicked and ungodly the spirit brings conviction so that you don't do the things that you want that's remaining corrupt that's the life of the believer that's the one who's Justified freely by his grace living in sanctification but Paul specifically notes in verse 21 those who practice such things verse 21 is not remaining corruption it's what's called reigning corruption in other words if you have indeed done something indicated in this list do not immediately conclude there's no hope for you there's hope in the gospel there's hope and the blood there is redemption in Christ Jesus listen to Calvin he says but in this way we shall be told all are cut off from the hope of salvation for who is there that is not chargeable with some of those sins I reply Paul does not threaten that all who have sinned but that All Who Remain impenitent shall be excluded from the kingdom of God the Saints themselves often fall into Grievous sins but they return to the path of righteousness and therefore they are not included in this catalog all threatenings of the judgments of God call us to repentance they are accompanied by a promise that those who repent will obtain forgiveness but if we continue obstinate they remain as a testimony from Heaven against us fun says the participle the particular word that's used denotes not an occasional lapse but habitual Behavior so don't write yourself off immediately when you see that you have indeed done one of these works of the flesh there's a difference between remaining corruption in the life of the believer and reigning corruption in the life of the unbeliever if you have sinned we have a savior if you have sinned which we have I don't know that anybody can say well you know none of this describes me I'm just such a like that Rich Young Ruler what what good thing should I do to inherit eternal life Jesus says you know the Commandments don't murder don't commit adultery don't steal on your father what is what does he say all these things I have kept from my youth wow congratulations you Sterling specimen of a human being that's why Jesus says go sell everything you have give the money to the poor and follow me he's not preaching a different way of Salvation as we were reminded by Pastor Porter in our recent scripture reading in that section he's preaching the law he's telling him you're Covetous man you've broken Commandments the ones I've cited just don't happen to be the ones you've broken but that tenth word always stands as a sentinel over your wretched and Lawless heart so Brethren if you have indeed found yourself identified in this category this Vice list then by all means confess it to God seek forgiveness through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and be assured that you will receive it it's the beauty of First John 1 if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness I suggest that you take your wallets out get rid of the list that has all the names of everybody who has ever done you bad or done you ill and put instead on that particular list Psalm 2511 Psalm 130: 3 and 4 first John 1 ver9 write those texts on your on your list put that in your wallet and when you sin against God look at those passages uh uh own them as your own and thank the Lord God most high they're in the Bible and that there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared and if you are not a Believer here this evening this law these words these works of the flesh are probably indulged in frequently by you and this law of God ought to show you your sin so that you will see the need for the Savior this is what the reformers called the pedagogical use of the law it's a child tutor it's a teacher it's a leader it's a helper we don't see just how bad we are until we come face to face with God's holy law it shows us that thou art the man but hopefully by the grace of God we see that Christ is the man who saves to the uttermost all those who have broken this law all those who by Grace Look to Him in faith so don't pillow your head tonight being content with these works of the flesh if you're a Believer and you have engaged in this stuff repent forsake it resolve under God not to do it anymore if you're an unbeliever make your peace with God through Jesus Christ come to the Savior and find everlasting life well let us pray God we thank you for this your word we thank you for what the Apostle says in this context and I pray that you would help us to receive these things and that your word would have its convicting power in our lives and that you would bring us to that place where we do repent and we do forsake and we don't ever engage in the practice of such things but may we find Mercy and Grace from on high and May may we find fresh supplies of the holy spirit so that we may walk according to that law which is our rule of Life go with us now we pray and we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed