← Back to sermon library

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 we'll take up the fruit of the Spirit, or the fruits 
of the Spirit. I want to read beginning in Galatians chapter 
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 man who becomes circumcised that 
he is a debtor 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 still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross 
is 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 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. Now, the works of the flesh are 
evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 
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, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's 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 and 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 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. It wasn't just one church 
called the Church of Galatia, but rather Galatia was a region 
and there were several churches there. 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 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 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 evidence of this 
in verse 3. Notice in Galatians 5, I testify 
again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor 
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 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 
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 to God by our own law-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. In 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. Fung says, to illustrate, Fung 
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 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 peaceful. Don't be longsuffering. Don't be 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 his creation, summarized at Sinai 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 has 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 wedding ceremony. I mean, there's a lot of pomp, 
and a lot of show, and a lot of pretty dresses, and handsome 
tuxedos, whatever you'd call it. There's a lot of things that 
oftentimes 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 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 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 thereunto. Then it asks in 139, 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 has provided blessing. Sex was given by God, and it 
is a blessing, provided it is used in its proper context. It 
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 thereunto, wanton 
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 what you have for lunch, keeping of stews and 
resorting to them, entangling vows of single life, undue delay 
of marriage, having more 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 too, or acts of uncleanness either 
in ourselves or others?" Again, that's a pretty extensive listing 
concerning that particular commandment. But if you reflect upon it, you 
have to consider the fact that they are not far astray. 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 
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 piecemeal, 
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 inevitably brings to 
families. Don't do it. Resist the temptation. Resist the spirit of the age. 
Guard your hearts, guard your minds, and flee from it. Be like Joseph in Potiphar'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 broad. The language 
is, or the Greek word is, porneia, 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. Fung, in his commentary, makes 
this observation. Paul also begins his catalogue 
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, in 
that wretched Internet. Not that the Internet is evil, 
but the Internet is used for evil intents, and it is a means 
by which people fornicate. It's a terrible use of a good 
resource. On the one hand, you can read 
Spurgeon sermons, and on the other hand, see that base, terrible, 
wretched stuff that God despises. Guard your hearts, all of us. 
We need to 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. Now, 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 chapter 18, Leviticus 
chapter 20, Paul rehearses in Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6 and 
1 Timothy chapter 1. In other words, this is not condoned 
by God. This is not a legitimate expression 
of one's 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 lewdness. This is unrestrained living. 
Unbridled acts which shock the public, sexual excess, and indulgence. I remember reading Edie's commentary 
on the book of Ephesians. And he gave some particular illustrations 
of such things. Public acts of wickedness. Public acts of vileness. Well, you see that today in these 
pride parades. You see that today in a whole 
host of ways. And Paul says that lewdness 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 28, 13, 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. In some sense, brethren, we've 
got to take seriously these 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 wasn't a 17-year-old when 
he went into Bathsheba. But this is a peculiar challenge 
to young people, young men, testosterone, young women with their emotional 
desires and needs. This is a real, live 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 
inclinations, the more they want to be fed. You've got to starve 
that stuff. You've 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 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 these thoughts, or I'm struggling 
with the internet, or I'm struggling with this, or I'm struggling 
with that. Memorize 1 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 1 
Peter 2 or 1 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 1 Peter 2.11, "'Beloved, 
I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts.'" 
Notice what they do. They war against the soul. You're 
not going to have joy and communion and union and blessing and delight 
in the Lord God Most High when you harbor sin. What's the psalmist 
saying 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 flesh instead of 
manifesting the fruits of the Spirit, I'm not going to get 
His 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 marriage 
today. A man doesn't come to a woman 
and say, I really want to marry you for the prevention of uncleanness. 
Wow, he's so romantic. People don't Facebook that. He 
said he wanted to marry me for the prevention of uncleanness. 
It just doesn't fly, does it? But that is a vital element. 
1 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, 25-2. 
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. 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 connection. She was the desire 
of his eyes. Ezekiel didn't say, which one, 
Lord? Because, you know, I've got this 
entourage. I've got a whole bunch of women that I think are 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 chapter 5. Proverbs 
chapter 5. I think in Proverbs 5 there are 
three R's to sexual purity. Those three R's are found in 
verse 8, verse 18, and verse 21. Three R's of sexual purity. Verse 
8, remove your way far from her. Just like Joseph in Potiphar's 
house. He removed his way far from her. He ran outside. I love what he 
goes on to say, 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 there means having a nice supper together or 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 we 
get back to Galatians, the next category are sins of religious 
apostasy. We're going to move heresy from 
verse 20. 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, 
lewdness, 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 Moloch, no Baal, 
no Asherah, no Mammon, no sex, no drugs, no rock and roll. There is 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. I'm not saying you spend money 
on God, but I think a very good indicator 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 calves and call them Me. He always 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 way and be guilty 
of idolatry. This is why we oftentimes 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 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 chapter 20, verse 27. 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, certainly not supposed to use 
drugs, to try and conjure up familiar spirits. Certainly, 
if you're under a doctor's orders and you have medications that 
are prescribed, by all means, those are drugs that you are 
to use under the supervision of a doctor. But you're 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 physics or medicine. You don't just willy-nilly 
take handfuls of pills because, 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 try 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' 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'll move heresy from the end of verse 20 to the beginning 
of verse 20, just so we can niftily categorize it with idolatry and 
sorcery as a sin of religious apostasy. Now, heresy. Heresy 
is a work of the flesh. In this context, it may have 
had 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 in context, but heresy is broader, isn't it? 
Heresy is religious error of a damning nature. Not all Bible 
error is necessarily damning. Vis-à-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 sins. Again, what Perkins says, 
it's an error in the foundation of religion. And he cites several 
examples, some of the numbers that we've run up against in 
1 and 2 Samuel. We're going to see them in 1 
Kings as well. You see a bit of a difference in terms of numbers, 
say, for instance, in Samuel versus Chronicles, 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 and never explains the 
way of salvation by Jesus Christ, if he's a do-gooder moralist, 
that's heresy. That is heresy. He ought not 
to occupy a Christian pulpit. It's bad. It's like 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 people 
all over the place to a better quality of life, to harder work 
in their workplace, 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 to. Third category, the 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, Perkins describes 
it this way, it is a perverse disposition of mind whereby men 
remember injuries, discourtesies and unkindnesses and carry about 
them a purpose and desire to requite like for like. I love 
the way the New International, the NIV, renders 1 Corinthians 
13. It says that love keeps no record 
of wrongs. It doesn't have a list in its 
wallet. I remember when I was studying with Whitfield Seminary 
and you had to have all these books and I wrote all the books 
on a piece of paper and I kept it in my wallet. So if I was 
in a thrift store or I was in a used bookstore and 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 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 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, 
you didn't smile at me. This is the disposition that 
Paul says, don't do. Enmity, hatred. It's 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 ask for forgiveness. What does 
He do? He 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 
Galatians 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. 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 of how bad we really are. I think 
that attitude displayed by Spurgeon or those old brothers, when somebody 
says, you know, I've 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's 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 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 felt 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 joy, and 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 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 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 adonijous? Remember 
1 Kings 1 from the other night. David is old, he's about to die, 
he can't even keep warm, so they get Abishag 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, you're not. I don't check you off. There's 
no bonus points or credit at the end of the week or a star. That's not what happens. And 
I hope people are here. I hope that, you know, sheep 
come to the table when the meal is served. I mean, I think that's 
just the way sheep ought to function. Me being a sheep, too. Whatever 
the word is, the sheep ought to be bang 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 
circumcision. We need to mingle it with our 
law-keeping. That would cause great dissension in the context 
of the church. That'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 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. The 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've 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 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 a raise at work. And you in 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 friend's successes. They're pained 
by their friend's 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 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, verses 
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 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 licensed 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 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 said that was it, but notice there's a catch-all. The end 
of verse 21, or towards the middle of verse 21, after 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, 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 U.S. 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, 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 like. 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. In 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 
corruption. 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 in 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 
catalogue. 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. Fung 
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 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 
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're reminded by Pastor Porter in our recent scripture reading 
in that section. He's preaching the law. It's telling him, you're 
a 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 1 John 1. 
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive 
us 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 25, 11, 
Psalm 130, verses 3 and 4, 1 John 1, verse 9. Write those texts 
on your list, put that in your wallet, and when you sin against 
God, look at those passages, 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. That 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 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.