The Internal War (Galatians 5:16-21)
I'm pretty hard on myself. My self-talk is not what I would call healthy. If there was a recording of the thoughts in my head, I'm sure I would be embarrassed to share that with anyone. Why would I be embarrassed to share that? The more I study, the more I see deeper sins ingrained in me. These are sins of the heart, like pride, selfishness, apathy, envy, and others. The more I study, the easier it is for me to see these sins. But it's not becoming easier to rid me of these sins because there is a deeper issue.
When we try to be honest with ourselves, which we should always be, we might do a lousy job or have an incorrect perspective. Honesty is essential, but it doesn't do us any good if we are wrong about what we say to ourselves. If we are wrong, we will tear our self-esteem apart and enter a downward spiral that we can't get out of.
The book of Galatians is trying to help us get the truth. Paul wants to ingrain the truth in our minds so that our self-talk is appropriate. I'm excited to study this text with you because we have been going through some advanced theology in this book, but now we get to look at the practical part.
Spirit Vs. Flesh
Galatians 5:16--17 (ESV) --- 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
These first two verses prepare us for what we are about to study. Paul says that Christians who choose to walk by the Spirit do not gratify the desires of the flesh. These two things are opposed to each other. It's like walking by the Spirit is selflessly helping someone, and gratifying the desires of the flesh is selfishly hurting someone. They are opposites.
Our desires when we walk by the Spirit go against our desires to gratify or fulfill our flesh. That means all those health and wealth teachers need to stop talking. The desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. That means my desire to give to those in need is against my desire to accumulate wealth selfishly.
I like how, in verse 17, he says things are this way "to keep you from doing the things you want to do." That means God intentionally makes his will known to us (the Spirit) so that we can fight against our natural desires and cravings. He will not reveal to us that we should buy the latest technology when we have fifty other phones or gadgets we don't use. That's not going to be walking by the Spirit. That would be in line with the flesh.
So if we think that being a Christian is a cakewalk, understand that it's not. To be a Christian means that we are supposed to oppose desires inside of us that seem to pop up out of nowhere. It's not easy. It's a war. Paul depicts this well in Romans 7. As soon as we hear God's will (the Spirit's revelation), we probably immediately think, "That's not fun."
Led By The Spirit
So, why would anyone want to be led by the Spirit? If the fun stuff happens when we are gratifying the desires of our flesh, why wouldn't we keep doing the fun stuff and give up the desires of satisfying God?
Tied To The Law
Verse 18 tells us one answer.
Galatians 5:18 (ESV) --- 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The first reason we want to be led by the Spirit instead of gratifying the desires of the flesh is that we are not under the law. Before coming to Christ and receiving the blessings of the Spirit, we were under a law-keeping system. We weren't necessarily under the OT Law of Moses, since we are Gentiles, but we were under a law keeping system. That means that we considered righteousness to be a matter of law keeping. God will love me if I do enough good things and stop doing bad things. God loves and wants to show compassion to people devoting themselves to good works. But they will never be in a state of holiness and righteousness on their own.
Verse 18 tells us that those in Christ, who are led by His Spirit, are not under the law. What does that mean? Does that mean that you can do whatever you want to do? Of course not. It means you don't get to feel good about yourself for doing a few "right" things.
How would I feel about the OT law if I were a Gentile who came to Christ in Galatia during the first century? I might say, "That's totally different from my current lifestyle." But Paul told us to live like Christ, Jesus was a Jew, and these teachers are telling me that I should have already been circumcised by now. I've made many changes in my life, but it doesn't feel like I've done enough. So, I will devote myself entirely to God by being circumcised. Then, I'll feel like I've done enough.
What happens after they are circumcised? They did it. The deed is done. Now it doesn't matter that I do all these little sins. All of the Jews do these. I made the ultimate sacrifice, so I'm in. But what's probably going to happen is they will think, "I'm still not there. Now I have to do all of these other righteous things because I still don't feel good enough." This person is relying on their flesh. They are relying on their ability as though God will judge based on their ability to keep the law well enough.
Becoming Evil
Galatians 5:19--21 (ESV) --- 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Here we have two things that happen if we seek to gratify or fulfill our desires for the flesh. The first thing Paul mentions is the "works of the flesh." This is a play on words using the ideas he has previously discussed in Galatians 3:2-5.
Galatians 3:2--5 (ESV) --- 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain---if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith---
These "works of the flesh" seem different from those of the flesh in Chapter 3. In Chapter 3, he talked about trying to accomplish a work to be perfected. He's talking about circumcision. But now, he's talking about works of the flesh that are not what we would call "good works." These are evil works. Why would he change the way he is talking like that? Are these ideas connected somehow?
I believe they are. When we focus on our abilities, we gravitate toward making life easier and more comfortable. This leads to selfishness, pride, apathy, comparing our works with others, and exhausting our energy for God. This leads us to a sense of entitlement, and Satan has a field day with us. The works of the flesh are wrong, but Christians fall into each of these when they focus on the flesh.
We need to break this down and discuss each of these, but we don't have time. I'll leave that to another series, but let's look at these in chunks.
First, look at sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality. These should be wrong in the mind of the Christian. If we believe Christ has died for us, how could we engage in any form of sexuality that's not pure and undefiled? God is displeased by our use of pornography, prostitution, or any intimate relationships that become sexual outside marriage. Someone who loves God should not find sexual immorality in their life because it dehumanizes people. We use people as objects or tools when engaging in these practices.
Second, consider idolatry and sorcery. It's just as evil for us to idolize and worship things that are of this world or mystical. There is no sense in it. These things might bring us temporary pleasure or a false sense of security, but they are against God. Sorcery is the exploration of supernatural powers. It's often associated with drugs, magic, or things used to find joy, understanding, or relief.
Third, think about enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, and envy. That's a massive part of the list that is all related. Don't you understand that this is a significant work of the flesh? This list contains many problems that cause issues in a church of God's people. These are just as evil and damaging as sexual immorality or idolatry. Yet, these sins and evils are entirely overlooked by those focused on their obligation to keep the law. The law is to love your neighbor as yourself. Is that happening when we stir up strife? Is that happening when we are dividing the church with our opinions? Of course not!
The last group for us to look at is drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. These belong together because they refer to overindulging in feasting and partying with an obscene amount of wine or food. Usually, when we read orgies, we think of an erotic party. That's what it means today, but back then, drunkenness, overeating, and sexual immorality were all done together in the idol's temple. Usually, it was part of an idolatrous place of worship. So that connects many of these evil things.
All of these things are evil. They might sound fun to people of the world, and some might sound like a good idea from time to time, but they are evil. If we engage in these, no amount of law keeping will make us good. We might try to justify doing these things, but their outcome is destruction. God doesn't want us biting and devouring one another. Stop calling yourself a good person or other people good if they do these things. It's not true.
Losing Your Inheritance
Galatians 5:19--21 (ESV) --- 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
We don't want to give in to fulfilling our fleshly desires because we will lose our inheritance. There is no inheritance available for people who satisfy themselves with evil. God offers us an extraordinary, imperishable, and unfading inheritance. He offers us an eternal home that will be ours forever. But to obtain that inheritance, we have to walk by the Spirit and stop gratifying the desires of the flesh. We must stop pursuing selfish and evil satisfaction because that's not the way of the Spirit.
What's The Point?
Now, I would love to dive into the truth about the way of the Spirit and look at the fruit of the Spirit, but we don't have time for that. So, let's recap and see what we can take away from this discussion about the flesh.
1. Paul is saying that our tendency to gratify or fulfill the desires of our flesh is rooted in our focus on a law-keeping system. That affects the heart! We must get away from a law-keeping system and attach ourselves to a grace-based system.
2. Paul wants us to stop gratifying our fleshly desires because that does make us evil. It destroys relationships and smears God's name among the nations.
3. Paul tells us that pursuing these desires will result in losing the greatest gift we have ever been offered.
Application
The desires of our flesh are constantly at war with our desires to please God. None of us here will be perfect in removing our selfish desires. But that is the goal that we must have. It's not enough to go to church, study your Bible, and pray. These are great things and will help us develop until we are more like Christ. But we have to want to be like him. Religious ritual doesn't get us there. We need the drive and the desire to be righteous. That drive has to be greater than the drive we have to be fulfilled by things of this world (which is something that will never happen). We have to see the love and grace that God has shown us, and that has to be our motivation to stay on the straight and narrow road. We have to fight the "GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH." It's a battle that we face every day!