LIVING BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. (Part 22).
Galatians 5. Verses 19-21 read:
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The flesh is known by its works. Today’s text gives a chronology of the works or the outflows of a man who is dominated by the flesh. Without doubt, where ungodly acts are present, the flesh is in control, not the Holy Spirit. The flesh and its works can not be separated. They operate together. We want to take some time to examine the works of the flesh to serve as a guide to our walk. According to today’s text, they include:
- Sexual immorality: God’s word is clear on the approved standards of sexual engagement. It must be engaged within the context of marriage and restricted to two people of the opposite gender, that is, male and female. Anything outside this amounts to perversion and is reckoned as immoral.
- Impurity: God’s word and standards are clean, unadulterated, or without any trace of filth. Anything that does not conform to this standard amounts to impurity. It is common to find men introduce their godless customs and traditions into the holy and pure Christian faith. This leads to the perversion of the holy standards of God. In embracing the purity of God’s word, men must deny the flesh its desire to project human customs and traditions and wholly accept the standards of God’s word to the letter.
- Debauchery: This has to do with extreme indulgence in bodily pleasures, especially sexual pleasures. Sometimes, this can assume dimensions of uncontrollable self-destruction and lead to a wasteful life of vanity. Men who walk in the flesh are unable to sustain the valuable resources God commits to them, like the prodigal son.
- Idolatry: This has to do with man’s exaltation of men or things above the place of God in his heart. As the Creator, Saviour, and Lord, men must accord to God the foremost place in their lives. This place can not be contested for by anyone or anything. Unfortunately, where the flesh reigns, men accord such things as wealth, fame, accomplishments, profession, etc. the premium place that is befitting of God and God alone to their own peril.
Clearly, walking in the flesh is a deviation from God’s standards and a recipe to ruin. The believer has no excuse to walk in the flesh because he has all that it takes to walk in the spirit. Beloved, choose the walk in the Spirit to spare yourself the sinful life of the flesh.
SHALOM