Galatians 5:19-21 Podcast
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 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. (Galatians 5:19-21)
In Galatians 5:16-26, the Holy Spirit is mentioned eleven times. And, in Galatians 5:19-23, the Apostle contrasts the “acts of the flesh” (19–21) with the “fruit of the Spirit” (22–23).
Whereas, the “acts of the flesh” are what you do when you “gratify the desires of the flesh”, the “fruit of the Spirit” is what appears in your life when you “walk by the Spirit.”
This conflict, that we have in us, is thought by some to be evidence that we are not "saved." But, be encouraged, my friend, this is evidence that we have been "born again." If we were not "born again", we would not desire the way of the Lord. This desire is present within us because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Spirit is the believer's address.
In the broader context, here in Galatians, we see three images of the Holy Spirit’s work in our life: “walking by the Spirit” (v.16), “being led by the Spirit” (v.18), and bearing of “the fruit of the Spirit” (v.22). Today, we will just consider Galatians 5:19-21.
Do you remember what you were like before you were "born again"? Do you remember what you desired? And, then you were "born again" and your desires for God were born. And, as time has gone by, your desire for God and His ways have increased. Oh, these desires are not perfect and they will not be perfected until we are perfected. But, over time, these desires for God have grown. Yet, the conflict between the old desires and these new desires continue and will continue until you go to heaven.
Now, to understand this passage, we must understand the word "desire" that is used in v.16. It literally means to "over desire". The issue isn't that we desire, the problem comes when we over desire things. Sin causes us to love things and use people, whereas God leads us to do the opposite. Sin has fascinated us with everything other than God.
The list of sins in our text for today are in opposition to the fruits of the Holy Spirit which we will consider tomorrow. These acts of the flesh are all moral sins. And, as is true with the fruits of the Spirit, each of these has to do with relationships.
Sexual promiscuity is using others sexually for our benefit. Uncontrollable anger is wanting to punish other people who have made your life something other than what you wanted it to be. Even the word for drunkenness here doesn’t really refer to drinking alone, but socially coming together as a group to use alcohol as an escape from our problems.
Each one of these sins or acts of the flesh is relational. In some way, each of them is about using other people for our own benefit. The satisfaction of self is the motivation of these sins. The old adage "hurt people hurt people" helps to understand the nature of these sins.
We are not promised deliverance from the presence of sin, yet. We are promised deliverance over the penalty and the power of sin. The choices created within this paradigm provides us with the ultimate answer, that which we are all truly longing for.
You see, the answer is what we have been delivered to. The answer is love. Jesus said, "as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you." Can you believe that? When we believe that, we will love God in turn.
Finally, the phrase in v.21, "those who live like this" is very helpful. This phrase literally means "those who are defined by this lifestyle", not "those who every now and then mess up." Remember the absence of this "civil war" within is not evidence that we are born again. No, the opposite is true. Therefore, do not be defined by the evil desires within (the flesh), be defined by His love for you.
