1622. The Works of the Flesh, Part 1

Welcome to The Daily Platform. Our program features sermons from chapel services at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Every day, students are blessed by the preaching and teaching of the Bible from the University Chapel Platform. Today on The Daily Platform, we're continuing a study series entitled Walking in the Spirit, which is a study of Galatians Chapter 5. I'm going to ask you to take your Bibles and turn with me, please, to the book of Galatians. We are continuing our series as we are learning about what it means to walk in the Spirit. And Paul makes a promise to us that if we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. And this morning, as we look at the passage of Scripture that we're going to study, it becomes quite clear in Paul's logic, and Paul is obviously a logical writer. In one way, that's why we like reading his letters, because it follows a process of thinking and logic. That Paul is telling us that if we walk in the Spirit, we're not going to fulfill the lust of the flesh. We're not going to live those out.

Why? Because the nature of the flesh and the nature of the Spirit are in conflict with each other. So if you, for example, turn to the right, you can't turn to the left. If you go towards the Spirit, you can't go towards the flesh.

So that's a basic point that he makes. Now we come down to verse 19, and in verse 19, down through verse 23, he explains to us why it is that if you're in the flesh, you can't be in the Spirit, and if you're in the Spirit, you can't be in the flesh. And the reason for that is because the flesh and the Spirit practically are so different. And that's what we see this morning, beginning in verse 19, where Paul writes these words. Now, the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like.

In other words, there's a lot more. Of the which, I tell you before, is I've told you in time past that they which do such things, and when he says they that do such things, he says those that live out a lifestyle of the works of the flesh shall not inherit the kingdom of God. And then we come to verse 22, and suddenly he flips it, but the fruit of the Spirit is, and he gives the qualities and the characteristics of the Spirit. So what he does is he sets before us this huge contrast, and he's making it obvious. That's why he begins in verse 19 by saying, now the works of the flesh are manifest. In other words, it's plainly recognized. It's obvious.

You can't miss it. Or we would just simply say, it's a no-brainer. That the works of the flesh are obvious when you're in the flesh. If you want to know you're in the flesh, these things will be manifested in your life. Well you say, if the works of the flesh are so obvious, then why did Paul need to name a list?

Why did he need to give us this list? Well, in the New Testament, Christians are always warned about being personally deceived. If I could say it this way, we have within us an inner idiot. We also have within us an inner liar. For the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately what? Can you say the next word?

Desperately wicked. There's no good thing that dwells in us. So the problem that we all have is the nature of being deceived. Galatians 6, 7 says, be not deceived. God is not mocked, for whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. He says today, he says, exhort one another lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. So all of us here, every one of us, are subject to be deceived by our own sinful heart. So Paul clearly shows the difference between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.

And as we begin this morning, we're looking at just verse 19. Because in verse 19, at the very top of his exposé of the works of the flesh, is a list of sexual sins. Sex is at the top of the list.

You say, why would Paul put this at the top of the list? Well one writer said it this way, their prominence, that is the sins, the prominence is due to their prevalence in society. Sexual sins have always been a primary part of fallen, sinful, corrupt, human society.

It's always at the top of the list. And sadly, these sins are evident in the lives of Christians who yield to the lust of the flesh. I have a question to ask. Can a Christian commit adultery? Can a Christian commit fornication? Can a Christian experience uncleanness and lasciviousness in his life? The answer is absolutely. Yes, of course.

Why? Because we all have the flesh. So as we look today at these manifestations of the flesh, I want to begin by saying that as we address the sexual relationship between a man and a woman, I want you to understand first and foremost from a biblical worldview that sex is designed by God.

God is the one who made Adam and Eve. It is not only designed by God, but God says it is good. It is something that actually is honorable. It's not dirty and it's not unclean. It is blessed of the Lord in its rightful place. Marriage is honorable and the bed is undefiled. So we have to look at it from a biblical perspective, that the idea of the way of sexual satisfaction is honored by God through the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman. So that's something that needs to be firmly set in our mind. It's not dirty.

It's not bad. It's not evil, though we live in a very evil and corrupt world that makes it dirty. However, we do know that the nature of the flesh is to seek the fulfillment of God's good works and God's good gifts. If I could say it that way, it is the nature of the flesh to seek those things without regarding God's divine design.

It's human nature. God has designed it. God has created it.

God has made it, but it is our human nature to seek satisfaction apart from God's ways. And that's what Paul is addressing here. The various ways in which our sin nature corrupts the blessing of sexual relationships. And what are those sins? I want you to see them very clearly.

There are four of them. Number one, he uses the word adultery. What does it mean to be adulterous? It is an act of marital infidelity or unfaithfulness.

For example, it includes a voluntary, intimate relationship with another married or single person. We know that this was the sin of David in his relationship with Bathsheba. Adultery also includes marrying a divorced person. We see this in the story of a woman who met Jesus at the well in Samaria. Jesus said to the woman, go call your husband and bring him here.

And the woman answered and said, I have no husband. And Jesus said unto her, thou has well said, I have no husband, for thou has had five husbands. And he whom thou now hast is not thy husband, in this you said the truth.

Now, I'm not here to go into an explanation, a full explanation of divorce, but we do know that people divorce one another and they go and marry another person, and oftentimes they are committing adultery. And Jesus also identifies the act of adultery that can be committed in your own thought life. Jesus said if a man looks on a woman to lust after her, he has committed adultery within his own heart. That's why when we understand our Christian faith, that our Christian faith is not really built on the externals changing the heart, but it's the heart that ends up changing the externals.

It's the inside-outside approach that really is the development of one's spiritual life. So actually, moral purity on the outside is based on moral purity on the inside, and that's where the battle is. The battle is with our own desires. Galatians, when it says, when it speaks of the lust of the flesh, is the same word that Jesus used in Matthew 5 when he said if a man looks at a woman and lust after her, he's committed adultery already in his heart. Now the question I think has to be asked, where is the line between the desire and the sin? I mean, that's a question that we all have to understand and wrestle with.

And when I say sin, I mean the decision to give in to the desire. And I want to say it this way, that the line is crossed when one begins to set those desires on another person, and they begin to pursue them in their heart and mind. When they try to fulfill those, when they are living out those desires without living it out in experience.

That's what it is. It's within the mind. It's in the realm of your imagination. Your imagination is the ability to create reality.

That's why you can sit there in your mind and you can have, I mean, you can have all kinds of things going on in your head, that's your imagination. That's where the realm of sin takes place. It is when your desires are set on that person, and your unrestrained imagination begins to create sexual scenes in your own mind, and as a result, your passions are inflamed.

Okay, does that make sense? It is when your unrestrained imagination begins to create sexual scenes in your mind, and your passions are stirred up and inflamed, that's when sin begins to take place. Jesus said it was from within out of the heart of men, precedes evil thoughts, adulteries, and fornications. So when we think about the spiritual growth of a Christian, when you think of your spiritual growth, a part of that is learning how to control my inner thoughts and have a disciplined thought life, and that is the great battle of the Christian life. That is the struggle that we all face, and the reason is because our own nature internally is sinful. And the problem is the flesh is not going to go away. You can't sanctify your flesh.

You have to shift it towards the spiritual, because it's really through the spiritual that you get power over the immoral. So, number one, he uses the word adultery. Number two, the word fornication. Now, the word fornication was referring to, especially in biblical times, to prostitution. In ancient times, immorality was a vital part of idolatrous worship. So if you worshiped an idol in a temple, a part of that would be involved in sexual immorality. That's why temples had prostitutes, and they were both male and female.

And what did they do? They sold their bodies for sexual favors to support the worship of their idol. Well, in time, the word fornication came to mean any kind of unlawful sexual relationship, and this would include adultery, incest, immoral acts, a sexual relationship between those who are uncommitted to the covenant of marriage. So we would say sex among singles. And it referred to homosexuality, because all of those things were considered to be sinful. In 1 Corinthians 7, verse 7, it warns the unmarried not to get involved in sexual sins.

They should do nothing within them that would cause them to heat up their passions, or, as Paul writes, to burn. So the word fornication has the idea of prostitution. It also has the idea of pornography. It includes something that is written about or pictures that are shown primarily of the act of immorality or being stirred up in a sexual way, of scenes of those that are naked. And so the whole idea of pornography is a sin of the flesh. It is a sin of fornication.

And then number three, uncleanness. The word uncleanness here deals with that which is dirty or that which is defiled. It could be like your clothes getting dirty, or it could be like, for example, in biblical times, somebody touches somebody that's unclean and they become unclean. Well, in this case, it is referring to moral defilement. And the idea here is coming into contact with things that either you look at or things you talk about or things that you touch. Looking at would be any kind of visual stimulation. Talking about it would be any kind of verbal conversation that has sexual innuendos or jokes or conversations.

And then thirdly would be any kind of physical involvement that would stir up your passions. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul says that this is the will of God, even your sanctification that you abstain from fornication. So what he's saying is this. In order for you to be spiritual, you can't be immoral. And then he goes on and says let no man defraud his brother in any matter. And when he says don't let anybody defraud your brother in any matter, to defraud essentially means to stir up desires that cannot be righteously satisfied.

So let me be frank. So if you get involved in a physical relationship, guy and a girl, and you begin physically making out, well, you're going to stir up your passions, okay? And if you keep going, and that's just the way it works, you keep going because eventually you're going to go to the point of what you do in marriage. If you go down that road, let's say you get halfway, you're going to have to back up the truck. You're going to have to stop or you're going to go all the way. And when you back up the truck, it's kind of like driving down the highway, you know, at 30 miles an hour, and you throw it in the park.

What does it do to the engine? It messes it up. And the idea of defrauding one another is stirring up those desires that cannot be satisfied in a right way. That is why when you're unmarried, you should avoid anything that will put you in that place of potential, not only compromise, but defrauding one another. That's why I would say to those of you that are engaged to be married, you have to be very, very careful.

Why? Because you know you're going to live with each other. You know that you're going to be physically involved with each other, and you can begin to tell yourself, well, we are engaged, it's okay, it's proper, and you begin to deceive yourselves.

My wife and I, before we got married, we both made a personal commitment to each other, because if we said we loved each other, then we're going to serve each other, and serving one another is not to defraud each other. So it's really important that you understand that this is a way in which Christians end up in the flesh. So the word uncleanness. Then let's go to the word lasciviousness. Paul here is warning, using this word, the idea is to publicly display things that are things that we should not put out in public, things that would be reserved for home, and to do things in a way so that they would be shameful. And Paul is warning here about a disregard for standards of sexual purity in public. And this disregard can be in our actions, or it can be in our appearance. So that's where you get the idea of modesty versus immodesty.

The whole concept of modesty is that I should dress in a way that I would never want to defraud someone by the way that I dress that would create a sexual desire that cannot be righteously satisfied. And it also is the idea of modesty as the idea of a seriousness about sin and also a shamefulness about sin. We know that when Adam was in the garden and he sinned, what's the first thing he recognized? He recognized he was naked.

He had a recognition of sin. And it says he felt ashamed and he covered himself up. And so the concept here is that you and I should have a sense of modesty about ourselves. That we do not want to put ourselves, we should not dress, if I could say it this way, in a sexy manner. And the idea is drawing attention to the aspects of your body that will cause other people to look and to think in a sexual manner. And so therefore all of us should have that sense of modesty and the way we act and the way that we dress to avoid sexual immorality. And the Apostle Paul in the book of Ephesians, when he talks about these sins, says these things should never be named among the people of God.

And the fact is they are. And I think we have to preach on it and we have to recognize that when we're walking in the Spirit, these things are not going to be in our lives. Now, in light of Paul's identification of the works of the flesh, there are two questions I want to ask and answer before we finish. Number one, is there forgiveness for sexual sins? Number two, is there victory over sexual sins?

And those are two different things. And the first thing I would like to say with regards to forgiveness is God has promised that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross is so powerful that it can cleanse me from all of my sins, all of my past sins, and all of my present sins. So if there is sin in your life, what are you to do?

You are to confess it. We know the story of the woman that was called in the act of adultery in John chapter 8. And when they brought the woman to Jesus and they wanted to stone her, what did Jesus say? Let the one that is without sin cast the first stone.

And the Bible says they were convicted in their conscience and they walked away. Why? Because nobody can pick up a stone and throw it at another person.

You know why? Because all of us by our natures are guilty. That's why when I preach a sermon like this, I am not hurling a stone at you.

I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I'm trying to actually say we are in desperate need of God's grace in our life. We need God's mercy. We need God's forgiveness. We need to be washed and cleansed. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, he says, Do not be deceived, he says, the sexually immoral, the idolaters, the adulterous.

He said, and men who practice homosexuality, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. But then he says, but that was the way some of you were. But what's happened? You've been washed. You've been sanctified. You've been justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of God.

Think about it this way. Think of the ugliness and the beauty of the cross. On the cross, all the ugly sins that we've ever committed, all the shame, all the guilt, all the things that you have done that you don't want anybody to know about, God knows about, and not only does he know about them, but he took them on his own body. That's the ugliness of the cross. But also there's a beauty on that tree, on that cross.

Why? Because on that cross he bore all of our sins and God demonstrated his love for you. God loves you even though you lust. So God will forgive you.

But I want to remind you this. That even though God will forgive us, the pain of our memory is not immediately removed. And the power of your lust is not immediately diminished. And the shame of your actions do not immediately go away. So that leads me to the last point and I only have just a few moments to put this before you, but I want to say it to you so you get it in your mind. How can we be freed from the control of lust? That's the big question.

That's the question that's tough to answer. And the Bible says that we can be. How do we know that? He says, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. One writer said, and nothing did early Christianity so thoroughly revolutionize the ethical standards of the pagan world as in regard to sexual relationships. People who were sexually immoral were transformed and they began to live pure lives.

So how can I experience this? We know throughout history, there have been many ways that people have tried to overcome sexual desires and immorality. Some tried to do it through asceticism, that is severe self-discipline and abstinence. Others tried to do it through legalism, that is adherence to strict laws. Others have tried to do it through what we call utilitarianism, that is becoming aware of the consequences of my sins like sexually transmitted diseases or an unwanted pregnancy or shame or divorce.

In other words, if you do this, this is going to happen to you. And I'm not here to say that those things are wrong. I'm simply here to say that for the Christian, that is not the way of victory. The primary way of victory for the believer is always through his spiritual connection with Jesus. If Jesus died on the cross to break the power of sin, the only way the power of sin can be broken in my life is through Jesus.

You have to understand your connection to him. And the first thing is this, is that the Christian body is connected to Jesus. The Bible tells us that we as believers are a part of Christ's body. That, excuse me, you and I are a part of Christ's salvation.

Think about it. When you go to heaven, it's not just that your spirit goes to heaven, your body goes to heaven. He's going to resurrect your body so Jesus died to save your body. You are a part of the body of Christ.

Literally, you're connected to him. Your body is an instrument of righteousness that is to be dedicated and devoted to the Lord. And so when we look at it, if we focus on the sin itself, we will be easily almost engrossed in the sin. But it is focusing our attention on the Lord and what the Lord has done for us. And he tells us that our body is his instrument. It is a part of his salvation.

It is a part of his church. And so we are to give our bodies in dedication to the Lord and we are to flee fornication. And then finally, we have to view our body as sacred. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Think about this. The most holy place on planet earth was the temple in Jerusalem. And in that temple, there was a room called the Holy of Holies.

And in that room, the presence of God dwelt. And when the Bible says your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, it means that your body is the Holy of Holies. That is a thought that if we really grasp it, we would all fall on our face and we would cry out to God for his help to recognize that the Lord has taken up his dwelling place in my heart and my body. And because he lives in my heart, because he lives in my body, and because Jesus Christ has purchased my body with his blood, I am to glorify God in my body. The way that you overcome the flesh is through the Spirit.

It is the focus of your heart and your mind on what you are in Christ and what Christ is done in you and what Christ is doing in you. And what happens is it is through the Spirit that those desires are transferred. And suddenly, that passion that you had for lust is now transferred into a passion that is for Christ. If you are in a group of Christian young people and there's a lack of passion for Christ is because there is a passion for lust.

And when that power is broken, what you see is you see people fervently following and serving the Lord because that passion has been now transferred to the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord help us and grant us his grace to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. Father, thank you for your word. Help us, Lord, to be faithful to you as we live our lives for you. In Jesus' name, amen. Thanks for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue the study in the book of Galatians preached from the Bob Jones University Chapel Platform.