Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:13-26
OPENING: Tonight’s scripture reading tells us that we need to live by the Spirit of God and not by the flesh … Are we living by the Spirit or are we still trying to satisfy our flesh? … Tonight we are going to look into what scripture is telling us but first we need to understand what the flesh is and what the Spirit of God is …
What Is The Flesh?:
The Greek word for flesh is sarx … It refers to the physical body of a person … A Greek-English Lexicon describes the word as: “the physical body as functioning entity; all parts of the body constitute a totality known as flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likewise present, and no good thing can live.”
The Bible makes it clear, humanity did not start out this way … In Genesis we see that humankind was originally created good and perfect: Genesis 1:26-27 "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . . God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” …
Because God is perfect, and He created them in His image Adam and Eve were created good and without sin … When Adam and Eve sinned, their nature was corrupted and that nature was passed along to their offspring: Genesis 5:3 "When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth" …
The end result of sin was a nature referred to as the ‘flesh’ … It is something that opposes God and seeks sinful gratification … “The flesh is a built-in law of failure, making it impossible for natural man to please or serve God. It is a compulsive inner force inherited from man’s fall, which expresses itself in general and specific rebellion against God and His righteousness. The flesh can never be reformed or improved. The only hope for escape from the law of the flesh is its total execution and replacement by a new life in the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Pastor Mark Bubek)
The Struggle With The Flesh:
How does the flesh manifest itself in human beings? … The Bible answers the question this way: Galatians 5:19-21 "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God”
Examples of the flesh working in the world can be seen in many ways … Here are a few facts taken from a recent survey on the effect of pornography in America … Every second in the U.S.:
$3,075.64 is being spent on pornography
28,258 Internet users are viewing pornography
372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines
Every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is being created in the United States
Jeremiah sums it up best in Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?”
The Bible is clear that a number of consequences occur from living in the flesh …
1.) Scripture states that those who live according to the flesh, and who never desire change or repent from their sinful behavior, will experience separation from God both in this life and the next:
2.) Romans 6:21 "Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things [sinful practices] of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death."
3.) Romans 8:13 "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live"
4.) Galatians 6:7-8 "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life."
5.) A person also becomes a slave to his/her fleshly nature: Romans 6:16 “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”
Hosea 8:7 describes this destructive lifestyle and a deteriorated living: "For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind”
Obeying the flesh always results in breaking God’s moral law … In a real sense, a person can never break God’s moral law, although they can certainly disobey it … For example, a person can climb on a roof, tie a cape around their neck, leap off the roof in hopes of breaking the law of gravity, and try to fly … However, they will learn that they can’t fly, can’t break the law of gravity, and the only thing they end up breaking is themselves, while proving the law of gravity … The same is true of moral actions: a person may disobey God’s moral law through fleshly living, but they will sooner or later only prove the moral law of God true by breaking themselves in some way by their own behavior …
Overcoming The Flesh:
The Bible provides a three-step process for overcoming the flesh and restoring oneself to a right relationship with God …
1.) Honestly acknowledge our sinful behavior before God … This involves agreeing with what the Bible says about everyone born of human parents: people are sinners and enter the world in a broken relationship with the God Who made them: Psalm 130:3 "If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” and 1 John 1:8,10 "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. . . . If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us”
2.) Walk in the Spirit, which involves calling out to God for salvation and receiving His Holy Spirit that empowers a person to live rightly before God and not obey the flesh’s desires …
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."
Romans 6:11 "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Galatians 5:16 "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."
Galatians 3:27 "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.“
Romans 13:14 "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”
Ephesians 5:18 "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit"
Psalm 119:11 "Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You."
3.) The walk of death, where the flesh is starved of its desires so that it eventually dies … Even though a person becomes born again we must understand we still possesses the old nature with its desires … It wars with the new nature and the desires that come from the Spirit … A Christian should purposely avoid feeding the old, fleshly nature and practice new behaviors that are driven by the Spirit:
1 Timothy 6:11 "But flee from these things [sinful actions], you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness”
2 Timothy 2:22 “Now flee from youthful lusts”
1 Corinthians 9:27 "but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.“
Colossians 3:5 "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."
Romans 6:6 "knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;"
Ephesians 4:20-24 "But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
CLOSING: Charles Wesley, described sin and the flesh this way: "Whatever weakens your reasoning, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away your relish for spiritual things, in short - if anything increases the authority and the power of the flesh over the Spirit, that to you becomes sin however good it is in itself.” … One of the goals of the Christian life is the victory of the Spirit over the flesh and a change of life, which manifests in righteous living before God … Although the struggle will be very real, Christians have assurance from God that He will bring them eventual success over the flesh … Philippians 1:6 "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus”
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