GALATIANS 5:19

The Bible says in Galatians 5:19-21, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” The subject that we are on in this chapter is the difference between the works of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit. If you depend upon your own strength to do the works that you can, then those will be the works of the flesh. The flesh represents human effort and human will and human desire.

Because human beings are so selfish, they do things that they should not do. That is the nature of human beings: selfish at the core. “There is none good, no not one.” “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” These are the things that human beings do when they do not walk in the Spirit and when they are not led by the Spirit. The things mentioned in verse 19 are sexual sins: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and lasciviousness. We all know what adultery is. When a person breaks their marriage vows by being intimate with someone who is not their spouse, they commit adultery. Sex is a good thing. It was designed and created by God, but only for marriage. Sex outside of marriage is not only sinful, it is also very damaging. It destroys marriages, it ruins the conscience, it spreads venereal disease and aids, it causes unwanted pregnancies, and it helps to break down society.

Stay as close to your spouse as you can. You had better not commit adultery. There will be a price to pay. It will not result in your benefit. The same can be said of fornication, which is sexual immorality involving those that are single. God’s plan is this: that a man leave his mother and father and cleave unto his wife. These things had to be said because the early Christians, coming out of the Greco-Roman society, had picked up horrible habits in this regard. Prostitution, pornography, and sexual promiscuity were everywhere in the society. The same can be said today. We also live in a society where more and more it is being considered normal to have these kinds of life-styles. That is probably because we have fewer and fewer people who are led by the Spirit.

If you are not led by the Spirit, you will fulfill the lusts of the flesh. One of the lusts of the flesh is uncleanness. That means impurity. Did you know that God wants you to be pure? You can be. That is the will of God for every person of the human race. And that is one of the reasons that the power of darkness puts so much effort into corrupting and abusing children. It is the reason that Hollywood hates purity. It seems that the impure do not want to be reminded of how far they have fallen. If you have fallen from purity, you can be pure and you can be a virgin from this day forward: by finding forgiveness and then by walking in the Spirit.

If you walk in the Spirit, you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. There are other sins in addition to sexual sins, and they are just as bad: they are just as much a part of the works of the flesh. Idolatry does not only refer to heathen who worship idols. It refers to anything or anyone that you love more than God. For many people, their own strong desires become their idols. “Witchcraft” is listed as a sin of the flesh. It is interesting to note that this word comes from the same word that is the origin of the word “pharmacy,” and refers to drugs. The improper use of drugs or any kind of medicine is a sin of the flesh.

Hatred is mentioned before murder, and we remember that Jesus taught that hatred is really the same sin as murder. Notice that many of these sins of the flesh have to do with man’s inability to live in peace with his fellow man. In addition to hatred and murder, there is also wrath and strife. Variance refers to divisions among people. There are divisions among those who should be united, and that is the result of selfish human nature. The word “emulations” comes from the word “zeal”, and it refers to the energy and enthusiasm that some people will put into rebellion and riot. This goes right along with seditions. God wants people to live in peace, working together, building up their community and country. No wonder that it seldom happens the way that it should. There are too many people who constantly have the works of the flesh. They destroy, instead of build up.

It is interesting that “heresies” are listed as part of the works of the flesh. Heresies of course are false doctrines. Differences of opinion are acceptable on certain subjects, but false doctrines are lies. Why do people fall into false doctrine? Sometimes it is because of a lack of knowledge of the word of God, sometimes it is because of the persuasive ability of the false teacher, but it is also because of the flesh. Sinful flesh seems to be attracted to lies. Sinful flesh wants to hear a lie instead of the truth. Some people shut their ears to the truth and open their ears to heresy. They do this because of the works of the flesh.

Of course, “drunkenness” and “revellings” are also works of the flesh. One of the goals of life is to do the right thing: to be under control. That is the problem with the abuse of alcohol. It causes people to do things that they should not do and that they otherwise would not have done. The Bible says in Proverbs, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” The sinfulness of the flesh of man is bad enough when left to its own devices. When further weakened by the abuse of alcohol or drugs it is many times worse. O the sorrows and the sins and the crimes that have been committed by the hand of man only because of alcohol!

These verses in Galatians 5:19-21 do not paint a very good picture of the human race. In this description you will find the breaking of most of the Ten Commandments, and in these verses you will undoubtedly find yourself also. With this evidence before you, how can you possibly think that man can be justified by his own works? “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The Kingdom of God is a place of perfection: holiness, and righteousness, and goodness everywhere. People who have committed such sins and live in such lifestyles and have never repented to Christ, shall not enter the Kingdom of God. There is another place where they will go: a place of darkness and torment and fire, a place where they will relive in their minds over and over their horrible deeds and the effects that such deeds caused because it is the place of eternal torment “where the worm doeth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Thank God there is justice. The judgment is coming. Repent while you have time.

Thank God that there is also mercy and forgiveness through Christ. If there were not, you and I would have no hope. Because the Spirit brought us to Christ we now have hope of eternal life that will last forever. By the same Spirit we also have the means to do the things that God wants us to do and to live the life that God wants us to live. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Notice that these things are called the fruit of the Spirit. In other words the Spirit produces them: you do not. These things are a natural outcome of having the Spirit of God in your life, and of walking in the Spirit and being led by the Spirit. If you never have these things in your life, first you must ask if you have the Spirit. Have you been born again through faith in Jesus Christ? If you have been born again, then you do have the capacity to produce these things in your heart and life; that is, to see the Spirit produce them. Of course, if your selfish flesh is winning the battle, then you will see the works of the flesh manifest in your life. You might need to take account of yourself and make sure that you are not giving in to self-interest. You also need to make sure that you are being led by the Spirit. If you are making the decisions and going your own way, then you will quench and grieve the working of the Spirit within you.

These wonderful Christian graces are called the fruit of the Spirit. Something about fruit is that there is a growing process involved. It starts with a blossom, and then it must go through its seasons of spring and rain, and summer and sun, before it reaches the fruit of the harvest. In order to grow in Christ and manifest these qualities which are the fruit of the Spirit, it takes some time to realize what is going on and to learn to say “no” to the flesh and “yes” to the Spirit.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” We know why “love” is first on this list: it is the most important. One of the central concepts behind love is “giving.” If you are a lover, then you are a giver. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” If you are controlled by the works of the flesh, then you will be a taker and a grabber. But if you have the fruit of the Spirit, then you will know love: true love. This kind of love is love for God through Christ and love for the souls of man. Do not ever forget the importance of love, and do not ever think that you know everything that you need to know about it. Paul wrote in First Corinthians 13:2-3, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing.”

If you have the fruit of the Spirit then you will have this kind of love and you will also have joy. Christians should be the happiest people in the world, not because of what happens to them in this life particularly, but because of what Jesus has done for them and because of the wonderful future that awaits us in His Kingdom forever. There is no limit to the joy that God can give to the believer through His Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace. Peace is a precious thing. There are so many people in the world who have no peace. The wicked certainly have no peace. The perfect peace that God can give through His Spirit is possible even in life’s greatest storms. There is a peace that passes understanding. Jesus promised peace. He said to His believers, “My peace I give unto you.” If you are troubled or have problems with worry, anxiety, or fear; then you need peace. If you have the fruit of the Spirit, then you will have peace.

You will also have longsuffering. It is a type of patience. With this spiritual quality you are able to suffer long in the face of difficult or unpleasant circumstances. Rome was not built in a day. Some things take a while to come to fruition. If something is worth having, then it is worth waiting for. It is worth waiting for the right person to come along and be your life’s companion. It is worth waiting for God’s time to do something rather than taking things into your own hands. If you have the fruit of the Spirit, you will be able to wait because longsuffering is part of the fruit of the Spirit.

So is gentleness. This refers to kindness towards other human beings. It is a direct reference to your manner of dealing with people. If you are controlled by the works of the flesh, you will only be concerned about yourself. It will be easy for you to be harsh and caustic and aggressive towards others. But if you have the fruit of the Spirit, you will have the same consideration for other people that you naturally have for yourself. Jesus was gentle. He was able to gather little children to Himself. If you are a parent, you will need to show gentleness to your children. If you have the fruit of the Spirit, you will have the gentleness that you need.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” If you come to know Christ, you will have life and Jesus will give you the Spirit. Through the Spirit you will have the more abundant life.

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