All right, Galatians chapter five. And today we're gonna be beginning of verse 16. Y'all are probably already there and I was talking and not turning the pages. All right, Galatians chapter five, beginning of verse 16, we're gonna go only to verse 21. Originally, I had thought about going all the way down to the end, but I decided that we just take 16 through 21 tonight. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the spirit, and spirit against the flesh. For these are in opposition to one another, so that you do not do the things that you want. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, 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. This is the text that we'll take today, and the subject for this evening is, Walk by the Spirit, the Deeds of the Flesh are Evident. Walk by the Spirit, the Deeds of the Flesh are Evident. When we look at this this text. The only remedy against living in malice and envy, against the indulgence of lusts of the flesh, of which we are often so prone, he says, walk by the spirit. You notice that he begins there with that word, but, but I say. And so we're reminded that this isn't a verse that we take by itself. In fact, it goes along with what he was saying earlier. We looked at this last time, but we'll go back there for just a little bit. In verse 13 he says, for you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the spirit, you'll not carry out the desire of the flesh. And he carries on with the text that we read just a moment ago. Recall that the church, the churches rather of Galatia, that within them, there was a problem. A big problem. The Judaizers had come in and they had begun teaching and proclaiming this false doctrine, this false gospel that said, if you want to be saved, you who are Gentiles, you need to be circumcised. You've got to keep the law. And as a matter of fact, Not only that, but you've got to keep the law for your justification. You've got to keep the law for your sanctification. They were tearing up these churches. No doubt. There were some. back and forth going on among the people there. And so he says, he says, yeah, you've been called to freedom, but don't turn into an opportunity for the flesh. And furthermore, The whole law is fulfilled in this word, you shall love your neighbors yourself, but if you bite and devour one another, beware that you're not consumed by one another. Walk by the spirit, you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. All believers, even believers that disagree with one another, Believers who may be a little bit different than us Believers who are At the different coming at something from a different viewpoint But all believers are Indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This is something that is clearly taught in the Bible in Romans chapter 8 in verse 9 In Romans 8 and verse 9, he says, however, you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. So even within these churches, There may be brothers who disagreed on these important subjects and these important doctrines, but they would have had the Spirit of God. And so it is with us. We may come across a brother, whether inside the church or outside of the church. Maybe they've been baptized, maybe they haven't, right? They have the Holy Spirit if they're saved. In 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 and 20, excuse me, He says to the members there at Corinth, he says, do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and that you are not your own for you were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. And so all of us, we have the spirit of God. And indeed, even those who differed with Paul, those who were saved, they had the Spirit of God as well. And he tells them, walk by the Spirit and you'll not carry out the desire of the flesh. This is something that only a saved person can do, to walk by the Spirit In fact, this walking by the spirit, the way that this is brought out here, it's not intended to be an occasional thing. You know, like I sometimes like to take a walk. I sometimes enjoy going for a walk Sometimes just out here along the street. Sometimes I like to go for a walk at the beach, at the park, whatever. I enjoy those sorts of things. But I work a desk job. So that means I sit a lot. In fact, most of my day is sitting. I do more sitting than I do walking. When he says walk by the spirit, he's not talking about something that we do occasionally. To walk in spirit in the Greek, the way that this was originally brought out, this was something that would indicate a continual action. A habitual lifestyle, a way of living, if you will. to walk indicates a forward movement, a positive forward action. We're in this life, we're to always be moving forward and walking in the spirit. And that's what he's bringing out here. Walk by the spirit and you'll not carry out the desire of the flesh. The flesh also something that every child of God is familiar with. The flesh is brought out here in this portion of scripture as being opposite the spirit. He doesn't mean your physical body. The flesh is your mind, your will, your emotions. These are the things that are subject to sin. We all have that flesh that's with us in this life. And as we go through life, We're either walking by the Spirit, or we're carrying out the desires of the flesh. The two are opposite of each other. It can't be both. Verse 17 bears that out very clearly when he says, for the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. For these are in opposition to one another, so that you do not do the things that you want. The flesh that sets its desire, it lusts against the spirit. There's a definite division there. There's a struggle, if you will, that the believer has. Paul brought this out to the church at Rome in a, well, in a very personal way. In Romans chapter seven, sometimes preachers don't like to admit that they struggle with sin, but Paul admitted it. Romans chapter 7, beginning at verse 13. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be. rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by working out my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, having been sold into bondage under sin. For what I am working out I do not understand, For I am practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want, I agree with the law that it is good. So now, no longer am I the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh, for the willing is present in me. but the working out of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that in me, evil is present. In me, who wants to do good, For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin, which is in my members. Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death? Thanks be to God. through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, on the one hand, I myself, with my mind, am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh, the law of sin." So Paul, trying to describe this struggle that he had with the flesh, he bears this out. And the born-again believer does struggle. There is a battle that is going on. And while it's true that there is this battle, you and I, we have to be careful about what some call the carnal Christian idea that says that a person can have Christ, that they can be saved, and at the same time live like the world, live like the devil, live in the flesh without any growth, without any change, and still go on to be in heaven. That's just not the teaching that we find in the scriptures. We read it Last time, there in Galatians chapter 5, verse 13. Galatians 5 and verse 13, for you were called to freedom, brothers, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh. but through love serve one another. But also later in the epistle in chapter six in verse 14, Is that poke your brother in there? No In Galatians chapter 6 In verse 14 But may it never be that I would boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. But for neither is circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And so there has to be a change, a new creation. Sit up, son, so you don't fall asleep, okay? And so we find that in the scriptures. And in our text there in verse 18, in Galatians 5, he says, verse 18, but if you are led by the Spirit, you're not under the law. And so, There's clearly this separation that he's bringing out to them. That there's two different places to be. One is to be led by the Spirit. That's one place. Leads to righteous behavior and new creation. It's to life, hope, peace. eventually on up to glory with Jesus, or on the other hand, under the law. And where it's under the law, there's no hope there. There's no life. There's no peace. There's condemnation. Right? And so he's bringing this out to the churches there and pointing this out to them. You and I, you and I, we find a much better place to be being led by the spirit than to being bound by the law, you see. Much better place to be than to be, a much better place to be walking by the spirit than to be carrying out the desires of the flesh. And then in verses 19 through 21, He says, now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, 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. The deeds of the flesh are evident. In other words, the flesh manifests itself in obvious and certain ways. Those who will not walk in the spirit Even those who try to find themselves under the law, guess what happens? They find themselves condemned by the law and the works of the flesh, the deeds of the flesh become evident. Let's look at these as the translators have translated them. sexual immorality. The Greek word here is porneia, from which the English word pornography comes from. It's not just limited to pictures on a magazine or on the internet, but it refers to all sexual activity that is illicit outside of the bonds of marriage, including but not limited to adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, bestiality, incest, and prostitution. These things are the deeds of the flesh, very evident. It's a general name for all unchastity in thought, word, or action. It may, as one commentator put it, here design more especially all unnatural lusts, as sodomy, self-pollution, et cetera, lasciviousness, or wantonness, everything that leads on to acts of uncleanness or attends them as impure words, filthy gestures, and the like. Sensuality, the word originally referred to any excessive behavior or lack of restraint. Don't we know there's a lack of restraint in the world today, isn't there? But eventually it became associated with sexual excess and indulgence. Idolatry. Idolatry is the first word there in verse 20. It's the worshiping of other gods or images. Sorcery. Sorcery is an intriguing word in our English, but in the Greek, it's actually the word from which we get our word pharmacy. Originally, it referred to medicines in general, but very much connected to idolatry. You think about this for a moment. The works of the flesh are made manifest. Is it not true? that the flesh rises up, something's wrong. You have a pain, a trouble, whatever. If you're not walking by the spirit and go get medication, you don't need God. You've got your medication. And that's true whether it's prescribed by a doctor or handed to you by someone on the street. And I'm not against doctors and I'm not against medication. But when you take God out of the equation, that becomes a sin. It becomes the works of the flesh, the deeds of the flesh made Evident. Enmities. Enmities. This word translated is hatred in the King James. Strife. Engagement in rivalry, discord, contention. Jealousy. Jealousy, a strong feeling of resentment against somebody else. Outbursts of anger. Outbursts of anger, the deeds. Remember, we're talking about the deeds of the flesh are evident. Being opposed to walking by the spirit. The word And I I may be mispronouncing some of these Greek words, but it's a plural form of the Greek word thymus And sometimes this word is translated as wrath Selfish ambition Selfish ambition the legacy standard Bible translators, they had a note about this one. It said, while some translations have something like disputes or rivalries, here the underlying Greek term is slightly more specific than this, indicating that such disputes or rivalries are selfishly motivated. The term had been used prior to the New Testament to describe the underhanded jockeying for a person of authority for selfish gain. Here, such selfish competition is one of the marks of a sinful, fleshly person. And so, selfish ambition. Selfish ambition. Dissensions, those are disagreements that are sometimes violent. Factions, self-willed opinions that lead to the formations of other sects or cults, or sometimes even other churches, factions. You go into a town, And you say, oh, well, there's this Baptist church, and over across the town, there's another Baptist church. And you examine those two Baptist churches, and you find out they agree in doctrine. And you say, well, why are they separate? And you find out several years before, they had an argument about the color of the paint. or the price of the carpet that went down on the floor, something like that, you know? Self-willed opinions that led to the formation of another sect or another church or another cult, right? Envyings, feelings of envying rather, feelings of displeasure upon seeing the prosperity of others. We're to rejoice with those who rejoice and we're to weep with those who weep. You know, it's easy to weep with those who weep. That old flesh rises up and sometimes it's a struggle to rejoice with those who rejoice. Especially if some brother has maybe that car that you've been wanting or that house that you've always dreamed of. Something like that. Envy, that's of the flesh. drunkenness, carousing. A lot of commentators put these two together, and the reason for that is this probably had specific reference to orgies that characterized pagan, idolatrous worship. But it refers to all rowdy, boisterous, crude behavior. And so, the deeds of the flesh are evident. You can't hide that sort of thing. He says, 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. Those who practice such things. Again, just like, as I said, when it comes to walk in the spirit, When he says those who practice such things, he's talking about individuals who go on in an unrepentant, habitual action. This is their lifestyle. Right? He's not saying if you're with your brother in Christ, and he has an outburst of anger, he's not saying, oh, that brother must not be saved. That's not what he's saying. But what he is saying is that the deeds of the flesh are evident, and these are some things that he brings out here. And he says, I've warned you, I forewarned you, that those who practice such things, those who go on in habitual, unrepentant action. I'll give you an example here. And I usually would not do this, but it's been all over social media, been all over Twitter and Facebook, but with Steve Lawson. What a terrible thing that happened with him. Now, apparently, he had a five-year relationship with a woman who was not his wife. And when he was exposed, he had to step down from all of his ministering obligations. It's been weeks since that story broke. No word from him. No, no video, no public letter, nothing. Those who were closer to him I've said that he was preaching through his conscience. His conscience was seared so that he preached through all of that. That's what John MacArthur said something to that effect the other day. Some would say, remember the good teaching he did and He did do some good teaching. The Bible doesn't speak that way as if the good outweighs the bad. Here he says, the deeds of the flesh are evident. And he says, he says further, those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. I don't know Steve Lawson personally. But I do know this, it doesn't look good. It doesn't look good. The Bible is clear. Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. He was very, very public individual. His sin has become very public. He should make some statement. being a good preacher, dressing in a nice suit, writing doctrinally sound books are not enough to get you into heaven. And if there's some off chance that Steve Lawson would be listening to this on the internet or whatever, I would just say to him, examine yourself and repent of that sin. And here's the fact, Judas Iscariot was a great preacher. No doubt he was a good apostle. You say, well, how do you know that? Because none of the other apostles suspected anything. And yet he was reprobate. the terrible situation that happened there. I don't presume to know of what Lawson's spiritual condition is, but I do know what the scripture says here on these things. And we all, need to be discerning and consider these things in our own lives. And when we examine these preachers, they get up and they do these things. The deeds of the flesh are evident. These things are written for us so that we can know, hey, if you see this, you know this man's not walking. by the Spirit. If you see this in your own life, hey, I'm not walking by the Spirit. I need to be right with the Lord. And oh, by the way, if this is a habit, if this is a practice, not inherit the kingdom of God, you see. Too many people go through life and they say, well, I trusted the Lord. I accepted Jesus Christ on such and such a day, 30, 40 years ago. And they hold on to that one day, even if their life don't reflect any of that. We gotta look at this and say, are we really in the faith? Not that anybody loses their salvation, but you can't go through life saying, well, here's my evidence one day on the calendar. That's not it. 2 Corinthians 11, verses 14 and 15, he says, and no wonder For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, therefore it is not surprising if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds." As we look at this passage here in Galatians, we see the deeds of the flesh, and then we'll get into the fruit of the spirit. Lord willing, we'll get into that next time. But we've got to be discerning and consider these things. Not only when we look at people, when we look at our own lives, but also when we look at and examine Bible doctrine or doctrine itself. In this list, the deans of the flesh, there are terrible sins listed, like sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, sorcery. Some of those things and descriptions, pretty uncomfortable to even describe, but they're here. They're here. but along with those. Or sins like enmity, strife, jealousy, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions. And there's some men who maybe say things like, well, I don't drink, cuss, or chew, and I don't hang out with those who do, you know, that sort of thing, right? But then you see what they are and they're very divisive. They're very angry and they're very jealous type people. Well, hold on a second. That's the work of the flesh just as much as those other things that you've brought up. And even doctrine. Doctrine. There are, just like there can be made up doctrine and there was made up doctrine here in Galatians. And one of the reasons I believe Paul is bringing this up is because there was this made up false gospel that was coming up into the churches of Galatia and he was telling them, hey, this is another gospel. which is really not another, but there's some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. They're coming in and they're saying you've got to be circumcised in order to be saved and all of that, you see. What do you see in all of this? Well, you see enmity, strife, Selfish ambition, you see dissensions, you see factions. So it is with our modern day, things like the King James only doctrine, brings in tribalism and all that sort of thing. These dissensions and factions. I mean, when you examine it, I used to think that the King James only doctrine was the right doctrine, and that everybody else was being divisive. But really, when you get down and you look at it, you say, hold up a second. Hold up a second. Where I'm at right now, I have no issue whatsoever with a brother or a sister who prefers the King James, who even I won't touch any other version of the Bible. We can fellowship, we can be in the same church together. I still preach from the King James and I have no problem with doing that. But some of them have a problem with my position. So much so that they won't have anything to do with me. Because I believe that this is the word of God. That this is also a Bible. James brought this out in James chapter four, verse one. James chapter four and verse one. What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you is not the source of your pleasures that wage war in your members. You lust and do not have, so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. It's all coming from the flesh. This divisions, the conflicts, the quarrels. When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter one, 1 Corinthians chapter one, Verses 10 through 13. Now I exhort you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers, by Chloe's people. There are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, I'm of Paul, and I have Apollos, and I have Cephas, and I have Christ. Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that none would say you were baptized in my name." And so when Paul says, has Christ been divided, as he wrote to this church that had divisions, sometimes we skip over that. And we begin to talk about the physical stuff happening in the church. But think about it, that is a good question. The divisions that were happening there, if this is the way it's supposed to be, then Christ is divided. When David wrote in the Psalms in Psalms 133. Bring this to a close here. We're either walking in the flesh or walking in the spirit. Psalms 133. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. It's like the good oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, Aaron's beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. It's like the dew of Hermon, coming down upon the mountains of Zion. For there, Yahweh commanded the blessing, life forever. As David described this unity, this fellowship, He said, it's good for brothers to dwell together. It's like the oil on the head coming down. Indeed, when we think about the deeds of the flesh versus walking according to spirit, this unity comes from above. The deeds of the flesh are factions, are divisions, are outbursts of anger and all of those things. But walking in the spirit, we find that God produces this unity. We can protect it, preserve it, or we spoil it and destroy what he gives. And within the churches of Galatia, there were some who came in and they made up new rules and regulations. Let's just say, for argument's sake, that they were trying to make unity. Well, the reality is they were trying to make uniformity. There were Jews within the church who had been circumcised and now there were Gentiles coming in and they said, we all got to be the same. But that was something that God never commanded. You see, and they made a mess of things. And instead of having unity or uniformity, what they got was factions. What they got was divisions. What they got was the deeds of the flesh. And Paul warns against that, as he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And he lumps those things in with sexual sins and other kinds of perversions. And he says, the deeds of the flesh are manifest. And those who practice them, those who continue in them, He says, He says, there will not inherit the kingdom of God. He's warning the church. He's warning the churches. And this word has been preserved, handed down to us so that we too are warned as well. We'll stop there and Lord willing, we'll pick up where we left off from. Next time, we can serve fruit of the spirit.