People mark off times and celebrations in different ways. In Belgium (since 1394, in Binche), Brazil (a four-day celebration in Rio de Janeiro), Italy (in Venice, six months of celebrating in the 18th cent., now 12 days), Trinidad and Tobago (featuring a daylong competition among calypso bands), and the United States (most notably, the New Orleans), as well as other regions, people have just finished an elaborate festival (Fahlbusch, Erwin ; Bromiley, Geoffrey William: The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leiden, Netherlands : Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 1999-<2003.).
Universally, this celebration is known as “Carnival” or Mardi Gras specifically in New Orleans. Carnival comes from a combination of Latin words meaning "farewell to the flesh." There is a great deal of irony in that name because there is by no means a time when the desires of the flesh are denied or bid farewell. Instead they are lavishly indulged. Anything goes—gluttonous eating, massive consumption of alcohol, even public displays of sexual immorality (to say nothing of what goes on behind closed doors). The streets, sidewalks, shops, and hotels on Bourbon Street in New Orleans are indeed X-rated during this festival of debauchery.
So why the name "farewell to the flesh"? Carnival or Mardi Gras coincides with the traditional last day before the fasting season that some practice as Lent, a 40-day period of self-denial and repentance, instituted by some in the early church as a way of preparing Christians for Easter. The beginning of this period is known as Ash Wednesday, so the final day of Carnival is known as Shrove Tuesday. The word "shrove" is derived from the Latin scribere, meaning, "to prescribe penance." During the middle ages, religious leaders would ensure that "shriveners" (priests) were available to hear the confessions of the multitudes of presumptuous sinners who had committed all types of iniquity during Carnival.
The job of the priest was not to call these people to a deep and true repentance, but rather to prepare them ceremonially for Lent. In other words: Have your fun! Drink as deeply as you need of the lusts of the flesh! Just be sure to confess your sins to the priest before Lent. The priest who hears your confession will prescribe fasting and the right sort of penance (self-inflicted penalty) for you to make amends with God. (Daryl Wingerd @ http://www.ccwblog.org/2009/02/heres-skinny-on-fat-tuesday.html)
Paul has shown that no human work, penance or otherwise, can atone or repair a broken relationship with God, which sin achieves. The Judaizers claimed that Paul’s teaching would encourage people to forsake all restraint, and indulge in all types of sins. Paul however showed that no external system, law or otherwise, could restrain sin. It could only be achieved though the supernatural work of Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables godly obedience called walking in the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is the natural result of walking in the Spirit.
But what about those who do not walk in the Spirit? God says they walk in the flesh, with the objective and pattern of life which can be externally seen as the deeds of the flesh.
Paul specifies in:
Galatians 5:19a [19]Now the works of the flesh are evident: (sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality), (ESV)
“Works” (in the plural) are attributed to the “flesh,” because they are divided, and often in conflict with one another, and even when taken each one by itself, betray their fleshly origin. But the “fruit of the Spirit” (Ga 5:23) is singular, because, however manifold the results, they form one harmonious whole (Jamieson, Robert ; Fausset, A. R. ; Fausset, A. R. ; Brown, David ; Brown, David: A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. Oak Harbor, WA : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997, S. Ga 5:19
cf. confer (Lat.), compare)
The works/deeds of the flesh reflect the sinful desires of unredeemed humanness, which are in spiritual warfare against the desires of the Spirit (vv. 16–17; cf. 24).
• As we have seen, “Flesh” the N.T. often employs the term to designate the sinful tendencies that exist in people, most of which are related to bodily appetites and ambitions (Believer’s Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Ga 5:13)
o The works of the flesh are hereby spelled out. These works/deeds are so evident that Paul mentions them primarily by way of a reminder.
o Evident/which are these—Greek, “such as,” for instance.
Matthew 7:16 [16]You will recognize them by their fruits. (Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?) (ESV)
Though the sins that Paul lists here in Galatians 5 (cf. Rom. 1:29–31; 2 Cor. 12:20–21) are natural characteristics of unredeemed humanity, not every person manifests all of the sins or manifests them to the same degree. However, every person possesses the flesh, which is sinful and will therefore be manifested in sinful behavior, whatever the particular forms of it may be. These are normal and continual behaviors for unbelievers in their course of life in the flesh, but are abnormal and interruptive behavior in the lives of Christians, who live in the Spirit. A Christian can walk in the Spirit and avoid them all, or they can give in to the flesh and fall victim to any of them.
• For those foolish enough to seek these pitfalls, the end of that journey is eternal death.
• For those who desire to be free of the dominion of sin, God has provided both an escape and given the resources to enable that escape. He encourages His saints to watch out for the pitfalls.
The first two works/deeds of the flesh here in Galatians 5, fall generally into the two pitfalls of: 1) Sexuality (Galatians 5:19), and 2) Religion, (Galatians 20a)
The first group of sins relates to humanity’s defilement in the area of
1) Sexuality. (Galatians 5:19)
• These are sins against the Sixth Commandment.
“Sexual immorality” (ðïñíåßá, porneia) originally meant to have sexual relations with prostitutes (ðüñíáé, pornai, from a verb meaning “to sell”), but later grew to include any form of sex outside of marriage (Hauck/Schulz, TDNT, VI: 580–581, 590.)
• The term has a broad meaning, referring to all illicit sexual activity-especially, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bestiality, and prostitution (cf. 1 Cor.5:1, 6:13, 18; 7:2; cf. Eph. 5:3; 1 Thess. 4:3).
• That is why some translations explicitly include adultery in the list.
• To distinguish therefore, Adultery is illicit sex between married people, while fornication generally refers to the same sin among unmarried people (Wiersbe, Warren W.: The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1996, c1989, S. Ga 5:139
Promiscuity was rampant in the Graeco-Roman world in Paul’s time.
Quote: It was so common, that one author notes, that “except when carried to excess, it was not regarded as specially reprehensible.”( Bruce, p. 247.)
From incest in the Roman imperial family, to homosexuality in Greek society, to casual adultery and fornication in the streets of villages, sexual life was described by one author as “a lawless chaos.”( Barclay, Flesh and Spirit, p. 24.)
Society had come to accept sexual immorality as routine, philosophy had concluded that the physical body was naturally evil and its actions of little importance, and (common) religion had embraced prostitution in its ritual. (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 5:19)
Humanity has been created for a purpose:
1 Corinthians 6:13 [13]"Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"--and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. (ESV)
Many young people search for God’s will in terms of a mate or job. The very first place to start in finding this out God’s will is to follow what God has revealed explicitly as His will:
1 Thessalonians 4:3 [3]For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; (ESV)
Since there are times that Christians do not walk by the Spirit, sexual immorality, like others sins will be committed. But how can this sin be battled? The worst way is to think that you are beyond temptation and ignore it.
1 Corinthians 6:18 [18]Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. (ESV)
The second sin listed in the area of sexuality, is Impurity/Uncleanness/Lewdness is akatharsia, and was used medically to refer to an infected, oozing wound.
• In Scripture the term is used of both moral and ceremonial uncleanness, any impurity that prevents a person from approaching God.
Please turn to Ephesians 5
• Impurity is also a broad term referring to moral uncleanness in our thought life, speech, and actions (Anders, Max: Galatians-Colossians. Nashville, TN : Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999 (Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference 8), S. 64)
When sexual immorality spills over into other areas of our life, it is impurity.
Ephesians 5:3-5 [3]But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. [4]Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. [5]For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (ESV)
Please turn to Romans 1
For a society to continue to disregard God’s standard for sexuality holiness, He allows them to become consumed with their own desires, and suffer the consequences of their actions
This is a Judgment to a culture that will not heed God
Romans 1:26-32 [26]For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; [27]and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. [28]And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. [29]They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, [30]slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31]foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. [32]Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (ESV)
The third sin listed in the area of sexuality, is Sensuality/Lasciviousness/debauchery/lewdness which is from aselgeia, which originally referred to any excess or shameless lack of restraint but came to be associated primarily with sexual excess.
• This term was used to describe an attitude of utter disregard for the opinions and conventions which governed others (KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 2398)
• It is the total disregard for all decency. It is the broadest of the three terms used thus far, and also the strongest. In ancient literature it referred to the blatant impudence of a Roman soldier who publicly urinated on the temple grounds at Jerusalem (Josephus, Antiquities, 20.5.3.) It is the final state of the person who no longer cares about either public censure or divine wrath (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 5:19)
• In speaking of the unbridled wantonness of the children of Israel in his day, the prophet Jeremiah asked: “Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush” (Jer 6:15).
It is unrestrained sexual indulgence, such as has become so common in the modern Western world. It refers to uninhibited sexual indulgence without shame and without concern for what others think or how they may be affected (or infected).
Please turn to Mark 7
Jesus includes this sin as indicative of humanity’s basic problem. Jesus made clear that humanity’s basic problem is not with what is outside but with what is within.
Mark 7:20-23 [20]And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. [21]For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, [22]coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. [23]All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (ESV)
We have seen to humanity’s defilement in the area of 1)Sexuality and now:
2) Defilement in the area of Religion. (Galatians 5:20a)
Galatians 5:20a [20]idolatry, sorcery, (enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions), (ESV)
• These are infractions of the First and Second Commandments.
They would naturally be listed after the sins of sexuality because ancient idolatry often included male and female prostitution (Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:607)
The second group of sins, specifically idolatry and sorcery, relates to man-made religion, which is as much a product of the flesh as are sexual sins. The deeds of the flesh not only defile people themselves but also their relationship to God. All human religion is based on self-effort, on people’s sinful insistence that they can make themselves acceptable to their own humanly-conceived god by their own merits. Consequently, human religion is the relentless enemy of divine grace and therefore of the gospel.
Please turn to Colossians 3
Idolatry is the obvious sin of worshiping human-made images of whatever sort. It is the act of putting things ahead of God and people.
We are to worship God, love people, and use things, but too often we use people, love self, and worship things, leaving God out of the picture completely.
The Judaizers mistakenly believed that external law and religious adherence would stop the deeds of the flesh. In Colossians 3, Paul shows that they do not prevent sexual sins, which are in themselves a form of idolatry:
Colossians 2:20-3:9 [20]If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations-- [21]"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" [22](referring to things that all perish as they are used)--according to human precepts and teachings? [23]These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. [3:1]If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2]Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [3]For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [4]When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. [5]Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. [6]On account of these the wrath of God is coming. [7]In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. [8]But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. [9]Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices (ESV)
• Because believers have died with Christ (Col. 2:20, 3:3) they can get rid of sinful practices (Rom. 6:11; 8:13)
• One of the clearest ways that the sins of sexual immorality are a form of idolatry, is the nature of how this sin fills and consumes the mind. Instead of having a concept of the kingdom of God as the filter for actions, a sexual focus becomes the lens by which thoughts and actions are consumed. Fulfilling sexual desire becomes the mental or physical objective instead of glorifying God.
Quote: William Barclay makes this important observation about ancient idolatry: “The essence of idolatry is the desire to get. A man sets up an idol and worships it because he desires to get something out of God. To put it bluntly, he believes that by his sacrifices and his gifts and his worship, he can persuade, or even bribe, God into giving him what he desires.”( Barclay, The Letter to the Colossians, p. 182.)
Sorcery/witchcraft translates the Greek word pharmakeia, from which we get pharmacy and pharmaceutical. “Witchcraft” (öáñìáêåßá, pharmakeia) began as the attempt to use drugs and potions to harm one’s enemies. (Ironically, on the positive side, it was out of this dabbling in drugs that modern medical science and the pharmaceutical industry originated.) By the time of Paul the word had come to include magic, incantations, drugs, and all the occult means by which people attempt to manipulate the dark powers of the supernatural world.
Thus sorcery/witchcraft and idolatry, alike in their condemnation by God (Deut 18:10–12), were also alike in their motive: the attempt to use the power of the unseen world for one’s own selfish purposes (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 5:20)
• Linking the pure definition of sorcery with illicit pharmacy, it is through the medical community that drugs are administered in abortion, euthanasia or biomedical genetic engineering.
Illustration: J.I. Packer described the propensity to Other Gods
What other gods could we have besides the Lord? Plenty. For Israel there were the Canaanite Baals, those jolly nature gods whose worship was a rampage of gluttony, drunkenness, and ritual prostitution. For us there are still the great gods Sex, Shekels, and Stomach (an unholy trinity constituting one god: self), and the other enslaving trio, Pleasure, Possessions, and Position, whose worship is described as “The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Football, the Firm, and Family are also gods for some. Indeed the list of other gods is endless, for anything that anyone allows to run their life becomes thier god and the claimants for this prerogative are legion. In the matter of life’s basic loyalty, temptation is a many-headed monster.
(Your Father Loves You by James Packer, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986, page for April 17)
