A political career marked by unfulfilled promise came to an end Friday as Ontario Conservative Leader John Tory announced his resignation following a devastating by-election defeat Thursday. Although he was able to succeed as CEO of Rogers Cable Inc., managing partner at his family’s law firm, and commissioner of the Canadian Football League, his 4 1/2 years at the helm of the provincial Conservatives were drowned out by Mr. Tory’s lack of political insight, as one observer remarked.
In an emotional press conference, Mr. Tory, 54, laid out his own shortcomings. He acknowledged his failure to unite contrasting elements in his own party, including some who actively worked against him in this week’s byelection in the riding of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock. Mr. Tory on Friday said he was unable to adapt himself to the "show business" of contemporary politics. http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=1361854
When there are personal failings coupled with group conflict, the results are always disastrous. When the Apostle Paul wanted to contrast the life of a spirit filled Christian with someone dominated by the works of the flesh he commented on the nature of Sexual and religious defilement.
The struggle with sin marks one who is led by the Spirit. Someone who exists in the flesh does not struggle with what they are most comfortable with. In Galatians 5:20b-21, Paul outlines several pitfalls to watch out for in personal and group dynamics. Understanding the nature of these pitfalls helps us to avoid those things that will be destructive and provide personal directions for living a Spirit controlled life. It has a bearing on our personal, relational and divine relationship
We see 1) Relational Struggle (Galatians 5:20b-21a) and 2) Personal Struggle (Galatians 5:21b)
1) Relational Struggle (Galatians 5:20b-21a)
Galatians 5:20b-21 [20](idolatry, sorcery), enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21]envy, (drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God). (ESV)
• These sins are against the neighbor, essentially a breaking of the Fifth Commandment
The third group of sins relates to human relationships, which are defiled by these specific sins as well as by many others. It represents the breakdown of Christian community.
• There is a degradation from feelings (e.g., hostilities) to actions (quarrels) to results (factions) (Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 400)
Quote: SIN WILL:
1. TAKE YOU FARTHER THAN YOU PLANNED ON GOING.
2. KEEP YOU LONGER THAN YOU PLANNED ON STAYING
3. COST YOU MORE THAN YOU PLANNED ON PAYING.
(Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com)
1) Emnity/Hatred (echthrai) is in the plural form, denoting primarily a feeling of enmity between groups (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)
Titus 3:3 [3]For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. (ESV)
The New Testament Ethic explains what the intent of the law meant:
1 John 3:15 [15]Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (ESV)
• It closely relates to the Greek work for enemy (echthros). This form of hatred includes any kind of political, racial, or religious hostility, whether public or private (Philip Graham Ryken. Galatians: Reformed Expository Commentary. P&R Publications 2005. p. 230).
• Racism, for example, is the spirit that looks with evil suspicion on anyone of a different race, tongue, nation, or creed (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 5:20)
• If the list of eight social sins here are meant to be seen as the mirror opposites of those qualities or actions listed as the fruit of the Spirit in vss. 22–23, then enmity/hatred is contrasted with love in this discussion (Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 400)
These often result in:
2) strife/variance/Discord/wrangling/contention/quarreling (eris) among individuals, including bitter conflicts.
• Strife is rivalry or discord, which comes from a quarrelsome spirit. (Philip Graham Ryken. Galatians: Reformed Expository Commentary. P&R Publications 2005. p. 230).
• Wrong attitudes invariably bring wrong actions.
• One may therefore translate “they argue/quarrel with one another,” or “they fight with one another with words.” (Arichea, Daniel C. ; Nida, Eugene Albert: A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. New York : United Bible Societies, 1993 (UBS Handbook Series; Helps for Translators), S. 138)
• Strife represents any contention, fighting, struggling, quarreling, dissension and wrangling. It is when someone fights against another person in order to get something: position, power, promotion, honor or recognition.
Titus 3:9 [9]But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. (ESV)
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 1
A specific form of this strife is when people begin to choose sides and pit one side against the other in a hostile manner:
1 Corinthians 1:11-12 [11]For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. [12]What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." (ESV)
• “Keep your place in 1 Corinthians”
• It is a natural mirror opposite to the third fruit listed in vs. 22, namely ‘peace’((Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 400))
3) Jealousy/Emulations/selfish ambition is a form of anger and hateful resentment caused by coveting for oneself what belongs to someone else.
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 3
Jealousy (zēlos) refers not to the godly form but to the sinful and self-centered type (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).
Jealousy is a characteristic of people of the flesh:
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 [3:1]But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. [2]I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, [3]for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? (ESV)
• Jealousy and strife go together, for what started out as intense devotion to a leader (1 Cor. 1) so that every other name is immediately dismissed amid much strife, it degenerates into a jealous craving to retain the feeling of closeness to that leader, to “possess” them, as it were, and to enhance their prestige come what may.
• The term in the plural is the virtual antithesis to the sixth part of the fruit—generosity or goodness toward others (ἀγαθωσύνη) (Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 401)
4) Fits/Outbursts of anger/wrath/rage (thymoi) are sudden, unrestrained expressions of hostility toward others, often with little or no provocation or justification. It is the all-too-common sin of unbridled temper. (cf. 2 Cor. 12:20; Ephes. 4:31; Col. 3:8 cf. Rom. 2:8 where it is coupled with wrath).
• The “fits of anger” that so easily get out of control in fallen men, then, are what we also call “losing your temper.”
Quote: Aristotle compared this to Emotions which flame up suddenly, “like fire in straw, quickly blazing up.” (Aristotle, Rhet. ii. 13.)
• Or like does that “bark if there is but a knock at the door, before looking to see if it is a friend (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, in the Basic Works of Aristotle, ed. Richard McKeon, Trans. W.D. Ross (New York: Random House, 1941), 1046 (7.6.1).
Please turn to Ephesians 4
• This may be contrasted to the fourth item listed in vs. 22—μακροθυμία which in its adjectival form most “commonly … occurs in the NT in the sense of a patient endurance of wrong without anger” (cf. 2 Cor. 6:6; Ephes. 4:2; Col. 1:11; 3:12 cf. the verbal form in 1 Thess. 5:14) (Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 400)
Ephesians 4:31-32 [31]Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. [32]Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (ESV)
• If we were to separate the aspect of anger from rage, we could see that the contrast of fits of rage may be contrasted with ‘kindness’ (χρηστότης cf. Rom. 2:4; 11:22; 2 Cor. 6:6), the fifth item listed as part of the fruit. Kindness is by definition a beneficent disposition toward others (Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 401)
5) Some translations/manuscripts add the term Selfish ambition (eritheiai) which is a self-aggrandizing attitude which shows itself in working to get ahead at other’s expense (cf. Phil. 2:3) (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. 2:608)
Romans 2:8 [8]but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. (ESV)
• “Selfish ambition” (ἐριθει̂αι, eritheiai, plural of ἐριθεία, eritheia) is derived from the word for a hireling, someone who does something only for the pay (cf. Tobit 2:11). Crooked politicians, who serve in office only for what they can get out of it, are a good example of this. In Aristotle eritheia is the kind of self-seeking election intrigue that causes governments to fall, merely to satisfy the political cravings of the politician (Aristotle: Politics, 1302 b 4, 1303 a 14).
Illustration: When Paul was imprisoned in Rome awaiting a possible sentence of death from Nero, certain preachers were scheming to stir up even more trouble against Paul. They were jealous of Paul’s stature, and acting out of “selfish ambition,” they wanted to see him punished for his success (Phil 1:17).
6) ““Rivalries/“Factions/Seditions/Dissensions/Divisions/Rebellion” (dichostasiai) is the final result of the conflict. It comes from a verb meaning “to choose” literally “dividing and standing apart.” Originally it was the process of choosing up sides over an issue; later it came to mean the troublesome issue itself.
• This would include a rebellious attitude to authority with the attempt to stir up discontentment and generate complaint.
If we were to consider the process at work here, unhealthy rivalries often result in Divisions which then split into factions. Some translations actually list the term heresy, pointing to the too often result of these divisions.
In Rom 16:17 Paul warned against:
Romans 16:17-18 [17]I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. [18]For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (ESV)
• Divisions in the form of denominationalism have cruelly splintered the body of Christ.
Please turn to 2 Peter 2
A linguistic derivative of division is heresy (αἱρέσεις, haireseis, plural of αἵρεσις, hairesis) as this word is presented in some translations (KJV). When God’s people divide into “sects” or factions around a particular issue or a notable champion of that issue, they are following the urging of their sinful nature. The fundamental problem is not choosing the wrong teacher or the wrong side of an issue; the problem is in choosing up sides over the issue in the first place (Boles, Kenneth L.: Galatians & Ephesians. Joplin, Mo. : College Press, 1993 (The College Press NIV Commentary), S. Ga 5:20)
2 Peter 2:1-3 [2:1]But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. [2]And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. [3]And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (ESV)
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 1
When heresy is avoided and there is unity in the truth, the people of God can be united. Unity can only happen through truth. It is not something we can create. God is the author of truth and we are commanded to preach and stand for truth.
1 Corinthians 1:10-13 [10]I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. [11]For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. [12]What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." [13]Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (ESV)
““Rivalries/Divisions/“Factions” and “Dissensions” taken together may be contrasted with ‘faithfulness’ which is the attribute of those who are dedicated to others, those who serve rather than sever the body of Christ, those who overlook differences, rather than use differences as an excuse to create factions (Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 401).
• Our study on the Gifts of the Spirit have been pointing to the corporate nature of service that the Holy Spirit provides in the sovereign allocation and expectation of gifts.
7) Envy/malice/ill will φθόνοι, is the final item in the list of sins against the community of faith (cf. Mt. 27:18; Mk. 15:10; Rom. 1:29; Phil. 1:15; 1 Tim. 6:4; 1 Pet. 2:10).
Please turn to 1 Timothy 6
• “Envy” (φθόνοι, phthonoi, plural of φθόνος, phthonos) is the most sinister form of jealousy. It is not inspired to noble ambition by the success of others, nor even to simple jealousy and coveting. It is “pain at another’s good,”(Diogenes Laertius 7.63, III.) the base feeling of those who are “pained at their friend’s successes.”( Xenophon, Mem. 3.9.8.)
• Envy could be considered the desire for what others have and jealousy, the displeasure on the consideration that one does not have what another does.
• Our English word envy is from the Latin in-video, meaning “to look against,” that is to look with ill-will at another person because of what someone is or has.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 [3]If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, [4]he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, [5]and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. (ESV)
It was envy that cause the murder of Abel, threw Joseph into a pit, caused Korah, Datha, and Abiram to rebel agaist Moses and Aaron, made Saul pursue David, and gave rise to the bitter words which “the elder brother” (in the Parable of the Prodigal Son) addressed to his father, and crucified Christ (William Hendriksen. Galatians New Testament Commentary. Baker Publishing Group. 2002. p. 221).
• Love never envies (1 Cor. 13:4)
8) A number of Greek manuscripts and so some translations include an eighth “work of the flesh,” namely, “murder.” Murder could be consider the ultimate form of hostility towards others (cf. Rev. 21:8).
• Linking with the previous section on the warning with sorcery, the modern movement of abortion and euthanasia would fit into this category.
If you find it difficult to put envy and murder together, it will help to recall that in Matthew 27:18 and Mark 15:10 it was out of envy that the high priests delivered Christ to Pilate to be crucified (Dunnam, Maxie D. ; Ogilvie, Lloyd J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 31 : Galatians / Ephesians / Philippians / Colossians / Philemon. Nashville, Tennessee : Thomas Nelson Inc, 1982 (The Preacher’s Commentary Series 31), S. 111)
This term is perhaps reserved for last in this particular part of the list because Paul was fearful it could become a besetting sin of the Galatians and the root cause of divisions and factions. This term is in various respects the opposite of πραΰτης which in the NT almost invariably means considerateness or gentleness toward others (1 Cor. 4:21; 2 Cor. 10:1; Gal. 6:1; Ephes. 4:2). The person who envies or is malicious considers only themselves and their desires. The focus is on what others have that he or she wants. By contrast is the considerate person who manifests a concern for others’ well being, considerateness being “the opposite of an arrogant and self-assertive spirit” (Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 401)
We may sum up this portion of our discussion by suggesting that Paul holds up three mirrors to the Galatians in 5:19–23—the mirror of the pagan past, the mirror of the present and possible future if dissensions and factions grow under the malign influence of the agitators, and finally the mirror of the true Christian community.
• The first two stand as contrasts to the third, but there is an especial effort on Paul’s part to contrast the social sins which are beginning to plague the Galatians with the fruit of the Spirit, as we can see now from the following chart:
A Summary of Contrasts
Acts of hatred versus Love (and joy)
Discord versus Peace
Anger (quick temper) versus Patience
Fits of rage versus Acts of kindness
Acts of selfish ambition versus Acts of genorosity
Dissensions leading to factions versus Faithfulness to others
Acts of envy versus Acts of considerateness.
(Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 402)
We have seen We see 1) Relational Struggle (Galatians 5:20b-21a) and finally
2) Personal Struggle (Galatians 5:21b)
1) “Drunkenness” (μέθαι, methai, plural of μέθη, methē) is excessive indulgence in wine and strong drink. While wine was an everyday drink in the Mediterranean world, even pagan Romans and Greeks normally diluted the wine with water to avoid intoxication. A common ratio was one part wine to three parts water. Anything as strong as a 1:1 ratio was called “strong wine.” (Robert H. Stein, “Wine-Drinking in New Testament Times,” Christianity Today (June 20, 1975) 9.)
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 5
• Drunkenness is so dangerous for it weakens people’s rational and moral control over their words and actions.”
1 Corinthians 5:9-11 [9]I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- [10]not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. [11]But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler--not even to eat with such a one. (ESV)
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 [9]Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [10]nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (ESV)
Drunkenness and orgies/carousing/revellings probably had special reference to the activities that so often characterized the pagan worship ceremonies that many of the Gentile converts of Galatia had once participated in.
• Drunken revelry and “carousing or orgies often accompanied bouts of drinking and the festivals honoring the gods, particularly the god Dionysius (or Bacchus)”( Witherington III, Ben: Grace in Galatia : A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998, S. 399)
2) Orgies (kōmoi) closes the list of sins linking with the previous of idolatry for it probably refers to the drunken carousings commonly associated with such things as the worship of Bacchus, the god of wine (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. 2:608)
• In a more general and universal sense, however, they refer to becoming drunk under any circumstance and to all rowdy, boisterous, and crude behavior.
Romans 13:13 [13]Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. (ESV)
1 Peter 4:3 [3]For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. (ESV)
As already observed, and things like these indicates that Paul’s list of deeds of the flesh is only representative and not exhaustive.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 [22]Abstain from every form of evil. (ESV)
Quote: Barclay notes this “grim fact” about the works of the flesh:
Without exception, everyone of them is a perversion of something which is in itself good. Immorality, impurity, licentiousness are perversions of the sexual instinct which is in itself a lovely thing and a part of love. Idolatry is a perversion of worship, and was begun as an aid to worship. Sorcery is a perversion of the use of healing drugs in medicine. Envy, jealousy and strife are perversions of that noble ambition and desire to do well which can be a spur to greatness. Enmity and anger are a perversion of that righteous indignation without which the passion for goodness cannot exist. Dissension and the party spirit are a perversion of the devotion to principle which can produce the martyr. Drunkenness and carousing are the perversion of the happy joy of social fellowship and of the things which men can happily and legitimately enjoy. Nowhere is there better illustrated the power of evil to take beauty and to twist it into ugliness, to take the finest things and to make them an avenue for sin. The awfulness of the power of sin lies precisely in its ability to take the raw material of potential goodness and turn it into the material of evil (Barclay, Flesh and Spirit, p. 39.)
These sins were not the only ones that Galatian believers had only recently been tempted by or fallen into. I warn you again, Paul says, just as I have warned you before about them in the past (see 1.9; 4.16; 5.3).. These appear to have been sins that were dominant in the culture and by which the Galatians were still being tempted.
The high point of the apostle’s warning is sobering: those who do/practice such things will/shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Because the list of sins is so all-encompassing and the warning so severe, this passage has caused many believers to doubt their salvation.
• “Who hasn’t done some of those things?” people wonder. “What Christian can claim they have not committed a single one of those sins since they have saved? Who could possibly enter the kingdom of God if committing just one of those sins keeps them out?”
The key word in Paul’s warning is do/practice, which translates a present active participle of prassō, indicating durative, ongoing action. It is the continual, habitual doing/practice of such things that marks a person as unregenerate and therefore barred from entrance into the kingdom of God.
• Therefore, the phrase “those who do/practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” should not be interpreted to mean that the person who, at any time, commits one of these sins will go to hell. The present tense of the participle “do/practice” (prassontes, Gk.) indicates that what is warned against here is a habitual life-style. One who habitually lives in such a manner will not “inherit the kingdom of God.” (Believer’s Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Ga 5:21)
Please turn to 1 John 3
Scripture always assesses a person’s character on the basis of his common, habitual actions, not their occasional ones. People who habitually indulge in sin show themselves to be enemies of God, whereas those who habitually do good show themselves to be His children. The unregenerate person occasionally does humanly good things, and the regenerate person occasionally falls into sin. But the basic character of the unregenerate is to do/practice the evil deeds of the flesh and of the regenerate person to bear the good fruit of the Spirit.
This is the heart of John’s teaching in 1 John 3:4–10.
1 John 3:4-10 [4]Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. [5]You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. [6]No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. [7]Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. [8]Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. [9]No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. [10]By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (ESV)
Paul makes a similar statement in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10,
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 [9]Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [10]nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (ESV)
Definition: In its broadest connotation “the kingdom of God” indicates God’s kingship, rule, or sovereignty recognized in the hearts and operative in the lives of His people, and effecting their complete salvation, their constitution as a church, and ultimately a redeemed universe (William Hendriksen. Galatians New Testament Commentary. Baker Publishing Group. 2002. Footnote. p. 222).
To inherit the Kingdom of God is to come into its rightful possession by receiving the free gift of eternal life (Philip Graham Ryken. Galatians: Reformed Expository Commentary. P&R Publications 2005. p. 231).
• While good works cannot get someone into heaven, deeds of the flesh can certainly keep someone out of it.
Kingdoms have kings. How we live our lives shows to whom we hold as king over our lives, be it sexual desire, self, others or God himself. What we give our allegiance to in this life shows to whom we will offer our allegiance to in eternity.
• While people can be restrained by human laws backed up by enforced punishments, only grace can deal with their root cause.
• A genuine believer is not controlled by the flesh and is kept by the power of the Holy Spirit.
