I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:16-18)
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
Just so we are all clear, the works of the flesh mean the following:
Adultery is when a married person has sex with a person other than their spouse.
Fornication is when a person has sex with another person and they are not married to each other.
Uncleanness means not clean, foul, dirty, filthy, morally defiled.
Lewdness is obscenity, lustful, being preoccupied with sex and sexual desire.
Idolatry is the worship of an object or person as a god.
Sorcery use of magical powers through evil spirits, illicit drug use.
Hatred is intense dislike or ill will, prejudiced hostility and animosity.
Contentions is a heated disagreement, act or instance of striving in controversy and debate.
Jealousies is an unhappy or angry feeling of wanting to have what someone else has, resentment against a rival or a person enjoying success or advantage.
Wrath is forceful, often vindictive anger.
Selfish is having or showing concern only for yourself and not for the needs or feelings of others.
Ambitions is an eager desire to achieve something, such as fame and power. (James 4:3)
Dissensions are disagreements that lead to discord.
Heresies are beliefs or opinions that do not agree with the Word of God.
Envy is the feeling of wanting to have what someone else has.
Murders is the unlawful killing of one human being by another human being, especially with premeditated malice.
Drunkenness is habitual intoxication, delirious with or as if with strong drink.
Revelries is lively and noisy festivities, usually involving the drinking of large amounts of alcohol.
We all have been guilty of at least one of these sins of the flesh, For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:10) But for us who have accepted salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
If we profess to be Christians, but we are daily fulfilling the lusts of the flesh without any conviction that we are doing wrong, we may not be what we profess to be, because those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. We can call ourselves anything, but the proof that we are a Christians is that we are filled with the Holy Spirit, And when He has come, He [the Spirit of truth] will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (John 16:8) No, we don't change immediately, but we do immediately become less comfortable willingly committing sin, to the point that we eventually don't practice it anymore.
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. (I John 2:3-5) No, we are not perfect, but the love of God is perfected in us if we commit through the power of the Holy Spirit to "deny ourselves, and take up our cross daily, and follow Christ". (Luke 9:23; Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34) Why would Christ say deny first? Because He knows that we want to fulfill the lusts of the flesh because we enjoy doing those things. But God commands that we “Be holy, for I [the Lord your God] am holy.” (I Peter 1:16; Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7, 20:26, 21:8)
The issue is not whether we are sinners or not, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23) But the question is, if we want to have a relationship with a holy God, are we willing to deny ourselves the things we naturally want to do because we are still in the flesh; take up our cross daily of struggling to let go of those things God commands us not to do; and follow Christ, Who will help us overcome our lusts of the flesh? Most people will say no, I don't want to do this, ...for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
But for the few of us who choose to accept salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, those of us who really are what we profess to be, Christians, we have an assurance from God that we will overcome the lusts of the flesh. We are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and therefore we walk in the Spirit and are led by the Spirit. We, over time, no longer enjoy to the point where we will no longer practice the works of the flesh; But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering [patience], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:22-26)
Love is God! In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (I John 3:10) “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27) Love is not what you do with a person. Most people misuse the word love by saying "making love". That's not making love, that's having sex, committing adultery, fornication, practicing homosexuality, lesbianism, sodomy, bestiality, etc., which is sin (Leviticus 18; Romans 1:18-32), unless it is sex between a man and a woman who are married to each other (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:1-9; Mark 10:1-10 )! Love is not just how you feel about someone nor is it what you do with someone, but love is how you treat first God and then everyone else. (I Corinthians 13)
If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we have all these fruit of the Spirit, and over time, just like it takes the fruit to grow on a tree, this fruit will become evident in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Jesus said it best, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit." (Matthew 12:33) “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit." (Luke 6:43-44)
The conclusion is this, if we are Christians, you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh nor practice the works of the flesh, but we will walk in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit. Why? Because we love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind, so much so that we are willing to deny ourselves, and take up our cross daily, and follow Christ! Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (I John 2:15-17) AMEN!
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