Sermon outline and notes prepared by: Pastor Stephen Felker Swift Creek Baptist Church, 18510 Branders

Bridge Rd., Colonial Heights, VA 23834 6/13/04

Galatians 5:16-21, 24 Why We Sin and How to Overcome It Intro. J. Harold Smith was a famous preacher some years ago. In one church where he pastored, he had trouble from some of the deacons and members. On his 5th anniversary at the church, he put an ad in the paper saying that on Sunday night, he would reveal who in the church had given him the most trouble. Well, more people turned out for the Sunday night service than for the Sunday morning service. In fact, a few deacons showed up with their lawyers! Then, the time came for the great announcement. He said that J. Harold Smith had given him the most trouble! That is what the apostle Paul teaches in this text of Scripture. The greatest enemy of the Christian is not the world, or the devil, but what Paul calls the flesh. Likewise, Jesus made clear that mans basic problem is not with what is outside of him but with what is within him (Mark 7:20-23). Mans environment is not his worst problem. Mans sinful nature is. That is why better housing, jobs, and other such things can do nothing to solve mans basic problem, which is sin inside of him. Paul has already used the term flesh several times in Galatians (3:3, 4:23, 5:13). Our text today deals the most with this subject. I believe I should clarify what Paul means when he talks about the flesh. In this text it refers to our sinful human nature that we all have inherited from Adam and Eve. When they sinned, their sin not only cursed the ground but all their posterity. We all inherit their spiritual disease of sin. This morning I want to make you fully aware of the reality of your sin nature, the seriousness of this problem, and explain more about why you sin. Then, I will share with you part of the solution to defeat the sin nature that we all have. You will have to come back next week to get the complete answer for victory over your sin nature. Now I believe a starting place is this: I. DIAGNOSE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE SIN NATURE Before you can cure a disease, you must first diagnose it. And doctors diagnose illnesses largely through discovering symptoms. In v.19 Paul says, Now the works of the flesh are evident. The spiritual disease of sin becomes manifest in vile and sinful works. Even so Jesus said in Mt. 7:17, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Bad fruit is a symptom of some disease in the tree. Now in vv. 19-21 Paul proceeds to list 15 to 17 works of the flesh.1 The list is not exhaustive but only suggestive of things that were most relevant to the Galatian church. They were also dominant in the culture. For the most part, these sinful works of the flesh are very evident today. After almost 2,000 years man has changed very little because mans nature hasnt changed. It is clear to me that Paul lists them according to 4 classifications. Lets touch on these briefly, and see the clear symptoms of our sin nature:

Listing vices and virtues was common among moral teachers in the ancient world.

A. Sexual Sins For example, Paul mentions fornication. This word eventually came to be the general term for illicit sexual relations, including premarital sex and adultery. One characteristic of life apart from Christ sexual relations outside of marriage. In a poll taken in 2003, 69% of young people said premarital sex is morally acceptable. 2 God says it is wrong, and that makes it so even if the majority says it OK. Paul progresses to mentioning uncleanness. This especially refers to promiscuity, homosexuality, bestiality, and prostitution. These behaviors have proven to be even medically unclean, and not just morally unclean. These are the main causes of sexually transmitted diseases. Finally, Paul gives another manifestation of sexual sin, and the sin nature: Lewdness. This word (aselgeia) originally referred to any excess or lack of restraint but came to be associated primarily with sexual excess. It refers to uninhibited sexual indulgence without shame and without concern for what others think or how they may be affected (or infected). It refers to flagrant breaches of public decency. It refers to a person who totally lacks self-control, a person who gives free play to the impulses of his sinful nature. Their motto is, If it feels good, do it. He thinks he is always on Fantasy Island and that he should fulfill his wildest desires, regardless of what they are, and regardless of the consequences. Do you see this symptom of the sin nature in your own life? B. Spiritual Sins - False religion is as much a product of the sin nature as are sexual sins. One common type of false religion in Pauls day was idolatry. In a strict sense, idolatry is the worship of deity in a visible form. But Paul is probably not thinking of just ancient forms of idol worship. This work of the flesh includes choosing your own religion. It also refers to anything that comes before God in your life. For example, Paul spoke of those who were lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. The Christian who devotes more of himself to his car, house, or boat than he does to serving Christ may be in danger of idolatry (Col. 3:5). He also mentions sorcery. That word is the translation of pharmakeia, a mixer of drugs. It came to denote witchcraft probably because witches make use of drugs. Many ancient religious ceremonies involved occultic practices in which drugs were used to induce the feeling of interaction with deities. You may have seen 20/20 some years ago when they did a report on voodoo on Haiti and the practice of turning people into a zombies. They used a drug derived from a certain fish, along with many other things. They produce a powder, that, when touched, causes a person to become apparently dead. They bury that person, but after about 12 hours and a ceremony, they dig them back up and present them alive. Though they would lead people to believe they had supernatural power, actually it was just drug use. Furthermore, the sin nature leads some to palm readers, spiritualists, astrology, and fortunetellers. When faith in sorcery or false religion replaces trust in God, it is exposed as a form of idolatry. Do you see this symptom of the sin nature in your own life? C. Alcohol Related Sins Two are mentioned in v.21. Drunkenness (methe) no doubt refers to repeated manifestations of intemperance. This is a significant problem today. A recent poll found that 31.5% of high school students admit to binge drinking at least once a month.3 A Harvard School of Public Health survey revealed that 44% of college students are binge drinkers. Many become drunk by choice, and others become drunk by compulsion. The later is a reference to those who become alcoholics. Either way, it is a product of the sin nature. Revelries (komos) refers to engaging in loose, boisterous behavior such as celebrating with unruly merriment and revelry. In
2 3

Religious Herald, 9/25/03. National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, 2001.

Paul's day it referred to disorderly nighttime procession of fellows parading through the streets, with their torches and songs honoring Bacchus, the god of wine. In our day, many weekend parties would fall into this category of a work of the flesh. In such parties people get drunk and stay up all hours of the night. Spring break parties at the beach would be another example. Do you see this symptom of the sin nature in your own life? D. Social Sins This appears to be Pauls focus, for it has more detail than the others. There are many self-righteous religious people who pride themselves on the fact that they do not engage in any of the sins that I have mentioned so far. But they can be as bad as anyone in manifesting the socials sins mentioned here. The sins listed under this category all suggest conflict. Indeed, the flesh destroys fellowship, and unity. The Galatians were involved in theological debates, and they were separating themselves according to Jew and Gentile, circumcised and uncircumcised. This resulted in factions in the Galatian churches, factions that were at one anothers throats. Lets look at them briefly in v.20. Paul mentions hatred (echthra). This is hostility in any form; acting as an enemy. Contentions (eris) is the outworking of enmity in the form of strife, dissension and discord. Jealousies (zelos) is hateful resentment caused by coveting and envy, that results in contentious rivalry. A similar word is used in v.21, envy (phthonos). This is envious desire. It is stronger than the word for jealousy. It is when one becomes discontented as he looks upon another's superiority or success. Whenever the two words are distinguishable, as here, the former can be defined as the fear of losing what one has, while the latter is the displeasure at seeing someone else have something. Envy would even want to deprive that person of what he has. A mother told of the time when her daughter couldn't muster the will power to lose unwanted pounds. One day, watching a slim friend walking up their driveway, she lamented, "Linda's so skinny it makes me sick." The mother replied, "If it bothers you, why don't you do something about it?" "Good idea, Mom," she replied. Turning to her friend, she called out, "Hey, Linda, have a piece of chocolate cake. 4 So envy and jealousy lead to the sins of conflict listed here. Paul mentions other social sins. Wrath (thumos) refers to outbursts of explosive and unrestrained anger. Selfish Ambitions (eritheia) refers to a desire to put one's self forward, a partisan who selfishly seeks position. We see this so often in American politics today. Dissensions (dichostasia) is literally a standing apart. This is the common result of strife, anger, and politics. Its us against them. Also, it can even refer to a little clique in a church. Heresies (hairesis) is a similar word based on the concept of choosing sides (haireomai=choose). It refers to dissensions arising from conflicting opinions and aims. This word could have incidental reference to the Judaizers and their teachings. In more recent history this has resulted in a multitude of different denominations. A church split would also be a description of this. 5 There is still too much of the sin nature being manifested in the church today in the form of factionalism. Many church people think they are being spiritual when they fight over pet issues, but they are actually manifesting the works of the flesh. It does not matter what the issue is; divisiveness and fighting is wrong for the Christian church. We should feel free to discuss issues, and even express disagreement. But when we begin to fight, war, stand off from one another, and stop speaking to one another, we are manifesting the flesh, and God is not pleased! Factionalism is incompatible with the Spirit who brings fellowship and peace.

Doris Fletcher, Reader's Digest, June, 1990. Some good texts include the word murder, as well as the majority of later texts. But some of the best and oldest omit this word.
5

Situations of conflict today are also found between spouses, between parents and children, between labor and management, and between ethnic groups, just to name a few. These social sins of conflict and hostility and divisiveness are products of the sin nature. Do you not see some or even all of these works of the flesh in your own life? We need to recognize that human nature is flawed, and spiritually diseased. In spite of great advances in science, education, and economic development, mankind is still manifesting all of these works of the flesh. The world is trying to tell you that many of these works are natural, and even morally acceptable. That would be like a doctor examining you, asking questions, discovering that you have cancer or heart disease, and saying, Oh, ignore the symptoms. It natural to experience such things. So your first duty is to discern the symptoms of the spiritual disease of our sin nature. Dont live in denial. Dont ignore the symptoms! Men are especially bad about this. Secondly: II. CONSIDER THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SIN PROBLEM Suppose you went to a good doctor who examined you, and recognizing the serious of your disease warned you that if you do nothing, you will only have 6 months to live. Even so, in v.21b Paul says, 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. That is a very strong and sobering statement, isn't it? Paul makes a similar statement in 1 Cor. 6:9-10. He lists examples of the unrighteous, such as thieves, covetous, drunkards, and revilers. He also said, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Paul is warning that if you do nothing about your sin problem, you will miss heaven, and go to hell. Paul is not intending to cause true believers to doubt their salvation. You say, Preacher, my girlfriend and I messed up and committed fornication. Does that mean that I am not saved? Or someone says, I lost my temper the other day and I got in a big verbal fight with my daughter. Does that mean I am not a Christian? Please understand that Paul is not talking here about the act of sin, but a habit of sin. The NKJV rightly translates the Greek word (prasso) as practice, referring to habitual action. Furthermore, the word is in the present tense, which also describes habitual action. [This is the heart of Johns teaching in 1 John 3:4-10]. So in order to apply this sobering truth, we must diagnose how badly we are infected by the spiritual disease of sin. Do you habitually manifest the works of the flesh, or only occasionally? If you can continue to live in sin, you are in a dangerous position. If you can live in sin without the Spirit of God doing battle against it, you are probably not saved. You are probably not a child of God. You can claim to be a Christian all day long, but that doesn't make you one. I can claim to be a dog, and bark like a dog, but that doesn't make me a dog. Too many professing Christians are living in denial about their sin. They will not be honest with the doctor of souls who is trying to help them. Once again, before we can treat the problem, we must first discern how badly we have the sin problem. We must determine if we have truly repented of our sin. You see, there will be one treatment for the person who hasnt truly repented and been born again. Then is another treatment for the born again Christian who is simply struggling with occasional sin. I cant prescribe the right treatment until we can diagnose the exact nature of your spiritual problem. So far we have diagnosed the symptoms of the sin nature. I have also shown you the seriousness of the sin problem. I hope at this point in the message you are ready to be honest with

God, and deal with the sin nature that troubles all of us. So lets take another step toward solving this serious problem, and that is: III. RECOGNIZE THE CONTROLING POWER OF THE SIN NATURE It is clear from v.17 that the sin nature wants to dominate your life, and produce sinful works. Our text identifies the controlling power of the sin nature, and that is lust, or desire. It is the fuel that drives us to action. God Himself has placed desires within us, to motivate us to do certain things, such as eat. But the sin nature uses both God-given and sinful desires to drive us to do sinful things. In fact, in v.16 Paul speaks about the possibility of bringing desire to fulfillment or completion. So you see, sin begins with desire. In fact, James 1:15 says, Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.... So inward desire is a big factor in dealing with the question of why we sin. Sexual sins are certainly driven by desire. The sins of enmity and conflict often are fueled by jealous desires, or selfish ambition. So it is clear that Paul is not just talking about sensual, physical desire. Addiction is fueled by the desire for that next drink, or that next drug. The sin nature can take even good, God-given desires, and seek fulfillment in wrong ways or excessively. The desire for food is necessary & God given, but too many pervert that desire into gluttony. Now if you are a Christian, you will experience conflicting desires. You need to understand the battle that will take place in your life. In fact, 1 Peter 2:11 speaks of fleshly lusts which war against the soul. When you are born again, your new nature desires to do right and to please God. But your sin nature desires to sin. The very wording of the text indicates the intensity of the lifelong tug of war. V.17 can be translated, the desires of the sin nature are contrary to the desires of the Spirit. Simply put in the next phrase, These are contrary the one to the other. The two are contrary since their aims and purposes are diametrically opposed. Therefore, there is a fierce and unrelenting warfare to establish dominion over a man's soul. Paul himself faced that constant struggle with the flesh, as he confesses in chapter 7 of his letter to the Romans (vv. 18-19, 21-23).6 So what should you do about this problem? Should you wave the white flag, and surrender to the sin nature? No! There is no peace in surrendering to sin, for God says in Isaiah 48:22, There is no peace for the wicked. What, then, should we do? If desire is the fuel that the sin nature uses to propel us to sinful acts, then we need to deal with our desires, especially sinful desires. We need to cut the supply line of fuel. We need to quit feeding the desires of the sin nature. So one strategy is to minimize sinful desires, or desires that would lead to sin. The most effective way for a Christian to oppose the desires and deeds of the flesh is to starve them to death, or as Paul says, to make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts (Rom. 13:14). The safest way to avoid a sin is to avoid situations that are likely to pose temptations to it. For example, if you want to avoid sexual sin, then don't pick up a sexually explicit magazine, or go to sexually explicit internet sites. Don't watch sexually explicit movies. You even need to prevent access to such material in your home. And don't be home alone with the opposite sex, and put yourself in a situation where the sexual desires heat up to the point where you seem to have little self-control. Or take alcohol for example. Young people, you should avoid parties where you know alcohol will be offered to you. Doesnt that make sense? Finally, we must do more. Dealing with desire is only part of the answer. So last of all, I urge you to:
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On the other hand, the unsaved person only has a conflict between conscience and his sin nature. It is only in the lives of believers that the Spirit can fight against the flesh, because it is only in believers that the Spirit dwells.

IV. ACT ON CHRISTS VICTORY OVER THE SIN NATURE In v.24 Paul talks about those who are Christ's. What I am saying here only applies to Christians. Christ died to save you from sin, and if you have responded by repentance and faith, then you belong to Christ. That is certainly the first step in gaining victory over sin. Then, Paul states here that all true believers have in fact crucified the flesh. Paul uses the past aorist tense, which generally refers to a past act.7 In the book of Romans, Paul affirms that at the time of our justification, our old self was crucified with [Christ] (6:6). The apostle has already said in Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ. In each of those passages, crucified is simply a vivid and dramatic way to say killed, or executed. In 5:24 Paul is saying that the flesh has been executed as an accomplished fact. You see, by virtue of faith in Christ, you have become united with Him in His death. His death counts as payment for your sin. And His death accomplished the death of your sin nature. But how could that be in light of what he has just said in this chapter about believers having a constant war with the ever-present flesh? In none of those passages does Paul mean to imply that the crucifixion analogy carries the idea of total death, in which all influence ceases. But there was a sense in which the power of the old self was broken. The best understanding is to see have crucified as an allusion to the cross of Jesus Christ, the time at which the death of the flesh was actually accomplished. Yet, because we are still alive on the earth and still possess our humanness, we have not yet entered into the future fullness of that past event. The flesh with its passions is dead in the sense of no longer reigning over us or of holding us in inescapable bondage. It is not enough to know of the victory over the flesh that Christ has provided. We must also act upon it, and apply it to our lives. Paul does not fully develop this aspect in Galatians, but he does in Romans. We have been crucified with Christ. Then, in vv.11-13 of Romans 6, we see that it is our responsibility to believe this and act upon it. We are to put into practice what we are in principle. God says that you have died to sin. Now it is our responsibility to reckon ourselves as dead to sin. Now to put this in plain terms, our responsibility begins with a death to self that involves repentance. Christ died for you; now you must die to sin for Him. Col. 3:3 says, For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ died for me to remove the penalty of my sin, but I died with Christ to break its power. Easy believism will not save you. You must repent; die to self and sin. The believer is now joined to the living Christ, and the victory is not by struggling but by surrendering to Christ. The scriptural word is yield; it is a decisive act of the will. The person who says, I couldn't stop myself is either not a Christian or lacks understanding, for God says you have died to sin and thus you are free from its power. Conclusion: A prostitute came to John MacArthurs church one day looking for help. She was quite successful financially but was plagued by tremendous feelings of guilt and anxiety. She drank heavily, took drugs, and realized her life was a mess. When he explained the gospel to her and assured her that God was eager to forgive her sins and give her new life if she trusted in Jesus Christ, she expressed great interest. During the course of their conversation, she had told him of a little book in which she kept the names and phone numbers of her customers. He suggested that she take the book and burn it right then, as a symbol of her repentance and renunciation of her old
7

However, Dana and Mantey calls this a clear case of the gnomic aorist. They translate this, It is the normal disposition of those who are Christ's to crucify the flesh. A gnomic aorist is an axiomatic truth.

life. But she balked at the idea, saying, I cant do that! Those names are worth thousands of dollars. I guess I dont want Jesus as much as I thought I did. Like many people, she knew her way of life was wrong and ruinous, but she loved it more than the Lord, and would not give it up.8 That is the same problem with many people. They are just not willing to repent, and die to sin. Have you died to sin? Have you committed your whole self to God? If you have not yet repented of sin and placed your faith in Jesus as Savior, your sins will condemn you to exclusion from heaven and an eternity in hell. But there is a way out from under your condemnation. First you must repent. Then you must put your trust in Christ (Eph. 2:9). Most in my audience have already repented & believed in Jesus. The question of you is, Have you been carrying out your responsibilities to the flesh? Won't you present yourself today as dead to sin and alive to God in rededication of your life?
Sources: W.A. Criswell, Expository Sermons on Galatians (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973); H. E. Dana & Julius R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (Toronto: The Macmillan Company, 1955); William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Galatians & Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1968); Alvah Hovey, An American Commentary on the New Testament: Galatians (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1887); J.B. Lightfoot, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1957); John F. MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Galatians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1987); Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Vol. 14 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977 reprint); J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible, Vol. 5 (Pasadena: Thru The Bible Radio, 1983); Scot McKnight, The NIV Application Commentary: Galatians Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995); Larry Pierce, Online Bible [CD-ROM] (Ontario: Timnathserah Inc., 1996); Lehman Strauss, Devotional Studies in Galatians and Ephesians (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1957); Curtis Vaughan, Galatians: A Study Guide Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1972); Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Free: Galatians (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1975); Kenneth S. Wuests Word Studies From the Greek New Testament, Vol. 1, Galatians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1944, 1973). Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982).

John F. MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Galatians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1987).