Category Archives: Flesh

Battles, Bible, Crucified, Death, Flesh, Forgiveness, Redemption, Scripture, Sin

CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST

GALATIANS 5:24

“Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

The idea of being crucified does not appeal to me. How about you? You’ve probably read a lot about the agony of that. Christ suffered greatly. The pain must have been unbelievable. Yet He did it all for you and me. Why? Why would any sane person go through that for someone else? Because He was following the Father’s plan of redemption for us. Look at what Paul says about how that affects us.

Paul says a statement here that is repeated throughout the New Testament, in one way or another. He says if we are in Christ, we have “crucified the flesh.” That act of crucifixion means death. Paul is saying our flesh should be dead. Its passions and desires should be irrelevant. Dead men don’t have passions and desires, right? Let’s see some other references to this gift from our Lord.

APPLICATION

Of course, just back a few chapters, we find Galatians 2:20 (my life verse). It says we have “been crucified with Christ.” The verb there is sustauroo from sun and stauroo, which means to impale in company with, to crucify with. When Christ’s physical body died on that cross, our flesh died with it. Sin no longer has a hold on us. Do we really understand that?

Romans 6:6-7 say, “6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for the one who has died is freed from sin.” The same Greek word is used there for “crucified with.” We don’t have an excuse for sin. We can’t blame our sin nature. It has been nailed to the cross.

What is our excuse for sin? Simply, our choice to sin. My former brother-in-law used to say, “Before salvation we chased sin. After salvation sin chases us.” We should be pursuing Jesus every day. We should be chasing righteousness. Paul told Timothy that in 1 Timothy 6:11. “But flee from these things (fleshly things), you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” What are you chasing today?

O Lord, I run to You. I have You in my sights and am pursuing You. 

Standard
Abiding, Accountability, Battles, Bible, Choices, Drunkenness, Envy, Eternity, Flesh, Scripture

DEEDS OF THE FLESH, PART 3

GALATIANS 5:21

“envy, 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.”

Over the past few days, we have been looking at Paul’s descriptive list of the “deeds of the flesh.” While not totally exhaustive, it is a long list of fifteen things. We will finish up that list in today’s verse and look at Paul’s closing remarks on them.

Paul mentions three other deeds of the flesh in verse 21 which are pretty comprehendible. We all know what “envy” is, right? It’s really being glad at someone’s misfortune. Yuk! “Drunkenness” is well…drunkenness. Enough said. “Carousing” is a little better defined as “a riotous party (drunken feast) which hosted unbridled sexual immorality.” (Helps Word-studies)

APPLICATION

In order to really understand these fifteen deeds of the flesh that he lists here, Paul wraps it up this way, “those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Wow! That’s pretty heavy. If Paul were to say that in our society today, he might get stoned again. But the key to his statement is the word translated as “practice.” It’s the Greek word, prasso, and means to make this a regular liftstyle.

Let’s face it – we all slip up every once in a while. We read in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Only Jesus walked this earth is sinless perfection. Paul warns us that if practice these deeds we will not see heaven. That should be enough to keep someone on the straight and narrow, but it isn’t.

Paul knew that fear tactics would not work. He had tried to drive fear into the early believers as a Pharisee to make them recount their faith. Paul know only the love of Christ is enough to lead people to the cross. What is your driving force today for the choices you make? Your flesh? Fear? Greed? Or is it the love of Jesus?

Lord, I run from these fleshly enticements and into Your arms.

Standard
Attributes, Bible, Choices, Flesh, Hostilities, Idols, Jealousy, Scripture, Strife, Witchcraft

DEEDS OF THE FLESH, PART 2

GALATIANS 5:20

“idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions,”

We continue today in the list of things Paul named as “deeds of the flesh.” Hang on with me. Don’t let me lose you. Some of these words really get defined well when we look at the Greek word. Mark this blog down as a word study. I believe these words are here for a reason for us today.

Verse 20 begins with “idolatry” which is just a worship of idols, false gods. While most of us have not been exposed to that directly, there are still billions of people around the world who are engaged in this practice.

“Witchcraft” is the Greek word , pharmakeía, which comes from pharmakeuō, “administer drugs”). It refers to drug-related sorcery, like the practice of magical-arts.

“Hostilities” is literally hatred. God hates hatred. Does that sound ironic? Listen, God is repulsed by our hatred towards one another.

“Strife” means to quarrel. It’s a readiness to quarrel (having a contentious spirit), affection for dispute. We all know people like that, right? I pray none of us are like that.

“Jealousy” is burning emotion (inner feeling boiling over, boiling from heat.” This word can be used both positively and negatively. You can be jealous for God. You can have a godly zeal for Him. But most of the time, jealously is not a good thing.

When “outbursts of anger” is used of people it indicates rage (personal venting of anger, worth). This flaw is completely absent of the Lord expressing (inspiring) intense anger. It is used of God’s perfect, holywrath in Revelation 14:10,19,15:1). This anger is directed against sin with intense opposition and without sin. [Only the Lord exercises righteous wrath, so we must depend solely on Him as we experience or express anger.]

“Selfish ambition” is acting for one’s own gain, regardless of the discord or strife it causes. 

“Dissensions” is used of divisions which wrongly separate people into pointless (groundless) factions. Used here and in Romans 16:17. “Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.”

Finally, we have the word “factions.” The term stresses the personal aspect of choice. It was how being a Sadducee (Acts 5:17) was sharply distinguished from being a Pharisee (Acts 15:5; 26:5). We form factions over the smallest disagreements. We are told preserve unity, not factions.

None of these fleshly attributes should be used to describe us. We must represent our Lord in all that we do. Most of these mentioned in today’s verse are sins against others. Would you go through this list again and pray against them so they will not be present in your life?

Father, keep me walking in the Spirit and away from these deeds of the flesh.

(Most of these definitions today came from HELPS Word-Studies)

Standard
Battles, Bible, Choices, Evil, Flesh, Immorality, Impurity, Scripture

DEEDS OF THE FLESH, PART 1

GALATIANS 5:19

“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior,

I probably do not need to explain to any of you who are reading this devotional today what “deeds of the flesh” are. Over the next few days, we will look at Paul’s list of some of the deeds. This list is by no means a complete list. Even though we think today’s society is so wicked, we can see that the same things were going on back when Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians. As we go through this list, ask yourself if you are manifesting any of these.

Paul says in today’s verse that these deeds of the flesh “are evident.” The Greek word is phaneros, which means to be made public, to be disclosed or exposed. In other words, you can’t hide these deeds. Paul is going to list fifteen things that people were doing then, and we know are happening now. People think they can do many of these things in secret, but rest assured they will all be exposed one day.

APPLICATION

The first one Paul mentions is “sexual immorality.” We get our word “pornography” from this Greek word. It’s the selling off of sexual purity, promiscuity. Closely related to that word is the next word Paul uses, “impurity.” This word literally means “not clean.” This can be in a physical or moral sense. Ephesians 5:3 says this about these two, “But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints;”

Then Paul mentions “indecent behavior.” This word is translated as outrageous conduct, conduct shocking to public decency, a wanton violence, wantonness and lewdness. I think you get the picture with that one. Peter uses this word in 2 Peter 2:2, “Many will follow their indecent behavior, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;” Our behaviors can mar the truth of God in our lives.

I think John says it well concerning these behaviors just mentioned. 1 John 3:10 says, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister.”

Father, help to avoid these behaviors and to live for You each day.

Standard
Attacks, Battles, Bible, Choices, Defeat, Enemies, Flesh, Holy Spirit, Opponents, Scripture

BEING AGAINST SOMETHING

GALATIANS 5:17

“For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.”

A lot of times when we hear someone is against something we automatically assume it’s a negative reaction to something. There are some things in this world that we need to be against. We should be against child abuse in any form. We should be against domestic violence against men or women. We should be against heresy in the church. And we should be against the deeds of the flesh, which is Paul’s topic in today’s verse.

Paul is discussing the battle we are up against every day with our flesh. He says the Spirit (which resides in each of us as believers) is in opposition to our flesh (which we are born with – that old sin nature). The Greek word he uses here for “opposition” is used eight times in the New Testament, six times by Paul himself. It can be translated as enemy. Get the picture. Our flesh is no friend to the Spirit. So, each day we must destroy that flesh and yield to the Spirit.

APPLICATION

Antikeimai is defined as “someone being thoroughly unreconcilable.” You have probably heard of a couple divorcing due to “irreconcilable differences.” That’s the picture here. Our flesh and the Spirit cannot coexist. Many believers try to do that. They are trying to live in the world according to fleshly standards. It just won’t work. The world will eat you up. It loves to cater to the flesh. It will not honor the Spirit.

Now, we can’t escape this flesh as long as we are in this world, but we should always stand against it. I shared earlier in this study in Galatians my life verse, which is Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

My flesh has been crucified with Christ. It is dead to this world. I still have the choice each day whether to let it resurrect itself in my life or to keep it nailed to that cross. I choose today to live by the Spirit. It is through the Spirit that I can communicate directly with my Lord. Don’t you desire the same? Today, choose Spirit over flesh.

Thank You, Lord, for giving me a new life in the Spirit. Help me keep that flesh defeated each day.

Standard
Bible, Flesh, Holy Spirit, Scripture, Submission, Walking

WALK BY THE SPIRIT

GALATIANS 5:16

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Walking the right way is important. When our feet are messed up, that makes it difficult. If we walk improperly, it can throw our whole gait off and affect our back. If our back is bothering us, that can affect our neck and head. And it all began with our feet not being healthy. As one who suffers from bad feet due to neuropathy, I can relate to this combination effect on my body.

Following up from his previous statement in verse 15, Paul makes a simple, yet profound truth. That little word “but” means a contrast from the previous statement is coming. Paul is about to get into a major contrast between flesh and Spirit in verses 19-23 of this chapter. Hang on to your hat. But here, he simply says to walk by the Spirit. Actually, the Greek says, “Spirit walk.” And the verb “walk” is in the present imperative, which means it’s a command to keep walking.

APPLICATION

What does it mean to walk by the Spirit? That sounds awfully churchy, doesn’t it? It really isn’t that complicated. I like what Albert Barnes says about this verse, “the only way to overcome the corrupt desires and propensities of our nature, is by submitting to the influences of the Holy Spirit. It is not by philosophy; it is not by mere resolutions to resist them; it is not by the force of education and laws; it is only by admitting into our souls the influence of religion and yielding ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. If we live under the influences of that Spirit, we need not fear the power of the sensual and corrupt propensities of our nature.”

I read somewhere else that “If the spirit that is in us can be at ease under sin, it is not a spirit that comes from the Holy Spirit.” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary) The two cannot co-exist. There is not enough room for both to work in your life. You are either in the flesh or in the Spirit. Look what Paul says in Romans 6:8, “For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.”

So, let me ask you – how are you walking today? Are you walking to please that old fleshly heart of yours, trampling underfoot anyone who gets in your way? Or are you submitting your will to His will and letting the Holy Spirit guide you? He will never, ever lead you astray. Every step you take under the influence of Jesus is one step closer to God. Trust that!

O Father, help me walk by the Spirit and not my flesh this day and every day.

Standard
Affection, Affliction, Altars, Apologies, Bible, Bitterness, Crying, Emotions, Flesh, Forgiveness, God's Will, Grace, Relationships, Scripture

WHAT A SHAME!

MALACHI 2:13

“And this is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and sighing, because He no longer gives attention to the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.”

Our sinful behavior has effects on others. Sometimes we are not aware of the effect. Other times we are well aware. We see the damage it causes. We hear the anguish in the other person’s voice. The hurt we cause because of our sins weighs heavy on the Lord. He sees their hurt and holds us accountable.

The Pulpit Commentary says this about this verse, “Not only did they marry heathen females, but they divorced their own legitimate wives to facilitate such unholy alliances.” Thus, the tears that are staining the altar come from the priests’ legitimate wives whom they have divorced in order to marry the foreign, idolatrous wives. It was a travesty that Ezra dealt with earlier, but they had lapsed back into.

APPLICATION

Is this you? Have you caused someone else harm by your actions? If so, repent of that. Ask forgiveness of both God and them. There is nothing sweeter than forgiveness when it is offered and received, when two parties are able to mend their broken relationship. God is pleased by such expressions of agape love.

Look back at today’s verse at the last phrase. It says, “because He no longer gives attention to the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.” Our blindness to unforgiveness and unrepentance leads to this. God will not accept our offerings. God will not hear our cries to Him. Our sin separates us from the very One we need most.

If you have ever experienced such an event, you know how painful it can be. To be unforgiven or to be unrepentant can lead to hardness and callousness. Only God can break through this. Matthew 6:14 says to us, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,” We also read in Colossians 3:13 we read, “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Be like Jesus this week. Make things right with someone whom you have offended or has offended you. That makes God smile.

Lord, forgiveness is hard, it seems. But You sent Your Son to die to forgive me. Now, that’s hard.

Standard
Bible, Boundaries, Choices, Cleansing, Commands, Deceit, Devil, Evil, Flesh, God's Will, Holy Spirit, Redemption, Scripture, Sin, Wickedness

PUT A LID ON IT

ZECHARIAH 5:8

“Then he said, ‘This is Wickedness!’ And he thrust her into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its opening.”

Put a lid on it! You may have heard that expression in regard to asking someone to be quiet, to stop talking. It is usually used when someone keeps rambling on about something until someone gets tired of hearing it. Has that ever happened to you? Have you been told that or told someone else that? It happens to the best of us.

Zechariah watches as the angel “puts a lid on it.” He calls the woman “Wickedness” and shoves her back into the ephah and slams down the lead cover. Obviously, when the angel raised the lid in the previous verse to show Zechariah what was in the ephah, the woman tried to stand or escape. But that was not happening here. Slamming of the lead cover showed that God could and would restrain the sin of the nation. He was in control, not the wickedness symbolized by the woman.

APPLICATION

We need to “put a lid” on sin. Our sinful nature is more prone to let it run free. I remember all too well how sin controlled me. It truly is wickedness. But we can gain control of that if we allow the Holy Spirit to slam the lid on it. We are actually told to do just that.

In Romans 6:12-14 we are told, “12 Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your body’s parts as instruments of righteousness for God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.”

Well, you can’t argue with that, can you? We are not under the Law. We are under grace. Praise be to God! Sin has no more control over my life through Jesus. He paid the price. He paid off our debts to sin and its master. We are free to live a life away from sin. We still have that sinful nature in us, but the Holy Spirit can restrain that, if we let Him. Will you?

Lord, use Your Holy Spirit in my life to restrain me from sin, to put the lid on it.

Standard
Accountability, Bible, Flesh, Judgment, Rescue, Scripture, Surrender, Trials, Wickedness

SODOM AND GOMORRAH

ZEPHANIAH 2:9

“‘Therefore, as I live,’ declares the LORD of armies, the God of Israel, ‘Moab will assuredly be like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah—ground overgrown with weeds and full of salt mines, and a permanent desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them, and the remainder of My nation will inherit them.’”

Parts of our world are just plain wicked. Sex trade, drugs and prostitution are staples of these places. The darkness that exists can almost be felt on your skin. You can see the lostness in the faces of those who live there. They live with no hope. No, they don’t live. They simply exist. There is no life in them – only death.

When the Lord through Zephaniah compares Moab and Ammon to Sodom and Gomorrah, the audience knew exactly what he was talking about. The story of those cities is told in Genesis 19. Here are a couple of those verses. “24 Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the LORD out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the surrounding area, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”

APPLICATION

2 Peter 2:4-10a gives us a great picture of God’s judgment and also His mercy. For the sake of space, I won’t include all of those verses here. You should take a moment and look that passage up. But the last two verses tell us what the Lord will do.

“9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from a trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt passion, and despise authority.”

We see the rescue and the judgment. God is capable of both. He rescued Lot and his family from Sodom and Gomorrah, but He also judged the wicked in those cities. The same holds true today. God will rescue the godly. If you are living for Him and striving to live godly, God will rescue You in His perfect timing. But if you are living to please the flesh, then….

I am thankful for His Holy Spirit Who guides me each and every day. He warns me of evil. He points out those things that can lead me astray. Now, I still have to make that decision to follow His lead. He won’t force me. But I have learned to trust Him. Have you? Have you learned to lean on the Lord during those times of testing. He is there.

O Lord, it does break my heart to see those who are wandering in darkness. Help me shine the light of Christ on them.

Standard
Abiding, Belief, Bible, Blessing, Choices, Flesh, God's Will, Idols, Loyalty, Scripture

MY PLEASURE

ZEPHANIAH 1:5

“‘And those who bow down on the housetops to the heavenly lights, and those who bow down and swear to the LORD, but also swear by Milcom,’”

When I was in my early teen years, I worshipped pleasure. Now, I didn’t say that out loud, but my actions all pointed to that. I still attended church and even sang in the youth choir, but my heart was pledged to something else. All I desired was pleasure. I didn’t really care what the source was as long as it felt good. I did not call it a god, but it was.

The people of Judah had turned to worshipping all sorts of idols. One was worshipped on their housetops through incense. They worshipped the Sun and Moon. And they even worshipped the detestable idol of the Ammonites, Milcom (also known as Molech). This god was brought into the nation by King Solomon when he was pursuing his own way.

APPLICATION

Ask yourself whom you serve? Oh Carl, of course I serve God. I attend church every week and even put money in the offering plate. I’ve taught Sunday School for decades. That’s all well and good, but whom do you worship? For whom are you living? Is your god the God of the universe or some figure you have developed in your own mind that fits your lifestyle?

So many of us go through life thinking we are doing the “Christian thing” well. We go to church, we serve and even get baptized. We can do all those things well and still miss God by a mile. God desires complete surrender. We have to give Him our all. When we worship, it has to be all about Him. Nothing from the world can make our worship better. We have to be centered on Him and bow only to His will.

I don’t like not getting my way. I’m just like most people in that regard. But I have learned to yield my desires to Jesus. There is pleasure in serving a holy, righteous God. There is pleasure in knowing I am pleasing Him. My pleasure senses have been transformed through His Word and His Will. Yours can be too.

Thank You, Lord, for teaching me what real pleasure is all about.

Standard