The works of the flesh, continued.
·
Religious sins (sins that directly reject God).
o
Idolatry: This is not difficult: it refers to
service to and honor for a god other than the true God. In the NT the emphasis is not so much on
carved or molten images (although that is what Paul saw and bothered him in
Athens, Ac. 17:15). Twice Paul said
coveteousness was idolatry (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5). We are told to flee from this sin (1 Cor.
10:14). In other words, we are not to
think about it, debate it, and so forth.
We are to run from it.
o Sorcery:
The Greek word “pharmakeia” gives us “pharmacy” in English. Thus, is could involve the use of drugs in a
harmful way. But it also referred to
witchcraft which could involve many practices, such as enchantment (Ex.
7:11,22), sorcery (gaining power from evil spirits) or any of the magic
arts. In the OT it was also tied to
astrology and stargazing (Isa. 47:9-15) as well as soothsaying, seeking omens,
spiritism or use of spells (Deut. 18:10-13).
It stands directly against God because it replaces the word of God.
·
Hatred sins.
o
Hatred: This is the opposite of love. It is an attitude of enmity and hostility
against another person. It is at the
foundation of the other three works of the flesh in this group.
o
Contentions: This describes a state of strife
between people. Contentions existed in
the Church at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:11). In
a church it can result from preaching/teaching that is not based in the
infallible word of God but in theological arguments, foolish questions or other
such topics (1 Tim. 6:4; Titus 3:9).
o
Jealousies: Jealousy is the negative feeling
that arises when we see someone else in success of some sort. It often occurs when we see someone’s
possessions. It is different than envy,
as we will note later. Jealousy leads to
action, as you see in John 2:17 in a good sense (Jesus’ “zeal” for God’s
house), but most often in a negative sense (the indignation or jealousy of the Jews
led to their persecution of Christians, Acts 5:17; 13:45). It is often used simply of hot anger or a
boiling up of passion. Thus, it leads to
what is next.
o Outbursts
of wrath: This is the hot, passionate kind of anger. We would say, “he lost his temper.” It is more likely to be evident in an
outburst of yelling and obscenity rather than the anger that results in a well
thought out attack.
Look back over today’s lists. Remember, these are the work of those who
seek to live their lives in their own intelligence and good intentions. When we live in the flesh, and these things
happen, we have no shortage of excuses and we regularly blame others. But these things are inevitable when we do
not walk in the Spirit.
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