10-17-23-ENG.

"We are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. "

Romans 8:12 
NO PLACE TO HIDE
 
Read It: Galatians 5:19-21
You can know whether you are a spiritual or a fleshly Christian at any given moment. You don't have to wonder, because Paul says that if you are fleshly, everyone will know. There's no place to hide. Today's reading is a nasty list of the flesh's dirty work, but we can't skip it, because we won't crave the fruit of the Spirit like we should until we've bit into this rotten mess. You've heard of the "dirty dozen." Well, here is the "filthy fifteen." We can divide this list into three categories of sin. The first category has to do with morality: immorality, impurity, and sensuality. Immorality is the word porneia, the root of the word pornography. raphy. Immorality seeks to satisfy sexual cravings either by direct sexual contact or by feeding on sexual material. Impurity has to do with your thinking. It means creating a thought life that is putrid and contaminated. Sensuality is flagrant sexual activity. Immorality can be hidden, privatized. Nobody knows it but you. Sensuality means that you have gone public. You have come out of the closet. You don't care who knows.

Paul then lists religious sin. Idolatry is worshiping other gods. Many of us go after other gods. We may even ride in them or live in them. Sorcery is pharrnakeia, which should look familiar. It's the root of the word pharmacy. It had to do with the use of drugs for religious purposes. Some Bible versions translate it "witchcraft." The third category is relational sins. The list is long and painfully familiar. iar. Take "outbursts of anger," for example. "I just lost my temper!" Really? How about "disputes, dissensions, [and] factions"? "We can't get along!" The reason is one or both of you are operating in the flesh. Your conflict is a spiritual issue. It's not just about personalities. Then Paul says, "There's a lot more, but I'm out of ink." Me too, at least for today. Suffice it to say your flesh has more ways to sin than you'd ever believe. Are you making it easier for the flesh to do its stuff? As Dr. Howard Hendricks used to tell us in seminary, "Cut it out!" Think About It This list is just a small taste of the deeds of the flesh. That's why you have to walk in the Spirit. Any questions?