Galatians: A Study of Christian Freedom
Lesson 17: Not a Pretty Picture Galatians 5:19-21, 26
In 1891, Oscar Wilde published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, a story made into film some fifty years later. The novel begins as Dorian Gray, a handsome, charming young man is having his portrait painted. As he looks at its beauty, he realizes it will stay the same as he ages. Thinking about this he says he would sell his soul if it could be the other way around: if the painting could age while he remained youthful and handsome. Well, of course, that’s just what happened.
No matter how self-indulgent or wicked his life, Gray stayed the same while his portrait, hidden away from sight, changed, reflecting the impact of his debauchery. In the end, it revealed a horrifying picture of corruption and ugliness. You never know how much psychological analysis to apply to a story like that but Wilde may have been saying that all of us are like that, we all present one “picture” to those we meet while the true “picture” is hidden away.
The description of human behavior Paul lists in these verses is not a pretty picture. Yet, we need to look at it to see the true state of human beings without God.
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
Lists of condemned behaviors were often found in literature of the day. Paul uses the device to show what being “fallen” really means.
To whom are these words addressed? It seems that both unbelievers and believers may exhibit “fleshly” behavior. When unbelievers exhibit fleshly behavior it is to be expected; they can do no other; their behavior reveals their identity. When believers exhibit fleshly behavior it is a tragedy; their behavior belies their identity.
Paul isn't talking about something mysterious: When the flesh has its way, it is “obvious.” The word Paul uses suggests they are not only obvious; they are well-known. Several of the words are synonyms but there are nuances that show the breadth of the bad behavior Paul has in mind. Some commentaries suggest Paul begins with behaviors most Christians would quickly condemn, then he moves into those attitudes and behaviors that some would excuse.
Remember the old joke that has a very conservative Christian guy declare during testimony time at his church, “I don’t dance, drink, smoke, or chew and don't go with girls who do.” The notion that we can escape indictment as “sinners” by avoiding certain vices is an old one. Yet, our identity as sinners is revealed in many ways. In this brief, ugly list Paul focuses on a few of these ways; when we examine the list carefully we will find that many of these vices are not limited to those saloons and dance halls that Christian guy would never enter. In fact, some of these vices may be found in his church.
fornication, a general term that can refer to a variety of sexual activities condemned in the Bible, such as sex outside of marriage, adultery, prostitution, incest. The TCV translates it as “sexually unfaithful.”
Such behavior is a problem in every age. Historians report that some upper-class Roman women had their names added to the official lists of prostitutes so they would not be subject to prosecution for their many affairs. In Puritan Massachusetts adultery was the most common charge dealt with by the church courts.
I’m not well-versed enough to compare our situation with ancient Rome but our attitude toward sexual license has changed in my lifetime. In 1948, popular actress Ingrid Bergman saw her career in Hollywood end because an adulterous affair; she was condemned in newspapers across the nation. Today, actors and actresses living together while they wait for divorces is old news; if the couple is particularly popular, they might be receive a magazine cover and an article wishing them the best of luck.
impurity, this word tends to deal with our inward condition, our motivations that generate our behavior. So, impure acts flow from impure hearts.
licentiousness, refers to no-holds-barred behavior, especially in the area of sexuality
20 idolatry, the worship of idols, common in the Greek and Roman world, long a stumbling block for the Jews. In a general sense, this could refer to any form of false religion or placing trust and finding security, not in God, but in things.
sorcery, the Greek word is pharmakeia from which we get words like pharmacy or pharmaceutical and recalls that some witchcraft of the age involved using drugs. The idea may suggest using any substance to lose control. David Guzik writes, “Morris defines sorcery as ‘the use of any kind of drugs, potions, or spells.’ In the ancient world, the taking of drugs (especially hallucinogens) was always associated with the occult, and the Bible’s association with drug taking and sorcery points out that drugs open up doors to the occult that are better left closed.”
Paul wrote that warning almost two-thousand years ago but “recreational drugs” still have an appeal.
In the end, sorcery and witchcraft reflect an attitude that suggests the supernatural may be manipulated by a few tricks and the right words. The TV evangelist who tells you to send in $10.00 and God will turn it into $1000 may be asking you to play that game.
enmities, this is the first of several words that deal with our relationships with one another; this word carries the idea of a long-term state of discord, a feud like that of the Hatfields and the McCoys. Can this feuding be found among Christians? In New Orleans, on one street corner there is the New Hope Baptist Church. At the end of the block, on another street corner, there is another church, the Greater New Hope Baptist Church. The church names tell the story.
Paul would appeal to a leader at the Philippian church to help two quarreling women to make peace: “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also…help these women.” (Phil. 4:2-3) Paul urged them “to iron out their differences and make up” since “God doesn’t want his children holding grudges.” (The Message) Long term feuds can harm communities, families, and churches.
strife, this suggests a sudden altercation, although it may refer to having a contentious spirit. (During the 1920s, Texas Baptist leader J B Gambrell wrote J. Frank Norris, telling him that he did not need to attack other Baptists because there were plenty of problems outside the church to take on and satisfy the most “pugnacious spirit.”).
jealousy, a word that suggests a malicious envy; this kind of jealousy not only wants what you have but wouldn't mind hurting you to get it.
The late Calvin Miller had great insight into the human heart, including the foibles and failures of Christians. In one of his books, he wrote of the jealousy that some pastors have toward other pastors. Miller says, “While I was pastor of a suburban congregation, I often saw churches competing with one another. I saw pastors who couldn’t afford to like each other, lest it blunt their competitive edge to outgrow each other. To be the best in the city ruled their suburban, church-growth game… They believed that they would spend eternity with those comrades, but they were in no sweat to practice that distant koinonia. There would be time for loving each other later. For now they must outdo each other in member-recruitment wars.”
anger, this suggests a sudden fury; if one chariot driver accidentally cuts off another, that other driver might throw his spear in a fit of road rage. Think of this as the classic “temper fit.” Paul told Timothy that church leaders should “not be violent; but gentle, not contentious.” In saying that such leaders, both pastors and deacons, should be “sober” and “self-controlled,” Paul may mean they should not be subject to these rages.
quarrels, the idea here is conflict born out of selfishness, rather than genuine disagreement over a substantive issue; it’s a conflict that can lead to division as the next two words suggest.
dissensions, the word suggests “a standing apart;” this is the person who won’t join in, won’t agree to go along if the majority favors another course. Picture that person who stands outside the group, arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his face. This is not taking a stand for right over wrong, it is pouting because you didn’t get your way.
factions, the Greek is hairesis from which we get “heresy” and it is often translated as “sect” in the New Testament. It is never used in a positive sense. The root idea is to make a choice, particularly in a religious matter, that leads to creating a narrowly-focused group. I think it’s fair to say we see this “work of the flesh” expressed when a person or group obsesses over an issue, when it becomes all-important and the basis for fellowship.
21 envy, jealousy mingled with spite. Perhaps Paul risks redundancy or repeating himself to mention such feelings again because he had so often been the object of this kind of envy and jealousy, especially from those who resented his successes.
He will end this section on the flesh versus the Spirit with one more such such warning in verse 26: “Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.” The word translated as “become conceited” is found nowhere else in the New Testament; it means to have “a state of pride that has no proper basis.” The kind of envy that can divide a church and impede its progress is often rooted in the envy exhibited by those who “think more highly of themselves than they ought to think,” as Paul says in Romans 12:3. Though such divisive people may claim to be led by the Spirit or have the best interests of the church at heart, they don’t. In fact, the word translated as “competing” or “provoking” in other translations (also used only here in the NT) has the idea of picking a fight. That’s what the people Paul is talking about are willing to do. They see everything as a competition and must always be the “winner.”
[Some translations add the word “murders” to the list; it is missing from too many ancient manuscripts for most newer translations to include it. However it is easy to understand why a scribe might have added it as a comment on “envy” (perhaps in the margin from which it eventually crept over into the text). Sometimes such envy can be so intense it inspires murderous feelings. At it happens, the word Paul uses is used to describe the feelings of the authorities who had plotted Jesus’ death. (See Mt. 27:18) Such envious people don’t always commit murder but they may be willing to destroy churches or reputations.]
drunkenness, this comes from the word for “strong drink” and losing control from over indulgence.
Throughout much of Christian history the church’s attitude toward alcohol has been acceptance; in fact, alcohol, especially wine, was sometimes seen as a gift of God. Martin Luther praised his wife Katherine for the good beer she brewed in their kitchen. Teetotalism, the complete renunciation of alcoholic beverages, is relatively rare. That changed in the 18th and 19th centuries among some Christian groups. These Christians may have embraced teetotalism as a radical but effective solution to the problem of drunkenness. For example, in America at least, drunkenness was a great problem, especially on the frontier. In the early 20th century, evangelist Billy Sunday made signing a pledge to give up alcohol a requirement for those making professions of faith at his crusades. Eventually, in the view of those who rejected alcohol, a fellow Christian’s opinion on alcohol was a basis for determining the depth of his or her commitment. This judgmental attitude is wrong.
In a culture, where getting “smashed,” “wasted,” or “hammered” is considered the highlight of a great social occasion, rejection of alcohol may be the appropriate response. Still, this is a matter on which good Christians disagree. Paul’s warning to the Ephesians, while not forbidding alcohol, is a warning every Christian should hear: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” (5:18) Interestingly, “dissipation” can refer to something that is being slowly wasted.
carousing, the word means “merry-making” but whenever it is used in the New Testament is refers to a what several translations refer to as “orgies.” Again, the idea seems to be a situation in which all self-control is abandoned.
and things like these. That phrase “covers” a multitude of sins. Paul seems to be signaling that his list is by no means exhaustive. Certainly the characteristics he mentions are sufficient to portray the ugliness of fallen humanity, humanity estranged from God.
Having made that list, he issues a warning.
A Warning
I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
This is a frightful warning. The Voice paraphrase puts it this way: “I told you this clearly before, and I only tell you again so there is no room for confusion: those who give in to these ways will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Harsh as that may sound, it is fully understandable. These behaviors are “works of the flesh.” The flesh refers to unredeemed humanity. Therefore, those who practice these things are continually giving evidence of being unredeemed. They have no place in the Kingdom because the Kingdom is no place for them.
At the same time, Paul is by no means suggesting salvation by self-effort. That is, he isn’t saying, Rid yourselves of these vices and you will be admitted to the Kingdom; that, of course, would be a heartless thing to say since he has already shown that on our own we possess no power to transform ourselves. Yet, sometimes the church has forgotten this. It’s message has not been the gospel with its emphasis of the transforming power of the Spirit but a message of moralism with its emphasis on extraordinary human effort. This had the effect of discouraging those who knew they couldn’t make the cut and deceiving those who thought they had.
So, what is Paul’s point. What Paul is saying is fully consistent with what he has said before. One writer says,
“Those who receive the Spirit experience a moral transformation by the directive power of the Spirit (5:16-18). If there was no evidence of moral transformation, then there was no basis for claiming the presence of the Spirit, and hence there was no basis for claiming justification by faith. And if they had not experienced justification by faith, then of course they would not inherit the kingdom of God.”
This passage is not a full-fledged explanation of eternal punishment. Rather, it is a warning that on our own we are not fit for God’s Kingdom. So, you would be wise not to attempt to enter it on your own. As Someone once said, “You must be born again!”
Conclusion:
The other day Pat and I saw a children's book that talked about the strange sayings Grandma might use. It featured what a child might think when grandma or someone else might use a phrase like “when pigs fly,” “bright eyed and bushy tailed,” or “a horse of a different color.” Sometimes we hear a phrase that we need to remember when we consider what Paul says here, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”
As ugly as this list might be, we seldom see all of these traits bound up in one person. We seldom meet a real Dorian Gray.
The Bible suggests that there are God-given restraints that prevent us from indulging in all the vices we might indulge in. We are all sinners but most of us are not the worst possible sinners.
In the eighteenth century, a man wrote that in his early life he was“an infidel and libertine.” He was proud of his wanton lifestyle that included the licentiousness Paul mentions and his ability to “invent new blasphemies.” He said, "I sinned with a high hand…and I made it my study to tempt and seduce others.” His life was an ugly picture.
Then he met Christ and everything changed. In time, he would reflect on his life and write a poem called, “Faith’s Review and Expectation.” You may have never heard of it but you’re about to sing it. (Amazing Grace)
