Deeds of the flesh Part 6

The last three words are, envying, drunkenness, carousing. Envy is the word φθόνος (G5355) phthónos; gen. phthónou, masc. noun. Envy, jealousy, pain felt and malignity conceived at the sight of excellence or happiness.[1] Envy may also be defined as: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage [2] Note in the dictionary definition that it adds “a desire to possess the same advantage”. Envy then carries with it the idea of you should not have that but I should.
Drunkenness is simply that, getting drunk. We are commanded “And don’t get drunk with wine, which ⌊leads to⌋ reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit:”[3] The HCSB translation has a more clear translation here than the NASB. Drunkenness leads to recklessness, contrasted with being filled with the Spirit which does not lead to recklessness.
Carousing is not a word that is used much in English. So, to me anyway, its meaning is not clear. In the Greek it is the word κῶμος (G2970) kṓmos; gen. kṓmou, masc. noun. A feasting, used in the pl. only in the NT meaning riotous conduct (Rom 13:13); reveling (Gal 5:21; 1Pe 4:3); festivities in honor of several gods, especially Bacchus, the god of wine, hence feastings and drunkenness with impurity and obscenity of the grossest kind. Therefore, it always presupposes a festive company and drunken revelers.[4] In today’s vernacular we might say “partying” in order to encompass the thought behind κῶμος.
One more thing to note before we move on is that the Greek word for world here is not κοσμος (G2889) but is instead αἰων (G165). κοσμος refers to a place, but αἰων refers to time. So one could think of this as saying “do not be conformed to the time in which we live…”
So far we have demonstrated from the text that we have pressures from the world and from within ourselves, so how do we move past this?

[1] The Complete Word Study New Testament
[2]Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
[3]The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. 2003 (Eph 5:18). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] The Complete Word Study New Testament

Deeds of the flesh Part 5

Next we have a string of related words: “enmities, strife, and jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, and factions”. The first words that we looked at dealt with how we act toward God, all of these words deal with how we treat others. These words all deal with a form of hatred, a seeking to raise oneself at the expense of others, tearing others down instead of building them up.

Deeds of the flesh Part 4

Sorcery would seem to be out of place in modern times, but it is not. The word for sorcery is φαρμακεία (G5331). Our modern English word for pharmacy is derived from φαρμακεί́α, but we are not speaking of modern medicine when we consider sorcery as related to this verse. Instead what we have in view here is mans attempt at reaching the supernatural by his own means. By the use of drugs and magic spells. False religions use this as a means to become at one with god, or to have an experience of the infinite. People rely on this as if God is unknown and unknowable. Next we have a string of related words: “enmities, strife, and jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, and factions”. The first words that we looked at dealt with how we act toward God, all of these words deal with how we treat others. These words all deal with a form of hatred, a seeking to raise oneself at the expense of others, tearing others down instead of building them up.

Deeds of the flesh Part 3

Now we come to idolatry. As 21st century Christians this is something that we do not consider to be a problem, but idolatry is widespread today. Anything that takes the place of God can be said to be idolatry.
In Exodus 20:4 God forbids us to make idols. In 1st John 5:21 we are told to “guard ourselves from idols”.
There are several different words in the Hebrew and Greek languages for idol or idolatry. The prevailing thought behind most of them is emptiness, or no value. The Hebrew word אֱלִיל (H457) [’eliyl /el·eel/] has the thought behind it of worthless physicians.
What are our idols today?
Work, television, the planet, the list can go on and on, but it still comes down to anything that takes the place of God. A lot of things that are idols today are not evil in and of themselves. It is when they are taken from their proper place that the problem begins. In United States the biggest idol is the idol of self. So much is sacrificed to this idol, spouses, children, and family to name a few. The only way to avoid setting up idols in our lives is to seek God first, (Matthew 6:33) then the rest of our lives will come into proper focus.

Deeds of the flesh Part 2

The next word that we come to is impurity. ἀκαθαρσία (G167) akatharsía; moral uncleanness, lewdness, incontinence in general[1]. The thought behind this is actions or thoughts that are or make one impure. Romans 6:19 speaks of us as having been slaves to impurity. In other words impurity is the controlling factor in one’s life. This leads to more unrighteousness in a person’s life.
Sensuality is next on the list and it comes from the Greek word ἀσέλγεια (G766) asélgeia; licentious, brutal. Lasciviousness, license, debauchery, sexual excess, absence of restraint, insatiable desire for pleasure.[2] Notice the last definition, Insatiable desire for pleasure, this is a placing of one’s feeling pleasure above all else.
Notice how the first three words are all aspects of the same type of sin. They all deal with one’s desire of pleasure. And this inordinate desire takes a person outside of the boundaries that God has put in place for our protection.

[1] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament
[2] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament

Memorial Day

Today is set aside to remember those who gave their lives for this country. These men and women paid the ultimate price for our freedom.
There are many reasons that people joined the military. Some did it for patriotism, some for the benefits, and some just need a job.
Most soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen do not think of themselves as heroes. Most do not see what they do as special. They see their service as just what they do. I do not say this to diminish what they do; I was a soldier for 20 years. I dare say that many of them marvel that our nation pays them to do what they love.
But there are real heroes among those who serve; I am speaking of those who pay the ultimate price, those who are wounded or killed while performing their duties. So today while you are enjoying the freedom that America gives, pause and take the time to remember the ones who paid for that freedom.

Deeds of the flesh Part 1

First let us note that all of the deeds on this list are a possession of the flesh, (old sin nature) and are displayed through us by our yielding to that nature.
Immorality is listed first, and it is the Greek word πορνεία (G 4202) porneía, gen. porneías, fem. noun from porneúō (G4203), to commit fornication or any sexual sin. Fornication, lewdness, or any sexual sin. [1]
Sexual sins are very harmful, in 1 Corinthians 6 we read “the immoral man sins against his own body”. The word in this verse for immoral is also πορνεια. The harm done is both mental and physical. One who is caught up in this type of sin looses their ability to correctly view a member of the opposite sex. The further along one travels down this path the more that they lose the ability to discern between what normal and abnormal sexual behaviors are. As time goes by the law of diminishing returns will take effect. What once thrilled now does not, and the sexually immoral person will have to seek new thrills in order to maintain their level of arousal. This will take them to places that they never dreamed that they would go. Eventually they are only an empty shell, emotionally. Physically they risk all sorts of illnesses. The ability to feel pleasure diminishes. Sometimes diminished pleasure results in that person seeking pain in order to obtain satisfaction.
God has a provision for sex, and it is within the bounds of marriage. This boundary protects us from the dangers of sexual immorality. In 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 we see that abstaining from sexual immorality is the will of God. In 1 Corinthians 7:1-7 Paul explains more about the relationship between married couples. But the aspect that I want you to notice though is that of who has authority over whose body. Each spouse posses the other and by implication should seek the needs and desires of the other. In sexual immorality the attitude is always that of “me, me, me” that is contrasted with the proper attitude of pleasing the other.

[1] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament

And do not be conformed to this world

The first thing that we need to see is the word και (G2532) the Greek word for and. And is a connecting word joining the thought from verse one to verse two. And does not merely join the two verses it places verse one equal to verse two. And is defined by Webster thusly: a logical operator that requires both of two inputs to be present or two conditions to be met for an output to be made or a statement to be executed.[1] So we see that we must have the “present yourselves” and the “be not” in order to get to the “so that” in verse two.
Next we need to recognize is that it is possible for us to be conformed to this world. The word for not here is μη (G3361) and it supposes that there is a possibility for a thing to be or not to be, as opposed to ου (G3756) which is a definite negation of a thing being.
The word for conformed is συσχηματίζω (G4964) and is only used twice in the New Testament. Here in Romans 12:2 and in 1 Peter 1:14, both times it is preceded by μη. The main thought behind it is to be molded to the shape of a thing or to take on a form of a thing. By implication, the forces doing the molding are both external and internal.
In 1st Peter 1:14 we see that the forces are internal, the “former lusts which were yours in your ignorance”. And we read in James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.” Even Paul had trouble with this as he states in Romans 7:19 “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”
In Galatians 5:19-21 we have a list of the deeds of the flesh. This is not an all inclusive list; we can surmise this from the words “such things” in verse 21. It may be helpful to examine this list in order to understand the snares placed before us.

[1]Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc.