Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Without God’s divine authorship in our life, we are lost, helpless, and inadequate to overcome the sin in our lives. This verse states that these works, acts, or deeds are evident or obvious. Our denial will convince us, despite the damage it does to our conscience, as well as to others, to ignore the fact that we are doing wrong. To prevent any misunderstanding, the definitions of the manifestations of the flesh are listed below. Greek translations for the words are in parentheses.
Definitions
1. Adultery (moicheia): sexual unfaithfulness to husband or wife. It is also looking on a woman or a man to lust after her or him. Looking at and lusting after the opposite sex, whether in person, magazines, books, on beaches, or anywhere else, is adultery. Imagining and lusting within the heart is the very same as committing the act.
2. Fornication (porneia): a broad word including all forms of immoral and sexual acts. It is pre-marital sex and adultery; it is abnormal sex, all kinds of sexual vice.
3. Uncleanness (akatharsia): moral impurity; doing things that dirty, pollute, and soil life.
4. Lasciviousness (aselgeia): filthiness, indecency, shamelessness. A chief characteristic of the behavior is open and shameless indecency. It means unrestrained evil thoughts and behavior. It is giving in to brutish and lustful desires, a readiness for any pleasure. It is a man who knows no restraint, a man who has sinned so much that he no longer cares what people say or think. It is something far more distasteful than just doing wrong. The man who misbehaves usually tries to hide his wrong, but a lascivious man does not care who knows about his exploits or shame. He wants, therefore, he seeks to take and gratify. Decency and opinion do not matter. Initially when he began to sin, he did as all men do—he misbehaved in secret. But eventually, the sin got the best of him—to the point that he no long cared who saw or knew. He became the subject of a master—the master of habit, of the thing itself. Men become the slaves of such things as unbridled lust, wantonness, licentiousness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence (Mark 7:22), wanton manners, filthy words, indecent body movements, immoral handling of males and females (Romans 13:13), public display of affection, carnality, gluttony, and sexual immorality (1 Peter 4:3; 2 Peter 2:18). (Compare 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 4:19; and 2 Peter 2:7.)
5. Idolatry (eidololatreia): the worship of idols, whether mental or made by man’s hands; the worship of some idea of what God is like, of an image of God within a person’s mind; the giving of one’s primary devotion (time and energy) to something other than God.
6. Witchcraft (pharmakeia): the use of drugs or of evil spirits to gain control over the lives of others or over one’s own life. In the present context it would include all forms of seeking the control of one’s fate including: astrology, palm reading, seances, fortune telling, crystals, and other forms of witchcraft.
7. Hatred (echthrai): enmity, hostility, animosity. It is the hatred that lingers and is held for a long, long time; a hatred that is deep within.
8. Variance (ereis): strife, discord, contention, fighting, struggling, quarreling, dissension, wrangling. It means that a man fights against another person in order to get something: position, promotion, property, honor, or recognition. He deceives, doing whatever has to be done to get what he is after.
9. Emulations (zeloi): jealousy, wanting and desiring to have what someone else has. It may be material things, recognition, honor, or position.
10. Wrath (thumoi): bursts of anger, indignation, a violent explosive temper, quick-tempered explosive reactions that arise from stirred and boiling emotions. But it is anger which fades away just as quickly as it arises. It is not anger that lasts.
11. Strife (eritheiai): conflict, struggle, fight, contention, faction, dissension; a cliquish spirit.
12. Seditions (dichostasiai): division, rebellion, standing against others, splitting off from others.
13. Heresies (aireseis): rejecting the fundamental beliefs of God, Christ, the Scriptures, and the church; believing and holding to some teaching other than the truth.
14. Envyings (phthonoi): this word goes beyond jealousy. It is the spirit:
–that wants not only the things that another person has, but begrudges the fact that the person has them.
–that wants not only the things to be taken away from the person, but wants him to suffer through the loss of them.
15. Murders (phonoi): to kill, to take the life of another person. Murder is sin against the sixth commandment.
16. Drunkenness (methai): taking drink or drugs to affect one’s senses for lust or pleasure; becoming tipsy or intoxicated; partaking of drugs; seeking to loosen moral restraint for bodily pleasure.
17. Revellings (komoi): carousing; uncontrolled license, indulgence, and pleasure; taking part in wild parties or in drinking parties; lying around indulging in feeding the lusts of the flesh; orgies.
Definitions taken from:
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible, Gal-Col; published by Leadership Ministries Worldwide; © Alpha-Omega Ministries, Inc. 1996; Used by permission; All rights reserved throughout the world.
The following are further examples of the above definitions from the NIV: adultery (sexual immorality), uncleanness (impurity), lasciviousness (debauchery), wrath (fits of rage), strife (selfish ambition), seditions (dissensions), heresies (factions).
From this list of definitions, we can identify with at least a couple, if not all, in one form or another. We have done some of these at least a time or two. Some you have practiced until they have affected our character and have become our habit.