WEBVTT 00:00:05.129 --> 00:00:08.369 A couple of weeks ago, as we were leaving the 00:00:08.369 --> 00:00:12.009 church, my wife made a comment to me, which was 00:00:12.009 --> 00:00:18.309 a very innocent comment. However, I responded 00:00:18.309 --> 00:00:22.030 incorrectly to that. And all the way home, I 00:00:22.030 --> 00:00:25.129 was burning. I know you never do that, so I thought 00:00:25.129 --> 00:00:31.429 I'd better tell you what it's like. Dinner was 00:00:31.429 --> 00:00:37.609 tense. because I didn't say a whole lot. And 00:00:37.609 --> 00:00:42.049 she tended to respond in the same way. I had 00:00:42.049 --> 00:00:45.170 involvements in the afternoon, went about those. 00:00:46.609 --> 00:00:52.490 The time of service came Sunday evening, and 00:00:52.490 --> 00:00:59.270 it was communion. And so I talked to the Lord 00:00:59.270 --> 00:01:05.659 about what my problem was. I apologized to my 00:01:05.659 --> 00:01:09.680 wife, and things were a little better. Not a 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:12.120 whole lot better for about 24 more hours, frankly, 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:17.280 but they were a little better. As I looked back 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.060 upon that, and even when I was going through 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:23.019 it, I was a little disappointed in myself and 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:26.379 in the reaction that I had to her comments. Have 00:01:26.379 --> 00:01:30.640 you ever been disappointed in yourself? You know, 00:01:30.659 --> 00:01:34.379 you're a Christian. And yet you think thoughts 00:01:34.379 --> 00:01:37.659 which, if somebody else knew, would embarrass 00:01:37.659 --> 00:01:42.040 you. And you say things that you later regret 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:45.780 saying. You react in some situations in a way 00:01:45.780 --> 00:01:47.379 that you know you shouldn't, but you do anyway. 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:52.540 And later when you calm down and you look back 00:01:52.540 --> 00:01:59.140 upon that, you say, why did I do that? If you're 00:01:59.140 --> 00:02:02.959 like me, and I think you probably are, You sense 00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:06.780 a struggle within you, a struggle between two 00:02:06.780 --> 00:02:10.919 powers, those powers pulling in two directions. 00:02:11.939 --> 00:02:17.800 What is the source of that conflict? That is 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:20.020 the theme I want us to talk about for the next 00:02:20.020 --> 00:02:23.219 few weeks on Sunday morning as we talk about 00:02:23.219 --> 00:02:28.539 the flesh and the spirit. The Bible tells us 00:02:28.539 --> 00:02:32.110 that we are in a spiritual war. There are actually 00:02:32.110 --> 00:02:36.250 three enemies which confront us in our Christian 00:02:36.250 --> 00:02:40.810 walk. They are not entirely separate and unrelated. 00:02:41.669 --> 00:02:44.990 Indeed, they work together. There is an overlapping 00:02:44.990 --> 00:02:48.650 and a cooperation between them and seeking to 00:02:48.650 --> 00:02:52.969 hinder us spiritually. Just in passing, I think 00:02:52.969 --> 00:02:55.169 it would be good for us to remind ourselves of 00:02:55.169 --> 00:02:58.509 just what these three enemies really are. The 00:02:58.509 --> 00:03:01.710 first one is the devil, of course. We might call 00:03:01.710 --> 00:03:05.669 the devil our most clever enemy. Turn with me 00:03:05.669 --> 00:03:08.669 in the New Testament to 1 Timothy chapter 5. 00:03:10.729 --> 00:03:13.610 Paul is speaking in a certain context here regarding 00:03:13.610 --> 00:03:17.650 widows and the church's obligation before the 00:03:17.650 --> 00:03:22.370 Lord to care for them. He says in verse 14 of 00:03:22.370 --> 00:03:25.050 1 Timothy 5, Therefore I want younger widows 00:03:25.050 --> 00:03:28.310 to get married, bear children, keep house, and 00:03:28.310 --> 00:03:33.500 give the enemy... No occasion for reproach, for 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:36.199 some have already turned aside to follow Satan. 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:39.740 And so he makes it very clear here that Satan 00:03:39.740 --> 00:03:42.659 is the enemy that he has in mind in verse 14. 00:03:44.099 --> 00:03:54.460 In 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 26, he commands 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:58.120 those who are the Lord's servants to behave in 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:01.789 a gentle way. especially toward those who oppose 00:04:01.789 --> 00:04:04.930 them, in verse 26, so that they may come to their 00:04:04.930 --> 00:04:09.229 senses and escape from the snare of the devil, 00:04:09.370 --> 00:04:13.789 having been held captive by him to do his will. 00:04:14.650 --> 00:04:17.550 So it is possible for this enemy, the devil, 00:04:17.670 --> 00:04:23.110 to hold us captive so that we do his will, even 00:04:23.110 --> 00:04:26.750 though we are Christians. We have an enemy in 00:04:26.750 --> 00:04:30.970 the devil. Peter describes him as a roaring lion 00:04:30.970 --> 00:04:34.829 walking about seeking whom he may devour. Make 00:04:34.829 --> 00:04:39.089 no mistake about it. This enemy is a very real 00:04:39.089 --> 00:04:43.550 enemy. He is a personal enemy. He is not merely 00:04:43.550 --> 00:04:46.670 an influence in the world. The devil is a creature, 00:04:46.930 --> 00:04:51.110 an angelic creature fallen. And he is assisted 00:04:51.110 --> 00:04:54.329 by hosts of others who have fallen with him. 00:04:54.810 --> 00:04:57.689 from their holy estate and are now sinful angels 00:04:57.689 --> 00:05:02.250 called demons in the Bible. We have an enemy 00:05:02.250 --> 00:05:06.370 in the devil. A second enemy that the New Testament 00:05:06.370 --> 00:05:10.149 talks about is the world. Turn to 1 John chapter 00:05:10.149 --> 00:05:14.569 2. When I use the term world, I am not talking 00:05:14.569 --> 00:05:17.509 about the population of unsaved people in the 00:05:17.509 --> 00:05:21.329 world, but rather I am talking about what holds 00:05:21.329 --> 00:05:24.779 them captive, and that is the world. system, 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:31.079 the cosmos in which we live. If the devil is 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:35.339 our most clever enemy, using snares to capture 00:05:35.339 --> 00:05:38.540 us, the world is perhaps our most attractive 00:05:38.540 --> 00:05:44.740 enemy. In 1 John 2 verse 15, do not love the 00:05:44.740 --> 00:05:49.180 world, nor the things in the world. If anyone 00:05:49.180 --> 00:05:52.540 loves the world, the love of the Father is not 00:05:52.540 --> 00:05:56.089 in him. For all that is in the world, the lust 00:05:56.089 --> 00:05:59.209 of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the 00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:03.069 boastful pride of life is not from the Father 00:06:03.069 --> 00:06:06.930 but is from the world. And the world is passing 00:06:06.930 --> 00:06:11.329 away and also its lust. But the one who does 00:06:11.329 --> 00:06:15.009 the will of God abides forever. So he warns us 00:06:15.009 --> 00:06:18.649 here about the world system and how it seeks 00:06:18.649 --> 00:06:24.939 to attract us, to allure us. to itself through 00:06:24.939 --> 00:06:28.620 the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, 00:06:28.899 --> 00:06:33.480 and the boastful pride of life. Back in the book 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:36.980 of James, we have another warning about this 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:45.040 in chapter 4 and verse 4. These are strong words 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:49.420 from James. Notice what he says. You adulteresses. 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:52.790 Do you know what an adulteress is? Of course 00:06:52.790 --> 00:06:56.990 you do. He says, you adulteresses, do you not 00:06:56.990 --> 00:07:01.230 know that friendship with the world is hostility 00:07:01.230 --> 00:07:05.089 toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a 00:07:05.089 --> 00:07:08.730 friend of the world, that is, whoever resolves 00:07:08.730 --> 00:07:12.449 as an act of his will to be friendly with the 00:07:12.449 --> 00:07:15.769 world, makes himself, he constitutes himself 00:07:15.769 --> 00:07:20.790 an enemy of God. The world is the enemy of the 00:07:20.790 --> 00:07:23.980 Christian. That's why James says what he does 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:29.600 in chapter 1, verse 27. He says, This is pure 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:34.100 and undefiled religion in the sight of our God 00:07:34.100 --> 00:07:38.240 and Father. What? Number one, to visit orphans 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:41.819 and widows in their distress. Dear people, we 00:07:41.819 --> 00:07:44.560 have an obligation before God, if we claim to 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:48.600 be Christians, to care for those in need, and 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:52.509 especially those who are orphans. and widows. 00:07:52.709 --> 00:07:56.829 That is pure religion. But he goes on to say 00:07:56.829 --> 00:07:59.850 that it's also something else. Pure religion 00:07:59.850 --> 00:08:04.829 is also to keep oneself unstained by the world, 00:08:04.990 --> 00:08:09.009 by the world system. In other words, it is to 00:08:09.009 --> 00:08:12.029 live a life separated from the world system, 00:08:12.129 --> 00:08:17.050 to keep oneself pure and unpolluted by the world 00:08:17.050 --> 00:08:21.269 system. That is pure religion. So the world is 00:08:21.269 --> 00:08:24.350 an enemy, our most attractive enemy. But the 00:08:24.350 --> 00:08:26.449 third enemy is the one we're going to focus on 00:08:26.449 --> 00:08:29.550 in this series of messages. It is the flesh. 00:08:30.910 --> 00:08:34.309 If the devil is our most clever enemy and the 00:08:34.309 --> 00:08:37.490 world our most attractive enemy, I believe the 00:08:37.490 --> 00:08:42.730 flesh is our most intimate enemy. Because this 00:08:42.730 --> 00:08:46.090 is the enemy we live with day in and day out. 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:48.899 I'd like you to turn to the book of Galatians, 00:08:48.899 --> 00:08:52.440 chapter 5, and we'll read just two verses to 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:54.960 get us started this morning. Verses 16 and 17 00:08:54.960 --> 00:09:03.600 of Galatians 5. But I say, walk by the Spirit, 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:07.980 and you will not carry out the desire of the 00:09:07.980 --> 00:09:13.559 flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:17.200 the Spirit. and the Spirit against the flesh. 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:21.860 For these are in opposition to one another, so 00:09:21.860 --> 00:09:24.879 that you may not do the things that you please. 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:29.720 The struggle you see within us is the warfare 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:34.039 between the flesh and the Holy Spirit who indwells 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:39.159 us. The flesh is our most intimate enemy. The 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:43.200 flesh is with us 24 hours a day. until that day 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:45.539 that we are released from this body to be with 00:09:45.539 --> 00:09:48.259 the Lord, or we are changed in the rapture and 00:09:48.259 --> 00:09:51.620 we go home to be with Him that way. Until that 00:09:51.620 --> 00:09:54.419 day, we will have this enemy living with us inside 00:09:54.419 --> 00:09:58.539 these bodies. It's called the flesh. Now, to 00:09:58.539 --> 00:10:01.899 experience victory over this enemy, the flesh, 00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:05.860 more consistently, we need to understand what 00:10:05.860 --> 00:10:10.700 the Word of God says about it. That's going to 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:13.700 take us several weeks. This morning we're just 00:10:13.700 --> 00:10:16.799 going to get started on this subject. And I hope 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:18.899 that you will be here every week as we talk about 00:10:18.899 --> 00:10:22.460 this enemy that we struggle with called the flesh. 00:10:24.779 --> 00:10:26.840 It would be helpful if we would begin with a 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:28.840 definition, I think, of what the flesh really 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:32.539 is. In the New Testament there are three uses 00:10:32.539 --> 00:10:38.610 of the word flesh. We see these observed. in 00:10:38.610 --> 00:10:41.190 numerous passages, but we see them all together 00:10:41.190 --> 00:10:43.669 in the book of Romans. So let's just turn there 00:10:43.669 --> 00:10:46.549 since we can easily get from one text to another. 00:10:48.149 --> 00:10:55.850 We'll begin with Romans chapter 8. The New Testament 00:10:55.850 --> 00:10:59.629 uses the word flesh in the first place to refer 00:10:59.629 --> 00:11:05.730 to our bodies, our bodies of flesh and blood. 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:11.659 the physical aspect of our humanity. That is 00:11:11.659 --> 00:11:14.240 called the flesh. An example of that is in verse 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:17.759 3, where it says, For what the law could not 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:21.799 do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did, 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:25.639 sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:29.860 flesh, and as an offering for sin, he condemned 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:34.659 sin in the flesh. Here it is talking about the 00:11:34.659 --> 00:11:38.580 humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. In order for 00:11:38.580 --> 00:11:41.399 God to deal with sin, in order for God to make 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:45.419 an atonement for sin on our behalf, He had to 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:47.899 come into the world and He did that through His 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:52.500 Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He came in the likeness 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:57.320 of our sinful flesh. Notice He did not come in 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:01.490 sinful flesh, but in the likeness. of our sinful 00:12:01.490 --> 00:12:04.870 flesh. He was true flesh and blood. He was truly 00:12:04.870 --> 00:12:09.470 human. He had a human nature, but it was sinless. 00:12:11.389 --> 00:12:14.450 And because it was sinless, he was able to offer 00:12:14.450 --> 00:12:18.509 himself as a substitute for us at the cross and 00:12:18.509 --> 00:12:23.409 to deal thoroughly with sin. Here we see the 00:12:23.409 --> 00:12:26.669 word flesh used in this respect. You're talking 00:12:26.669 --> 00:12:31.100 about Jesus, his flesh, his humanity. the body 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:34.320 that he had because of the miracle of the incarnation. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.000 There's a second way the word flesh is used. 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:40.639 And to see this, go back to the first chapter 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.860 of Romans. Here, once again, it speaks about 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:56.159 the Lord Jesus. In verse 3, it speaks about Jesus 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:59.480 being a descendant of David. Notice it says, 00:12:59.580 --> 00:13:02.220 concerning his son who was born of a descendant 00:13:02.220 --> 00:13:06.320 of David according to the flesh. So here he is 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:11.620 talking about lineage or physical descent. That 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:16.080 is, a line of ancestry is in mind in this use 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.860 of the word flesh. We see this again in chapter 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:25.690 4, verse 1. What then shall we say that Abraham, 00:13:25.950 --> 00:13:30.210 our forefather, according to the flesh, has found? 00:13:31.509 --> 00:13:34.250 And so here the word again, flesh, is used in 00:13:34.250 --> 00:13:36.769 terms of a physical descent from an individual. 00:13:38.769 --> 00:13:42.929 He's talking about the Jews in chapter 4, verse 00:13:42.929 --> 00:13:45.870 1. He's talking about the Lord Jesus in chapter 00:13:45.870 --> 00:13:49.789 1, verse 3. But it's used in both cases in the 00:13:49.789 --> 00:13:53.070 sense of the lineage of the individual in view. 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:58.539 the physical descent, that kind of flesh. But 00:13:58.539 --> 00:14:00.440 there's a third way in which it's used, and that 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:02.139 is the way in which we're going to be talking 00:14:02.139 --> 00:14:07.639 about it. The word flesh, in the sense that we're 00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:10.860 going to use it, has been defined variously. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:14.379 For example, Everett F. Harrison says, the flesh 00:14:14.379 --> 00:14:20.080 is human nature as corrupted and weakened by 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:24.409 sin. He says that's what flesh is. human nature 00:14:24.409 --> 00:14:29.409 as corrupted and weakened by sin. In his study 00:14:29.409 --> 00:14:33.570 Bible, Charles Ryrie puts it this way, it is 00:14:33.570 --> 00:14:39.389 personality controlled by sin and directed to 00:14:39.389 --> 00:14:43.370 selfish pursuits. He says that's what the flesh 00:14:43.370 --> 00:14:48.169 is. It is personality which is controlled by 00:14:48.169 --> 00:14:54.210 sin and directed toward selfish pursuits. A third 00:14:54.210 --> 00:14:59.309 definition from W .A. Criswell. He says it is 00:14:59.309 --> 00:15:02.590 sinful tendencies, the flesh is sinful tendencies 00:15:02.590 --> 00:15:08.210 that exist in a man, most of which are related 00:15:08.210 --> 00:15:14.509 to bodily appetites and ambitions. He says sinful 00:15:14.509 --> 00:15:17.029 tendencies exist in a man, most of which are 00:15:17.029 --> 00:15:22.649 related to bodily appetites and ambitions. Now 00:15:22.649 --> 00:15:25.649 what does the Word of God say? I think these 00:15:25.649 --> 00:15:27.649 definitions, by the way, are in the ballpark. 00:15:29.309 --> 00:15:32.789 With regard to the unregenerate person, that 00:15:32.789 --> 00:15:35.590 is the person who does not belong to the Lord 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:39.730 Jesus Christ, the unbeliever, with regard to 00:15:39.730 --> 00:15:44.870 the unregenerate, the flesh is a blueprint of 00:15:44.870 --> 00:15:50.330 sin which controls his total life. That's how 00:15:50.330 --> 00:15:54.679 I would put it. The flesh is a pattern of thoughts, 00:15:54.860 --> 00:16:05.700 actions, words, desires, motives, which are consistent 00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:12.580 with the nature of an unsaved person. The flesh 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:16.559 then is sort of like a computer program in an 00:16:16.559 --> 00:16:19.840 individual. The programming having been done 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:26.850 by sin. within a man. The sin, the power of sin, 00:16:26.970 --> 00:16:31.970 the sin principle outlines a pattern of activity 00:16:31.970 --> 00:16:37.389 and actions consistent with what it, sin, wants 00:16:37.389 --> 00:16:40.889 in that individual. And so an unregenerate person 00:16:40.889 --> 00:16:45.629 is totally enslaved to this, as we shall see 00:16:45.629 --> 00:16:49.480 in just a few moments. But many of us here today 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.919 are not unregenerate. We are regenerate. We are 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:56.700 believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. What is flesh 00:16:56.700 --> 00:17:00.799 to us? Well, with regard to a Christian, I would 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:04.380 define it this way. It is the pattern of activity, 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:09.339 the sinful pattern of activity, remaining in 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:16.019 us as a leftover from the old man. In other words, 00:17:16.019 --> 00:17:19.910 that programming. of our thoughts and our actions 00:17:19.910 --> 00:17:24.230 from sin within us is still there, even though 00:17:24.230 --> 00:17:28.289 we have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. When we 00:17:28.289 --> 00:17:31.630 trusted in Him, we became new creatures and old 00:17:31.630 --> 00:17:36.369 things passed away. We have a new nature. We 00:17:36.369 --> 00:17:40.970 are a new man, the New Testament says. And yet, 00:17:41.170 --> 00:17:47.619 sin still indwells us. Sin still expresses itself 00:17:47.619 --> 00:17:52.920 through the flesh, the sinful pattern of activity 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:57.900 that remains in us. Now, we're in the book of 00:17:57.900 --> 00:18:01.019 Romans. I'd like you to turn to chapter 7, because 00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:04.559 we have here the words of the Apostle Paul. I'd 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:06.519 like to begin in verse 15 and read through verse 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:10.900 25. With what I have said in mind, please read 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:13.799 these words from Paul. There are those who believe 00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:16.140 that Paul is here talking about his unconverted 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:19.500 state. I disagree with that. I believe he is 00:18:19.500 --> 00:18:21.819 being very transparent here, that he is talking 00:18:21.819 --> 00:18:24.480 about his struggle the very day that he wrote 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:30.140 it. He says, for that which I am doing, I do 00:18:30.140 --> 00:18:34.859 not understand. For I am not practicing what 00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:38.019 I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing 00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:42.440 I hate. Do you ever feel that way? I did two 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:49.400 weeks ago and a few times since. In verse 16, 00:18:49.539 --> 00:18:52.599 But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:56.339 I agree with the law, confessing that it is good. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:03.140 So now, that is since my conversion, now no longer 00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:06.839 am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells 00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:09.680 me. In other words, the apostle is saying here, 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:12.960 I am a new person. I have a new identity in Jesus 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:16.799 Christ. I have a new nature. But he says, sin 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:20.940 indwells me. And it expresses itself. He says, 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:24.720 for I know that nothing good dwells in me that 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:29.740 is in my flesh. There's that word. Now he's not 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:33.640 talking about his physical body as an entity 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:36.480 by itself because the Holy Spirit dwells in him. 00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:39.980 So he's not going to say nothing good dwells 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:44.500 in my body. He's talking about the flesh. He 00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:46.960 says, I know that nothing good dwells in me that 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:49.480 is in my flesh, for the wishing is present in 00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:53.279 me, but the doing of the good is not. For the 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:56.920 good that I wish I do not do, but I practice 00:19:56.920 --> 00:20:01.400 the very evil that I do not wish. But if I am 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:05.140 doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer 00:20:05.900 --> 00:20:08.140 Notice again that phrase, no longer. Similar 00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:11.859 to back in verse 17, so now. He says, I am no 00:20:11.859 --> 00:20:14.480 longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:19.079 in me. So again he is saying, I am a new person 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:21.859 in Jesus Christ. I have a new nature. But he 00:20:21.859 --> 00:20:24.599 says, there is a problem. Sin dwells in me. It 00:20:24.599 --> 00:20:28.160 expresses itself. I find in the principle that 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:30.480 evil is present in me, the one who wishes to 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:34.000 do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:37.789 God in the inner man. But I see a different law 00:20:37.789 --> 00:20:42.730 in the members of my body, waging war against 00:20:42.730 --> 00:20:46.150 the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of 00:20:46.150 --> 00:20:49.950 the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched 00:20:49.950 --> 00:20:52.690 man that I am, who will set me free from the 00:20:52.690 --> 00:20:55.950 body of this death? Then he responds, thanks 00:20:55.950 --> 00:21:00.170 be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So that 00:21:00.170 --> 00:21:03.289 on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving 00:21:03.289 --> 00:21:07.420 the law of God. Indeed in verse... 22, he says, 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:09.579 I concur with the law of God in the inner man. 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:13.680 I love it, he says. I agree with it. But he says, 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:16.680 on the other hand, I myself with my mind, he 00:21:16.680 --> 00:21:19.180 says, on the other, with my flesh, he says, I'm 00:21:19.180 --> 00:21:22.279 serving the law of sin. Notice, with my flesh, 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:28.880 the law of sin. Now you say, I'm not real clear 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:32.009 on this yet. Well, as we go through the next 00:21:32.009 --> 00:21:34.069 few weeks, I hope that this will begin to be 00:21:34.069 --> 00:21:39.230 clarified to you. A definition then of the flesh, 00:21:39.450 --> 00:21:42.789 as we're going to talk about it, is that for 00:21:42.789 --> 00:21:45.750 the Christian it is that sinful pattern of activity 00:21:45.750 --> 00:21:50.329 that remains in us as a leftover from the old 00:21:50.329 --> 00:21:53.150 man that we were in Adam before we were saved. 00:21:53.910 --> 00:21:57.369 We are now a new creature. We are a new person, 00:21:57.430 --> 00:22:01.490 a new man. But like the Apostle Paul, we struggle. 00:22:02.410 --> 00:22:06.069 We struggle because sin as a power, as an entity, 00:22:06.170 --> 00:22:09.890 as a principle, still is active in our flesh. 00:22:11.589 --> 00:22:14.730 The flesh is its occasion to express itself. 00:22:14.930 --> 00:22:18.230 It is its avenue of expression in our lives. 00:22:18.730 --> 00:22:21.410 And it will be, as I say, until that day that 00:22:21.410 --> 00:22:24.269 we are perfectly sanctified when we are with 00:22:24.269 --> 00:22:28.160 the Lord. Now I'd like to think for a few moments 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:31.940 about a description. We're going to back off 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:35.140 just a moment and talk about a description, a 00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:40.240 characterization of one who is unsaved as it 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.960 relates to the flesh. I've given you a definition 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:46.660 of what it means in relation to an unregenerate 00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:49.180 person, but now we want to describe that a little 00:22:49.180 --> 00:22:52.839 bit more. We see that description following immediately 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:59.400 here in chapter 8, beginning in verse 10. We'll 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:02.059 also go back to chapter 7, verse 5 and pick up 00:23:02.059 --> 00:23:05.400 a verse there. What we're going to do here is 00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:10.680 see a four -fold description of the person who 00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:14.019 is outside of Jesus Christ and who is still in 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:17.779 his sin. He is still lost, of course, and on 00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:23.269 his way to hell. To be such a person involves 00:23:23.269 --> 00:23:25.710 four things. Now I want you to write these words 00:23:25.710 --> 00:23:28.069 down and we're going to see how they relate to 00:23:28.069 --> 00:23:32.829 the text. It involves a position. It involves 00:23:32.829 --> 00:23:38.890 a nature. It involves a mindset. And it involves 00:23:38.890 --> 00:23:42.750 a lifestyle. Those are my four key words under 00:23:42.750 --> 00:23:46.549 this point. We're going to see how those things 00:23:46.549 --> 00:23:49.569 relate to a description of an unsaved person. 00:23:51.369 --> 00:23:54.710 Now what about position? How does the Word of 00:23:54.710 --> 00:23:57.630 God describe the position of one who is without 00:23:57.630 --> 00:24:01.190 Jesus Christ? Well, let's begin in chapter 7, 00:24:01.210 --> 00:24:06.410 verse 5. The apostle is talking to believers 00:24:06.410 --> 00:24:09.289 here, but he refers back to something that we 00:24:09.289 --> 00:24:13.569 were before. He says, while we were in the flesh. 00:24:15.309 --> 00:24:18.410 The sinful passions which were aroused by the 00:24:18.410 --> 00:24:20.930 law were at work in the members of our body to 00:24:20.930 --> 00:24:24.509 bear fruit for death. Now the phrase I want to 00:24:24.509 --> 00:24:26.970 pick out of that verse to describe the position 00:24:26.970 --> 00:24:30.710 of the unsaved person is that phrase, in the 00:24:30.710 --> 00:24:35.509 flesh. The Apostle Paul is talking about pre 00:24:35.509 --> 00:24:39.710 -conversion days, days before we came to Jesus 00:24:39.710 --> 00:24:44.190 Christ. He says at that time we were in the flesh. 00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:48.940 That is our spiritual position before God, in 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:52.839 the flesh. We see that phrase again in chapter 00:24:52.839 --> 00:25:00.220 8, in verses 8 and 9. He says, those who are 00:25:00.220 --> 00:25:04.980 in the flesh, the unsaved, cannot please God. 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:11.779 But he says, you are not in the flesh. but in 00:25:11.779 --> 00:25:14.440 the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:17.259 in you. And so once again we see that phrase, 00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:20.920 in the flesh. That is a phrase that describes 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:24.220 the position of an unregenerate man or woman. 00:25:25.140 --> 00:25:29.079 They are in the flesh with respect to how God 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:32.119 sees them. They are not in the Spirit. They are 00:25:32.119 --> 00:25:38.230 in the flesh. Now that is significant. Because 00:25:38.230 --> 00:25:40.430 it has certain ramifications that you want to 00:25:40.430 --> 00:25:44.269 see now. For one who has the position of being 00:25:44.269 --> 00:25:48.910 in the flesh has a certain nature. That's our 00:25:48.910 --> 00:25:53.549 second key word. That is, his life is regulated 00:25:53.549 --> 00:25:58.490 by the flesh. This sinful pattern within him. 00:25:59.210 --> 00:26:03.849 That is the essence of his life. That is his 00:26:03.849 --> 00:26:09.150 existence. In chapter 8, verse 5, the Apostle 00:26:09.150 --> 00:26:12.730 Paul uses a phrase that illustrates this. He 00:26:12.730 --> 00:26:18.230 says, for those who are according to the flesh 00:26:18.230 --> 00:26:22.609 set their minds on the things of the flesh. Notice 00:26:22.609 --> 00:26:26.990 that word A -R -E. That is a word of being. That 00:26:26.990 --> 00:26:31.069 is a word of essence, a word of existence. It's 00:26:31.069 --> 00:26:36.680 a word regarding the nature of a person. So one 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:41.500 who is in the flesh is one who is according to 00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:45.819 the flesh. That is, the flesh is his life principle. 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:51.500 His flesh regulates his activity. We need not 00:26:51.500 --> 00:26:56.119 wonder at the deeds of unregenerate people, for 00:26:56.119 --> 00:27:00.660 what they do is simply a revelation of their 00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:05.599 nature. They are according to the flesh. That 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:12.259 is their nature. Now it says in verse 8 that 00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:17.519 one who is in the flesh cannot possibly please 00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:24.059 God. Notice that? One who is in the flesh, one 00:27:24.059 --> 00:27:27.460 who is controlled by the flesh because of his 00:27:27.460 --> 00:27:30.670 nature, his sinful nature, Number one, cannot 00:27:30.670 --> 00:27:34.029 please God. Whatever he may do, he is unable 00:27:34.029 --> 00:27:37.309 to please God. You say, but there are unsafe 00:27:37.309 --> 00:27:41.730 people who do good things. Yes, there are unsafe 00:27:41.730 --> 00:27:44.869 people who do some good things. But they are 00:27:44.869 --> 00:27:48.049 all within the dimension or the realm of sin. 00:27:49.109 --> 00:27:52.970 God cannot accept them as being good things because 00:27:52.970 --> 00:27:57.710 they are in the flesh. They are in sin. One who 00:27:57.710 --> 00:28:02.160 is in the flesh... cannot please God. In other 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:06.279 words, one in the flesh cannot possibly do anything 00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:11.140 to merit himself before the Lord. He cannot in 00:28:11.140 --> 00:28:14.619 any way please God. We also see that one who 00:28:14.619 --> 00:28:18.200 is in the flesh and has this nature does not 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:23.319 have the Holy Spirit according to verse 9. It 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:25.920 says, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:28.539 if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But 00:28:28.539 --> 00:28:30.779 if any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, 00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:33.920 he does not belong to him. So Paul is saying 00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:36.960 here by inference that one who is in the flesh 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:44.180 does not have the Holy Spirit in him. And likewise, 00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:50.119 he does not belong to God in verse 9. He is not 00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:54.440 a part of God's family. So his position is that 00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:57.680 he's in the flesh. Because he's in the flesh, 00:28:57.720 --> 00:29:02.099 he has a nature that is according to the flesh. 00:29:02.900 --> 00:29:05.599 He is dominated by the flesh. His whole life 00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:11.180 is regulated by it. That's all he knows. Now 00:29:11.180 --> 00:29:16.099 because that is his nature, it's also his mindset. 00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:20.559 You see, what we are determines how we think. 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:25.440 One who is in the flesh and who is according 00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:29.000 to the flesh will think that way. His mind will 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:31.579 be set on those kinds of things. Look at verse 00:29:31.579 --> 00:29:39.380 5. Those who are according to the flesh set their 00:29:39.380 --> 00:29:43.000 minds on the things of the flesh. So here we 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:47.099 have the mindset of the unsafe person. When it's 00:29:47.099 --> 00:29:49.400 talking about the mind here, it's talking about 00:29:49.400 --> 00:29:54.039 one's affection. and will, as well as his ability 00:29:54.039 --> 00:29:58.460 to reason. It's more than just one's intellect. 00:29:58.839 --> 00:30:05.019 It is one's affections. It is one's will. It 00:30:05.019 --> 00:30:07.880 refers to the mind that is fully and actively 00:30:07.880 --> 00:30:14.339 absorbed with the concerns of the flesh. The 00:30:14.339 --> 00:30:20.329 mindset of the unsaved person is the flesh. He 00:30:20.329 --> 00:30:22.630 thinks about the flesh and how to fulfill the 00:30:22.630 --> 00:30:25.289 flesh. That's where he lives. That's what he 00:30:25.289 --> 00:30:30.630 thinks about all the time. He cannot escape that. 00:30:32.910 --> 00:30:35.730 We learn about that in verse 6, that the mind 00:30:35.730 --> 00:30:39.630 set on the flesh is death. See that? What does 00:30:39.630 --> 00:30:43.710 that mean? Well, it means that his mind reflects 00:30:43.710 --> 00:30:49.839 the death on the inside of him. There are some 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:54.099 people who get on television and express ideas 00:30:54.099 --> 00:30:56.740 about certain things, especially on talk shows, 00:30:56.980 --> 00:31:02.000 and I say, where in the world is that person 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:05.740 coming from? How can a person think that way? 00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:09.460 You ever feel that way? But we ought not to be 00:31:09.460 --> 00:31:12.940 surprised, because you see, the mindset of the 00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:16.759 unsaved person is according to the death that 00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:19.690 is within him. The mind that is set on the flesh 00:31:19.690 --> 00:31:24.450 is death. It reflects inward death and it leads 00:31:24.450 --> 00:31:27.309 him throughout his life to death and to trouble 00:31:27.309 --> 00:31:31.269 and to sorrow and ultimately will plunge him 00:31:31.269 --> 00:31:34.549 into eternal death unless God intervenes in his 00:31:34.549 --> 00:31:39.750 life. Now we also learn in verse 7 that the mind 00:31:39.750 --> 00:31:42.329 that is set on the flesh is hostile toward God. 00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:46.140 We should not be surprised when unsaved people 00:31:46.140 --> 00:31:48.960 express anger and bitterness toward the Lord. 00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:55.559 Because the mind that is fully absorbed by the 00:31:55.559 --> 00:31:59.059 flesh is hostile toward God. As I suggested, 00:31:59.079 --> 00:32:01.640 I think it was last week, that hostility is not 00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:05.799 always evident. In other words, an unsaved person 00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:08.740 may protest and say, I am not angry at God about 00:32:08.740 --> 00:32:13.799 anything. You let something come into his life 00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:18.900 that crosses his desires or frustrates his purposes 00:32:18.900 --> 00:32:21.819 and his goals. And who do you think is going 00:32:21.819 --> 00:32:26.000 to get the hostility for it? Why did God do that 00:32:26.000 --> 00:32:31.380 to me? And that hostility toward God pops to 00:32:31.380 --> 00:32:35.359 the surface just like a cork in water. Because 00:32:35.359 --> 00:32:38.079 that hostility is there, whether expressed or 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:41.259 not. It is present in the life. of the one whose 00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:43.960 mind is set on the flesh. He is hostile toward 00:32:43.960 --> 00:32:48.039 God. And we learn furthermore in verse 7 that 00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:50.339 that kind of a mind that is set on the flesh 00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:56.059 does not subject itself to the law of God. In 00:32:56.059 --> 00:33:01.140 fact, it is not even able to do so. It does not 00:33:01.140 --> 00:33:05.259 have the capacity to subject itself to the law 00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:07.460 of God, to agree with the law of God that is 00:33:07.460 --> 00:33:17.539 good and holy. Being determines thinking. One 00:33:17.539 --> 00:33:22.359 who is in the flesh and one who is according 00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:26.859 to the flesh, that is his nature, has a mind 00:33:26.859 --> 00:33:31.400 set on the flesh and that leads him to a lifestyle. 00:33:32.039 --> 00:33:34.859 Because you see, being determines thinking and 00:33:34.859 --> 00:33:40.319 thinking determines action. That is why the actions 00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:42.900 of a person's life, his lifestyle, reveals what 00:33:42.900 --> 00:33:46.700 he is, his being. Because being determines thinking, 00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:49.160 and it is thinking that determines lifestyle. 00:33:52.680 --> 00:33:56.140 In verse 4, we have a phrase regarding this. 00:33:58.539 --> 00:34:02.259 He says that God condemns sin in the flesh, the 00:34:02.259 --> 00:34:05.200 flesh of the Lord Jesus, in order that the requirement 00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:08.719 of the law... might be fulfilled in us who do 00:34:08.719 --> 00:34:12.320 not walk according to the flesh, but according 00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:15.579 to the Spirit. He says we don't walk that way, 00:34:15.619 --> 00:34:19.940 but who does? The unsaved person. He walks according 00:34:19.940 --> 00:34:23.300 to the flesh. Now the word walk means that he 00:34:23.300 --> 00:34:25.840 conducts himself that way. That is his behavior. 00:34:27.659 --> 00:34:35.269 His lifestyle is toward the flesh. This is similar 00:34:35.269 --> 00:34:37.909 in meaning to what is said in verse 13 when he 00:34:37.909 --> 00:34:42.150 says to believers, but if by the Spirit you are 00:34:42.150 --> 00:34:45.590 putting to death the deeds of the body, you will 00:34:45.590 --> 00:34:50.489 live. I think the walk according to the flesh 00:34:50.489 --> 00:34:52.969 is very similar to what is called here the deeds 00:34:52.969 --> 00:34:57.829 of the body. What it's talking about is the habitual 00:34:57.829 --> 00:35:02.889 action of one who is unsaved. It's talking about 00:35:02.889 --> 00:35:06.170 the direction of his life, the bent of his life, 00:35:06.250 --> 00:35:10.329 his decisions, his motives, what he does, how 00:35:10.329 --> 00:35:13.909 he treats people, what he thinks of himself. 00:35:16.630 --> 00:35:19.809 And so being determines thinking, and thinking 00:35:19.809 --> 00:35:24.690 determines lifestyle. What is the lifestyle of 00:35:24.690 --> 00:35:30.550 one who walks according to the flesh? We have 00:35:30.550 --> 00:35:36.269 a scriptural delineation to answer that. Turn 00:35:36.269 --> 00:35:47.650 back with me to Galatians chapter 5. Beginning 00:35:47.650 --> 00:35:50.230 in verse 19, we have what are called the deeds 00:35:50.230 --> 00:35:53.329 of the flesh. Notice a very similar phrase here 00:35:53.329 --> 00:35:55.869 to the deeds of the body from verse 13 of Romans 00:35:55.869 --> 00:36:02.159 8. These are the practices, these are the deeds, 00:36:02.300 --> 00:36:05.719 these are the works of the flesh. Here's what 00:36:05.719 --> 00:36:08.619 they are. They're evidence, says Paul, that is 00:36:08.619 --> 00:36:10.739 that they are obvious to those who understand. 00:36:11.619 --> 00:36:15.079 He says, number one, the lifestyle of the flesh 00:36:15.079 --> 00:36:19.619 involves immorality. The word here is porneia. 00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:24.360 It refers to any illicit sexual relationship. 00:36:25.960 --> 00:36:29.039 It is a term that really is very broad in its 00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:32.880 meaning in the New Testament. Biblical scholars 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:36.559 believe that the root of the word probably was 00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:41.320 in the word prostitution, which was the most 00:36:41.320 --> 00:36:45.440 apparent vice in the Greek Roman world. The word 00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:50.480 porneia or immorality refers to lack of sexual 00:36:50.480 --> 00:36:57.239 self -control. He begins here by talking about 00:36:57.239 --> 00:37:01.699 sexual sins. He says that the deeds of the flesh, 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:05.719 the lifestyle of the flesh involves immorality, 00:37:05.880 --> 00:37:11.699 lack of sexual self -control. And then he uses 00:37:11.699 --> 00:37:15.119 a second word, the word impurity, which refers 00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:20.019 to any kind of moral uncleanness. This word was 00:37:20.019 --> 00:37:23.210 used in a different way by Jesus. but it's one 00:37:23.210 --> 00:37:25.570 that gives us insight to the meaning here. Jesus 00:37:25.570 --> 00:37:29.849 used it in Matthew of the rotten stench from 00:37:29.849 --> 00:37:35.309 a dead body. So it's talking about uncleanness, 00:37:35.309 --> 00:37:39.030 the stench of impurity in the life. It's talking 00:37:39.030 --> 00:37:42.710 about vile thoughts and passions as well as activities 00:37:42.710 --> 00:37:47.650 that are unclean. So the lifestyle of the flesh 00:37:47.650 --> 00:37:51.130 involves an impurity. And third, it involves 00:37:51.130 --> 00:37:55.329 sensuality. Lightfoot says, this is an open and 00:37:55.329 --> 00:37:58.869 reckless contempt of propriety. What is suggested 00:37:58.869 --> 00:38:04.150 here is lewdness. There are certain things that 00:38:04.150 --> 00:38:07.469 are proper within the context of what God says 00:38:07.469 --> 00:38:10.829 to us and how we ought to behave. But that which 00:38:10.829 --> 00:38:13.670 is sensual is that which is outside the bounds 00:38:13.670 --> 00:38:18.550 of propriety. It is that which is lewd and suggestive. 00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:24.940 I think that most of us who are familiar with 00:38:24.940 --> 00:38:28.619 much radio or television or the record industry 00:38:28.619 --> 00:38:30.659 today, and we're hearing a lot about that, aren't 00:38:30.659 --> 00:38:33.360 we, are familiar with what this is talking about, 00:38:33.420 --> 00:38:38.679 sensuality. Then he goes on to religious sins. 00:38:40.300 --> 00:38:43.199 He says the works of the flesh include idolatry. 00:38:44.519 --> 00:38:46.860 Idolatry is the worship of the creature rather 00:38:46.860 --> 00:38:51.039 than the creator. An idol is anything that usurps 00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:55.460 the rightful place of God in one's life. Idolatry. 00:38:57.059 --> 00:39:01.139 And then he says sorcery, likewise. Sorcery is 00:39:01.139 --> 00:39:05.099 in a religious context here. It refers to that 00:39:05.099 --> 00:39:08.820 which comes from the occult, from witchcraft. 00:39:09.579 --> 00:39:13.280 It is the word pharmakeia, from which we get 00:39:13.280 --> 00:39:15.480 our word pharmacy. And so there are those who 00:39:15.480 --> 00:39:17.780 believe that it had something to do as well with 00:39:17.780 --> 00:39:21.519 the use... of drugs in their worship of Satan 00:39:21.519 --> 00:39:25.139 and of occultism and witchcraft. And I think 00:39:25.139 --> 00:39:28.739 that's probably right. All of that bundled together 00:39:28.739 --> 00:39:34.960 is involved in this word sorcery. The works of 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:38.139 the flesh include enmities, that is hateful actions, 00:39:38.699 --> 00:39:41.619 being hateful to other people. Included here 00:39:41.619 --> 00:39:46.159 would be discrimination between races or classes 00:39:46.159 --> 00:39:51.059 of people. enmities, strife, in other words, 00:39:51.059 --> 00:39:58.260 discord, contention, arguments, jealousy. The 00:39:58.260 --> 00:40:00.239 word jealousy really is the word zeal, and it 00:40:00.239 --> 00:40:03.659 can be used in a positive way, but when it's 00:40:03.659 --> 00:40:05.860 used in a context like this, it's talking about 00:40:05.860 --> 00:40:09.280 being zealous for selfish purposes, to be self 00:40:09.280 --> 00:40:15.599 -centered, outbursts of anger, temper tantrums. 00:40:16.429 --> 00:40:21.829 Fits of rage, many men in particular have a problem 00:40:21.829 --> 00:40:27.949 with this in the flesh. Disputes, that is rivalries, 00:40:28.130 --> 00:40:35.650 selfish ambitions, dissensions, refers to divisiveness. 00:40:36.150 --> 00:40:40.079 The word means to stand apart from others. It's 00:40:40.079 --> 00:40:42.400 the one who has the idea for one reason or another 00:40:42.400 --> 00:40:44.800 that he will stand away from others. It's to 00:40:44.800 --> 00:40:48.840 bring division into a group. Dissensions. Factions. 00:40:49.179 --> 00:40:51.760 Similar to that. Except the word here is the 00:40:51.760 --> 00:40:54.579 word from which we get our word heresy. It refers 00:40:54.579 --> 00:41:04.360 to sex. F -E -C -T -S. Feuding. Envying. Revolves 00:41:04.360 --> 00:41:08.159 around the displeasure. at the prosperity or 00:41:08.159 --> 00:41:11.840 the advantage of another. Drunkenness is obvious. 00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:15.420 A state of intoxication with wine is what the 00:41:15.420 --> 00:41:18.639 word literally means. But it can also include 00:41:18.639 --> 00:41:21.920 any other substance which dulls the sensibilities 00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:26.400 and causes one to lose self -control. Drunkenness. 00:41:27.539 --> 00:41:32.300 Carousing. That is a word which means orgies. 00:41:33.730 --> 00:41:36.750 wild and lewd activity as a consequence really 00:41:36.750 --> 00:41:39.610 of drunkenness in the context of the word originally. 00:41:40.190 --> 00:41:45.670 It can go beyond that. Now lest we think that 00:41:45.670 --> 00:41:47.829 this is a complete list of what the flesh can 00:41:47.829 --> 00:41:57.150 do in its lifestyle, he says, and things like 00:41:57.150 --> 00:42:01.590 these. In other words, this is only a suggestive 00:42:01.590 --> 00:42:07.480 list. We could go on to talk about lying, stealing, 00:42:07.860 --> 00:42:10.780 malice, bitterness, murder, slander, abusive 00:42:10.780 --> 00:42:15.659 speech, greed, gossip, smoldering hurt, vengeful 00:42:15.659 --> 00:42:17.980 spirit. All of those things are elsewhere listed 00:42:17.980 --> 00:42:22.460 in the New Testament as things like these. My 00:42:22.460 --> 00:42:26.599 friend, that is the lifestyle of the flesh. And 00:42:26.599 --> 00:42:28.739 notice the warning of the Apostle Paul. He says, 00:42:28.900 --> 00:42:32.960 of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned 00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:36.360 you. that those who practice such things shall 00:42:36.360 --> 00:42:41.159 not inherit the kingdom of God. He could not 00:42:41.159 --> 00:42:48.199 be more clear. He does not say those who commit 00:42:48.199 --> 00:42:52.079 these things on occasion. He says those who practice 00:42:52.079 --> 00:42:58.000 as a habit of life these things shall not inherit 00:42:58.000 --> 00:43:03.230 the kingdom of God. Why is that? Because their 00:43:03.230 --> 00:43:07.949 lifestyle reveals their mindset, and their mindset 00:43:07.949 --> 00:43:12.869 exposes their nature, which is consistent with 00:43:12.869 --> 00:43:15.230 their position before God. They are in the flesh, 00:43:15.269 --> 00:43:23.389 and they're lost. I care not if a man says that 00:43:23.389 --> 00:43:25.690 he's walked forward in a service a hundred times 00:43:25.690 --> 00:43:30.840 and prayed a prayer. If his lifestyle is described 00:43:30.840 --> 00:43:33.480 in these words, I'm talking about lifestyle now. 00:43:33.880 --> 00:43:36.900 I'm talking about the direction, the practice 00:43:36.900 --> 00:43:40.380 of the life. If his life is described in these 00:43:40.380 --> 00:43:45.079 kinds of things, he is not saved. However he 00:43:45.079 --> 00:43:48.940 may protest, there may be a day when he stands 00:43:48.940 --> 00:43:51.460 before God and says, Lord, I did miracles in 00:43:51.460 --> 00:43:53.940 your name. And Jesus will say, depart from me, 00:43:53.960 --> 00:43:58.630 I never knew you. Because you see, the lifestyle 00:43:58.630 --> 00:44:02.030 reveals ultimately the position of that individual 00:44:02.030 --> 00:44:05.570 that he's lost and in the flesh. Now I want to 00:44:05.570 --> 00:44:08.409 close very quickly by talking about the distinction. 00:44:09.230 --> 00:44:13.130 To do this, go back to Romans chapter 8. Because 00:44:13.130 --> 00:44:16.710 the Apostle Paul very wonderfully makes a distinction 00:44:16.710 --> 00:44:20.469 here between those who are in the flesh and those 00:44:20.469 --> 00:44:24.750 who are Christ's. We have four key words, right? 00:44:25.519 --> 00:44:29.199 Position, nature, mindset, and lifestyle. Write 00:44:29.199 --> 00:44:31.739 those down again. Because I want to show you 00:44:31.739 --> 00:44:33.980 the distinction to the child of God in Romans 00:44:33.980 --> 00:44:37.019 chapter 8. We have to do this very quickly. We 00:44:37.019 --> 00:44:39.860 may come back at it again next week. In verse 00:44:39.860 --> 00:44:42.739 9 it says, you are not in the flesh, but what? 00:44:44.340 --> 00:44:48.539 In the spirit. So there, my friend, is the position 00:44:48.539 --> 00:44:52.099 of the child of God. He is in the spirit. Or 00:44:52.099 --> 00:44:54.820 as he says back in verse 1, those who are in, 00:44:55.210 --> 00:44:59.690 Christ Jesus. So that is the position from which 00:44:59.690 --> 00:45:03.510 God sees us. He does not see us any longer in 00:45:03.510 --> 00:45:08.050 the flesh, in Adam and under condemnation, but 00:45:08.050 --> 00:45:11.710 rather He sees us over here in Jesus Christ, 00:45:11.829 --> 00:45:15.730 in the Spirit, and now with no condemnation. 00:45:15.750 --> 00:45:22.159 That's how God sees us, by His grace. Look at 00:45:22.159 --> 00:45:24.539 verse 5, and we have a word regarding the nature. 00:45:25.119 --> 00:45:27.699 He says, those who are according to the flesh 00:45:27.699 --> 00:45:31.300 set their minds on the things of the flesh, but, 00:45:31.320 --> 00:45:35.619 here's the distinction, those who are according 00:45:35.619 --> 00:45:38.800 to the Spirit. And so the nature of the Christian 00:45:38.800 --> 00:45:41.639 is different. He has a new life principle within 00:45:41.639 --> 00:45:44.900 him that controls him. There's a new regulation 00:45:44.900 --> 00:45:48.860 in his life. It is the law of the Spirit of life 00:45:48.860 --> 00:45:52.909 in Christ Jesus, back in verse 2. And that new 00:45:52.909 --> 00:45:56.050 law is a higher law and it sets us free from 00:45:56.050 --> 00:45:59.989 the old law, as we will see in weeks to come. 00:46:00.590 --> 00:46:04.150 We have a new nature and according to verse 9, 00:46:19.900 --> 00:46:24.340 The Holy Spirit indwells us. The man who is in 00:46:24.340 --> 00:46:27.840 the flesh does not have the Spirit. The one who 00:46:27.840 --> 00:46:32.039 is in the Spirit has the Spirit in him as well. 00:46:32.340 --> 00:46:36.199 And then mindset, again in verse 5. Those who 00:46:36.199 --> 00:46:40.539 are according to the Spirit mind or set their 00:46:40.539 --> 00:46:46.159 minds on the things of the Spirit. In other words, 00:46:46.199 --> 00:46:49.860 there is a new... orientation for thinking and 00:46:49.860 --> 00:46:54.760 affection and choosing. And that orientation 00:46:54.760 --> 00:47:01.539 is given to us by our new nature. Our new being 00:47:01.539 --> 00:47:06.179 causes us to think about different things. We 00:47:06.179 --> 00:47:10.219 look at life differently. And as a result of 00:47:10.219 --> 00:47:13.619 that, he says, the mind that is set on the Spirit 00:47:13.619 --> 00:47:18.739 is life and peace in verse 6. Now let's talk 00:47:18.739 --> 00:47:26.300 about lifestyle, verses 3 and 4. For time's sake, 00:47:26.340 --> 00:47:29.539 let's only look at verse 4, where he says, In 00:47:29.539 --> 00:47:34.619 order that the requirement of the law might be 00:47:34.619 --> 00:47:38.059 fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to 00:47:38.059 --> 00:47:39.880 the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Do you 00:47:39.880 --> 00:47:42.860 see it there? The lifestyle of the one who is 00:47:42.860 --> 00:47:45.500 in the Spirit is that he walks according to the 00:47:45.500 --> 00:47:52.679 Spirit. And he fulfills what is called here the 00:47:52.679 --> 00:47:57.519 requirement of the law. That is the righteous 00:47:57.519 --> 00:48:01.599 demands that God makes. Notice that he doesn't 00:48:01.599 --> 00:48:03.500 do it in his own power, but they are fulfilled 00:48:03.500 --> 00:48:08.599 in him by the Holy Spirit who indwells him. But 00:48:08.599 --> 00:48:11.760 you say, wait a minute, there's a problem. If 00:48:11.760 --> 00:48:15.780 those things are so, and if as a Christian, That 00:48:15.780 --> 00:48:18.579 is my position before God. I'm in the Spirit. 00:48:18.840 --> 00:48:23.199 And if my new nature is that I am according to 00:48:23.199 --> 00:48:27.820 the Spirit, and if my mindset is on the things 00:48:27.820 --> 00:48:30.739 of the Spirit, and if my lifestyle is that I 00:48:30.739 --> 00:48:33.619 walk according to the Spirit, then why do I still 00:48:33.619 --> 00:48:38.440 struggle with sinful desires? Why is there still 00:48:38.440 --> 00:48:43.349 within me this tendency to think evil? Why do 00:48:43.349 --> 00:48:46.150 unkind words and actions manifest themselves 00:48:46.150 --> 00:48:53.070 in me? Well, the answer to that is this. The 00:48:53.070 --> 00:48:58.429 believer is not any longer in the flesh, but 00:48:58.429 --> 00:49:04.010 the flesh is in the believer. And that's where 00:49:04.010 --> 00:49:10.530 we'll pick it up next week. Let's pray. Heavenly 00:49:10.530 --> 00:49:14.780 Father, These truths are so important for our 00:49:14.780 --> 00:49:21.300 Christian walk. And I pray that the Holy Spirit, 00:49:21.400 --> 00:49:25.380 who is within us to be our teacher, would show 00:49:25.380 --> 00:49:29.219 us these things, so that when we have heard and 00:49:29.219 --> 00:49:32.599 understood what the Word teaches, we may live 00:49:32.599 --> 00:49:36.659 and walk according to the Spirit, so that the 00:49:36.659 --> 00:49:40.440 desires of the flesh will not so much be realized 00:49:40.440 --> 00:49:47.300 in our lives. We pray that the mind of the Savior 00:49:47.300 --> 00:49:52.059 might be our mind, that our lifestyle would reflect 00:49:52.059 --> 00:49:59.059 His holiness within us. In Jesus' name, amen.