Part CXVIII on Galatians Study

Romans 7:6a
"But now we are delivered from the law, (and that means exactly what it says.) that being dead (death) wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit,..."
Now that word "newness" means exactly what it says. A whole new ball game. When we become a believer and receive this new nature it's completely different. We don't care what prime time of life we're in. Whether we're a teenager or middle age or in the advanced years it's the whole idea is that regardless where we are in our life, once we enter into this Spirit-led life, we're not under the Law, we're under Grace. Now back to the Book of Galatians. Now we get into the part that really gets explicit. There are no punches pulled here. There are no ifs, ands, or buts, there's no question. Now verse 19.


Galatians 5:19a
"Now the works of the flesh (of old Adam-Satan nature, and Satan's playground) are manifest, (in other words there's no hiding it, there's no doubting it. It's just like looking in a microscope again and seeing everything exposed by that bright light from below) which are these; (and what does it start with? Sexual sins or wrong beliefs, spiritual wickedness) Adultery,..."

We know as we look at the world all the way back through history, what has always been the most hideous of mankind's sin? Sexual and spiritual immorality! The pagans were rampant  and Israel became rampant as well, in it as we expressed that in our look at Corinthians. We saw some of the places in the Mediterranean where Paul was confronted with this type of gross immorality. So it's always been that way, and we think even going as far back as Ishmael, and Esau - in fact let's look at Esau's result in Hebrews chapter 12. Even all the way back to Esau, and remember he was one of the twins of Isaac and Rebecca. We want us to see this because this has always been, the most crucial shortcoming of the human race. And we're seeing it explode all around us even here in the 2000's.


Hebrews 12:16
"Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, (now the two go hand and hand. When you have someone who is immoral, he's also profane irreverent toward God) as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright."
This now relates to Matthew chapter 22 verse 5 doesn't it. Now do we get the make of the man's personality. Number one, he was destitute of faith. Those of us who were with us when we were in Genesis remember we pointed out when he came in hungry as a bear, and he smelled that bean soup cooking what did he tell old Jacob? "Give me a bowl of your bean soup." Well old Jacob wasn't about to give it free, so Jacob said "I will in turn for your birthright." Remember Esau saw absolutely nothing of any kind of worth in the birthright. He'd rather have that bowl of bean soup. Why didn't he see any value in the birthright? It was something to be appropriated by faith, as it remained not in his physical reach and how much faith did he have. NONE! Esau was destitute of faith. Consequently what kind of a man was he sexually? Immoral! Irreverent toward God and His promises, he carried God's wrath.

The works that old Adam-Satan nature promotes, the playground of old Satan himself, or old Adam-bestial nature, which is the only nature that a lost person has, and that's why the world is so saturated with immorality and wickedness of every sort. We know some of the lost are inhibited to a certain degree by their background and training, but they still can't be victorious over that old Adam-bestial nature because that takes the power of God. So whether it's in the life of the believer, who in a moment of weakness let's old Adam-bestial nature take over, or in this case, Paul is dealing mostly with the unbeliever and his lifestyle here. 

The works of old Adam-bestial nature are made manifest. They're obvious, and we covered the first one in adultery, and fornication. In other words sexual immorality. We looked at the picture of old Esau who was a fornicator, he was irreverent and destitute of faith. And the one before Esau was Ishmael who also did not have that will to be obedient to the Will of God. So even Ishmael went and married an Egyptian which was contrary to what God wanted for the offspring of Abraham when He had instructed that they not marry the Canaanite. And remember Esau married two Hittite women who were already steeped in immorality and idolatry and profane wickedness.  


Genesis 26:34-35
"And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah."
So this sexual immorality is one of the first things that Paul mentions, and it isn't just here, in some of his other classification of human sins, the sexual things are almost always number one as they in many cases are idolatry irreverence toward God. Now let's go into the next area because verse 19 for the most part is dealing with sexual sins of adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, but now look at verse 20.



Galatians 5:20
"Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,"
Now all of those can be lumped together when we get into the area of idolatry or pagan worship. Now let's go back to the Book of Jeremiah chapter 44 as this is one example that we can turn to quite quickly, and we think you'll appreciate what we're trying to show. This too has been plaguing the human race ever since the Tower of Babel and before, and that is that we're bent to worship a false god. It's just about automatic in the human nature to want to follow that drawing power to worship a false god, idols of one sort or another. Even the Nation of Israel, who had the proof of the Living God all the way back from their beginning, and they should have known better, but here they would follow after these pagans and we remember that was the controversy that Elijah had with King Ahab upon Mount Caramel with all the prophets of Baal, because Israel had also been following Baal. But here in Jeremiah it lays it out so plain and distinctly as what the results are going to be if a people or a nation are going to go into the worship of false idol gods. Here in Jeremiah the Israelites are speaking back and say -