Overcoming Works of the Flesh | Galatians 5:19-21
Memory Verse
And the works of the flesh are manifested, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanliness, licentiousness, idolatry, religious superstitious awe—sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, inner burning anger, selfish ambition, divisions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelries, and such like these. Which I have said before to you, just as I told you that the ones practicing these things will not inherent the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19–21).
It is important for Christians to know and understand the works of the flesh in order to understand when to apply the truth to overcome the strong desires from the sin nature. The works of the flesh describe the types of desires our sin nature produces in our flesh. When a Christian is working out these types of desires, he is walking in the darkness and does not have fellowship with God because he is not practicing the truth (1 John 1:6).
The truth is the doctrine by which we have victory over the strong desires from our sin nature—the part of us that desires to perform the works of the flesh. Jesus spoke of this doctrine in John 8:32 when He stated that the truth will set you free. Paul describes this doctrine in detail in Romans 6. We have died with Christ and are raised to walk in newness of life; therefore, we know that our sin nature has been rendered ineffective by this new life we possess. We are no longer bound to obey the desires from our sin nature (Romans 6:4–6). The next aspect of the truth is to count it to be true (Romans 6:11). Since we are taking God at His word, reckoning ourselves to be alive unto God, our next step is to yield our members to righteousness (Romans 6:13). Yielding to righteousness involves governing our lives by the desires from the Spirit. This does not immediately cause the desires from the sin nature to vanish. Those who cease from sinning will suffer as a result of the passions within them to fulfill the desires from the flesh (1 Peter 4:1). However, the longer we stand firm against them by yielding our members to righteousness, the less they hold sway over us because the desires from the Holy Spirit are against the desires from the flesh so that we are not able to bring the sin natures’ desires to completion (Galatians 5:18).
The truth is not a magic formula that makes all the desires to sin go away. We are in a battle against our flesh. Through the truth, we are able to overcome the strong desires from our sin nature by no longer yielding to them. If we are still sinning, then we are not reckoning ourselves dead in Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. Therefore, we will not cease yielding our members to unrighteousness, and we will continue to walk in the darkness. However, when we apply the truth and walk in the light by yielding our members to righteousness, the blood of Christ continues to cleanse us from our sins, thereby making it possible for us to completely overcome the sin nature’s desires in our lives (1 John 1:7).
Know your enemy, but do not obey your enemy. In Christ, God has imputed His death and resurrection to us. The one who is dead in Christ and raised to walk in newness of life is free from slavery to sin. We are no longer obligated to obey sin and thus perform the works of the flesh. In direct contrast to this type of lifestyle, we are now able to live a righteous life out from faith in Christ, by yielding our members to righteousness.