"The Acts of the Flesh"

“The Acts of the Flesh”

 

The acts of the flesh are obvious:  sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.   I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.         Galatians 5:19-21

 

If you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God, then you are one who LIVES by the FLESH.  And LIVING by the FLESH means that you are carrying out most of the ACTS of the FLESH.  The ACTS of the FLESH desires what is CONTRARY to the ACTS of the SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD.  They are in CONFLICT with each other.

 

When we talk about LIVING by the FLESH, it means that a person lives CONTINUALLY by the FLESH.  They HABITUALLY indulge in the ACTS of the FLESH.  This is NOT indicating that a BELIEVER, will lose their SALVATION, if they fall to temptation and commit an ACT of the FLESH.  But for an UNBELIEVER, who is CONTINUALLY LIVING by the ACTS of the FLESH, this is an indication that they are NOT a Child of God.

 

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia, he WARNS them about LIVING by the FLESH, and carrying on the ACTS of the FLESH.  This was NOT the first time, Paul had warned them.  He had WARNED them another time when he had made a visit to them.  He ENCOURAGES the TRUE BELIEVERS to walk or live by the SPIRIT, and by doing so they would NOT gratify the desires of the flesh.  We all fall SHORT of God’s glory, because WE ALL have the same sin nature living in us.  This difference is the TRUE BELIEVERS walk by the Spirit of God, and the UNBELIEVERS walk by the FLESH.   There is NO MIDDLE for a person.  They are either a Child of God or they are NOT. 

 

Believing in God, and even worshiping God, doesn’t get you a ticket to an ETERNITY in Heaven.  Jesus said, “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE, and NO ONE comes to the Father, but by ME!”  You MUST come by way of the CROSS.  If you are LIVING by the FLESH, and you are if you have NOT given your ENTIRE HEART and LIFE to God, and you are headed for an ETERNITY in Hell, with ALL of its HORRORS, and NO WAY of ESCAPE.  You MUST TURN AWAY FROM your sinful lifestyle and TURN TO God with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, CONFESSING your sins to Him, and asking Him for His FORGIVENESS, BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you before God.  Then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and STOP LIVING by the FLESH and START LIVING by the SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD.  And ESCAPE HELL and GAIN HEAVEN.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!