Signs and Symptoms

Signs and Symptoms

Words of Faith 6-21-19

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2019

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Galatians 5

[19] The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] 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. [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

        The problem for us is that even as believers, there is a sinful nature within us that desires what is contrary to the Spirit.  There is a daily battle between the sinful nature and the Spirit of God within us. They are in conflict (5:17).  So how can we tell if we are gratifying the desires of the sinful nature?  What signs should we look for to know we need to surrender more completely to the Spirit?

         Paul said that a believer will grow certain fruit in their life from the presence of the Spirit. He also listed the acts of our sinful nature that are obvious and can be recognized quickly if we are watching.  We will start with those as Paul did.

         The sense of Paul's words here is not to contrast the world and the believer-- even though that contrast is real.  The point is to compare the activity of our old self and our new self.  When we see the acts of the sinful nature in our own lives, it is clearly a time for us to surrender to the Spirit of God.  We are seeing the signs of an un-surrendered life.

         Paul divided the signs and symptoms of the sin nature into four groups-- three sins that violate sexual morality; two sins that are religious in nature; eight social sins that concern the way we treat other people; and two pagan sins--drunkenness and the reveling that accompanies it.

        "Sexual immorality" or "fornication" (porneia) is the broadest term for any immoral sexual intercourse or relationship. This would include sex outside of the covenant of marriage as well as sex between people of the same gender.  The word was related to prostitution but described the open and shameless exploitation of sex that was common in Greek culture and practiced in Roman public baths and pagan temples. 

        "Impurity" (akatharsia) originally meant the state of being dirty but later developed ethical and moral overtones.  Paul used it almost exclusively to describe moral impurity and unnatural vice.

         "Debauchery" (aselgeia) is an "open and reckless contempt of propriety.” It describes an attitude or action of defiance or social rebellion. 

         Paul listed two "religious" sins-- "idolatry" (eidololatria), the worship of the creature rather than the Creator, and "witchcraft" (pharmakeia), secret tampering with and worship of the powers of evil.  Pharmakeia is the word from which we get "pharmacy.”  Witchcraft often involved drug-induced trances.

          In case we are tempted to dismiss all this awful sin as not applying to our more respectable style of living, the relational sins that Paul listed hit home powerfully.  These are sins that often are thought acceptable, but they are in the very same list as these other more wretched acts.

          The words translated here are self-explanatory: hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy.  These are the things that creep up in every sort of relationship, whether family or in the church body.  We may excuse these as being "just the way I am" or because we have a certain color of hair or a particular background.  The truth is that these are markers of our sinful nature, not our hair color.  These sins are every bit as wretched as any other.

           The response for us might take the form of a spiritual inventory.  Is any of this stuff lurking around in our daily living? 

           Is there sexual immorality in our lives?  It really does not matter how acceptable such things are in the world.  These things were totally "accepted" in Roman times as well.  The point is that they are simply not of God and do not reflect the Spirit of God in us.  These are the signs and symptoms of a life that is not under the influence of the Spirit.

         Is there idolatry in our lives?  Is there anything that we are worshipping above God-- material possessions or ideologies?  And what about our relationships and social interactions?  Are we given to fits of rage?  Driven by selfish ambition?  Do we find ourselves at the center of dissension and factions, dividing people against one another?  Are we motivated by envy and jealousy?

       If we look into the mirror of the Word and discover a life characterized by the traits in this first list, then we are either not a believer, or we are a believer who is not being led by God's Spirit.  It is time to repent.  It is time to surrender to the Spirit of God.

       O Holy Spirit, search me through and through.  Reveal by Your truth those things that are not of Your Spirit.  Cause me to surrender to Your Spirit.  Create the spirit and activity of repentance within me.  Live the new life of the Spirit in and through me.  In Jesus' Name. 

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, and our website, and our church app, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.  

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