theology-sin

theology-sin

Sowing Seeds of the Flesh (part 3)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7–8, ESV)

Paul took seriously the destructive nature of sin in the life of those that claimed to be believers. Although he knew the sting of those who were trying to do good works to gain favor with God, he also knew that the Christian life is one which will produce the fruit of the Spirit in the life of those that are redeemed.

Having described these both, Paul addressed those that were self-deceived. I wrote about this in my first two posts which you can read here: Sowing Seeds of the Flesh (part 1) and Sowing Seeds of the Flesh (part 2). Today, I want to point out what Paul says regarding those that sow seeds of the flesh.

If you sow to the flesh you will reap death.(v. 8a)

Paul is referring to the section in chapter 5 and the works of the flesh. He is saying that if you sow these types of activities and attitudes, then you should not be surprised to reap the fruit of these things, which he calls “corruption.” Here is what Paul wrote:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19–21, ESV, emphasis mine)

This word “corruption” in Galatians 6:8 is a very graphic word. It is used to describe something that is rotting, putrid, decaying. Since Paul is speaking of the flesh here, he is painting a picture of a rotting corpse.

Is this not what Jesus said in Matt 16:24-26? Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me (v. 24). If you look at the works of the flesh, whether in Galatians 5, or elsewhere, it becomes clear that they are centered around “me.” They are self-centered. Here Jesus calls us to the opposite, even to the point of giving up our own physical life for Christ, if called to do so.

And then he says in Matthew 16:25-26 what Paul restates in Gaatiansl 6. He says that there is no profit in gaining everything to bring comfort and safety and pleasure to this flesh, this body, while losing your eternal souls!

The flesh is rotting away, brothers and sisters! If we feed this rotting corpse with what it lusts after, we will not gain anything at all. We will be sowing seeds of destruction for our eternal souls. Christ is calling us to more. He is calling us to a life of self-denial. I don’t me monkish living. That is death. I mean denial of the things that bring spiritual death. Those works of the flesh that may appeal to our sin-nature, but in the end work like rat poison to our souls!

Conclusion

There is the story told of a town where there were two mines. One was very prosperous and the other one was not. As such, the prosperous mine paid its workers better than the other. A miner thought he would try something. He worked all week for the less prosperous mine, and at the end of the week, on payday, he went to the prosperous mine to receive his wages. The manager asked him if he worked at the other mine, and he said he did. Then he told him that he needed to go there to collect his wages. But the miner said that the prosperous mine paid better wages and he wanted to be paid their wages instead of the meager wages of the poorer mine.

The manager said that he must gather his pay from the mine he worked. It is not possible to receive pay from one when you work at another.

My friends, the wages of sin is death. The wages of sin is death. How can some be so deceived to think that we can sin and collect the wages of heaven? How can that be?

Work for the Master. His wages are good. Do not sow to the flesh and you will not receive the payment of rotting flesh as your reward.

And if you have planted a lot of seeds of your own destruction, know this. Christ came to swallow up death for you, to take away the wages you earned and to give you His wages, to give you the fruit of His perfect, righteous life. 

Christ died as the payment for your sins so that the fruit of your sin–what you deserve–would not come about. Instead, with Christ as your Savior, you will reap the fruit of righteousness. Won’t you give your life to him today?

Sowing Seeds of the Flesh, part 1 (weekend repost)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

Seeds are interesting things, and they are referred to a lot in the Bible. There is life in the seed, isn’t there? But like a can in your kitchen pantry that has lost its label, we sometimes don’t know what a seed will produce until it has sprouted and grown.

Read the rest of this post here: Sowing Seeds of the Flesh (part 1)

Sowing Seeds of the Flesh (part 1)

/ Richard Bargas / 3 Comments

“For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:8, ESV)

Seeds are interesting things, and they are referred to a lot in the Bible. There is life in the seed, isn’t there? But like a can in your kitchen pantry that has lost its label, we sometimes don’t know what a seed will produce until it has sprouted and grown.

I read about some very old seeds recently. Apparently, some years ago a vase hermetically sealed was found in a mummy-pit in Egypt, by the English traveler Wilkinson, who sent it to the British museum. The librarian there, having unfortunately broken it, discovered in it a few grains of wheat and one or two peas, old, wrinkled and hard as stone. 

 The peas were planted carefully under glass on the June 4th, 1844, and at the end of thirty days these old seeds were seen to spring up into new life. They had been buried probably about three thousand years ago, perhaps in the time of Moses, and had slept all that long time, apparently dead, yet still living in the dust of the tomb.

Our actions and attitudes are like seeds that we are constantly planting. It may take some time, but they will eventually bear fruit.

In Galatians Paul had been writing about the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in chapter 5. He compared these two ways of life to show that to walk in the Spirit of God is incompatible with a person who lives for himself in the wickedness of his sin. One is the result of eternal death and separation from God, and the other is a result of eternal life and fellowship with God. Each seed produces the fruit of spiritual life or spiritual death.

Beginning again in Galatians 6:7, Paul returned to the contrasts of the flesh and the Spirit, showing the end results of the path that is chosen when one lives out either the works of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit.

Monday I’d like to explore more of what Paul meant in Galatians 6:7-8, beginning with his warning that we not become deceived. After all, we can’t think that the laws of harvest don’t apply to our lives–if we plant seeds–whatever kind–they will eventually sprout and bring forth fruit.

Boasting in the Lord Might Bite Back!

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“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.” (Ezra 8:21–23, ESV)

Most of the time we find that our experiences of shame are due to our sin. Like Adam and Eve who recognized their nakedness after the Fall, shame is now an all too familiar part of the human experience. But in Ezra 8:21-23 we see a good outcome of shame–forced dependence upon God in a time of need.

Ezra was preparing to go back to Jerusalem to restore the temple after it had been destroyed by the Babylonians. Not only would the long trip be dangerous, but the danger would be amplified because their party would be large and they were to be laden with large amounts of gold and precious items of great value. Ezra would have preferred an armed escort by soldiers (the equivalent of our modern armored trucks) to make this journey, but he was ashamed because he had openly shared with the king the goodness and power of the Lord God. Since this was true, he shouldn’t need escorts, should he? How could he ask for protection by men when he has so openly confessed the power and might of God to protect His children?

What a predicament! The lesson here isn’t that God’s people should keep our testimony of the goodness and power of God under wraps–we actually need to become more vocal about it! Instead, we should do as Ezra did; he chose godly men to accompany him in fasting and prayer to implore the Lord to protect them as they knew He could do. The shame Ezra felt wasn’t in boasting, it was in his desire to live as if what he said about God wasn’t true and yet being forced to live by that truth or be ashamed at taking back what he said about his God.

Let us be abundant in our praise and glorying in the works of the Lord. And perhaps as a side effect we will find ourselves “forced” into living as if our great God is as great as we claim. Now wouldn’t that be something!

Preaching that Will Amount to Nothing (weekend repost)

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Proclaiming the Word must always be accompanied with love. I can’t get around what 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 says. Angry, venomous, mean-spirited, vile preachers are not speaking as God would have them. You can mock the so-called “tone-police,” but the Word is clear—speak with the tongues of angels and men, speak with great prophetic revelation, speak with incredible faith, and even sacrifice to the point of destitution and even martyrdom—but if you don’t have love you are worse than ineffective—you are painful to your hearers and destructive to the church.

Read the rest of the post here: Preaching that Will Amount to Nothing