The temptation of other religions or unbelief belongs to the flesh, and this includes both overt idolatry as well as perverse worship outside of Christ. If we worship Christ in any way not commanded in his word, we fall into this sin. As church history makes clear, we are ever prone to worship God how we want to and not how God wants us to. 

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

Think how often you are left standing there asking yourself, “Why did I do that? What was I thinking when I said that?” Words escape your lips, and thirty seconds later you regret what you said. Yes, this is the war of desires that roars within us. This is how sin stays alive within us our whole life long. In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul writes:

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Gal. 5:17)

And it doesn’t get easier the longer you are a Christian and the more mature you grow. As Luther pointed out, the more godly a man is, the more he feels the battle. And Calvin put it this way: we don’t even perceive our full depravity until we mature like a tree. Our growth in sanctification is not a realization of how holy we are, but it is humiliation at how often the flesh gets its way.

Yes, the war between the flesh and the Spirit wages throughout our lives. This side of heaven, there is no armistice in this conflict—no peace treaty. Yet, this truth of our life, our ever struggle with sin, should not cause us to despair. At first glance, this battle is fairly discouraging: the flesh will get its sinful way until we die.

The Guidance of the Spirit Is Greater than the Flesh

Yet, the unceasing hostilities don’t mean that the flesh and the Spirit are equally matched. The score doesn’t remain tied. Rather, Paul writes,

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Gal. 5:18)

The Spirit is our general, our tour guide, our master. The guidance of the Spirit is greater than the flesh, for the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.

The Spirit gets the better of the flesh not merely by getting us to do the good, but by making us forsake our works to trust only in the works of Christ. The Spirit leads us to the once and forever victory over sin and the flesh—the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Spirit enables us to recognize that even our better works are still tainted with sin. The Spirit leads us to Jesus and reminds us of our justification, all of grace and through faith alone. Our best moments of obedience and love still fall very short of perfection. As we fail to do, the Spirit sets before our hearts that Christ did it all for us. This is the beauty and sweet comfort of the Spirit of Christ.

Though, in our battle with the flesh, Paul does want to remind us what are the deeds of the flesh. Even if we still stumble, the Spirit calls us to resist the flesh, to put to death the fleshly deeds. We need to know what deeds and desires must be killed off by the Spirit working in us. So, Paul gives us a list of the flesh’s works, which he says are evident. Having the Spirit, it isn’t hard to recognize the flesh. Yet, he does give us a list of 15 vices to deepen our perception of the ways of the flesh and to give us a more profound discernment so that we resist the flesh better and not be blind to its sophistication. Now, this list of 15 can be grouped into roughly 4 categories.

Sexual Perversity

Sexual Immorality (1), Impurity (2), and Sensuality (3)

The first three vices fall into the first category of sexual sins: sexual immorality, impurity and sensuality. These cover transgressions such as premarital sex, adultery, pornography, homosexuality, prostitutes, strip clubs, and so on. And it is fitting that Paul puts this category first, for sexual sin is one of humanity’s deepest flaws.

The created good of sex in marriage is perverted most often. Thus, we need to remain vigilant against these desires and not be complacent—but for the grace of God there we go as well. This is especially the case as our culture is constantly sticking in our faces sexual temptations. In fact, sensuality to which Paul is referring here particularly has the sense of losing all self-control and restraint.

Exercising this self-control isn’t just about our will toughing it out; rather, it is built into our life structure, into our community. We avoid tawdry places, we block perverse websites, and we help each other by keeping one another accountable. Paul’s command—not to fulfill the desire of the flesh—is helpful here.

Sexual lusts can just pop up in our minds with little provocation. If God hadn’t made humans so beautiful, this would be a lot easier.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The link (URL) to the original article is unavailable and has been removed.]