Galatians 5:16-26
Verse 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.
Just in case we have questions about things considered as choices of the flesh which get in the way of revival, Paul gives a list of those things. This list has a bunch of things we may feel pretty self-righteous about or maybe the list convicts us of things we know we shouldn’t be involved in but have been obeying our flesh. No matter our view of this list, none of the items on this list will be found in the people of revival.
While most of the people in the church would look down on the majority of these behaviors, we may struggle to forsake all of them and if we want out of the hypocrisy moniker, we need to take a hard look at our lives and ditch these sins which are corrupting us. There are 15 things listed with a “and other such things” which should show us how Paul thought all 15 mentioned were going to be an issue for the people of God. He knew what the battleground sins were going to be and what we need to beware of in our hearts and lives.
If we look at the list carefully we will see most of the items on the list aren’t sins which are participated in alone. This is one of the things a revival focused person will understand, our sins don’t affect us alone. When we give in to the desires of our flesh we more often than not bring others along with us. When we allow sin in our lives they eventually become sins the Church is having to fight and when we don’t fight them effectively in our personal lives, they can become the identity of the body of Christ.
This is why it is important to help each other within the Church family to press on to righteousness and revival. We need to learn how to approach sensitive topics with each other so we can help one another fight these battles against sin. This isn’t a matter of judging them but of guiding them because if we want revival, we should be wanting them to guide us through correction as well. The truth is when we can help each other in this way, we will find ourselves truly being revived and able to shine the light of Christ to the world.
Making It Personal
What are things you fight with on this list? Has anyone ever corrected you about sin in your life? Would you be willing to accept it?
Making It Personal Kids
What are some sins you struggle not to do? How would you feel if another person who loves Jesus reminded you it was a sin? Do you feel comfortable talking to a friend who is doing something wrong and reminding them that Jesus doesn’t like sin?
Closing Prayer
Father, we repent of the sins we try to hide and for not being as willing as we should to be corrected by other believers. Give us hearts which long to be pure and holy because You are pure and holy. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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