One of the most common objections raised against the doctrine of justification by faith alone is the claim that it encourages moral laxity. The argument insists that if salvation is received by grace through faith alone—and if a person can know they possess eternal life simply by trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of all sins—then one’s manner of life becomes irrelevant. Supposedly, a person could “receive Jesus,” indulge in a life of self‑gratifying debauchery, and still enter heaven at death.
This, of course, is not the teaching of Scripture. We wholeheartedly affirm that Christians are not to live for themselves but for the glory of God. Salvation is the starting point of a life aimed at pleasing Him. In the next section, we will examine more closely what a self‑centered life looks like and what it means to live in the Spirit and unto God.
The Text
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:16-26)
Interpolar Living
The apostle continues in v.16 with his theme of contrasting the Spirit and the law/flesh. As we saw earlier, in chapter 3, Paul begged the question: Did you receive the Spirit by the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (3:2-3). He also stated that the righteous man shall live by faith. However, the law is not of faith; on the contrary, He who practices them shall live by them (3:11-12). Continuing the same theme, Paul now issues a direct command: walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the desire of the flesh. This single exhortation becomes the driving force for the remainder of the chapter. These two means of living are so interpolar that if you are living in one way, you cannot live in the other. So, if they are living in the Spirit, they won’t be living out the desires of the flesh. While circumcision was the cutting off of the impure part, it was only the Spirit who could circumcise the heart and truly cut sin off.
The Spirit & The Flesh
In v.17, he gives the reason why they should walk in the Spirit and not according to the desires of the flesh. It is because the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These two ways of living are wholly opposed, traveling down two contrary roads. This does not imply that Spirit‑led Christians are immune to the sins of verses 19–21, but that genuine life in the Spirit keeps such desires in check. This is exactly the point at the end of this verse where it states: So you may not do the things that you please. While we are physically alive, without our resurrected bodies, we are susceptible to the desires of the flesh. The focus must be to live according to the Spirit with the purpose and intention of controlling or suppressing those desires.
V.18 explains how they can suppress the flesh by living in the Spirit. It is by being lead by the Spirit and not living under the law. A Christian is not bound to fulfill the requirements of the law for justification and in return, is not bound to the control it has over one’s life. The Christian is free! He is now genuinely free not to sin, and the desires of the Christian should increasingly be shaped by a hatred of sin and a longing—even a holy yearning—to practice righteousness before God for His glory. The believer has received power from on high to live this way, and Scripture expects him to walk in that Spirit‑given strength.
The Societal Sages
Now, what does the difference between the Spirit and the flesh look like? How do we define the lusts of the flesh and walking in the Spirit in practical terms? In vs.19-21, the apostle sets out a list to identify what the works/desires of the flesh are followed with a list of what the works/desires of the Spirit. Paul states that these are “evident” meaning that they are plain and obvious. It is important to pause and recognize that, in our generation, any attempt to label something as sinful or evil is often met with disdain. Yet this cultural resistance does nothing to change the reality that the items in Paul’s list are, by nature, sinful—because God Himself has declared them so. The moral pronouncements of society’s self‑appointed sages, who struggle even to justify the categories of “right” and “wrong” within their own worldview, cannot overturn the authority of Scripture. If the inspired text identifies these actions as sin, then God has rendered His judgment, and that alone establishes their true character.
Sexual Immorality
The first on the list is immorality (NASB) or adultery (NKJV). Neither of these really conveys the point of the term “porneia” where we get the term “porn”. It might be better rendered “sexual immorality”. It refers to all sorts of sexual sins including adultery but also fornication and no more sex with the temple prostitutes. Today, it could be anything from polyamorous relationships, homosexual sex, adultery, sex before marriage etc.
Impurity
The term “impurity” here is akatharsia which is a word that looks at sin from the standpoint of Jewish purity concerns[1]. It is a term that is often associated with sexual immorality and sensuality (2 Corinthians 12:21) and greed (Ephesians 4:19, 5:3; Colossians 3:5) and could be associated with sexual sins.
Sensuality
Sensuality is aseilgeia which in my opinion is better translated living without barriers (Romans 13:13; 1 Peter 4:3). It is living wildly, a life that would probably be very much commended by most in our North American society. It could be related to the sexual immorality but also could go further.
Idolatry
The Greek term for idolatry is “eidolatreia” which is essentially the sin of worshipping another god or anything that takes away from the worship of the One true God. Paul elsewhere commands believers to “flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14) to show the severity of the sin. It was the main sin that brought judgment upon the nation of Israel over and over again and with these Galatians living within the culture and society of first century Rome, they would need to forsake a big part of it.
Sorcery
Sorcery (pharmakeia – or pharmacy) can be translated into this term but could also be an act of administering medication or poison. In this context, it is probably referring to the practices of the secret arts of their false gods and priests.
Enmities
Echthra is translated elsewhere as “enemies” or “hostility” describing people who like to get into fights. Christians should pray for their enemies and attempt to keep the peace as much as possible. This doesn’t mean that the Christian should be a push over and always avoiding confrontation, but that they should probably avoid in initiating it. This is truly a fleshly phenomenon since many have tempers that lead them into hostility against others. The Spirit is a means by which we are empowered to control this.
Strife
The word here (eris) is defined as one who likes to squabble or be disagreeable for the sake of being disagreeable. It is the idea of being an instigator.
Jealousy
This specific term (Zelos) is translated jealousy but simply means to be zealous or passionately committed to someone. There is such a thing as good jealousy where an individual rightfully deserves the love of another. God is zealous for the love of His people and that love cannot be shared with another (Isaiah 26:11). In this case, it is a zealousness towards the flesh and its works.
Outbursts of Anger
The expression (from ouros) means one who has fierce anger against another manifested through wrath towards him/her. It is the thought of being filled with rage and indignation.
Disputes
It is certainly a strange way to translate the term epitheia which would be better translated as in Romans 2:8, Philippians 1:17 and James 3:14 as “self-ambition”.
This translation (self-ambition)…captures the sense of this word, which is rare yet was used by Aristotle in his work on Politics (5.3) to criticize the factional and self-oriented infighting among rival political parties in his day.[2]
Dissensions
This term (dichostasia) is only found in two places in the New Testament: here and in Romans 16:17. The term simply means to oppose. In Romans 16, it is linked to a warning to keep an eye on those who are trying to stir the proverbial pot.
Factions
The term hairesis is used in at least seven other places in the New Testament and associated with setting your opinions or beliefs against another to cause division. It is often translated in the NASB as “sect” or “heresy” denoting a particular branch (i.e. Sect of the Sadducees (Acts 5:17) or Sect of the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). It could certainly be a call for unity and with the other terms such as disputes and dissentions, communicating a stop of the heresy of the Judaizers.
Envying
When the Lord Jesus was handed over by the Chief Priests, it was because of envy (phthonos). It is very similar in definition to jealousy but in far more dramatic action.
Drunkedness
This is simply being intoxicated (methe) to the extent where your senses are dimmed, and you cannot judge appropriately. It is the opposite of being soberminded.
Carousing
This word (komos) is usually found in a list similar to this one (Romans 13:13; 1 Peter 4:3) and generally similar to excessive partying. It is probably linked closely with the idea of drunkedness but could also be linked to pagan festivals of worship and temple prostitutes.
As a means to summarize the impact of this list, Paul turns to something he had formerly shared with the recipients of this epistle mainly that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. The inheritance language was earlier linked to being heirs of Christ as the ultimate heir of Abraham (Galatians 3:29). The Judaizers would have argued that the fulfillment of the law was the means by which they’d inherit God’s kingdom, but Paul is pointing out that if those things which he described as present, then they are not fulfilling the law. If they are practicing these things on a continuous basis, that is an indication that they may not have the Spirit of God within them.
The Works of the Spirit
The contrast to this list is linked with an opposite behaviour fueled by the Spirit of God. The fruit of the Spirit is what the Spirit works in believers and notice that it has nothing to do with money, miracles, tongues or physical healing. It should be pointed out from the beginning that these are actions, not necessarily emotions that are inner but outer. These are further demonstrated in chapter 6.
Love
Paul begins with the most obvious of these which is love. As any Christian who has studied the bible knows, the term itself could be associated with several Greek terms. In this case, we are dealing with agape love. It is a love for God (1 John 2:5) and a love for men (John 13:35). In this case, what could bring unity more in a church divided than love for the brethren (See Colossians 3:12-14).
Joy
Joy (chara) is not just some sentiment but in this case is one produced by God Himself (1 Thessalonians 1:6) which is linked to perseverance (2 Corinthians 7:4). It is always being joyful in whatever circumstances.
Peace
This term (Eirene) is usually used for a time where there is no war either in the context of a nation or individuals. The Spirit of God should bring peace among believers, and we should in fact be examining ourselves to assure we are keeping this peace. If we have peace with God (Romans 5:1) then that should exemplify itself through peace with believers.
Patience
This patience (makrothymia) is towards believers where we should tolerate and endure our brothers and sisters in Christ when at times it may be challenging. If the Galatians could exhibit patience, they may win those who are of the Judaizers over to them.
Kindness
Moving further in our patience is to show kindness (cherestotes). God showed His kindness towards us rather than wrath (Romans 2:4; 11:22; Ephesians 2:7) and he expects us to do the same towards other believers.
Goodness
The term here (agathosyne) probably denotes an uprightness that is exemplified in doing good towards others for their benefit.
Faithfulness
The term pistis is where we get the English equivalent of “faith” or “believe”. But we need to take this further than an emotion since it is a fruit, something displayed and, in this instance, it could be to have faith in other believers and perhaps not think the worst of them.
Gentleness
Gentleness or meekness (prautes) is the action of being humble towards one another and keeping the peace within the church. This would have been something that they were experiencing within the assemblies during these times due to the Judaizers. Also see this in action in 6:1-2
Self-Control
To be self-controlled (enkreatei) is probably in opposition to being drunk and carousing. It is to master yourself and be soberminded in all that you do.
Paul ends this list of Spiritual fruits by arguing that against these things there is no law. If there is no law, there cannot be a breaking of the law and in turn it is clear that there can be no condemnation for practicing these things. If the flesh list was a sign that those who practiced these things would not inherit the kingdom of God, then perhaps these fruits were an indicator that there could be no condemnation for those who practices these fruits.
A Summary
In vs.24-26, Paul summarizes this entire section by stating that all those who belong to Christ have or are crucifying the flesh. This doesn’t mean that we can expect a total release from the passions and desires that come with the flesh but that we are continuously attempting to mortify sin (Romans 8:13) where we put our desires and sins to death constantly. This is not an easy task and requires tremendous discipline. We rely entirely on the Spirit of God to accomplish this in us, and we have faith in Him to do so.
[1] Moo Page 359
[2] Moo Page 360