Walking with Jesus
~~ Brookings church of Christ sermons - 2022
~~
February 20, 2022 sermon
Putting off
the Old Man — Works of the Flesh (part 8)
~~ Division
through Murder ~~
~~ Drunkenness & Revelry~~
Scripture reading: Galatians
5:19-21
prepared
by Jim Mettenbrink
[printable PDF of sermon outline][audio MP3 -- approx. 50¾ min.]
[review previous sermon]
[advance to next sermon]
Introduction: In
this series, we have been considering our great problem –
sin – the Huge, the largest and most daunting little word
in the world. The process of sin that leads to the
ease of sinning, addictive sin, the hardening of the heart, the
seared conscience people do not see sin as sin. Titus
1:15-16 (NKJV) – “To
the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled
and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind
and conscience are defiled. They profess
to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable,
disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”
“Walking in sin”
essentially denies God. Titus 1:15-16 is the short
version of what Paul wrote to Titus. In fact, people
make themselves their own god to justify their sins.
Also in this series each of us
should consider the broader picture – the transformation
from being an unbeliever to becoming a Christian and growing
into the likeness of Christ. Goal – Romans
13:14 (NKJV) – “But
put on the Lord Jesus Christ,and make no provision
for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Two step process – Ephesians
4:22-24 (NKJV) – “...put
off, concerning your former conduct, the old man
which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put
on the new man which was created according to God, in
true righteousness and holiness.” Stop walking in sin
and become a new person. Our goal – 1
Corinthians 11:1 (NKJV) – “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ”
Today we will complete our study
of the meaning of the works of flesh. The reason we have
approached the depths of meaning and applications of these sins
is translators struggle to bring forth the full meaning when
translating word for word. Plus English words can have
a variety of meanings, nuances and misunderstood meanings. Read
Galatians 5:19-21. These works are sixteen sins in
four categories: (1) sex; (2) worship; (3) consists
of 9 sins all of which cause division all of which destroy unity
of doctrine, harmony, stability and practice of Christian unity.
The works of the flesh, all of which are undergirded by pride.
Proverbs 13:10 (NKJV) – “By pride
comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised
is wisdom.”
1 John 1:6 (NKJV) – “If we say that we have
fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth.”
Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJV) –
conclude, “those
who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom
of God.” “Practice” is “walking”
– lifestyle. (Re: Titus 1:15-16 – “conscience defiled.” How can Christians
be divided & not attempting to restore unity… and still
be in fellowship with God?)
Today we will consider the last
aspect of division – murder – and then drunkenness
& revelry.
9th and ultimate sin of division
is murder (phonos Greek).
A. Used as a verb 14 times in New
Testament (Matthew 5:21; 19:18; 23:31; Mark 10:19; 15:7; Luke
18:20; 23:19, 25; Romans 1:29;
13:9; James 2:1; 4:2; 5:6)
B. Used as a noun four times (Matthew
19:18; Mark 7:21; Galatians 5:21; Revelation 9:21).
C. It is not included in most other
versions because they were translated from earlier Greek manuscripts
which did not include phonos in the works of the flesh.
In Vulgate (380)
D. Phonos is intentionally
killing someone with hate – Murder.
1. Matthew 5:21-22
(KJV) – “Ye
have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not
kill; and whosoever shall
kill shall be in danger of the judgment:. But I
say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and
whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall
be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou
fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
E. It is not accidental killing,
but an act by an individual rather than by the state government.
1. Romans 13:4 (NKJV)
– “For
he* is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil,
be afraid; for he* does not bear the sword in vain; for he* is
God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices
evil.” [* EGW editor:
“he” in this context refers
to the rulers & governing authorities mentioned in verses
1-3 & 5-7]
Conclusion: Last of
the two sins of division that destroy harmony and unity within
the body of Christ.
Galatians 5:20-21 (NKJV)
– “...hatred,
contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies, envy, murders...those who practice
such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:10
(NKJV) – “Now
I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you all speak the samething, and that there be no
divisions among you, but that you be perfectly
joined together in the same mind and inthe same judgment.”
Sins involving Alcohol:
Today we will finish our consideration
of Galatians 5:19-21. The majority of the sins were those
which cause
division of some sort — Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJV) –
“Now
the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,
fornication, uncleanness,
lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions,
heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries,
and such like of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also
told you in time past, that those who practice such things will
not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Now we will
consider the sins of drunkenness and revelry which are
perversions of self control, especially in social fellowship
that involves the drinking of alcohol.
I. Drunkenness
A. The first of these
two sins is methe (Greek) (drunkenness, NKJV)
B. Three times in the
New Testament (Luke 21:34; Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:21)
1. Luke
21:34 (NKJV) – “But
take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with
carousing, drunkenness,
and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.”
2. Romans
13:13 – “Let
us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness,
not in lewdness and lust,
not in strife and envy.”
C. Methe literally means
“out of control.” A person who is drunk is a
person without his normal control.
Almost always methe is used
with reference to drinking alcohol in Ancient writings.
D. Contrast drunk (another form
of methe)
• 1 Corinthians
11:21 “For
in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and
one is hungry and another is drunk.”
~~ Drunk
in contrast of those who are hungry or have no food. In
that case it means the people were gluttons – out of control,
did not exercise self-control.
E. Although methe is mostly
used with reference to alcohol in the Bible, the use of any substance
(such as narcotics) that causes a person to lose self-control
is a sin.
F. In contrast to thumos
(outbursts of wrath – NKJV), 4th sin
of division – reflects no self-control from within
one’s own spirit – Contrast – drunkenness
is a lack of self-control induced by an external substance.
G. Dec 4, 2017, Brookings
Register – ‘Heyduk, now 55, first took “crank,”
as it was known then, when she was 18. She maintained a
methamphetamine habit for about 30 years, even raising a family
and working full-time. “Nobody had any idea,” she said....
Heyduk can speak from experience on the effects of different
substances. “I wouldn’t smoke pot today if it was legal.
Getting drunk – I’m not a drinker because
I don’t like being out of control. I don’t
smoke pot because I just laugh and say stupid stuff,” she
said....“The worst things I’ve ever done is under alcohol,
not under methamphetamine … alcohol was it. If
I could take one thing away from this world, it would be alcohol.
I think alcohol is a bad demon,” Heyduk said.’
1. Proverbs 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, Strong
drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.”
2. Proverbs 23:31-32
“Do
not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the
cup, When it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like
a serpent, And stings like a viper.”
II. Revelry – last work
of the flesh is Komos (Greek) (revelries,
NKJV) (orgies, wild parties riots).
A. Three times in the NT (Romans
13:13 – see above; Galatians 5:21; 1 Peter 4:3).
1. 1 Peter 4:3 “For we have spent enough
of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when
we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking
parties, and abominable idolatries.”
2. Komos is
drinking parties and excesses of the flesh. In ancient
times the parties involved gluttony and sexual orgies and always
involved drinking alcohol. The general atmosphere of komos
was lasciviousness (licentiousness), no restraints, no self-control.
Komos
is excess of physical pleasures with no guilt of conscience.
B. Both drunkenness and revelries
involve being out of control because of ingesting external substances.
1.The difference between
the two is that komos (revelries) involves a social setting
of two or more people.
2. Methe (drunkenness)
does not necessarily involve a setting of more than one person.
3. 2 Maccabees 6:4
(Grk) Antiochus IV - Temple brothel and swine on altar –
Komos – Revelry (Not in Septuagint)
III. The Christian’s attitude
A. Bars do not have picture windows,
most are still dark – sense of conscience it is not right
to drink.
B. Dining out with glasses of wine
– Colonel M – Question: why didn’t you drink
the wine for the toast? Answer: I’m a Christian.
His response: “Everyone sins a little.” He recognized taking a sip of
wine was a sin.
C. Christian’s attitude
1. Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the
earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled
underfoot by men.”
a. It’s
easy to lose your influence by just one seemingly small sin.
2. Even something that
is not sin in and of itself can become a sin.
a. Romans
chapter 14 contains two laws – Law of liberty versus Law
of Love
b. Romans
14:3 “Let
not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him
who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.”
•
Romans 14:15 “Yet
if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer
walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one
for whom Christ died.”
•
The law of love is the governor – controller of the law
of Liberty
c. Personal
experience: Playing cards offensive to a brother, so stopped
playing
3. Mark 12:29-31 “The first of all the
commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God,
the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with
all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And
the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater
than these.”
4. Romans 13:14 “But put on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh,
to fulfill its lusts.”
5. Two step process
– Ephesians 4:22-24 “...put off, concerning your former
conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to
the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your
mind, and that you put on the new man which was
created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
a. Stop
walking in sin and become a new person.
b. 1 Corinthians
11:1 “Imitate
me, just as I also imitate Christ.”
Conclusion:
Romans 13:13-14 –
“Let
us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry
and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife
and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Walking properly is
walking in the light, 1 John 1:7 – “But if we walk in the
light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
1 Corinthians 6:20
– “For
you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit which are God’s.”
Attitude – stay
as far away from sin as possible so you do not destroy your influence
on other Christians and in trying to bring the lost to Christ.
Be the self-controlled salt of the earth. Jesus is
always present.
[EGW editor’s note: The
order of Jim's talking points above is the same as in his printable
PDF, but the numbering here has been adjusted for online use.]
[printable PDF of sermon outline][audio MP3 -- approx. 50¾ min.]
[review previous sermon]
[advance to next sermon] |