Examples of How Sin Leads to Death
image inspired by Lord of the Rings
Galatians 5 lists the “fruit of the Spirit” which can be thought of as Life’s characteristics, but it also lists some “works of the flesh” which can be thought of as Death’s characteristics. The fruit of the spirit and the works of the flesh are in direct opposition with each other. One is an agent of spiritual LIFE, while the other is an agent of spiritual DEATH. To walk in one is to defy the other.
Here’s the list of 11 sins in Galatians 5 along with explanations of how each one fosters spiritual death.
Sexual immorality: Sexual immorality can take on many forms, which all relate to sexual unfaithfulness to one’s spouse. God appointed marriage as a life-long intimate relationship whose purpose is to symbolize Christ’s love for the church. The kind of faithfulness Christ demonstrates toward his bride is a fruit of the life he is. When we allow our sex drive to override that kind of faithfulness, then we are going against the character of God and the nature of spiritual life.
Impurity: When something is pure, it is completely homogenous. If something is “pure gold,” then every atom in its entire composition is gold—it doesn’t even contain one single atom of another element in its entire chemical makeup. Spiritually, that’s how God is: he is life in its absolute purest form, containing absolutely no outside agents corrupting or diluting the pureness of his life. Even though God may allow us to experience a certain measure of life, any amount of life we have will never be pure like his; we will always have corrupting agents diluting whatever life we have. These impurities go against the perfectly pure nature of God’s life. As long as we contain spiritual impurities, we cannot be merged with God, or we would contaminate his purity.
Sensuality: In short, sensuality is the gratification of flesh. The physical and the spiritual are in direct opposition to each other, and sensuality prioritizes experiencing physical pleasure over cultivating spiritual life. Because the two are pitted against each other, the two will always be in conflict, and our choices will always feed one while starving the other. God is spiritual rather than physical, so when we choose to prioritize the temporary flesh over the eternal spirit, we are blatantly going against the nature of who God is.
Idolatry: In the same way that sensuality prioritizes the physical over the spiritual, idolatry is also a problem of misaligned prioritization. Idolatry is when we admire, appreciate, and value other things more than we value God. Possessing supreme worth, God is at the pinnacle of ultimate value. There is no higher treasure in existence than God. To prioritize anything above God goes against his nature as the one who is supremely valuable.
Sorcery: Sorcery is the attempt to access supernatural power rather than God. God wields the ultimate supernatural power, and he sometimes allows us to access it or experience it, but more importantly, he gives us access to himself. Sorcery seeks to access supernatural power rather than God. Like idolatry, sorcery prioritizes something else higher than God.
Enmity: Enmity is having a heart of hostility and animosity towards other people. The spirit of hating someone or wishing harm upon them, operates in direct opposition with the kind of love, peace, kindness, and gentleness that define God’s identity. Instead of adopting a spirit of enmity, God feels compassion toward those who oppose him. In love, he sincerely wishes the best even for his greatest enemies.
Strife, divisions, rivalries: I grouped these words together because they are so similar. Strife, dissensions, rivalries, and divisions all paint a picture of disagreement and bitterness that produce division and hostile separation. This lack of harmony occurs in situations where people value themselves more highly than their neighbor and are unwilling to forgive one another. Because God is the epitome of love and peace, this divisive lack of forgiveness is the exact opposite of who God is.
Jealousy, envy: Jealousy is an attitude of covetousness that comes from a place of selfishness and discontentment. Instead of being happy for someone else’s good fortune, jealousy bitterly craves that good fortune for itself. Prioritizing the self more highly than its neighbor, Jealousy directly contradicts the spirit of love that is found in God. If jealousy is allowed to persist, it can evolve into resentment or even malicious hatred which contradict the nature of God’s identity.
Anger: Anger is often described as a “secondary emotion” because when people feel angry, it’s usually the result of some other, more complex emotion(s) lying underneath it. When people feel angry, the real reason might be because their pride is flaring up, or because they feel resentment towards someone. While anger by itself doesn’t necessarily go against God and life, the underlying spirits of pride and resentment DO go directly against God and eternal life.
Drunkenness: When someone is drunk, he loses control of his faculties and behavior. This loss of control directly opposes the attribute of “self control” that is listed as a fruit of the Spirit. In a reality where flesh and spirit are constantly in conflict with each other, getting drunk surrenders control to the whims of the flesh. While drunk, the flesh will say and do things that directly contradict the Spirit of God.
Orgies: Wild parties known as orgies are characterized by an uninhibited overindulgence in alcohol, drugs, and sexual immorality. This kind of attitude tosses the spirit to the wayside and hands total control to the flesh. Orgies unleash the flesh, freely allowing it to violate the spirit’s principles that lead to life.
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These “works of the flesh” blatantly go against God’s attributes (the “fruit of the Spirit”).
While God’s life-producing Spirit seeks to exercise self-control, the death-producing flesh chases after physical indulgence like drunkenness, sexual immorality, and orgies.
Where God’s spirit produces joy, the flesh produces envy.
Where God produces peace, the flesh produces enmity and strife.
God’s attributes sound enjoyable and sustainable, but the flesh’s attributes sound destructive.
All these destructive attributes of the flesh lead to spiritual death which puts them in opposition with God (the source of spiritual life). God and sin oppose each other like oil and water: the two are incapable of integrating with each other.