The next “work of the flesh,” noted in Galatians 5:20 is “disputes,” or as it is called in some translations, “strife." Like all of these works of the flesh, they overlap each other in ways, and then feed each other. Worse than that, the devil feeds on them!

When the Lord condemned the serpent to crawl on his belly and eat the dust because the flesh of man was made from the dust, this was a prophetic statement of how the devil would feed on the...

In Galatians 5:20 the next "work of the flesh" noted is "outbursts of anger." Today we would call this "losing your temper" or "going ballistic." Losing control of our anger is a work of the flesh, and like all works of the flesh it will be used as an open door or a "gate of hell" by the devil. Our rage will hurt other people, as well as their respect for us.

Most people know at least one person who tries to control others with their anger. Few things can be more...

The next work of the flesh in this study of Galatians 5:19-21 is "jealousy." This is another deadly and devastating evil that continues to cause much destruction in the world and in the church. As the Scripture also testifies, it is cruel and unrelenting, and destroys the one who has it just like it does its victims. The first murder was the result of jealousy, when Cain slew his brother Abel. We are told that Jesus was crucified because of jealousy (see Matthew 27:18).

Jealousy obviously should have no place in the Christian. We must learn to recognize...

The next work of the flesh in this study is "strife." This is from the Greek word, eritheia, which is usually translated "contention" or "strife," but also could be translated "intrigue." By implication, this is the tendency to secretly spread strife. This is an evil that can be found in almost every congregation, and has almost certainly done more damage to the church than all of the cults and persecutions combined.

These intrigues that lead to strife between believers often come with the pretense of having the Lord's interests or...

This week we continue our study of the works of the flesh with “enmities.” The Greek word that is translated here is thumos, which is sometimes translated “fierceness indignation, wrath, hostility, or hatred.” In my search of the Scriptures I have only found two things that are legal for us to hate—sin and unrighteousness. To hate anything or anyone else actually opens the door for evil to prevail, not righteousness.

Does this mean that we should not hate the devil? Does God hate the devil? Would He tell us to love our enemies and then hate His? The...