The list continues with sins that reveal the destructive nature of the flesh. Envyings show a heart that cannot rejoice in another person’s blessing. Drunkenness and revellings show a life controlled by appetite rather than by God.
Paul adds the phrase “and such like,” meaning this list is not exhaustive. The flesh has many expressions, but they all share the same root: life lived apart from the control of the Spirit of God. The believer must not excuse these things, rename them, or make room for them. They are not harmless weaknesses; they are works of the flesh.
This is a serious warning. Paul is not teaching that a Christian loses salvation every time he sins. He is warning that a life habitually marked by the works of the flesh gives no evidence of the new birth.
There is a difference between a believer who falls into sin and is grieved by it, and a person who lives in sin with no conviction, no repentance, and no desire for holiness. The Spirit-led life is not sinless perfection, but it is a changed direction. Where the Spirit of God dwells, He produces conviction, correction, and a desire to please God.
“Led of the Spirit” by Bro. Robert Mahar, May 10, 2026
The list continues with sins that reveal the destructive nature of the flesh. Envyings show a heart that cannot rejoice in another person’s blessing. Drunkenness and revellings show a life controlled by appetite rather than by God.
Paul adds the phrase “and such like,” meaning this list is not exhaustive. The flesh has many expressions, but they all share the same root: life lived apart from the control of the Spirit of God. The believer must not excuse these things, rename them, or make room for them. They are not harmless weaknesses; they are works of the flesh.
This is a serious warning. Paul is not teaching that a Christian loses salvation every time he sins. He is warning that a life habitually marked by the works of the flesh gives no evidence of the new birth.
There is a difference between a believer who falls into sin and is grieved by it, and a person who lives in sin with no conviction, no repentance, and no desire for holiness. The Spirit-led life is not sinless perfection, but it is a changed direction. Where the Spirit of God dwells, He produces conviction, correction, and a desire to please God.
“Led of the Spirit” by Bro. Robert Mahar, May 10, 2026