Works of the Flesh, Continued

Lasciviousness

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness lasciviousness,

Mark 7:22Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

Lasciviousness is one of the "works of the flesh" mentioned in Galations 5. Lasciviousness here is the Greek word, aselgeia meaning lustful, being unchaste, filthy, wantonness. Being lewd. This action is very unbecoming to a Christian and should be avoided. If this sin is present in any of us it should be repented of and forsaken. We are a new creatures in Christ Jesus.

Romans 13
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Strive to be like Him to be filled with His Spirit and we will not be overcome with lasciviousness and wantonness. Wantonness or lasciviousness is forbidden in the scriptures and we should not use the "grace of God" as a cover for sin. Jesus came to forgive sin and to take that sin away. He does not just forgive sins and put a blanket over us so that we can still sin and expect to inherit eternal life. He came to deliver from sin. Sin must be repented of and we must allow the Holy Spirit to change us day by day to become Christ like. We must walk in the Spirit so that we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Galatians
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

2 Corinthians 12
21 And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.

Paul warns against this in the church. He feared to visit the church and find those that were practicing sin in the church and have not repentance. Repentance is very important to cleanse the church and make it a glorious church without spot or wrinkle that Jesus Christ is coming after.

Ephesians 4
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Being past feeling seems to indicate those that are without a strong conscience. Their conscience is seared against what is wrong. Their understanding is darkened through ignorance and their heart has become hard and their minds blinded from the truth. This happens when a society turns from God and ignores or denies his existence.

1 Peter 4
3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

Different times in the bible we see that sexual sins are linked with idolatry. Excess of wine and reveling accompany sexual immorality. Alcohol and drugs inhibit the ability to think clearly and discern right from wrong.

Proverbs
20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Habakuk
15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
2 Peter 2
7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government.
18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Returning to sin after becoming Christian returns us to a worse state than before becoming a Christian. Sin committed after coming to Christ is not automatically covered by grace until it is repented of and forsaken. The scriptures teach this repeatedly. We are covered by grace when we repent not if we harden our hearts, refuse to change and let sin continue unchecked in our lives.

Jude 1:4
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

This sounds to me like some crept into the church and used the "grace of God" teaching to allow lust and "works of the flesh" within the church and promised themselves that they would be covered by the grace of God when doing so. This is a very mockery of Christianity and should not be even mentioned among us. They denied the Lord's right to correct them and denied the bible as a guide to their lives. This leads to finally even denying the Lord's existence. If we love God truly and sincerely, we will want to please Him, we will not want to sin against Him and we will love His word.

Works of the Flesh - Idolatry