Galatians 5:19–21:

Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

I am going to start by doing something unusual: Instead of starting at the beginning of the quoted text, I am going to focus first on the closing words, since the full weight of St. Paul’s words finds its source in the warning at the end. The works of the flesh enumerated in this text are truly seen for the evil that they are only in light of this warning. The eternal punishment awaiting those who persist in these works is what shows us how awful they are in the eyes of God. The punishment fits the crime, and these are not mild mistakes that deserve a mere slap on the wrist; continued, unrepentant commission of them brings on nothing less than eternal punishment.

We must have no illusions about the apostle’s warning here; we must not try to dumb it down or soften its edge. Now he clearly says that “those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Let’s resist the temptation to cripple this warning and hobble it by forcing soft interpretations on it that are more palatable to our minds. We must not take it upon ourselves to be God’s editors and rewrite the text to say, “those who do such things may still inherit the kingdom of God” or “may not inherit” it or that this warning applies only to the most heinous perpetrators of wrongdoing. No, throw away your filters and let this warning say exactly what it says: “those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

In light of this sober warning, I want to focus on three of the works of the flesh that the apostle listed: enmity, strife, and party spirit. I single out these three because of what has happened here in the United States in recent times, particularly in the latter half of 2020. During this period, it seemed that these three works of the flesh rose to undeniable predominance. The civil unrest, violence, loss of life, destruction of property, hatred, and political polarization and sectarianism were like a leprous covering on American society. During this time, some were saying that racism is the pandemic in our society, but in reality it was these works of the flesh that were the deadly infection—infinitely more deadly than SARS-CoV-2, as this inspired text makes so clear to us. In fact, sin has been a raging pandemic since the first humans turned away from God.

There is more to these works, however, than their spiritual lethality. They are also terribly deceptive: Cheats and counterfeits, they all seem right in the eyes of those whom they seduce, and this is arguably their greatest danger, aside from leading to eternal damnation. Whether the bitter hatred is directed at police, politicians, protesters, or party, those who are led astray by these cheats have fallen into a deep trap and do not even know it (as is the case often with sin). As the proverb says, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Prov. 14:12). As they continue along this lethal path, they are oblivious to the insidious, deadly nature of what they are doing, and so they do not recognize the genuine danger they are in. Having been completely ensnared by this seductive trap, the poor souls cannot see the hunter approaching nearby to take them away for good.

What sadness and pity, then, should we feel toward such poor souls! They are truly in a frightful condition, for just as a bomb is prepared for explosion, so also these people are being primed for the final explosion of divine wrath at the final judgment. I do not say that they are in fact going to hell but rather that they are being primed for that dreadful place, for “by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Rom. 2:5).

It is therefore of dire necessity that Christians avoid falling into this trap. Far from being swept along and carried away by the tide of enmity and strife, we must keep ourselves pure of this hatred and quickly repent if we find ourselves being seduced by it. Rather than take part in sectarianism, enmity, and bitterness, we should strive to be peacemakers, bringing the Gospel to those caught in this trap. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that brings any genuine, lasting cure to the ills caused by sin. To allow ourselves to be caught up in this conflagration and withhold the Gospel is to be accomplices to the destruction of other souls, and possibly even our own.

Heavenly Father, you have given us clear warning of the dangers of division and strife. Give us wisdom to avoid falling into this trap of hatred, as well as the courage to respond with love and the truth of the Gospel.