Galatians 5:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,

NIV: idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions

NASB: idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions,

CSB: idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions,

NLT: idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,

KJV: Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

NKJV: idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

Paul is listing sinful actions and lifestyles, calling them the "evident" results of living for the flesh, instead of in the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16–18). He is not creating a new set of rules or laws for people who are free in Christ. Instead, Paul's intent is to describe the nature of self-serving lifestyles. Christians are meant to use their freedom and the power of God's Spirit with them to serve others in love (Galatians 5:13). Those who refuse to do so will end up squandering their lives in service to sins like these.

In the previous verse, Paul listed sins related to sexuality, such as sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality.

Now he lists two sins related to religion and spirituality. Idolatry is the worship of idols and pagan gods. It is the one sin throughout Scripture over which God seems to express the most outrage. It was absolutely common in the world of Paul's day. It's still common today, both directly and in the sense of putting material things above God in our lives. Simply put, Christians should absolutely worship no other god in any way whatsoever.

Next comes "sorcery" or witchcraft. Interestingly, this is from the Greek term pharmakeia, related to the term from which we derive the English word pharmacy. This term implies the use of drugs, potions, and poisons, often for the sake of twisting a person's mind or spirit. By extension, the "sorcery" Paul refers to often includes calling on demons or nature in an attempt to access supernatural power without God's help.

Next, Paul lists a group of relationship sins, all of which translate neatly from Greek into English. Enmity means hating certain people or groups. Strife refers to the stirring up of discord and division. Jealousy is self-explanatory. Paul's reference to "fits of anger" is from the word thymoi, implying uncontrolled outbursts of emotions such as rage. Rivalries are divisions between people driven by selfish ambition. Dissensions are those times when we break unity without good cause. Divisions, as used here, means unjustly or unfairly "taking sides" against others—this from the same root word used to derive the English word heresy, and is sometimes translated as "factions."

None of these sins should describe the ongoing lifestyle of one who is free and forgiven in Christ and powered by the Holy Spirit.

Those who trust in Christ have been set free. Paul's readers were in danger of wasting that freedom, by veering off in one of two directions. On the one hand, false teachers were pressuring them into circumcision in order to be sure of being right with God. On the other hand, freedom can also be squandered on serving only our sinful desires instead of investing it through serving others in love. God's Spirit gives us the power to do that when we let Him lead us. Life in the Spirit bears powerful and positive fruit in a Christian's life.

Galatians 3—4 focused on theology. Galatians 5—6 focus on how Christians should live in response to those truths. In short, we must resist being dragged away from the freedom we have in Christ to follow the law. We must also resist wasting our freedom on serving our sinful desires instead of serving others in love. We can do this by the power of God's Spirit with us. When we give Him the lead, powerful, positive characteristics show up in us. Galatians 6 will show how to use those characteristics to serve each other.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.