Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21)Paul defined indirectly "the flesh" by describing the "works" in which the flesh manifests itself. "Works" are things people do. They require action, lack of action (apathy), thoughts, emotions, and pride. "The flesh" is people doing what they want to do (Deut 12:8). The "original sin" was Adam and Eve eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil although God commanded that they not under threat of death. They ate despite the warning because they did not understand that death is more than living in this world.
Those things are "the works of the flesh" because the human body is the receptor of pleasure. The soul doesn't want to do those things but the body desires them (Mat 26:41). Sinners don't truly want to sin but they do so anyway. Apathy is when sinners cease considering good and evil, and do the desires of their hearts. That apathetic condition is called "reprobation". Because they just don't care, they damn themselves. It is not God who damns; people damn themselves and then blame God for it. When they are convicted of their foolishness, there are three possible responses: (1) suppress their guilt, (2) confess their guilt, or (3) deny guiltiness. Only one response is acceptable to God and that is heartfelt confession.
Those who suppress their guilt are thick-skinned. They can take a great amount of denial. Their fortress is the wall which they have built between themselves and God. They can take much threshing without ever yielding. Those with addictions are thick-skinned because their god is extremely strong! Of course, they are their own gods but the flesh is their idol. Addictions appease their idol to the extreme that rather than revering God, they look forward to more and greater works of the flesh. The world asks, "What is your pleasure?" and the thick-skinned sinner says, "more of the same but more intense pleasure and of longer duration."
Those who confess their guilt are communing with God. They are neither thick-skinned nor thin-skinned but malleable. God convicts, they are convicted and feel sorrow, repent, and decide to do God's will. That state of mind is wisdom. Why so? Because malleable people know they can't dishonor God so they succumb to His will. That is where God wants us - as His!
Satan is cunning. He uses truth to deceive. Malleable people must pay close attention to who is doing the molding. Discernment is necessary to distinguish between truth and falsehoods. Let's take a look how to beware of the Devil and discern God:
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (Jam 4:4-10).Friendship with the world is in the flesh. The world provides the lustful things. God does provide one thing which people should lust for: eternal life. The things of the world are temporal, and people do trade their souls for lustful things. If anyone considers temptation, if it is against the Word in Scripture, they are in the flesh. God does not tempt; temptation is always from Satan (Jam 1:13), but allows Satan to tempt to see how thick the flesh can be:
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Cor 10:13).God allows Satan to tempt to see how thick your skin is! Those who are malleable to God are thick-skinned, just as the addicted sinner is. The difference is to whom is one's skin is thickened! When Christians are tempted God allows it. When He sees that the skin-depth is not enough, God steps in and thickens the Christian's resolve. Part of the new person is allowing God to be their "skin" because he bears temptation for them.
Thin-skinned people display anger when they are wrong. As I have written many times before, I call that condition "worlds colliding". Thin-skinned people cannot take criticism from others nor from God. Anger is their defense mechanism to keep their false reality intact on Planet Them. Usually skin-skinned people, rather than using logic, depend on war. That is when world's collide!
The weapon of skin-thinned people is anger, usually expressed by name-calling, gossiping, intimidation, and the like. Those are how thin-skinned people hate others. Hatred is the nature of thin-skinned people. When confronted by God, they are intimidated and their little world fights back against God of the Universe. Who do you suppose will win?
They know they can't win the argument with the God of the Universe so they attack God's people. They war with other little worlds. I had one man do that with me, and much to my chagrin, I was humbled. That man provoked me at every chance, and I failed God. I called that sinful man a filthy name. Satan won the battle that day. I was thin-skinned and my righteous world was deflated. That's when God stepped in and thickened my skin. He convicted me, I was humbled, and repented. God took away my thin skin, remolded me to be nearer the image of Him, and made my spiritual "flesh" thicker. In other words, I was humbled! Those with spiritually thick "skin" are the meek.
Almost everyone, even Christians, are thin-skinned. We know that we should not sin (see the list above) but do it anyway. That is double-mindedness and is instability (Jas 1:18). Believing in righteousness and sinning anyhow is not hypocrisy; it is double-mindedness. It's a state of confusion Satan's emissaries use to create instability in the Christian. Too much sinning with the full knowledge of its sinfulness is psychologically speaking "cognitive dissonance". When confronted that they are sinners, they become so stressed out that they must deal with it. The most extensive dissonance may lead to self-destruction. That's what Satan wants. The less disruptive is spiritual psychopathy; just giving in to the law of sin and living as one pleases. That relives the stress of guilt but the guilt remains.
Thick-skinned people become calloused: "After thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds" (Rom 2:5-6). Thick-skinned sinners can be detected by their calloused or hardened hearts. The sin of choice is their stronghold. Even those convicted of sin still sin, although they may even prefer to not! Most people have strongholds. They become impervious to guilt. When confronted, those thick-skinned people suddenly become thin-skinned as they defend their fantastical little world.
You get the idea. Thin-skinned people cannot take conflict. They explode. Thick-skinned or hard-hearted people can explode and quickly become thin-skinned upon confrontation. What are those people - all of us - to do? Relinquish the skin altogether. Crucify the flesh so that it can't get in the way of serving God: "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal 5:24).
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