What are revellings in the Bible?

There is another consideration the apostle sets before us, and truly humbling it is. "For the past time is sufficient to have wrought out the purpose [or, will] of the Gentiles, walking as ye have done in lasciviousness, lusts, wine-bibbings, revels, carousings, end unhallowed idolatries; wherein they think it strange that ye run not together into the same excess of profligacy, speaking injuriously; who shall render account to him that is ready to judge living and dead" (3-5).

Last come drunkennesses and revelings: sad and shameful works to be seen in a Christian; yet, alas, we do see them at times. Not by signing the pledge but by walking by the Spirit, can we conquer the works of the flesh.

"Drunkenness" and "revellings," as vices less harmful generally to others than to those who indulge in them, are by ordinary moralists regarded with a lenient eye. The latter are indeed, under slightly modified designations, among the accepted social proprieties of nominal Christian society. Fashion, not the love and fear of God, determines the measure of this license, whether personal or social. There are relatively drunken and sober epochs in the history of society. But against these things the Spirit has perpetual war. It was with a perfect knowledge of the likeliest besetments of His chosen that the Master gave His warning to His servants (Luke 21:34). The false excitement of a heedless and unthankful use of the Father's temporal mercies, who provides in His long-suffering goodness for the unjust and the just alike, are an ever-present and too often a successful snare for those whose hearts are not pre-occupied with pleasures of another sort. Wine and unsanctified festivities are among the things which "take away the heart" of the idle and negligent confessor of the truth (Hosea 4:11). Such things are of the night, and, therefore, to be no longer loved or sought after, but shunned rather by those who are the children of the day (Rom. 13:13; 1 Thess. 5:6-8).

Under the comprehensive phrase, "and such like," with which the apostle closes his recital of things "manifest," there lies an undetected ambush of other of those innumerable "fleshly lusts which war against the soul," from which God's children are besought by the Spirit of grace, as strangers and pilgrims, to abstain (1 Peter 2:11). These all have a common character, inasmuch as they all contradict the will of God, and are against the leading of the Spirit. The varieties of self-pleasing are as endless as the diversities of natural form and feature in mankind Self-judgment is its counterpoise in the Father's husbandry of Christ. All things are lawful for them that are the heirs of all, but our anxious care should be to rule, and not obey, our natural inclinations. Else we cease to be freemen, and are slaves again. The apostle is our pattern in these things (1 Cor. 6:12); asserting emphatically his personal liberty, he preferred his bonds as the purchased possession of his Lord. All things were lawful, but right was not his measure. His faith wrought by love; and love considers not its rights, but rather its opportunities. What edified and was expedient, with reference to others not less than himself, and what became him as the bearer and witness of his Master's name, were the constant occupation of his thoughts. The incompatibility of a habit of carnal wilfulness and self-indulgence with a genuine faith in Christ, is everywhere insisted on by this fervent and unwearied preacher of the gospel of the grace of God. And we shall do wisely to remember, in these times of fast-increasing license, that grace systematically abused becomes a limited "long-suffering;" and that godless profession does but prepare more rapidly for "ever., lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" those "vessels of wrath," which now are standing on the false basis of a carnal security, and, like the Scribes and Pharisees of old, are rejecting the counsel of God against themselves (Luke 7:30; Acts 20:27; 1 John 3:10). The kingdom of God can be inherited by those only who are born of God, and who, therefore, not only rejoice in His goodness, but, spite of their natural selves, observe also and imitate His ways.

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest" — there was no difficulty to discern them — "adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like." Thus you have human corruption and human violence. You have idolatry and witchcraft brought in, and on the other hand, seditions and heresies, which refer to the party-spirit that might be at work even under a christian profession. A child of God might slip into any of these evil things for a time; but there is a solemn sentence pronounced upon them — "Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in times past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." He warns them now, as he had while he was with them, "that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Whatever the difficulty may be, let us never doubt, but most firmly receive it as from God, that Christ is the power of God to every one that believes. He is the power of God not merely to justification, but to salvation; and salvation, while it includes justification, goes far beyond it, because it takes in all the course of a christian man till he is actually in the resurrection state along with Christ. This is the meaning of the verse, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" — not your own forgiveness, but your own salvation. It is said to those who were already forgiven. Thus, salvation, in the sense spoken of there, implies the whole conflict with the power of evil we are passing through. We know that we have to do with the common enemy; but God is at work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. We know the deep concern and regard which God feels for us, as committed to this conflict. We are fighting under His orders — doing His will in that thing as well as in others. So far is God from leaving us in any way, that He assures our soul He is pledged to see us through to the end; but He will have a solemn sense of the war with Satan in which we are engaged.

The works of the flesh are solemnly and fully enumerated, and in such a manner as to mark the holy hand of the Spirit of God. "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these; adultery], fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (v. 19-21). Who but the Spirit of God would have given the unholy list thus? Who but He would have placed wrath, variance, etc. in the same category with such notoriously vile offences as fornication, murders, and drunkenness? Man would have classified them, arranging them in the order in which they appeared heinous in his sight. Offences that are lesser, in human judgment, would have been placed in one class, and bolder sins in another. But not so the Holy Spirit. He traces all to the one root. Whether it be murder or strife, sect-making (for such is the meaning of "heresies"), or emulations (which may even happen among brethren), all comes from the flesh, which is incurably evil, whether in the saint or the unregenerate sinner. In like manner the Lord Jesus exposed the heart of man to His disciples in Matt. 15:19. All evil flows thence. The spring being impure, all that flows from it is offensive to God.

Let every believer watch himself with earnest godly care. Flesh must be treated as a dead and judged thing, and then all is well; but if it be allowed to work, though but for a moment, any evil may follow. Those who persist in an evil course the apostle repudiates altogether here. He presses it in this place on the Galatians, as elsewhere on the Ephesians (Eph. 5:5), that those also who live thus shall not inherit God's kingdom. The truest believer may, through unwatchfulness, fall into the gravest sins; but such cannot be said to live in them — they do not characterise their lives. The believer, through the action of the Spirit of God on his conscience, owns and confesses his sin, and gets forgiveness and cleansing. Such statements are not intended to encourage doubts in the hearts of saints, but to test and sift profession. There is much of it in this day. On every hand there is boastful profession of Christianity; but in how many cases is the fruit lacking which God looks for! 2 Tim. 3:1-5 may well be pondered in this connection.

Some of the works of the flesh are enumerated in verses 19 to 21. The flesh is not slow to manifest itself, though we might be inclined to speak with less strong and personally-applicable words that God does about these things. It is all too possible that these things find expression in the believer, though they are the characteristics of the unbeliever who has only a sinful nature. Paul strongly emphasizes "that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (v.21). Unbelievers practice such things: it is their life, their character. What a shame then for a believer, in the slightest degree of his conduct, to resemble one who is bound for eternal punishment! Paul is not threatening the believer with this, but showing him the wretched inconsistency of acting as does the world, when the believer's character and destiny are so far removed from the world.

Thirdly, the Apostle says, "Let us walk becomingly as in the day" (N.Tn). In spirit in the day we are yet, as to fact, in the night. The world in darkness may give itself up to "rioting and drunkenness", "chambering and wantonness", "strife and envying"; but the Christian is to have no part in such things. This should call for the deepest exercise, for we may, indeed, keep clear of the grosser evils of darkness its drunkenness, and lasciviousness and yet fall into strife and envying. Have we not too often allowed ourselves to be drawn into strife, and given way to envying! Does not the Apostle James warn us that "bitter envying and strife" in our hearts is the root cause of every scene of disorder amongst the people of God. "For" he says, "where envying and strife is there is confusion and every evil work" (James 3:14-16).

Verse 13 reminds us that this light means honest transparency of life and walk — no deceit or covering up — an affliction that we all too easily acquire and too proficiently dare to practice. But that is the very essence of the darkness, as are those vices immediately warned against in this verse — rioting and drunkenness, clambering (licentiousness) and wantonness, strife and envying.

Day Approaching. — Another motive is now furnished us, arising from the consideration of the time in this world's history. The night is far spent, the long night we can say of now near six millenniums is far spent, and the day is at hand. To sleep, or to act as men act under cover of darkness, does not become the Christian. His salvation is nearer than when he believed. In the prospect of it, in the hope of that final deliverance of his person, i.e., salvation, as here spoken of, let him be up, watchful, and stirring. Let him cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light. Let him walk honestly, or becomingly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying: but, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, let him not make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof (13:11-14). To whom is all this addressed? To heathen? To unconverted people? No. To saints in Rome, beloved of God. Saints, Christians need such exhortations. May none of us forget that. Would any tell us that their old man is dead and gone, or that they have no sin? One of two conclusions must then be drawn. Either Paul was mistaken in thus exhorting Christians; or the upholders of such thoughts have gone beyond, and do not abide in the doctrine of the Christ (2 John 9). Christianity does not satisfy them. Which conclusion is the correct one, the simplest mind can determine. The doctrine of development is antagonistic to Christianity. For it professes, that it is not satisfied with what has been revealed.

The moral purpose of the parables is the same as the references to the Lord's coming in the epistles. While the steward watches he is vigilant and sober; when he says in his heart "My Lord delays his coming," he begins to beat his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink and be drunken. How like Paul's teaching, — "The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof" (Rom. 13:12-14). In both cases, watching for the Lord is the incentive to faithfulness, while unwatchfulness leads to carelessness of walk, indulgence of lust, and worldliness of heart.