Galatians 5:20

20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Galatians 5:20 Meaning and Commentary

Galatians 5:20

Idolatry
Which some understand of covetousness, which is so called; but rather it means the worshipping of other gods, or of graven images:

witchcraft;
any real or pretended league and association with the devil, seeking to converse with familiar spirits, to gain unlawful knowledge, or to do hurt to fellow creatures; which, as it is doing honour to Satan, detracts from the glory of God, and rightly follows idolatry; conjuration, soothsaying, necromancy, and all kind of magic are included and condemned hereby:

hatred:
internal hatred of any man's person, even of our very enemies, is forbidden; in the original text it is "enmities": as the carnal mind is nothing else but enmity against God and Christ, against law and Gospel, and all good men, and everything that is good:

variance,
or "contentions"; fighting and quarrelling, by words scandalous and reproachful, what we commonly call scolding:

emulations
or "zeals"; not good, but bad: a boiling and rising up of the spirits and passions, at the honour and happiness of another:

wrath
or "wraths" violent emotions of the mind, moving to revenge, and seeking the hurt and mischief of others:

strife
or "strifes"; perpetual contradictions and cavilings, either expressed by words, or working in the mind; for this strife may be in a man's heart, according to ( James 3:14 James 3:16 )

seditions
or "divisions": schisms and factions, dissensions in things domestic, civil, and religious:

heresies;
bad principles and tenets, relating to doctrine, which are subversive of the fundamentals of the Gospel and the Christian religion; and are the produce of a man's own invention, and the matter of his choice, without any foundation in the word of God; and these are works of the flesh, for they spring from a corrupt and carnal mind, and are propagated with carnal views, as popular applause, worldly advantage, and indulging the lusts of the flesh.

Galatians 5:20 In-Context

18 But if ye are led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; which I denounce, as I have also told you in time past that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is this: Charity, joy, peace, tolerance, gentleness, goodness, faith,
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010