Sunday Sermons
Walking by the Spirit
Walking by the Spirit
In Romans chapter 7 Paul had cried out that outside of Christ he was a wretched man (7:24), a man imprisoned to the bondage of sin (7:23). He exults that now in Jesus Christ he is free (7:25).
No Condemnation in Christ Jesus!
What amazing news, now I can be right with God, a former sinner! Previously both Jews and Greeks found themselves under condemnation, for all had sinned (Romans 3:23). Previously Paul had talked about how a person enters into a relationship with Jesus, through faith, repentance, confession and baptism (Romans 6:3-5; 10:9-10; Galatians 3:26-27). Jesus had also spoken of the fact that He was the only way to the Father (John 14:6), and thus the only place in which salvation is found (Acts 4:12; Ephesians 1:3). Paul is not saying that once a person is a Christian they can never be lost, rather the rest of the chapter will stress the importance of continuing to walk by the Spirit if one wishes to remain saved (8:12-14).
The Two Laws: 8:2
The law of the Spirit of life must be the gospel message. For it would not make any sense for Paul to start this letter with the assertion that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16) and then reach a conclusion in this chapter that another law saves us. The gospel was given by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:3-5) and it brings life to those who obey it. The law of sin and death is not the Law of Moses, for it was holy, righteous and good (Romans 7:12), but rather it was the rule of sin in our lives prior to our conversion (6:6; 14; 6:17-18). The statement has set you free is an aorist tense, and thus points back to a definite point in time when we were freed, that is at baptism (Romans 6:17-18).
What Jesus Accomplished: 8:3
The Law of Moses was a great law (7:12), yet those under it failed to live up to it (weakness of the flesh). Yet it would be inaccurate to say that the Law of Moses gave man’s spirit no help in controlling himself, for the Law contained many incentives for obedience (Deuteronomy 28:1ff; 30:1ff). Jesus arrived in the likeness of sinful flesh. This does not mean that we are born in sin. Adam had a physical body before he sinned, and Jesus had a physical body never yet never sinned (Hebrews 2:14,17). The flesh is spoken of as sinful because of the universal giving in of the flesh to sin, which is characteristic of mankind. It is the same adaptation of terms that allows worldly to mean sinful, not that God's creation is sinful of itself. Jesus came to deal with sin (John 1:29) and in dying on the cross He condemned sin in the flesh. The fact that the Son of God had to die because of the sins that people had committed, should once and for all reveal God’s attitude towards sin – it is condemned in the strongest possible terms, and there is absolutely no excuse for it.
The Requirement Fulfilled: 8:4
As a result, what the Law wanted, an individual who could stand before God justified can be realized in a relationship with Jesus. Because when I become a Christian all my sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38), and then if I sin, I can quickly repent and as for forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Therefore, I never have to be in bondage to sin anymore and I can always be lived as saved by God. Yet observe that Paul quickly clarifies something. Salvation is linked with continuing to walk after the Spirit. We still have freewill and if we are stubborn or careless, we can start following the flesh again.
Where is My Mind Set: 8:5
As noted, we still have a choice. We can either give our time and attention to attitudes that result in the works of the flesh mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21 or focus our mind on what will result in the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:5-11; Philippians 4:8). If we focus on what is displeasing to God, separation from God now (Romans 6:23) and forever is the predictable result. If we focus on what is godly, then life and peace will be the result in our lives.
The Mind of the Flesh
One mindset is the perpetual enemy of God. This mindset will not obey God, never. It refuses to submit to the law of God, it refuses to acknowledge that it needs God. It refuses to admit that God is right (Romans 3:4). Paul speaks of us as being formerly alienated and hostile in mind (Colossians 1:21) when we were non-Christians. Such hostility was seen in the fact that God came to this earth in the flesh and sin manifesting itself in greed (Judas), self-preservation at any cost (the Jewish leadership/John 11:47-53), jealousy, and lust after political success (Pilate), ended up crucifying the Creator. This does not mean that a person who lives a worldly life cannot turn from it and himself become subject to the law of God; but it does mean that a person cannot live for the things of this life and at the same time be subject to God (Matthew 6:24). When we read a passage and downplay its importance, read a passage and resent God’s expectations, read a passage and think we have a better idea, that is the mind of the flesh resurfacing in our lives. The mind of the flesh is always looking for a way to get around obeying and submitting to God.
What is Dwelling in Me? 8:9-10
This section speaks a lot about the Spirit dwelling in us, and first observe that the Spirit is not going to overwhelm us. We choose what will influence and dwell in us (8:9 “if”). May I suggest to you that having a mind that is set on the teachings of the Spirit and obeying them is the same as the Spirit dwelling in us. Compare Ephesians 5:18 in which Christians are exhorted to be filled with the Spirit and then Colossians 3:16 where we are told to “let” the word of God richly dwell within us. Nothing in this section even suggests that after we become a Christian the Holy Spirit will simply come upon us and automatically remove all desire to sin and just take over our lives. When Paul says, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him (8:9). In the context this includes, if anyone is not minding the things of the Spirit, if anyone is not submitting to the law of God, then that person does not have a relationship with Christ (Matthew 7:22-23).
The Body is Dead Because of Sin: 8:10
One understanding of this phrase is that as a consequence of sin entering the world in the Garden of Eden, our physical bodies already have the seeds of death in them. The body is simply destined to age and die. Yet I think Paul might be saying something more like, the body that once was used as an instrument of unrighteousness is to be put out of commission (Romans 6:16). Now, as a Christian our bodies need to be used for righteousness (1 Corinthians 6:18-19). Therefore, our body should be dead in regard to sinful purposes.
Our Obligation: 8:12
In light of what Jesus did for us on the cross (8:1) all our obligations reside with Him. We have zero obligations to evil, in fact, we have already wasted too much precious time and effort in serving Satan (1 Peter 4:3). Whatever time we spend outside of God’s favor was too much time.
Do Not Lie to Yourself: 8:13
Observe in this chapter, as in many other places in the Bible there are only two choices (Matthew 7:13-14; 25:31ff; Psalm 1:1ff). We are either minding the flesh or minding the things of the Spirit. Loss of fellowship with God and eternal separation from God is what minding the flesh will result in, every time.
We Have Help: 8:13
The Holy Spirit helps us so much through His revelation. He clearly defines the things that we need to remove from our lives and equally defines what we need to add to our lives. He gives us tremendous incentives to both flee from sin and pursue righteousness.
Adopted Sons: 8:14-16
The true child of God has always been the person who is faithfully following the teachings of the Spirit. When we read how much the Father loves us (Romans 5:6-8), we should naturally cry out that God is the Father that we desire. When I compare what I did to become a Christian with what the Spirit revealed, to how I am living to how the Spirit says I need to live, if this agree then I absolutely know that I am saved and a real child of God (8:16).
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
