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Romans Lesson 14 (2008)

NEW LIFE OF THE JUSTIFIED – V
(New life in the Spirit of God)
Romans 8:1-17
Key Verse: 8:6

“The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”

The eighth chapter of Romans is considered as one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. A prominent Bible scholar compared the Bible to a beautiful wedding ring, Romans being the jewel of the wedding ring and chapter eight of Romans being the sparkling point of the jewel. Romans chapter eight is special because it teaches the core of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the grace of justification, sanctification and glorification, all in one chapter. Chapter 8 teaches particularly the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers in Christ.

In chapter 7, Paul mainly dealt with Christians’ relationship with the law. Although he mentioned that we who have been released from the law serve God in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code, he also kept talking about his struggle with sin in the following verses. The word “law” and its synonyms are mentioned thirty-one times in chapter 7. Paul, who was a devout Christian man, expressed his deep frustration in his struggle with sin, saying “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (7:24) However, he immediately changed the tone of his voice and began praising God, saying “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Why was Paul so changeable? Was he mentally unstable? No. Paul was rather showing that a sincere Christian who is justified by God’s grace should not take sin lightly, but seriously. He was showing that even though we are justified by God’s grace, we cannot fulfill the law of God by our own effort. We need the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and work for our salvation. At the end of Romans chapter 7, the Christian life can be considered as no more than mere human effort and religious practices. According to today’s passage, 8:1-17, we see Christian life is virtually life in and by the Holy Spirit. Today’s passage, let us see how we can be led by the Holy Spirit.

Verses 1 and 2 are a brief review and a semi-conclusion of what we have learned in Romans chapters 1-7. Look at verses 1 and 2. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit set me free from the law of sin and death.” We learned in 3:24 that we are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. In chapter 5:1, we learned that we who have been justified by faith in Christ Jesus now have a peaceful relationship with God. This relationship will last forever and ever. Verse 1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” What does it mean that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? It means more than being justified. It means that our salvation is secured and guaranteed, and no one can take it away from us. We won’t lose our salvation. Our relationship with God cannot be broken again even though we are still imperfect and prone to fall into sin.

How do we know that our salvation is guaranteed? We know it because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Look at verse 2. “Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit set me free from the law of sin and death.” Here, Paul contrasts the work of the Spirit of God and the work of the law in us. In the past, we were slaves to the law of God. But when we are united with Christ by faith, we are no longer under the power of the law because the law of the Spirit set us free. It means that we have freedom and are not bound to the condemnation of the law any more. Although we lose our intimate fellowship with the Spirit in us when we fall into sin, there is no danger of losing our salvation. When we repent of our sins, our intimate fellowship can be restored. (1 John 1:9) In fact, we have access to the unlimited grace of God through Christ Jesus.

Most of all, our salvation is secured through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in us. Look at verses 3 and 4. “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of the sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” The key phrase in these two verses is “the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us.” What does this phrase mean? First of all, we see that there are two things God did for the salvation of fallen humankind; the sending of His Son Jesus Christ and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

How are the righteous requirements of the law fully met in us through Jesus? It’s through his sacrificial death on the cross. Through his death on the cross, God condemned sin in him and Jesus took the punishment we had to receive, so that anyone who trusts in Christ Jesus is justified. Justification is a one-time event in our lives. We don’t need to be justified over and over. However, sanctification is not an event but a process of transformation during our lifetime.

The redeeming effect of Jesus’ sacrificial death does not stop at the level of justification. It continues on during the whole process of our sanctification through the Holy Spirit. Paul is saying that by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, we can actually fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. But we must pay attention to the fact that the sanctification is not automatically done in us. We are to choose to live according to the Spirit, not according to the sinful nature. In fact, if we continue to live according to our sinful nature, we will bear the fruits of our sins and eventually die in sin. (8:13; Gal 5: ) It does not mean that we can lose our salvation. What Paul meant here might be that if we are truly children of God, we would not continue sinning or want to live in sin. If fact, when we fall into sin according to God’s high standard, we feel guilty and groan inwardly, like Paul, “What a wretched man I am!” (7:24) But we have hope through our Lord Jesus Christ. In verses 5-14, Paul gives several practical instructions concerning how we can be led by the Spirit in our daily lives.

FIRST, WE NEED TO HAVE A SPIRITUAL MIND-SET. (5-8)

Look at verse 5. “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that sinful nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” There are many kinds of people in the world, but according to verse 5, there are basically only two kinds of people, natural and spiritual. How can we distinguish between natural men and spiritual men? How do I know whether I am a natural man or a spiritual man? Do spiritual people have special and distinctive features, like wings? No. How can I know? I can know whether I am a natural man or a spiritual man by what I think most about. For example, if I always think about how to gratify my physical desire and satisfy my ambition, I am certainly a natural man, namely a carnal Christian. If I am concerned mainly about worldly things rather than about spiritual things, I will be full of anxieties and worries. As a result, I will have no peace or joy in my heart. On the other hand, if I mainly think about things that are truthful, noble, pure, lovely and admirable and I am concerned mainly about spiritual and heavenly things, I am a spiritual man. This kind of person is very stable, filled with peace, love, joy and hope. The difference between a natural man and a spiritual man is not about what they have or have achieved but their mind-set, what they think and how they think.

The difference between our mind-sets may not appear to be a serious problem, however, the consequences of our thoughts are very different. Look at verse 6. “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” The mind that is controlled by sinful desires and humanistic thoughts is filled with worries, anxieties, fear, doubt, and finally leads us to death. On the other hand, the mind controlled by the Spirit is filled with joy, peace, hope and love and consequently leads us to eternal life. Some of us might think that it’s alright to entertain sinful thought for a while, assuming that we can quit any time. But the problem is that when we entertain sinful thoughts, we are already offending the Holy Spirit and lose our intimate fellowship with Him and we cannot please God.

Look at verse 7. “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” Therefore, if we want to be led by the Holy Spirit, we should control what we think and how we think based on God’s truth. Our mind-set plays a key role in our Christian life. What you think and how you think are very important to be led by the Holy Spirit.

Our minds are like soil in which many things can grow. In fact, people meditate on many things. We can meditate on our problems, become worried, feeling sorry for ourselves and harden our hearts. Many people are unhappy because of their unhealthy way of thinking. On the other hand, when one has a healthy mind set, he or she can be happy. Most of all, when we have healthy mind-set, we can be filled with the Holy Spirit. Especially, what we think most is very important. Paul said in his letter to the early Christians, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” (Phil 4:8) One of the best ways to have a healthy mind-set and be filled with the Holy Spirit is meditation on God’s words. This is different from self-meditation.

Psalm 1:2 says that the blessed are the ones who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night. Whenever we study Psalm 1 on New Year’s Day, we are moved to make decision to study the Bible diligently. But the problem is that we think that we are too busy and don’t have enough time to meditate on the word day and night. However, we must know that meditating on the word of the Lord is different from studying the word of the Lord. If we compare reading or studying the word to eating food, we can compare meditating the word to digesting the food we ate. We can have a better understanding about this through the example of regurgitating mammals, such as deers, cows and sheep. They eat a lot of food at a time. Then all day long they regurgitate for a long time until they eat again. Through regurgitation, all the nutrition in the food is transferred into every part of their body. If they don’t regurgitate food, they cannot maintain their health. Even if we eat a lot of food, unless we are able to digest it, it’s no good for us. Likewise, even if we study and listen to the word of God a lot, unless we meditate on it and internalize and personalize the word of truth, it does not have much value. We may not be able to study the word of God all the time, we can definitely meditate on the word of God. If we have time to worry. We definitely have time to meditate.

Meditation of God’s word is very important for our spiritual life. That’s why the Psalmist said, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Ps 19:14) Writing testimonial essay based on the word of God is one of the most effective ways of cultivating a healthy mind-set in us. Generally, we are concerned with what we do. But God is concerned with what we think. What we are thinking is very important. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves, “Am I pleasing God with my thoughts? Is the meditation of my heart pleasing to Him?”

SECOND, WE NEED TO PUT TO DEATH THE MISDEEDS OF THE BODY (9-14)

Look at verses 9-11. “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through is Spirit, who lives in you.” Here, Paul makes it very clear that a Christian life apart from the Spirit of God is incomplete and unthinkable. Why is this? It’s because the ministry of Christ Jesus is continued only by the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ Jesus who dwells and works in us until the final day. (Mt 28:19-20)

Look at verses 12-14. “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation – but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Here we learn that in order to be led by the Spirit of God, we need to struggle against our sinful nature by putting to death the misdeeds of our body as Paul explained in chapter 7. Paul says a similar thing in Colossians 3:5, which reads, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”

What does it mean to put to death the misdeeds of our body? It means to repent of our sins. When someone has a malignant tumor, doctors remove the tumor through an operation. Then the patient has to go through chemotherapy to remove the remaining cancer cells in the body. In order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to have spiritual chemotherapy. Paul said in Galatians 5:24, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” Like crucifixion, spiritual chemotherapy is a painful procedure, but the prognosis of spiritual chemotherapy is great. We bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, instead of the fruit of sin, in us. In fact, godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7:10) Repentance is the only and the best way to be sanctified and be led by the Holy Spirit.

In verses 15-17, Paul continues to explain the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. One of the main works of the Holy Spirit in us is a sense of great security and confidence as God’s children. Look at verses 15 and 16. “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of son-ship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” No sinner can come to God with such confidence. We can neither earn it by our human achievement nor buy it with money. It can be given to us only through the Holy Spirit. That’s why it says “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” It means that we also should be careful so that our confidence and security in God may not be misunderstood as arrogance or self-righteousness. We need to be humble in our hearts, acknowledging that we are God’s children only by God’s grace. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3)

Look at verse 17. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs with God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” The ministry of the Holy Spirit is not to make us avoid difficulties in our lives. Rather the Holy Spirit enables us to participate in the sufferings of Christ so that we may also participate in his glory.

Nowadays, gas prices are soaring up really high, and the price of oil is affecting almost everything in our lives: food, transportation, and finances. These days, the price is only going up. Soon school tuition, which is already high, will go up even higher. Some people said that the party is over. We are predicting global economic earthquakes. What are we going to do now? Like the people of the world, we may be tempted to worry a lot, meditating on earthly things day and night, and, as a result, be filled with uncertainty, anxiety and fear. On the other hand, we can make use of our difficulties as windows of opportunity and focus on the things above while we struggle to be wise in this world. Most of all, it’s time to exercise our faith in God Almighty. It’s time to be filled with the Holy Spirit, not with worries, fears and anxieties. Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit can not only overcome the world but also experience God’s power and wisdom to bring glory to God. God called each of us according to His good purpose. It’s time to give our full attention to the word of the Lord and to what God is doing through the Holy Spirit. May we give our full attention to the word, studying and meditating on it day and night and put to death the misdeeds of our body so that we may prosper in all we do. Let us read our key verse, verse 6. “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”

 
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