April 6, 2022 BUT IF
Romans 8:5-6, 10-13, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,” “And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, the live according to the flesh-for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
The word flesh as used here refers to “affections and desires that run contrary to God.” Martin Luther. Throughout the New Testament we find the terms ‘flesh’ and ‘Spirit.’ As we read the scriptures, it becomes evident that believers have the choice of setting their minds on the flesh, or on the Spirit-and the choice they make has huge consequences. At the core of this subject is death to self-to our ways, or being alive to the Spirit; there is no middle ground. It may sound a bit confusing, but we are to consider our body as being dead to sin or dead to the flesh: that is where our mind set comes into play-that’s where we have a choice; we are to reckon, or consider bodies as dead to sin. Romans 6:11. We are not to make provision or allowance for sin; we are to quickly reject any temptation to sin. As the passage above instructs us, we are to be ‘putting to death’ the deeds (fleshly) of the body; that denotes an ongoing process. We are to have a desire and a mindset to do things that are pleasing to the Lord-that mind set is powerful and it keeps us from ‘compromising’ with sin. This mind set will determine what we watch on television or on our smart phone, it may effect where we go, and it will cause us to guard our words and our attitudes. If we think that the mind set on the Spirit will rob us of fun or somehow reduce our quality of life-we could not be further from the truth. The truth is that the mind set on the flesh leads to death while the mind set on the Spirit leads to life. It is interesting to see in the above scriptures that God will give life to our mortal bodies; our physical body is created by God; the problem is when we yield our physical body to sin. Contrary to the philosophy of the world, when we put to death the deeds of the body (the sins), we will live! One thing to note: whether it is a ‘small’ lie, or murder, it is still the flesh. I say that to make sure we understand that wrong attitudes, ungratefulness, impatience, greed, and etc. or all deeds of the flesh-and we must be on guard against such things. For a list of the deeds of the flesh, see Galatians 5:19-25. Let us daily, even hourly, be setting our minds on the things of the Spirit, and not on things of the flesh. When we live and when we make decisions according to the Spirit, we will experience life to the fullest.
Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
PS: In the verses above, when it says “you must die,” that means that we must die to ourselves, to the desires of the flesh.
April 6, 2022 BUT IF
Romans 8:5-6, 10-13, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,” “And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, the live according to the flesh-for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
The word flesh as used here refers to “affections and desires that run contrary to God.” Martin Luther. Throughout the New Testament we find the terms ‘flesh’ and ‘Spirit.’ As we read the scriptures, it becomes evident that believers have the choice of setting their minds on the flesh, or on the Spirit-and the choice they make has huge consequences. At the core of this subject is death to self-to our ways, or being alive to the Spirit; there is no middle ground. It may sound a bit confusing, but we are to consider our body as being dead to sin or dead to the flesh: that is where our mind set comes into play-that’s where we have a choice; we are to reckon, or consider bodies as dead to sin. Romans 6:11. We are not to make provision or allowance for sin; we are to quickly reject any temptation to sin. As the passage above instructs us, we are to be ‘putting to death’ the deeds (fleshly) of the body; that denotes an ongoing process. We are to have a desire and a mindset to do things that are pleasing to the Lord-that mind set is powerful and it keeps us from ‘compromising’ with sin. This mind set will determine what we watch on television or on our smart phone, it may effect where we go, and it will cause us to guard our words and our attitudes. If we think that the mind set on the Spirit will rob us of fun or somehow reduce our quality of life-we could not be further from the truth. The truth is that the mind set on the flesh leads to death while the mind set on the Spirit leads to life. It is interesting to see in the above scriptures that God will give life to our mortal bodies; our physical body is created by God; the problem is when we yield our physical body to sin. Contrary to the philosophy of the world, when we put to death the deeds of the body (the sins), we will live! One thing to note: whether it is a ‘small’ lie, or murder, it is still the flesh. I say that to make sure we understand that wrong attitudes, ungratefulness, impatience, greed, and etc. or all deeds of the flesh-and we must be on guard against such things. For a list of the deeds of the flesh, see Galatians 5:19-25. Let us daily, even hourly, be setting our minds on the things of the Spirit, and not on things of the flesh. When we live and when we make decisions according to the Spirit, we will experience life to the fullest.
Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
PS: In the verses above, when it says “you must die,” that means that we must die to ourselves, to the desires of the flesh.
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