It’s good to be back again this evening and see you all tonight. I greet you all in Jesus’ name and also greet all our listeners online. It’s been another really outstanding week, and God keeps opening doors and doing amazing things, and I thank Him for it.
If you would, you can turn with me to the book of Romans, and I am going to pick up where I left off last time. In the last message, we had gotten to the last part of Romans 7, so let me read from chapter 8, starting at verse 21, and we will cross over into chapter 8.
Romans 7:21-25 (KJV)
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Romans 8:1-11 (KJV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.
These are some amazing verses we have read here, and I am looking forward to going through them. But before we go fully into chapter 8, there is one last thing I want to deal with here in chapter 7.
If you recall back to the last message, in chapter 7, Paul was examining himself. He was looking deep within himself and identifying a part of himself that he could not fully control. He saw a law of sin operating in the members of his body, and he went through this tormented explanation—he wanted to do good, yet he couldn’t. He tried to do what was right, but at times he ended up captive to this law of sin operating in his members.
What I would like to look at at the start of this message is understanding at what point in Paul’s life he was talking about. At what point were verses 22 and 23 true in his life? Let me just read those two verses again. In verse 22, he draws a conclusion about himself:
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
And in verse 23, he draws another conclusion:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
He ends with a question:
24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Where was Paul on life’s journey when these things were true about him? I ask that because this is actually a point of disagreement among different groups of Christians. Even where we came from, I heard preachers take this last part of chapter 7 and preach it entirely differently. I even remember one preacher preaching it two different ways himself. I don’t know if he changed his mind, but to be sure, there is no consistency on this where we came from.
By and large, the majority of the preachers in the places we came from would say Paul was describing himself here before he was saved. They would say here, Paul is describing his life as a raw sinner before he had the Holy Ghost. But then, there were also a couple of times I remember preachers saying this was after he was justified, but before he was sanctified. He was in some sort of state of salvation, but he definitely did not have this experience or the Holy Ghost to finish cleaning up his life yet. Those were the two predominant views where we come from.
I just want to take a minute and analyze these verses to see if either of those things makes sense. The first thing that is worth drawing our attention to is the tense in which Paul writes chapter 7. There is nothing here he is putting in the past tense. For example, in verse 23, he does not say, “I used to see another law in my members, warring with me.” Or in verse 19, he does not put that in the past tense; he puts that in the present tense too:
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Really, the only thing here Paul puts in the past tense is back around verse 10, where he describes in the past a point in time he realized he was incapable of keeping the law. So by a simple plain reading of Paul’s words, he seems to be applying these to himself in his present condition as he was writing this letter to the Romans. As we come down to the final question he asks in verse 24, the question sums up his analysis of himself:
24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
He identifies the source of his problems as his body of death, his body which has the law in its members that war against him. In verse 24, he lays his finger on the root cause of his problems—his body of death. And he says, “Who shall deliver me from it?” We can ask the question, when did Paul get a glorified body?
As I have mentioned a few times, I really believe that watching what Paul says about the body is a key detail for understanding what he is talking about. Paul here is saying something very specific: “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” This cursed body that will die, this cursed body that is tainted by sin, this body that has this law of sin in its members—who will deliver me from this?
Paul is pointing specifically to his body. He is looking forward toward a glorified body as the answer and as the ultimate solution to all this. He is acknowledging his own insufficiency and his own mortal weaknesses, which require him to shed this body of death to overcome. As he acknowledges that his body of death is the problem, he goes over into chapter 8 and begins to explain what Jesus has done for him. He is going to explain the difference that Jesus is making in his life since he was saved, and it starts with verse 1 of chapter 8.
Romans 8:1 (KJV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
He has a body with the law of sin operating in its members, but there is now no condemnation because he is in Christ Jesus. Jesus has already died and taken the punishment for Paul’s sins. Jesus has already lived the law perfectly for Paul because Paul couldn’t do it. And now Paul is going to go free—there is no penalty, there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. In verse 2, we are going to learn why this is the case:
Romans 8:2 (KJV)
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
This old law, which was going to bring us death, we are free from it. Instead, we are under a new law—the law of Christ. That law of the Spirit gives us life; it tells us we will live.
Romans 8:3 (KJV)
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Jesus Christ came in the flesh; He came in person, and He defeated sin. He conquered sin. The law of Moses could never defeat sin; it could just point the way. But Jesus actually fulfilled what the law pointed to. He came in the flesh and offered His body as a sacrifice, a sacrifice to pay for sin.
Paul ended chapter 7 saying, “Who will deliver me?” He saw his desperate need for a Savior. He saw his own helplessness. And here in verse 3, we see it is all God’s work; it is all about what God did through Jesus Christ to save us. It’s not about what Paul did. Even though Paul still has his body of death, he is still saved. Even though Paul is living in a body of death, there
is no more condemnation. Sin has been judged, which is to say the law of sin has been judged. Sin cannot kill people who are in Christ Jesus; there is no more condemnation for them.
All of this is done so that we ourselves might also ultimately be freed from all aspects of sin and so that we can be righteous.
Romans 8:4 (KJV)
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
This fulfillment is gradual. This is sanctification. In the last two chapters, Paul has made it clear to us that this body has a law of sin operating in it. That’s why the body is going to die, and it’s not until we get to verse 23 that all the final traces of that are removed and dealt with, with the redemption of our bodies. Here in verse 4, Paul is looking at something that starts when we are saved, when we are united with Christ, when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, and something that will ultimately be completed when our bodies are redeemed. The plan of redemption is not finished yet. Redemption is a work in progress. It’s all bought and paid for, but it’s not fully realized yet. Christ died, and He condemned sin so that He could redeem us, so that we could be transformed into beings who walk after the Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit is in us, our lives change. Our interests change. Our desires change. God and our love for Him become a central focus of our lives, and we find that our priorities change. It’s not a result of a preacher screaming at you; it’s not a result of being harassed or pressured. He who feareth is not made perfect in love. But it is something that flows out of our love for God. And then, if it flows out of love, then we are being made perfect. We are on a road that is going to lead to glorification. We are on a road that, when He appears, we shall be like Him.
And when we come to that day, then we will have the fullness of verse 4:
4 “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
And this last phrase describes the life we are living in the here and now—who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. A person who has been saved, a person who is in union with Christ, a person with the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside—they are following the Spirit, they are bearing the fruit of the Spirit. That is what they are pursuing. That is the desire of their life: the Spirit and the things of the Spirit. And chiefly, the fruit of the Spirit, because we have our fruit unto holiness.
Let’s catch some of the nuances here about what Paul is saying about walking after the Spirit. The first thing we might ask ourselves is, what does the word “walk” mean here? Walk. We realize Paul is not literally speaking about putting one foot in front of the other. “Walk” here means something broader than that. That word “walk” is pointing to the general way in which we proceed with our life. Our walk here is the general pattern of our life, and there are different illustrations using that language going all the way back to Jesus. He told His disciples to follow Him, to walk after Him. And when we walk after the Spirit, we are following Christ. Following Christ and walking after the Spirit is the same thing.
It says, “walk after the Spirit.” “After.” After means following. You are following what you walk after. And in that way, you can say, this is what we are pursuing. This is what we are after. This is our interest. This is our concern. And as much as anything, that is talking about what you desire in your heart. What do you genuinely want? What are you genuinely after? And as Christians, we are genuinely after the Spirit. The general pattern of our life is after Christ and after the things of Christ. It is seeking to follow Him.
When we think of these two things, walking after the Spirit and walking after the flesh, in many ways, this really has to do with our hearts. You could live a decent life in moral terms. You could be a good citizen, a productive member of the community. But what is motivating a person in their heart? That is really where the difference is. What you are walking after is a matter of motivation and interest.
If you think about the Galatians, Paul described people in that book who were walking after the flesh, and it was more than just being immoral people. Sure, pursuing immorality is walking after the flesh, but there are other, more sinister ways in which people walk after the flesh. The Galatians were walking after the flesh, and they were wonderful law-keepers. They took a very strict view on keeping all the rules, and to be a good law-keeper, a good rule-keeper, and putting your hope of salvation in that, that is also walking in the flesh.
You could put two people side by side; they look identical in the outward sense. But in the heart, one is walking after the flesh, and the other is walking after the Spirit. And honestly, walking after the flesh or walking after the Spirit has very much to do with how you view your relationship with God and the nature of the salvation He offers.
What I would like to draw your attention to here is that above all else, what Paul is pointing to here is the motivating factor in a person’s life. It’s not the outward that determines if you are walking after the Spirit; it is the inward motivating factor.
If you have watched carefully through what Paul is saying, when he talks about flesh, he has almost always used that term in relation to the law. It is the flesh that seeks to obtain salvation through the law or through works. But it is the Spirit that causes us to see Jesus Christ as our salvation.
To fail to see or grasp the grace of God—that is to walk after the flesh. But to see, value, and grasp the grace which God has shown us by Jesus Christ—that is to walk after the Spirit. It is our outlook.
4 “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
In John chapter 3, verse 6, Jesus said:
John 3:6 (KJV)
6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
We are born into this world naturally, and we are flesh. We are descended from Adam. But if you have had the new birth, you are born of the Spirit. If you are born of the Spirit, you are spirit. You are in the Spirit. That’s it. Oftentimes, people can tag a whole bunch of stuff to this, but it’s really not that complicated.
If you are born again, you are by definition walking after the Spirit. What is born of the Spirit is spirit. If you have recognized Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are walking in the Spirit. Recognizing Jesus for who He is—that is walking in the Spirit. This is life eternal: that they might know Thee, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.
You don’t need more than Jesus to have life eternal. You don’t need to know anyone besides Him to have life eternal. And you don’t need anything more than His Spirit to be in the Spirit.
Verse 5:
5 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”
I have heard all kinds of sermons about walking after the Spirit. I have heard these verses read many, many times in sermons. And never once, in my entire life, did I hear a preacher tell me that trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior is walking in the Spirit. But that is exactly what these verses are pointing to in context, and it has almost nothing at all to do with all the things the preachers would use these verses as a launchpad for.
Because often it would go like this: they would read verse 5, and then tell you don’t watch Disney movies, don’t read fiction books, don’t jog, don’t grow a beard, and this, that, and the other. And walking in the flesh is whatever the preacher decided he didn’t like that week.
Never once did those preachers who preached that way actually read this book and understand that walking in the Spirit is trusting in Jesus as our Savior. In fact, if you said to most of them, even today, “I am trusting in Jesus as my Savior,” they don’t think we are walking in the Spirit because, to them, walking in the Spirit means something entirely different.
But this is something for you to know in your own heart. His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. We know our hearts. We know what we are after. We know if we are after the Spirit, or we know if we are after the flesh. We know what our passion and our drive are. We know what is motivating us. And we know that we know Jesus. Let me read verse 6:
6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
“Minded”—this is something in our mind. Go back to verse 25 of chapter 7; these are connected:
25 “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”
In verse 6, Paul is talking about what we are minding. He is speaking of our inward man, our spiritual man. To be carnally minded is death. To let our minds agree with the law of sin—that is death. But to be spiritually minded, to have our mind on Christ and the things of Christ—that is life.
To say, “There is no condemnation”—that is life, that is Spirit.
6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
Neither indeed can be. The flesh cannot be brought under the law. Sin can never fulfill the law. It simply has to be destroyed.
7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
8 “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
We could put verse 8 also back with the end of chapter 7:
8 “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
And in one respect, we are all still in the flesh, aren’t we? We are still in this body of death. Anyone who tells you they are not in a body of death—we know better than that. But look at what Paul says next. Let me read verses 9 to 11:
9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
10 “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”
11 “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Now, as we read this, it is very clear that Paul is looking at something that will be completed in the resurrection, something that will be completed when we have a new body. But as we read verse 9, he says
something there that is a bit hard to understand. He says we are not in the flesh if we have the Spirit of God in us. So this is what we do in the here and now: We reckon verse 9 to be true. We reckon it as good as done—not in a silly, crazy way, because of course, we are still in a natural body, but in the same way Paul does.
Because as soon as he says we are not in the flesh in verse 9, in verse 10, he tells us the body is dead because of sin. Paul is identifying himself with his spiritual man. Paul is not in the flesh; he is not identifying with his flesh. His body is dead because of sin, but he identifies with the Spirit, which is life, and he is waiting for the resurrection of his body.
It is interesting; he is reckoning himself dead in body. He is reckoning himself living in the Spirit and waiting for resurrection. Which, of course, in a literal sense, is not actually true. Paul is not literally dead; he was writing the book of Romans. Paul is not literally some spirit floating around somewhere. He is sitting in a flesh-and-blood body, holding a pen in his hand. But this is how he is reckoning himself, as a result of what Jesus Christ has done. He is reckoning himself already dead and just waiting for the resurrection, just waiting for his new body, just waiting to be delivered from this body of death.
And I will point out to you, in verse 10, Paul is talking about the same body of death as he finished chapter 7, the same body of death he cried out for deliverance from in chapter 7. And in verse 11 here, he clearly points to the resurrection and the transformation of his body as the ultimate deliverance from the flesh.
Now, I am going to bring this message to an end here, but let me finish by pointing you to the next verses and help us put what we have read into the larger picture of Romans. In chapter 7, Paul was explaining how we could never be holy by the law. And here in the first part of chapter 8, he is telling us how to reckon ourselves and to look at ourselves after we are saved. And he is building up toward the resurrection of our own bodies, which will finally bring the total solution to us for all that is wrong. We are a work in progress; we are a redemption in progress. And as we are this work in progress, there is no condemnation. We are in the Spirit, even though we have a body of death, and we are moving toward completion. And it is a work of God in our lives doing it all.
If we end up struggling, like Paul talked about in chapter 7, chapter 8 has the answer: There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. The Spirit of God will transform these bodies, just like Jesus was transformed. It is a guarantee to all of us who are after the Spirit, who are spiritually minded, who are following Jesus and trusting in Him as our Savior.
Let me close in prayer.