SHOWERS

Romans 8:7 – For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed it cannot.

Welcome back to our study of Romans chapter eight.  In verses 5-6 Paul mentions the two groups of people found in the world: Those who are after the flesh and those who are after the Spirit. 

He then gives us the final outcome of each group: 

• Those who are carnally minded (those who submit themselves to the flesh/old man) will eventually experience the only possible outcome of sinning under the law – condemnation, physical death, judgment, then spiritual death for eternity.
• Those who are spiritually minded (who submit themselves to the spirit/new man) will eventually experience the outcome of life under the gospel – forgiveness/justification, physical death, rewards, then spiritual life for eternity.

This is part of Paul’s overall emphasis in chapter eight, which is to show believers things the gospel does, which the law cannot do.  Now let’s continue with our study.

GENERAL SUMMARY:  When you are an unbeliever, your mind is focused on the flesh/old man.  As a result, you will naturally seek to fulfill your lusts and evil desires.  It is impossible for such a person to obey or to submit to the commands of God.  Therefore, the unbeliever is in rebellion to God; they are God’s enemy.  

DIGGING DEEPER:  For:  Our translation says ‘for’, yours may say ‘because’.  This indicates that Paul is drawing a conclusion based on his point in verse six.  In that verse, he declared that to be carnally minded was death.  Now he is telling us why this is the case.  

The mind that is set on the flesh:  Just as a reminder, to set your mind is to fix your thoughts in a certain direction; to use your mind to pursue a specific outcome or course of action in your thoughts, words and deeds.  It includes your reason, your understanding and your affections.  Here in verse seven, Paul is talking about people who have set their minds on evil (flesh).

Is hostile to God:  To fix your mind on things that are sinful and evil is to set yourself in opposition to God, who is perfectly righteous and holy.  As shocking as it seems, there are people who choose to live this way!  They are enemies of God.  As you can imagine, things will not end well for these individuals, unless they change their ways.        

For it does not submit to God’s law:  ‘It’ refers to the mind that has chosen to pursue the things of the flesh.  This kind of a mind cannot submit itself to God.  Here is why:  Your mind cannot be divided against itself.  If you give your focused attention to the lusts and desires of your flesh, you cannot simultaneously submit yourself to the commands of God, because these two things are opposites.  This might be clearer if we look at a couple of specific examples:

• You can’t focus your attention on lying and simultaneously submit to the command of God to tell the truth. 
• You can’t focus your attention on sexual sins and submit to the commands of God regarding chastity and marriage. 
• You can’t focus on pride and submit to God’s command to be humble. 

It is fairly easy to understand that if you are setting your mind on evil, you are unable to submit to the commands of God; you can’t be in submission to him at the same time you are in rebellion against him.  

1 Corinthians 2:14 - But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.   

In fact, the carnal mind (the mind set on evil and rebellion) actually hates and despises the commands of God.  It will fight against or contradict God’s commands at every opportunity.  In so doing, the carnal mind disputes God’s sovereignty, mocks his character, disgraces his image and opposes his kingdom.   

Indeed it cannot:  It is a literal impossibility for the flesh/old man to be reconciled to the laws of God.  They are opposite systems with opposite goals and can never exist in harmony with each other.    

Thus, Paul shows that to be carnally minded is death because those who are carnally minded are enemies of God.  As such, they are excluded from grace; they are subject to the law.  They will be found guilty of breaking God’s commands and sentenced to eternal spiritual death.  

Romans 8:8 – Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

GENERAL SUMMARY:  Paul has just explained that the carnal mind is hostile towards God; it is in rebellion against him.  It logically follows that those who allow themselves to be ruled by their flesh/old man cannot please God.

DIGGING DEEPER:  Those who are in the flesh:  This refers to sinners; to people who allow their flesh/old man to reign in their hearts and minds. 

Cannot please God:   Sinners cannot please God.  Their thoughts, desires, actions and words are all rooted in evil, which God loathes. 

The following four things are true of the person who is carnally minded:   

• One, they are in a state of total depravity; they cannot please God.
• Two, as long as they remain in that state, they will never be accepted in God’s sight. 
• Three, anyone in that state should turn from it and seek God without delay. 
• Four, if that person fails to change/chooses to continue in their ways, they will remain an enemy of God and will reap eternal death.

It all boils down to this:  Those under the control of their flesh/old man will never be justified in God’s sight.  Since the law has no power to kill or otherwise subdue our flesh/carnal nature, we are in need of something else – the grace and forgiveness of the gospel.  It is the only remedy for sin. 

In the next three versus, Paul will contrast the death brought about by our flesh/old man with the life-giving work of Holy Spirit.  Without the work of Holy Spirit, men would not have any desire or inclination to make peace with God and even if they did, they would have no way to do so.  Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus Christ.  Only through him can we obtain peace with God.

Romans 8:9 – You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

GENERAL SUMMARY:  The Christian is different than the unbeliever.  He or she has placed their faith in Christ Jesus and as a result, Holy Spirit/Spirit of God/Spirit of Christ lives within them.  You are not a child of God unless Holy Spirit lives within you.  He is the confirmation/guarantee of your salvation.

DIGGING DEEPER:  You however, are not in the flesh:  Notice that Paul does not say ‘the flesh is not in you’, but ‘you are not in the flesh.’  That’s because there is a big difference between the two.

Even in the case of the Christian, Paul cannot say ‘the flesh is not in you’.  The truth is that the flesh/old nature still resides within the Christian to a degree.  There is nothing we can do about that.  We will never be fully free of him until we literally die physically.

Rather, Paul truthfully says ‘you are not in the flesh’.  This is because Christ has broken the overwhelming power of the flesh/old man in the life of every believer.  We are no longer slaves to sin; it no longer tricks/misleads us, carries us away into evil, or governs our every thought/action.  Instead, believers are now in the Spirit.

But in the Spirit:  When we placed our faith in Christ Jesus, we received the gift of Holy Spirit.  We are illuminated, motivated and empowered by Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life, to be conformed to the image of Christ, and to do that which pleases God.  Our minds are set on the spirit/new man, who desires to live in righteousness and holiness.  Now we are children of God; we delight in obedience to all his commands.

If in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you:  In scripture, Holy Spirit is often represented as dwelling in the heart of Christians:

I Corinthians 3:16 – Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

Galatians 4:6 – And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

‘Dwelling in’ denotes an intimate connection and fellowship that brings us multiple benefits:

• A permanent residence.  This means that Holy Spirit never leaves us; he is our constant companion, guide and helper. 
• Continuous operation/activity.  This means that Holy Spirit is always at work in our lives.  At all times he leads us into truth, warns us of danger, assists us in prayer, quickens the word to our hearts, grows fruit within our lives, makes us bold witnesses for Christ and many other things.  
• Ruling power.  True faith in Christ is inevitably followed by the reigning influence of Christ’s Spirit within our hearts.  Holy Spirit makes our ongoing sanctification possible.  He produces in us the desire to live lives of purity and holiness, then he empowers us to do exactly that.   

Again, we cannot help but notice that the gospel does what the law could never do!

Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him:  The apostle’s message is very clear:  Those who do not have Holy Spirit dwelling in their hearts have no spiritual relationship with Christ.  Their sins have not been forgiven.  They are not justified in the sight of God and cannot expect to be admitted to heaven for eternity.  In our modern vernacular, we would say that unless Holy Spirit dwells in your heart, you are not saved. 

There are no exceptions.

Ephesians 4:30 - And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed unto the day of redemption.

How do we know if someone does or does not have the Spirit of Christ?

We will know by the way they live their lives.  Jesus tells us that a tree is know by its fruit:

Luke 6:43-46 – “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit.  For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.  The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouths speaks.”

When we were unbelievers (without Holy Spirit) our invisible spiritual state was revealed to the world by our sinful thoughts, words and actions.  In other words, we produced fruits of evil which were easily identified by others.   

Likewise, when we became Christians and Holy Spirit began to dwell in our hearts, our invisible spiritual state was revealed to the world by our pious thoughts, words and actions.  In other words, we produced fruits of righteousness, which were easily identified by others.  These fruits prove that Holy Spirit (Spirit of Christ) is dwelling within us.  

Romans 8:10 – But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

GENERAL SUMMARY:  Even though we are Christians, our mortal bodies are subject to death because of sin which entered the human race through Adam.  Therefore, we can say that our physical body is dead because of sin.

However, as Christians, we are spiritually alive right this moment.  This is not because we are perfect or sinless, but because of the newness of life produced in us through Christ and Holy Spirit. 

DIGGING DEEPER:  But if Christ is in you:   If Jesus dwells in your heart through his Spirit or simply stated, if you are a Christian.

Although the body is dead because of sin:  When Adam rebelled against God, he was corrupted by sin.  Sin allowed physical death to enter the world. 

Since Adam passed his corrupt nature to all his offspring, all people have sinned and all will experience physical death, regardless of whether they are Christians or unbelievers:   

Hebrews 9:27 – And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment…

(See also Genesis 3:19, Romans 5:12.)  In fact, at this very moment, even though we are alive our bodies are aging/actively dying right now.

The good news is that while death entered the world through sin, sin exits the world through death.  So what Satan meant for evil, God uses for good – our physical death frees our spirit/soul from our flesh and our old sinful nature.    

The Spirit is life:  Unlike the body, the spirit/soul of every person is immortal.  Therefore, the spirit/soul of every person is always alive. 

When a Christian is separated from their physical body at death, their spirit/soul (which has been sealed by Holy Spirit – Ephesians 4:30), travels to paradise where it lives with Christ until the time comes for all believers receive a new body.  This takes place during the rapture:  

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 - Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.   

At that time, God instantly (in the twinkling of an eye) changes our bodies to new bodies that do not die.  Our new bodies are not subject to death (or pain or sickness, etc.) because they are not corrupted with sin.  They are fit to serve us in the eternal kingdom of heaven, where we will be actively employed in service to God. 

Sadly, the person who does not embrace the gospel will continue in slavery to their flesh/old man which will eventually result in spiritual death after they physically die and are judged by God. 

Because of righteousness:  In this case, righteousness either refers to the gospel/plan of salvation or the imputed righteousness of Christ which he places in our spiritual account when we trust in him as our Savior and Redeemer. 

1 Corinthians 15:22 - For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

In either case, the point is that when we trust in Christ as Savior, we are justified or made righteous in the sight of God.  Our spirit/soul will live in the presence of God forever, because of this righteousness.

Romans 8:11 – 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.

GENERAL SUMMARY:  If you are a Christian, Holy Spirit lives in your heart.  If Holy Spirit lives within your heart, you will be resurrected from the dead by the Spirit, just as Jesus was.  Thus, all lingering power of death is removed from us.    

DIGGING DEEPER:  If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you:  As we will see in greater detail below, Paul acknowledges God the Father as the one who raised Christ from the dead.  His Spirit is the Holy Spirit.  So the question is, does Holy Spirit dwell within us?

For the believer, the answer is ‘yes’.  Scripture tells us that as Christians, our bodies are the temple of Holy Spirit:

I Corinthians 3:16 – Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

Because we are his temple, he lives within us.  You might think of it this way:  A house is a place you live in.  Since a temple is a spiritual house, we would expect Holy Spirit to live in a temple.  Because we are the temple of God, we can be assured that God’s Spirit (Holy Spirit) lives within us.     

He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead:  There is only one, true, living God (Yahweh), but he is a Trinity.  In the unity of the Godhead there are three coeternal and coequal persons.  They are the same in substance, yet they are three distinct Persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Scripture actually credits all three in the resurrection of Christ:

Acts 10:39-40 – …They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day…

John 10:18 – No one takes my [Jesus] life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.  I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.

I Peter 3:18 – For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit…

However, in this particular instance, Paul references God the Father as the one who raised Jesus from the dead, through the power and work of Holy Spirit.

Will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you:  After our mandatory death, God will raise our physical bodies from the dust of the earth and give them new life in the same way he resurrected Jesus – through the power and work of Holy Spirit.

Scripture tells us that Jesus was the first fruits of all who will be raised from the dead:

1 Corinthians 15:20-22 - But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Therefore, the resurrection of Christ is a promise or pledge that we (the faithful saints) will also be raised from the dead to eternal life.

Paul is very clear - those who have Holy Spirit living inside them can expect to be raised from the grave, just like Jesus was.  Christians are raised to life by virtue of our union with Christ and by our relationship to the Spirit as his temple. 

Our resurrection is both desirable and beneficial; we rise to an eternal state of joy, peace, fulfillment and happiness.  Such is not the case for the unbeliever.  The wicked are raised from the dead, but not with the saints.  They do not rise to life; they rise to face the judgment and a sentence of eternal damnation.

Let me offer you some encouragement, relief and strength:

In Romans chapter eight, Paul begins to show believers things the gospel does which the law cannot do.  First and foremost among them is to justify people in the sight of God. 

When you place your faith in Christ Jesus, he forgives your sin and sends Holy Spirit to dwell within your heart.  The power of the flesh/old man is broken in your life; you will experience peace with God.  

Holy Spirit will lead and guide you into a life of joy, discovery, satisfaction and personal growth.  In the end, he will raise you to life again, just as he did Jesus.  You will spend eternity in heaven with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

If you are ready to place your faith in Christ Jesus, simply say a prayer and ask him to be your Savior.  You don’t need any special terms; just speak to him from your heart.  If you are having trouble coming up with the words, you can use the prayer below.  

Dear Jesus,

I admit that I am a sinner who has broken your laws and lived in rebellion against you.  I do not want to continue this way.  Right now, I repent of my mistakes and sins.  I’m sorry I broke your laws.  I acknowledge that you are the Son of God.  I believe that you died on the cross and rose again on the third day.  I ask you to forgive me of my sins, cleanse me with your blood, and send Holy Spirit to live within my heart. 

If you prayed this prayer from your heart, you are a new creation in Christ Jesus; you have passed from death to life!  As a next step, you should find a bible believing church and begin attending.  You also need to be baptized in water.

Congratulations!  This is the beginning of your new life in Christ Jesus.  You will never be the same!