Book of Romans
Lesson # 17
By Rev. James May
Romans Chapter 7:24 – 8:8
Romans 7:24,25 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 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.
Paul’s final conclusion is that the war within his own mind, body and spirit, was a war that must be won, but that he alone is powerless to stop the battle or to win the victory. All men are trapped in this never ending struggle between the flesh and the spirit. Men have little hope of defeating the power of the flesh to drag them down and to compel them to desire the things of this world that satisfy the flesh. Within ourselves, we have no power to overcome.
But thank God, we can have the victory, through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ! Christ is us is our hope! Christ in us gives us the power to win over the flesh. Christ in us destroys the power of sin to condemn us. We are made holy and justified by his shed blood. And though this flesh may still cause me to sin, I have an Advocate with my Father in Heaven and I can go to him and receive forgiveness.
My mind is the battleground! If I remain focused in my thinking to think upon the eternal things of God and upon the power of the blood of Jesus, then my mind will be stayed upon him and I will have that “sound mind” that he promises. But if I focus on the things of this world, then my mind will become enslaved unto sin, confused and filled with every evil work.
It’s often been said, “To think it is to do it”! The Bible says that as a man thinks, he is. Let us therefore be very careful of what occupies our thought life. What do you focus on every day? Where you are looking is where you’re going! Are you looking toward God and things eternal?
With my mind I will choose to serve the Lord. Though this flesh may drag me down, with the power of my mind I bring this flesh under subjection and force myself to submit to God’s will. The more I exercise my will and force myself to think about Jesus, the stronger the Spirit of God within me will become.
I let the Holy Spirit lead me; the Word of God teach me; and the Lord live within me so that I may do his will. I choose not to sin; but if I do, then I also choose to repent and be forgiven. With my mind I serve the Lord; even though at times, in my flesh I still sin. I can’t seem to fully stop this process and I am often in trouble because of my own flesh. But Thank God that there is deliverance in the name of Jesus!
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
What is Paul saying here? If we walk in the Spirit, and don’t allow the flesh to prevail and cause us to sin, then there is no condemnation for there is no sin. If we are in Christ, then we are dead to sin, and there is no condemnation because sin has no power over us.
Because we live according to the Word of God, and because Jesus has paid the price for our sin, then the power of sin over us is broken. Faith in Jesus’ blood now makes us justified and righteous in the eyes of the Lord.
When the Father in Heaven looks down upon a born again Child of God, what does he see? Does he see a child that is covered in the dirt of this world? Does he see a son or daughter who carries sin in their hearts like a child would carry a little red wagon full of junk? NO! The Father sees only the righteousness and holiness of Jesus Christ, because the blood of Jesus forgives us and cleanses us from sin, and it is no more!
The law has the power to condemn, but no power to deliver. Jesus said, neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. “ The reason for the shed blood of Christ is not to condemn; but to give grace for the deliverance from sin. We are not under the law, because it is fulfilled in Jesus. He observed every part of the law, never once having been guilty of offending that law in disobedience, and because he was perfect, we are made perfect as well.
Now understand that this does not come by mere profession of being in Christ. There are many today who profess Christ, but they are still under the Law for they have not repented of their sinful lifestyles and Jesus is not the Lord of their lives. The outward appearance of the flesh may fool others around them, but God knows the heart. If the heart isn’t the dwelling place of Jesus, then they are still under the condemnation of the Law. Jesus must rule the heart before the justification will take place. Condemnation doesn’t leave when we observe a ceremonial law; in fact condemnation only gets worse because we can never measure up to the perfect law.
We cannot live in a manner that satisfies the desires of the flesh and forgets about God. If we do, then we are living in a manner that brings condemnation. No one else needs to condemn you; the Holy Spirit will convict you and then condemn you if there is no repentance. We cannot willfully sin and expect to not feel condemnation.
Now, let’s be clear! It is not the obedient walking of the man who is in Christ that does away with the condemnation for sin. He is still in a sinful body but now his life is one filled with grace, and it’s the grace of God that takes away condemnation. You don’t earn it; it’s a gift, given freely to all who will receive it. Walking in the Spirit means that you have chosen to follow Jesus, allowing him to be the Lord of all your life, and you have committed your heart to him in faith.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
These words can be difficult to understand.
What Paul is talking about here when he says, “Spirit of Life in Christ”, is the power of the gospel. The gospel declares our deliverance from the Law of Moses and we are no longer condemned by it; but we must understand that there is another “law” that we must live by.
This law does not require observance of rules and regulations, ceremonial activities and such. What it does is establish a set of doctrines (teachings from God’s Word), a specific order of behavior that is reflective of Christ in us, and the revelation of certain truths concerning what God expects of his own children.
It is no longer called the Law of Moses, but now we refer to it as the Law of the Spirit. This law of the Spirit shows us the way of life and salvation. While the old law could only condemn to death by revealing our sin and pronouncing judgment upon us; the Law of the Spirit is always leading us to a new life in Christ. Living under this new Law of the Spirit will always require us to have a holy nature and for God’s law to be written upon our hearts that we might not sin against him.
Romans 8:3 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:
The law could not pardon; the law could not sanctify; the law could not change its own requirements; it is the rule of righteousness, and therefore must condemn unrighteousness. This is its unalterable nature. Jesus’ incarnation, if the form of flesh, yet perfect and not corrupted by Adam’s sin, became the perfect sacrifice that would destroy the condemning power of the Law by paying the price that the Law demanded for sins of the flesh.
Romans 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Think about it! All of the requirements of the ceremonial law have now been fulfilled in you, if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior. And because of Jesus’ power in you, you are no longer bound to serve the flesh, but now have all the power you need to live by the Spirit in a manner that will be pleasing to Holy God!
Did the outward man change when you were born again? NO, not by much! In fact, you still looked the same, wanted the same things, and in many people, even acted much the same for a while. But something had changed; and that change came from the inside where you had been given a new heart and a renewed mind that could now discern in a much greater manner, the difference between what was acceptable to the Lord and what was not.
In a short time after your conversion, you could no longer enjoy the pleasures of sin because the life of God’s Spirit that dwelled in you served as a gyroscope, or a compass, to ever point you to the righteousness of Christ that is in you. The Holy Spirit within you kept bringing conviction for sin that you were doing in the flesh.
The flesh may have wanted to continue with using curse words, but the Spirit kept saying no, until you finally saw that desire and that habit leave.
The flesh wanted to continue to lust after the things of this world, but the Spirit kept saying, lay it all aside and count it as nothing, and keep your eyes on things eternal. Then, after a time you realize that all of the things that you once counted as important have become less important when compared to what God was offering in your life.
The flesh wanted to continue to rule over you, forcing you back to the same old habits that were ungodly, but in time, the Spirit of God within you helped you to put down the desires of the flesh and to strengthen your will to do God’s will.
How long does this process take? It all depends on how quick we are willing to listen to the voice of the Lord. This whole walk with Christ is a battle of the will! Will you hear and will you obey? Will you hear it and obey it the first time; or how many times must the Spirit speak to your heart and in your mind before you will finally hear his voice and submit to his will? For some people this growing in the faith happens very quickly, while for others it may take a lifetime. But as long as we are listening, and trying to walk in the will of God, then God will help us to be overcomers.
It’s only when we refuse to hear, refuse to obey, and absolutely refuse to do God’s will, still preferring to satisfy the desires of the flesh, that we find ourselves in a backslidden condition and going ever farther from God to the point where he no longer dwells in us.
Light and darkness cannot mix. You can’t serve two masters. There comes a time that every one of us has to make that choice for ourselves. Whom will you serve? You will serve either Satan or God! Make your choice wisely today, for there may be no tomorrow in this life, and your eternal destination will be based on the choices you make today! Wherever you spend eternity, it will be because of your own will! Will you serve Jesus, or will you serve the devil and the desires of the flesh? Only you can make that choice!
It is through the power of the blood that Jesus shed on Calvary that we have this ability now to put the flesh under submission to our will; and then to will that the life of the Spirit will be magnified in us. It is Christ in us that helps us to overcome the flesh.
Romans 8:5 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.
How can you know who is born again and who is not? Sometimes it’s hard to tell because we can only see the outward signs. We can’t really see into the heart of another person, although we can see the fruit that their lives are bearing and by that we can know, at least to some measure, the condition of their heart!
We are told not to judge one another, lest we be judged by the same judgment! Does that mean that I should never judge the way someone is acting? Does that mean that I have to just believe the best, only see the good and not the bad? Does that men that we can never say anything detrimental about the things that someone else does?
What about the one who abuses a child? Should we judge them as a child molester? Or what about the one who abuses their spouse? Should we judge them as abusers who deserve punishment? What about the murderer like those of the Boston Marathon bombers, or the Sandy Hook School shooters, or those who are beheading innocent people in the Middle East? What about such men as Adolph Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Joseph Staling, Mao Tse Tung, and a thousand others who have committed genocide on humanity? Should we not judge them as unfit to live and deserving of punishment?
That is not what the Bible teaches at all. After all, God gives us pretty clear instructions on how to handle a wayward brother or sister, even to the point that Paul in Corinthians says that when the wayward brother won’t listen and repent that we are disassociate ourselves with them; giving them over to devil to do his worst so that by some miracle of God, that soul can still be saved in the end. That sure sounds to me like we should be judging a few people around us.
The question is this, is judging people right or wrong? The answer depends upon why you are judging and what you are judging. I cannot judge their heart! I am not wise enough, nor godly enough to judge the heart of another man. But I do know the will of God for all men is to live righteously and holy before God and therefore I do have the ability, the knowledge and the God-given right to judge their actions in the flesh.
Those actions are a reflection of the condition of their heart, and that means that if I judge according to God’s Word, it’s not really me that is pronouncing judgment, it is the Word of God that is judging them and I’m only acting in agreement with God’s Law. That’s the Law whereby we shall all be judged! Some will be judged by the ceremonial law and the moral law of God. Christians will be judged by the Law of the Spirit in Christ, and by the moral law of God. If I judge righteously, then I expect to be judged righteously in the Day of Judgment. Therefore, I will be judged by the judgment that I use today.
It is not my place to condemn a soul to hell! It is not my place to judge the heart of another man. It is not my place to condemn anyone for I know not what the full circumstances of their life and their relationship with God is. But I do know that I must judge their actions; and those actions, whether good or bad, are always a result of their heart’s condition.
If someone is serving the Lord, even though there may be many weaknesses and many visible things in their lives that need to be repented of, we are not given the right to condemn them for those weaknesses. As long as there is some visible evidence of the Life of Christ in them and they are attempting to follow the Lord and obey His Word in any manner, then they are still in Christ and it’s the Lord’s business on the true condition of their heart. We are instructed by God’s Word to pray for those who are weaker, and to encourage and strengthen them, but never to judge them.
On the other hand, if there is no evidence of works of righteousness, which will always be evident if the Life of Christ is present; then it’s a pretty clear indicator that the heart is not right with God either.
Is that judging? I guess to a point it is, but more than anything else, it’s closer to being a “Fruit Inspector”. I cannot condemn the heart, but I can certainly judge the actions that come from the heart!
He that is of the Spirit will have at least some fruits of the Spirit and some works of righteousness that are very evident. He that is walking according to the flesh, will show works of unrighteousness and there will be no true fruits of the Spirit in operation. Most of the righteousness that those walk in the flesh appear to have are only works of self-righteousness and are really as dirty, filthy sin in God’s eyes.
Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Whether someone claims to be Christian or not, if they are focused on things of this earth more than things eternal, then they are carnally minded, and that leads to spiritual death. If we want the Eternal Life, and the Perfect Peace that we can all have, the only way to have it is to be Spiritually minded; caring more for the things of God than the things of this world.
Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
To be a friend of the world, is to be an enemy of God. There is no common ground between flesh and spirit. Flesh is corrupt, sinful and condemned to death. Spirit is holy, pure and eternally alive. The carnal mind is dead to the things of the Spirit. It is not controllable by the Law of God for it is dead to God’s Law and cannot be transformed. That’s why we must be born again, and why we will be given a new, glorified body before we can enter Heaven.
Romans 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Now you can see why living according to the desires of the flesh makes it impossible to be accepted by God. To live according to the flesh is to love the sin, ungodliness and corrupted things of this world, which cannot enter Heaven. Christ will not dwell where sin reigns. Therefore, to live by the flesh is to evict God from our hearts. God will not accept second place in your life. The only way to please God is to give him all of your heart, casting aside the things of the world as though they don’t matter. God will supply that which we need for life and sustenance, but we should never be so desirous of the things of this world that we abandon our duties in serving the Lord to get them.
There will be more of this discussion in the verses to come in this chapter, but for now let’s stop and allow ourselves time to think on what Paul has already said.
Remember that these words were written to people who were already saints of God in Rome. Don’t think this is written to sinners, but it is written to Born Again Christians who are facing many of the issues that you and I face every day.
Paul is saying to us that we should guard our thinking, guard our hearts and be ever certain that we are focused on things eternal, on the righteous things of God, and never on the corrupt things of the world around us.
