After Mary and I got married, I had enough credits so that I could finish up my degree at the University of Arizona in just one semester – that is as long as I could complete 21 units of classwork. Since I was also working three different part-time jobs at the time, I knew that was going to be difficult so I found a couple of elective classes that I knew wouldn’t require too much time and effort. One of them, a class called “Techniques of Interview”, required only that I show up for class every time in order to get a “C” in the class, and that’s exactly what I did, since all I needed in that class was a passing grade in order to graduate.
The other one was an environmental education class, which Mary was able to take at the same time for graduate credit. That also turned out to be a good choice, because basically the students taught the class and as long as we attended every class session and made our presentation when it was our turn, we got to give ourselves our own grade. So I got an A in that class.
Lest you think that my whole semester was that easy, however, I did have a number of really difficult business and accounting classes that semester that required much more of my time, effort and study. And I had to do that without the use of computers or access to the internet. Instead, we had to use these things called typewriters and actually go to the library and use the card catalogue in order to do research,
The different approach that I took toward the classes that were part of my major versus that I had took my elective classes reminds me a lot of how some people view the Christian life. It is rather common to conclude that there are two different tracks for a Christian.
There is the track for those who are really serious about their Christianity and they sign up for the discipleship track. These are the people who are “all in” for Jesus and they give up everything to follow Him. They yield control of every area of their lives to Jesus, including their finances and their schedules. They constantly look for ways to serve Jesus in the church and in the community and they share their faith with others regularly. They are even willing to suffer hardship and sacrifice if necessary.
Then there is the cultural Christian track for more “ordinary” believers. Those who choose this track may pray a prayer and accept Jesus as their Savior just to make sure that they go to heaven, but they want to remain free to pursue their own dreams for success and personal fulfillment as long as they live here on earth. They occasionally drop something in the offering plate to “pay their dues” and once in a while they join a Bible study or volunteer at church when it doesn’t interfere with everything else on their schedule. They aren’t too serious about living a holy life, because that is, after all, for the fanatics on the discipleship track. Besides, they say, we’re all human and God understands our weaknesses and He will be gracious to forgive us. So there is really no reason to be “all in” for Jesus.
So the question I want each one of us to ask this morning is this:
Am I “all in” for Jesus?
I’m not going to ask you to raise your hand or answer that question out loud. But this morning I want all of us to seriously consider that question and answer it honestly. Because, as Paul is going to show us, the answer to that question will determine whether you are, in fact, a disciple of Jesus at all.
This morning, we’ll continue our study of Romans chapter 8. Last week, we looked at the first four verses in that chapter where we learned that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Although I’m going to focus on verses 5-11 this morning, I’m actually going to begin reading in verse 4 because it is the crucial introduction into the section we’ll study together this morning.
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 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. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 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. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 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. (Romans 8:4-11 ESV)
I’m going to begin by giving you the main idea contained in this passage up front and then we’ll work our way through the passage to show why it is true that…
If I am not “all in” for Jesus then Jesus is not in me at all
Before we begin to look at this passage in detail, let me first make a few general observations about this passage. As you can see on the screen, in studying this passage this week I actually used colors, underlining and bolding to help me identify these features.
1. As I mentioned last week, there is not even one command in all of chapter 8. Paul is making statements about things that are true, not giving us instructions about something that we must do.
2. Connecting words are absolutely crucial in this passage:
? The word “for” is used 4 times in this passage. It is a term of explanation that shows the reason that something is true. It is almost the equivalent of “because”. As we’ll see in a moment, Paul strings these together to take us through a step-by-step explanation of the necessity to be “all in” for Jesus.
? The word “but” is actually used 6 times in this passage – 4 times it is translated “but”, one time it is translated “however” and one time, at the beginning of verse 11, it is not included in the ESV translation because the translators considered it to be redundant. That Greek conjunction shows contrast and there is little doubt that the purpose of this passage is to draw a sharp contrast between two different ways of life. We’ll discuss those two paths in more detail in a moment.
3. Finally, I want you to note the word “if”. The three times it is used in this passage it is what is known as a first class condition, which simply means that what follows is assumed to be true. It essentially carries the same idea as if the word “since” was used.
If we’re going to understand what Paul is trying to teach here, we need to work through this passage backwards through all the “fors” and “buts” in order to get back to the foundation for each of the two ways of life that Paul describes here. And that takes us back to those three “ifs” – one in verse 9, one in verse 10 and one in verse 11:
? if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you (v. 9)
? if Christ is in you (v. 10)
? If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (v. 11)
Remember that the “you” Paul addresses in each of these three verses are believers, primarily Jewish believers, in the churches in Rome. And since, as we have already discussed, the word “if” in each of these three verses could be translated “since”, what Paul is saying here is that these three things are true of believers. Verses 9 and 11 focus on the fact that the Holy Spirit dwells in them and verse 10 on the fact that Christ is in them. So right off the bat we see that there is a connection between having the Holy Spirit dwell in our lives and having Jesus in our lives. So we’ll explore that connection a little deeper.
The other thing that these verses imply is that those who are not believers do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in their lives. And that contrast becomes the starting point for the comparison of the two contrasting lifestyles that Paul is going to address here in this section.
Let’s begin with the person who does have the Holy Spirit dwelling in his or her life. We’ll start there and then work our way backwards through this passage to understand what the indwelling Holy Spirit produces in the life of that person.
If I have the Holy Spirit dwelling in my life (vv. 9-11)
? That is evidence that I belong to Jesus (v. 10)
That’s the connection I just talked about a moment ago. Paul draws a parallel here between having the Holy Spirit dwell in me and having Christ in me. The point here is that it is not possible to have a relationship with Jesus without also having the Holy Spirit dwell in me and it is impossible for the Holy Spirit to dwell in me apart from a relationship with Jesus. Neither can exist in isolation.
Paul confirms here the idea that we see elsewhere in Scripture. The very moment that I go “all in” for Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence on my life. That is the idea that is conveyed by the verb “dwell”. At that moment, I get all of the Holy Spirit. While I can hinder His work in my life, I don’t have to do anything to get Him to come into my life in the first place and there is nothing I can do to get more of Him in my life.
? If I belong to Jesus, I am “in the Spirit” (v. 9)/ I “live according to the Spirit” (v. 5)
Those two phrases are just two different ways of saying the same thing. In fact, the verb “live” isn’t actually found in the underlying Greek in verse 5. Literally that verse reads something more like “those according to the Spirit”. The idea there is that these are those people who live habitually under the control of the Holy Spirit, which is the same as being “in the Spirit”.
? If I am “in the Spirit”/ “live according to the Spirit”, then I will set my mind on the things of the Spirit (v. 5)
The verb “set one’s mind” refers not just to intellectual activity, but also to the direction and purpose of the heart. So to set one’s mind on the things of the Spirit means to relate all of life to God and to His Word which was breathed out by the Holy Spirit.
It is absolutely crucial here to understand what is the cause and what is the effect. There are times in his other letters where Paul does give commands to believers to “set their minds” on the things of God:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 2:5 ESV)
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:2 ESV)
But as we have emphasized, here in Romans 8, Paul is giving us statements of fact, not commands. So the point Paul is making here - and this is crucial – is that those who are “in the Spirit” as a result of the Holy Spirit dwelling in their lives, will in fact, set their minds on the things of the Sprit. It is the fact that the Holy Spirit dwells in us that causes us to set our mind on the things of the Spirit. It is not setting our minds on the things of the Spirit that causes us to be “in the Spirit” or to have the Holy Spirit dwell in us.
o That brings life and peace both now (v. 6) and in the future (v. 11)
In verse 6, we learn that to set the mind on the things of the Spirit is – present tense – life and peace. The only way that I can experience the abundant life that God has made available to me through Jesus and to be at peace with Him is to set my mind on the things of the Sprit.
I wish we had more time to cover verse 11, because this is such an encouraging verse. But about all we have time to note for now is that in the future, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee that I will one day, just like Jesus, get a new resurrection body in which I will live for eternity in the presence of Jesus and completely free from the presence of sin.
? If I set my mind on the things of the Spirit, then I will “walk” in the Spirit (v. 4)
We touched on this idea briefly last week when we commented that to walk conveys the idea of constant progress. Certainly in this life none of us will ever walk perfectly in the Spirit. But as we submit our lives to the Holy Spirit, we will be able to do that more and more consistently. ? If I walk in the Spirit, then I will fulfill the righteous requirement of the law (v. 4)
What we’ve learned this week certainly supports the conclusion we came to last week about this verse. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit enables and empowers the process of sanctification where I become more and more like Jesus and fulfill the righteous requirements of the law through the way that I live my life, albeit far from perfectly.
So far, we’ve described what it looks like if we’re “all in” for Jesus. And that doesn’t look anything like the “cultural Christian track” that I described at the beginning of my message, does it? It’s not the kind of life where I just try to get by with a “C” so that I can graduate. That is just not possible when it comes to my relationship with Jesus because the only other alternative to being “all in” for Jesus is to be without him at all. That is the contrasting picture that Paul paints in the remainder of this passage.
Conversely, if the Holy Spirit does not dwell in my life:
? I do not belong to Jesus (v. 9)
No comment is really needed here other than to just be reminded what Paul wrote in verse 9:
Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
There are only two options – either the Holy Spirit dwells in my life and I belong to Jesus or the Holy Spirit does not dwell in my life and I do not belong to Jesus. There is no other option.
? I am “in the flesh” (v. 9)/ I “live according to the flesh (v. 5)
Again these two phrases are describing the same thing. If I am not “in Christ”, then the only other option is that I’m “in the flesh”. I’m either all in for Jesus or He is not in me at all.
? If I am in the flesh, then I will set my mind on the things of the flesh (v. 5)
If I am “in the flesh” then my mind will be set on the things of the flesh. I will think of temporal things and focus on how I can satisfy my fleshly desires in the way that I want to. Paul emphasizes that idea when he writes that if I set my mind on the things of the flesh…
o I will be hostile to God (v. 7)
This sounds a bit harsh doesn’t it? After all we probably all know some unbelievers that we really wouldn’t consider to be hostile to God. But the Bible draws a sharp contrast both here and elsewhere. Either you love God because he has saved you from your sins or you hate God because you don’t want Him to rule over your life.
It’s even possible to be “religious” and still be hostile to God by creating a religion of your own making in which you pick and choose a God of your own preferences that you use for your own selfish purposes. That’s why when I hear someone, even someone who claims to be a Christian, says something like “the God I know is…” and then proceeds to focus on one attribute of God to the exclusion of others, my spiritual antennae immediately go up.
But we shouldn’t be surprised at the fact that if I’m not “all in” for Jesus, I will be hostile to God because…
o I will not submit to God’s law because I am unable to do so (v. 7)
Paul gives a great explanation of why this is true in another of his letters:
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV)
Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I am just not capable of accepting, understanding, discerning or doing the things of God.
o That brings death both now and in the future (v. 6)
In verse 6, Paul writes that the mind set on the flesh is – present tense – death. That is certainly consistent with what Paul writes in Ephesians 2 where he describes that apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, every person is “dead in trespasses and sins.”
As bad as that is, what is really scary is that if I continue in that state until I die physically. I will continue in that terrible state of separation from God for eternity under the penalty of His just wrath.
? If I set my mind on the things of the flesh, I will “walk” in the flesh (v. 4)
In other words, my conduct will reveal what I am setting my mind on. If my focus is on satisfying my own fleshly desires, then my actions are going to reflect that mindset.
? If I walk in the flesh, then I will not fulfill the righteous requirements of the law.
If I walk in the flesh, then no matter how hard I might try, it is just not possible to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law.
I hope you can see now, why I said earlier that…
If I am not “all in” for Jesus then Jesus is not in me at all
Throughout his letter, Paul has consistently taught that salvation in not a matter of what I can do for God, but rather a matter of God the Holy Spirit imparting new life into me while I was dead in my sins and coming to dwell permanently in me. And, as the words of Jesus to Nicodemus remind us, even though we can’t see the Holy Spirit, we can observe the results of His presence in our lives:
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7-8 ESV)
The new life imparted by the Holy Spirit always manifests itself in what we set our minds on and ultimately in the way that we live our lives. That is not to say that genuine disciples of Jesus can’t fall into sin, sometimes even into gross sin. But it does mean that they can never remain complacently in that sin.
So let me ask you to once again answer the question that I posed earlier:
Am I “all in” for Jesus?
As I said earlier that might very well be the most important question in my life because the answer will determine whether or not I am a genuine disciple of Jesus.
Let me be very clear, my purpose in getting you to honestly answer that question is not to have you needlessly question or doubt your salvation. There is not one person here this morning who could say that the he or she is 100% all in for Jesus 100% of the time. So I’m not suggesting in any way that if you don’t do that perfectly that you’re not a genuine disciple of Jesus.
But on the other hand, because I love you and want what is best for you, I don’t want anyone leaving here this morning deceived into thinking that you’re a Christian just because you prayed a prayer, or walked down an aisle, or raised your hand.
The only way you can know for sure that you belong to Jesus is to know that the Holy Spirit dwells in you. And how can you know that? You can’t, as some people claim, feel it. You don’t get tingly all over when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your life. His presence in your life is not evidenced, as some people claim, by speaking in tongues.
The only way we can know for sure that the Holy Spirit dwells in us is to evaluate what we think about and how we live our lives. If the Holy Spirit dwells in me, then my mind will be set on the things of the Spirit. I will consistently relate every area of my life to God and His Word. So I will treasure the Bible and spend as much time as I possibly can there, not out of a sense of duty, but because I want my mind to be full of the things of the Spirit.
And then that mindset will overflow into the way that I live my life. Again, that doesn’t mean that I will ever do it perfectly here on earth, but my conduct will give testimony to the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I always tell people that one of the best ways to evaluate that is to look at your checkbook and your calendar because how you spend your money and your time will give you a pretty good indication of what really matters to you.
I can’t help but think of how different the church and the world would be if we had a lot more people who were “all in” for Jesus. Imagine what would happen if we lived daily in the reality of the truth that I am not my own because I belong to Jesus. ? What if I lived like my tongue is not my own to use to tear down others, but rather I lived like it belongs to Jesus and I must use it to glorify Him? ? What if I determined that my eyes are not my own to look lustfully at someone else, but that they belong to Jesus so I must use them to glory Him? ? What if I decided that my money was not my own to merely use to satisfy my fleshly desires, but rather that it belonged to Jesus and that I need to use it to honor Him and further His purposes rather than my own? ? What if I lived as if my time was not my own to squander on meaningless pursuits, but rather than it belongs to Jesus and I need to use it to serve and glorify Him?
If I am not “all in” for Jesus then Jesus is not in me at all
Are you “all in” for Jesus?
Discussion Questions (For next week’s roundtable)
1. One popular evangelism training program teaches that people can be “assured” of their salvation by reading a few Bible verses. What do you think Paul would say about that?
2. How do you reconcile Romans 8, where Paul states the fact that those who are “in Jesus” have their minds set on the things of the Spirit with his commands in his other letters the exhort believers to set their minds on the things of God? 3. What implications does this passage have for our evangelism? Especially consider these ideas: ? A lost person is “dead”, not merely sick ? A lost person is hostile to God ? The role of the Holy Spirit in the process of justification and sanctification
4. Someone says, “If unbelievers cannot repent and believe without the intervention of the Holy Spirit, it’s not fair of God to demand that they do.” Your response?
