Post by arete on Feb 9, 2015 21:18:51 GMT
Introduction:
The Flesh! What is meant by “the flesh”? One pastor wrote that he detected ten uses of the word in the Bible. In 9 of the 10, there is no ethical or theological content. But the tenth, which is the one Paul mainly employs, does have such significance. The flesh may be defined as “man’s fallen nature as under the power of sin.” It is the evil principle in man’s nature, the traitor within who is in league with the attackers without. The flesh provides the tinder on which the devil’s temptations can kindle…. The text this morning speaks directly to the flesh and sin & condemnation. Paul will speak directly to the fact that while we still sin, we are no longer condemned. He will also speak to the realities of living a fleshly life & a spiritual life. With that in mind, let’s turn to Romans 8:1-8…
Context:
Recently in Romans, Paul has taught that sin uses the opportunity of the Law to stir more sin & rebellion. The Law in its part clearly exposes sin even as sin plumbs the depths of depravity. The good news is that the Law is not what saves us – Jesus alone does that – but the Law reveals both God’s standards and our inability to meet them. The Law shows our great need for the Savior. Yet, upon salvation we find that we are still trapped in a body of sin and death. The anguish that sin causes us could quickly lead to despair or hopelessness, but Paul reminded us that we should praise & thank God for saving us. This morning in Romans we will hear his declaration of hope, but also receive a sobering reminder of the difference between life in the flesh and life in the Spirit…
Body – Romans 8:1-8 – ESV – Life in the Spirit
8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 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. 5 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. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 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. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Free in Christ vv. 1-2
Paul is moving from how hard it is to deal with sin in our lives from the previous chapter to our great hope. Even though we know that we continue to struggle with sin even after our salvation – we need the declaration we find here – that is why Paul marks this as a “therefore”
What is the declaration? Those who are saved in Christ alone are not condemned before God. Right now, even though we may be disheartened by a particular struggle with sin or temptation, we have great hope in Jesus.
This great hope is that while we were under a death sentence – since the wages of sin is death – God has done more than not declare us guilty – he has in fact set us free
The freedom Paul talks about here is the freedom found when one is set free from domination. Before Christ we were slaves to sin and could only sin.
But the Spirit did his work in us by convicting our hearts of sin – and when we rightly understood the penalty of sin, he did his work in regenerating us – that is he took those who were dead in sin and made them alive in Christ. When he saved us, at that moment, we possessed eternal life.
Illustration: Whitefield’s Recommendation:
In 1752 Whitefield wrote to Benjamin Franklin: “As I find you growing more and more famous in the world of letters I recommend to your unprejudiced study the mystery of the New Birth. It is a most important study and if mastered will abundantly repay you. I bid you, dear friend, remember that He before whose bar we must both soon appear has solemnly declared that without it we shall in no wise see His Kingdom.”
Application:
All will stand before God as their Judge. Unlike earthly judges, he cannot be misled and he knows every aspect concerning the trial at hand. This is a teaching that can begin to pale in our lives. That while we must have our day in court, our judgment has already been pronounced. At the moment we were saved, we were intensely aware of the sense of freedom we had – we were set free from the penalty of sin – death! Over time, believers tend to lose the awe and wonder of the salvation experience. Yet, we cannot afford to lose it. We need that awe and wonder – we need to remember who we were in ourselves and now who we are in Christ. We need to remember the taste of sweet freedom. We really need to feel it when oppressed by the continued presence of sin. Yes, we need to truly repent – but part of that process is becoming free – not in the sense that we are re-saved, but that while sin created barriers between us and our God – we become free before him again – and we remember the sweetness that we are not condemned.
Fulfillment of Christ vv. 3-4
Since the Law alone would require our just condemnation. Since our weak flesh pursued sin to spite the Law. We needed something outside of ourselves to help us – to save us.
God took the required steps to both save us and condemn sin.
It was necessary that the penalty of sin be paid. But if it had been paid by someone who had their own debt – well, they wouldn’t have been able to save themselves let alone anyone else. The debt of sin means that any sin, no matter how small in man’s eyes is pure evil and rebellion before God and requires death – spiritual death & separation from the holy God.
So, God provided one who could die for others because he had no sin. God sent us Jesus. Jesus bore the likeness of sinful flesh – in that he did indeed have a human body, but he was completely without sin. He fulfilled all parts of the Law because he could and we couldn’t. Also the sense here is that the fulfillment was according to the promise of God – he had designed the fulfillment and brought it to pass
So the righteousness of Christ is sufficient to pay the sin debt of humans. This means that the righteous requirement of the Law is fully met – even though someone else pays our debt, the Law is still upheld and obeyed
This means that we who belong to Christ may be flesh and still walk according to the Spirit. This means that when we crossed from spiritual death to spiritual life we were no longer slaves to sin, but are now slaves to Christ who are now able to do right and live right
Illustration:
One man wrote…The flesh is a built-in law of failure, making it impossible for the natural man to please or serve God. It is a compulsive inner force inherited from man’s fall, which expresses itself in general and specific rebellion against God and His righteousness. The flesh can never be reformed or improved. The only hope for escape from the law of the flesh is its total execution and replacement by a new life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Application:
First, we need to understand that apart from Christ, no one can be saved and even more, no one can do good. This is important because some Christians act surprised when unbelievers act sinful and base. Keep in mind that unbelievers are dominated by sin – they are dead in it and enslaved to it. Second – apart from Christ we are no better. Sometimes we are worse. When a dead man acts like a dead man that’s normal. When a Christian acts like an unbeliever, we have a serious problem. Too often churches, ministries, Christian individuals permit believers to act like dead men. This is not to be allowed. That is when we must encircle such folks and help them heal. And if they refuse to heal then we follow the Bible and take further steps of discipline. But above these other things – again we need to tap into the absolute joy of knowing that God has done what only God can do – he saved us. He paid our debt. He brought us to new life. He will spend our lives making us more like our Jesus and one day he will bring us home. Rejoice!
Fleshly Life vv. 5-8
This marks a move to a stark contrast to the previous verses. This is a necessary contrast.
First, what does Paul mean when he talks about the flesh? We all know that our bodies are made of flesh. But Paul is talking about more than meat. He’s talking about all parts of the body constituting a totality which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likewise present, and no good thing can live in the flesh
Paul tells us that when people live according to this flesh, they are taking sides with it. Their mind is involved – they are responsible before God for allying themselves with sin
Paul also tells us that something similar is true about the Spirit. When we live according to the Spirit, we should ally ourselves with spiritual things. That should be obvious, but often isn’t. Too many people think it acceptable to box off their spiritual life for Sundays alone, but never engage the rest of their lives by walking according to the Spirit
Paul then reminds us that there are consequences for how we live. Life in the flesh leads to death. Sin is always destructive. Life in the Spirit leads both to life and peace. God’s peace is not like man’s peace where it is only an absence of conflict – but the peace of God is resting secure in him no matter what else is happening around us
This whole matter of flesh versus spirit is serious business. Those who walk in the flesh are not just indifferent toward God. Such a life is hostile – that means to live in the flesh is to intentionally set oneself up as an entrenched enemy – to intentionally be at war with God
This hostility has at its root rebellion to God – a refusal to submit to God. But it goes even deeper – those in the flesh simply cannot please God. They are unable. As slaves to sin they cannot have two masters. The intensity of this “cannot” is set in opposition to the removal of condemnation at the start. Just as certain as God has saved us from condemnation – there is an absolute certainty that the lost cannot submit and are truly rebels
This is important to remember – Paul essentially says the same thing twice for us to read. In case we had any doubt – the lost, unbelievers, cannot please God no matter how good their lives or any particular choice may seem to us.
Illustration:
What is carnality? According to one dictionary, it means to have the nature and characteristics of the flesh (or more simply, it means “fleshly”). What, then , is the flesh? Sometimes it refers to the whole material part of man (1 Corinthians 15:39; Hebrews 5:7), and based on this meaning, carnal sometimes relates to material things like money (Romans 15:27) or to the opposite of our weapons of spiritual warfare (2 Corinthians 10:4). But the word flesh also has a metaphorical sense when it refers to our disposition to sin and to oppose or omit God in our lives. The flesh is characterized by works that include lusts and passions (Galatians 5:19-24; I John 2:16); it can enslave (Romans 7:25); and in it is nothing good (Romans 7:18). Based on this meaning of the word flesh, to be carnal means to be characterized by things that belong to the unsaved life (Ephesians 2:3).
Application:
There is nothing outside the purview of spiritual life. Every part of our life should be according to the Spirit and with our minds fully set on spiritual things. Our walk in the Spirit should affect our homes, our work, our school, our leisure…everything. If there is a part of your life you are holding out on – it’s a sin and it’s well past time to repent. Also, there needs to be a time when dealing with those who call themselves Christians, but live as hostile to God. There is such a thing as false conversions and false faiths – where people are not born again, but claim to be. We need to be aware of such, not to be their enemies, but to point them to the Christ they claim to serve. While there is life there is hope that they will leave the enemy camp and be saved by Jesus Christ.
So What Now?
Let’s work backwards…
There are only two true positions about God. Men either belong to him as his children or they stand against him as rebels & enemies.
Hostility toward God does not mean that such a person is beyond God’s ability to save. Those who are hostile to God often lash out at us – let’s remember God saves rebels and those who were his enemies he can make his children – their enmity should be repaid by us with love
Such hostility against God is the mark of the lost, not the saved. Those who call themselves Christians or religious yet remain unsubmissive to God are to be seen as the lost
However, we should be aware that there are false sheep. Some claim to believe, to be Christian, to be religious that remain in rebellion to God’s revelation of himself and never accept his Son as Savior. We should remember that there is such a thing as discipline – God will discipline his own – that discipline sometimes comes through his church. The church should not allow unchristian behavior from those who call themselves by Christ’s name. It’s time for the church to stop making excuses for carnality.
Also, let us not keep our Christian walk in a box to be pulled out only for Church and special occasions. It is sinful to not have our beliefs affect our work, our vote, our parenting, or any other area of life. It is time to repent of such things and bring all parts of our lives into submission
Finally – it’s time to act joyful. We have so many reasons to overflow with joy. God is at work in our lives right now. He did not stop working when he saved us – but that is a prime reason to be thankful and rejoice. When is that last time we thanked him for saving us? When is the last time that the joy of our salvation really impacted us? When is the last time our joy affected the people around us? Take time now to offer a prayer of thanksgiving to your God.
Benediction
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Jude 1:24,25
The Flesh! What is meant by “the flesh”? One pastor wrote that he detected ten uses of the word in the Bible. In 9 of the 10, there is no ethical or theological content. But the tenth, which is the one Paul mainly employs, does have such significance. The flesh may be defined as “man’s fallen nature as under the power of sin.” It is the evil principle in man’s nature, the traitor within who is in league with the attackers without. The flesh provides the tinder on which the devil’s temptations can kindle…. The text this morning speaks directly to the flesh and sin & condemnation. Paul will speak directly to the fact that while we still sin, we are no longer condemned. He will also speak to the realities of living a fleshly life & a spiritual life. With that in mind, let’s turn to Romans 8:1-8…
Context:
Recently in Romans, Paul has taught that sin uses the opportunity of the Law to stir more sin & rebellion. The Law in its part clearly exposes sin even as sin plumbs the depths of depravity. The good news is that the Law is not what saves us – Jesus alone does that – but the Law reveals both God’s standards and our inability to meet them. The Law shows our great need for the Savior. Yet, upon salvation we find that we are still trapped in a body of sin and death. The anguish that sin causes us could quickly lead to despair or hopelessness, but Paul reminded us that we should praise & thank God for saving us. This morning in Romans we will hear his declaration of hope, but also receive a sobering reminder of the difference between life in the flesh and life in the Spirit…
Body – Romans 8:1-8 – ESV – Life in the Spirit
8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 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. 5 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. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 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. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Free in Christ vv. 1-2
Paul is moving from how hard it is to deal with sin in our lives from the previous chapter to our great hope. Even though we know that we continue to struggle with sin even after our salvation – we need the declaration we find here – that is why Paul marks this as a “therefore”
What is the declaration? Those who are saved in Christ alone are not condemned before God. Right now, even though we may be disheartened by a particular struggle with sin or temptation, we have great hope in Jesus.
This great hope is that while we were under a death sentence – since the wages of sin is death – God has done more than not declare us guilty – he has in fact set us free
The freedom Paul talks about here is the freedom found when one is set free from domination. Before Christ we were slaves to sin and could only sin.
But the Spirit did his work in us by convicting our hearts of sin – and when we rightly understood the penalty of sin, he did his work in regenerating us – that is he took those who were dead in sin and made them alive in Christ. When he saved us, at that moment, we possessed eternal life.
Illustration: Whitefield’s Recommendation:
In 1752 Whitefield wrote to Benjamin Franklin: “As I find you growing more and more famous in the world of letters I recommend to your unprejudiced study the mystery of the New Birth. It is a most important study and if mastered will abundantly repay you. I bid you, dear friend, remember that He before whose bar we must both soon appear has solemnly declared that without it we shall in no wise see His Kingdom.”
Application:
All will stand before God as their Judge. Unlike earthly judges, he cannot be misled and he knows every aspect concerning the trial at hand. This is a teaching that can begin to pale in our lives. That while we must have our day in court, our judgment has already been pronounced. At the moment we were saved, we were intensely aware of the sense of freedom we had – we were set free from the penalty of sin – death! Over time, believers tend to lose the awe and wonder of the salvation experience. Yet, we cannot afford to lose it. We need that awe and wonder – we need to remember who we were in ourselves and now who we are in Christ. We need to remember the taste of sweet freedom. We really need to feel it when oppressed by the continued presence of sin. Yes, we need to truly repent – but part of that process is becoming free – not in the sense that we are re-saved, but that while sin created barriers between us and our God – we become free before him again – and we remember the sweetness that we are not condemned.
Fulfillment of Christ vv. 3-4
Since the Law alone would require our just condemnation. Since our weak flesh pursued sin to spite the Law. We needed something outside of ourselves to help us – to save us.
God took the required steps to both save us and condemn sin.
It was necessary that the penalty of sin be paid. But if it had been paid by someone who had their own debt – well, they wouldn’t have been able to save themselves let alone anyone else. The debt of sin means that any sin, no matter how small in man’s eyes is pure evil and rebellion before God and requires death – spiritual death & separation from the holy God.
So, God provided one who could die for others because he had no sin. God sent us Jesus. Jesus bore the likeness of sinful flesh – in that he did indeed have a human body, but he was completely without sin. He fulfilled all parts of the Law because he could and we couldn’t. Also the sense here is that the fulfillment was according to the promise of God – he had designed the fulfillment and brought it to pass
So the righteousness of Christ is sufficient to pay the sin debt of humans. This means that the righteous requirement of the Law is fully met – even though someone else pays our debt, the Law is still upheld and obeyed
This means that we who belong to Christ may be flesh and still walk according to the Spirit. This means that when we crossed from spiritual death to spiritual life we were no longer slaves to sin, but are now slaves to Christ who are now able to do right and live right
Illustration:
One man wrote…The flesh is a built-in law of failure, making it impossible for the natural man to please or serve God. It is a compulsive inner force inherited from man’s fall, which expresses itself in general and specific rebellion against God and His righteousness. The flesh can never be reformed or improved. The only hope for escape from the law of the flesh is its total execution and replacement by a new life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Application:
First, we need to understand that apart from Christ, no one can be saved and even more, no one can do good. This is important because some Christians act surprised when unbelievers act sinful and base. Keep in mind that unbelievers are dominated by sin – they are dead in it and enslaved to it. Second – apart from Christ we are no better. Sometimes we are worse. When a dead man acts like a dead man that’s normal. When a Christian acts like an unbeliever, we have a serious problem. Too often churches, ministries, Christian individuals permit believers to act like dead men. This is not to be allowed. That is when we must encircle such folks and help them heal. And if they refuse to heal then we follow the Bible and take further steps of discipline. But above these other things – again we need to tap into the absolute joy of knowing that God has done what only God can do – he saved us. He paid our debt. He brought us to new life. He will spend our lives making us more like our Jesus and one day he will bring us home. Rejoice!
Fleshly Life vv. 5-8
This marks a move to a stark contrast to the previous verses. This is a necessary contrast.
First, what does Paul mean when he talks about the flesh? We all know that our bodies are made of flesh. But Paul is talking about more than meat. He’s talking about all parts of the body constituting a totality which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likewise present, and no good thing can live in the flesh
Paul tells us that when people live according to this flesh, they are taking sides with it. Their mind is involved – they are responsible before God for allying themselves with sin
Paul also tells us that something similar is true about the Spirit. When we live according to the Spirit, we should ally ourselves with spiritual things. That should be obvious, but often isn’t. Too many people think it acceptable to box off their spiritual life for Sundays alone, but never engage the rest of their lives by walking according to the Spirit
Paul then reminds us that there are consequences for how we live. Life in the flesh leads to death. Sin is always destructive. Life in the Spirit leads both to life and peace. God’s peace is not like man’s peace where it is only an absence of conflict – but the peace of God is resting secure in him no matter what else is happening around us
This whole matter of flesh versus spirit is serious business. Those who walk in the flesh are not just indifferent toward God. Such a life is hostile – that means to live in the flesh is to intentionally set oneself up as an entrenched enemy – to intentionally be at war with God
This hostility has at its root rebellion to God – a refusal to submit to God. But it goes even deeper – those in the flesh simply cannot please God. They are unable. As slaves to sin they cannot have two masters. The intensity of this “cannot” is set in opposition to the removal of condemnation at the start. Just as certain as God has saved us from condemnation – there is an absolute certainty that the lost cannot submit and are truly rebels
This is important to remember – Paul essentially says the same thing twice for us to read. In case we had any doubt – the lost, unbelievers, cannot please God no matter how good their lives or any particular choice may seem to us.
Illustration:
What is carnality? According to one dictionary, it means to have the nature and characteristics of the flesh (or more simply, it means “fleshly”). What, then , is the flesh? Sometimes it refers to the whole material part of man (1 Corinthians 15:39; Hebrews 5:7), and based on this meaning, carnal sometimes relates to material things like money (Romans 15:27) or to the opposite of our weapons of spiritual warfare (2 Corinthians 10:4). But the word flesh also has a metaphorical sense when it refers to our disposition to sin and to oppose or omit God in our lives. The flesh is characterized by works that include lusts and passions (Galatians 5:19-24; I John 2:16); it can enslave (Romans 7:25); and in it is nothing good (Romans 7:18). Based on this meaning of the word flesh, to be carnal means to be characterized by things that belong to the unsaved life (Ephesians 2:3).
Application:
There is nothing outside the purview of spiritual life. Every part of our life should be according to the Spirit and with our minds fully set on spiritual things. Our walk in the Spirit should affect our homes, our work, our school, our leisure…everything. If there is a part of your life you are holding out on – it’s a sin and it’s well past time to repent. Also, there needs to be a time when dealing with those who call themselves Christians, but live as hostile to God. There is such a thing as false conversions and false faiths – where people are not born again, but claim to be. We need to be aware of such, not to be their enemies, but to point them to the Christ they claim to serve. While there is life there is hope that they will leave the enemy camp and be saved by Jesus Christ.
So What Now?
Let’s work backwards…
There are only two true positions about God. Men either belong to him as his children or they stand against him as rebels & enemies.
Hostility toward God does not mean that such a person is beyond God’s ability to save. Those who are hostile to God often lash out at us – let’s remember God saves rebels and those who were his enemies he can make his children – their enmity should be repaid by us with love
Such hostility against God is the mark of the lost, not the saved. Those who call themselves Christians or religious yet remain unsubmissive to God are to be seen as the lost
However, we should be aware that there are false sheep. Some claim to believe, to be Christian, to be religious that remain in rebellion to God’s revelation of himself and never accept his Son as Savior. We should remember that there is such a thing as discipline – God will discipline his own – that discipline sometimes comes through his church. The church should not allow unchristian behavior from those who call themselves by Christ’s name. It’s time for the church to stop making excuses for carnality.
Also, let us not keep our Christian walk in a box to be pulled out only for Church and special occasions. It is sinful to not have our beliefs affect our work, our vote, our parenting, or any other area of life. It is time to repent of such things and bring all parts of our lives into submission
Finally – it’s time to act joyful. We have so many reasons to overflow with joy. God is at work in our lives right now. He did not stop working when he saved us – but that is a prime reason to be thankful and rejoice. When is that last time we thanked him for saving us? When is the last time that the joy of our salvation really impacted us? When is the last time our joy affected the people around us? Take time now to offer a prayer of thanksgiving to your God.
Benediction
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Jude 1:24,25