The Power of the Gospel

WELCOME PRAYER SONG SILENCE Romans 8.6 June 20th 2021

Well, we left off on the first wonderfully liberating verse of chapter 8 last week – remember? After all Paul said in chapter seven he summarizes it with:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

And we took a minute to explain the word condemnation and how it applied to them in that age – and we then talked about ages as they are depicted in scripture. Now chapter 8, is one of the most interesting and insightful portions of the sacred Scriptures. Some of it comes with passages that will challenge us, but its main scope and design is fairly apparent.

Walking in the Spirit

Certainly it is a continuation of the subject discussed in chapter seven but in my opinion it serves to clarify (in better and better terms) what it means to “walk in, and by, and through the Spirit” . . . and not after the flesh.” In chapter seven Paul sort of brings the problem of trying to live the Law to a head, proving that when present our flesh only rises in failure and rebellion to it, creating tension which he so eloquently describes in the last ten or so verses. As we have said, whether we are born-again Christians or not, the presence of the Law will only serve to produce discomfort . . . beneficial discomfort in the non-believer and detrimental discomfort in believers. And as we have made clear (even though we know that the Law is Spiritual and right and holy) our carnal flesh responds poorly in its presence.

Here in chapter eight Paul begins to illustrate how the power of the gospel produces the very thing the law could not. He actually proves the superiority of the gospel over anything else in bringing all who are His into the Kingdom – in spite of ourselves – unless we are determined to go against it. So, let’s read verses 1-6, and see what the Lord has to share with us by virtue of His Holy Spirit.

2 For “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” hath made me free from the law of sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. and deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God..
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.

The Role of Law and Spirit

All right, let’s hit verse one and two together, with one being a review and two being the first verse of our text today:

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.

2 For “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

We’ll recall that two or three weeks ago, prior to examining the last ten or so verses of chapter seven, which are so revolutionary, I said that we must take them in conjunction with chapter eight. Here, in verse two we are introduced to a principle that levels all the rhetoric I have spouted regarding the Law being gone done and over.

Up until this point in Romans when Paul has talked about “the Law” he has been referring to the Law of Moses and the way it interacts with human flesh (not well at all). In trying to stress the reaction our flesh has to that expression of God’s perfection and the fact that the presence of that Law merely serves to provoke believers toward sinful rebellion and/or pride, I have been quite negative on the word Law – I have spoken of it with a certain amount of “ughhh.”

The Law! ? (boo) The Law! ; (hiss) The Law! ‘ (blaw)

But here Paul delivers a line which re-introduces the term “Law” in a new way and if true to the Word of God we as believers must now reconsider how we view it (and how I present it as a pastor/teacher). You see, the word law merely means, in a basic sense, “that which exerts control.

The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ

Interestingly, the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is no different than the Law written in stone. Perhaps the best way to differentiate between the two is the Law written in stone are the commands or directives of WHAT to do, while "the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus" is the presence of WHAT MOTIVATES US TO DO WHAT WE DO! Get the difference?

The Law in stone says "Thou shalt not and thou shalt," because by not doing this and by doing that we are loving God and our neighbor. But "the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ" says "because you love God and your neighbor you are free . . . to treat them according to the Spirit."

The two approaches are paradoxically aimed at the same result – "loving God and loving neighbor as ourselves."

When we get to Romans 13 we’ll read this passage: "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (written in stone).

So even though the Law written in stone and the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ are aimed at the same objective, the presence of the Law in stone produces the opposite results in our flesh, making the presence of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ the only approach that has the ability to produce in human beings what God has sought from us since the beginning.

Freedom in Christ

Let me re-read verse 2 again:

For "the law . . . (the guiding force in a Christian’s life) . . . of the Spirit of life . . . (of love, which is life, and living, and giving, and growing, and light, or, in summary, which is the Holy Spirit) . . . in Christ Jesus . . . (that law made possible by the sacrificial love and work of our King and could come by no other way) . . ." hath made me free! . . . from the law of sin and death."

It is NOT by any mistake that hanging on that wall is a banner (obscured) that reads: CAMPUS – Freedom in Christ. We know that Isaiah 61:1 prophesied of Him and His purpose in coming, and then when He came, Luke 4:18 records Him actually reading this same passage then stating that it was fulfilled that day!

Love as the Fulfillment of the Law

What did the verse say?

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound"

Then all the tales of His healing, and raising the dead, and teachings to forgive are actual pictures and types of the liberty He gives all SPIRITUALLY. All pointing to the freedom any and all can have in Christ . . . in and through the presence of . . . "the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus."

I cannot tell you how many times I have the opportunity to counsel people that the ONLY way to truly live free – is to live by and through "the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus . . . . . . . . but I don’t say it that way. I say, the only way to truly live free is to LOVE. And remember, agape loveSelfless love marked by patience, mercy, and humility—central to living in spiritual liberty. is a verb. It is an

The Law of the Spirit of Life

action, not a feeling. It forgives . . . because we have been forgiven. And it serves. And it forgives. It waits patiently. It forgives. It is selfless. It forgives. It does not judge. It forgives. It is longsuffering. It forgives. It’s not arrogant. Or proud. It’s kind. It doesn’t behave unseemingly. It forgives. It doesn’t think evil. It rejoices in truth. Speaks truth even when it's tough, Because it cares. Oh, and it forgives.

Embracing the Spirit of Life

Embracing it, walking after this Law of "the Spirit of life in Christ" engenders a liberty that transcends all other expressions of freedom. All. Simply put, the more you live by it (love), the more of “the Spirit of Life” or freedom that you will possess.

This makes the spirit of life synonymous with agape love and the result always being emancipation from what hold us bound. Our prejudices – the spirit of life. Our injustices – the spirit of life. Everything met and addressed by His love.

But Paul adds, referring to his own walk, that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” hath (also) made him free from “the law of sin and death.” And this is one of the things that our non-non-Christian siblings do not understand. That the Spirit of life, the spirit of freedom given to those who have been saved makes us FREE from the LAW of SIN AND DEATH.

Understanding Paul's Message

This is why those who consider themselves Christian, who have not been freed by Christ to live by the law of the Spirit of Life in Him (love) reject the idea that all that is requisite for salvation is believing, and incorporate the Law “written in stone” to govern them, not realizing that the presence of such law keeps them in bondage to what Paul calls, “The Law of Sin and Death.” Get it?

Remember, the controlling influence of sin, leading to death and condemnation, is the presence of the law in our fleshly members. Paul clarifies this for us (again) in Romans 8 verses 3 and 4, so let’s read them together:

3 For what the law (of Moses, et. al) 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: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us (and he repeats himself here) who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Paul clearly shows the failure of the Law to free us from condemnation and sin in chapter seven and here he reminds us why, saying that such Law “was weak through the flesh.” Remember we likened the Law to a perfectly crafted grand piano. The trouble with it is not “it” – it is perfect in every way. It’s the silver-back gorilla (us) in our attempts to play it and therefore in the end the perfect law of God becomes a law of sin and death. This is in consequence of the strength of sin which resides in our flesh.

“So” (LISTEN to this, you guys) . . “So God,” Paul says, “sending his own Son,” (LISTEN!) . . . “in the (1) likeness of sinful flesh, (2) and for sin, (then 3) “condemned sin in the flesh . . .

How radical is this? I mean, really.

The Impact of God's Love

God creates a gorgeous world, full of everything humanity might ever need. Then He creates us in His image, three in one, and gives us the freedom to choose Him . . . or not. And we choose to rebel against Him, turn it into a cesspool, and become ugly sinful creatures in the process. We created birth defects. We created disease. We chose self over Him.

But God so loved the world He gave us His only begotten Son, His very Word made flesh, to condescend below all things, assume a body of human flesh, is born in a manger, and on our behalf does what none of us could ever do ourselves! Because He loves us. All of us? “For God so loved the WORLD!”

It appears that in order to accomplish and not run roughshod over all the elements of righteousness, justice, mercy, fairness, equity, love and law, that becoming flesh Himself was the way that it had to be . . .

In writing (to combat Gnostic influence, which said that Jesus could NOT have been God in the Flesh) John the Beloved said something interesting in 1st John 4:1-3. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every

The Spiritual Significance of God Becoming Flesh

Verse 3-4 of Romans 8 reminds us that God sent His Son: “So God,” Paul says, “sending his own Son,” “in the (1) likeness of sinful flesh, (2) and for sin, (then 3) “condemned sin in the flesh. So first, He sent his own son “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” I think Paul writes it this way to both say that “He was in flesh,” no doubt, but that it was in “the likeness of sinful flesh” but not that His flesh was sinful otherwise he would have been unclean from the effect of the fall. Then Paul says: “And for sin.” Perhaps a better way to understand or read this would be "and as a sacrifice for sin." In other words, He was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, and became a sacrifice for sin in His flesh. Finally (God) “condemned sin in the flesh.”

Flesh as the Origin of Sin

I think we can all agree by this point in Romans that “the flesh” is regarded as the source of sin in Man. Remember Romans 7:18 where Paul said: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing . . . .” Therefore, with human flesh being the seat and origin of sin, evil, and transgression, the eternal Sacrifice had to have been made in the likeness of sinful flesh, I would suppose to expunge it out of existence on its own grounds, thereby destroying it forever.

Please forgive me the weaknesses of the illustration I am about to give but it sort of serves. Suppose there exists an entire community of Salmon thriving out in the sea somewhere. And suppose you created them! They are your creations. And as their creator you gave them Laws to obey. But they didn’t. And as a result, disease came into their midst and a school fallen Great White sharks have been preying upon their community with great devastation for centuries. Let’s say some of the Salmon begin praying to you. “Help us! Help us!”

The Role of Free Will

You are a Good creator and as such you cannot just step in and wipe out the Great Whites because that would infringe upon the freedom and liberty of both the Salmon and the Great Whites alike. And the disease is a product of the salmon's freewill choices so to wipe it all out would once again infringe upon freedom. And as a man or woman, it would also be unfair for you to go out to their community and build a fortress with your own human hands and intellect because that would also place an undue infringement upon the undersea community and how it operates.

So, in order to meet all the requirements of being a Good Creator, therefore honoring liberty and freedom, the only way to overcome the salmon problem while maintaining integrity and respect for the principles by which you, the sea and the creations in it operate, you chose to become a Salmon yourself. And what you do is you take all the attributes that you possess – all the characteristics that describe you – and you impute them into a salmon egg. And when that baby salmon hatches, it becomes your only “Salmon Son” – because He has taken on the form of a Salmon (which is not your form at all). And your Salmon Son becomes a leader there under the sea, perfectly obeying the rules and laws you established for your Salmon community while at the same time being a creature to whom the other salmon could relate. Then your Salmon son ultimately defeats all the Great Whites through his death.

Does this sort of help understand why God had to send His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh? Referring to the topic of God becoming flesh, Paul ends verse four by saying that by God doing this, “the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled.” In other words, because of what the Son of God did in and through His flesh, we are wholly conformed to the law (which means obedient to its requirements) NOT through appealing to it through our weak flesh any.

Life in the Spirit and the Flesh

"Longer, but by and through (verse 2) the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" which has made us free from the law of sin and death. Now in verse five, Paul seems to speak of those who are NOT born again. And because Paul likes to address believers ONLY in terms of our real and new identity in Christ, I think we are safe in leaving it at that. But I can’t help but think that Paul’s words might also apply to those of us believers who still insist on seeing ourselves according to their flesh rather than our Spirit. And maybe who even purposefully pursue the dictates of our flesh in a consistent fashion instead of pursuing after the things of the Spirit. Listen to what he writes:

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.

Pursuing the Flesh

The principle is pretty clear. Those “that are after the flesh” – who seek after, exist for, pursue, chase, live for (and Galatians 5:19-21 gives us a pretty clear laundry list of what these things are) “those that are “after the flesh, Paul says,” “do MIND the things of the flesh.” Wanna know what you're living by? Examine what you pursue and what is on your mind to obtain, become, and possess. Primarily. I am not saying that these things should not occupy your thoughts. They have to in this world but what are your priorities. An alcoholic seeks after alcohol, yearns for alcohol, and as a result, minds it, has a mind for it, thinks about it, and pursues it relentlessly. Alcohol consumes his existence.

What Paul reveals here is really quite a blessing though because we have a built-in barometer that tells us what and who we serve from the heart. In this illustration, we see that the flesh can influence and control the mind. Which is why Paul calls for the renewing of the mind in Romans 12:2, saying: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” When Jesus prayed for His twelve, He said: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” Those who are “after the flesh,” are those who “mind the things of the flesh” and are therefore typically those lacking any inclination from the heart to seek or include God in the lives they live. They are too consumed with “minding the flesh.”

Now, remember, in our flesh, as believers, all of us are prone to “minding the things of the flesh.” “But,” Paul writes, “but they that are after the Spirit (do mind) the things of the Spirit.”

Pursuing the Spirit

I would fail to be consistent if I did not point out that this describes anyone who has been born-from above. I can say this based on a couple of facts: First, you are not your flesh but your inner man or woman. Second, as a possessor of the Holy Spirit, we cannot help but mind the things of the Spirit – even if your flesh makes war against you, and Third, the real you, in your heart of hearts, LOVES and ADORES being in the Spirit, minding it, and following after it – even if your flesh is weak. So, when Paul adds: “But they that are after the Spirit (do mind) the things of the Spirit,” he is speaking of you, believers. And what do we experience in our pursuit of the Spirit? It’s all found there in Galatians 5:22-23:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Now listen – this is important. Prior to being born from above, our lives were filled with seeking after (minding) the flesh with, at least in my case and the case of most people, various punctuated moments where we longed to do well. Rarely, if ever, will we find anyone who is totally and abjectly evil who does not long, at times, to do well. So, the pre-regenerative state might be one of great evil punctuated with some moments of virtue. In time, if left unchecked, some people grow in their capacity for loving darkness more than light and incrementally progress towards a deeper state of utter debauchery. Perhaps never really yearning to do any good at all. Likewise, once we are born-again, we will – WILL – all experience great threads of peace and love within us punctuated by

The Law of the Harvest

Moments of evil when our flesh rises up, and takes hold. But remember, that over time, the flesh grows weak, and just like the debased hater of light can grow to greater and greater depths of depravity, so can the born-again believer grow to greater and greater increments of light. But only by and through the Spirit, giving no attention to the flesh.

And here is where the law of the harvest comes into play, in my estimation, for all people as it is a very clear spiritual principle that we all reap what we sow. There is just no getting around it. Whether we harvest in financial matters, spiritual matters, physical matters, or intellectual matters, the results are ALWAYS the same – we will reap according to how we have sown. With the entire pun intended, in the Body of Christ, it is this principle that separates the sheep from the goats.

A Personal Experience

Forgive a personal experience. I pass it along for those of you who wonder for your own lives. Years ago, shortly after a graduation ceremony at Brigham Young University, I found myself managing a retail clothing store in one of the most prestigious shopping centers in America. I was there all alone for the first few hours of every day and once the prep-work was done for the morning, I would sort of examine life. How long would I live? What should I focus on? Things like this.

I decided that I ought to focus on making money because if I made lots of money, I would then have the freedom to do and be everything else I wanted. After a number of years in pursuit of this goal, while sitting behind the desk in a brokerage firm, I realized that the trouble with my thinking was that once I had gone through all the years and paying the high price to acquire large sums of money, there would in all probability be no room left in my soul to become all I REALLY wanted to be in the end.

These thoughts helped kick me into a new reality – and so one day I began to seriously pursue knowledge – while still emersed in the world. At the time, I saw knowledge as the only thing of value that I could acquire while in the pursuit of money – which I still believed would someday allow me to not only provide for my family (that great catch-phrase behind every long hour a man spends in pursuit of his dreams) and allow me to become whatever I wanted” in the years to come. But after at least a decade of relentlessly “acquiring knowledge” while trying to accumulate money, the presence of the knowledge acquired soon overran my desires for wealth and status and I discovered that all of my sowing was being done in fields that did not really matter to me and my heart at all.

The Eternal Fields of the Spirit

About this time the Lord moved in. And only then did I realize that the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT, ETERNAL, EVERLASTING FIELDS I wanted to sow in were in fields of the Spirit. There is no ideology, no secular position, no earthly accomplishment, no scholarly attainment or degree, no family status, no condition of the flesh that, no material accumulation, for me that can even remotely hold a candle to sowing in fields of love and faith for our King. None.

I share this with you as a favor – as a means to help you look at your life in the years to come and possess relief, and peace, and know that you have truly lived every time you have sowed to the Spirit.

Paul adds…

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Isn’t that a paradoxical statement, when we consider the ways of the world? I mean, doesn’t the world suggest that the way to life and living, to peace and presence of mind, is by and through a dedicated course of carnality? Of sowing and thriving in all that is in the world? But Paul says to be “carnally minded,” or in other words, “to mind the things of the flesh is death . . . BUT TO BE spiritually minded . . . is LIFE and PEACE.

Like you, and from the story I just related, I can attest to you here and now that Paul spoke truth. Wanna reduce the quality of your life? Mind more things of the flesh, of this world, of the temporal. Get consumed with something other than God.

Peace and Life in Abundance

I can assure you – especially those of you who are believers – that the presence of real living and genuine peace in your life will wane. Want more life (or life more abundantly) More peace? Pursue the very sowing that the Prince of Life and Peace came and did.

Treasures in Heaven

Treasures in heaven. Build up that account. It is not a quantitative thing, therefore when you start doesn’t matter – it's never too late. It’s a qualitative thing. Meaning it must exist and therefore you can begin wherever you are. Looking back over the shoulders of our lives, God, through Paul, is giving us a rule of thumb for satisfaction.

Satisfaction from Our Lives

For peace and life from the lives we have lived.

Comments/Questions/Prayer