Continuing on with part 2 of our study of Romans 8.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.
Now don’t go past verses 6 and 7 too quickly. Your sinful nature will cause you to try and live up to the expectations of others. The problem with that is that as long as you need other people to approve of you and have a good opinion of you, you will be owned by anyone willing to lie about you or to you. Excessive need for support from others is proof of the bankruptcy of your beliefs about your inner man.
Just notice that verse 7 says the sinful nature never did obey God’s laws and it never will. So since your old nature or old man has been put to death, it’s a terrible waste to try and revive the dead man and make him behave. Ain’t gonna happen.
8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
Okay, try to follow me here. Verses 1-4 set up the discussion to follow in verses 5-9. Look at vs. 5. If there is now no condemnation to those who belong to Christ Jesus, and there is none (vs1). If the Life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin, and He has (vs2). If God declared an end to sin’s control over us, and He has (vs3), then there’s no way we will be dominated by the sinful nature which is always hostile toward God (vs7).
Look what it says. It says that the sinful nature NEVER did obey God’s laws and it never will. People who still think they have to obey the law never have obeyed it and never will. God already knew that. That’s why it says in vs. 3 that the law was unable to save us, so God did. So now let me just confirm what I just said by letting you study the next verse.
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.
Christ lives within you and “you have been made right with God”. We have been made righteous. No longer sinners, because we have been set free from sin and are not controlled by sin. Because of Jesus, we are made righteous, because we belong to Him. Walk in this freedom and you’ll be totally effective for the Kingdom.
11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
The same Spirit! That’s a powerful Spirit. It raised Jesus from the dead. I’m certain it has the power to comfort you, bring healing to you, bring provision, revelation, and truth to you. If it raised Jesus, it is nothing for the Spirit to do these other things.
12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to DO what your sinful nature urges you to do.
Another powerful truth and argument to quit doing and simply start being.
13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
Your old nature will always try to get you to live a life of fear, performance, un-truth, offensive attitudes, unbelief, evil, and many other negative emotions and lifestyles. In a word, it will kill you.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
What have we received? God’s Spirit. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. The Spirit of adoption. The Spirt of prophecy. The Spirit of Life and Truth.
16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
In verse 14 it says those who are led by the Spirit are children of God. Then this verse comes along and confirms that by saying His Spirit joins with ours affirming that we are God’s children.
This is a good place to stop, but do not fail to study the first 2 parts of this teaching. We are not even half way through Romans 8 and there are so many more absolute truths in the rest of the chapter to set you free from the bondage of legalism. Grace and Peace.
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