Walking According to the Spirit (part 1)
July 29, 2007 11:48 am Chapter 8, Romans, Sermon-TextsThe first of a sermon series addressing the theme of Walking According to the Spirit from an exegetical treatment of Romans 8:5-9. This sermon was originally preached July 29th of 2007 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
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Romans 8:5-9 (ESV)
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. 9 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.
Walking According to the Spirit (part I)
Romans 8:5-9
Introduction
I. Where we are in the book of Romans
II. In this world we walk
III. Beginning with verse 9 and the supernatural
IV. Two different walks compared
without Jesus’ Spirit with Jesus’ Spirit
“according to the flesh” “according to the Spirit”
- inability - ability
- cannot please God - please God
- hostility - peace
- death - life
V. Position, practice and conversion
Conclusion
Introduction
Good morning my friends and family. We have spent a month away from Romans, the book we are taking a few years to study here at The Resolved. It’s been a good month. We have been talking about how The Resolved Church is a church plant and why and what the vision is for this place and what we want to become and do in this city and what needs to happen for that to take place. Soon we are going to have sermon sets available on the book table, we have the first prototype of the last Romans series, “No Condemnation in Christ” available back there now. We are going to try and start to have more of those series available, like the “Inner Confliction and the Gospel” series” and the “Law and Gospel” series.
Hopefully, next week we’ll be able to have available, “The Resolved is a Church Plant” series with the audio and corresponding notes for the last three sermons. We are a church plant and believe God has some awesome things ahead for us and we need you. We are looking for people to partner with us for a time and commit to this church. If you missed some of those sermons, or you are kind of interested, I encourage you to hit up iTunes, to sign-up for our newsletter, and check it out.
So we are back in Romans today, which feels good. Romans to me is kind of like crawling into my nice warm bed when I am really tired, it can be one of the most comforting and encouraging books of the whole Bible. Other times it is like getting into a car accident because it shakes you and breaks you down and gets deep into the soul, tearing everything apart. Romans is a book that goes deep into the gospel and shows us layer after layer of how great Jesus is and what he has done for us and how that really really does change us. So let’s read today’s text and pray.
Romans 8:5-8 (ESV)
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. 9 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.
Holy Father. I call you holy because that is what you are. You are unlike us in every regard. You are greater, wiser, kinder, and more perfect than we could ever dream. You are truly one, truly holy. Though you are greatly unlike us, we are made in your image, after you, in your likeness and because of Jesus, you know and understand us better than we do ourselves. God, we are sojourners here in this world. And you have given us this great and wonderful book as a guide. Help us today to read it and read it with understanding. You sent Jesus into this world for us, you have given us His Spirit, and this book tells that story and becomes the facilitator of life at work in us. Work life in us today. Where there is deadness and brokenness breath life. Save souls and may the powers and principalities of the world of the flesh be defeated in us as we meditate upon the power of the Spirit which is at work in us who follow Jesus. Jesus Christ is Lord, Amen.
I. Where we are in the book of Romans
The plan this morning is for us to sort of re-orient ourselves to Romans, since we’ve been gone from it for a little bit and because some of you may just be joining us. Then we’re going to start working with today’s text, what it says and what it means for us…and today we’ll probably get about half-way through it.
So Romans. It’s called Romans because it was written to one of the first churches in history in the great city of Rome. It was written in a time when it was said that the “world was being turned up-side down” by the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is what we are hoping for and into doing, turning the world up-side down, beginning with San Diego. Romans was a big city and cities are key in doing that.
Romans is a book about God and his greatness, how truly glorious and wonderful and beautiful he is and how Jesus shows that supremely. In the beginning the book talks about creation and how all it points to God as the chief designer and how crazy awesome he is, but how humanity is pretty messed up because each of us individually and collectively, together as a race, are more into ourselves than God. That’s a big problem. And the problem goes deep.
So Paul, the human author, I say human because he says that God is the divine author behind his words, spends three chapters tells us how big of a problem that is. Then he spends another three chapters telling how great Jesus is and just exactly what God did in history in sending him and what happened when Jesus died on the cross and rose again and what that means for us. The core of it is that Jesus died on the cross as a representative for each of us individually and for the human race collectively as a sacrifice to God to pay the penalty for our disregard and self-focused adoration. Jesus rose again and in that guarantees and offers new life to us. That new life begins at the point in which we embrace and follow Jesus and it carries through into eternity.
If you want to picture Romans as a story, what happens at the point in the story when a person starts following Jesus is that after not too long, you realize that even though you are now with Jesus you discover you are still pretty messed up inside. It didn’t magically make you perfect. And so in chapter six he began breaking that down and explaining it to us. That took us through chapter seven and now in chapter eight he started talking about the Holy Spirit and how the spirit gives us great encouragement and assurance as believers in Jesus.
II. In this world we walk
Romans 8 is extremely practical. It is about life and how we live as followers of Jesus. Verse 4 of Romans 8 ended by saying that as followers of Jesus, we “walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” We walk. In this world we walk. The Bible’s perspective is that this world is not permanent. Life is short. Eternity is long. And how we live effects eternity for us. Our time, however long you live here on this earth, whether it is 30, 40 or a hundred years, is a journey, it is a sojourn, a walk and how we walk will take us to one of two places, heaven or hell.
It is a walk, a journey. A journey of growth, of discovery, filled with seasons of joy, pain, discouragement, enlightenment, and fulfillment. Now you need to think about something. The Bible was written a long time ago. Which doesn’t mean that it is outdated and irrelevant, but it does mean it is easy to miss the practicality of its words.
In the first century, when this was written, people walked. Everywhere. No trains, no buses, no BMW’s or Mercedes and no beat up old cars. I’m pretty sure everyone drove sandals. And they didn’t wear Birkenstock’s with socks like people from the Northwest, or Locals, like people from Hawaii, or Rainbows like people from San Diego. They wore sandals…with a sole of wood fastened with straps of leather. Here is a picture of a 1st century sandal.
Walking was more common to life than anything. And this is what the first followers of Jesus did. Jesus shows up on the scene. Says, I am here, repent, the kingdom of God is at hand, believe in the gospel, and follow me. Some think he’s crazy, some think he is a liar, others figure he must be the Lord, so they quit their jobs and go walking with him.
They traipse all around Israel and the middle east for three years and at the end of those three years, Jesus gathers together his disciples and tells them he is going to die but he’ll rise again and then go to be with his Father in heaven and entrust them to do his work, but he says this important words,
“5…now I am going to him who sent me…7 I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged…13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you (John 16:5,7-11,13-14).”
This is where Romans 8 is. No doubt some of the people in the church of Rome had walked with Jesus and now Jesus was gone. Paul knows this, but he also knew Jesus words, and so here in Romans 8 he says, now we “walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
So here is the beginning question for us today, how is your walk? Do you even realize that you are walking? Have you thought about where you are walking to? Or who you are walking with, if anyone? Are you aimlessly walking alone? Or are you walking with the Spirit of Jesus?
This is the picture we should have in our heads of what it means to be a Christian. Christians came about because they were followers of Christ. And today is no different, what makes a person a Christian is whether or not they are a follower of Christ. Whether our lives have become all about him or about something else. Whether we follow and do what he says and love the things he loves or whether we follow someone or something else and do what we want. Walking today with the Spirit of Jesus, that is what it is about.
III. Beginning with verse 9 and the supernatural
Jesus is clear in several places that this is His Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit, God himself, the Spirit who by his power and creativity made everything in this world. We are a church that believes in the Trinity, that the Father is God, Jesus is God, the Spirit is God, and the three are one and yet distinct at the same time.
The point for us today, here in this text is that the work spirit is “supernatural.” Christian living is supernatural. And by supernatural I don’t mean psychics, and telekinesis and palm reading and astral projection or levitating like Mitch from HBO’s new John from Cincinnati. I mean it involves a power that is above nature. Above our nature. Above the way that we are and normally act and react. Things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control do not come naturally to us, the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23).
What comes naturally to us are things like sex, with whomever and whenever we like. Self-adoration and worship…the mirror and the opinion of others. Dissatisfaction and a disregard for God…a sense that he is not that important or at least not important enough to give much attention to in our lives. Jealousy and envy…always wanting more or wanting what other people have. Strife and divisions and anger…fighting with our spouses and with our friends and wars with co-workers, other business and wars with nations. These are the things that come naturally to us, the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). And apart from a work of the Spirit of God they will not change. We need Jesus. It begins with Him and his life and death imparted to us by His Spirit.
Look at verse 9, “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.” That is a sobering phrase that ought to scare us. It means that when we find the lack of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, when we find what comes natural to us at work, it ought to cause us to cry out, Oh Jesus come! Change my heart. Come and dwell in me. This word dwell is the word, house. Come house in me. Make your home in me. Change me.
We begin our study of these verses with verse 9. Let me show you why. In verses 5-8, Paul is making comparisons between what it is to be according to the flesh versus according to the Spirit. He stacks reason upon reason. “For those who live…For the mind that is set on the flesh…For the flesh does not submit to God…” For, For, For…and the ground, the beginning of the “for” is verse 9, whether one has the Spirit of Christ or not.
So we are going to work somewhat backward and start at verse 9 and then look at Paul’s comparisons. So we begin with the question, what is the Spirit of Christ? And I am saying it is something supernatural. It is supernatural in three ways. I already alluded to the first way. That it is above our natures, our human natures. It is a different way. It goes against the flow of humanity and they way we are as people. What our natural inclinations and affections are. It is different. We may think we are loving or happy or kind and gentle people, but if we truly look at ourselves and ask what we mean by that, we find something far different the real things.
Love is not feeling aroused sexually or feeling pity for a poor man. Happiness is not something manufactured by some physical stimulant, like a pill or new TV. Being nice, is not kindness and gentleness but our social inhibitions that flow from pride. True loves cares for an enemy because you know you are the worst enemy of all, true joy springs from a soul that captures a vision of the glory of God and his sovereign care, true kindness and gentleness comes from a hardened heart that has been softened by the tender graces of God. Those things are not natural and they only come by getting close to Jesus. They are supernatural.
Here is the second way, Christian living, brought about by the Spirit of Christ, is supernatural. It is because it is rooted in the historical death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a truly supernatural event. When Paul here calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Christ, he is referring to the same spirit as he is two verses later in verse 11, when he says it is “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead.”
Jesus death and resurrection was a supernatural event. People do not come back to life after being buried in a coffin in the earth for three days. It does not happen. You are not beaten to death with whips and crucified on a cross and hung to death and stabbed by a spear and come back to life. You don’t. Only the Holy Spirit can make that happen. The Spirit who made everything, who took dust from the ground and breath life into it and man became a living being. Only that supernatural spirit can do that.
And that is how true Christian living happens. When the Holy Spirit steps into our life and breaths resurrection power into our misdeeds of death and destruction. This is the gospel, death turned to life by Jesus. That will not happen on its own. It is not the human way. You cannot make it happen. It must come from something, someone greater. A Spirit who knows how to raise the dead.
Lastly, the third thing I mean by supernatural is mindset. You find it in nearly ever verse of our passage for today. Verse 5, the ones with “minds on the things of the flesh” and the ones with “minds on the things of the Spirit.” Verse 6, “the mind on the flesh is death” and “the mind on the Spirit is life.” And verse 7, “the mind on the flesh is hostile.” This is where our comparison of two different walks begin.
IV. Two different walks compared
We are not going to get into the comparison this week. That is next week. But I will set it up. What we are going to be looking at is what is entailed in being a person who is “according to the flesh” versus a person who is “according to the Spirit.” And the dividing line is the mindset which results from each state, from those who have the Spirit and from those who don’t.
When I say mindset, the word I am talking about is “mind.” It looks simple as “mind” in our verses, is not simple. It is a very difficult word to translate. And this is not the normal word for “mind.” This word is phroneo. You know a word is difficult to translate, when you look it up and you find a whole slew of possible translations.
Many Greek words are straightforward and simple. Zoe means life. Artos means bread. But not phroneo, which looks simple here and isn’t. Here are some possible translations: to think, to mind, to be of opinion, to take considered thought, to entertain sentiments or inclinations, to be minded, a frame of mind, to heed, to pay attention, to give regard to , to imagine, to concentrate on, to be devoted to, to have the mentality, to have the outlook, or to have the aspiration. This word is not easy.
John Calvin found it difficult to, he concluded it was “all the faculties of the soul - reason, understanding, and affections.” Perhaps the German idea of a weltanschauung, a worldview might do it. A set of beliefs and understandings of reality, a way of viewing the world. But it is more than a worldview. It is a life pursuit and a way thinking that effects your and feelings. All through the week I have been stuck on this word. Every day this I have woke up in the morning and prayed God, help me have the phroneo of the Spirit today and help me understand what that is.
I think it has something to do with the mind. We have an ability, especially those of us whom God’s Spirit is genuinely and truly working in, we have an ability to control our minds. That is why 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to “take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.” You can do that. And some of you guys especially need to learn how to do that, how to take your thoughts captive and not let certain pictures of women you are not married to enter your head. And some of you girls too need to learn how to take your thoughts captive so that you think less of how you look or how other girls look at you. So there is a piece about the mind…what you spend most of your time thinking about.
And some of you guys and girls alike, just are not thinking straight. You don’t think much at all and just live without any regard to where you headed or how you are living. And your whole mindset needs to change to where it is driven and directed by Jesus’ Spirit.
But it is even more than that, than just what you think about. It has to do with the actions or way of life you are devoted to. It’s the certain things you consider to be okay for you and the things you don’t. It is the way you live and the choices you make, there is action involved. And there is most certainly affection mixed up in all that. Jonathan Edwards says it well and captures it in his book, Religious Affections, when he says this about the mindset of the Spirit, it is…
“A holy disposition and spiritual taste, where grace is strong and lively, will enable the soul to determine what actions are right and becoming [of] Christians…He has as it were a spirit within him, that guides him; the habit of his mind is attended with a taste, by which he immediately relishes that air and mien which is benevolent, and disrelishes the contrary, and causes him to distinguish between one and the other in a moment…[It is ] the mind [having] a new taste or relish of beauty and sweetness.”
When I read things like that I shrink and realize I have much to learn. Having the mindset of Christ. To think and to act and to feel the way he does…mindset. Jesus’ mind. Think of Jesus. The God-man, walking around the middle east in sandals in the first century. And we are following him and watching him and listening to him. As he looks out across faces and across the plains of the desert and talks…what is his mindset. How does he see the world? What is it that drives him? What is he thinking and what motivates him to do and say such things? To live the way he does? The mindset of Jesus. That is what he leaves to us to be imparted inside us by His Spirit.
Conclusion
We’ll talk next week more about mindset, and what is to be according to the flesh and to be according to the Spirit and how to put that all together. But here is how I want to conclude today’s message. I want to conclude with a word of encouragement.
Some of you may not think there is anything wrong with you and you are doing fine on your own you really do not have much need for Jesus and his Spirit. When I think about that, it is my instinct to want to prod and to prick in hopes that you will see yourself in a more clear light so that you might see the true light and the glory of Christ Jesus, who knows you are far worse of than you ever dreamed but at the same time has more love and grace and compassion than you ever thought possible. That is my instinct, to try and break you down, so you will see your great need.
And there is certainly that tone with this text. The tone that says don’t be according to the flesh, be according to the Spirit his way is better and to tell you how much your way is not good at all. Don’t get me wrong. That is there, to challenge us and to show us what is good by showing us what is not good so that we will strive after purity, that is there. But I do not believe that is the main purpose of this text.
This text falls in the portion of the book of Romans after Paul has already talked about how the Christian is at times conflicted and has to wrestle and war against sin in his life. Now he is in the chapter of the book which is intended to give us great encouragement and hope and to tell us how wonderful the Spirit of God is that Jesus gives those who are his.
So this is what I think the main tone of the text is. It is to give relief and consolation to the saints. It can be a great obstacle for believers to turn to Jesus and to begin following him and then fail hard, sometimes seemingly way harder than they ever have. It can be crushing. If you find yourself pursuing Christ and you slip up and discover there is still much fleshly mindset and worldliness at work in you, it can be crushing. It can easily lead one to great despair, where you say “forget it” why even try.
I think this text is for you. This passage of Scripture announces with great authority and encouragement. That is not who you are and is not who you are destined to be finally and ultimately because you have been born of the Spirit of God. Jesus has given his spirit to you and it is a spirit of life and peace and pleasure in God. None in this world can yet be found to be wholly free of flesh and our author wants to provide hope to the faithful…to those who will hold on and not give in and give up. “You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.”
So here is some application. For you, the individual. Are you walking with Jesus? Have you begun to follow him? Have you embraced him as the soul saving sufficiency for your life? He died for you so that you might be supernaturally changed deep in your heart? Have you been honest with yourself and who you really are? If so, you know your need, and I am here today to tell you that Christ is sufficient. Embrace Jesus today. If you know that has never been a real reality in your life, turn to him this morning. Take communion with us as a church family. I am available for prayer at that back during communion. Come tell me and let me pray with you.
For individuals who have been following Jesus. We need the supernatural work of Jesus’ Spirit to change us. We need the true fruit of God’s Spirit to flow from our soul. We need deep heart work. We need to be changed and changed and changed by the gospel. There is a lot of heart work involved, there is a lot of mindset that needs to be changed, it takes time and gracious effort. Let us soften ourselves before our Lord today and have his Spirit work in us. May we be challenged and yet encouraged by the rejuvenating measures of his Spirit.
For parents, here is what this means for you. One, you can’t make your kids love God. They need a supernatural work of God’s Spirit. Jesus needs to dwell in your homes so that he can dwell in your children’s hearts. You need to teach them about Jesus. Two, it means you can’t be good parents. You need God’s Spirit to teach you. He needs to supernaturally change your heart so you react to your children right when they mess up, so that you demonstrate a good example of a husband and wife before them, so that you have the patience and understanding they need. Those things don’t come naturally. So dwell with Jesus and walk in his ways for sake of your kids.
Kids, here is what today’s message means for you. Life is like a trip, it is kind of like a very long walk. So you need to know where you are trying to walk to and who you are going to walk with. If you walk with Jesus he will take you to the only place where there is true peace, where you won’t have anything to worry about or be scared of. So walk with Jesus and not on your own, don’t go your own way.
Church family, here is what it means for us as a community. We are on a walk together here in San Diego. We are here for a time and we are here for such a time as this, to plant a glory driven, gospel centered, city within the city. This text tells us we can’t do that. We need a supernatural work of God to take place. Jesus’ Spirit must come and take his rightful place in us as a group. It must be all about him. For his glory, for his gospel, and when that happens we will see this city change. We must let Jesus and his person and his work and his values be the thing that drives us. We need to be committed to his mission. The way we do that is by inviting friends and neighbors into our lives, getting to know and understand them so we can share the gospel with them. We do it by inviting them to worship with us and being committed to worshipping ourselves, every week. We do that by giving our money and giving out of our heart of love and devotion to him instead of whether or not we think it will be spent correctly or whether we will have enough. We need to allow Jesus’ Spirit to permeate our mindset and overtake every area of our lives, thought, and practice. Jesus is everything.
Let’s pray.