Join us as we explore Paul’s teachings on the natural human condition, the tendency to live according to the flesh, and the transformative power of faith. Discover how our true identity in the Spirit frees us from the obligations of our natural humanity and the guilt often associated with it. With insights into spiritual warfare and overcoming daily temptations, this episode seeks to empower listeners to embrace their life in the Spirit and experience the newness of life Christ offers.
So now we are taught a new lesson, a new truth that we need to remind ourselves by, of rather, I should say. This is Romans chapter 8, and you remember this chapter is about life in the Spirit or life in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, freedom from the power of death. Paul has been describing, as I said the other day, life in the kingdom of grace, which is the kingdom that Christ brought to the earth and will find its fulfillment in the actual totality of that kingdom at the second coming of Christ. Then the mortal will put on immortality, and the corruptible shall put on incorruption. And in the meantime, we know by faith how to live in that kingdom. In some degree, of course, it’s the incipient, the droplets of grace, the firstfruits of the kingdom. that we have, and we seek to live that way. Freedom from wrath, the wrath of God, the judgment of God upon the world, because Christ has become our atonement, so we are reconciled to the heart of the Father. That’s chapter 5 of Romans. Freedom from the identity and judgment of sin. That’s chapter 6 of Romans, because Christ died for our humanity, and so we live now in his humanity. and freedom from the law, the condemnation of the law, because we have the righteousness of Christ now. That’s chapter 7 of Romans. And now chapter 8, freedom from the power of death. The judgment of death is over for us. If we die, we will rise again in Christ. And The powers of the many deaths that we experience on a daily basis are broken because they are turned by grace into instruments of life. So now we look at verse 12, chapter 8. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, that is, to our natural humanity. In Adam, which is under the power of sin and death, that humanity is no longer counted as ours. We are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh, that is, to live according to our natural human nature. Now, the world knows no different. It simply flows with the flow. And that is to just go along with whatever you feel, whatever you desire. And the result of that is disaster, of course, because we see people inclined to drink, so they drink, and then they’re inclined to drink more, so they drink more, and they get drunk. And very often in situations like that, disasters occur, either accidents or death, or even fights and recriminations and strife among people that can even lead to death. And so we see the world, and we don’t want to despise the world, because remember, Jesus has died for every man and woman and child, and will redeem everyone ultimately. But what we do need to recognize is that the natural flow of human nature is death. This is what Paul says. Verse 13 now. If you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Now, as I said earlier on another program earlier, a couple of days ago, I think, these are not threats. This is not to be looked at as a warning and a threat, because Paul is talking about good news in this chapter 8. He’s talking about the joy of life in the Spirit. He’s not threatening us with death. What he’s saying is that to live according to the flesh is de facto, as a matter of fact, automatically a state of death. Now, we need to be reminded of that because the natural humanity that we live in poses as life, doesn’t it? Especially when we’re young, especially when we’re kids and then young teenagers. Everything is before us and everything looks rosy and we think we can do anything we put our minds to. And we look at our life as vibrant and youthful and life itself. The truth of the matter is, though, and it’s a hard one to take, that is that this life is a living death. And that is not a pessimistic statement. We’re not trying to be morbid and miserable. What we are saying is that natural humanity has a massive flaw in it, and it is the flaw of sin and death. Humanity was not meant to die. It was meant to live eternally. We look at death now naturally because it happens to everybody and has happened for so long a time, the whole history of the world. And so we think it’s normal. No, death is not normal, and the coming of Jesus Christ will show that when the dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive shall be transformed, according to 1 Corinthians 15. And so what we have to accept, and it is a step of faith, is that our body is under the power of death, sin and death, and it will die. And if we are to live according to it and to flow with the flow, we’ll just go under. Now, this is what Paul is saying in verse 12, to the contrary to this, when he says, Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh. It’s interesting that he uses the word debtor. which implies owing something. We do not owe the flesh anything. We do not owe our natural humanity anything. But natural humanity would tell us the very opposite, wouldn’t it? Paul, in chapter 6, has talked about slavery, that human beings are in a state of slavery. think of it, even though you’re a Christian, mentally you can’t escape, or it’s very difficult to escape the notion that you have to do what your body and mind tells you you want to do or you should do. And thus, unless we put up a fight, then we will flow with the flow and it will harm us and destroy us. But putting up a fight, well, it depends on which fight. If you put up a fight which is the flesh against the flesh, that is, your willpower trying to subdue your humanity, your natural inclinations, well, you will just flounder and fail. Because the natural way of trying to control the flesh by legalistic procedures, by rules and regulations, by meetings, by trying to convince ourselves that we don’t need this and that when we really want it, those ways will not ultimately succeed. They may do for a while, but not ultimately. Now, the way of faith is different, because as we have pointed out, the way of faith is to acknowledge or rather affirm by trust in God that we have been brought back into his home and in his heart. We are no longer under his judgment. Now, that’s an enormous step, because it means that our faith is now going to counter our guilt. And it is guilt that so often discourages us and brings us down. But we are told in Romans 5 that we are reconciled to the heart of God. We have access to his throne room and to his home. We even can rejoice in trouble because the tribulation brings out patience and endurance. And so we have a wholly new way of looking at our humanity. We don’t owe it anything. Now, think of it. If you’re struggling with an addiction, that is the very opposite. Your addiction will say, you owe me. You have to do what I tell you, and you must do it now. And we think that there’s no way out. But faith tells us something else. Father, I thank you that my humanity, my flesh, is counted as dead. That’s Romans 6. It is counted as dead, that it has no power to condemn me, it has no power to judge me, it has no power to identify me. That humanity which is calling out and craving death is not mine anymore. Now, sometimes when you affirm this faith, you will walk away from your urges and temptations. Sometimes you won’t, though. Sometimes you’ll fail. But if you fail, you still do not beat yourself up because you’re not counted in that humanity anymore. So Paul is saying, for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Now, this is one of the rare times that Paul now actually talks in these chapters that we’ve been looking at, 5, 6, 7, and 8, about our actions, our behavior. I’ve been teaching this book of Romans to you from the perspective not of actions, but of the way you think and how your thoughts formulate lies to you and dishonesty so that you’re drawn back into it. But now Paul, with all the background that he has given us to tell us who we are in Christ, no longer under the judgment of God, not abandoned, but brought into his home, and no longer identified as sinners, and no longer under the condemnation of the law, with all of that, Paul is saying that with that, that is with those truths, you can put to death the deeds of the body. Now notice it doesn’t say put to death the body. You don’t put to death the body. You live in this body. You cannot put it to death unless you kill yourself, and God forbid you would even think of it doing that. You do not put to death the body. That is what so many fanatical Christians have tried to do. They’ve tried to eliminate all their desires by fasting and by living in mountains and avoiding society and all kinds of strange, crazy ideas. The body is counted as dead. The human nature that we have is counted as dead by the death of Christ who took our judgment for us. But what we are able to do, and it isn’t always consistent, we don’t always succeed, we do it sometimes and not at others, and we do it more as time goes on than we did it at the beginning. is we can put to death the deeds of the body. And we can do that not by clenching our teeth and not by going into some stressful state, but by expressing to our minds the faith that God has given us, which says, the temptation that I am faced with is not flowing from the true me anymore. That humanity of mine that would enjoy this temptation, this failure, this defeat, is counted as dead. It is not the true me. Now, sometimes in our faith life, when we are clear-headed and when we know how to express that faith, we succeed. And sometimes we don’t. We have to admit it. But what we need to know is that faith can speak into the mind and recognize and tell the mind, you don’t owe your humanity anything. and therefore you can walk away. And it’s a joyful thing to do so, and we find new life surging into our body, because as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God, Paul says. Well, thank you for joining me today. This is Colin Cook, and this is how it happens. You can hear this radio broadcast any time of the day or night on your smartphone, so you don’t have to wait till 10 o’clock in the evening or 4 in the morning on your radio. And you can do that on your smartphone by downloading a free app, soundcloud.com or podbean.com, and keying in how it happens with Colin Cook when you get there. You can also get loads of archives on SoundCloud or Podbean. If you would care to make a donation, it would be so much appreciated. It’s listener-supported radio. 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