Romans 8:1-11--Life in the Spirit

Romans 8:1-11
English Standard Version

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.

​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. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

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We're at about the halfway point in the book of Romans (there are 16 chapters in Romans with Chapter 1 being mostly introduction and Chapter 16 being mostly farewells and final instructions).  Romans 8:1 is a verse that many people have memorized, but it gets quoted out of context.  What does it mean that "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."?  Does this mean that we can no longer be found guilty of any crime by the judicial system?  Some people have tried to use this verse in that way and claim exemption from prosecution--we'll see in Chapter 13 that is not the case at all.

When we see the word "therefore" in a biblical text it is a "hinge" to connect that which came previously and that which is to follow.  Either they are connected arguments that logically follow one another, or there has been a lot of preliminary set up to a conclusion that should be drawn or an application that needs to be made.  In this case, Paul has set up the basis of the argument to this point and is drawing a conclusion that if we are "in Christ" (which he has explained quite well in chapter 5) that we no longer need to fear God's wrath or condemnation because Jesus was the propitiation for our sin (He satisfied the wrath of God).  His penal substitutionary atonement took our place and "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." ( 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Paul now transitions to a different argument and says that the Law enslaves us, but the Spirit sets us free.  This is the main argument of today's text.  Not a freedom from our earthly masters, but freedom from sin and death (what we might collectively call The Curse).  We are no longer in a position to be forced to obey our sin nature.  Sin is no longer irresistible to us.  How was this accomplished?  Paul tells us that God has done what the Law could never do--He sent His own Son to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law and yet stand condemned in our place to pay that penalty of our sin that we could never pay.  By this we who are in Christ no longer walk according to the flesh, but now walk according to the Spirit.

So then, how do we know if someone is "in Christ"?  Paul seems to indicate that we can see if they are walking "according to the flesh" or "according to the Spirit" and we should know.  This is similar to what Jesus says about a tree and its fruit in Matthew 7:15-20.  "By their fruits you will know them."  If you're not sure what it means to live "according to the flesh" or "according to the Spirit," then I'd recommend taking a look at Galatians 5:16-26 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.  These among other passages contrast the flesh and the Spirit and how the "root" determines the "fruit."  This is also a main theme of epistles like James and 1 John.  That is not to say that we turn Christianity into a system of external laws to try to force bad trees to produce good fruit--that's what the Pharisees tried to do.  No!  We need to address the heart issue and realize if we see there is bad fruit, it is because there is a bad root and that is an indication that the person is probably not really saved as we are not truly "in Christ" unless Jesus is Lord of our life.  If that has happened than God will have changed us and given us and will be making us into the image of His Son.  That is not to say we will never sin, nor that we won't struggle with habitual sins as we do battle with our flesh, but our sin will no longer be our identity, and we will no longer love it or try to force others to accept our sin as a condition of accepting us.  We should no longer fanaticize about sin--it should not consume our minds.  We should instead fill our minds with Scripture and the things of the Spirit.

Paul repeats that the flesh brings nothing but death, but the Spirit brings life and peace.  Then we come back to something from all the way in chapter 1.  The mind that is set on the flesh (controlled by the flesh) is hostile to God and does not submit to God's law.  There it is!  That's the main way that we know who is "in Christ" and who is not.  Then Paul says very clearly that those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  This may remind you of Hebrews 11:6, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him"

Paul, talking to those who are Christians in Rome, reminds them that they have had a change in identity.  They are no longer in the flesh, but are in Christ.  To go back to the analogy that I've made before, they are no longer caterpillars, but are butterflies.  They are no longer lumps of coal, but are diamonds.  A metamorphosis has happened and they can no longer go back to being who they were before.  We know that we belong to Christ if we have the Spirit, but those who do not have the Spirit do not belong to Christ.  If we have the Spirit living in us, then He should be living through us and we should be bearing the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  It is the Spirit who makes us alive in Christ, just like it is the Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead.  So then the Spirit is still in the business of taking that which is dead (for we were dead in our trespasses and sins) and making it alive.  (See Ezekiel 37:1-14).

Has your flesh and its desires been put to death?  Are you crucifying your flesh daily? Is the Spirit in control of your identity and your behavior?  Do people see Jesus when they see you and hear Jesus when they hear you?  This is the meaning of the word Christian as it was a mockery by the Romans to say that those who were disciples of Christ were acting and talking like a bunch of "little Christs"--like saying "one was bad enough, but now we have thousands of them to deal with."  Is that how the world sees you?  Are you concerned more about the root or the fruit?  Don't be a Pharisee that cleans the outside of the cup but leaves the inside dirty so that everything that comes out of it is contaminated or whitewashes the outside of the tomb but inside it is full of dead man's bones and everything unclean.  This is what Jesus Himself said about their hearts and the hearts of all those who try to clean themselves up on the outside without being born again by the power of the Holy Spirit.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3).