By walking according to the Spirit, we are enabled to fulfill God’s Law and kill our sin!
Transformed By A New Power – Pt. 1
Romans 8:1-14
We come this morning in our sermon series, The Gospel In Romans, to the last of 5 ways that the gospel transforms us. It transforms us not only by a new Joy, a new Union, a new Master, a new Husband, but by a new Power. So, what is this Power we are speaking about? It’s the power of the Holy Spirit. It is very common in the New Testament to find the Spirit and power linked together. For example:
Luke 1:35 “The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”
Luke 4:14 “And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.”
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Acts 10:38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
As we come to Romans 8, we are coming to the Chapter of the Spirit. If 1 Corinthians 13 is the Love Chapter, and Hebrews 11 is the Faith Chapter, then Romans 8 is the Spirit Chapter. The Holy Spirit is mentioned once in chapter 1, once in chapter 2, once in chapter 5, once in chapter 7, and then 17 times in chapter 8! Why this explosion of emphasis on the Holy Spirit all of a sudden? I believe the reason is because Paul is teaching us how the Christian life is to be lived – in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In Romans 8 we are going to see 4 vital things that the Holy Spirit does for every Christian. The Spirit enables us to fulfill God’s Law, kill our sin, know our sonship, and taste our inheritance. We are going to focus on the first two this morning, and then the last two next Sunday morning.
Before we expound Romans 8, let’s first try to make sense out of Romans 7:7-25.
First, notice the huge contrast between Romans 7 and Romans 8.
1) In Romans 7:7-25 there is not a single mention of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8 the Spirit is mentioned 17 times. In Romans 7:13-25, “I”, “me” and “my” are found 40 times. Furthermore, the “law” is mentioned 22 times in Romans 7. I believe that what we have in Romans 7 is Paul describing his experience as he tried to keep God’s Law apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit. Thus, I believe Romans 7:13-25 is describing Paul’s experience as an unregenerate man while he tried to keep God’s Law. I know that many good Bible teachers and preachers disagree with this interpretation, and maybe some of you as well. Three of my favorite Bible preachers disagree with my interpretation: John Piper, John MacArthur, and Mark Webb. However, until I can see a better interpretation of the flow of Paul’s argument and thought in Romans 7 than I presently do, I have to stick with my current position.
2) In Romans 7:14 Paul remarks that he is “of flesh” in contrast to being spiritual. However, in Romans 8:9 he says that if a person possesses the Holy Spirit they are “not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.” In Romans 8:5-8 Paul describes the unregenerate person as being “according to the flesh” and says that he sets his mind on the things of the flesh resulting in death, that he is hostile toward God, that he does not subject himself to the law of God, is not able to subject himself to the law of God, and cannot please God. That is clearly an unsaved person. Then in the very next verse Paul says, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” In 7:5-6 Paul points his readers back to their unregenerate condition and says, “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law.” Paul refers to the unregenerate person as being “in the flesh”, “according to the flesh” and “of flesh”. Further, Paul says in 7:14 that he is sold under bondage to sin. In 7:19 he says that he practices the very evil that he does not want, whereas in 1 Jn. 3:9 we are told that the one who is born of God does not practice sin. In 7:23 he says he is a prisoner of the law of sin which is in his members. In 7:24 he says that he is a wretched man who needs to be set free from the body of this death. Notice those expressions – “sold under bondage to sin”, “practices sin”, “a prisoner of sin”, “wretched man.” Now contrast those expressions with what Paul has just gotten done saying in chapter 6:2, “we died to sin”, 6:6-7, “our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin, for he who has died is freed from sin”. It seems that the person Paul is talking about in chapter 6 can’t be the same person he’s talking about in chapter 7. In chapter 7 Paul says he is a prisoner of sin, while in chapter 6 he is freed from sin.
2nd, Notice also the structure of Paul’s argument in chapter 7. After Paul has finished telling us in Romans 7:1-6 that we died to the Law, our old husband, and have been married to Christ, our new husband, he spends the rest of the chapter answering 2 questions. Those questions are found in verse 7 and verse 13. In verse 7-12 Paul answers the first question – “Is the Law sin?” In verse 13-25 Paul answers the 2nd question – “Did the Law became the cause of my death?” Now, why in the world would Paul ask those 2 questions? It is because of something he said in 7:5. Remember that throughout Romans Paul takes up the question of an imaginary objector who may have misunderstood something which he has said. Well, in Romans 7:5 Paul links sin and death with God’s Law. Paul knows that Jews who read this letter may be offended and confused at this, so in order to clear up any confusion, he deals with the two objections which might be raised in his readers minds. Paul’s pattern of argument is always the same.
1. Ask the question
2. Respond with “May it never be!”
3. Give the short answer to the question
4. Give the long answer to the question
Notice that Paul ends both sections with a “So then”. Clearly he is summing up his answer to the questions he raises in verse 7 and 12. Now, I know that one very popular interpretation of 7:13-25 is to say that Paul is talking about the Christian struggling with indwelling sin. However the question Paul is answering is not “Why does the Christian still struggle with sin?” His question is “Did that which is good become a cause of death for me?” In other words, was it the Law that killed my hopes of earning my salvation? No, rather it was my sin that killed my hopes.
Remember that Romans 7:7-25 is just an exposition of 7:5. Therefore I believe that Paul is describing in 7:7-25 his experience when he was “in the flesh”, or unregenerate.
So, my conclusion is that Romans 7:7-25 pictures the unregenerate person who is trying to keep God’s law without the Holy Spirit. He has no power to keep the law other than his own power. The result is that he fails miserably, confesses that he is a wretched man, and cries out to Jesus Christ for deliverance.
1. The Spirit Enables Us To Fulfill God’s Law
That brings us to Romans 8. Let’s walk our way through these first 4 verses.
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Notice that little word “now”. Why does Paul insert that word in this sentence? I believe he does so because he has changed from describing the former experience of this law-honoring Pharisee in his unsaved state, to describing him in his present regenerate state. Formerly he was condemned. Why? Because he was “under” the Law, married to the Law. Why is he no longer condemned? Because he has died to the Law, and has been released from it. Since he is no longer “under” it, he can no longer be condemned by it.
8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Now, let’s begin with that last statement first. What is the “law of sin and of death”? Think context. Where has Paul already mentioned the word Law in connection with sin and death? Romans 7:5 of course! So, what Law is Paul talking about? The Mosaic Law, encapsulated by the 10 commandments. Now notice that Paul’s readers were set free from this law by the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Did you notice the expression “in Christ Jesus” in both verse 1 and 2? This speaks of the believer’s union with Christ. Paul is telling the Roman believers that when the Holy Spirit united them to Jesus Christ, they were set free from the Law. Well, that is just another way of telling them what he had already told them in 7:4,6 that they died to the Law and were released from the Law, by being joined to the risen Christ. Union to Christ has released us from union to the Law.
8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.” What is it that the Law could not do? It couldn’t make us righteous. However, the Law is not the culprit. The real culprit is our sinful flesh. The Law is not the problem – it is holy, righteous, and good. The problem is our sinful flesh which is hostile to the Law and breaks it. So, what was God’s answer? God Himself would make us righteous. How would He do it? By sending His Son, Jesus Christ to die for sin, and impute His righteousness to us. We could never justify ourselves by the works of the Law, so God sent Christ to justify us by grace.
8:4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Remember that Paul in Romans 7 was unable to fulfill the requirement of the Law. Instead he found himself practicing the very evil he did not want to do. Why? Because he walked according to the flesh. He was “of flesh” and thus walked according to the flesh. However, now there has been a huge, radical change. Now, he walks according to the Spirit. Why? Because he is “in the Spirit” (8:9). And, now that he is walking according to the Spirit, what is the result? He is able to keep the requirement of the Law for the first time. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, sinners are saved, and go from walking according to the flesh, to walking according to the Spirit. The result? They start fulfilling the requirement of the Law. They are not under the Law, yet as they focus on and worship Jesus Christ, they find themselves pleasing Christ by living a life in line with God’s will.
So, how do we practically walk according to the Spirit? That’s a really important question, because it is only as we walk by the Spirit that we fulfill the Law. There are two groups of triads in Scripture. One triad contains Law, works, and flesh. These three things go together in Scripture. The other triad contains Gospel, faith, and Spirit. These three things also go together in Scripture.
Think of these two systems as two transportation systems. One system is the Law. It has a mechanism called works. And it has a power source called flesh. The other system is Gospel. It has a mechanism called faith. It has a power source called Spirit. What power source does the Law point you to? You! Over here we have the Gospel. It doesn’t operate by works, but instead by faith. Faith in someone else’s works – Christ’s. It has another power source. It’s called Spirit.
The system of Law is like a bicycle. It’s a device to get you from one location to another – from earth to heaven. How does the bicycle go? Work. Who’s work? Yours. You’ve got to pedal. And except for those rare occasions when you are going downhill, you’ve got to pedal all the time. If you quit pedaling, what happens? You stop going. The bicycle is a system of transportation that relies on you to go where you want it to go. You are its engine. You are the power source. And what is the fuel that’s going to get you to your destination. Well, it’s that peanut butter and jelly sandwich you had a couple of hours ago. We’re talking about flesh power. The Law points you to you, and says, “Get going, and never stop.” You’ve got to keep it, keep all of it, and keep it all the time.
Now, over here we’ve got another transportation system – a motorcycle. It too is designed to get you from one location to another, from earth to heaven. But it works a different way. It has another mechanism. It’s got an engine. You don’t pedal on a motorcycle. What do you do? You rest. You sit. You trust the engine to do the work. You’re not doing the work. You trust another. It has a different power source – a motor. It also uses a different kind of fuel – gasoline. If you put your sandwich in the gas tank you’re in a heap of trouble. If you put gasoline in you, you’re in trouble also. You can’t switch these two systems. Do you see that the Law depends on you to make it work, while the gospel depends on Christ to make it work? Under the Law your flesh provided the power. Under grace the Spirit supplies the power. You see to walk according to the Spirit is to rely upon the power of the Spirit to live the Christian life.
Well, does that mean that in living the Christian life there is nothing we do at all? Do, we just “let go and let God”? Well, what would happen if you “let go and let God” while you are riding the motorcycle? You’re going to find yourself in the ditch! No, we’ve got to steer the motorcycle. And in the Christian life, we’ve got to steer our lives. We’ve got to make decisions, as an act of our will. Further, we’ve got to keep the gas tank full of gas. So too, Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:18 that we have to keep ourselves filled with the Spirit. Well, how do you do that? In a parallel passage in Col.3:16, instead of telling them to be filled with the Spirit, Paul tells them to let the Word of Christ dwell in them richly. So, the way we fill up our gas tank, is by letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly. You go to the Word! As you go to the Word, it’s like filling up with fuel. The engine for living the Christian life is the Holy Spirit, and the fuel the Spirit uses is the Word of God. Have you ever wondered why you get so cranky, and irritable, and edgy, and snappy with others? It’s because you ran out of gas, and the only thing left that you’ve got to get down the road is your flesh. It is possible for a Christian to live out of the power source of his flesh. That’s like pushing your motorcycle down the road instead of riding it. Oh how miserable that is on a hot summer day! Instead of walking according to the flesh, how much better it is to walk according to the Spirit! Be honest. How many of you have pushed your motorcycle home because you ran out of gas? You were trying to live the Christian life in the energy of the flesh.
But if we will let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly, and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will find ourselves fulfilling the Law! Before we were born again, we had no supernatural power to depend on to fulfill the Law, but now we do. Love is the fulfilling of the Law. Thus, the Holy Spirit enables us to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbor as our self.
2. The Spirit Enables Us To Kill Our Sin
Now, let’s take a look at Romans 8:12-14, “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh – for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Now, let’s see if we can get some answers to some questions that emerge from this text.
1. What does it look like to live according to the flesh?
It must mean the opposite of putting to death the deeds of the body. So, living according to the flesh, is to spare your sin, to make peace with your sin, to allow your sins to live, to indulge in your sin. What are these “deeds of the body” Paul has in mind? Romans 6:12-13 will help us here. “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness.” Therefore, to live according to your flesh is to allow the lustful and unrighteous deeds of your body to live.
2. What is the result of living according to the flesh?
We’re not under any obligation to live according to the flesh, because the flesh never did anything for us and never will. In fact, all the flesh will end up doing is destroying us. Notice in verse 13 that if we live according to the flesh we must die. Now, what does Paul mean by “die”? Is he talking about physical death? No, because everyone will experience physical death whether they live according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. Therefore this death must refer to our eternal death and judgment. So Paul is saying that if a person lives according to the flesh, this only proves that he is unsaved and on his way to eternal judgment. However, if a person lives according to the Spirit, this proves they are saved and on their way to eternal glory. Jesus said the same thing in Mt.7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” According to Jesus, there are only 2 gates – the narrow and the wide. There are only 2 ways – narrow and the broad. There are only 2 groups of people – the few and the many. And there are only 2 destinations – life or destruction. John Owen, the great Puritan theologian put it this way, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”
3. What does it look like to live according to the Spirit?
At the end of verse 12 there is a dash, which indicates that Paul never finished his thought. Instead he took off on a bit of a tangent. So, what was Paul going to say before he took off? I believe he would have said, “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, but to the Spirit, to live according to the Spirit.” However, in verse 13, Paul doesn’t say “but if you are living according to the Spirit you will live.” Instead he says, “but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Therefore, I believe that to live according to the Spirit, or to be “led” by the Spirit (8:14), means that a person kills their sins. The person who lives according to the Spirit does not make a truce with sin, or let his sins live. He is a person who is in blood earnest about tracking down his sins, and then taking out his knife and slitting their throats until there is no life left in his sins. The person who lives according to the Spirit cuts off his right hand, or plucks out his right eye if those members cause him to sin. In other words, he is ruthless about attacking and subduing the sin in his life.
4. What is the result of living according to the Spirit?
According to verse 13, we will live. To “live” must mean the opposite of to “die”. Thus, the end result of living according to the Spirit, which is characterized by killing your sin, is that you live with God in eternal glory.
5. How do put to death the deeds of our body?
Of course, this is the crucial question. Verse 13 says it is something that “we” do. However it is something we do “by” the Spirit. So we must put our sins to death. God will not put them to death without us. However, we can’t put them to death in our own strength. We must put them to death by the Spirit. So, again, how do we put our sins to death by the Spirit? Remember, that we have to steer the motorcycle and keep the gas tank full. So too, we need to make decisions as an act of our will and we need to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. We must keep in mind that sin goes deeper than the evil actions we commit. Sin, at its root, is a heart issue. Whenever we sin, we are ascribing more worth to something than God. We are really saying, this is more valuable, more worthy, more to be desired than You, God! In order to kill our sins, we have to strangle the life out of them. We do that by believing the truth and promises of God. In order to kill sin we must hear the truth and believe it. At the root of every sin we are believing a lie about sin and a lie about God. We are believing that this sin is better than God and that God is not as satisfying as this sin. In other words, we think that this sin can satisfy me more than God. This sin can bring me more pleasure than God. This sin can give me more security than God. So, in order to kill sin we must have God’s Word which will expose the lies we are believing, and tell us the truth.
In Ephesians 6:17 Paul spoke of the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. What do you do with a sword? You kill your enemy. How did Jesus kill the temptations which the devil threw at Him? He quoted the Word. When we are faced with sin, we need to recall the promises of God which teach us that God is better than that sin.
Let’s take a look at some common sins, and the promises of the Word of God that can kill those sins:
Sin Promise
- 1. Covetousness Heb.13:5
- 1. Fear Is.41:10
- 2. Worry Jn.14:27
- 3. Doubt Mk.10:27
So, here’s my suggestion. Think about that sin you are battling with. Now, go to the Word and find a specific promise that shows that God is better than that sin. Now, memorize that promise. Call upon the Holy Spirit to make that promise live in your heart, that it will become real and powerful and more precious that the sin the flesh is hankering for. Kill your sin with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God!
Walking according to the Spirit involves doing several things – communing, confessing, crying, and committing. It begins with communion with God. If we are to walk by the Spirit, we must be filled up with God. This is where we worship God, read the Scriptures devotionally, and pray the Word. If we want to walk by the Spirit we must make this top priority and commune with God every day. As the Spirit reminds you that you have no power or ability apart from him, and that you have failed so many times before, you confess your sin and inability to the Lord. As the Spirit reminds you of your desperate need and dependence on the Lord, you cry to Him in prayer. As the Spirit reminds you of the necessity to do the Lord’s will, you commit to obey what He shows you. Commune – Confess – Cry – Commit. The goal is to be so filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, that you end up doing the things He wants you to do, but not by your own power. Rather, it is by His power. To walk according to the Spirit is to depend moment by moment on His strength to do what He wants you to do.
So, here are two wonderful things the Holy Spirit enables the believer to do: fulfill God’s Law, and kill his sin. Actually, they are two sides of the same coin. Fulfilling God’s Law is the positive side. Killing our sin is the negative side. We need to be doing both of them, don’t we? And the only way we will ever be able to fulfill the Law and kill our sin is through the power of the Holy Spirit. I urge you today, to fill up your gas tank with the Word of God every day. Make communion with God your top priority in life. Then the Spirit has something to work with. If you don’t do this, you’re trying to ride your motorcycle on an empty gas tank, and you’re going to wind up pushing it home. Don’t live your Christian life in the energy of the flesh. Instead trust in the power of the Spirit!
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