Romans 8 English Standard Version

Life in the Spirit

1 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.

Therefore is a great way to begin the answer to a previous question. When I wrote yesterday’s offering, I knew the followup should be these words in Romans 8. When they were written they were the answer to a different question. Romans 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

When we are born we have a sentence of death waiting over our heads. None of us will escape that sentence. Ecclesiastes 3:2 “a time to be born, and a time to die;” unless we are so lucky to live long enough to see a promise 1 Thessalonians 4:17 “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

I have no expectation of living that long. What I have is now. Look to Romans 8:1 and see that the word immediately following therefore is now. This life we live with the Lord began with our being born again. We have a life with Christ now and it never ends. John 15:7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, that means we live together in the here and now.”

This life in faith is granted to us because we believe in the atoning works of Jesus Christ on the cross and have placed our faith in Him. He sent the Holy Spirit as the active agent for this life by which all His promises become Yes and Amen.

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Romans 5:2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Therefore NOW.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Today I knew exactly what passage to find, because my search came from my mind, and the message has everything to do with me. Most days I receive a Word from the Lord without subject or context. I do a word search to find what He means for me to do with the results.

There are two distinct word searches that occur, one is from the mind and the other is from the heart. This one is from my mind, my experiences and with an earnest desire to help others to understand me a little better. If by any strange coincidence it helps anyone else, praise God.

When I began this long journey with God I had no idea what I was doing. It had been years since I had attended church services and even longer since I attended Sunday School. My memories lead me as best they could, as weak and frail as they are. Not much has changed in that arena, in fact my memory is weaker now because I don’t rely on it as much.

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

It took me a long time to realize His abiding presence. My mind thought that memorization of scripture is all that was required. I relied on a fallible instrument. A craftsman is only as good as his instruments.

Psalm 119:11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

I thought that storing His Word in my heart was only good for avoiding sin. That is what I get for thinking rather than experiencing. Discovering the will of God cannot be reasoned out. His will is discovered by revelation from the heart where the Holy Spirit dwells by faith.

Reading everything that has been said about the bible from learned doctors of theology and gifted teachers is head knowledge. It is not heart knowledge.

Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

If the Lord does this, we need to follow His example. Search our hearts and test our minds to determine which of the two directs our path and our deeds upon the Way.