Living in the Spirit
Romans 8:1-11
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the fifth Sunday in Lent is the epistle reading Romans 8. Throughout our epistle reading in Romans, Paul teaches us that we are people who live by the Spirit and not the flesh. Recall what he said. “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. To set your mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace”. Paul tells us that living in the flesh leads to death and living by the Spirit leads to life. So we have to ask the question. What does he mean when he talks about the flesh and the Spirit?
When Paul speaks about the flesh in this passage he is not referring to our physical bodies. God gave to us our physical bodies as a gift. At the final resurrection when Christ returns we will receive a perfect glorified body. We have been created to have both a body and a soul now and throughout all eternity. When Paul talks about the flesh in our text he is not referring to the body but he is referring to the sinful nature.
Paul is telling us that we are not to live according to the sinful nature. Living according to the flesh that is living according to our sinful nature is not pleasing to God. Living according to the flesh means a life of selfishness, pride, and greed. Living according to the flesh means living according to the world’s standards. Living according to the flesh means a life of sexual immorality, idolatry, hatred, discord, jealousy, dissensions, and drunkenness. We all know what the sinful nature looks like. We all have a sinful nature, that is why we sin in weakness, but we are not to live according to that sinful nature. We know that it is displeasing in the site of God to live by the flesh.
As Christians we don’t live by the flesh but by the Spirit. We are free to live by the Spirit through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus frees us from the bondage of sin and the condemnation of the Law. Remember what Paul said. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 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, 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.”
The Law of God condemns us because of our sins and so the purpose of Jesus’ coming to earth was to live as our substitute under the Law. In a very real way, Jesus came to take our sentence onto Himself. He came to receive the guilty verdict and pay for our sins with His own life. When Paul says there is no condemnation for those who are “in Christ,” he is refereeing to Jesus’ role as our ransom for sin and our union with Him in Holy Baptism. As our random, Jesus was the payment offered to God for our sin. Peter says it this way: “You were ransomed…not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1: 18-19).
We now rejoice in Jesus for taking our place at the cross, we also rejoice in something else. Not only did the Lord serve us as substitute, but He also gave us the Holy Spirit as a gift and blessing. The Holy Spirit helps us suppress the flesh and to live as children of God and heirs of heaven. As forgiven redeemed children of God, the Holy Spirit is given to make us holy and to give new direction in our lives.
When we live by the Spirit we live with confidence in our resurrection. Recall the words of Paul. “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”. We know that when the Lord visibly returns on the last day, we will be part of the final resurrection. All who are in Christ Jesus will rise and receive a glorified body free from pain, sin, sickness, and death.
When we live by the Spirit, we live with the confidence that we have been made “sons of God.” We can call upon the name of the Lord knowing that He will hear us and answer our prayer. We can confidently pray to God knowing that we have been adopted into His eternal family through Christ Jesus our Lord. When we live by the Spirit we look forward to the future glory in heaven. The sufferings in this life our nothing in comparison to the glory of standing in the presence of God for all eternity. When we live by the Spirit, we realize that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Quite possibly the most comforting portion of chapter 8 is Paul’s listing of all the things that cannot separate us from the love Christ. Paul writes, “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:35, 37-39).
Jesus has rescued you from sin and death and has given you the gift of the Holy Spirit. This revelation changes everything in your life. Living according to the Spirit is a life of service. It is a life of gratitude and giving thanks. It is a life of love and kindness. Living according to the Spirit is a life that is guided by the Word of God. It is a life of contentment. It is living a life that God has made you to live.
Paul talks about two kinds of people. He talks about those who live according to the flesh and those who live according to the Spirit. This is what he says about those who live according to the flesh. “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. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God”. Paul tells us that living in the flesh leads to death. Living according to the flesh means a rejection of God’s grace. It brings spiritual death that ultimately leads to eternal death in hell.
But as Christians we turn away from the flesh and turn to the life of the Spirit. Recall what Paul said about the life of the Spirit. “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. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness”. Jesus Christ has opened up the Kingdom of God to all of us. Our sins have been forgiven, we have been wiped clean. Through Christ we have been made right with God. We are now free to live the Christian life. Knowing that we are forgiven we are free to live the life of the Spirit. It is a life lived free from fear, a life with rich identity, a life of confidence in the future, and a life certain of God’s love. Amen.