Romans 8:1-10

 

Rom 8:1 (KJV)
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

In the previous chapters, Paul was giving us the great division that exists in every believer and that is that our souls have been saved but our flesh has not and that makes for a war between flesh and spirit in every true believer. In this verse, the Bible is telling us that within true believer this war will always exist as long as we are clothed in flesh but because we have been truly saved through Christ, we are not under the condemnation of the law as those who are unregenerate. This verse is very comforting because many believers, when they sin, will wonder if they are truly saved. God places this verse here to give confidence to the true believer that even though they have the flesh and spirit struggle, they are covered by the blood of Christ and therefore are not coming under any judicial condemnation since Christ had paid for all the sins of the believer. There is no sin in the life of any believer which was not atoned for by the Lord Jesus Christ. Many people combat this truth by asking, “well what about future sins?” Well, when Christ went to the cross, all your sins were in the future plus if He only paid for part of your sins, then it was a partial atonement and not a full atonement which would never get anyone into Heaven. The key in this verse, is that those true believers are walking or living according to the Spirit and not the flesh. A true believer will not order their life according to the dictates of a worldly system and thus go back in sinful bondage. If they are truly saved, then the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will be evident in their changed lives. This is why the true believer never has to worry about loss of salvation as so many erroneously teach. Loss of salvation gives the impression that Christ only made a partial atonement in the life of the true believer which is nowhere taught in the Scriptures.

Rom 8:2 (KJV)
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

When we became saved, a new law became effective in our lives and that was the law of the Spirit. The law of the Spirit freed us from the law which leads only to death. The law of the Spirit in Christ brings life. When the law of the Spirit of life is present in the believer, this law fulfills and exceeds the demands of the law of Moses which brings only eternal death. The law itself was not sin but as Paul had so excellently brought to light, it exacerbated sin in the life of every human being but when a person became saved, they were freed from the demands of that law since Christ was the one who fulfilled those demands on behalf of His Elect.

Rom 8:3 (KJV)
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

First, the law of Moses was not able to help a person become truly saved since it only brought to light the fact that all human beings are sinful. If a person could keep every tenet of the law perfectly, then they could become saved but as this verse teaches us, the flesh is weak and corrupted because of sin as we saw in Romans 7, that the flesh is where the sinful nature resides and that is why the believer will always have the sin struggle, even many years after becoming truly saved. Secondly, since the law could not engender salvation, for the sake of His Elect, God sent the Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh to fulfill the law perfectly and impute that perfection into the souls of His Elect. Notice that it says that He was in the likeness of sinful flesh. This is because the Lord Jesus Christ was sinless, even in His flesh. When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, then all the sins of His Elect were placed upon Him and He became sin for us as He met the righteous demands of God’s Holy Law. (2 Cor 5:21 KJV) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Christ being in the flesh, was sacrificed in the flesh, and condemned sin in the life of all His Elect in the flesh.

Rom 8:4 (KJV)
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Here is a great spiritual principle. It is based on the doctrine of imputation. The fulfilled righteousness of the law by the Lord Jesus Christ is imputed to the Elect of God. This is done by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which is the seal of our salvation. There is no way that any human being can fulfill the righteous demands of the law of God, so the results of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ who fulfilled those demands are imputed to the believer and then we are walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Those who walk in the flesh are the unregenerate but those who have the Holy Spirit are walking in the Spirit.

Rom 8:5 (KJV)
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Here is another evidence of those who are saved. We see in today’s world that many are concerned with the environment and other worldly issues. There are many in mainline churches who call themselves Christians but are concerned only with worldly things such as save the whales or world hunger. These are the people who mind the things of the flesh. Those who mind the things of the Spirit are those who are concerned about the things of the Lord such as evangelizing this world, discipling new believers, missions, etc. These things are the priorities of the true child of God. These are the spiritual things we concern ourselves with in contrast to the things tied to this world that the carnal or fleshly person concerns themselves with.

Rom 8:6 (KJV)
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

The carnal mind is the mind of the unbeliever which is totally tied to this world and does not have concern for the spiritual things of the Lord. This is why the carnal mind is a mind which leads to death because it is unregenerate. On the other hand, when a person becomes saved and the Holy Spirit indwells the person, they are not only given a new resurrected soul, they are given a new mind which thinks upon the things of the Lord. (Heb 8:10 KJV) For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: The mind without Christ is a mind which does not have the laws of God in it.

Rom 8:7 (KJV)
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

The mind of the unregenerate is always at enmity with God. The word “enmity” carries with it the meaning of “hostility.” The unsaved mind is hostile towards God. This can be easily proven out, all you have to do is hand somebody a tract or speak with them about the Lord and they will rebuke you. This rebuke comes from the unregenerate mind which wants nothing to do with Christ. A person who is spiritually dead cares nothing about the spiritual life as all they concern themselves with are the things of the world. Unless God regenerates the person, their mind remains dead to the things of God. This is because the carnal mind and the spiritual life are at enmity with each other.

Rom 8:8 (KJV)
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

(Heb 11:6 KJV) But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Those who are unsaved are not given the gift of faith, therefore without faith it is impossible to please God. The unregenerate person lives their life in the flesh and sinful flesh is always at enmity with a Holy God. When a believer sins, they are momentarily walking in the flesh and at that moment they are not pleasing God, only when they repent of that sin and return to the spiritual life. Those who live their entire lives and die in the flesh will be judged for their sins at the last day since they have no Savior.

Rom 8:9 (KJV)
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Here is another great difference for the comfort of the believer. Those who are truly saved, even though we reside in sinful flesh, are not in the flesh according to the biblical definition. We who are saved have the Spirit of God living in us and He quickens us or makes us alive unto God. So even while we are in the flesh, we still serve God through the Spirit while in the body of flesh. Now another major principle taught in this verse is the fact that if a person is not regenerated and does not have the Holy Spirit living in them, then they are still reprobate and in Satan’s kingdom. This means that no matter how religious a person is, even an ordained clergyman, if they are unsaved and have not the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them, then they are still in their sins and are not a child of God. It should also be noted that when a person becomes truly saved, they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation and is not a separate or future event as some charismatic teachings may convey. (Eph 1:3 KJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: We have received all spiritual blessings in Christ and those spiritual blessings always begin with the receiving of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation.

Rom 8:10 (KJV)
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Paul now adds another major teaching that our physical bodies are dead because of the indwelling of sin. We may still be alive today but our physical bodies are walking dead bodies as eventually they will fail and die but if we are truly saved, we have eternal life in the Spirit which can never be affected by the decaying physical body. (Psa 90:10 KJV) The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Notice this verse teaches very simply that life in our physical bodies may be 80 years and the physical body will fail, “cut off,” and then we fly away. What a picturesque way of stating that we go to Heaven when our bodies fail the final time. This will be the real us and no longer will we be hindered by frail flesh.