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From the Pastors at Joy

Two Ways to Live

If you’ve been persevering in memorizing Romans 8 this year, hopefully you have been dwelling on these verses in the month of February:

"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. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 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" (Romans 8:5-8)

Notice that the passage begins with the word, ‘For,’ indicating that it is the ground or basis of what has come before it. Paul is explaining why those who are in Christ fulfill the righteous requirement of the law, while those outside of Christ do not (and indeed, cannot, v.8). Christians fulfill the law in the power of the Spirit because those who are of the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Let’s make a few observations.

First, the walk according to the Spirit is first a matter of who we are, not what we do. The word “live” in both halves of verse 5 is supplied by English translators for the sake of readability, and is not present in the original language. Literally, Paul says, “those who are of the flesh…those who are of the Spirit…” In these verses Paul, is not mainly exhorting the Christians in Rome to do or become something, he is telling them of what is. Those who “walk” by the flesh or the Spirit do so because they “are” of the flesh or the Spirit. Our behavior flows from the being or nature of who we are. The key to living a transformed life is not first doing something, but embracing something about who we are.

Second, the word “mind” (used both as a verb and a noun here, in the original language) is prominent in this passage. Being of the Spirit or of the flesh reveals itself in a certain kind of mental framework. While this word certainly has to do with the intellect and thinking, it also involves more than that. If you tell someone to “mind your own business,” you are not just referring to a person’s brain, but to what they are focused on and preoccupied with. “Attitude” or “mindset” might be the best one word to convey the sense of this word. Ray Ortlund describes it this way:

“He is talking about our whole mentality, what we dwell upon, the tilt of our likes and dislikes, what we respect and admire, what we want out of life, what we aspire after.”

Third, every human being is in one of these two categories. There are only two ways to live. Go back and read again the quote from Ortlund just cited, and ask yourself sincerely: according to that definition, is my mind set on the flesh, or the Spirit? It is either one or the other. To help you answer that question, listen again to Ortlund:

“The complex network of convictions and desires and ambitions that makes you you, that shapes your personality and orders your priorities, is either God-neglecting or God-enjoying.”

The mind of the flesh hates God and rejects His authority. It is bent on self-gratification and values only the things of this world. The mind of the Spirit treasures God and is preoccupied with everything that is dear to the Holy Spirit. To be sure, there is a battle that remains in the heart of a Christian between the Spirit and the flesh (which we will come to in due time in our exploration of Romans 8). But fundamentally, the Christian is one whose “mindset” is shaped and directed by the Holy Spirit. There is no middle-ground or neutrality envisioned here; you are either in the flesh, or in the Spirit.

Fourth, the difference between these two ways to live is one of life and death: "For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace" (v.6). Paul is not playing games here. The work of the Holy Spirit has a transforming effect on those whom He inhabits, and that difference is not the difference between a little more spirituality or a little less, but the difference between life and death. A non-transformed Christian is a contradiction of terms.

Perhaps you have heard the famous exhortation from Robert Murray McCheyne: “For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.” Thinking about whether you’ve been transformed or not will not transform you; only looking to Christ can do that. The rest of McCheyne’s quote is not as well known:

“…Let your soul be filled with a heart-ravishing sense of the sweetness and excellency of Christ and all that is in Him. Let the Holy Spirit fill every chamber of your heart; and so there will be no room for folly, or the world, or Satan, or the flesh.”

At bottom, the Spiritual mind is a mind ravished with the sweetness and excellency of Jesus. This experience is a miracle, but it is just such a miracle that Jesus lived, died, rose, ascended to heaven, and sent the Spirit to provide. And in working that miracle, in the provision of the Spirit, God has supplied us with what we need to be free from the God-neglecting, self-exalting desires of the flesh.