Romans 8

Have you ever sat down and read Romans 8. I don't mean just the last uplifting and encouraging part. I mean the whole chapter. It speaks volumes to the human condition and what it means to truly live by the Spirit of God. The meat of the chapter is really here - at least for me.

Romans 8:5-17

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Is your life as a believer ruled by your flesh or by His Spirit? How do you know the flesh is ruling?

Sometimes the answer to that last question is obvious. Look in the mirror. Service to the flesh may be apparent. Do you eat so much that you look like a weeble? Do you work out so much that you can't pass a mirror without checking yourself out? Do you constantly worry about what people think of you or your personal appearance or how you choose to live? Do you spend too much on clothes?

Or maybe when you glance into the spiritual mirror of the scriptures, you are horrified by what you see there. Do you look anything like Jesus? Does the mind dwell less on the heavenly and more on the physical and earthly things of this present world? There is beauty in God's creation that be perverted to many different uses. Our senses can deceive us. Our corrupted physical natures can get us in trouble.

We need to live by His Spirit and sift out the sin in our lives while enjoying in moderation the things that make life enjoyable. Test these things. See if they are good and enjoy your salvation in the here and now. As to those things we find in our lives that pull us down into fleshly realm of distortion and abuse, we have to reject these thing, resist them and move on.

The writer of Hebrews said,    " In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." 

He was right. Let's rid ourselves of the sin in our lives and let God speak truth to our souls that we may live for Him. Life will be better.