When our minds are focused on law & sin we are walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit.

 

A mind set on the Spirit has the law of faith ruling over them. We are forgiven and free, on account of Christ crucified and resurrected. We are righteous by faith apart from anything else we do or don’t do.

 

Many years ago the I spent a year studying Romans chapter 8. At that time I was ignorant of the context of freedom from the law found in Romans 7. If the conscience is still bound to the good and holy law then Romans 8 will read very different. It may sound like the Spirit is helping us play whack-a-mole with the law instead of “brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to another. You belong to him who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.” Romans 7:4. We don’t belong to the law. It is not only the condemnation of the law that we are set free from. It’s the law itself. The whole dang fading glory of the law.

Romans 8 teaches us how to have our minds set on the Spirit, and not on the law, on the flesh, on death. If you are interested, I did a study through the Gospel According to John, and explained how the law is darkness and Christ is light. Once our eyes are open to it, the whole new testament is a freedom from law message.

We are growing up into Christ who is the head of the body, and we are free from law to bear fruit for God. This is not how the natural man or woman thinks, or understands the things of God. 

The other commands and instructions in scripture are not to be regarded as a binding law on our conscience. But rather we have this open permission to do things for our neighbor. We can read these as appeals to a freed conscience, and expect that we may find ourselves doing some of these things, from time to time as the Spirit is leading us. “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Galatians 5:18.  Romans 8 is explaining that when our minds are law and sin focused, then our minds are set on the flesh and we cannot please God.

When our mind is set on the Spirit: we don’t have to do anything to please God, because God is already pleased, and glorified with us, solely on account of Christ crucified and resurrected. 

Galatians 4:21-31 teaches that the whole world is enslaved to this law, and so are many Christians, but the Jerusalem above is free, (from Mount Sinai) and she is our mother. 

With our minds set on the Spirit. We have permission to live spontaneously in the Spirit, doing the good that we want to do, as we are willing and able to. The instructions, commands, and demands in God’s word become appeals to a freed conscience. When we read or hear instructions we can relax and expect that these things will happen, in the course of our lifetime, as the Spirit is at work in us. “A tree will bring forth fruit in its season,” Psalm 1:3. We are already righteous by faith. We don’t have to go through life comparing ourselves to our neighbor, and operating out of guilt, shame, guilty conviction, or condemnation. If there is something that we are interested in doing, we may do it. If we are not willing or able, we are free. In this life, we will be given many opportunities to help our neighbor. Our unbelieving neighbors are also helping their neighbor out, they just don’t believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin, and perhaps like many of us they are still enslaved to the law for righteousness.

Romans 8, let’s read.

Romans 8:1-2 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” 

God’s authoritative Word sets us free from the authority of the law that came through Moses. The law gets set aside only in Christ. Christianity is largely learning how to operate from this renewed mindset. Many of us are still operating under the old covenant law because we’ve brought the 10 commandments, and the summery of the commands, into the Christian life. We can help set one another free from that. 

We can understand the great commission through the lens that Jesus’ commands are not the 10 commandments. Jesus has new commands for us in the new covenant. Freedom from the law, freedom from a mind set on the flesh, tenor of commands. 1 John 3:23 “Now this is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us.” Paul was commissioned with the task of setting us free from law. Paul understands that some will use their freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. He makes appeals to our freed conscience to not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. He doesn’t put us under the law again. Galatians 5:16 “I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh.17 For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity,20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things ​— ​as I warned you before ​— ​that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” If we want to turn this list into a law to live under then these things will be rampant in our community. Romans 7:7 “For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet. 8 And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead.”

That list in Galatians 5 is a list of the works of the flesh, and also in Romans 8, the law itself is referred to as the flesh.  Romans 8:3-4 “What the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh (desires), God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (human body) as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh (law) but according to the Spirit.” 

In Romans 7, the Spirit sets us free from the law so that we can bear fruit for God. In Romans 8 the law is no longer telling us what to do. We are trusting that the Spirit, and freedom from law, is now our guide. Because the law that came through Moses empowers sin in us, not holiness. “The power of sin is the law,” 1 Corinthians 15:56. 

By trusting that Jesus fulfilled the law, and took it away by nailing it to the cross, we uphold the law by faith. Romans 3:30 “since there is one God who will justify the circumcised (the Israelites) by faith and the uncircumcised (the gentiles) through faith. 31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” Faith in Christ’s perfect obedience to the law. Faith in Christ crucified and resurrected, upholds the law.

In Romans 8, flesh = law, and Spirit = you are forgiven and free.  Romans 8:5 “For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit. 6 Now the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” A mind that has to obey God’s law is set on the flesh, is death and is hostile to God, because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so. The law demands perfect obedience always. Imperfect obedience will have Moses accusing us of all that we have left undone. We are not able to make small obedience towards this law. 

Instead of imperfect obedience to the law, the Spirit of life in Christ sets us free from the law. The law gets set aside only in Christ, 2 Corinthians 3:7-18. This pleases God. A mind set on the Spirit. Our Christian obedience is to the law of faith. 

The ministry of the Spirit is to use the law to convict the world of sin, bring us to Christ, and then convict us of being righteous solely by faith in Christ. 

The law that was given through Moses is distinctly different from the law of faith, the law of Christ, the law of liberty, the law of love, and the law of the Spirit of life in Christ. The law of love sets us free from the law that was given through Moses.

Romans 8:9 “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. 10 Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.”

It has been beneficial to think through the many ways my mind, my conscience, is bound to the good and holy law. The law that was given through Moses. I no longer think that the law is God’s character. God’s character is compassion, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and slow to anger, Nehemiah 9:17. The instructions for Christian living are not commands, but appeals to a freed conscience. The fruit of the Spirit is not a law. The righteousness of Christ is not a high standard to live up to, but a gift. We tend to turn things that are gifts into commands or law. 

“Deny yourself take up your cross and follow me” is to deny ourselves a righteousness that comes through the law. This is called bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. We are righteous on account of Christ crucified and resurrected. We are washed, we are clean, even when the law of Moses says otherwise. 

The Spirit will help us do the work of unbinding our conscience. Instead of being law and sin focused, we become already righteous and Christ/Spirit focused. Operating in the freedom of the Spirit. If we are in a high control community we may need to learn to trust ourselves. Pastor Mark Anderson says “We don’t always know where our spirit ends and the Holy Spirit begins.” Trust in Christ, crucified and resurrected for the forgiveness of sins, as our wisdom. But also trusting our gut, honoring our emotions, and trusting our intuition. We are free to be.

The Holy Spirit is our spiritual leader. If another Christian is leading us under law we do not have to follow them into that darkness. We have permission to live spontaneously in the Spirit using our gifts, abilities, and vocation to help our neighbor out as we are willing and able to. Our sin is gone. Our sin belongs to Jesus now, the law is fulfilled and nailed to the cross, Colossians 2:14. We are the righteousness of God by faith. We operate from a heart that is free. We have permission to read the Bible through a freedom lens. 

Understanding that the law itself is not sin, but the law stirs up sin in us. Flesh = law. Faith calms sin down, or puts sin to death, in particular the sin of an evil unbelieving heart. Romans 8:12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, 13 because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father! ” 16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs ​— ​heirs of God and coheirs with Christ ​— ​if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Suffering with Jesus, what does that mean? Taking the law away from people who have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge got Jesus and the disciples jailed and killed. This is the reason Saul/Paul himself was persecuting the church. Saul was living under the darkness of the Law. Jesus says to Saul in Acts 26:17 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Jesus’ freedom from law ethics is a difficult thing for the church. “Sanctified by faith in me”, instead of conforming to the law being our mode of sanctification we are sanctified by faith in Jesus. Paul went from being the one who was putting Christians in jail for teaching freedom from the law gospel, to being the one put into jail for teaching freedom from wrath (Romans 5), sin (Romans 6), law (Romans 7), a mind set on the law on the flesh (Romans 8). Jesus gave him the task of turning the gentiles from darkness to light, from law to Christ. From the power of Satan to God. The religious leaders kept putting Paul in jail for speaking against the law for righteousness.

With that understanding Paul says, Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility ​— ​not willingly, but because of him who subjected it ​— ​in the hope 21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 

God’s children are free from the law. This earth right here and right now is in bondage to the law, but one day it will be set free from that, just like we are free from law right now. The law is not the standard for Christian living the Spirit is. If we are ruled over by the 10 commandments, or human regulations, or biblical principles for living, that is self-made religion. Colossians 2:20 If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: 21 “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”? 22 All these regulations refer to what is destined to perish by being used up; they are human commands and doctrines. 23 Although these have a reputation for wisdom by promoting self-made religion, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence.

While we have been set free from the law for righteousness we live in a world that has not been. Romans 8:23 Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits ​— ​we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.

We eagerly await the Jerusalem above who is free from Mount Sinai and she is our mother. Galatians 4: 21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, don’t you hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and the other by a free woman. 23 But the one by the slave was born as a result of the flesh, while the one by the free woman was born through promise. 24 These things are being taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery ​— ​this is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. The law that came through Moses at Mount Sinai, that event happened after Hagar was on this earth. Hagar was used and abused, as a slave, by both Sarah and Abraham. She was despised and rejected and sent into the wilderness. God sees Hagar in her pain and distress and has compassion on her. God provides for her and her son Ishmael. I think I might be missing the connection as to why her life somehow makes her a figurative representative of Mount Sinai. The main point is that the law puts us in slavery to sin. Under the law, we are bound to sin and it’s consequences.

While we are waiting and groaning. Romans 8:26 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. When life is hard and we can’t find words to pray. Or maybe prayer is heaped on us as a heavy burden, a command, a law, that we are not good at doing. We may trust that the Spirit of Christ is praying for us, and on our behalf. We may trust that Jesus is praying for us and interceding for us.

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified. Trusting in Christ, crucified and resurrected for the forgiveness of sin, is called loving God. Even when we may not have affections for God. These verses have brought a lot of comfort to the Saints. Even to those of us who are walking in the darkness of the law, looking through a glass dimly. We are conformed to the image of Jesus by faith. The glory of the law is fading and the glory of the Spirit is increasing. John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” is a reference to John the Baptist’s ministry with the law decreasing. By trusting that even when our hearts and minds are not holy, we are the righteousness of God by faith. We live by this faith in the Son of God who loves us and gave himself for us to free us from this darkness, this law which is the power of sin, and the power of unbelief.

Jesus’ love sets us free from law, darkness, and flesh. We in turn love one another, our brothers and sisters in Christ, by setting them free from law to walk in the Spirit. To walk by faith in the righteousness of God.

Romans 8:31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He did not even spare his own Son but offered him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? 33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. 34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

 

Because of you we are being put to death all day long;

we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

 

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What is the victory that has overcome the world? Our faith. In the new covenant there is really only one command, a work of God, a way that we are doers of the word and not hearers only. The commands are to trust in Christ for forgiveness and righteousness. 1 John 5:2 This is how we know that we love God’s children: when we love God and obey his commands. 3 For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden, 4 because everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. I’m making a note here. John Calvin who saw the doctrine of election in scripture also brought the 10 commandments into the Christian life. So much blindness, confusion, and insecure attachment to God are the fruit of that. Romans 10 calls this a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. We reject God’s righteousness to establish our own through the law.

When the law of the Spirit of life in Christ sets us free from the law of sin and death, the good and holy law, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck us from His hand.

 

Related:

Romans 7