WWUTT 1267 Setting the Mind On the Things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5-6)

Those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh. And what you set your mind on, that's what you're going to end up doing.

But those who live according to the spirit, set their minds on the things of the spirit. When we understand the text.

This is When We Understand The Text, a daily study in the word of Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. We come back again to our study in Romans chapter 8.

Picking up where we left off yesterday, but I'm going to start out here reading verses 1 through 9.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome. 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. 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. 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.

This is kind of a shorter way, or a less specific way, of what

Paul teaches in Galatians 5, where he says, walk by the Spirit and you will not desire, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.

For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. And then Paul goes into laying out, here's exactly the works of the flesh and things like these, and here are the fruit of the

Spirit. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

He's saying the same thing here in Romans chapter 8, just in a different way. But we get to a little bit more specificity of walking in the flesh, or the fruit of the

Spirit, when you look at Galatians chapter 5, because there Paul actually lays out the sins. He describes, here's what works of the flesh are, and he says we know what they are.

Verse 19, Galatians 5, 19, now the works of the flesh are evident.

Because they're evident, he doesn't have to lay them out here. But where he talks about the fruit of the

Spirit are these things. He doesn't give as precise a list here in Romans, but all of those things are certainly there.

We're laying out the doctrine of justification in this robust apologetic that Paul is giving here in 16 chapters.

So all of that gets in there, it just doesn't have that concise listing like we see in Galatians chapter 5.

But remember again here in verse 17, Galatians 5, 17, where it says the desires of the flesh are against the

Spirit. And the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Where does that sound familiar? Or how does that sound familiar? Where have we heard that before?

Well that was very similar to what we read in Romans chapter 7. Only Paul puts it in one verse, what we took almost all of Romans 7 to digest and understand.

Paul says the things that I want to do are not the things that I do. The things I don't want to do are the things that I keep on doing.

And that's similar to Galatians 5, 17. These things, the things of the

Spirit, are against the flesh. The things of the flesh are against the Spirit. They are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

If you want to do the works of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, but you're still gratifying the desires of the flesh, if you're still in the flesh, it keeps you from doing what you want to do in the

Spirit. If you are in the Spirit and not walking in the flesh, then the fruit of the

Spirit keeps you from doing the things that you would want to do in the flesh. This is how these things are opposed to one another.

And so we have that same thing being laid out for us here in Romans 7, was really where you found that conflict.

The things that I want to do, I can't seem to do because sin lies close at hand. But then, to be led by the

Spirit and not be under the law, to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh, this is what's being laid out for us here at the start of Romans 8.

So verse 5, And what you're setting your mind to, that's what you're going to do.

If you're setting your mind on fleshly things, entertaining your flesh, going after the flesh, then you're going to do the things of the flesh.

If you're setting your mind on the things of the Spirit, then you're going to do the things of the Spirit. When we get to Romans 12, 2,

Paul says, So we have our minds renewed by the

Spirit of God that is within us. Philippians 2, 5, The instruction, very simply, to have the mind of Christ.

If you walk according to the flesh, you set your mind on the flesh. That's what you think about. You walk according to the flesh, your mind is going to be fleshly.

It's going to be after fleshly things. And those things that your mind is after, that's what you're going to walk in.

But if you're walking in the Spirit, if you're living according to the Spirit, it's a Jewish metaphor, to walk means to live.

It's to go through life. So as you're walking in the Spirit, you're setting your mind on the things of the

Spirit. And that which you set your mind on, that's what you go after. So the mind relates to the action.

The action relates to the mind. These things are cyclical in that way. So if we have a mind that is transformed, it is made brand new, then it's going to change our walk.

It's going to change our pursuits, what we're directing ourselves toward, what we're after, what we want to achieve.

All of those things are by the focus of our minds. And I'm not talking about a mind over matter thing.

I'm talking about the way that we think is governed by Christ. It is governed by the

Spirit of God. And if the Spirit governs our thinking, then that will govern our actions as well.

That which our bodies go after is what our mind is after. Whatever our mind is after, that's what the body goes after.

So the transformation and the renewing of the mind that takes place in the Spirit of God transforms the whole person.

Hence why when you get to Romans 12 1, I'm going to go to the verse right before it now, it says,

In view of the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing unto the

Lord, and this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12 1 and 2 is jumping into a whole new section of Romans.

It's like taking the doctrine of justification and now making it application. So in light of everything that Paul had covered in 11 chapters, he gets to Romans 12 1 and says,

And now, my brothers, in view of the mercies of God, the mercies of God were everything that he laid out in the first 11 chapters.

So that includes here in Romans chapter 8. I'm not jumping too far ahead to make this reference to Romans 12 1 and 2.

It's the summary that he makes there of even the things that he's talking about here in 8 5.

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.

In Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 through 4, Paul says, set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are here on Earth.

And it's the same thing. He's not using the same words, terms, but it's still the same instruction.

Set your minds on things that are above is to set your mind on spiritual things. Do not set your minds on things that are here on Earth.

That would be setting your mind on fleshly things. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. So you are living your life unto

Christ, not unto yourself, unto spiritual things, not unto earthly, carnal, passions, desires, temptations, not going after those things of the flesh which are contrary to the things that God wants you to do, to live in righteousness and holiness.

And whenever we get into those lists of things that are mentioned to us as unholy, often at the very top of that list is sexual immorality.

I referenced to you yesterday and today from Galatians chapter 5, where Paul says the works of the flesh are evident.

What's the first thing on the works of the flesh? First thing on the hit parade, sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality.

We're talking about three things right at the top of that list that all have to do with sex outside of marriage.

Lust, a passionate erotic desire, looking at porn, desiring someone else that you're not married to, fantasizing.

Even wanting it in your mind is still sin. If you desire that which

God does not desire for you, you are sinning. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5, if you even lust after a woman in your heart, it is the same as if you committed adultery with her in your heart.

You must understand that on the list of fleshly things we get over and over again in the

New Testament, sexual immorality is often at the top of that list. Not all the time, but most of the time.

I also reference to you from Colossians chapter 3. If you go on there in Colossians, it says, put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry.

All of those things having to do with sexual immorality that is done in the body and in the mind.

Hence the evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry. Those are not things done with the body.

Those are things that the mind desires. A mind that is set on the things of the flesh, not on things of the spirit.

When it comes to committing yourself in holiness unto God, you must commit your whole self unto

God. Not just in the things that you do, but even the things that you think. That your desires would even be reoriented by the power of the spirit of God to be honoring unto

Christ. The things that you think about would even be honoring to God. Philippians 2 .5

again, have the mind of Christ. I balk at the idea that a person can experience same -sex attraction and never be able to change their mind.

That is absurd. That is contrary to what the scripture says to us. And it would be impossible then to fulfill that commandment to have the mind of Christ.

It would be impossible to set your minds on the things of the spirit, if it were not possible for you to transform your thinking from something that God calls an abomination, to then instead think about things that are honoring to God.

Think about these things, Paul says in Philippians 4. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Can you have a thought life that is honoring to God? Yes, you can.

And as Jesus has instructed us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then that includes even the thoughts that we think being able to take those things captive and make them obedient to Christ, 1

Corinthians 10 .5, 2 Corinthians 10 .5. So as we have had those instructions given to us, we must submit our minds to those things.

We must desire to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, which happens by an action of the spirit who comes into our lives, when we hear the gospel, repent from sin, and turn toward Jesus Christ.

He will change our thinking as well as our actions. Now it is impossible for any person to truly love the

Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. No one in the history of mankind has ever been able to do that.

But you must submit yourself to Christ. You must understand the weakness of your flesh and submit yourself to Christ that you may be governed by his spirit.

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3, not that I am already perfect or have already achieved this, but I desire to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

So it is that very desire that points us in a direction of walking according to the spirit and not according to those things of the flesh.

Don't ever fool yourself into thinking, well, I'm just never going to be able to overcome these thoughts, and so therefore there's no reason for me to have to try.

I'm just always going to be that way. And then that even becomes part of your message. Well, you can't do anything about it, you're never going to be able to change it, so you're always going to be that way.

No! Again, Colossians 3, 5, put to death what is earthly in you, even those immoral sexual desires.

We must pursue righteousness, and this happens by the power of the spirit that God has poured into our hearts.

Verse 6, to set the mind on the flesh is death. If you're going to give up on pursuing those holy spiritual things, then you're choosing to believe that the flesh is stronger than the spirit, and you're just going to roll over and die and say, well, then that's it, and my mind is always going to be on the flesh, and there's nothing that I can do about it.

Nonsense! If you set your mind on the flesh, that's death. Even taking this from the sanctification standpoint, like we were talking about in Romans 7, you cannot be justified by your works, nor can you be sanctified by your works.

So if you're looking at the law, and you're thinking to yourself, I've got to keep this law, and if I keep this law, then I'm going to be sanctified, then you're setting your mind on the flesh, because you're relying on your ability to keep the law in order to purify yourself, and that's not how we're purified.

We're purified in Christ. We're given the spirit of God, and then walking in the spirit, pursuing those things that are spiritual, focusing on Christ, the author and the perfecter of our faith, we will keep those things of the law, because against such things there is no law.

So to set the mind on the flesh, to think that by the willpower of yourself, you will be able to be a good person, that's just going to lead you to death.

To think that there's nothing that you have to overcome in the weakness of your flesh, is to set your mind on the flesh.

It's to give in to the flesh. It's to say, well, there's nothing that I'm ever going to be able to do about this anyway. It's always going to be there, so I might as well just accept it and deal with it.

Then you even change your theology according to it. Well, people always have these problems. They always have these tendencies.

We just need to be tolerant of that. You're tolerating your own sin when you start to think that way.

Put to death what is earthly in you. Is the Holy Spirit of God not more powerful than the desires of your flesh?

Are you really willing to say that the desires of your flesh have more power than the spirit of God dwelling within you?

You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Yeah, we use that verse to talk about how you can win an

NBA championship or a marathon. That's not what that verse is about. But the power of Christ to overcome temptation is certainly there.

Paul is talking about the power of Christ to be able to rejoice in the best of circumstances or in the worst of trials.

That tendency that we have to bicker and complain or even lose hope and fall into despair. Paul says, no,

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 1 Corinthians 10 .13

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.

But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it.

And when you find that way of escape, when you resist the temptation and you continue in spiritual things, you demonstrate that you walk according to the spirit and you are not dominated by those desires of your flesh.

For those who live according to the flesh set their mind on the things of the flesh.

But to set the mind on the, but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit.

Verse 6 again, to set the mind on the flesh is death. You're never going to achieve holiness, setting your mind on fleshly things.

You're never going to achieve holiness, believing that you can achieve holiness simply by the power of your own will.

But to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. To set your mind on Christ, and by the spirit of God to overcome those temptations and pursue holiness, this is life and this is peace.

By the power of Christ within you. Verse 7, for the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.

It does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please

God. I'm going to wait to come back to those two verses tomorrow, 7 and 8. I would like, optimistically, that we're even able to get through verse 11, but we'll see.

Let's conclude with prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you again for these reminders. To walk according to the spirit.

Not to set our minds on the things of the flesh. Certainly not to surrender to our flesh.

The moment we get weak and stupid, and we think that, hey, this fleshly desire is always going to be there, there's nothing that I'm going to be able to do about it, is to give in to the power of our flesh, and eventually those things are going to overcome our minds, and we're going to start entertaining those things in our bodies that our minds had been set upon.

We must be in the spirit of God. We must focus on Christ. We must pursue

Jesus, and in that, no temptation of the flesh can possibly lead us off that way.

Walking in the things of the spirit. Give us the strength today to resist temptation, and desire to do the holy thing, to set our minds on Christ, to take every thought captive, and make it obedient to Christ.

Give us the strength to do this today. Our desires to please the spirit of God, and not our flesh.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Pastor Gabe keeps a regular blog, sharing personal thoughts, alerting readers to false teachers, and offering commentary on the church and social issues.

You can find a link to the blog through our website, www .tt .com. Thank you for listening, and join us again tomorrow as we continue our study in God's Word, when we understand the text.