SCRIPTURE
"So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'" (Romans 8:12-15)
OBSERVATION
Paul continues to contrast a life lived in the Spirit and a life lived in the flesh. The two "laws" deliver two qualities of life. The Law of the Spirit: wee are set free in Christ Jesus, it brings life and peace, we have our minds set on the Spirit. The Law of Sin and Death: is weakened by the flesh, we have our minds set on the flesh, it brings death and is hostile to God, it cannot submit to God.
The struggle is choosing which law to live under. The flesh cries out with its temptations and desires but the way of the Spirit is life. On our own we cannot do it. It is the work of Christ that helps us to overcome. He came in the flesh and by the cross condemned sin in the flesh. The life we live as a follower of Jesus is not lived in our own strength but in the strength of the Spirit. The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead gives us new life and helps raise us from the dead life of the flesh.
APPLICATION
It is by the Spirit that I put to death the deeds of my flesh. Shear willpower is not enough..that is trying to live by the flesh. The reality of my relationship with Christ is that he lives in me. By his death and resurrection he helps me to put to death the deeds of my flesh so I too can live a resurrected life. I only have the strength to do so much for so long. However, God's Spirit in me gives me new life and an everlasting source of strength. I need to set my mind on the Spirit and on the things of God. He brought me into a relationship with him so that I can live under a new law, the law of the Spirit, as a son and not as a slave to fear.
PRAYER
Lord, today I will face the struggle between choosing the flesh or the Spirit. Help me to focus on the Spirit and walk according to the new way of life.
