Romans 8:6 - HOLY SPIRIT LIVING ! ! !
Romans 8:6 (NLT) So letting your sinful
nature control your mind leads to death. But
letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life
and peace.
INTRODUCTION
Paul divides people into two
categories"those who let themselves be controlled by their
sinful natures, and those who follow after the Holy
Spirit. All of us would be in the first category if
Jesus hadnt offered us a way out. Once we have
said yes to Jesus, we will want to continue
following him, because his way brings life and peace.
Daily we must consciously choose to center our
lives on God. Use the Bible to discover Gods
guidelines, and then follow them. In every perplexing
situation ask yourself, What would Jesus want me to
do? When the Holy Spirit points out what is
right, do it eagerly. [Life Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Protecting Command Central
Holy Spirit-led people are
spiritually-minded people, and our minds are command central.
Thats why we need to protect our
minds. Someone has wisely said, sow a thought, reap
an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a
habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a
destiny.
The apostle Paul wrote, Those who are
dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful
things, but those who are controlled by the Holy
Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
So letting your sinful nature control your mind
leads to death. But letting the Spirit control
your mind leads to life and peace (Romans
8:5-6 NLT).
Notice that Paul said, Think about
things that please the Spirit. Contrast this
with people who only think about satisfying their
impulses and the appetites of their flesh with things
like illicit drugs, sex outside of marriage or
before marriage, alcohol, partying, and things of
that nature. It also could be empty things like
fame and fortune.
Or, it could be simply thinking about
only physical things and never spiritual things.
Jesus talked about people like this, saying,
Dont worry about these things, saying, What
will we eat? What will we drink? What will we
wear? These things dominate the thoughts of
unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all
your needs (Matthew 6:31-32 NLT).
Jesus wasnt saying we should never
think about these things. We do need to think
about a roof over our heads, what were going to
eat, and what were going to wear. But Jesus
was saying that we shouldnt be obsessed with
it. He went on to say, Seek the Kingdom of
God above all else, and live righteously, and he
will give you everything you need (verse 33
NLT).
Dont make the entire focus of your
life pursuing physical things at the exclusion of
pursuing God. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
COMMENTARY
It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to
escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken.
Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them.
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
not one." "The carnal mind is enmity against
God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be." Job 14:4; Romans 8:7.
Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human
effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they
are powerless. They may produce an outward
correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the
heart; they cannot purify the springs of life.
There must be a power working from within, a new
life from above, before men can be changed from
sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace
alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the
soul, and attract it to God, to holiness. {SC
18.1}
The Saviour said, "Except a man be born
from above," unless he shall receive a new heart,
new desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a
new life, "he cannot see the kingdom of God."
John 3:3 {SC 18.2}
The law of God, from its very nature, is
unchangeable. It is a revelation of the will and the
character of its Author. God is love, and His law is
love. Its two great principles are love to God and
love to man. "Love is the fulfilling of the law."
Romans 13:10. The character of God is righteousness
and truth; such is the nature of His law. Says
the psalmist: "Thy law is the truth:" "all Thy
commandments are righteousness." Psalm 119:142, 172. And
the apostle Paul declares: "The law is holy, and
the commandment holy, and just, and good."
Romans 7:12. Such a law, being an expression of the
mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its
Author. {GC 467.1}
It is the work of conversion and
sanctification to reconcile men to God by bringing them
into accord with the principles of His law. In
the beginning, man was created in the image of
God. He was in perfect harmony with the nature
and the law of God; the principles of
righteousness were written upon his heart. But sin
alienated him from his Maker. He no longer reflected
the divine image. His heart was at war with the
principles of God's law. "The carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be." Romans 8:7. But "God
so loved the world, that He gave His
only-begotten Son," that man might be reconciled to God.
Through the merits of Christ he can be restored to
harmony with his Maker. His heart must be renewed by
divine grace; he must have a new life from above.
This change is the new birth, without which, says
Jesus, "he cannot see the kingdom of God." {GC
467.2}
The first step in reconciliation to God
is the conviction of sin. "Sin is the
transgression of the law." By the law is the knowledge of
sin." 1 John 3:4; Romans 3:20. In order to see his
guilt, the sinner must test his character by God's
great standard of righteousness. It is a mirror
which shows the perfection of a righteous
character and enables him to discern the defects in
his own. {GC 467.3}
The law reveals to man his sins, but it
provides no remedy. While it promises life to the
obedient, it declares that death is the portion of the
transgressor. The gospel of Christ alone can free him from
the condemnation or the defilement of sin. He
must exercise repentance toward God, whose law
has been transgressed; and faith in Christ, his
atoning sacrifice. Thus he obtains "remission of
sins that are past" and becomes a partaker of the
divine nature. He is a child of God, having
received the spirit of adoption, whereby he cries:
"Abba, Father!" {GC 467.4}
In the new birth the heart is brought
into harmony with God, as it is brought into
accord with His law. When this mighty change has
taken place in the sinner, he has passed from
death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from
transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. The
old life of alienation from God has ended; the
new life of reconciliation, of faith and love,
has begun. Then "the righteousness of the law"
will "be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:4. And the
language of the soul will be: "O how love I Thy law!
it is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97.
{GC 468.1}
True sanctification is a Bible doctrine.
The apostle Paul, in his letter to the
Thessalonian church, declares: "This is the will of God,
even your sanctification." And he prays: "The
very God of peace sanctify you wholly." 1
Thessalonians 4:3; 5:23. The Bible clearly teaches what
sanctification is and how it is to be attained. The Saviour
prayed for His disciples: "Sanctify them through
Thy truth: Thy word is truth." John 17:17. And
Paul teaches that believers are to be "sanctified
by the Holy Ghost." Romans 15:16. What is the
work of the Holy Spirit? Jesus told His
disciples: "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He
will guide you into all truth." John 16:13. And
the psalmist says: "Thy law is the truth." By
the word and the Spirit of God are opened to men
the great principles of righteousness embodied
in His law. And since the law of God is "holy,
and just, and good," a transcript of the divine
perfection, it follows that a character formed by
obedience to that law will be holy. Christ is a
perfect example of such a character. He says: "I
have kept My Father's commandments." "I do always
those things that please Him." John 15:10; 8:29.
The followers of Christ are to become like
Him--by the grace of God to form characters in
harmony with the principles of His holy law. This is
Bible sanctification. {GC 469.2}
This work can be accomplished only
through faith in Christ, by the power of the
indwelling Spirit of God. Paul admonishes believers:
"Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to
will and to do of His good pleasure." Philippians
2:12, 13. The Christian will feel the promptings
of sin, but he will maintain a constant warfare
against it. Here is where Christ's help is needed.
Human weakness becomes united to divine strength,
and faith exclaims: "Thanks be to God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57. {GC 469.3}
The Scriptures plainly show that the work
of sanctification is progressive. When in
conversion the sinner finds peace with God through the
blood of the atonement, the Christian life has but
just begun. Now he is to "go on unto perfection;"
to grow up "unto the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ." Says the apostle Paul:
"This one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13, 14. And Peter sets
before us the steps by which Bible sanctification
is to be attained: "Giving all diligence, add
to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance
patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
. . . If ye do these things, ye shall never
fall." 2 Peter 1:5-10. {GC 470.1}
ILLUSTRATION
Are You Telling Yourself the Truth?
Have you ever felt like you are a hostage
to your thoughts? Maybe you just can't get a
thought out of your mind. Or you often find yourself
doing things you don't want to do. You knowingly
engage in self-defeating behavior. You know
something is not good for you, but you do it anyway.
Romans 7:23 says, I see a different
law at work in my body - a law that fights
against the law which my mind approves of. It makes
me a prisoner to the law of sin which is at
work in my body (GNT).
Because of your sinful nature, you think
of yourself and your wants more than what God
wants. Its a battle in your mind, and you're
losing it. Your old nature - who you were before
Jesus changed your life - is not your friend. It
is the source of all your self-defeating habits
that tend to take you down.
Do you want to break those habits and
have more control over the way you think?
Then you need to hear and understand this
truth: You dont have to believe everything you
think.
Your mind lies to you all the time. Just
because you think something is true doesn't make it
true. Just because you feel something is true
doesn't make it true. Your mind and your emotions
often lie to you. Part of spiritual growth -
becoming more like Jesus - is learning to know the
difference between thoughts that are true and those
that are not.
One of the most important disciplines you
can build in life is to challenge your own
thoughts. Say to yourself, I know what I'm
thinking, but is that really true?
No matter how far you go in your
spiritual walk, your old, sinful nature will keep
trying to take control of your thoughts. You have
to learn to question your thoughts, not just
one time but throughout your day and throughout
your life!
When you start to think nobody likes you,
ask yourself if thats really true. If you
think its never going to get better, ask
yourself if its true. When you think your life is
worthless, question what Satan is trying convince you
of. Then, remember what you know from Gods
Word to be true. [Daily Devotional by Rick
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
CLOSING THOUGHT
An End to Sins Control
Do you ever find yourself doing the very
thing you dont want to do or thinking the
thought you dont want to think? If so, youre
not alone. In chapter 7 of Romans, we find the
apostle Paul struggling with sin and how to overcome
it.
He wrote, I want to do what is good,
but I dont. I dont want to do what is
wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I
dont want to do, I am not really the one doing
wrong; it is sin living in me that does it
(verses 19"20 NLT).
Interestingly, theres not a single
mention of the Holy Spirit in Romans 7. But in the
next chapter, we can find at least 20 references
to the Holy Spirit. So we see the apostle Paul
trying to do things in his own strength, but then
he realized there was help in the Holy Spirit.
There was power available to live the life that
God called him to live.
If you are a spiritual person, then you
will want to do spiritual things. For instance,
when a person is fit, theres most likely a
reason for that. It involves what they eat (and
dont eat), their exercise regimen, and other
things they routinely do.
Now lets apply this to our spiritual
lives. Paul wrote, God declared an end to
sins control over us by giving his Son as a
sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just
requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us,
who no longer follow our sinful nature but
instead follow the Spirit (Romans 8:3-4 NLT).
If you want to do better spiritually,
then you need the help of the Holy Spirit. And
the best way not to go backward is to go forward
in the Holy Spirit. [Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com] re vs. 4
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Romans 8:6 - SPIRIT LIVING! How to Take
Every Thought Captive.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20201020-0827.html
Colossians 3:2 - Be Heavenly Minded.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220325-1012.html
Ephesians 4:22-24 - Gods Goal: Your
Character, Not Your Comfort.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210511-0946.html
Colossians 3:12, 13 - Christian Clothing;
Character.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220527-1053.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study
Guides:
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
