MY opening went long last time, so I’m going to be brief here; inviting you to reread the previous comment introduction for this intro, and consider carefully the lesson below, the continuation of Chapter 47 that is so well stated.
AS a reminder, we have been studying The Complete Green Letters – Part 4 – The Realization of Spiritual Growth, printed as a standalone book, The Reckoning that Counts (currently out-of-print). I do have comments to make, but I’m going to reserve them for the last two paragraphs of this chapter, the last installment and review of “Romans Eight Reckoning” to follow.
SO, for now….
In the inexorable riches of Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10, Isa 30:15, Jas 1:2; Prov. 21:30
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Chapter 47—Romans Eight Reckoning – Part 3
Too many Christians today are seeking to live for the Lord on the basis of the principle of love. Their thinking is, “He loved me and gave Himself for me, therefore the least I can do is love Him and give myself to Him.” Such a motive is good, high, and altruistic; but it is neither the best nor the highest, nor is it spiritual. Our love is far too weak and vacillating for such an undertaking. Self will see to that! “For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not … For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members … bringing me into captivity to the law of sin” (Rom. 7:18, 22, 23).
There is only one true and adequate motivating power for living the Christian life, and that is the very life of the Lord Jesus—ministered within by the Spirit of Life Himself. This is not a motivation of love, but the empowerment of life. “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). It is not, “Only what is done for will last,” but rather, “Only what is done by Christ will last.”
In Romans 8:6 we must again take a close look at our King James Version: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” This particular translation runs counter to the actual teaching of the Word. For the believer to be “carnally minded” does not bring death, as all believers pass through a great deal of carnality as part of their growth. To be “spiritually minded” does not bring life, as all believers are alive in Christ.
Once more, the American Standard Version states the truth accurately: “For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom. 8:6). Here, the Word is stating that the make-up, the bent, the life of the flesh, is nothing but death; whereas that of the Spirit is life and peace—the life of Christ, and the peace ofGod. Verse 7 further reveals the nature of the flesh: “Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be.”
The flesh in its entirety, all of self, is dead set against God and everything spiritual. “In my flesh dwelleth no good thing” (Rom. 7:18). The flesh is at absolute enmity with God, and can neither be reconciled nor redeemed. It took the death of the Son and our newly created life in Him to bring us to God. Our old source was not changed, but crucified; it was exchanged for the new creation in Christ Jesus. “For they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8). …to be continued
