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 if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
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… of the people. Here's another one. The Spirit-led believer overcomes the old life. How do you do it when you live by the Spirit? Look at Romans 8.13. If you live according to the flesh, you'll die. But if you by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. This phrase put to death means to deprive something of oxygen. So what is the best way to resist sin and walk with God? It's to put Christ first. It's called one 19th century preacher summed it up this way, the expulsive power of a new affection. I love that. Turn the screen. The expulsive power of a new affection. In other words, my love for Jesus is so strong, it's stronger than anything else. There's a movie out, The Odyssey. Of course, it's based on the writings of Homer, not Simpson. And you may recall a scene from the film or from the book where the sirens are singing so beautifully the sailors that steered toward them would crash their boats on the rocks. So you have Ulysses who strapped to the mast. He hears the songs of the siren. He wants to give in to them, but he can't. …
… your mortal bodies through his spirit. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the sinful nature to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. You did not receive a Spirit that makes you a slave again to fear. You received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. And if we're children, we are heirs. Heirs with God. Co-heirs with Christ. If indeed we may share in His sufferings in order that one day we are going to share in his glory. I consider our sufferings, present sufferings do not compare with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits an eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation itself was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, and hope that the creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. …
… Again, back in Romans chapter 8 and in verse 13 this time, Paul makes the point with great clarity. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. But if by the Spirit—that phrase is crucial—you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. There is a way of living, says Paul, that leads to certain death. If, however, on the other hand, you cut the nerve of your instinctive actions by obeying the Spirit, then you will discover life that is really life. That you cut the nerve of your instinctive actions by obeying the Spirit. That's how it's done. There is a mystery to it, and yet it is the apex of simplicity. The Word of God is given to instruct us. The Spirit of God is given to enable us. The Spirit of God comes and prompts us to the Word of God, and we are called to obedience to the truth of God's Word. And the well-being of the Christian is directly related to this. Sin must be put to death in me if I am to enjoy the comfort of the gospel and if I am to know energy in my spiritual life. The reason that a number of us find ourselves in the difficulties that we face, bouncing between one notion and another, between one opinion and another, is either because we have no Christian life at all, we merely have externals without a change, or it is that we have never been taught, …
… the obstacle. Come on, clap if you're thankful. He's in me for me. oh watch Romans chapter 8 verse 13 for if you live if you live according to the flesh you will die but if you live according to the spirit you will put to death the deeds of the body and then you will live oh how about this John 14 verse 26 but the helper the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name he will teach you all things and he'll bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. How about chapter 16? Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. And when he has come, he will convict you of sin and righteousness and of judgment. Now how about verse 13? However, when the spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will tell you all things to come. He will glorify me and he will not take of what is mine and he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Last one, chapter 15, verse 26. When the advocate comes, whom I send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will …
In other words, it is not my way. For if you live according to the flesh, my way, you'll die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. in other words, the Holy Spirit, once he becomes your advocate, the one who intercedes for you and defends you, the one who comforts you in every situation, the one who guides you and the one who helps you, once the Holy Spirit is on the scene, he is going to continually remind you that you are a child of God. your refrain in life is going to be, I'm a child of God. I'm a daughter of God. I'm a son of God. The world didn't remind me of that. The algorithm didn't remind me of that. My parents didn't even remind me of that. But the Holy Spirit, my advocate, he is constantly reminding me, you're a child of God. …
But there are some of us people, not everyone in here, who if we lived according to the ways of our family, chow, not you all though, just people watching online. If you live according to the flesh you will die but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body that means that I am living in such a way that I am asking the spirit to help me understand what needs to be put to death in my flesh you will live and I'm talking about your spirit coming alive oh I'm talking about the fullness of your God-given identity coming alive that first nature that before I formed you in your mother's womb, that part of you that doesn't feel like it's alive, that sometimes you don't always feel anointed. You don't always feel like you have power and authority. You don't always feel like you have confidence. You don't always feel like you have faith. Your flesh will kill your spiritual identity. But if you want your spiritual identity to come to life, you've got to live according to the spirit. The spirit will help you come alive in the spirit. And you need to be able to come alive in the spirit so that you can discern what's for you and what's not. So that you can discern what is the enemy, what's warfare, what is something that you need to resist versus something that you need to overcome. You need to be able to live by the spirit of God. And by living by the spirit …
… but it's not to the flesh to live according to it. for if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Obligation, man, that's a tough word, Paul. I like verse one where there's no condemnation and I'm free. But now you're telling me I'm obligated, right? I love the idea where I get to pray a prayer and ask Jesus to be my Lord and savior and be forgiven of my sins. And I can put a scripture in my bio of my Instagram and I can live my life. But Paul's telling me there's more. There's more to it. There's an obligation. In light of what Jesus has done for me, my response is to wage all-out war against every part of my sinful nature, not by my power, but by the power of God's Spirit who lives in me. Did you catch that? I read a story about a French aristocrat, a French high flyer. …
… I have been bought with the price and the precious blood of Jesus. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. If you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, that means you got to kill it. You got to be a murderer. You got to kill yourself. You got to kill your mouth. You got to kill what you wanted to say. You wanted to kill. The other night, I was pacing the floor. I wanted to cause somebody so bad. I was pacing the floor. I was itching because I'm the kind of person that if I got something to say, I'm going to say it to you. And I was pacing the floor, and I had to mortify my flesh. I had to kill it. I had to take it and stab it. I had to wound it and let it bleed out on the floor to keep me from dying. …
… So then, brothers and sisters, 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 children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, Abba, Father, it is that very spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. If in fact we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8 reminds us that we're free. Romans 8 reminds us we are alive. And in this segment, do me a favor, touch yourself and say, I'm an heir. I'm an heir. Within these verses that I've just read, Paul makes allusion to one of the most beautiful and the deepest components of salvation that is arguably one of the most neglected. …