Romans 8: 5 - 8 > Flesh vs Spirit
| things of the Flesh vs things of the Spirit |
| Romans 8: 5 - 8 ( King James Version ) |
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| For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. |
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| 8:6 For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace. |
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| 8:7 Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. |
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| 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. |
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| Romans 8: 5 - 8 ( New International Version ) |
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| Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires. |
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| v. 6 > The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace; |
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| v. 7 > the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to god's law; nor can it do so. |
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| v. 8 > Those controlled by the sinful nature can not please God. |
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| Text Quoted in Spirit of Prophecy |
| This man represents a class. Spurious sanctification leads directly away from the Bible. Religion is reduced to a fable. Feelings and impressions are made the criterion. While they profess to be sinless and boast of their righteousness, the claimants of sanctification teach that men are at liberty to transgress the law of God and that those who obey its precepts have fallen from grace. A presentation of its claims arouses their opposition and excites anger and contempt. Thus their character is shown, for "the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). {FW 53.3} |
| 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." Great Controversy, page 467.2 |
| 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." Job 14:4; "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." 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. Steps to Christ, page 18.1 |
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| In the Word of God the honest seeker for truth will find the rule for genuine sanctification. The apostle says: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. . . . For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you" (Romans 8:1-9). {FW 97.2} |
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