 Okay, good morning, everyone. I've just started the recording of this lecture. Thank you for connecting to the class. Welcome, everyone. Roshan, Kiran, Aran, Dave, Thomas. I'm sure the others will eat in soon. And it's an exciting time today, Romans chapter 8. And possibly we'll get into Romans 9 as well, if we can get there. All right, so let's pray and let's get started. Could one of us please lead us and pray this morning and we will start? Dave, want to lead us please? Okay, maybe Dave's mic is there. All right, Roshan, maybe you can lead us. Sure. Father, we come for your throne of grace today. Lord, we thank you for your mercy that is new every morning. So we bow ourselves before you, Father. And Lord, even as we learn from your word, Holy Spirit, come and continue to pour out your wisdom as you have been, Lord. And continue to help us understand the beauty of your word, Father. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you. All right, so we paused last week just before the end of Romans 7, just getting started with Romans 8. So let's go there. I want to just quickly recap. Yeah, just quickly recap a few things and then we will go forward. So Romans 5 and 6, the Apostle Paul introduced us to this truth on identification. So he talked about how every human person is identified in Adam. And through Adam, sin came, condemnation, judgment, everything that is of death, leading to death. And all of that came through Adam and every human person is identified with that. But Adam was a type of the real man, Jesus Christ, who Paul in another place in 1 Corinthians 15 refers to him as the second man or the last Adam and identified in Christ. We receive the free gift of God. We receive God's award and grace, the gift of righteousness, salvation, eternal life and the ability to rule and reign. Then Romans 6, he takes us a little deeper in this truth on identification and he says we are identified with Christ in his death, burial, resurrection, ascension and exaltation or seating at the right hand of the Father. And all of this is meaning for us. In a sense, every step has set us free from various aspects of things that Adam put us in bondage to. Being crucified set us free from the power of sin. Being buried set us free from the old life, which is Adam's life. Being resurrected released us into new life, the life of God, the Zoe life of God. Being raised up with Christ took us out of the influence of the darkness of this age. Being seated with Christ put us in a place of dominion and authority, whereas Adam put us in subjection to sin, sickness, Satan and death and everything that came through the fall. We are now seated with Christ with exalted. So really that truth of identification is a complete reversal of what Adam put us in through the fall. Christ completely reversed it. So the main theme in Romans 6 is, hey, as believers we can live free from sin. But then in Romans 7 we saw last week Paul says, hey, but there is a problem. It's the weakness of our flesh. And the word flesh in the Bible is used in different contexts. It really, you know, in this context is talking about the sinful, evil desires of the body, of the soul and the body. So when you read the word flesh here, think about the sinful, evil desires of the soul and the body, the physical body, the desire, the appetite, sinful. Now there are good things. The body desires good things, I mean, things that are fine, which, you know, we eat, we sleep, we drink, I mean, all these good things, nothing wrong with that. But when things, these appetites go in the wrong direction, then they become what we call works of the flesh, either from the soul or the body. So Paul says, you know, in Romans 7 he's saying, like we saw last week, he's really talking about his life under the law as an unsaved person. That means he doesn't have the life of God. He hasn't come to Jesus Christ yet. But under the law, he has every desire, he's very sincere. He has every desire to keep the law, to please God, he's very sincere. But he finds that there is a law in his members, meaning his body that controls him so that in the end, even though in the inner person, he wants to please God, he wants to fulfill the law of God. He finds himself powerless in the struggle against the sin. So he calls it the law of sin that is controlling him in his body. Now this is the state of every human person, not just Paul. Paul is writing from his personal experience, but this is true of every person who is unsaved, who has not experienced the life of God in Christ. So this is true, unsaved. We know the law, we know what's good and bad, what's right and wrong. But we are powerless because there is a law of sin, there's a control of sin in our body. And the result of sin is always death. And it's sin is at work in our body, resulting in death. Both the natural physical death and ultimately spiritual death. So sin is, we saw in Romans, and I'm just proving you to take a minute or two to review. We saw in Romans 7 verse 13 and again in Romans 7 verse 24, he talks about sin producing death in me. It verse 24, he says, who will deliver me from this body of death? This, you know, death is at work because sin always results in death. And so everything that leads to that physical, natural and spiritual is at work. So in the natural, we can refer to sickness, we can refer to disease, we can refer to all kinds of decay things working in us. But also the spiritual death, which is the ultimate final result of death. Now, how do we know that's the usage of the word death? Because you go back to, this is the law of first reference. What did he mean when he first, when this was first referred to? It is first death is first referred to there in Romans 5, Adam by sin came death. So the death that Adam experienced was both natural and spiritual. Because he would have lived, you know, eternally if he had not sinned, but when he sinned both physical death came, spiritual death came. So that's the law of first reference. So that's how we know that death here is both natural and spiritual caused by sin at work in us. So, you know, he says, what's the answer? And he concludes in Romans 7, 25, thank God through Jesus Christ, meaning, hey, this is the answer. Jesus Christ is the answer. So although I am struggling as a man, I'm trying to keep the law. I'm trying to do what is good, but I'm powerless. Here's the answer in Jesus Christ. So that brings us to chapter eight Romans chapter eight. And, you know, we are going to spend time here in Romans chapter eight. And it's a very beautiful chapter just, you know, for us as believers telling us how, you know, we can live in the provision of identification. So if you look back at Romans 5 and Romans 6, you can look at it as God's provision. Identification is God's provision. God has said, look, I've done this for you. I've provided all of this for you through Jesus Christ. But Romans 8 is okay. Let me tell you how to walk in it experientially. This is how you and I as believers are going to walk in it, right? So let's get started. Romans 8 will read the first 11 verses, please. Somebody could read Romans 8 one through 11 for us, please. Yeah, Rosen. Can I go ahead? Romans chapter eight. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to 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, nor indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God, but you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If indeed the spirit of God dwells in you, now if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he is not his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. So Romans 8, 1-11. So here now Paul is changing his focus to speaking about the life in Christ. As in Romans 7, he's been talking about life without Christ under the law. He's a good man. We're not saying, you know, just because you're without Christ, you're a bad person. No, he's actually a very good person without Christ. He's trying to please God under the law. But like we said, it's very difficult. He doesn't have the power to do the good things he always wants to do. So what is the, how does he make the shift Romans 8, 1? He says, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. So now he's changing focus. He's talking about those who are in Christ Jesus, our life in Christ. And those of us who are in Christ, he says, look, there is no condemnation. There is no accusation. There is no charge that can, you know, that is brought against us or can be held up against us. We are totally free. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. And what about these people who are in Christ? He says, these people who are in Christ, they do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. So here's this new kind of people. These are people who are in Christ. There is no accusation against them. Nothing can stand up against them. See the law made Paul feel completely condemned. You get that sense when you read Romans 7. Oh wretched man that I am, fully condemned. The law is good, but only heightened sin and left the person feeling condemned, accused, wretched. Oh wretched man that I am. But he says, you come over to this life in Christ and you're completely free from those feelings of condemnation, accusation, judgment. There is no condemnation. Paul is like, oh, I'm in like a different atmosphere. There is no condemnation. Under the law, I was completely, I was feeling condemned all the time because I couldn't keep it. I'm just kind of paraphrasing, you know, what he's saying. I couldn't keep it, but there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. This life in Christ gives us a sense of complete release from all condemnation, a thing against us. So as Christians, as believers, people in Christ, we should not, you know, live under any sense of guilt, shame and condemnation to be free from it in Christ. That's the life under the law. If a believer is feeling very condemned all the time, it's possible, it's probably, they have not understood their life in Christ and they're still trying to live. They may be genuinely born again and I love Jesus and all that, but they're still trying to live from an old testament under the law mentality. So that's why they're always feeling condemned, judged, accused, wretched. But when we understand our life in Christ, there is no condemnation. You're free from all sense of guilt, shame and condemnation. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, the life in Christ. And what about these people? They do not walk according to the flesh. Now to walk is just a term that Paul uses in his writings. You'll find this in all many of his episodes, you know, here in Romans, then again in Galatians, he says, you walk in the spirit. In Corinthians, he says, you walk by faith. So he uses this term walk often in his writings. He just used, it just mainly refers to the way we live life, how you conduct yourself, how we live life. So he says, we do not walk or we do not live. We do not conduct ourselves according to the flesh or in accordance to or in alignment with in subjection to the flesh. So we don't live like that. We are not dictated by the flesh. We are not controlled by the flesh. We are not under the influence of the flesh. He says, who do not walk according to the flesh, but they walk. That means they live habitually. This is how they conduct their lives. This is how life happens for them. They live, they walk according to that means under the influence of under the direction of under the leadership of according to in alignment with the spirit. So this is the life in Christ. We are people who walk according to the spirit. And when we walk according to the spirit, when we live our life out of the spirit, and he's going to explain a lot of things to us here in Romans 8. Not how to walk according to the spirit. Now, you know, in Galatians 5, he talks about this again, you know, about what it means to walk in the spirit. Beautiful chapter. Ephesians 5, he again talks about living the spirit filled life. Same thing in Colossians 3. So it's like that these are parallel chapters. They're all written by the Apostle Paul. So he's kind of reiterating the same truth to different audiences and he brings out different facets of this life in the spirit. So you could actually study all of these in parallel to understand what it means to live in the spirit. Romans 8 is beautiful. He says, you walk according to the spirit. And what happens when you walk according to spirit? Verse 2, he says, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Again, all this is available to us in Christ. This is our life in Christ. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Now, this may seem like a very difficult verse. What's he talking about? He's talking about the law of the spirit of life. He talks about the law of sin and death. But actually, these are terms he's already used earlier. So when you talk about the law of sin and death, he used these terms in chapter 7, the law of sin. So if you look at that, there is in verse 23 of Romans 7, verse 23 says, I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity, the law of sin, which is in my members. So verse 23 of Romans 7. So he's already used this term before. So that's what he's referring to. What's he referring to? He's referring to the law of sin at work in my body. Members means my bodily parts. So law of sin, which is the influence, the control, the dominion of sin. So the word law, it repeats it again in verse 25. I thank Romans 7, 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord, so that with the mind, I serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. That means in my flesh, my flesh is subject to the law of sin. It is subject to the control, the dominion, the influence of sin in my flesh. That means the natural evil desires of the soul and the body, they're controlled by this sin. But what happens? Romans 8, verse 2, the law of the spirit. So the word law simply in the context of what Paul is writing here is not referring to the Old Testament law. The law of the spirit means the control, the dominion, the influence of the spirit of life. So notice the Holy Spirit is a spirit of life. It's a very intentional choice of words. The spirit of life. Why? Because sin is producing death. Here the Holy Spirit is going to give, is giving me life. It's very intentional. The law, the control, the influence, the dominion of the spirit of life. The Holy Spirit, who gives life, sets me free from the law of sin. The law of death and death. So the law of sin, the control, the influence, the dominion of sin, which is producing death. Death as we said is both natural and spiritual. So sin at work is resulting in death. But the spirit of life sets us free from the control, dominion and influence of sin and death. So Romans 8 and verse 2 is the answer. Romans 7, he had presented the struggle. I'm controlled by the law of sin at work in my body. But Romans 8 and 2 is the answer. The Holy Spirit sets me free from the control of sin and not just sin but death. What sin was producing in me, Holy Spirit sets us free. So Romans 8 too. And this is for all of us who are in Christ Jesus. So for us who are in Christ, there is no condemnation. We are able to walk according to the Spirit because the Holy Spirit liberates us, sets us free completely from the control of sin and the results of sin, which is death. He sets us free. Verse 3 and 4, very interesting. He says, you know, the law was weak. The law could not do something. The law could not help me. Romans 8 was 3. Well, the law could not do. In that it was weak through the flesh. It means the law could not help me overcome my flesh. It told me what was right and wrong. But it didn't give me the power to overcome the weakness of my flesh. So he says what the law could not do through the flesh. God did it by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh. So Jesus came in this physical body. So the physical body, he's saying there was a likeness of sinful flesh, meaning his body could have been subject to fleshly desires, could have been subject to fleshly desires just like you and I were. But we know he didn't submit to any of that. But he came in that same form. That means he came in the same kind of body that you and I have that could have been subjected to the fleshly desires. But we know the Son of God never did submit to any single fleshly desire. He never sinned, but it was the same kind of body that you and I have. So God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and on account for sin or as an offering for sin. Notice this very carefully. He condemned sin in the flesh. That's very powerful. He condemned that means Jesus subdued. The word condemned means he subdued, he overcame, he deprived it of its power. The Amplified Bible puts it that way. So in his own body, in his own body that could have been subject to flesh, in his own body, Jesus deprived sin of its power. Sin had no power over him. And in his body, he broke the power of sin. And his victory is our victory. So you and I, so notice that verse four. He, that is Jesus, condemned sin in the flesh. He deprived sin of its power in his body. Verse four. That or so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. Hey, he did the work and we are walking in it. He condemned sin in his body. So that we will be able to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. In fact, we do more than what the law requires. If you look at the New Testament, but this is like the minimum. He says, we, the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us. It's we keep it. How? We do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. So you say, Hey, this is God's answer. You know, the law was weak. It couldn't help anybody overcome the flesh. But here's what God did. God sent his son who came in the same body that could have been subject to the same flesh, evil desires. And in his body, he condemns and he conquers sin. He deprived sin of his power so that we people can fulfill everything that's righteous before God. Because we do not walk according to the spirit, according to the flesh, but according to the spirit, because now we are able to walk according to the spirit. So those of us who are in Christ, this is, you must understand that when we walk according to the spirit, verse four, we fulfill the righteous requirement of the law. That means we do everything that's right in the eyes of God. So the law by itself was fabulous. But these people, you and I, who have a life in Christ, who walk according to the spirit are able to do the righteous things before God, be able to keep the righteous requirement of the law. So Paul's struggle in Romans seven finds its solution in Romans eight. The answer is walk according to the spirit because the spirit sets us free from the law of sin and death. But how do we walk according to the spirit? It begins to teach us here. He says, you know, to walk according to the spirit, you must choose to be spiritually minded and you must not be carnally minded. So this places before us an important duality, meaning a believer can choose, must choose, of course it must choose, but he can choose to be either carnally minded or he can choose to be spiritually minded. And remember Paul is writing to believers. So this Romans eight is not addressed to the unsaid. It's writing to believers. So to walk according to the spirit and the Holy Spirit can set us free or sets us from the law of sin and death. And if you walk according to the spirit, we will fulfill their righteous requirements of the law. You will do everything that's right in the eyes of God. Absolutely no problem. But we have to be spiritually minded. But that's a choice every believer has to make, which therefore presents to us the fact that there could be believers who are carnally minded. And if a believer is carnally minded, Paul says, Hey, look, you're not going to please God. You're not going to please God. It's very strong as we read in these verses. So worse fire. Those who live according to the flesh. So those people who are living according to the flesh, that means they are living and yielded to the flesh. They're living according to in subjection to an alignment with the sinful evil desires of their soul and body. That is the flesh. They set their minds on the things of the flesh. That means what does it mean to set your mind? It means you're always a person is always seeking after he is pursuing. He is going after what things of the flesh. But those who live according to the spirit, they set their minds on the things of the spirit. So here's the key. How do I live according to the spirit? How do I walk in the spirit? How do I live my life aligned in subjection under the influence of the Holy Spirit? He says, set your mind. You're seeking. You're pursuing. You're thinking your mind. Set your mind, your affections, desires. Set your mind, focus your mind, put your mind on the things of the spirit. So when we make this shift from setting our mind on the things of the flesh to setting our mind on the things of the spirit, then we will start walking according to the spirit. Now, very interesting. Paul takes a break in chapters 9, 10, 11. He takes a three chapter break. I mean, he didn't write it that way, but we find a three chapter break. And then when we come to Romans 12, he comes back to this very same point. He said, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Now, when we get into Romans 9, 10, 11, we see that he takes a little detour. He's talking about the Jews and the church, so we'll get into that. But then he comes back to Christian living, which is what he has been discussing in Romans 8. So when he comes back, he picks on the same point to be spiritually minded. There he uses a different language. He says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That means your mind is now being changed to think on spiritual things. You're becoming spiritually minded. But being spiritually minded, coming back to Romans 8, verse 5, to be spiritually minded is key to be walking under spirit. So how do we do that practically? He says, you know, practically you and I choose to think aligned to the Word of God in everyday life. Think according to the ways and the thoughts of God. Become spiritually minded. Set our affections on things that are gods, godly. So in whatever we do, we choose to set our mind on spiritual things. Example, suppose I'm just going to work, let's say a person is working in an IT company, he's going to work. Now, people go to work for many reasons. Some are very basic and common for all of us. We have to have a livelihood. We have to earn so we can take care of our necessities and all that. That's nothing wrong with that. People also work because they're developing professionally, growing professionally and they want to enhance their skills. That's again perfectly fine. But then a connolly minded person who's working, who's he's driven by is pursuing certain things. What's he pursuing? I want to be successful. I want to make a lot of money. I want to overtake the others. I want to rise up faster than the others, you know, things of that nature is pursuing that. But a spiritually minded person is going to the same place of work, doing the same kinds of things. The basic underlying basic things are common, meaning make a livelihood, develop yourself professionally, which is all good. But overriding that, a spiritually minded person is saying, hey, I want to glorify God through my work. I want to see how I can influence lives for the kingdom of God. I want to see how whatever I'm doing can have meaning and fruit for God's kingdom. So he's doing something Monday, meaning this is routine. You show up at work every day, you're doing those things, but you're spiritually minded. Yes, there are some basic things that are motivation, which is our livelihood, grow professionally, nothing wrong with those. But overarching those is spiritually minded. He's saying, how can these things that I'm doing, glorify God? How can I sell the purposes of God in what I'm doing? So he's setting his affection, his pursuits. He's seeking after the things of the spirit, even in his routine, everyday work life. And so what will happen? Because he's setting his mind on the things of the spirit, he's going to be able to live according to the spirit. So let's say in the workplace, he sees people trying to compete. Even though there is that people are working together, there is that underlying competition, he's not worried. He's living according to the spirit. He says, God is my promoter, God will raise me up. Of course I'm going to do my work well, I'm going to be good, I'm going to be excellent, all of that. But his mind is not on outdoing the other person, his mind is on God, I want to glorify you. So he's not affected by those kinds of things in the workplace. He is living according to the spirit. People do things against him, they may do things behind him, all of that. He's not retaliating, he's walking in the fruit of the spirit in love and joy and peace and kindness, meekness, temperance, faith, why? Because he's set his mind on things about, he's walking in the spirit, he's living in the spirit, in the workplace. So it's a total contrast. Here's a person who's spiritually minded, so he's able to live according to the spirit in everyday life. And you contrast that to somebody, people, others who might be connolly minded, and therefore they're walking according to the flesh. They're beginning to do things that are fleshly motivated, you know, strife and competition and jealousy and backbiting, all these things are the works of the flesh Galatians 5 says. So this is how a believer must live. In order to walk according to the spirit, he has to be spiritually minded. The mind, focus of our thinking, our pursuing, our affections, our desiring is on the things of the spirit, things of God, meaning on things that God has given us in his word. Then Paul continues, Romans 8 verse 6, he says, hey, and again, remember, he's writing to believers, and these are strong words. Romans 8 verse 6, to be connolly minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. So he's contrasting to the believer, he's telling the believer, believer, if you are connolly minded, this is what is the outcome, death. If you are spiritually minded, this is the outcome, life and peace. Next verse 7, the connolly mind is enmity against God, believer, if you're going to walk with a connolly mind, you're going to be actually be an enemy with God. It's not subject to the law of God, cannot be. Verse 8, if you're in the flesh, you cannot please God. So these are strong words, he's writing to believers. He's saying, believer, if you are connolly minded, there's going to be death working in you, because to be connolly minded is death. You're going to be an enemy with God. You know, in James, a paddle scripture is James chapter 4 verse 4, you know, James rebukes, James is writing to believers, and he uses very strong words. He says, you adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know, and I'm just putting it in modern English. Don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God. Whoever is a friend of this world is an enmity with God. It's very strong, James 4, 4. Same thing here. He's saying in Romans 8 verse 7, if you're walking with your connolly mind, he's writing to believers, if you're walking the connolly mind, you're an enemy of God. Because you can't do what is right, you can't be subject to the law of God, and we're saying you cannot please God. So a believer who is connolly minded has death at work, is an enemy with God, and it's not going to be pleasing to God. Now, this does not mean that God disowns the believer, or God says, look, I don't like you, or you know, that's not the point. We are in Christ, God loves us, God's merciful to us, he accepts us and all of that. But our life, the way we live, is going to be working death in us. So it's actually a path of self-destruction to be connolly minded. And we are actually going opposite to God, because we're an enemy with God. God wants us to go one way, we're going the other way. And it is pleasing God. It says, if you're in the flesh, you cannot please God. He's adding to believers, to those who are in Christ Jesus, he's telling them, hey, I want you to know this. So why is it that when God has made such great provision for us in this truth of identification, which we saw in Romans 5 and Romans 6, which is so powerful? Why is it so many believers are living such defeated lives? There's death that work in them. So death represents, like I said, anything that is destructive, destroying both the natural and the spiritual. And you find them being defeated in this and things are happening. Why is it that they're going the opposite direction from what God wants? And you know, it's like, what is going on? Now, why is it that they're living lives that don't please God? Here's the answer. They're being kindly minded. They're setting their mind on satisfying the evil desires of the flesh, of the body, and so. That's kindly minded. That's more important to them than setting your mind on things in the spirit. So it all comes down to this thing. Setting your mind on where is your thinking, desiring and pursuing? If the believer's thinking, desiring and pursuing is on the things of the spirit, he says the believer is going to enjoy life and peace. He's going to be friends with God and he's going to please God. It's the contrast. It's the exact opposite. But if our thinking, desiring and pursuing is on how I can satisfy the evil desires of my body and mind as a believer, I'm going to see death working in me. I'm going to be an enemy with God. I'm going to be going the opposite direction from what God wants and I will not be pleasing to God in my ways. On the one hand, I am accepted in Christ. I am righteousness of God and I have peace with God and I am in a place of grace. Romans 5, he gave us all these beautiful things, but in my practical everyday life, this is what's happening. Simply because as a believer, I'm being kindly minded. I've focused my thinking, desiring and pursuing on displeasing my flesh and soul, the evil desires of my flesh and soul. So think about it. How do we get believers? They go from being kindly minded to being spiritually minded because as long as people are born again, they're believers. But if they're still kindly minded, they're not going to live that victorious Christian life. They're not going to be walking in the provisions of Romans 5 and Romans 6. It's only going to be there in the Bible. It won't be something they walk in. So we need to help believers move from being kindly minded to being spiritually minded. Then they're going to experience life and peace. They're going to be friends with God. They're going to please God in their practical daily life. So we're going to pause here. Romans 8 verse 8. We'll just take a quick break, 10 minute break and we will continue from here. I didn't give any time for questions. So we'll take below. When we get back from break, we'll take up questions, any questions so far and then we will move forward. Thank you. We'll be back.