Romans Chapter 8 Vs. 13

 

Heirs with Christ

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. Rom 8:13

For if ye... Here again, we see the warfare that goes on within each of us. Our spirit wants to do the things of God and our flesh lusts for the things of the flesh and the world. If we choose to let the Spirit of God rule our life, and in so doing “kill the flesh” we shall live for all of eternity in heaven with Jesus. If we choose to follow the ways of the world, it brings eternal damnation and total separation from God.

Paul’s instruction is what to do in the struggle with sin in this verse, then destroys several false views of how believers are made holy:

1. That in a crisis moment we are immediately made perfect;

2. That we must “let God” take over while we remain idle;

3. That some turning point decision will propel us to a higher level of holiness.

Instead Paul tells us that the Spirit provides us with the energy and power to continually and gradually be killing our sins, a process never completed in this life.

The means the Spirit uses to accomplish this process is our faithful obedience to the simple commands of Scripture.

The reason is that a sinful manner of life results in death. This does not suggest that a believer who sins will face eternal death in hell; instead, it means he will not enjoy his spiritual life. He will seem like an unsaved person (1Cor. 3:1-4) and will be unable to enjoy the indwelling presence of the Spirit. You will die is literally, “you are about to die,” or “you are at the point of dying.”

On the other hand, if by the Spirit you put to death (pres. tense, “are putting to death”) the misdeeds of the body, you will live. A few Greek manuscripts have “flesh” instead of “body.” But the body is the vehicle by which one’s sin-nature expresses itself (cf. Rom. 6:6, 6:13). Only by the Holy Spirit’s power can a believer put to death the sins of his former life (cf. Eph. 4:22-31; Col. 3:5-9). This is what Paul referred to when he said “count yourselves dead to sin” (Rom. 6:11).