Two Mindsets (Romans 8:5-11, Psalm 1:1-6)
Rev. David Huffman, May 4, 2025Part of the Series On Romans series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
We can be set free from condemnation of the flesh if we are in Christ. He is the perfect offering for the guilt of our sins. We enjoy truth, comfort and assurance even in the darkest of times. Verses 5-11 show us how walking in the Spirit (vs. 4) works. There are two types of things: flesh and Spirit. A great error is that a person can be a “fleshly Christian”; one who can be justified but lives in the flesh. This false teaching is foreign to Paul’s teaching. Flesh in this context refers to a sinful or carnal nature, one that is fundamentally opposed to God. The Spirit in this context is the Holy Spirit. The mind is how a person thinks, also referred to as the “heart.” Where do evil and wicked thoughts and actions come from? The heart; you are what you love. This concept is what separates a Christian from a non-Christian; there are two different minds and hearts. Those who live according to the flesh are unspiritual people, following the things of this world, which are an end unto themselves and are natural to a carnal person. Those who are of the Spirit are drawn to pleasing Christ and are heavenly oriented. They are a benefit to Christ’s kingdom. They understand that, “the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other…” (Galatians 5: 7). These two mindsets lead to different ends; flesh to death and Spirit to life. People of the flesh think that all is well, but they are dead and dying. People of the Spirit enjoy life and peace; they are made new. Each mindset brings forth a pattern of life. Those of the flesh are hostile to God; they don’t submit because they cannot. Those in the Spirit with a new nature desire God. They receive life in a mortal body, because redemption brings to them a bright future. The critical question: which mindset do you have? Examine yourself. In idle moments, where does your mind wander? Do you think on Spiritual things, or fleshly things? There are inconsistencies with the Spiritual mindset; we are not yet perfected; we are being sanctified. We must not be discouraged by the battle between the flesh and the Spirit. Over all, we want sinful things and thoughts to be gone.
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
|---|---|---|
| « No Condemnation | None | The Spirit of Adoption » |
Romans 8:5–11 (Listen)
5 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 set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
(ESV)
Psalm 1 (Listen)
1:1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
(ESV)