The Godly Mindset

Romans 8:5-10

Do you know the word “dichotomy?” It’s a word that refers to two things that are not at all alike. They are opposites. They may even be completely opposed to one another. It’s a word that describes a number of things presented to us in the Bible. It’s a word that describes what Paul has been teaching us in Chapters 7 and 8 of his letter to the Romans.

He reminds us that there is a dichotomy that exists inside of each and every one of us Christians. Each and every one of us has two natures, two mindsets, that are not alike, that are opposites, that are completely opposed to each other.

By birth, as descendants of Adam and Eve, we have a sinful nature, an old man, a worldly midnset. Paul describes what this sinful nature is like when he says the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans 8:7-8) By nature we see God as our enemy. We see him as someone who demands what we can’t give and who threatens condemnation when we just do what comes naturally. We see him as unfair and judgmental.

By rebirth through water and the Spirit, we have a new nature, a new man, a Godly mindset. By grace, by his almighty power that works through his word and Sacraments, God has given us a new heart, a new nature that is just the opposite of our old sinful nature. Our new man is not hostile to God. Our new man loves God more than anyone or anything else. Our new man sees God as our loving Father, our Good Shepherd, our gracious and merciful creator, redeemer and sanctifier. Our new man delights in God’s law and wants only to please him by doing his will.

That’s a dichotomy. You can’t get more different, more opposite than that. It’s no wonder Paul describes a battle that was raging inside of him, and that rages inside of us too. He says, So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. (Romans 7:21) It’s not a perfect example, but think of Sylvester the cat with the little angel cat on one shoulder and the little devil cat on the other, each encouraging him to do the opposite of the other. Whenever we want to do good, something God-pleasing, evil, our sinful nature encouraged by the devil and the sinful world around us, is right there with us trying to get us to do the opposite, to sin.

The struggle is real. With Paul, we admit that we don’t always end up doing the good that we want to do. All too often we end up doing what we know is evil. All to often we give in to the sinful nature. We throw up our hands with Paul and exclaim, What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24) “No matter how hard I try, no matter how good my intentions, I still fall into sin. And even just one sin means God has the right to condemn me and send we away from his presence to live with the Devil and his angels in the lake of burning sulfur forever. What hope is there for me?”

Thanks be to God, Paul says, for Christ Jesus! For there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Paul, you, me, all of us deserve condemnation, but we don’t get what we deserve because of Jesus.

Paul explains, For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

No human descendant of Adam and Eve could save themselves because none of us can keep God’s law perfectly and live without sin. But God wants all to be saved. So, he did what we couldn’t do. He sent his Son Jesus into the world. He, true God from all eternity, became truly human, God and man in one person. He was flesh and blood just like us, but unlike us, he did keep God’s law perfectly. He lived without sin. The righteous requirements of the Law were met, as God’s law requires, by someone who was truly human. Having met the righteous requirements of the law, he then offered himself as a sin offering, a sacrifice of atonement. In condemning Jesus, forsaking him on the cross, God condemned all sin. God’s wrath and punishment for every sin ever committed was meted out on Jesus. It is because Jesus was condemned as our substitute that there is now no condemnation for us.

Now Paul makes an application. As one to whom God has given a new spirit, we can now live with either a godly mindset, or a worldly mindset. We can fix our thoughts on things above or on things below. He says, 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.

Paul makes it clear in many of his letters what it means to have your mind set on what the sinful nature desires. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. The sinful mind, the worldly mindset, leads to death, eternal death.

Did you find yourself in that list? If you say “no” you are lying. We all have a sinful nature, so the worldly mindset is our default way of thinking. We have all hated someone at some time – maybe your parents when they disciplined you for something. You and I have all been jealous of someone who was better at something, or had more money, or a better car, or a bigger, better house. Many of you have been drunk, at least once. As Paul said in Chapter 7, we sometimes do the things we don’t want to do and fail to do the God-pleasing things we want to do. But notice what Paul says about those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. He doesn’t say that those who do any of these things just once won’t enter the kingdom of God. He says those who LIVE LIKE THIS, who continue to indulge the sinful nature, who continue to fix their eyes on earthly things, they are the ones who will not enter the kingdom of God.

Paul gives very stern warnings to Christians to crucify the thought that since Jesus lived and died for us and has already forgiven all our sins, we can live in a worldly way, indulge a worldly mindset, and gratify our sinful nature. (see Romans 6) God’s gracious forgiveness in Christ is in no way a license to sin. (Galatians 5:13) It is the height of ingratitude to think we can take advantage of God’s grace and serve both God and mammon. If you would show unending gratitude to a fireman who risked his life to rescue you from a house fire, what would you show to the one who died to rescue you from the eternal fire of hell!

So Paul says, You, however, (you who have been baptized, you who have been brought to know and believe that you are not condemned because Jesus was condemned in your place) You are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if (and the “if” here clearly has the sense of “SINCE”) the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if (and again the sense is since) Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

What is the Godly mindset? What does it mean to fix our eyes on things above? It means that every day, in every decision you make, you ask yourself, “what does God say about this in his word? What is God’s will in this matter?” It means that when temptation comes, and it will many times a day, as soon as you recognize it, you do what Joseph did. You think, “How can I do this wicked thing and sin against my heavenly father who loved me so much that he sent Jesus to rescue me from the hell I deserve?” And then, in response to God’s love for you, you delete the post, block the website, leave the party, call your parents to come and pick you up, find a new set of friends, flee temptation, resist the devil and make him flee by clinging to God’s word.

The Godly mindset brings life and peace because it keeps marveling at the fact that we are not going to get the condemnation we deserve because God sent his son to be condemned in our place. Keeping what God has done for us foremost in our minds fills us with overwhelming gratitude. It motivates us to focus on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—anything that is excellent or praiseworthy. It remembers that this world and all that is in it, all earthly treasures, will one day pass away, but the real treasure is waiting in heaven for us, purchased and kept safe there for us by Jesus. It rejoices that God’s word is truth and that it endures forever. It longs to hear the absolution given as fellow Christians gather for worship. It hungers and thirsts for the blessed assurance of God’s love and forgiveness that comes with the body and blood of Jesus in the sacrament. And as we focus on God’s word, will, and sacraments, the Spirit assures us that we are children of God by grace and the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) become more and more evident in our lives.

Like Paul, we will still have daily struggles. We understand the dichotomy of the sinful nature and the new nature, the worldly mindset and the Godly mindset. As long as we live on this earth, we will still have a sinful nature. There will be times when we let down our guard. There will be times when we give in to temptation. There will be times when we do the things we know are sins, and there will be times when we fail to do what is God-pleasing, which is also a sin. When that happens, and with Paul we say, “what a wretched person I am, how could I have sinned against my loving Father after all he has done for me?” Be sure to hear these comforting words. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You are not going to get the condemnation you know you deserve because Jesus took it in your place. You are among those who are in Christ Jesus because God called you be his through his word and sacrament.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That’s You. Let that wonderful fact move you to stive with all the strength God gives you to fight against the worldly mindset and stive to live each day with the Godly mindset that comes from the new heart that God has given you.