The Good Life, Romans 8, Part One: Living the Good Life.

The “Good Life”

Encouragement and Exhortation for the Christian from Romans 8

There are many opinions and pathways to what people consider the “Good LIfe”

Every single person has a perspective about what life is really about, and because of that perspective they have a goal and definition of what they “Good Life” is or isn’t.

For the good life is all about being true and your authentic self. For others its about having, purchasing, consuming, and maintaining a certain quality of life and financial gain.

For many the good life is about the status quo and living for the opinions and praise of others.

For some the good life is achieved when there is no one to tell them what they can and cannot do. Their aim is personal authority and autonomy and liberty from the confines of relationships and accountability.

For some people the Good Life is summed up in the pursuit of pleasure. Whatever it is that you want and enjoy, having it and enjoying it is the good life.

Regardless of the goal of the Good Life, it is always in comparison to something or someone. The good life is better, the good life is what’s missing, the good life is what others have, and the good life is when you will finally have the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment that you have been longing for your whole life.

There is a good life, and it’s better than anything and everything else you can find in this world.

The “Good LIfe”, you know that moment that you look around and realize this is what you were looking for the whole time. You know what I mean, like when you sit down on vacation, and there is a that fleeting moment where the situation and the moment hit just right that all seems right in the world.

That moment, where all seems right in the world, that peace and fulfillment that you are striving for is real. The Good Life is when your eyes are opened to the life that God has for you, and you realize that He is who and what you have been striving for all this time… the Good Life is taking everything in and savoring the love and grace of God for you through Jesus Christ…

The Good Life is belonging to God by faith in Jesus Christ and living the rest of your days for God with the help and power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:1-13

[1] There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. [3] For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [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.

The good life is all about living.

Far too many church goers, and notice that I did not say Christians. I mean church goers, becuase going to church is not the same thing as being a Christian. And I am not trying to say that Christians don’t have to church… because the Bible actually says the opposite.

Hebrews 10:23-25 says, [23] Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. [24] And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The good life is all about living, becuase the Christian life is not just about death. The message of the gospel is that Jesus saves us, He redeems us, He reconciles us, and He transforms us.

The good life in the eyes of the world is something that you know when you see it, or you know when you feel it. The world says things like “You just gotta keep living man, L I V I N.”

You know, one of the primary points that God uses Paul to make here in Romans 8 is that you do know it when you see it. What I mean by that is the Christian Is living a changed life, or to use a better word,

The Christian lives a transformed life.

Why would I say that? Well, as you see here in Romans 8, life is different for the Christian. (He was once on the outside, but now he is on the inside)

[1] There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

The Law condemns. The Law in and of itself is good, it is the flesh/sinful heart of man that is bad. And yet, the hope of the gospel is that those who are condemned by the law are not free from condemnation because they are “in Christ.”

“In Christ” is a profound reality! To be “in Christ’ means that you have been moved into Christ. This is because you were at one time outside of Christ. Not a part of God’s kingdom and not a member of God’s family.

To be in Christ means that you have been transferred by faith into Christ, and once you have been moved from outside to inside you are then referred to from that time forward as “in.” it is a reality of your being, your relationship with God has changed. And it has a changed because of your union with Christ.

to be “in Christ” is to be united with Him. The sinner who was once outside of Christ is now unified and in fellowship with God by faith in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

[2] For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

The law of the Spirit and the law of sin and death are contrasted. This is not so much a specific law, but the sum or principle of the law.

The law of sin and death is the principle that because of your sin the law condemns you to the punishment of sin which is death.

The law of the Spirit is the principle truth that the Holy Spirit has done for you what the law could not do. The law does not save, the Spirit does. The Spirit sets you free from the condemnation and consequence of sin. And this isn’t because of your personal accomplishment and goodness. Verse 1 says there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ… because the Spirit has set you free from the bondage of the law…

[3] For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

The inability of the law to save us is actually because of our flesh. Mankind is sinful, and we sin because we are sinners. Because of our sinful condition the law reveals God’s holiness and at the same time our sinfulness.

the law is not weak, but the law cannot save. The law cannot save because the flesh of man cannot fulfill the law. So, God has done for mankind what the law could not do- redeem, reconcile, save.

How did God do what the law did not do? How has God overcome our weakened flesh?

God has overcome the weakness and sin of humanity through Jesus Christ.

Specifically we see that the Father sent the Son. And, Jesus was fully God and man.

This truth is known as the Hypostatic Union.

Shai Linne (Christian Rapper) has a song entitled the Hypostatic union, it goes like this:

First Verse: Hypostatic Union, by Shai Linne

Our topic of discussion is beyond human comprehension

The infinite God has made a super condescension

The kind of entrance nobody could have anticipated

Precipitated by the evil we participated

In, through Adam and Eve our first kin

Cursed when they committed the first sin

Only if you have the Holy Spirit's antennas

Can you truly understand fallen man's dilemma

See, only a human can substitute for human lives

But only God can take the wrath of God and survive, yeah

See the humanly unsolvable obstacle?

With God all is plausible, nothing's impossible

True haters'll fight it, but the story is certain

Two natures united in one glorious person

Jesus, the God-Man, official Soul Reaper

The hypostatic union, it gets no deeper

Jesus was sent, and he came in the likeness of flesh, but in a way that condemns sin rather than submits to it. He is divine, holy, and without weakness and sin. His holiness in the flesh serves to condemn sin. Where the law condemns our sinful flesh, the holy God in flesh condemns sin itself.

And why is this the big deal that Paul is speaking of here?

[4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Third verse of Hypostatic Union by Shai Linne:

The Son of Man: 100% humanity (Yeah)

The mind stretches to understand, how can it be?

You gotta see what He does (Does)

Becoming what He wasn't while never ceasing to be what He was

Is your mind flippin'? That got you trippin'? Me too

But the Scripture is true, peep Philippians 2

By faith we believe this amazing Jesus

Who made Uranus and Venus became a fetus

It's such a secret that few, if anybody, knew it

Months later, He's covered in amniotic fluid

The subject of the gospels, praise of Apostles

Armed with eye sockets, armpits and nostrils? (Huh?)

Who is this Jesus? God clothed in human weakness

Super sweetness and peace for the true believers

See the One who never tires knocked out sleeping

See the source of eternal joy weeping

Which one can explain how the Son, abundant with fame

Who made thunder and rain now has hunger pains? (Huh?)

See the creator of water become thirsty

On the cross when He saves from the slaughter the unworthy

My awe should be sky high and I ought to just cry, "Why?"

With water in my eyes when the Author of Life dies

Raised on the third, God man, soul seeker

The hypostatic union, it gets no deeper

The law requires obedience, and where there is failure it requires death.

I believe that many Christians and churches have focused a great deal on how we fall short… it’s part of the argument that Paul made back in Romans 3-6. But, what’s not as clearly understood is that the law requires obedience.

Jesus obeyed perfectly, and Romans 8 says that God sent Jesus so that the law would be fulfilled in us by the Spirit. So, how does this work?

Well, the Spirit is at work in us, and the Spirit saves us and then indwells us and then empowers us to be faithful in a way that is impossible apart from Christ.

Not only is there no condemnation for those who are in Christ, meaning a change in relationship with God by faith; there is also a change, a transformation that comes through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit.

Sinners apart from Christ cannot fulfill the requirement of the law.

Jesus fulfilled the requirement of the law.

Jesus died in the place of sinners who deserve the consequence of falling short of God’s glory.

Jesus redeems those who have faith in Him, and sends the Holy Spirit to transform and help those who are saved to obey God.

Before Christ you walk according to the flesh, after Christ you walk according to the Spirit, and those who are in Christ and walking by the Spirit will obey the Word.

This is what was prophesied in the OT about the law being written on our hearts… OT prophesied that a day would come when the law would be written on the hearts of men. No longer a law on tablets, but on the heart. And, this is the fulfillment of that prophecy. The “law” of the Spirit has set men free where as the “law” on tablets has condemned.

Ezekiel 11:17-21

[17] Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ [18] And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. [19] And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, [20] that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. [21] But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

Christians reveal the truth of their salvation by their obedience to the law by the help of the Spirit.

As Louie Giglio points out in many of his sermons, we are no longer sinners… we are saints. And that means that the attitude that justifies sin because we are just sinners saved by grace is off.

Christians are sinners saved by grace

Christians are saints living by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christians are not what they once were, they are not just sinners saved by grace.

Christians are saints saved by the grace of God through faith to live for God by the power and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The consequence of falling short of God’s commands and purpose is death. But, before there was a consequence there was a requirement. And the requirement is obedience, and Jesus fulfills what the law requires through perfect obedience.

Jesus God in the flesh and without sin, satisfied the requirement of the law with his death. So that those who have faith in Christ may fulfill the law in their living.

This is huge… Jesus satisfied the law with his life, but also fulfilled the requirement of the law by dying for sinners. And, in doing so has redeemed them and transformed them to live according to the Spirit instead of the flesh.

It is living by the flesh that has weakened the law and brought condemnation upon humanity. therefore, those who are saved by the Spirit of God will also live by the same Spirit of God.

This means that the motivations/desire and actions that were once rooted in the flesh are now rooted in the Spirit. And if the actions and motivations are rooted in the Spirit then they will be altogether different.

[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.

This is clear, and the fruit or source of death/life is evident in what the mind is set on and the actions that flow from the mind and heart.

The Spirit produces a change in the believer. The Christian who was once mindful of the flesh and motivated by the flesh is now mindful and motivated by the Spirit.

The Spirit has written the law on the heart of a Christian…

What is meant by “set your mind?” This phrase refers to the direction of your life, the basis for your thoughts and actions. To a great degree each of us is doing what we see, or what we have set our minds on.

The first part of verse 5 tells us that those who are living by the flesh do so because their minds are set on the flesh. Their actions reveal the source of their actions. What they do with their lives is because they are in the flesh.

Does this mean that Christians don’t sin?

Absolutely not! It means that where the Holy Spirit brings life; life grows in a Christ-exalting direction.

Those who live according to the flesh are those who live in ways that resemble the flesh and satisfy the sinful and selfish desires.

Those who live according to the Spirit are those who live in ways that resemble Jesus Christ and depend on the power of the Holy Spirt.

[6] For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

It is true, but also unpopular, that the those who are lost will inherit death upon their death, and those who are alive in Christ will inherit life upon their death.

The Spirit gives peace to the one who is in Christ. This peace is rooted in the reconciling work of Christ. It is the product of enmity with God being resolved through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus.

The Spirit that gives life brings peace through reconciliation, and reconciliation comes through the cross and faith.

Peace between men happens after they both have peace with God through Christ.

The unity of a church is found in unity in Christ. Those who have received mercy are people who show mercy.

Those who have been forgiven are people who forgive.

Those who have been loved in their sin and those who love in a way that covers a multitude of sins.

Death comes to those who don’t have the Spirit of God. And they don’t have the spirit of God because they don’t have faith in Christ. If your mind is set on the flesh and not the Spirit then your destination is death. If your mind is set on the Spirit and not the flesh, then your destination is life and peace.

Life through Christ and peace in Christ and this is the eternal life that is waiting for us when Christ returns!

The peace that comes through reconciliation changes the nature of your relationship with God. Where you were once hostile to God, you are now humble and submissive to God and His Word.

[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.

Hostility toward God is a state of being that reveals itself in actions, thoughts, and desires. A person does not have to feel hostile to God to be hostile toward God.

The simple act of rejecting God and His Gospel is an act of hostility. And this is what Romans 1 says that all mankind has done apart from the saving work of Christ. The sinful actions of men are the result of their sinful condition, and their sinful condition is a state of enmity and hostility toward God.

Why, because it does not submit to God and his law… because it cannot. And it cannot because it requires the work of the Spirit. It requires humility and faith and the transforming work of Christ.

This helps us to see when the law is written on your heart, the life you live is going to be in accordance with the law— it is going to be one that pursues righteousness and holiness… even though you are still in the flesh, your desire is for God and to live for Him.

The Spirit changes your desires and definitions of success for all of life.

Success, the good life is no longer determined by the mind set on the flesh, it’s established by God.

When it comes to the Law, there are many who would say that the 10 commandments are all about actions and not necessarily the heart. but, Exodus 20:17 says, [17] “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

For many people the good life is something they see others experiencing and they set their minds on having what others have.

But, to see what others have, and set your mind on what they have, rather than to set your mind on Christ and seek to be like Him, is to go against God’s law.

God makes it clear that we are to compare ourselves to Him, and we do so through the Word, but ultimately we do it in comparison to Jesus.

And when we compare ourselves to Jesus we find that this next verse, verse 8, is true.

[8] Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

This reads heavy and it should. It reminds us of Romans 3 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Which means that we all need Jesus for salvation, and it also means that apart from Christ you cannot and will not please God.

it doesn’t matter how many good things you do with our life or in your life— you cannot please God in the flesh. the only life that can please God is in the Spirit— the Spirit does what the law did not do. Remember that the law cannot save because the law is weakened by the flesh of men. In the flesh you can do some of the law, but you cannot do in your heart what the law requires… you cannot be righteous.

You can do something that is good and righteous, but on the whole you are not righteous because of your sin. God is not pleased by some good actions, no, God is pleased by righteousness. And it is the Spirit of God that frees us from condemnation and puts the law on our hearts… meaning that we are pleasing to God in Christ, through the life of Christ, and by our faith.

And those who have faith in Christ will live the good life that God intended, and do so only by the power of the Spirit. But, they will do it, the Spirit will produce a way of life in those whom He has given life.

[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.

Paul knows better things for the Romans he is writing to. He hopes that they are in Christ, and therefore they have the Spirit, and if they have the Spirit then their live will be directed toward Christ. And if their lives are directed toward Christ then they will be increasingly more like Christ and less like the world.

If you belong to Christ by grace and faith, then the Holy Spirit is in you.

Being in the Spirit means that the Spirit is in you. He is a guarantee, a seal of the promise of God’s covenant to redeem those who have faith like Abraham. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of God does not belong to Him.

There is no such thing as a believer or Christian who does not have the Spirit of God in Him.

This means that there is no such thing as an unchanged or non-transformed Christian. Christians are changed, they are not changed by their commitments, they are committed to God because the Spirt of God has changed them.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom and there is fruit.

The evidence of the Spirit is in the life of the believer. (No longer slaves to the flesh and sin, but now alive in Christ)

[10] But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

This is so clear, and yet denied left and right by many in the church. If Christ is in you, you are still flesh, but you now have the life that comes through the Spirit in you.

After your salvation you live and pursue godliness in this sinful body by the power of the Holy Spirit

You have the righteous God of the Universe living in you, and yet you are still you and your sin and your flesh are still there. though now you have the help and freedom of the Spirit, you still must continue to obey God and fight against the sinful desires and nature of the old man.

[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.

The good life is a transformed life that begins when Jesus saves you and continues by the power of the Holy Spirit until the end.

The “Good Life” is received, not achieved.

The “Good Life” is freedom from sin with fruit from the Spirit.

The “Good Life” is about being more like Jesus, instead of trying to be more like others.

The “Good Life” is the humbling realization that Jesus paid for the life you are now living by lovingly giving Himself for you on the cross.

The “Good Life” is an already and not yet way of life.