To What End? A Gospel Shaped Life

The Gospel Shaped Life Romans 8 September 13, 2020 Rom 8:5-8 "To What End?" A pop-quiz (I know, we all hated those when we were in school): What is Your Salvation For? A. To insure eternal life in heaven when we die B. To receive forgiveness of sin C. That through us God might extend His kingdom rule to the ends of the earth. While all three are correct there is a clear difference between answers A, B, and C. A and B are primarily self-focused, that is, the answers primarily revolve around what Jesus has done for me. Answer C, which encompasses A and B, is more in tune with the purposes of God as revealed in His Word. In a recent book I stumbled across these words: A focus on 'me and Jesus' against the world is an incredibly privileged position. God's redemptive plan throughout history has consistently concerned all of creation, and he repeatedly admonishes his people to seek the flourishing of the whole world.1 As we dig more deeply into what it means to live a gospel shaped life we are challenged to understand that the good news of Jesus is much more global, much more universal than we often allow our minds to consider. ROM 8:5-8 Horror stories often feature a brain transplant in the plot. Some mad, evil scientist captures a normal (?) person and uses his or her brain to bring life to some evil, murderous creature. It makes for a great campfire story or movie, but is scientifically unrealistic. But as we just read, there needs to be radical change in the way people think in order to live gospel shaped lives. Short of a 'brain transplant' how are we to understand Paul's descriptions of two clearly opposed mind-sets? First, look back at Rom 8:3-4. The Law, which was could not give life, has been superseded by that which God has done: sending His Son to pay, in full, the penalty of sin, that the life God wants to give us can be found. God did this as He granted all who believe the law of the Spirit of life - i.e. the Holy Spirit. The evidence of this change is clearly seen in these two contrasting mind-sets. a). the mind-set of the flesh The clearest marker: flesh. Flesh, as used by Paul, is the realm of physical life. the word can and often simply describes the human body. In Matthew's gospel we read how Jesus drew His followers apart from the crowds for some teaching time. During one period He asked them, Who do you say I am? Peter, never one to shy away from a response, immediately responded: "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!"" (Matthew 16:16, HCSB). From that point on Jesus began to tell His closest followers what lay ahead for Him. In Matthew 16 Jesus sketched out His future this way: "He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day." (Matthew 16:21, HCSB). Peter, again speaking first, responded: " "Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to You!"" (Matthew 16:22, HCSB). Jesus' replied, "But He turned and told Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you're not thinking about God's concerns, but man's."" (Matthew 16:23, HCSB). The same Greek verb is used by Jesus to describe Peter's thinking as Paul uses in Roman8:5-8. This kind of 'thinking' is clearly opposed to the ways of God. In our passage Paul describes the thinking of the flesh as death, hostile to God, and unable to submit to God's law. However, here in Romans Paul is using the word 'flesh' to describe a way of life that is characterized by the following: Death - Here Paul is not just thinking of the end of our physical life but the essence of life apart from God. As he wrote, prior to the intervention of God in a believers life through Jesus Christ, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1, HCSB). Hostile to God - The term hostile does not just describe a person who has become an enemy of God; rather it describes a fierce, active enmity toward all that God is and stands for. The entire mindset is directed against the things of God, and this opposition is the chief characteristic of the state of death. It desires that which pleases self rather than that which pleases God, and its actions oppose that which God demands. This of course does not mean that secular persons are incapable of doing good but does mean that they do not seek the things of God. The basis of that hostility is its refusal to submit to God's law. God's law could be the Mosaic ordinances (as in vv. 3-4) or God's demands in general (as in 7:21, 23, though in 7:22 "God's law" refers to the Mosaic law), but in the larger context of chapters 7-8 it most likely refers to the Torah. The hostile mind of the carnal person is completely incapable of placing itself under (the meaning of submit) God's law. Paul intensifies this refusal by saying it is grounded in the very nature when he adds, nor can it do so. Because of the nature of sin, it is completely incapable of following God's law ... 2 b). the mind-set of the Spirit Opposed to the flesh, Spirit refers to those who have been set free from the law of sin and death by the Holy Spirit - the law of the Spirit of life mentioned in Roman 8:2. Life and peace - these are the clear results of being set free. Paul defines life like this in another of his letters: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!" (Ephesians 2:4-5, HCSB). This is resurrection life, life empowered by God, demonstrated in the fact of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Peace - As Paul declared earlier in the letter: "Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1, HCSB). To have 'peace' with God is to live in the assurance and confidence of God's eternal presence, to know with certainty that God indeed keeps all His promises. The contrast between the two ways of 'thinking' is clear. And we need to remember that Paul is not talking about choices that the believer makes. There are two distinct ways of life, two distinct patterns of living. Once we have been set free by the law of the Spirit of life, we are no longer subject to the law of sin and death. We are no longer bound in our thinking by separation from God and hostility toward God. Rather, we are now set free to experience the peace of God's constant presence and the assurance of God's promises. CONCLUSION/APPLICATION/VISUALIZATION Dallas Willard, a philosophy professor in the University of California system and a Southern Baptist pastor suggests a model for us as we try to understand how we experience the transformation from a mind-set on the flesh to a mind-set on the Spirit. 3 First, what is our vision of being 'in Christ?' I began our time together by asking you about the goal of salvation. Is coming to know Jesus primarily about what it does for us as individuals? Certainly being set free by the law of the Spirit of life means forgiveness of sin and assurance of eternity in the presence of God. But if that is the boundary of our vision of Christian living, we are desperately lacking. The mind-set of the Spirit changes our vision to include the entire purpose of God. A hint of what lies ahead in Romans 8: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God's sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility -not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it -in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God's children." (Romans 8:18-21, HCSB) God's purposes are so much bigger than just our individual lives. God's purposes are truly universal, truly world-wide. A mind-set of the Spirit sees past our own lives and grasps a larger, grander work of God! A vision though requires choices. Many Christians want to live a life characterized by a Spirit-filled mind set. They intend to live this kind of life and yet they find themselves trapped far too often in a mind-set of sin. Our vision is to live a life where our mind-set is always set on the things of the Spirit of God. Willard likens our developing this mind-set to learning a new language. It is more than just learning a few words and phrases. Learning a new language literally means learning a new way of thinking, choosing to recognize the cost in terms of time, energy, focus and discipline necessary to be fluent in this new language. Finally, the vision we set before us, the choices we make, lead us to specific actions, or means. Some of these means will be addressed later in this series, but for today let me speak to a couple of actions. First, a mind-set of the Spirit is fed and nourished by the Word of God. We cannot have a mind-set on the Spirit of God apart from a regular intake of God's Word. I hope the brief posts during the week on making the most of your Bible are helpful. Second, a mind-set of the Spirit is nourished in partnership with other believers. Jesus called a dozen men to follow Him. From those men others - including notable women (see Luke 8) followed Jesus. And finally in the NT we see groups gathered all across the Roman world - groups called 'churches' that spent time together, that studied God's Word together, groups of believers that met the needs of one another and their neighbors, groups that tried to answer the unending questions of what does it mean to be Spiritually minded. There are two clearly contrasted ways of life. Derek Thomas, in his book offers this simple test: Here is a test: - When the Spirit's way-Christ's way-says, "Take the path of self-denial," do we respond by saying: "Self-denial denial is for wimps. I know my rights"? That's the earthly minded response. - When the Spirit's way-Christ's way-says, "Endure the trial; it will be good for you," do we respond by saying, "That's not fair; I deserve better than this"? That's the earthly minded response. - When the Spirit's way-Christ's way-says, "I want you to glorify Me in everything you do," do we respond by saying, "This time it's going to be about me and only me"? That's the earthly minded response.4 How did you do on that test? Today, you can be set free from the mind-set of the flesh - by accepting what only God can do through His Son's death and resurrection - setting us free by the law of the Spirit of life. Acknowledge that you are trapped by sin and death. Believe that Jesus, as God's Son died in your place and was raised that you might have life. Confess Him - first by following in beleivers baptism...next by identifying with His people...coming to be part of our church family.... 1 Kaitlyn Schiess, The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation For the Sake of our Neighbor (Downers Grove, ILL.: IVP, 2020), 59. 2 Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 198-200). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 3 Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ ( Colorado Springs, CO.: Navpress, 2002), 83 - following. 4 Derek W.H. Thomas. How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home (Kindle Locations 276-280). Kindle Edition. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------