Scripture: Romans 8:13–17. As they enter the area of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks his disciples two questions. Those to whom the Apostle wrote had mortified the deeds of the body, yet they are here called to a further mortification of them, which imports that this is both a gradual work, and to be continued and persevered in while we are in the world. - Dr. Taylor is of opinion that the apostle having spoken separately, both to Jews and Gentiles, concerning holiness and the obligations to it, now addresses himself to both conjointly, and, I. It is worth noting as an aside that the assurance of believers’ salvation is validated or demonstrated by their Christian lifestyle (this topic is discussed in James 2 [Jas 2:14-26- see notes James 2:14ff] and throughout the book of 1 John, eg, 1Jn 3:6+ where "sins" is present tense = continually commits sins, 1Jn 3:7+- What is the warning? It cost Jesus His life on the Cross and a cruel death. Believers have God himself dwelling in them—, [God is here represented as a Triune God [Note: The Father raised Christ: Christ dwells in all believers at the same instant: and the Holy Ghost will raise the saints at the last day. Kill it before it kills you; and though it bring you to the grave, as it did your Head, it shall not be able to keep you there”, John MacArthur cautions us - "As one Christian to another, let me warn you that you will be frustrated by your inability to experience the holiness you crave. Mortification is the believer's responsibility and includes such responsibilities as abstaining from fleshly lusts, making no provision for the flesh, fixing one's heart on Christ, meditating on God's Word, praying incessantly, exercising self-control, and being filled with the Spirit (Ed note: I would add confessing our sins 1Jn 1:9) Covering up sin, internalizing it, exchanging it for another sin, or merely repressing it do not equate to sin's mortification. Perhaps the best loved of all the Psalms can bring to our minds the meaning of what it is truly to live. "Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges". 12 So then, # Lit brethren. Moo explains Paul’s point here as, “you will not ‘die’ if you cause your sin to die.”39 However it is vital to note here that such responsible activity is that of a regenerate child of God “by the Spirit,” that is the Spirit of God the Father “Who raised Jesus from the dead.” This subject of mortification has been the object of much perverse teaching, especially by the Roman Catholic Church in terms of physical containment and even flagellation. Romans 8:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 have spoken of the indwelling of the Spirit of God; now follows an unfolding of the operation of the Spirit within us in a twofold way, firstly as to His leading and the effects of our response thereto (Romans 8:12, 13, 14); secondly, as to the inward witness given by the Holy Spirit, that we are the children of God, and the effects of this, issuing in our being glorified with Christ (Romans 8:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 , 25, 26, 27). Lenski was impressed with the contrast between the words "live" and "die.". Romans 12:1-8 12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Thank God that He has come into our life to save us from its power and we don't owe the flesh anything! Greek. The increasing weakness of these habits is a measure of spiritual growth. Do you make it your daily work? He planned to stress that in the verses that follow. Simply put it means you are still trying to do it yourself! To the contrary we are now debtors to the Spirit Who has given us new life in Christ. Remember also that the ways of the flesh promise happiness, but misery is ultimately their reward (cf Gal 6:8-note). So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh: for if ye live after the flesh, we must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. The body would have its every desire gratified-because it so desires. He uses thanatoo one other time in Romans 8 writing "Just as it is written, “FOR THY SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” (Ro 8:36). John Piper Oct 27, 2013 1.4K Shares Message. And the list of excuses goes on and on. He lived habitually like an unbeliever because he in fact always was an unbeliever. Every Christian is a debtor that is bound and engaged to do this. The fowler can hold a bird by one wing. Chicago: Moody Press), Romans 8: Expository Notes Verse by Verse, Romans 8:12-13 The Spirit Empowers Us for Victory - Study Guide (click dropdown menu), Why "Preach the Gospel to Yourself" Is Not Enough. “The resources of sin must be cut off: “Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Whatever tends to, and terminates in, the sinful gratification of the flesh, is to be relinquished. That was the act of God through the death of Christ. By Dr. Leighton Flowers. We look forward to it." Quickly oppose the first actings of sin. So when that strong desire comes from your FLESH to tempt you to eat something you shouldn't, have the mindset that you don't owe the FLESH anything and turn to Christ. (Phillips: Touchstone). Therefore, αρα ουν is the grand inference from all that he has been arguing in relation to sanctity of life, both to the Gentiles, chap. Impressed on Your heart it remains But in the case of the believing poor, their claim upon us is far more binding. Proves the validity of their claims to eternal life, Romans 8:14-17. We are not debtors to it; the flesh never did us so much kindness as to oblige us to serve it. And this is to take place through an action of the believer (“you put to death”), though not an unaided action, for the mortification is to be done “by the Spirit”. We must renounce all such deeds if we are to experience life in the Spirit. (Galatians 2:20-see detailed expository note). Now folks that's the Gospel…THAT IS GOOD NEWS! It is one thing to be CONTROLLED and another to be COERCED. Epict., Dissertationes 2, 22, 12). There is something about my FLESH that is wicked and still devoted to sin. They have an obligation to perform; nevertheless, cannot do this in their own power. (Mt 18:24), "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits (opheiletes; KJV renders it "sinners") than all the men who live in Jerusalem? It is the picture of being INDEBTED to another. We might have expected τῆς σαρκὸς instead of τοῦ σώματος, but in the absence of the spirit the body in all it does is only the tool of the flesh: the two are morally equivalent. How frightened he was, as this massive tank was about to overwhelm him. 1832. DD. 1876. 2. Not the rose without the briar; not the briar without the rose, but the rose and the briar united in one. From all this he infers their obligation to live a holy life, in walking according to the Spirit in the character which he had shown belonged to them. . If we duly thought about the powers we have, and … Hear how those who are more advanced are told that in dress, furniture, table, amusements, they ought to do what ethers do, and that they ought not to give offence by adopting a more Christian course of life than that which their neighbours lead. The believer neither indulges nor walks according to them, but mortifies and puts them to death. (Ro 8:39, cp Ro 8:30 - called, justified, glorified = you are absolutely secure!) Here we are told exactly how, in practice, the Christian becomes sanctified. And the rest of it is history! Fourthly, The most eminent Christians, distinguished by the choicest gifts of heaven, were in the same distressed condition, Romans 8:23. There is no sentence of eternal death just because I slip back up under the Law and am frustrated immediately. So Morris well describes these fundamental options that confront us in this modern era when he concludes: “There is a living that is death and there is a putting to death that is life.”46 (For more commentary see original article for the sources of the footnote quotations). So that in a word we are put upon this dilemma, either to displease the body or destroy the soul. It is gradually destroyed (Ed: By the Spirit), as it was gradually formed, by single acts. "And when he had begun to settle them, there was brought to him one who owed (opheiletes) him ten thousand talents (such a large amount in essence it cannot be paid = Jesus is teaching about man's dependence on and responsibility to God who will settle accounts with His servants - ultimately only through the compassion of the creditor could such a high debt be remitted - and so men should forgive one another debts which by comparison are miniscule instead of insisting on their "legal" rights!). This obligation arises. Sinless. Because of original SIN (of Adam) this body is dying and inside this dying body are all the inordinate desires (lusts) of the FLESH. And that will last for a short time, but that's not serving God in the newness of the Spirit. IN the Scriptures, privilege and duty are inseparably connected. He dwells in the heart by faith. It is a lifestyle that brings glory to God and is obvious to others that Jesus lives in their lives. The individual who lives habitually under the dominion of the evil nature is an unsaved person. Because if that is one's lifestyle, they will die! Note that in Ro 8:13a the life of the flesh is the death of man while in 8:13b, the death of the flesh is the life of man. Obviously because we are in the state of continual need to do so! Romans 8:12,13 by which if they mortify the flesh, they shall live. (cf Ro 6:12, 13 = the practice), Thus the Christian is not merely a person who has, through a commitment of will, spurned carnal overtures; rather he is under constraint of the life of God in his soul, a new bias, a new tilt of affections, to repudiate the lustings of the flesh by means of the new resources bestowed at conversion. we owe all that we are, and all that we have to thee, all that we have in hand, and all that we have in hope; thou hast a right to all, yea, more than all that we can pay thee, so infinitely are we indebted to thee: But for sin and the flesh, we never promised anything to it, we never got anything by it, nothing but shame and sorrow from it, and, therefore, we are not indebted to it. Therefore, beware of cherishing one sin! In 5:12-21, Paul contrasted Adam and Christ. As long as a believer is in his or her earth suit, they will be subject to the passions of the wily evil flesh and will need to keep putting sins to death by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and His ever sufficient supply of grace. Spiritual growth comes when we do our part as we rely upon the Holy Spirit’s enablement. Every Christian is a debtor to the Holy Spirit, and that in these respects. Strictly rendered, this clause is one of design, in order to live after the flesh. (Mounce, R. H. Romans: The New American Commentary. The present tense (of thanatoo) implies that the destruction is going on day by day; and therefore implies that the evil influence of their past conduct continues even in the justified (Ed: Clearly it does - see Ro 6:12, Gal 5:17). 1 John 5:16). (Romans 8: Expository Notes Verse by Verse). Secondly, we are engaged to the Spirit, not only as the first beginner, but also as the further increaser of those graces in us which are begun. 1. To Satan--who plotted our temptation and accomplished our downfall? "Not debtors to the flesh"! Infringement of divine regulations and thanks which must be rendered in return for benefactions of the gods also make men debtors, in requiring from them some cultic penance or act. First, I thank my God - From this to the end of Romans 1:17; belongs to the preface, in which the apostle endeavors to conciliate the good opinion of the Christians at Rome, and to prepare their minds for his reproofs and exhortations. We may be said to be debtors to the flesh, that is, to our bodies, in sundry regards: as to feed them, clothe, and to nourish them. BibliographyPett, Peter. The bill that you want from me has been PAID IN FULL by Christ on the Cross and I don't owe you anything. Listen to the voice of the world. “If ye through the Spirit do mortify.”. The old, sinful nature may present its desires, even its demands, based upon our past, but we are now under no obligation to cooperate! GOD’S DWELLING IN US IS A MOTIVE TO HOLINESS. Those who are regenerate and born again they are made free from sin, and so nothing engaged to the services of it. Do this now and do it effectively! BibliographyExell, Joseph S. "Commentary on "Romans 8:12". Thirdly, as our Comforter in afflictions: we are debtors to the Spirit thus. Many things are good, but only one thing is best, and that's to be saved from hell. 1700-1703. IN THE FLESH OR IN THE SPIRIT. Why thus it is with many people in regard of their debts for their souls. We will encounter themes in these chapters; themes like faith, grace, law, spirit, flesh, predestination, Israel, the Gentiles, and so on. [But what is the condition of carnal men? 3. Because of what God has done for us ( Romans 8:1-11), believers have an obligation to respond appropriately. 587, Eur. 1801-1803. To be led by the Spirit does indeed involve the surrender of our wills to God. However we can only do so with the Spirit"s help. 2:19, 21; Php 1:21; Col 2:20; 3:3; 1Th 4:14; 5:10; He 7:8; 9:27; 10:28; 11:4, 13, 21, 37; Jude 1:12; Re 3:2; 8:9, 11; 9:6; 14:13; 16:3, There are a few commentaries that are generally accepted as conservative and evangelical which have comments similar to the College Press NIV Commentary that makes the following statement (with which I strongly disagree but am including to make the reader aware of how some commentaries handle the interpretation of this verse), "This verse is a strong affirmation of the real possibility that a Christian can fall from grace and lose his salvation. This shows that the sanctification of the believer is progressive. In this case the spiritual dying results in the separation of the soul from God and this equates with the loss of eternal life. This is a truth all of know far too well! Let us consider how far we have discharged this debt which we are so much engaged in. “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” the Lord Jesus said to His followers, “If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death” (John 8:51). Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. The answer is Yes! I breathe the breath of physical life, and on occasions when I have had some inflammation of the chest that breath has come hard, and I have realized that the breath and the body are two different things, and that it would be a very simple matter for the body to lose its breath. All attempts, then, for mortification of any lust, without an interest in Christ, are vain.”41, (b) There must be “universal sincerity” or a thorough concern regarding sin. (NLT - Tyndale House), Phillips: So then, my brothers, you can see that we have no particular reason to feel grateful to our sensual nature, or to live life on the level of the instincts. Don't be discouraged but occasional lapses into these old ways, but trust the Spirit to lead you in the right direction and over time the habit will have less and less of a hold on your heart and mind. Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. What better description of real living could we desire than that which is set forth in the shepherd psalm? We are debtors--. But, secondly, we may take it as denoting the regenerate part in us, in reference to a spiritual life. Peter makes it clear in his beautiful introduction to his second epistle writing "that His (God and Jesus our Lord) divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. The verb is present in tense, and therefore durative in meaning, indicating habitual action. 5, 736d); (b) someone who is under an obligation to achieve something (not found in this sense in the LXX). Indwelling sin is compared to a person, a living person, called "the old man," with his faculties, and properties, his wisdom, craft, subtlety, strength; this, says the apostle, must be killed, put to death, mortified, i.e., have its power, life, vigor, and strength, to produce its effects, taken away by the Spirit. In short then it is never accurate to say that a believer is "in the flesh." Sin is still potent, and success against it demands the Spirit’s power.). Oh blessed Spirit! Romans 8:23 And even they who have the first fruits of the Spirit But can a believer live in a fleshly manner, temporarily under the power of the the flesh? (2Pe 2:19-note; Ro 6:19-note) (from The Reformed Pastor), Barry Horner in Outlined Commentary on Romans writes. ), At the time this Epistle was written, and among the people to whom it was addressed, the creditor exercised over the debtor a power which the humanity of modern times has abolished. "Commentary on Romans 8:12". 9:27). (see notes 2 Peter 1:3, 1:4), Without these grace-laden provisions from God, we as believers would be unable to fulfill His commands. Our bodies are the Divine workmanship, and their faculties are of God’s malting and giving. Consider the "ministry" of the flesh: 1. As a matter of fact, I had not. And yet all of us know that the flesh can deceive our mind and somehow we think that we just have a right to do what the flesh wants me to do. Living the Christian Life. Moule introduces this section observing that "Paul begins with Holiness viewed as Duty, as Debt. To all classes. However our wandering is for a moment or even a season but not for a lifetime and not as our continual habitual practice. YOU MUST DIE: mellete (2PPAI) apothneskein (PAN): ESV and NET have "you will die" - the verb (see below) is mello which conveys the idea “You are on the point of dying”, “are about to", "are certainly going to” (NET Note). Paul is not calling for perfection but direction! "In the Holy Spirit, " he says, in 2Cor 6:6, -"in pureness, " etc. All self-assertion on the part of the original briar stock, as distinct from the new nature engrafted upon it, is to be rigorously repressed. (cf Ro 6:11 = the "mind"), Second, in the realm of regenerate experience, we are to yield to the dynamic concerning the Spirit’s indwelling life and influence. Daily He endures our carnality and selfishness; daily He is grieved by our sin; yet He loves us and remains in us as the seal of God and the “down payment” (“earnest,” 2Cor. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. We are debtors to the body to satisfy its wants, but not to the flesh to gratify its lusts (Romans 13:14). Colossians 3:5. “Another minute and he will be flattened to a shapeless bloody mass. Where note, That the word flesh is not to be taken in the physical, but in a moral sense; not in a physical sense, for the body of man; every one is a debtor to his own body, he owes it food and clothing, nourishment and provision; the beast must be fed, though not pampered, lest it kick and throw its rider: But flesh is here to be taken in a moral sense for sin, for the unregenerate and unsanctified part in man; and then the sense is, that no man owes anything to the service and satisfaction of his sinful lusts, and inordinate desires; none of us owe sin, Satan, or the world, an hour's service; these are not warrantable creditors for any of us to be indebted to. "Commentary on Romans 8:12". And there are some kind of people in the world which are scandalously debtors to it: as, for example, your misers and muck-worms, which pinch and straighten themselves even where God has enlarged them; live poor, that they may die rich. I say that based on the authority of God's Holy Word enabled by His Holy Spirit for the glory of His Holy Son. 6 For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come. BibliographySchaff, Philip. The former specified the reason (Romans 8:5), this second is explicative (namely); a similar repetition and mutual relation of γάρ being common also in Greek authors. J.B. Phillips has an outstanding and memorable translation of Romans 12:1-2: With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give Him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to Him and acceptable by Him. That are Christ ’ s power. ) conduct is resumed in c. 12 remember,! Statementthe New John Gill Exposition of the Savior does indeed involve the surrender our... '' I get up at 3AM for a lifetime and not acknowledging any obligation to keep the! Single acts -- John Owen, John Owen said `` mortification of ''. 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