High Score
Romans 8:6-11
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.
It is important to know the way to win (if there even is a way to win) before you play any game. I don’t golf, but if I did go golfing, I would consistently score the highest. But in golf, the high score loses. As followers of Christ, we must remember that we are to no longer set our minds on the things of the flesh (trying to score a high score in the eyes of the world), but rather, we are to set our minds on the things of Christ. The desires of the flesh are diametrically opposed to the desires of God.
Paul explains the nature of this opposition by explaining that the things that do not submit to the law of God are unable to please God. God’s law demands mankind to live devoid of sin, and the law acts as the boundaries and markers to condemn us when we fall into sin. But because we are of the flesh, this poses a difficulty. The law consistently shows us that there is a lot of room for improvement. The law shows that all are falling short, but what we like to do is simply compare our score with the score of others.
But now as believers, we are not called to compare our score because we know the rules of the game; if you don’t score a perfect score, you lose. A perfect score is the only way to win the game. Anything less isn’t worthy of winning.
Which is why we are assured to know that we no longer are living by the flesh, but rather, we are walking with the Spirit. It is the Spirit of God who dwells inside of you. The Holy Spirit is the one who is giving you the ability to walk with the Lord. The body is dead because of sin, but because Christ is in you, we are deemed victorious.
This is the good news of the gospel, and it is not just good news to people who have never heard it before. The good news of the gospel of Christ is good news to all of us who are tired of consistently losing due to the flesh. The key is to recognize and release control to the Lord. The key is to die to self and gain life in Christ every single day.
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.
It is important to know the way to win (if there even is a way to win) before you play any game. I don’t golf, but if I did go golfing, I would consistently score the highest. But in golf, the high score loses. As followers of Christ, we must remember that we are to no longer set our minds on the things of the flesh (trying to score a high score in the eyes of the world), but rather, we are to set our minds on the things of Christ. The desires of the flesh are diametrically opposed to the desires of God.
Paul explains the nature of this opposition by explaining that the things that do not submit to the law of God are unable to please God. God’s law demands mankind to live devoid of sin, and the law acts as the boundaries and markers to condemn us when we fall into sin. But because we are of the flesh, this poses a difficulty. The law consistently shows us that there is a lot of room for improvement. The law shows that all are falling short, but what we like to do is simply compare our score with the score of others.
But now as believers, we are not called to compare our score because we know the rules of the game; if you don’t score a perfect score, you lose. A perfect score is the only way to win the game. Anything less isn’t worthy of winning.
Which is why we are assured to know that we no longer are living by the flesh, but rather, we are walking with the Spirit. It is the Spirit of God who dwells inside of you. The Holy Spirit is the one who is giving you the ability to walk with the Lord. The body is dead because of sin, but because Christ is in you, we are deemed victorious.
This is the good news of the gospel, and it is not just good news to people who have never heard it before. The good news of the gospel of Christ is good news to all of us who are tired of consistently losing due to the flesh. The key is to recognize and release control to the Lord. The key is to die to self and gain life in Christ every single day.
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