Romans 8:1-16
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 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 righteousness requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. 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. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 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. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if 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 Christ is in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation but it is not to the sinful nature to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children....
Discussion Questions:
- After reading this passage, it tells us that if Christ is in us, he gives life to our mortal bodies through his Spirit. We are obligated to not live by our own sinful nature. What does this mean to you?
- Give examples of, "the misdeeds of the body." How do we know when our line is blurring to where we are giving in to some of our own desires, and maybe our conscience has been a bit, dulled by the world we live in so that we do not hear the message that the Spirit is trying to tell us.
2 comments:
This is probably not exactly what it's talking about, but the first thing that came into my mind was giving in to fatigue. Allowing my sinful human nature to give in to fatigue instead of staying up those few minutes later or getting up those few minutes earlier in order to have some quiet time with God. Giving in to allowing those random thoughts that come rushing in when you finally quiet yourself in order to spend some time with God.
Don't get me wrong, I think there is something spiritual about resting in God. I think he wants us to rest and take care of ourselves. Living life by the Spirit probably includes a bit of Sabbath. It's all in the thought behind the action (and if there is indeed any thought behind that action)...
I think that our conscious gets dulled by the world when we take on a negitive attitude about life, people or church etc. One can find disappointment or fault in any situation or person. We aren't living in the Spirit when we are down in the dumps about our life. One of my greatest fears is being wrongly accused of a crime and having be in jail. Crazy as that sounds it is my fear. Then I remember Paul and Silas who were convicted of a crime they did committ; "loving the Lord" and were praising God while in jail thus leading others to Christ and giving great encouragement. It is important to me to aim to live a greatful and positive life especially in very difficult circumstances because my attitude is a direct reflection of my faith and trust in God.
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