Paul’s Epistle to the Romans
January 16, 2022
Audio From Bible Study
Opening Prayer
O God, You created the vine and taught it to draw up water
by its roots and, with the aid of the sun, to turn that water into a juice
which will ferment and become wine. From Noah’s time till ours, You have
performed this miracle of turning water into wine. Grant that we never fail
to recognize that gift as the product of You, the Giver. Protect us from the superstition
of the Pagans who attributed this gift to some finite spirit, Bacchus or
Dionysus: and from the materialism of modernity, that attributes real and
ultimate causality to the chemical and other material phenomena which are all
that our senses can discover in it. But when Christ at Cana makes water into
wine, the mask is off. The master vintner is revealed as the water in the jars
blush at the privilege of serving its Lord. Let the miracle have its full
effect so that whenever we see a vineyard or drink a glass of wine we will
remember that here works He who sat at the wedding party in Cana blessing the
newlyweds with good wine, for He is their creator, as well as the water’s and the
wine’s. He is also our Creator, as well as our Redeemer, and we pray that we
will learn from the water to blush with the privilege of serving our Lord
Christ and be ennobled by His Spirit working through His Word so we will be
what He calls us to be to His glory. Amen.[1]
Prolegomena
I will be teaching the 611 class starting mid-February (Feb. 20?) through May 1. Over the last couple years we have had a Mother’s Day breakfast (May 8). We will pick up Romans on May 15.
Chris and I are also starting to work on a series on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis which will be presented in A Weekly Word starting on June 8, tentatively.
Paul is moving from a dichotomy – total opposition of the
flesh and of the Spirit – to a paradox –
that we who are dead/mortal are also alive – the opposites are true at the same
time.
Romans 8:5-8
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.
8:5
The translation might give the impression of doing something – living according to the flesh – but the text is really more about a state of being – those who are being in accord with he flesh.
The same in the second part of the verse – it is not that the people are living according to the Spirit, but their state of being is in accord with the Spirit.
Am I just splitting hairs here?
- The Philosophy of Frank Sinatra – Do, Be, Do, Be, Do
o
This is at the root of many earthly ideas about
how things work.
o
Fake it until you make it.
o
Performance based religion.
o
“The dominant way of the world is that what you do
leads to who you are in terms of occupation, grades, and status. Paul
contends that in the church it is just the opposite. Who you are ‘in
Christ Jesus’ comes first; what you do, in response, then follows.”[2]
- The revelation here is that our being is the source of our doing; not the other way round.
o
If justification is a free gift
o
And if our state of being righteous before God
is about His declaration
o
We must start from being rather than doing.
o
Ephesians 2 – Dead … now alive in Christ.
- Devotional Habits
o
A reminder of our being – making the sign of the
cross, etc.
§
Concordia, Chicago presem guys – “Remember
you’re baptism!”
o
The Ten Commandments as defining and describing
– not merely demanding.
Where did Paul get this idea?
- John 3:6-8 – “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Notice that this is an either/or statement.
- There is no third option.
- Those being in accord with the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh.
- Those being in accord with the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit.
- To set one’s mind is not merely to think about, but to be preoccupied with.
o
The verb indicates
§
Actively setting one’s mind upon.
§
Intentionally focusing on something.
§
Pondering
o
I think this speaks to the importance of the
habit of meditation.
§
Psalm 1 - Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of
the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
§
The Spirit works through the word to set our
minds
·
Not on the counsels of the wicked,
·
Nor the way of sinners,
·
Nor the settled ideas of scoffers
·
Instead we delight and meditate in God’s
teaching/Torah/law.
8:6
ESV - For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to
set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
My Translation – For the mindset of the flesh [is] death,
but the mindset of the Spirit [is] life and peace.
- There are actually no verbs present in this sentence – which is not unusually in Greek when the needed verb is “to be.”
- The noun mindset (phronema) is related to the verb translated “set one’s mind” in v. 5 (phroneo).
- This is a way of thinking, a preconceived notion, a world-view – the root ideas that form how we look at life – of which we may or may not be aware.
The way we look at life in this world might flow from the flesh which leads to death, or by the Spirit which leads to life and peace
Donovan Riley of The Banned Books Podcast often
controversially refers to the powers of this world as a “death cult.” He feels
we – apart from Christ – worship and glorify death.
- He has a point.
- Notice the sacrificial nature of so many religions – including human sacrifice.
These are not neutral matters. They are matters of death and
life!
- Death is the default outcome for humanity.
- Life is the outcome for the person who has the Spirit.
- Solzhenitzyn’s Live Not By Lies, and Rod Dreher’s book by the same name.
o
The enemy is real.
o
There are lies that lead to death.
o
What are we filling our minds with?
8:7
ESV - 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.
My Translation – Because the mindset of the flesh is
hostility/enmity toward God, it does not submit itself to the Law of God, neither
is it able [to submit to God’s Law].
- Where have we run into this word enmity before now?
- The word is related to the language of 5:10 which speaks of being God’s enemies (exthroi). That state of being is hostility (exthra).
- Again, we are confronted with the idea that there is no neutrality.
o
James 4:4 – “Unfaithful ones, do you not know
that the love/friendship of the world is enmity/hostility (exthra) with God?”
8:8
ESV - Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
- They don’t have the power to please God.
8:9a
ESV - You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, ….
My translation – But you, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit ….
- The texts emphasizes “you” (plural)
- Why?
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