Romans 8:12–14

The conclusion to be drawn from all that we have just been considering is that the flesh has no claim upon us whatever. It has been judged in the Cross. It is opposed to God, and can never be reconciled to Him. We are not "in the flesh." The Spirit lives in us, and we are "in the Spirit." So we are in no way debtors to the flesh, that we should live after it.

"So then, brothers, we are debtors" — this is clear, for everything shows that we are dependent creatures, and the cross of Christ above all else. But if debtors, it is certainly "not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh." The flesh has been nothing but a thief, robbing and destroying. Do we owe it more than the dreadful toll it has already taken? No! Our debt is to the One who has redeemed us from the oppressor who wasted us... If I feed the flesh it is sure to be strong; if I do not feed it, it will soon become inactive.

The structure of the wording is unusual, but I believe it is admirably wise. The sentence looks unfinished and sounds as if another clause were needed to complete it... Used to the schools and forms of man, one waits for some statement to be added, such as that we are debtors to the Spirit or to Christ the Lord. This the inspired writer avoids saying. He knows how prone we are to legalism, and would cut off the excuse first. He would keep us in liberty, the full liberty with which Christ set us free.

The Apostle says, "we are debtors not to the flesh", but he does not say we are debtors to the Spirit. That would put us under a higher law — one even more impossible to keep than the law of Moses. It is not that we are not responsible to live after the Spirit, but that this responsibility is not carried out by legal obligation. It is carried out by the power of the new affections which the Spirit imparts.

Liberty is, indeed, the very emphasis of the passage. Christ has set the believer free from the law of sin and death. So he is no longer a debtor to the flesh, even in this present life. He lives to God in the liberty of redemption. This claim of liberty is life and joy to the spiritual man. But where Christianity is only a name and not a power, it is the searching edge of the word of holiness, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart... A Christian may abound much in practical holiness, or he may be very feeble and defective in this respect. But if he is alive to God at all, he cannot at the same time be alive in the flesh.

The Moabites had no real claim on Israel, and yet Eglon had set up his throne in the city of the palm trees... From that place of power he ruled Israel and made them pay him tribute. So what God alone had a right to claim was going to the king of Moab. How true a picture this is of the state of thousands of Christians. The flesh has no right to rule us, for "we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh." We owe no debt to that evil principle within us which would make self everything and shut Christ out. We have every right to ignore its demands and to walk in the Spirit. And yet Christians often give time, thought and strength to the flesh, just as Israel gave Eglon what God alone could claim.

It is indeed our duty to live after the Spirit. But if we said that we are debtors, that would put man under a higher law. Keeping that law would then be even more impossible for him. The Spirit was the strength to live. That strength comes through the affections He imparts, not through an obligation to have them. If we live after the flesh, we are going to die; but if by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body, we shall live. The evil is there, but strength is there to overcome it.

If men live according to the flesh, they are on the way to death. It does not say that they will die. God's grace is always free to come in. But if it comes in, it takes one off the road to death. The verse does not speak as if sin were of no consequence. On the other hand, if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, it does not say you are on the way to life, because there is no uncertainty about the result, but "you will live."

If I see a man going on with the world, I say, That ends in death; and if I walk after the flesh I shall die. God's Word is very plain about this. "If you live according to the flesh you will die," and I take that in its strongest meaning — you will be eternally lost. The end of that road is the lake of fire, and the end of the other road is the presence of God.

A person who is living after the flesh will die. He therefore cannot have the real thing. This passage is not a warning against having a thing and somehow perishing, but against having the signs of the thing and then perishing.

If our old nature were not still left ready to act, we should not need to put to death the deeds of the body. It is not putting the body to death, but the deeds of the body. The great thing to see is that it is through the Spirit.

As to our members that are on the earth, Scripture never says they are crucified. The old mortal body and its members, prone to evil, are still present, and we have to subdue them. Mortification is the process of bringing them under control… To mortify is to put to death. We cannot put to death what is already dead. Mortification, then, is a perpetual killing, if one may say so, of the members and of their deeds.

It is not by resolution. Do you understand now? Do you understand the difference between the Spirit of God and resolution? Resolution is the work of your own will. The Spirit of God is God's will… The Spirit in you is master of the flesh.

Putting the deeds of the body to death is the result of the Spirit's energy. He is the Spirit who produces the fruits of life in a person, when nothing hinders the gracious working of His love. This is expected only from believers in whom the Spirit lives. So there is nothing in verse 13 that need chill the confidence of the poor, weak-spirited, self-judging Christian in the least. Those who judge themselves most are the ones this warning touches least.

This word translated "led" has many uses, but the main idea running through them all is "to take care of." The Spirit takes care of us by leading us into right paths. Having such a guide shows that we are "sons of God." A young prince is always in the care of a tutor. The tutor knows how the prince ought to behave in his position. He must act at all times as the son of a king. In the same way the Spirit lives in our hearts, instructing us in the conduct that suits us because we are "sons of God."

The influence of the Holy Spirit shows itself in these things. But what is on the apostle's mind is not the influence of the Spirit only. It is the Spirit Himself. What is on the mind of the writer he answers is a state of soul. In Romans 8:16 the apostle says, "it is the same Spirit," or "the Spirit itself." And again, "the Spirit helps," "the Spirit makes intercession," the Spirit "dwells" in us.

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." Here we begin to hear of our relationship, in contrast with the place of servants or slaves, which Israel had under law. It also opens the way for the Spirit to appear as a Person who acts, rather than only as what marks out our new nature and standing over against the flesh.

Being led by the Spirit is a favour common to all Christians. It is the principle on which God now deals in grace with His people. Outside the circle where God lives by His Spirit, Satan leads men. Under the law His people were in bondage, kept under a guardian. Now, as a Christian privilege, the Spirit leads: "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law" (Galatians 5:18).

There is a further lesson here: we may be led by the Spirit. He is not only our power for keeping the flesh in check, for putting our members to death (Col. 3). He also enables us to walk, and so is our power for progress in the divine path. We must hold on to these teachings firmly. From them we learn that we have no natural resource of our own. We depend entirely on the power of the Holy Spirit for the fight and for the walk, as for every activity of the divine life.

I do not doubt this: if we walk with God and look to Him, the Spirit will put in our hearts the special things He wishes us to do. Only it is important that we keep the word of God in memory. It will then guard us against all our own imaginations. Otherwise the Christian who lacks humility will do his own will, and will often take it for the Holy Spirit.