In our day countless believers watch TV, listen to worldly music, look at pornagraphy, etc, and fill their minds with the trash of this world. As Paul says it in verse 6, "To focus our minds on the human nature leads to death". In our day countless ear tickling teachers such as Joel Osteen, teach "you can have your best life now". This encourages the love the old nature and of this world, which brings death.
Have you been set free? Are you a believer or unbeliever who is living according to your old nature? Jesus came to pay for sin and set you free with the new nature he gives. We are to put to death the sinful desires of our old nature and rule over it through the power of the Holy Spirit which God gives to those who believe. Salvation is not a prayer and then live as we wish according to our old nature. In verse 17, we see that saying no to our old nature brings suffering, as we war and put to death the desires of our old nature.
Are you in the war, putting to death the sinful activities of the body and consequently experiencing suffering? If so you will live. If not you will die. Each has eternal consequences. Meanwhile, countless thousands of believers are going to listen to deceiving teachers who tickle their ears. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit does not tickle our ears. This is about heaven or hell.
Romans 8 ISV
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with the Messiaha Jesus.b 2For the Spirit’s law of life in the Messiahc Jesus has set med free from the Law of sin and death.3For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did. By sending his own Son in the form of humanity,e he condemned sin by being incarnate, 4so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not live according to human nature but according to the Spirit.
5For 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. 6To focus our minds on the human nature leads to death, but to focus our minds on the Spirit leads to life and peace. 7That is why the mind that focuses on human nature is hostile toward God. It refuses to submit to the authority of God’s Law because it is powerless to do so. 8Indeed, those who are under the control of human nature cannot please God.
9You, however, are not under the control of the human nature but under the control of the Spirit, since God’s Spirit lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Messiah,f he does not belong to him. 10But if the Messiahg is in you, your bodies are dead due to sin, but the spirith is alive due to righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then the one who raised the Messiahi from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive by his Spirit who lives in you.
12Consequently, brothers, we are not—with respect to human nature, that is—under an obligation to live according to human nature. 13For if you live according to human nature, you are going to die, but if by the Spirit you continuously put to death the activities of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children. 15For you have not received a spirit of slavery that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba!j Father!” 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with the Messiahk —if, in fact, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
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