Mindsets

 

Text: Romans 8:1-11

Focus: The Spirit of God

Function: To help people see that a good conscience is a result of the Holy Spirit

8:¹Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh 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 set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, ⁸and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is alive because we do justice.* ¹¹If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite passages in the writings of the Apostle Paul.

At the end of the chapter is the great comfort passage for times of grief and loss where we read that nothing, not even death, can separate us from God’s love.

God’s love is everywhere and in everything. And brother Paul speaks of being in tune with the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we can experience God and God’s loving presence in everything we do.

He speaks of the joy of living the Spirit filled life.

But the passage starts with the great assurance we have because we have been born anew by the Spirit of God.

In the preceding chapter, Brother Paul speaks of his own struggles against his own will compared to living the will of God for him in his life.

He cries out in despair until he focuses his hope on Jesus who has given to us His Spirit in order that we might learn the way of peace and love for our neighbors that makes the kingdom of God a spiritual kingdom.

And because of Jesus, we are cleansed by the Spirit in the eyes of God. When we make the decision to trust in Jesus, my experience is, just like baptism symbolizes, our conscience is washed clean and we sense that God has forgiven us.

For me, it was and is a mystical experience, it is something that I sense deep down inside of my gut. And I can’t describe it any different than I sensed that God set me free from my guilt.

However, I was raised with a ton of shame, and that is something that I have to overcome on a daily basis.

And that is why this is one of my favorite passages.

When I read that first verse, actually, I like to do what is called “Lectio Divina,” whereby we read through the scripture in a prayerful way.

To myself, I hear the Spirit of God whispering in my ear, “My child, there is therefore no condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus. For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

In Christ, we are free and forgiven. I think of that when I am sitting in the circle at Kairos with my brothers in Christ at Warren Correctional Institute.

There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

None.

There are guys who because of the power and abuse system that dominates the prison are victims of sexual abuse and have now formed a bond with their oppressor. Instead of making them feel shame for something for which other Christians might condemn, I tell them, there is No Condemnation for those in Christ. None.

Because their crimes were violent and innocent people were harmed, and now they have come to Christ and see those acts as evil because the Spirit of God has changed their hearts, some have a hard time forgiving themselves.

I love just quoting over and over against objections or the “what about’s?” and the “What If’s?” of the human condition of brokenness I read this verse over all objections and say, but. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

You know how daily affirmations are good for our mental health? Well, this is a daily spiritual affirmation that we can tell ourselves, There is no condemnation for me, because I am in Christ Jesus.

Praise God!

There is a caveat, however. And it might be either small or huge. It comes with laying aside our selfish desires and living with the commitment to love our neighbor and treat others as well as we treat ourselves.

As a matter of fact, in order to get it right, the Apostle instructs is that the honorable thing to do is to prefer above ourselves. Love them as much as or even more than we love ourselves.

It has to do with the principles from Micah 6:8. God commands us what it good and what God requires from us. Do justice. Do the right thing for everyone. Love mercy. I take that as being happy about mercy given to people that others don’t think deserve it. And relevant to this cause, walking humbly before God. It is hard to claim that we are humble since that would be the antithesis of humility. But the attitude, the mindset, is to set our minds on what the Spirit of God inside of us wants for us and for others. How does God love me and how does God want me to love others? That idea of honoring them over ourselves keeps us in a mindset of ensuring that we love them as much as we love ourselves.

And again, I go back to the first verse before I finish this train of thought about our mindsets.

Loving ourselves is important. God loves us so much that God have God’s self for us. For me and for you. God gave himself to redeem the course of humanity through the loving influence of the Church, the body of Christ.

And that verse, there is no condemnation rebukes the shame that Satan himself would whisper in our ears about all the times that we refused to love others and chose self over what the Spirit of God was leading us to do for others.

And the passage tells us that Christ forgives those times and by his Spirit empowers us to do what the Spirit prompts us to do in our lives.

It all comes from living by the Spirit instead of the flesh, or selfish desires.

The instinct of the world around us is to be selfish and greedy. We honor as heroes the wealthy who have hoarded wealth at the expense of the livelihoods of their employees. The scripture says that for eternity, they have had their reward squandered here on earth.

But the Spirit of God gives us a different mindset. He tells us to set our minds on the Spirit of God.

That, I believe, is why our Christian fellowship is so important. I remind myself that I get 15 minutes a week and whatever bent your politics are, you get a 24 hour news cycle that does not represent the teaching of Christ.

God has a lot of competition for your mindset. So, our fellowship together here, and I got to add the little spiritual reminders I get every morning from my Church family remind me to set my mind of the Spirit of Christ.

*my translation based on diakonos meaning justice.