Mission Faithwalk

            For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:14-17) So, the Spirit gives us life. But wait! There’s more! God doesn’t say, “OK, you’re alive, now you’re on your own.” God doesn’t say, “Kneel, slave.” He says, “You are now My child.” We get to answer with “Abba, Father.”  Can you imagine? Let’s put it in more human terms. What if Elon Musk, Bill Gates, or some other very wealthy, powerful celebrity you like shows up on your door and says, “You’re now my child”? For the sake of argume...

                   And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of [ a ] his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. (Romans 8:11-12) So, we conclude this piece of Paul’s argument: if we live according to the flesh, we’ll die, but if we live according to the spirit, we’ll live. So, let’s apply some logic. If you knew that having a relationship with someone was going to result in your murder by that person, what sense of obligation would you feel to that person? Would a relationship with that person be wise? Healthy? When it comes to our relationships with ourselves, is it any wiser or healthier to behave as if we are obligated to do what our flesh tells us to? Think about it. Our flesh pushes us to do things that aren’t goo...

                 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:9) “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness— (Habakkuk 2:4) This alternative sounds wonderful. If we have the Spirit of Christ, we have life, even if our bodies are subject to death. The Spirit will give life to our mortal bodies. Of course, this begs the question of whether or not we are in the realm of the Sp...

                 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8) Yesterday’s point was that we and the Law are too weak to save us. That’s because we have a fleshly nature. How could we not? To complicate things further, it’s broken. The flesh wants what it wants. It can only perceive reality with itself as the source. All that the Law can do is say, “That’s wicked!” That doesn’t change what the flesh wants. This is precisely the role of religion. It’s also precisely what society wants to do. It wants to pass laws that will, suppose...

                    For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)                 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6) “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness— (Habakkuk 2:4)             Today’s verses say exactly what I’ve been saying. Most religions – perhaps all other religions except Biblical Judaism and Christianity teach that if we are good people and do all the right ...

                 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:1-2)                 I know I’ve opined on Romans 8 before, but it’s one of the passages that has come to mind to revisit. Backing up to the end of chapter 7, we are told that God has delivered us through Jesus Christ, making us both a slave to God’s law and a slave to sin. Naturally, we will hate one or the other, but if we (as Paul did) desire to follow God’s law, we will be progressively set free from sin. The no condemnation part isn’t universal. That addresses the “Therefore.”                 One of the next three words is vital: now . There’s no waiting until we ge...

            Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2) You know the type. You can’t hold a 2-minute conversation with them without the conversation turning to their (current) obsession: the kids, grandkids, great grandkids, health, spouse, pet, job, current favorite sport, current book, calling, more recent sighting of a ____,… Whatever the topic is, it’s boring to you. You have your own list. As difficult as those lists might be, there are also the people whose lists include matters of public policy, advocacy, or compassion. They have an agenda and they don’t seem to understand that their burdens aren’t the priority for everyone else. How could you not care about the well-being of these people, those animals, or the climate? How could you not drain your bank account or spend all your waking hours focused on the thing that has their focus? Never mind if you happen to be as intense about your own...