Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

There is conflict between the world and the Lord, and you must choose one side or the other. Once you make your choice, there is a price to be paid and a sacrifice to be made. We can live Kingdom down or hell up. We can live by the Spirit or by the flesh. We can be transformed by God or conformed by the world.

Paul told us back in Romans 7-8 that this choice comes down to living in what he calls 'the spirit' or 'the flesh.' The flesh conforms to the world, but the Lord transforms the spirit. Paul articulates this in greater depth in Galatians 5:16–26: "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if the Spirit leads you, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking, or envying one another.

Worship is often very practical daily decisions that involve our physical bodies. Does a born-again Christian still have desires that are temptations of the flesh? Yes, we all do. But for a born-again believer, the deepest desires and longings are to obey the Lord. The lesser desires and temptations are to be conformed to the world.

We expect people to behave in a certain way in the world, but we are a counterculture, a subculture, working against the culture. They are of the world. We are of the Lord. We don’t hate anyone; we love them and want to live by the fruit of the Spirit to demonstrate a countercultural way of living. When they ask, “Why are you joyful? Why are you happy? Why do you forgive each other? Why do you get along?” Our answer is simple: His name is Jesus, and you need Him too.

God ultimately wants mindful Christians, not mindless Christians. There is a lot of mindless, shallow, human-centered Bible teaching today, resulting in an entire generation of mindless Christians. Everyone is driven by their emotions and passions.

In high school, I had an affluent friend whose house was next to a lake. One day he asked if I wanted to go sailing. I said, “Sure!” We got on the sailboat, and my friend was a master. He had one hand on the sail and one hand on the rudder, and he took us all around the lake. Then he asked if I wanted to try. I did, and we quickly learned I was not particularly good at sailing. By the end of the boat ride, we were happy to still be alive. I learned that day that the sail is powerful, but the rudder is necessary to direct it.

One of the reasons I am so passionate about teaching the Bible is to help people become mindful Christians. I love helping them learn the Word of God. I don’t know of any better way to have a transformed mind than to learn the Word of God by the Spirit of God.

Today’s Reflection

Do you tend toward being more powerful and passionate, like a sail, or practical, like a rudder? How can you have a better balance between the two?