Romans 8:3-5

Paul said that the law was weak through the flesh. Living according to the flesh means to conduct one's life dominated by a human point of view. Sort of like, "well, here's the way I look at it." Now all of us do this. And all of us do it even as Christians. However, a person who is living according to the flesh leaves God out. He leaves out God's Word, he leaves out God's perspective, and he leaves out God's point of view. The flesh is what attaches a person to the world and not to God.

The flesh, when Paul uses it in this way in Romans 8, is not being perceived as physical, that is, the skin and the muscle and bones and everything that are underneath it. Paul does not perceive it as being physical, but as part of the spiritual makeup of a man. Paul perceives it as exerting a power, an influence to motivate a person in the direction of sin. It is living one's life according to natural self-centered desires.

The flesh does not exert its influence in exactly the same way in everybody. Some people are driven by sexual passions. Other people are driven by lust for things, others by security. Many others, by pride and selfish ambition. And so these tendencies in them exert an influence to live their life in a certain way. But the common thing in every one of them is that God's perspective, God's point of view, if they have any at all; the flesh dominates it in some way, shape, or form.

Remember this, the law was weak through the flesh. It is very important to the rest of this sermon. Living according to the Spirit is living according to the flesh's opposite. The Spirit, in Hebrew thinking, is viewed as being a power. In this case here in Romans 8, the power is the power of God. It is God-centered, and thus tends to move a person toward God's point of view.

Romans 8:2-4

Beginning to see a progression here? We are freed from the law of sin and death. We are given life. This is accomplished through the blood of Jesus Christ. What is the reason? The reason is that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us. Now again think of the analogy, Exodus through Deuteronomy. Was the righteous requirement of the law fulfilled in the Israelites? No it was not. They sinned so frequently while they were in the wilderness. Did they really understand what they did? No. We can look in Deuteronomy 29 and find out that God did not give them an understanding heart that they might go on from what God's purpose was. So we have been given the opportunity to do what the Israelites did not do.

Romans 8:3-9

Verse 9 is the key. Christ will only dwell in those called now to live as He lives in both the letter and the spirit of the law of God. Those who are set apart, who are holy (as Ted talked about). This is a precious treasure.