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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8.1-2). The focus of this text is not about the impossibility of apostasy and whether or not that is a valid doctrine; it is about those who walk “according to the spirit” as contrasted to those who “walk according to the flesh.” For the one group, there is no condemnation; for the other group, their condemnation remains. We shall examine what these metaphors mean.
First, we will note the use of the term walk; this is not a static term; it depicts activity and movement. That term is applied to each of the groups under consideration (those who walk after the flesh as well as those who walk according to the Spirit). To state this in more technical terms, the word “walk” as used in the subject text is a “present, active participle.” According to grammarians, the participle used in that manner simply depicts ongoing action. In our English language, we sometimes use the suffix “ing” to connote such action. For example, we might say, “He is hitting the ball” (present and ongoing activity). Or we might declare, “Walking is good for the heart.” Again, it is not a single walk that benefits the heart, but it is the ongoing and repetitive exercise that one gets by habitually walking that results in the health benefits noted.
It was this word and this tense that Paul chose to depict the two groups. They were not people who had walked; they were people who were walking (present and ongoing activity). For those who are walking (present and ongoing) according to the Spirit, there is absolutely and unequivocally, no condemnation. Likewise, for those whose footsteps are continually guided by the flesh (as opposed to the Spirit), their condemnation is absolute and unequivocal! The text does not deal with the fact that one who walks in the Spirit could cease to so walk; neither does it deal with the fact that one who walks after the flesh could also cease to walk in that manner. The Holy Spirit through Paul simply makes a forthright statement regarding the estate of these classes of people.
Much error has been and is still being taught regarding the terms “flesh” and “Spirit.” The bias of biblical translators is nowhere made more apparent than it is in how some have dealt with these two words. However, being a simple man, I propose a simple solution to the terms at hand; it is simply this. Generally speaking, to walk after the flesh is to walk according to that which a man comes to believe apart from God’s revelation. On the other hand, to walk according to the Spirit is to order one’s life in a manner that is consistent with that which Jehovah God has revealed. There are variances and shades of meaning, but generally these definitions fit the lexical and contextual facts that surround them. Hence, the man who continues to follow his own path (the path that is marked out apart from God’s word) is set in direct distinction from the man who demands that his feet only go in the pathway that God marks out. With that in view, it certainly makes sense that those who walk after the flesh are condemned while those who walk according to the Spirit, know no condemnation.
When all is said and done, much of the mystery of religion results from the self-imposed ignorance from which we suffer. God has clearly spoken and He wants us to order our steps according to His plan, not ours! When and only when we determine to put self to death can God occupy the throne room of our heart. It is then and only then that we know no condemnation!
Questions:
1. What is the significance of the Holy Spirit’s choice of the word walk in the subject text?
2. What is the contrast between flesh and Spirit in this text?
3. Why must we focus on God in order to achieve righteousness? Can’t I just be good and achieve the same results? Why or why not? Isn’t that type of thinking “after the flesh?”
4. Will God force His way into our hearts? If not, how can there ever be room for Him to live there?
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