LED BY THE SPIRIT

Background Passage: ROMANS 8:1-14

Lesson Passage:ROMANS 8:1-14

BIBLICAL TRUTH: THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVES IN BELIEVERS, SHOWING THEM THE PATTERN AND DIRECTIN FOR THEIR LIVES AND GIVING THEM DAILY GUIDANCE.

KEY BIBLE VERSE: ROMANS 8:14

Lynn had missed the Monday night Bible study sessions for a couple of weeks. Usually she was the fist person there. Her sudden absence troubled the others in the Bible study group, so they appointed Sarah to contact her..

Sarah called Lynn to tell her that she and the others in the Bible study group had been missing her. In the conversation, Lynn eventually explained why she dropped out so suddenly. The group had decided to study the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The topic frightened Lynn because of a horrifying controversy in her church when she was a teenager. The controversy had involved fiery differences of opinions regarding the work of the Holy Spirit. Lynn decided then to avoid discussions about the Holy Spirit whenever she could.

Lynn is not alone. Christians like her tend to pass on opportunities to study more about the work on the Holy Spirit. Perhaps fear prompts some of us to ignore His work in our lives. Or maybe we ignore the Holy Spirit because we think He may lead us to do something we wouldn't like.

If we take advantage of opportunities to learn more about the Holy Spirit, we will be informed, relieved, and inspired. The Bible passages to be studied in this session show us that the Holy Spirit lives in us as believers so we can follow His leadership. As you turn your attention to this section of Paul's letter to the Romans, you will see the value of being led by the Spirit.

BACKGROUND PASSAGE OVERVIEW

Because Christ paid the price to liberate us from the grip of sin, we no longer live under sin's condemnation. God allowed His Son to die as the ultimate sin offering on our behalf. That's why the days of living under condemnation are behind us. Now we live according to the Holy Spirit. Instead of thinking about how we can serve selfish interests, now we think about how we can live for Christ. If our minds are set on selfish interests, we cannot please God with out lives. However, if we adopt the Spirit's mind-set, we will enjoy authentic life and an abiding sense of His peace.

Because the Holy Spirit lives in us, we do not devote ourselves to selfish interests. We know that the Holy Spirit lives only in people who belong to Christ. For that reason, we know that He has taken up residence in us. Accordingly, a distinct change has taken place in our lives. Selfish interests associated with sin are now dead. Since we have been made right with God through Christ, the Holy Spirit has breathed new life in us. The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. And He will exert His power on our resurrection day too.

What is the effect of the Spirit living in us? As believers who share the struggle to grow toward maturity in Christ, we have to urn our backs on selfish interests. We no longer have an obligation to give in to them. And we know for certain what happens to people who chase after sinful desires. They experience nothing but death. If we follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, however, we will have fulfilling lives. And we are assured that because we belong to Christ, we want to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.

STUDY QUESTIONS 1.How did God remove sin's condemnation from us? (8:3)
2.What specific aspects of the Holy Spirit's power did Paul emphasize? (8:11)
3.Why did Paul refer to the Christians at Rome as brothers? (8:12)

ADOPT THE SPIRIT'S MIND-SET (ROM. 8:1-8)

Romans 8 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

VERSES 1-2 ~ Paul had already begun to point the Roman Christians to a most uplifting reality. God had delivered believers from sin through Christ (7:25). As a result, God's condemnation of their sin had been removed. Paul mentioned sin's condemnation earlier when he contrasted Adam with Christ (5:16,18). Through Adam, every person in the world stood condemned. But if anyone received God's gift of salvation through Christ Jesus, he or she would be liberated from sin's condemnation.

Now that we are no longer condemned because we are saved, we enjoy new life according to a new law. Before we were saved, we were accountable to the law of sin and death. Now everything is different. Christ liberated us from the law of sin and death when He saved us. Now the Holy Spirit lives in us. As a result, we follow the Spirit's direction.

Compare the KJV and Holman CSB versions of these two verses. The two versions are not the same because they follow different Greek manuscripts. Even so, the message is the same in both versions. God has set us free from sin's condemnation through Christ.

VERSES 3-4~ How did God liberate us? He did something for us that the law could not do. He allowed His Own Son to be the ultimate offering for sin, even though Christ Himself was sinless. (see study question 1.) That's the only way the law's requirement would be met. With the requirement met through Christ, we have been liberated from the reign of sin.

VERSE 5 ~ Now we are on a new journey with the Lord. Paul's contrast of the flesh and the Spirit helps us to see that we have only two choices in the journey. Either we will follow the path of our selfish interests or the way of God's Spirit.

VERSES 6-8 ~ Following the Lord doesn't start with what we do. It begins with the way we think. Consequently, we do well to focus attention on our mind-set. Again, Paul's contrast in these verses provides us with two clear options. If we have our minds set on the flesh, or ourselves, nothing good is likely to come ow what we do. Such a mind-set is not submissive to the Spirit's leadership. Also, it is associated with death, and it leads to actions that are hostile to God.

If we set our minds on the Spirit, however, we can count on the outcome being quite different. First, we experience authentic life in Christ. Also, we have an abiding sense of peace in our relationship with Him. In addition, our actions please God. Following the leadership of the Holy Spirit by adopting His mind-set is a critical step in being fulfilled as a Christian.

GO IN THE SPIRIT'S DIRECTION (ROMANS 8:9-11)

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

VERSE 9 ~ Christian living involves following the leadership of the Holy Spirit instead of chasing after selfish interests. As Paul insisted, the presence of the Spirit of God in our lives enables us to determine to follow Him. If we are aware of His presence, we can learn to go in His direction and, indeed, form the positive habit of doing so.

Paul assured the Roman Christians that he Spirit of Christ lived in them. The Holy Spirit took residence in their lives the moment they were saved. When Christ liberated them from sin's grip, they became His slaves (see 6:15-18). Once they belonged to Him, His Spirit came to live in them immediately.

What Paul wrote about the Roman Christians also applies to believers today. Obviously, the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ are two ways of describing the same Holy Spirit. We enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives only if we belong to Christ. It is impossible for an unbeliever to have th Holy Spirit in his or her live.

VERSE 10 ~ Since the Holy Spirit lives in us, the direction of our lives has been changed forever. Before Christ saved us, we lived under the dominion of sin. Slavery to sin results in death (6:23a). Once we receive Christ, however, we are made right with God. Because of the righteousness we have in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has breathed new life into us. Accordingly, now we live under the Holy Spirit's control and leadership.

Yielding to the control of the Spirit is an extremely demanding and intentional discipline for a Christian. However, learning to be sensitive to His directions is a crucial factor in nurturing a walk with God that really makes a difference, both in our lives and, potentially, the lives of those persons to whom we witness of Christ's saving power.

VERSE 11 ~ Is the Spirit capable of working in us so we can have a fulfilling relationship with God? Paul assured us that the Holy Spirit who lives in us has the power to enable us so we can follow His direction. The Holy Spirit displayed His power in the resurrection of Christ. He had the power to defy death itself and raise Jesus from the grave. Likewise, the Holy Spirit will display His power on the day of our resurrection. In the same way that He raised Jesus, He will overcome death on our behalf and breath life into our mortal bodies. (See study question 2.).

As Paul reminded us, th Holy Spirit who has the power over life, death, and resurrection lives in us right now. If we allow Him to control our lives, He will empower us so we can follow His leadership.

OBEY THE SPIRIT'S LEADERSHIP (ROMANS 8:12-14)

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

VERSE 12 ~ Notice that Paul referred to the Roman Christians as brothers. He saw them as his siblings, not his children. They stood shoulder to shoulder with Paul in their mutual struggle toward Christian maturity. (see study question 3.) Paul knew they shared his bedrock conviction that none of them owed anything to their sinful natures. They did not have to give in to sin's demands, and they did not have to live in a way that accommodated it. Sinful desires no longer had the last word in their lives, compelling them to think and act according to the flesh.

Our hearts leap with joy over the same bedrock conviction today. Gone are the days in which we obligate ourselves to sinful living. The new life we have received through Christ has enabled us to turn our backs on the old, sinful way of life. We are glad to leave it behind us as we embrace new life in the Spirit.

VERSE 13 ~ We also affirm another truth about living to please sinful desires. If people devote themselves to sinful living, eventually they will discover that they never actually lived at all. Instead of thinking that chasing sin is going to give us life, Christians know for certain that it will have the opposite effect. Anyone who lives to obey sin is going to die in sin.

Does this verse imply that Christians who fall into sin will lose their salvation? No. Once Christ comes into our lives, He never leaves us. This verse shows us that people who have received Christ no longer have an interest in serving sin. Rather, we want to be obedient to the leadership of God's Holy Spirit.

Because we want to live in obedience to the Holy Spirit, we will do whatever is necessary to release ourselves from sin's grip. And we start by focusing attention on the body. We willingly take drastic measures regarding our bodies to put to death any indication of sin's control over us.

VERSE 14 ~ This verse gives assurance to any of us Christians who may tend to doubt our salvation. It shows us how we can be assured that Christ has saved us for all eternity. We know for certain that we belong to Christ if we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us daily. Instead of living for selfish interests, we believers follow the direction of the Holy Spirit because we have been saved.
One other detail in this verse needs our attention. Paul's reference to God's sons can be applied both to men and women. The transforming truth about salvation in Christ crosses gender lines. And so does the assurance that accompanies our willingness to follow the Holy Spirit's leadership every day.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

This Bible passage about the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives doesn't frighten us. Instead, it assures and encourages us. Think about it for a moment. If you are saved, the Holy Spirit lives in you so you can follow His leadership. When you follow His leadership, you will live in a way that pleases God.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in your life raises an important question for you. Which areas of your life do you still need to surrender, in order to be guided more fully by the Spirit? Perhaps He wants to lead you in the area of your personal worship. Or maybe you need to be sensitive to His guidance in your relationships with others or in your stewardship of what He has given you.

Put this Bible passage to work in your life this week. Isolate one area in your life in which you need to be more sensitive to the Spirit's leadership. Then let Him lead you in that area. For instance, let Him guide you in the way you handle your money. Then decide that you will give money in church next Sunday as He leads you.