You can watch the sermon here.
SERMON TITLE: The Assured Mind
TEXT: Romans 8:5-8 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 6/14/20
It’s great to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And the one thing I always want you to know is that God loves you and that I love you too.
We are in our third week of being back in the book of Romans. Over the past three years we’ve gone through the first seven chapters of Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome and now things have really slowed down for us. Because we’re in a pivotal chapter of this letter — chapter 8 — which will take us two years to get through.
And though that may sound daunting, know that we’ll get through half of the chapter this year — then we’ll take a break — and come back to the last half of chapter 8 sometime next year.
But before we get to our chapter, I want to give you a few updates. First, I want you to know that — for the next two weeks — we’re actually taking a break from Romans as Pastor Ben Borsay — Gateway’s founding pastor — will be preaching to us next week. And then Shaun Meloy — our worship director — will be following Ben. Then we’ll be back in Romans together.
Second, one of our faithful behind the scenes staff members — Rosemary Lyon officially retired this past week. So I want to publicly thank her for all of the work that she’s done in serving this congregation. So — if you’re on Facebook — go ahead and thank Rosemary and be sure to tag her in your comment.
And — finally — over the next few weeks we’re going to be releasing a conversation that I recently had with some folks in our congregation who are black. Our discussion focused on racism and current events going on in our nation. I wanted all of us to hear from them — I wanted to give them a voice in our congregation — so we can better understand, empathize, and take some practical steps in supporting them — and others in our community and nation. So be watching for the release of our conversation.
And — now — let’s turn to our chapter. It’s been said that “if Scripture were a ring, and the book of Romans were the precious stone in the ring, chapter 8 of Romans would be the sparkle in the jewel.” (Quoted by John MacArthur, The Transforming Work of the Spirit, Part 1) And the reason why this chapter is the “sparkle in the jewel” is because this chapter is what Paul has been building towards in the first seven chapters of this letter. And everything that comes after this chapter — in many ways — looks back to it.
Now to set up our verses — I need to do something that I don’t know if any other preacher has ever done before. I know that I never expected to do this and — quite honestly — this may be kind of weird — but not nearly as weird as you seeing me play the saxophone last week. Real quick — if you’re on Facebook or church online — the earrings — were they real or fake? What do you think? And while you’re leaving your comments let me say that the cheesy heart graphic was not original to the video that I gave our tech guys. They took some creative license in editing that clip for you. I’m sure they laughed it up when they put it together. I really felt the love. So back to the earrings — did you leave your comment? The earrings — were they real or the creativity of my staff? The earrings were...real.
But enough about saxophone playing Josh — here’s what we’re going to do today. So as strange as this may sound — what I’m going to do is have you watch something from a sermon I preached to you last year. This is from the last sermon I preached when we were in Romans chapter 7. We were in a series that we called Fight — looking at this fight — this war — this conflict that we’re all in against sin. So watch this illustration from a sermon I preached last year and then we’ll return to our verses — here — in Romans 8.
VIDEO CLIP FROM “THE FIGHT WITHIN PT 2” (starting around 25:09 “In fact while we’ve been in Romans, no one has… ending around 35:10 “decrease the song of sin’s influence in our life?”)
So let’s keep that illustration in mind as we turn to our passage for today and discover how we turn up the volume of the Spirit’s influence in our life.
If you have your Bible please turn with me to Romans chapter 8. We’ll be looking at verses 5-8.
And while you’re finding Romans 8 — verses 5-8 — you probably don’t need to be reminded that — for the past few weeks — we’ve been talking a lot about condemnation — a word that’s offensive to many in our culture. We have a natural aversion to the idea of being condemned by others — even God — and — yet — as a culture we’re quick to condemn those who’s actions or beliefs we disapprove of.
Now — it’s been said — that “the Bible is a very condemning book. In fact, the Bible is filled with pledges of divine judgment that are severe and even eternal. From the beginning to the end of the Bible, there are warnings upon warnings upon warnings of the judgment of God. There is repeated condemnation of sinners, which provides for them an eternal punishment. This is clearly the message of Scripture. And that is why verse 1 [of Romans 8] is such welcome news. “There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” But apart from being in Christ Jesus, there is only condemnation.” (MacArthur)
So prepare yourselves for some challenging words. These aren’t my words — these are God’s words. And these words aren’t popular to our modern — inclusive loving — ears. Yet these words are necessary for us to understand — and believe — if we want to know what it means to be in Christ and not be condemned. And as the world rages on in condemning others — but offering little in the way of solutions to the evil and injustices going on — Christ has offered to all people no condemnation if they turn to him in faith.
So here are the words in Romans 8 — beginning in verse 5.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8 ESV)
Have you ever had one of those moments in life when you couldn’t get your mind off of something?
But we don’t only think about negative things.
Go ahead and share a time when you couldn’t stop thinking about something positive. Maybe it was your wedding day, the day you graduated, or won the state championship. What’s something positive that you couldn’t stop thinking about? Let us know in the comments.
Now when we set our mind on negative things, it affects our behavior and — really — it affects our whole life in negative ways. I’m sure you’ve experienced that before. But it’s also true that when we set our mind on positive things, well this positive thinking affects our behavior and life in positive ways.
But — to be even more clear — to “set our mind” on something — biblically speaking — means more than just thinking deeply or constantly about something. One scholar has said that the original language — that we translate in English as “set their minds” — means “a life-shaping attitude; [it’s] the mentality that determines what one lives by; it shapes one’s existence.” (Leander E. Keck, Romans, Abingdon New Testament Commentaries, ed. Victor Paul Furnish (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005), 202.)
So to “set our mind” on something means to live for whatever our mind is set on. It means that we love, worship, and live as if we exist for whatever our “mind is set on.” And Paul says that we really only have two options as to what we set our mind on. We can set our mind on the things of the flesh or on the things of the Spirit.
So let’s define these two mindsets and then we’ll look at each one more closely.
First, what is a mind set on the flesh? One definition of the mind set on the flesh is “anything minus — or without — God. It’s a mindset lacking reliance upon God. It’s a mindset where you have no concern for the glory of God.” (John Piper, Set Your Mind on the Spirit) So think of the “mind set on the flesh” as a way of living with no regard for God.
Now — a mind set on the Spirit — is a mindset where “life is seen in relationship to God. From the beginning of life, to the sustaining of life, to existing eternally — all of life is seen in relationship to God.” (Piper)
So — a mind set on the flesh — is a godless life — it’s a life lived for something other than God. Whereas — a mind set on the Spirit — is a God influenced life — a life lived for the glory of God.
So let’s take a closer look at these two different mindsets.
We’ll begin with the mind set on the flesh. Let’s go back to verse 5.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh...6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death,...7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5a, 6a, 7-8 ESV)
The mind set on the flesh. Remember our definition, the mind set on the flesh means “without God. It’s a mindset lacking reliance upon God. A mindset that has no concern or regard for the glory of God.” So — back to the musical illustration — this is a mind that’s listening to the song of the flesh — the song of sin. And — just like we learned in that illustration — this is the only mindset available to those who don’t have faith in Christ — they can only set their mind on the things of the flesh. But — also like we saw in the musical illustration — even though believers have been set free from the power of sin — sin’s song is still playing in our life. So the Christian can set their mind on the things of the flesh — but now they’re choosing to. They’ve been set free to set their mind on something else — which we’ll look at in a moment — but the Christian can choose to set their mind on the things of the flesh.
Now — in verse 5 — we see that those who set their mind on the things of the flesh — live accordingly — they live for the flesh. Now if you have an older NIV version of the Bible — the translation team was trying to make it clear what Paul was meaning by this particular mindset — so — instead of “flesh” — they called it the “sinful nature.” Regardless if you call it the flesh or sinful nature — it all has the same result. And what’s the result of setting our mind on the flesh? Death — that’s what we see in verse 6. A mind set on the things of the flesh results in living for the flesh — which results in death. And this death isn’t just physical. Often Paul speaks of death with reference to a spiritual death.
We see this in Ephesians chapter 2 where Paul writes, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil — the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:1-6 NLT)
Paul says that we were physically alive yet spiritually dead because of our sin. Our hearts refused to obey God because of our spiritually dead condition. And he says that we needed a resurrection in order to be made spiritually alive.
Similarly — in 1st Timothy chapter 5 — where when talking about widows — Paul writes, “But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead even while she lives.” (1 Timothy 5:6 NLT) She’s alive — physically — and yet — because of what she’s living for — pleasure — she’s spiritually dead.
So there’s a being physically alive and yet spiritually dead state of being for those whose minds are set only on the flesh. And Paul sums up all of this with one of the most in your face — intolerant sounding statements in all of Scripture. I’m talking about verse 8 where he says, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:8 ESV)
Cannot. They don’t have the capacity or the ability to please God. And this is so radically different than what our culture wants us to believe. So — if you’re fairly new to the Christian faith — this may be extremely off putting to you because you’re in the midst of having your worldview changed. We all are — by the way — some of us have just stumbled a few more feet down the path — but we’re all constantly having our worldview challenged and changed by Jesus.
But here’s why this truth is important to you. It’s easy to think, “Well I’ve chosen Jesus — I believe in him — why so much concern about whatever else I set my mind on?” Here’s why. If you believe in Jesus — think of all that he’s done for you? We’ve talked about this over the past few weeks while in Romans 8. So my question to you — would be — who else or what else has done anything that comes even close to all that Jesus has done — in love — for you in giving you a “there is therefore now no condemnation over my life because I am in Christ?” No one else could give you that life? So why wouldn’t you expect the One who did, to want your full attention? He’s earned it. He deserves it. And he demands it.
And this means — that to set your mind on the things of the flesh — is kind of like going in to take an exam without studying for it — not a good idea, right? But the exam for the Christian is walking in godliness. Living for the glory of God. Finding joy in Jesus. Living in obedience as a response to his life of sacrificial love and obedience for you. So if you’ve been setting your mind on all kinds of things — other than Jesus — why in the world would you expect to pass the exam? Often we point the finger at God, “Why is it so hard to follow you?” And — I wonder — how often God thinks, “Well, it’d be a whole lot easier if you’d just prepare yourself for the life of following my Son.”
Maybe tests wig you out — you got the heebie jeebies with me just mentioning them. So another example. Think of setting your mind on the things of the flesh like choosing to eat only junk food all of the time. What would happen to your body if you never ate anything healthy and only ate junk food? Your body would start letting you know that things aren’t going to end well, right? Eating only junk food hurts your body — it affects the quality of your life.
Similarly, when we set our mind on the things of the flesh we’re setting ourselves up to fail at living the “there is therefore no condemnation life” that Jesus has given to us. God’s given us his Word — the Bible — and his Spirit — to be the food and nourishment that we need so we’re spiritually healthy and ready for the fight against sin that we’re all in.
“But — practically, Josh — what does setting our mind on the flesh look like?” Great question. Here are a few examples. It means having a thought life dominated by fear. “Do not be afraid” and “do not fear” appear 365 times in the Bible — one for each day of the year. Now I’m not talking about the occasional fear — here — I’m meaning a life driven by fear — a thought life consumed by fear.
Setting our mind on the flesh means being apathetic. Simply not caring. It means having a feeling of entitlement. A fleshly mind is gluttonous. And gluttony isn’t just about eating food — gluttony is a craving for excess.
Worry. Flattery. Consumerism. Racism. Nationalism. Lying. All examples of what a mind set on the flesh produces. (Examples from Frank Powell, “9 Sins the Church is Surprisingly Okay With,” churchleaders.com)
So I have to ask the question, “What is your mind set on?” Are any of the things that I just mentioned regularly on your mind?
Now this may all begin to sound a bit hopeless. But the bad news must be bad in order for the Good News to be good. “No condemnation” isn’t great news if there was nothing to condemn in the first place.
So that’s the mind set on the flesh and what it leads to. It leads to a life that doesn’t please God. It leads to death. It doesn’t lead to the “there is therefore now no condemnation life” that — I hope — you desire to have. Which leads us to the mind set on the Spirit.
Let’s begin back in verse 5 again.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8 ESV)
Now it’s been a while, so let’s remember the definition for the mind set on the Spirit that we learned earlier. The mind set on the Spirit is a mindset where “life is seen in relationship to God. From the beginning of life, to the sustaining of life, to existing eternally — all of life is seen in relationship to God and to be lived for his glory. The life lived according to the Spirit inevitably enjoys, prefers, and focuses on the things of God — there is an awakening to God and to spiritual things.” (Piper) So we could say that a mind set on the Spirit is a God influenced life.
And this is why it’s so important what we set our minds on. Because — as we set our mind on the Spirit of God — we live accordingly. We live with a God consciousness — we live being aware of God. It’s a life where your affections and desires and will are focused on Christ.
You see — like the musical illustration we saw earlier — the gift to the follower of Jesus is that we now can set our minds on the things of the Spirit. Prior to faith in Christ — we couldn’t. We only had one option — to set our minds on the things of the flesh. But now we’re in the conflict, right? The war. We’re in the fight. But though the fight is hard — and it can definitely be exhausting — don’t miss the beauty of being in the fight. You can now set your mind on the things of the Spirit. And there’s no receiving the “no condemnation” status without the expectation of “now I set my mind on the things of the Spirit” living.
And notice the results of a mind set on the Spirit. Life and peace. A mind set on the flesh leads to death but a mind set on the Spirit leads to life and peace. We could use some of that in our country these days, couldn’t we — life and peace? Do you want to be a life-giver? A peace-maker? Then set your mind on the things of the Spirit and live accordingly.
And — remember — if setting your mind on the flesh is like not preparing when you know you have an exam coming up — setting your mind on the Spirit means you’re focused on God — who he is, what he’s done for you and all of mankind, and what he expects of his people — you find all of this in the Bible, by the way — so you focus on God and his Word to us so you’re prepared for the exam of life.
It’s like — instead of only eating junk food — setting your mind on the Spirit is like having a healthy diet. Putting good spiritual fuel in your body which results in having a healthy spiritual life.
So what are some practical ways to set our minds on the Spirit? (See Josh Daffern, “5 Practical Ways to Live in the Power of the Spirit Every Day,” beliefnet.com) First, get before God. What do I mean? I mean intentionally make time tobe in God’s presence and in his Word. And if you want your time with God to affect your whole day — I’d suggest scheduling your time with God before the bulk of your day begins. To set your mind on the Spirit you need to get before God.
Next, humble yourself. God can’t fill you with his Spirit and his Word if you’re full of other things — especially if you’re full of yourself. Pride keeps us from experiencing the fullness of the Spirit in our lives. So humble yourself. Empty yourself of your opinions and excuses and thoughts about God and the world and yourself and instead allow God to fill you with his truths about himself, the world, and you.
Third, obey. If you’re listening to God — you’ll hear him tell you what you need to do. Especially if you don’t do all the talking and — instead — do a lot of listening. Listen to God through his Word and through prayer. If your prayer time is always you talking to God and rarely you listening to him — well you’re missing out. “But Josh, I don’t even know what God’s voice sounds like?” Well just like a child learns their mother’s voice — and even in the midst of a crowd they can hear their momma’s voice — with time you will be able to discern your Heavenly Father’s voice. But — again — it takes intentionality. And I’ve found that when we’ve already put our obedience on the table — “God I will do whatever you tell me” — it’s when our obedience is already decided that we start to hear God speak more clearly in our lives. But when our obedience is more of a “Well God let me hear what you have to say and then I’ll make my decision” — that’s often when there’s radio silence in our spiritual life.
Fourth, use your spiritual gifts. Part of walking according to the Spirit is using the spiritual gifts that he’s given to you. These gifts are given to God’s people for the building up of the church. If you have no idea what I’m talking about — on our website — gatewayepc.org — on our “serve” page — you can take a spiritual gifts assessment for free, discover how the Spirit of God has uniquely gifted you for our good.
Finally, test everything against God’s Word. Many — in wanting to live by the Spirit — have gone down some crazy paths. But here’s what’s key. Living according to the Spirit does not mean neglecting God’s Word. The Spirit and the Word work together. And the Spirit will never speak in contradiction to the Bible. So know your Bible well so the Spirit can use it to speak clearly to you.
It’s been said that, “Christian living is essentially supernatural living.” (John Piper) And the only way to live supernaturally is to have a different mindset. A mind set on the things of the Spirit and not on the things of the flesh. For a mind set on the Spirit leads to a life lived by the power of the Spirit according to the Word of God.
Now you may be desiring to have this kind of mindset. Maybe — at the beginning of this sermon — you were thinking, “There’s no way I’d ever be a Christian” and now you’re rethinking things and you don’t even know why. Know that this new mindset isn’t something you do for yourself — it’s not something you earn — it’s a gift. A gift that the Spirit himself gives. In a moment I’m going to pray for you. That the Spirit would be gracious and generous to you and bless you with a mind set on him and give you the “there is therefore now no condemnation” life.
But for some of us — those of us who are Christians — our mind may tend to focus on things that make us anxious or fearful. And it’s easy to be so consumed by these things that it seems impossible to focus our thinking on anything else — even on our relationship with God. But the peace and safety and security that you long for isn’t found by setting your mind on the things of this world — peace and safety and security are found by setting your mind on the Spirit. And the Spirit will show you that the Christ you believe in — as your Savior — is also your Protector and Shield. A Prince of Peace who is always with you and faithful to you. I’m going to pray for you — that your mind would be set on the Spirit.
Others of us — though — our minds tend to focus on things that make us feel good regardless if those things are of the flesh or of the Spirit. You fear missing out on some experience or adventure that you think others are having and your mind can’t stop thinking about “What am I missing out on?” Please know that — in Christ — you have all that you need. And this will become — not only evident — but assuring to you as you set your mind on the things of the Spirit.
Do you want the assurance found in “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”? Like daily — here — in the real world that’s broken and messy — assurance?
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of a new mindset. Where once we could not please you — because our minds were set only on the things of the flesh — through faith in Christ — we can now choose to set our minds on the things of your Spirit.
Spirit of God, for any listening who are desiring a new mindset — a new way of thinking that leads to a completely new way of living — a God-focused life — give them the new life that you give to those who turn from their sin in repentance and turn to Jesus in faith. May they experience a spiritual resurrection by the same power you used in raising Jesus from the dead. Be gracious to them. Be generous to them. Give them life.
For the fearful and anxious believer. Jesus, reveal to them in a sweet and tender way that you are their protector. Show them your faithfulness to them. Remind them that who the Bible says you are is who you are to them.
And for those of us who just want to feel good as our world has given us lots to feel bad about — may we know with certainty that you — Jesus — are all we need. Life is found in you. Hope is found in you. Joy is found in you. Love is found in you. “There is therefore now no condemnation” is a guarantee for “those who are in you.” May we receive this good news. May we believe this good news. And it’s in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.
May you go with your mind set on the things of the Spirit and not on the things of the flesh. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
You can find the notes for this sermon here.
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