Romans 8:5-9 - No Such Thing As 'Pretty Good'

Chad Werkhoven
2 hours ago
4 min read

Your faith determines everything about you: how you think, feel and act.

Silhouette with text: "TOTAL DEPRAVITY," "Sin controls how you THINK, FEEL, and ACT in those who live according to the flesh," on brown background.

Romans 8:3-9 (NIV)

CONTEXT: Romans 8 is one of the Bible's most powerful chapters. It begins with the famous words "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," and ends with the powerful promise that "nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God." Today's passage contrasts life in the Spirit with the depravity of life in Sarx - that is, sinful human nature.

3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you...

Canons of Dordt

Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election

Point 2 - Limited Atonement

Point 3 - Total Depravity

Article 3: Total Inability

All people are conceived in sin and are born children of wrath,
1. unfit for any saving good, inclined to evil,
2. dead in their sins, and slaves to sin.
Without the grace of the regenerating Holy Spirit
1. they are neither willing nor able to return to God,
2. to reform their distorted nature,
3. or even to dispose themselves to such reform.

Summary

Many would likely agree with the statement that people are generally pretty good, since most of the people we encounter seem pretty decent. In this view, since you're 'pretty good' on your own, Christianity is merely a tool to make you a little better. Unfortunately, this is the underlying philosophy for far too many Christians and churches.

Yet one of our foundational Reformed doctrines flies in the face of this conventional wisdom. We understand that in order to fully appreciate the good news of Jesus Christ, you must first comprehend the depravity of life apart from Christ. Paul here, as he does so often, demonstrates that there are only two types of people, and the distinctions are not 'pretty good' and 'a little better.' Rather, a person is either living according to the flesh or according to the Spirit.

The effects of this distinction are total: we read here that it controls what your mind is set on as well as what your mind is governed by. In using the word mind here, Paul doesn't just mean your intellect; rather, it refers to everything that defines you: how you think, feel and act. Rather than seeking to live in submission to God's law, they act in hostility towards Him.

Dig Deeper

The scary bad news is that all those in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. Not only can such people not fulfill life's primary purpose of glorifying God, and therefore will never be able to truly enjoy life, but even worse, eternal life with God is predicated upon our pleasing Him - that is, keeping His covenant.

The tremendous good news of this passage is that if you trust in Christ alone, you're no longer mired in the total depravity that defines the realm of the flesh. Rather, you're now in the realm of the Spirit, if [since] the Spirit of God lives in you.

This means that you now please God because in Christ, the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in you! Now you can find true enjoyment in this life as you glorify God, and you have complete assurance that you will live at peace with Him for all of eternity.

But as long as you live in the here and now, your sinful flesh will continually try to claw its way back into your life. It wants your mind to again be hostile to God and governed by death. Fight back each day by keeping yourself focused on what the Spirit desires and stay governed by life and peace as you submit yourself to God's law.

AAA Prayer (About)

ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who did on our behalf what our flesh was unable to do for ourselves;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength to live according to the Spirit;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: