The Path to Life and Peace
Three Steps to Living in the Spirit
Aaron Lee | Romans 8:5-13 | FCBCW Youth Worship | March 23, 2025
Introduction
Have you ever felt like a conflicted Christian? Have you ever felt like two different people, like you were living two different lives? I’ve felt this most acutely in high school. I had my school life and I had my church life.
Abraham Kuyper talked about different spheres in life. Imagine your life on paper, and you draw circles of the different spheres in your life. School life, family life, your life with your friends. College will be coming soon as well. You might feel conflicted and forget to bring Christ into the different spheres in your life.
Because we live in the world, we will all find ourselves in situations where our faith is challenged. What truths can keep us sure and steady?
Context
Our passage today speaks of what it means to living in the Spirit:
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. (Romans 8:5-6)
The flesh is death and the Spirit is life and peace. Ultimately, this refers to eternal death and eternal life (Gal 6:8). But it also is in the sense that those who live in the flesh aren’t truly alive (spiritually speaking), and those who live according to the Spirit can have an abundant life now and peace with God now. You don’t have to live as a conflicted Christian. This is a promise given to all believers. Let’s see how Paul delivers on it.
Sermon Preview
If you’re feeling like a conflicted Christian, Paul presents three steps to living in the Spirit. They’re truths to be understood and applied on the path to life and peace:
The flesh displeases – so set your mind on Christ
The Spirit dwells – so walk in step with him
The Christian’s debt – so slay your sin with scripture
1. The flesh displeases
The first step to living in the Spirit is knowing that the flesh displeases:
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 8:7-8)
Explanation
The flesh is our corrupted sinful nature and cannot please God.
In this instance, the flesh does not refer to our physical bodies. Rather, it refers to our inner person and specifically our spiritual, sinful nature. It’s having a sinful heart, a carnal heart. The verse talks about the mind that is set on the flesh – this spiritual, sinful nature. Living by the flesh means living by way of the Fall – the fall of Adam and Eve and the sinful nature that is in all of us. The flesh forgets that God exists. It lives for the self without thought or consideration of God. Our fallen nature predisposes us to a mind set on sin. Living by the flesh cannot please God – it disgusts him. The text says that living in the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God. The Bible makes it clear that the carnal mind is enmity between God. It makes you God’s enemy. The flesh forces unbelievers to live a life that displeases God and leads to death. In fact, unbelievers are unable to please God. This is the doctrine of Total Depravity: Without Christ, there is a total corruption of the heart and man cannot choose God. Some of you might not have heard this before. You might consider yourself a “good” person. But the Bible says that apart from Christ no one does good. Any good deeds are like dirty rags before God. Let me put it bluntly: You cannot get to Heaven without Jesus. Your “goodness” is not enough. You need the Son of God to save you from your sin. So the immediate application, if you are not yet a Christian, is that you would put your faith and trust in Jesus for forgiveness. Ask God to do a supernatural miracle, that he would give you a new heart that wants to love him. For the believers, I want to give you an adjacent application. Notice that the text says that there is a way to live according to the flesh. It’s to live in a way as if you are still in agreement with the flesh. Christians can still forget and set their mind on the things of the flesh in some ways. Instead, we must constantly set our minds on Christ.
Application
So, will you reject the flesh and set your mind on Christ? Colossians 3:1-3 has the language of putting on the new self, and putting on the mind of Christ. This is taking an active approach to your spiritual health. There’s a new book by David McKay called A Spiritual Checkup. He gives 11 diagnostic questions for a healthy life with Christ. Don’t ignore the warning signs of a serious spiritual condition. Searching your heart means to give an honest evaluation of the state of your soul.
One of the markers of spiritual health is grieving over sin, and this is where I want to give you an example from my own life. I call this story: A Calloused Christian. In high school I found it easy to relax with some sins. Lying, pride, idolatry, lust, and I told you about my unclean speech before. The point of this story is not the sin itself, but the state of my heart. I had grown accustomed to living with certain sins. Like a guitar player whose fingers get calloused over time from the strings – I had callouses from my sin. Somewhere along the line, God woke me up. He pricked me with his word, and I felt pain. I was sad and grieving over my sin.
To grieve your sin means to be sad over your sin. What sin are you currently fighting? Where have you seen victory over sin? You might struggle with different sins than I did. Laziness. Anger. I’ll share how you can fight and have victory over sin later in this sermon, but for now I just want to check in and ask how you feel about your sin, and if you care enough to fight it.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)
If you want life and peace, the first key is to knowing that living in the flesh does not and cannot please God. Only Christians, those who trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin, can please and satisfy God. And if you are a believer, give yourself a spiritual checkup, a self-examination, and resolve to reject the flesh and set your mind on Christ.
2. The Spirit dwells
The second step to living in the Spirit is understanding that the Spirit dwells within us:
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:9-11)
Explanation
The Spirit is given and empowers Christians to live a righteous life.
There’s a huge contrast in this section, saying “you, however.” While the previous talked about unbelievers who are in the flesh, Christians are in the Spirit. There’s a tonal shift as well. This section is positive, although cautious. Paul does not assume his entire audience are genuine believers. So he qualifies that only Christians are given the indwelling Spirit. That’s why he says “if in fact” the Spirit of God dwells in you. He’s calling his audience to self-examination – to see if the Spirit is truly in them. He’s calling them to see if they have truly trusted in Christ, repented from their sins, and are living for him. Paul links the indwelling Spirit with Christ’s presence by saying “Christ is in you.” If you truly have the Spirit, this is assurance for the Christian that you are truly saved. While the genuine believer will die, he will be raised with Christ. Those who are Christians can live a life that pleases God as they walk in step with the Spirit.
Application
So, will you walk in step with the Spirit? The Spirit dwells with you. He lives with you. In Galatians 5:16, Paul uses the language of keeping in step with the Spirit and being led by the Spirit. Practically, we can say we need to ask the Spirit where he wants us to go, what he wants us to do. Through Bible reading and prayer, we can discern what the Spirit wants. You can align your heart with the Holy Spirit.
Let me give you an example from my own life. I call this story Spirit, Help Me Speak. There are moments as a dad when I have to discipline my children. Now if I were to live according to my flesh – I can just get angry and yell. I’ve done this before and I’m not proud of it. But in my better moments, when I am walking more in step with the Spirit, I’m more sensitive. I send my kids to their room and I say a quick prayer before I go in, asking for God to guide me. I ask him to search my heart and see if I need to repent before I correct my kids. I ask him to give me words.
You will find yourselves in many different situations. Say a quick prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. That’s literally who Jesus says the Holy Spirit is – he is our helper. And the fact that he dwells with us means that he is able to give us directions on the go. If we get lost, he doesn’t leave us. Isn’t God so kind to us, that even when we find ourselves wandering away the Spirit can always redirect us and get us back on track?
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:27)
Of course, the Spirit illuminates God’s word to us, so we know the general way we should go. We’ll talk about how God’s Word specifically helps us next, but for now, you need to know that the Holy Spirit is here to help you. Don’t forget that he is a person. Seek him in prayer. See what he is doing in your life, in the lives of others, in the church, and in the world. If you want life and peace, the second key is to understand that Christians are given the Holy Spirit who dwells within our hearts, and he empowers us to live a righteous life as we walk with him.
3. The Christian’s debt
The third key to living in the Spirit is realizing the Christian’s debt:
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:12-13)
Explanation
The Christian is obligated and motivated to stop sinning.
The Christian does not have a debt to pay in terms of having received money. Instead, the Christian has a debt to pay in terms of having received mercy. Because we have been saved, because we have the Holy Spirit, we – Christian brothers and sisters – are debtors to not live according to the flesh. We are not obligated to do what the flesh wants. We don’t owe our flesh anything. We are under obligation to God. And now, the Christian is motivated and driven to put to death the deeds of the body. We are to root and destroy the sin in our lives. Don’t forget what I said – that's a debt in terms of having received mercy. It’s a debt in terms of having been given grace. It’s a debt we owe to God. And of course you can’t actually pay this debt back. So when Paul uses the word debt, he’s using the language of loving God so much because of what he’s done for us that we don’t want to waste what we’ve been given. We don’t want to forget about it and just move on. We are glad to give our lives to God and for his glory. Here specifically, Paul says we owe it to God that we stop sinning. More than that, we put to death our sinful deeds. We kill, we mortify, we slay our sin.
Application
Will you slay your sin? Notice how we are to put to death the deeds of the body – it’s by the Spirit. The Spirit enables us to kill the misdeeds of the body. Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12 makes it clear: The weapon we use is God’s word – it is the sword of the Spirit. You cannot kill your sin with your own willpower. You need God’s word to do the work. Of course, this means you have to know God’s word in order to use it. You need to know your weapon before you wield it. The best way to do this is to memorize it, so you can have it ready when you need it. Sin does not stop and wait for you to get ready to fight it. It’s crouching at your doorstep. Sin wants to surprise you and catch you off guard. So we must be on guard, ready to go.
Let me give you an example from my life. I call this story: Cast Your Cares to Christ. I struggle with anxiety. I get anxious about so many things. I think I live in a constant state of anxiety. I live in a state of worry and panic. I fret. 1 Peter 5:7 has been a lifeline: Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. And there are many verses, but this one is short and sweet and memorable. I kill my sinful heart of worry by injecting it with the truth that God cares for me.
We all need to have verses that we can use to fight our specific sins. Start committing them to memory. Know what they mean, and let it sink into your soul. Proverbs 3:5-6. Psalm 23:1.
"I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11).
It takes discipline to learn how to use the word of God as a weapon in the fight against sin. It takes dedication to memorize. It takes commitment to rely and trust on God’s promises. But it will be worth it. And if you start now, you’ll find yourself with a sharper sword by the time you graduate. We’re in a spiritual war. Don’t go in unarmed.
Gospel
I’ve talked a lot about sin in this sermon. The Gospel says that Christ has defeated sin. The entire world is divided in half by this: Those who live by the flesh, and those who live by the Spirit. Unbelievers and believers. So I invite everyone to come and believe. You can have life and peace:
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, CSB)
Big Idea
Christians experience life and peace not through the flesh, but by walking in the Spirit and putting sin to death.
Conclusion
Have you ever felt like a conflicted Christian? Have you ever felt like two different people, like you were living two different lives? Because we live in the world, we will all find ourselves in situations where our faith is challenged. What truths can keep us sure and steady? Christians experience life and peace not through the flesh, but by walking in the Spirit and putting sin to death.
In high school, I felt like two different people. I see now that I was conflicted – but what I really needed to be was consistent. To be 100% who I am in Christ, everywhere I go. To be the same person in every sphere of life. To be an authentic, genuine Christian means to have joy in making Jesus all-encompassing, above and over everything. If you draw your life on paper with the different spheres of your life, imagine a circle around all of them. Imagine Jesus as the paper itself.
I talked about Total Depravity earlier in our sermon, and I want to end with the encouraging and inspiring doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints – meaning that God promises to preserve you in your faith. My brothers and sisters, God is faithful to keep you a Christian:
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23)
The Path to Life and Peace
The path to life and peace
Is found in Jesus Christ
To know the Son of God as my
Reward and my delight
And by the Holy Spirit
Forsaking sinful flesh
He dwells within, I slay my sin
And leave what leads to death
Dear Father, keep me faithful
By holding fast and true
Unwavering, unfaltering
While sharing the good news
Forgiveness and adoption
With heaven as my home
Were purchased by the precious blood
Of Jesus Christ alone
The path to life and peace
Is found in Jesus Christ
To know the Son of God as my
Reward and my delight
References
Romans: Reformed Expository Commentary by Daniel M. Doriani
The ESV Study Bible by Crossway
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary on Romans by Donny Ray Mathis II
Reflection Questions
Do you ever feel a disconnect between your “Christian” self and your true self? How can you bridge that gap to be the same person in all areas of your life?
In what specific areas of your life do you need to more intentionally walk in step with the Holy Spirit to reflect Christ more clearly?
How do you anticipate college, high school, junior high, or the upcoming summer season might challenge your ability to live consistently as a Christian? What steps can you take now to prepare for that?