Life and Peace in the Spirit (Romans 8:6-11)

Not sure about you, but I seem to automatically switch to more of a forensic mindset when I turn to Paul’s writings – especially the Letter to the Romans. I see Paul as a more literal minded writer. Jesus told parables. Paul makes arguments. But Paul also paints his arguments with metaphors. So, what I want to do today is to step back and take in the big picture that Paul paints for us in today’s text.

Romans 8:6-11 (NRSVue): “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law — indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.”

To begin, let’s ask ourselves a simple but searching question: What am I living for?

Paul talks about two ways of orienting our lives — what he calls “the flesh” and “the Spirit.” Paul isn’t talking about the body versus the soul. He’s talking about the direction of our deepest desires and loyalties. Are we living in a way that is centered on ourselves — our own comfort, our own control, our own agenda? Or are we living in a way that is open to God, responsive to God, shaped by God?

Wesley explains that “to be carnally minded” means having our thoughts and desires fixed on things that gratify our old nature—things “visible and temporal,” like pleasure, praise, or riches. This mindset is a sure sign of spiritual death and leads toward eternal death.

Now we need to keep this in mind. This really doesn’t have anything to do with being religious. Both the carnal person and the spiritual person can be religious. But to the carnal, religious beliefs, ethics, and practices all come from a self-centered place of origin. “What is in it for me?” That becomes the answer to the question above: What am I living for? I am living for myself.

Wesley understands this as the condition from which God desires to save us, not a fixed fate that cannot be changed. By grace, a person can be turned from this carnal mindset to the mindset of the Spirit. Indeed, we find here a message that emphasizes human responsiveness to grace, the Spirit’s empowerment for holiness, and hope anchored in bodily resurrection.

Paul writes that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now lives in us. What hope that gives! This Lenten season calls us to open ourselves again to that Spirit—to let God breathe new life into the dry places of our hearts. The Spirit does not simply improve us; the Spirit transforms us, bringing life where there was once death, hope where there was once despair. The Spirit is present in our worship, in our prayers, in our quiet acts of service. And because Christ was raised from the dead, “he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” (v. 11)

Reflection and Action

1.      When I answer honestly, what am I living for right now—where do my time, energy, and imagination naturally go, and what does that reveal about whether my mind is set on the flesh or on the Spirit?

2.     In what specific areas of my life (relationships, work, money, reputation, habits) do I tend to approach faith with a “What is in it for me?” mindset, and how might I practice responding instead with openness and obedience to the Spirit this week?

3.     Where do I see signs of “spiritual death” in my attitudes or desires—envy, resentment, self‑protection, apathy—and how is the Spirit inviting me to cooperate with his transforming work toward life and peace?

4.    Where am I tempted to treat religion as something that serves me, rather than as a response to grace? What would it look like to let the Spirit reorient my motivations?

5.     What is one concrete way I can make room today for the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead—through a practice of prayer, Scripture, service, or silence—so that God might breathe new life into a “dry place” in my heart?

6.    How does the promise that God will give life to my mortal body through the indwelling Spirit shape my hope for the future, and how might I live differently this week if I really believed that resurrection power is already at work in me?

Let us pray...

Loving God, you breathed your Spirit into the lifeless dust and gave it life. Breathe again into me this day. Forgive me for the times I have turned inward and lived by my own desires. Fill me with your Spirit so that I may walk in your ways, live in your peace, and share your love with others. Let the same power that raised Jesus from the dead be at work in my thoughts, my words, and my actions today. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.