There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to 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. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 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. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 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. (Romans 8:1-9)
I trust that all of us who believe the Bible is the inerrant, authoritative Word of God will agree that this passage of Scripture describes several things that are true of EVERY Christian with no exception. Understanding this will set you free of many of the ploys of the enemy, and from those of his agents, abusers. Look for yourself in the text above and check it out. The Apostle Paul tells us that –
Every Christian is free from any and all condemnation from God. He is “in Christ Jesus” and that means that the believer’s sins have been imputed (transferred) to Christ on the cross and that the righteous obedience of Christ has been imputed to the Christian. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)” All of course by faith alone. Is the abuser free from the condemnation of God? Is he going to have a get out of jail free card on the Day of Judgment? NO!
Every Christian has been set free from the law (the active principle/dynamic) of sin and death. Sin, death. Sin, condemnation. That power over the believer has been broken. It was broken on the cross when we died there with Christ. See Romans 7 on this. The law has no more power over a dead man.
Every Christian walks not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. According to. That is one powerful preposition! The Christian, without exception, now lives (walks) in accordance with/in agreement with the Holy Spirit in him. Perfectly? No, and yes. Imperfectly in the sense that the Christian can still commit sin. But immediately and perfectly (consistently) (see Galatians 5:16ff) this new power in him arises and opposes that sin. Furthermore, it is the Holy Spirit who is the dominating dynamic in every Christian. It is this walking according to the Spirit that defines who the Christian now is.
Every Christian has a new mindset. EVERY Christian. The man or woman regenerated by Christ (born again) has had a major and radical mind renewal. That renewal is ongoing (see Romans 12:1-2), the mindset, the very mentality of the Christian is one that is in agreement with the Spirit, not the flesh. The Christian is concerned with and seeks after the things of the Spirit, not the sinful things of the flesh. He loves them. He yearns for them. Do we see this radical new mindset, this newness of person in the abuser? NO!
The Christian is at peace with God and lives in true, new life. This is not true of the unbeliever. The unsaved mind is hostile to God. It refuses to submit to the law of God. In fact, it cannot obey God. It, yes it is true, hates God and the things of the Spirit. But this old hostility has ended and been replaced by peace with God in every Christian.
Tell me, surely you see that this is true. The abuser is at war with God. He cannot please God because he truly hates God and the things of the Spirit, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Right? Read this passage very carefully. Many people who claim to be Christians hate this fact. The unsaved man is hostile to God. The unsaved woman cannot please God. Not even an itty bitty bit? No! Listen again – “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. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
“Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” That’s pretty plain, right?
Every human being is in one of these two categories. There is no middle ground. A person is either in the flesh or in the Spirit. Try as you might, you will not find any place in God’s Word for a 3rd, middle ground category.
Now go back and look again at the Scripture above and these qualities true of every Christian. Look at them and think carefully. What do they necessarily say about a person whose very mentality is one of entitlement to power and control over others, and who feels completely justified in using whatever evil tactics he needs to to gain and maintain that power? See it? They tell us that the abuser does not belong to Christ.
The abuser is not free from God’s condemnation. God’s wrath is set upon him. The abuser has not been set free from the law of sin and death. He sins and sins and sins and stands condemned to eternal death. The abuser walks according to the flesh, not according to the Spirit. The abuser still is dominated by his same old mindset that thinks in agreement with his sinful flesh. The abuser is not at peace with God and is not experiencing new life. He remains hostile to God and to God’s Word no matter how much he tries to play the Christian. And therefore, on the authority of God’s Word, we see that the abuser is devoid of the Spirit of God and does not belong to Him.
And this message desperately needs to be proclaimed and put into application in churches, in seminaries, in the lives of all church members, many of whom would then find that they are in need of being born again themselves.
I really appreciate this post, Pastor. It is that simple, it’s an either/or. And once a person truly adopts the reality and truth that there is no third position, and it is as Jesus says, you’re either for God or against God. It’s talked about in the Bible verse about one cannot serve two masters. You love one master and hate the other. There is no neutrality.
I’ve sinned. And it’s a walk of shame, embarrassment, regret, remorse, etc. when thinking of every sin one has committed. For those who are not of God, there is no such mortification.
It’s really freeing to identify people as being either of God or of the devil. It makes sense. Life makes more sense when one has such firmly in place. And I do believe we are to judge. It helps to discern who is our brother and sister in Christ and who is of the devil. There is the parable about the wheat and the weeds.
I don’t know about there being any verses where children of the devil become children of God. Is there? So I no longer believe there is any sense in attempting to convert anyone into not being evil. Is there? I think life is hard enough and keeping God’s children on the straight and narrow and tending to our brothers and sisters in Christ is where it’s at. Missionaries still make sense as there are people who haven’t heard of God or held a Bible in their hands before. But for the rest, I don’t know that there is any point, they have their choice and they made it. Perhaps I’m wrong, though.
And prayers for Mack and Rite.
Rock solid. This covers it all.
A tree is always known by its fruit! (Matt. 12:33)
This post really helped me as I was abused by my therapist. I trusted him bc he was an elder at my church and the pastor’s wife recommended him. After I was able to escape and I began to pursue avenues of justice, the pastor’s wife (who took the abusers side when I went to her for help more than once) said a Christian isn’t supposed to sue another Christian. I looked at her and said he is not a Christian!! I have a blog. Would you be willing to write a guest post for me on this subject or may I share your post on my blog? Thanks, Amy
You are very welcome to share it on your blog Amy. Thankyou!!
Amen, amen. As I read it the part that stood out was that abusers like to dominate and control and will use any evil means to keep that control. It also made me think of some religious people I know, also some people who don’t profess to be Christians, and may not be abusers per se, but are love to control and dominate other people, and to get their own way. They also use evil means to maintain that control. It’s obviously a very defining mark of a lost person, as in, if it is present, this need to control and dominate others, then it’s a sure sign they are not saved.