I am sure my readers will agree with me that the 8th chapter of Romans is speaking to believers, those who are on the path of following Jesus, seeking to obey Him. There is some that may think Paul was referring to himself as an unbeliever in the previous chapter, but I know of no argument that claims Paul is not speaking to (and of) true believers in this chapter. As a matter of fact, this passage begins with

“So then, brothers, we…”

Paul even includes himself in this group he is addressing in this passage.

In this passage he speaks of our obligations and uses a financial image to make his point. He is coming back to a similar financial concept he used in Romans 6, where he spoke of “wages” of sin. In this passage, he brings in the financial thought of being a debtor, one who is obliged to pay something to another party.

In Paul’s mind (I think) he is drawing for us a picture of obligation to align our thinking towards who we are to serve. If I am obliged to pay someone something, due to a debt incurred, my efforts will result in paying the one I am in debt to.

Think of a mortgage. I receive the right to live in a house and say it is mine, but every month I go to work in order to have funds to make a payment to my bank. My bank receives the fruit of my labor throughout each month of working simply because of this agreed upon debt. I am a debtor to the bank. The bank is the master in this situation, for I am obliged to pay the bank an agreed upon sum of funds to maintain my living conditions. My end of the bargain is the eventual owning of the building I call home. I will eventually own the home. Eventually.

Let’s return to the passage we started with. Paul is speaking to believers, to brothers, defining who we are in debt to, who we owe our service to, who we are obliged to pay with our lives.

Prior to our salvation, we were debtors to the flesh, to the old nature that drove us away from the True God. Our end of the bargain with the flesh was that we were provided wages, and the wages of this sinful bent away from God was death, or separation from God. A definitely bad “mortgage” situation!

In delivering a sinner from this dreadful condition of slavery to the flesh and of receiving a payment of death, the Spirit of God has given life to our mortal bodies. (Romans 8:11) Out of this amazing gift of life, obligations are now “up for grabs”, for it appears the believer has a choice.

Remain in the old life, obligingly paying the flesh service (without requiring to!) or to live to the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the body. This seems so obvious and such a slam dunk for the believer to understand and to obey. But let me ask you.

What are the deeds of the body? What is the result living by the Spirit, in that the deeds of the body are put to death? How can I kill the deeds of the flesh?

A few years ago, I heard a teacher refer to Galatians as Paul’s practice book for his magnum opus letter of Romans. (Some practice book!) But there may be something to this thinking, since large swaths of Romans seems to have seed thoughts in the book of Galatians. One passage I would refer you to is in Galatians 5, where Paul speaks of walking in the Spirit, with the result being the believer not fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Echoes of Romans 8?

Let’s take a moment to consider Paul’s list of the works of the flesh he provides us in Galatians 5:19- 21.

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Now before we go any further, please do not fall into the trap I fell into by seeking to set up rules that would restrict these activities. Doing this breeds pride, which blooms into strife, dissensions envy and the such. Sure I wasn’t drunk, but I dang well made sure made everyone knew of my religious achievements! And how much better I was than them! Wow.

Such foolishness, for Paul is not telling us to restrict our activities from some list in order to attain some status, for he doesn’t even give us a full list that we can check off. At the end of the passage, he adds to the list of specific works of the flesh “things like these”. How can I check off a non specific work – so frustrating! But that may be the point!

Both in Romans and in Galatians, the focus is on following Someone, not on some set of rules or self determination that will keep us from obeying these dastardly former debtors called the deeds of the flesh. For if we walk by the Spirit, these works of the flesh will not be evident in our lives. The fruit produced in our lives will be of the Master’s character.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Notice that we are not even to follow after the fruits of the Spirit, but the Spirit Himself, and in doing so, the fruits will be evident in our lives. With all this said, let’s return to our original passage in Romans 8, and the key phrase that drives this particular post. Notice that Paul speaks of the believer dying.

Read Romans 8:13 one more time.

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.

How are you doing so far in your pilgrimage? In your walk with the Lord, has the fruit of the Spirit become evident in your life?

Please understand that continual fruit produced in our lives is an extended life long goal, and that recurring temptations (and the falling into these temptations) may produce setbacks, but is not to be the overall trajectory of the believers life. Following the Master, since He is so different than own nature, suggests periods of confusion, disappointment, struggle and failure in our own lives, as we learn of His ways.

My friends, an honest evaluation is encouraged for those who claim to be believers in the Messiah. He has given us great encouragement that by following Him, He provides fruit in our lives for others to see.

Can we be open to an honest assessment of our walk with the Lord? Golly, the judgement of a non-believer may be beneficial for our learning. If we hear from family, close friends or acquaintances that we are a judging, hateful or divisive person, we should consider their words! A discerning spirit is required, but sometimes the harshest statements I have heard have been the most beneficial for my spiritual life.

One thing I want to make clear though is that I am definitely not advocating a self judgement here, a navel gazing exercise that produces no good result. A bit further into this passage, Paul speaks of the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit. This is an additional witness the Lord provides, but out of our current passage, and with the reference to fleshy deeds being indicative of the believer living according to the flesh, I would like to encourage the reader to understand how others interpret our lives in relation to deeds of the flesh / fruit of the Spirit.

Seek out an honest friend, or a mature believer, one that you know speaks the truth. Do not seek out a “nice” person! Not much good hearing nice things about yourself, for if you are like me, nice things are always being said in my head about wonderful me!

Also, better if this person has a history with you for an extended period of time. Ask difficult questions, for this is the time to check.

Living according to the flesh will pay out in death and the clock is ticking!

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No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us–eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie–just as it has taught you, abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. – 1 John 2:15-29 ESV

Although this entire passage is very excellent, verse 24 is where I would like to draw your attention.  John is placing the responsibility of abiding in doctrinal truth squarely on the disciples shoulders.

What? Carl – are you saying we have to maintain doctrinal purity to keep our salvation?  Be careful before you jump into too many assumptions. The doctrinal purity being referred to here is in one subject, that is the person of Jesus being the Christ.

North American Christians have classified biblical teaching into a multiplicity of compartments, splitting hairs over issues that are of no eternal significance.  John is dealing with the person of the Christ in this passage, – not how many angels fit on the head of a pin.

As disciples, we are responsible to follow the One who delivered us.  We should desire and seek to please the right Person. This Person is described in the apostolic teaching we have been given in the New Testament.

Do you seek to understand who He is?  Are you constantly referring back to the Biblical record for answers, and to compare the Scriptures against any and all teachers?

John is addressing the gnostic error that teaches that Jesus isn’t the Christ. But Carl – everyone knows that Jesus’ last name is Christ – no worries!

I think there is a bit more to it than that!

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Luke 15:24

For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

How often have I told myself about the parables, that they aren’t intended to build doctrine from, for they were intended as a life lesson for the audience, usually intended for a specific topic for a specific audience.

I admit the parable of the prodigal was intended to rebuke the Pharisees in their rejection of sinners and tax collectors coming into the kingdom. (The love of the Father in seeking and receiving His rebellious son is the set up for the end of the parable!) The punch of the parable is the last few verses of the parable, where Jesus addresses the older brother, and the jealous anger toward sinners and tax collectors coming into the kingdom that the older brother (Pharisees) exhibited.

But verse 24, couched in the middle of the parable provides some support for the conditional security teaching if we read of this rebel as a son of the Father. He, as a son, rebels against the Fathers love, and leaves his home. As we know the story, he eventually realizes his mistake and comes back looking for work. Little did he know (or remember) the immense love of His Father.

In talking with the older brother, the Father described His son as dead and yet he lives again. The son left his Father, literally walking away from his Father, breaking relationship with his Father and acting as if the Father no longer existed. Remember dear reader, he originally asked for his share of the inheritance, revealing his desire to see his own Father dead. The son’s rejection seemed absolute, and yet we need to deal with his initial and continued description as a son by Jesus and the Father in the parable.

It is noteworthy to recall that the son initiated this action, and that in all of the telling of this parable, the Father is seen as the One who sought wholeness and relationship within His family. The Father is never described as One initiating, encouraging or supporting any attitude of broken relationship within His family. It was the son’s decision only, and as the Father watched the son walk away, I am sure the heart broke and the tears flowed!

Remember, as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, this secondary understanding of the parable is only a possibility. If in my studies I had not found other scriptural support for this teaching, I am sure I would not mention (or even notice) this topic in reviewing this passage.

What do you think? Is there any support for the teaching of conditional security within the parable of the prodigal son. Let me know in the comments.

Be blessed.

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Luke 11:24-26

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

Security

Many of the parables taught by the Lord address the issue of the security of the believer. It is also important to remember that the parables are given to make a specific point.

I remember as a young believer, being told not to make a parable “walk on all four legs” I am not sure what that means now that I think about it, but the message I got back then was to find one primary message from each parable. Some parables are obvious.  Some (possibly due to my obtuseness) are not that obvious.

This one seems obvious. Notice in the passage that the house had been cleaned and garnished, but no occupant was mentioned. Jesus tells this parable immediately upon casting out a demon from a mute man. He is cleaning up the house of Israel, and has just released a demon from one of it’s citizens. Jesus then responds to the evil generation of the house of Israel (See Matthew 12:45) in warning them of their future condition. He will continue to address this “evil generation” many times in the gospels, warning them of their future and final state.

The Lord had just cast out a mute demon from a man and immediately “some of them” (See Luke 11:15) continued with their claim of the Lord being empowered by Satan. Jesus had provided ample evidence to the nation of His identity, yet they turned to a lie. Instead of embracing the God of deliverance, this evil generation condemned a guiltless man, crucified their God, and became a house that was open for demons.

For the previous three years, Jesus had been cleaning the nation (the house of Israel), in this particular instance, rescuing a victim of demon possession, while the leaders condemned the Deliverer. With the final rejection of God in the flesh, the nation should only expect those of the evil horde to return and possess the man (also called the house in this passage, ie. the nation of Israel) with many more than before.

Security and Obedience

Some may say that the nation of Israel had promises from God that made this scenario impossible to occur. Promises directly from God that guaranteed a bright and glorious future for the physical nation of Israel. After all, Israel was the recipient of the promises of God.  Surely God’s promises could be counted on for security. To find a discussion on this topic I refer you to an earlier set of five posts for your consideration. The series starts with Promises to Israel – An Introduction

This passages lends itself to the truth of conditional security, generally teaching that, although many promises were granted to the nation of Israel, their continued stubborn refusal to submit to the Master left them open to “alternate influences” and a final destiny that was warned of often in the Old Testament and many times by the Master while walking amongst them.

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