If You Live After the Flesh

{Romans 8:13} For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. -- RLIV.

 

These solemn words were not spoken to the unbelieving world, but to those whom God has already regenerated as His sons. The world still walks according to the flesh, still bears the condemnation inherited from Adam, and still awaits the day when it will be awakened for judgment and instruction. (John 12:47–48) But to the one who has been made a new creature in Christ—who has received the light of truth—there remains a danger: if he willfully turns from life in the spirit to embrace life in the flesh, he steps into a condemnation for which no further sacrifice remains. (Hebrews 6:4–6; 10:26–29)

Paul’s message to the consecrated believers in Rome echoes down through every generation of the Gospel Age. The terms of discipleship have not changed. When we consecrated ourselves to God, we agreed to surrender our earthly rights, our personal claims, and even our natural hopes as members of Adam’s race. We laid these at the feet of the Father in exchange for a higher hope—the hope granted to the Church.

This hope is not the restoration of human perfection, but the privilege of being counted worthy to share with Christ in glory, honor, and joint heirship in His Kingdom. (Romans 8:17) Our journey aims at the perfection of faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13; Philippians 3:13–15; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 5:8), with special emphasis on faith itself (1 Thessalonians 3:10), for faith is the very thing God is testing in this Gospel Age. (1 Peter 1:7) Their hope remains real, though unseen. The hope of this reward is based solely on the promises of the Heavenly Father and his Son, as found in the Bible.

Yet we recognize that many consecrated ones fall short of the fullness of this high calling. Such are not necessarily cast into the second death, but neither do they receive the honor of being joint heirs with Christ. Instead, they will receive lesser blessings under the reign of Christ and His glorified Church. 

If we have been begotten by the Holy Spirit, we have become new creatures. And new creatures must live—not according to the impulses of the flesh—but according to the leading of the Spirit. The flesh will always remain weak; Paul never taught that we must be sinless in our fallen bodies. We overcome the world and our own flesh by faith. (1 John 5:4) This requires vigilance, trust, and continual dependence on God, for our flesh will always fall short of His glory.

Paul warns not of occasional failures, but of abandoning the walk of faith altogether—of yielding ourselves to the flesh so fully that we cease to walk in the Spirit. The new creature, standing sinless before God through faith, must guard this standing carefully. Willful sin—sin that springs from a heart that has turned away from the Spirit—leads to a death for which no sacrifice remains. (Hebrews 10:26; 1 John 5:15–17)

To walk after the flesh is to set our heart’s desire on anything outside the will of God. True faith cannot do this. When we follow our own will, we reveal that our trust is in ourselves; when we follow God’s will, we reveal that our trust is in Him. For this reason, no Christian should pray for anything without first seeking the Father’s will. And when His will is not yet clear, the humble heart prays as our Lord prayed: “If it be Your will.” (Matthew 26:42)

May the Spirit continually teach us to put to death the deeds of the body, that we may truly live. May our consecration remain fresh, our faith steadfast, and our hearts anchored in the hope set before us.