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We are slowing our pace through Romans 8 because Paul pivots from his theological basis for deconstructing religion toward an alternative way to live. Religion is very outside-in…we are expected to just comply with the rules. Paul is showing how to live our lives “in the Spirit” and that flows through our intellect, rather than our emotions.

Up to this point, Paul has not made distinctions between people (3:22) and he will return to this position in 10:22. However, in this section Paul describes (in the present, active, indicative tense) the way we live in freedom from our bondage to religion and our flesh. I’d like to propose that Paul is now making a distinction between two planes of existence, more than two types of people. Since Paul described in 7:25 how he serves both planes of the flesh and the spirit, we must be careful not to place these distinctions into religion’s saved vs unsaved binary. Think about it, as a believer, can anyone say that they always live consistently with the Spirit of Christ? It might translate better to read this: “When we live…” or “those who primarily live”.

“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.” (Romans 8:5-8)

I use the word “Ontology” a lot. It means our identity, our being, our existence and it comes from the Greek word (öntès-plural form of eimi) which Paul uses in this verse.

“Those (öntes) “living” or “identifying” or “existing” according to the (sárka–flesh, sinful nature, appetites) are (phronéo– pondering, setting their mind, thinking about, holding a view, having attitude toward) the things of the flesh.”

We’re going to see how all of this fits with Paul’s lesson on slavery and freedom (6:16-19).

The Greek really helps us in our passage. Paul is explaining how we derive a sense of self (identity) from that which owns us… we are named by our master. The result is either true self found in God which Paul calls life and peace. The other option is to build a surrogate life as a pseudonym (fake ID) given by our appetites or institutional power, which makes us essentially the walking dead.

If we derive our existence or identity (ontology) from the flesh, we can only last as long as our bodies…resulting in death. If we derive our existence or identity from the Spirit of Christ, we have life and peace, and we go on existing in Christ and enjoy eternal life in God. The nuance is that eternal life has already been existing, it doesn’t begin when we die. “We don’t have a spiritual life, we are a spiritual life.”-Rob Bell

So how do we “derive our existence/identity”? Isn’t this just something that happens naturally? Paul say our öntes (to exist, identification) comes from our phronéo (way of thinking, framework of reality, setting the mind). In other words, wherever we place our attention, our desire follows, and our desire reveals our master. This has been a constant theme in Paul’s Gospel since he started in his ministry to those in Galatia.

 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:16-18)

Why is Paul’s Gospel life hack so focused on resisting and overcoming our compulsion to our flesh? What is this spiritual practice of “setting our mind?”

Despite our TikTok world of amoral “influencers” who think otherwise, no one can just do as they please without destroying themselves, others and the cosmos. Instead of taking responsibility for succumbing to our appetites, we now blame others for our ongoing pain, suffering and confusion. Paul’s point is that identifying as our appetites is a living death, and we perpetually transmit our pain instead of transforming it. The flesh dis-integrates us from one another, it is the opposite of love…or as Paul says in (8:7-8), enmity (exthra-state of enmity, hostility) with God. An enemy may be one-sided, but enmity is a mutual state of opposition.

“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.“

As our world tries to find healing, Psychologists and life-coaches have built their egos and businesses on highjacking Paul’s Christological amalgamation of spirit and flesh, and have repackaged it without God, it’s the oldest slight of hand. We witness firsthand the living death which occurs when instead of helping us to set our minds on the things of the spirit, our godless gurus reframe reality according to our sinful nature. Every lust is celebrated now. Our minds are set upon spending as if we worked and saved, growing our body count without shame of our concupiscence, destroying our health because we refuse to self-govern, exploiting others instead of serving one another.

“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:2-4)

Paul will point out the distinction between living “in Christ” which is life and peace, and living in death (v.6). This is not based on conversion to religion, but whether we’ve opened the Amazon boxes that are the gracious gifts of our life. What’s the point of appearances? Why pretend we can be spiritual but deny God? Why reject religion and its rituals and then subscribe to a nebulous spirituality of the “Universe” which has proven impotent in moving our world into love, and only makes us weird?

The path to healing for each individual will necessarily include the healing of our world. There is no overcoming our flesh, that doesn’t unite us in love to others. Our personal struggles and failures humiliate us and expand our capacity for grace toward others. Our big delusion is that the sins of our heart are somehow unimportant or distinct from the collapse of our cosmos. In our foolish efforts to rid ourselves of the shame and pain resulting from our sins, we’ve elected to call our sins normal and healthy, and in doing so, we have amputated the arms we need to crawl out of the pit. We cannot condemn the sin of carbon emissions, if we won’t condemn the sin of a plundering heart, we must set our minds there.

While a confused world seeks to rid itself of pain and suffering with anything but God, Paul’s life hack is to lean deeply into the love of God, displayed in Christ, and activated in our minds as we sit quietly with this loving Reality, and discover who we are on the other side of temptation.

The result of Paul’s alternative way to live is not just personal healing and transformation, but the restoration of world.