Sermon for March 26, 2023 – Fifth Sunday of Easter Preparation

Psalm 130 • Ezekiel 37:1-14 • Romans 8:6-11 • John 11:1-45

This week’s theme is living into life. The call to worship Psalm is an individual’s prayer offered in hope that the Lord will save him from trouble on account of the Lord’s steadfast love. The Old Testament reading from Ezekiel offers a vision of dry bones coming to life as a prophecy to Israel that they will be delivered from the death of exile to live again in their own homeland. Romans records Paul’s comparison of life in the Spirit with death in the flesh. In the Gospel reading from John, Jesus raises Lazarus to life after being dead four days.

A Mindset of Life and Death

Romans 8:6-11 (ESV)

We are now five Sundays into Easter Preparation (referred to as Lent in many Christian denominations). We have a text before us that may serve well in guarding us from making some common mistakes when it comes to this season on the Christian calendar. During this season we seek to align our lives with the reality we have come to know in Jesus Christ our Lord. This alignment leads us to make changes, repenting of things in our life that do not fit the revelation of who Jesus is, and who we are in him. When we see who we are in Christ, we no longer want to live as if we are living apart from Christ. That is a life of contradiction and chaos. We want to live in our true identity as those in whom Christ lives.

But here is a common misstep that can take place during this process. Our focus can turn from Christ and get fixated on our sins. If we are not careful, we can become preoccupied with our individual sins where our actions and inactions blind us to the larger issue. The larger issue that our text will focus on is our mindset. The point of the Easter Preparation season is not to make a list of every little sin that we struggle with and then commit to overcoming those sins. That can quickly become a list of dos and don’ts that serve as a scorecard of our righteousness. Our focus is diverted from Christ and onto our actions.

 

Here is an analogy that hopefully is not too oversimplified. Let’s say you are trying to eat healthier. In this analogy, chocolate cake may represent the sin you most easily fall prey to. If you spend all day thinking of chocolate cake and how you need to avoid eating it, guess what’s going to happen. You are probably at some point going to eat chocolate cake. Why, because it’s what you have been thinking of all day. Your mind is set on chocolate cake, not eating healthier. If you are focused on eating more vegetables, getting exercise, and so forth, then you will not be tempted by chocolate cake unless it is put under your nose. You’re not even thinking about it. The point of the analogy is that it’s the mindset that is more important than making a list of sins to avoid. And that is what we will see in our text today. So, let’s dive in.

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6 ESV)

Right out of the gate we are given what is important during this season. Our mindset. Or more precisely, what our mind is set on. Paul will give us a comparison to make his point. He contrasts a mind that is set on the “flesh” with that of a mind that is set on the “Spirit.” And Paul is clear that this contrast is a matter of life and death. A mindset on the flesh is death. A mindset on the Spirit is life.

More than that, a mindset on the Spirit is also peace. Not only does the Spirit bring us into life, but this life is a life of peace. And peace biblically understood, is living in relationship with the good of the other in mind. It doesn’t just mean there is no fighting. The peace of the Spirit is an active peace, seeking and working for the wellbeing of the other. This kind of peace in a broken world may actually amount to “fighting” at times. Like Jesus telling Peter to “get behind me Satan.” Those are some serious fighting words. Peter was going down a dangerous path resisting what Jesus was sent to do. So, Jesus “fights” for Peter, to set him back on the right path. So, a mindset on the Spirit cannot be spiritualized away as if we are talking about some ephemeral realm outside the body. Peace will mean living in this present world with a mindset that seeks to be a blessing to others. It’s a mindset that does not want any harm to come to another even if it means harm to one’s own self. That’s the kind of peaceful living we see in Jesus Christ.

And to avoid confusion, let’s be clear. Paul is not saying that there are two competing parts to being a human. (The pagan Greek philosophy of “dualism” taught the mind and body were two distinct and separable entities.) He is not saying our bodies are bad and we just need to be “spiritual.” That would not stand to the fact that Jesus Christ assumed a human body, was raised in the flesh, and will return in the flesh. This come into sharper focus in the next couple of verses where Paul first deals with the mind that is set on the flesh.

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 8:7-8 ESV)

It’s important to understand that when Paul contrasts the terms “flesh” and “Spirit” he is making a contrast between two “ways of life.” He is not talking about the body as if our material flesh is in some way evil or sinful on its own. No, God created us with bodies, and he blessed it and said it is good. Again, for Paul, the “flesh” is a mindset, a way of living, one that is shaped and controlled by the ways of the world, which stands in opposition and outright rebellion against God. So, Paul is also not referring to a list of bad behaviors, but a mindset that wants nothing to do with Christ. This type of orientation is a focus on death because it is not focused on the author of life. It is a mindset that will lead to nothing. Paul is so bold to say that this mindset, this way of life, is not even capable of pleasing God. It’s worse than just making some bad decisions, it is a form of slavery, an inability to live according to who we are created to be.

Those strong statements may lead us down to another misstep that can occur during the season of Easter Preparation if we are not careful. We may be tempted to look around and try to determine who has the Holy Spirit and who does not. We may even begin to wonder if we have the Spirit. We will need to move to the next couple of verses to avoid that pitfall.

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 8:9 ESV)

Now Paul is going to move to the other mindset. And it is important to remember that he is writing to believers. So, he is trying to encourage them to live out the reality of who they are. He begins by confirming who they are as those who are first, “not in the flesh,” and then second, “in the Spirit.” If we ever begin to wonder whether we are in the Spirit, let Paul’s words here remind you that you are. In fact, if you ever are concerned about not being in the Spirit, it is only because the Spirit is nudging you to live into the fact that you are. If you weren’t in the Spirit, it wouldn’t even cross your mind. Remember, for Paul, living in the Spirit is a mindset. In this case, the mind is turned to the reality of living in Christ.

If you ever get discouraged over a sin in your life and begin to doubt that you have the Spirit, or fear that you don’t belong to Christ, remember that if you did not belong to Christ, you would never be discouraged or disappointed that you have sinned. You wouldn’t care one bit. So, Paul is not trying to beat us down and tell us we need to get with the program and quit sinning. No, he is reminding us of where our focus needs to be, what our minds should be occupied with. And that is Jesus Christ whom we belong to. Focusing on him is the only way we ever overcome any of our sins, because the reality is we don’t overcome our sins, we come over to the one who has overcome them for us. Paul has not turned from grace and now is preaching works. He is trying to turn our eyes and our minds back to Jesus. And that is the whole point of this season. To turn to him again and again, for only in him is there life and peace.

This verse and the two following will also give us three things to remember about living in the Spirit which flows from God’s grace.

First, the Spirit is not something that belongs to us. We do not possess the Spirit like we do an object. The Spirit is “the Spirit of God.” It belongs to him and is a gift to us. The Spirit is a “who” and not a “what.” And it is given to “dwell in you.” Living in the Spirit is living in the relationship we have with the Father through Christ, all by the power of the Spirit. The mindset of the Spirit is to remain and abide in this life-giving communion we are given in Christ. We no longer live as if we are not in relationship with Jesus.

Second, the gift of the Spirit empowers us. Let’s look at the next verse.

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10 ESV)

Paul has already established that his hearers are in the Spirit. So, his “if” statement is not set up as a question to see “if” Christ is in them. Rather, he is stating a reality on account of having Christ alive in them. He is letting us know that our body of sin is dead. It has been crucified with Christ and it no longer has any power over us. We are free from the bondage of sin, and free to live a life of righteousness. That righteousness is not our own, but the righteousness given to us in Christ by the power of the Spirit.

This is a staggering new identity that is hard to believe. But, since you are in Christ, you are actually given his righteousness. You don’t have to work up your own righteousness. You can’t get more righteous than you already are in Christ. But, in this life we do need to have our mind set on that reality in order to live it out. We won’t do it perfectly this side of heaven, but we are given hope and assurance that in the end, our lives will perfectly align with who we truly are in Jesus Christ. And that’s the third and final point we see in the last verse for today’s text.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11 ESV)

Third, living in the Spirit today will not be taken away tomorrow.

One thing the season of Easter Preparation will force us to acknowledge is that we still sin. Even as believers we still struggle to live a life of righteousness and peace. The more we walk with the Lord the more we will see our sins and hate them. We are growing to be more like Christ, and anything that does not look like him we will not want to see in ourselves. But we are assured that the Spirit was not given to us to leave us in our sins. He is determined to bring us to resurrected life, the very life Jesus has for us. So, even when we fail today, we have hope for tomorrow. And it is on this ground of hope that we can repent and turn to him once again. He’s not going anywhere, and his grace is always towards us.

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