Articles
Can Not Please God - Romans 8
Can Not Please God - Romans 8
Those in the flesh are not subject to the will of God, neither can they be. They can not please God. They in fact are hostile towards God. (Rom. 8:7-8).
Remember, WE were once ‘in the flesh’, but are NOW in the LORD/ Spirt. We were once not subject to the will of God, but now are obedient and submissive to God’s will. We were once displeasing to God, but now are the object of His pleasure. We were once the people of Romans 8:7-8! What happened? We were converted.
While those that remain ‘in the flesh’ cannot do these things, they CAN BE CONVERTED! The gospel is God’s power unto Salvation. The gospel can prick the hearts of such ‘in the flesh’ people and cause them to ‘turn back unto God’. By the gospel, faith can be produced in such unbelievers: “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10: ). With the pricking of their hearts, they can be moved to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:36-41). Upon being baptized, they are rescued from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son, (Colossians 1:13).
Paul is presenting to such BELIEVERS two ways of life. Having been made alive unto God through Christ, they are to live/walk by the spirit and no longer to live/walk according to the flesh. They are to put to death the old man of the flesh and be a child of God (cp. Rom. 6:11, Eph. 4:16ff; Gal. 5:19ff, etc.). There simply is no way to walk according to the flesh and at the same time be submissive to God! There is no way to walk according to the flesh and at the same time be pleasing unto God!
Thus Paul writes: “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:12-13).
The question then for us is simple which lifestyle we are following! IF you choose to live according to the flesh you will die (spiritually and eternally). Having chosen the way of life, we are debtors to walk after the spirit. Which lifestyle describes YOUR manner of life?
Hugh DeLong
