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Romans 8:6 - HOLY SPIRIT LIVING ! ! !

Romans 8:6 (NLT) So letting your sinful 
nature control your mind leads to death. But 
letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life 
and peace.  

INTRODUCTION

Paul divides people into two 
categories"those who let themselves be controlled by their 
sinful natures, and those who follow after the Holy 
Spirit. All of us would be in the first category if 
Jesus hadnt offered us a way out. Once we have 
said yes to Jesus, we will want to continue 
following him, because his way brings life and peace. 
Daily we must consciously choose to center our 
lives on God. Use the Bible to discover Gods 
guidelines, and then follow them. In every perplexing 
situation ask yourself, What would Jesus want me to 
do? When the Holy Spirit points out what is 
right, do it eagerly. [Life Application SB]  

COMMENTARY PEARL

Protecting Command Central
   Holy Spirit-led people are 
spiritually-minded people, and our minds are command central. 
   Thats why we need to protect our 
minds. Someone has wisely said, sow a thought, reap 
an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a 
habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a 
destiny. 
   The apostle Paul wrote, Those who are 
dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful 
things, but those who are controlled by the Holy 
Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 
So letting your sinful nature control your mind 
leads to death. But letting the Spirit control 
your mind leads to life and peace (Romans 
8:5-6 NLT). 
   Notice that Paul said, Think about 
things that please the Spirit. Contrast this 
with people who only think about satisfying their 
impulses and the appetites of their flesh with things 
like illicit drugs, sex outside of marriage or 
before marriage, alcohol, partying, and things of 
that nature. It also could be empty things like 
fame and fortune. 
   Or, it could be simply thinking about 
only physical things and never spiritual things. 
Jesus talked about people like this, saying, 
Dont worry about these things, saying, What 
will we eat? What will we drink? What will we 
wear? These things dominate the thoughts of 
unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all 
your needs (Matthew 6:31-32 NLT). 
   Jesus wasnt saying we should never 
think about these things. We do need to think 
about a roof over our heads, what were going to 
eat, and what were going to wear. But Jesus 
was saying that we shouldnt be obsessed with 
it. He went on to say, Seek the Kingdom of 
God above all else, and live righteously, and he 
will give you everything you need (verse 33 
NLT). 
   Dont make the entire focus of your 
life pursuing physical things at the exclusion of 
pursuing God. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries; 
https://www.harvestdaily.com] 

COMMENTARY

   It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to 
escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. 
Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. 
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? 
not one." "The carnal mind is enmity against 
God: for it is not subject to the law of God, 
neither indeed can be." Job 14:4; Romans 8:7. 
Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human 
effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they 
are powerless. They may produce an outward 
correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the 
heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. 
There must be a power working from within, a new 
life from above, before men can be changed from 
sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace 
alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the 
soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.  {SC 
18.1} 
   The Saviour said, "Except a man be born 
from above," unless he shall receive a new heart, 
new desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a 
new life, "he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
John 3:3 {SC 18.2} 

   The law of God, from its very nature, is 
unchangeable. It is a revelation of the will and the 
character of its Author. God is love, and His law is 
love. Its two great principles are love to God and 
love to man. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." 
Romans 13:10. The character of God is righteousness 
and truth; such is the nature of His law. Says 
the psalmist: "Thy law is the truth:" "all Thy 
commandments are righteousness." Psalm 119:142, 172. And 
the apostle Paul declares: "The law is holy, and 
the commandment holy, and just, and good." 
Romans 7:12. Such a law, being an expression of the 
mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its 
Author.  {GC 467.1} 
   It is the work of conversion and 
sanctification to reconcile men to God by bringing them 
into accord with the principles of His law. In 
the beginning, man was created in the image of 
God. He was in perfect harmony with the nature 
and the law of God; the principles of 
righteousness were written upon his heart. But sin 
alienated him from his Maker. He no longer reflected 
the divine image. His heart was at war with the 
principles of God's law. "The carnal mind is enmity 
against God: for it is not subject to the law of 
God, neither indeed can be." Romans 8:7. But "God 
so loved the world, that He gave His 
only-begotten Son," that man might be reconciled to God. 
Through the merits of Christ he can be restored to 
harmony with his Maker. His heart must be renewed by 
divine grace; he must have a new life from above. 
This change is the new birth, without which, says 
Jesus, "he cannot see the kingdom of God."  {GC 
467.2} 
   The first step in reconciliation to God 
is the conviction of sin. "Sin is the 
transgression of the law." By the law is the knowledge of 
sin." 1 John 3:4; Romans 3:20. In order to see his 
guilt, the sinner must test his character by God's 
great standard of righteousness. It is a mirror 
which shows the perfection of a righteous 
character and enables him to discern the defects in 
his own.  {GC 467.3} 
   The law reveals to man his sins, but it 
provides no remedy. While it promises life to the 
obedient, it declares that death is the portion of the 
transgressor. The gospel of Christ alone can free him from 
the condemnation or the defilement of sin. He 
must exercise repentance toward God, whose law 
has been transgressed; and faith in Christ, his 
atoning sacrifice. Thus he obtains "remission of 
sins that are past" and becomes a partaker of the 
divine nature. He is a child of God, having 
received the spirit of adoption, whereby he cries: 
"Abba, Father!"  {GC 467.4}  
   In the new birth the heart is brought 
into harmony with God, as it is brought into 
accord with His law. When this mighty change has 
taken place in the sinner, he has passed from 
death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from 
transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. The 
old life of alienation from God has ended; the 
new life of reconciliation, of faith and love, 
has begun. Then "the righteousness of the law" 
will "be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the 
flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:4. And the 
language of the soul will be: "O how love I Thy law! 
it is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97. 
 {GC 468.1}  
   True sanctification is a Bible doctrine. 
The apostle Paul, in his letter to the 
Thessalonian church, declares: "This is the will of God, 
even your sanctification." And he prays: "The 
very God of peace sanctify you wholly." 1 
Thessalonians 4:3; 5:23. The Bible clearly teaches what 
sanctification is and how it is to be attained. The Saviour 
prayed for His disciples: "Sanctify them through 
Thy truth: Thy word is truth." John 17:17. And 
Paul teaches that believers are to be "sanctified 
by the Holy Ghost." Romans 15:16. What is the 
work of the Holy Spirit? Jesus told His 
disciples: "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He 
will guide you into all truth." John 16:13. And 
the psalmist says: "Thy law is the truth." By 
the word and the Spirit of God are opened to men 
the great principles of righteousness embodied 
in His law. And since the law of God is "holy, 
and just, and good," a transcript of the divine 
perfection, it follows that a character formed by 
obedience to that law will be holy. Christ is a 
perfect example of such a character. He says: "I 
have kept My Father's commandments." "I do always 
those things that please Him." John 15:10; 8:29. 
The followers of Christ are to become like 
Him--by the grace of God to form characters in 
harmony with the principles of His holy law. This is 
Bible sanctification.  {GC 469.2} 
   This work can be accomplished only 
through faith in Christ, by the power of the 
indwelling Spirit of God. Paul admonishes believers: 
"Work out your own salvation with fear and 
trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to 
will and to do of His good pleasure." Philippians 
2:12, 13. The Christian will feel the promptings 
of sin, but he will maintain a constant warfare 
against it. Here is where Christ's help is needed. 
Human weakness becomes united to divine strength, 
and faith exclaims: "Thanks be to God, which 
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57.  {GC 469.3} 
   The Scriptures plainly show that the work 
of sanctification is progressive. When in 
conversion the sinner finds peace with God through the 
blood of the atonement, the Christian life has but 
just begun. Now he is to "go on unto perfection;" 
to grow up "unto the measure of the stature of 
the fullness of Christ." Says the apostle Paul: 
"This one thing I do, forgetting those things 
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those 
things which are before, I press toward the mark 
for the prize of the high calling of God in 
Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13, 14. And Peter sets 
before us the steps by which Bible sanctification 
is to be attained: "Giving all diligence, add 
to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 
and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance 
patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness 
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 
. . . If ye do these things, ye shall never 
fall." 2 Peter 1:5-10.  {GC 470.1} 

ILLUSTRATION

Are You Telling Yourself the Truth?
   Have you ever felt like you are a hostage 
to your thoughts? Maybe you just can't get a 
thought out of your mind. Or you often find yourself 
doing things you don't want to do. You knowingly 
engage in self-defeating behavior. You know 
something is not good for you, but you do it anyway. 
   Romans 7:23 says, I see a different 
law at work in my body - a law that fights 
against the law which my mind approves of. It makes 
me a prisoner to the law of sin which is at 
work in my body (GNT). 
   Because of your sinful nature, you think 
of yourself and your wants more than what God 
wants. Its a battle in your mind, and you're 
losing it. Your old nature - who you were before 
Jesus changed your life - is not your friend. It 
is the source of all your self-defeating habits 
that tend to take you down.  
   Do you want to break those habits and 
have more control over the way you think? 
   Then you need to hear and understand this 
truth: You dont have to believe everything you 
think. 
   Your mind lies to you all the time. Just 
because you think something is true doesn't make it 
true. Just because you feel something is true 
doesn't make it true. Your mind and your emotions 
often lie to you. Part of spiritual growth - 
becoming more like Jesus - is learning to know the 
difference between thoughts that are true and those 
that are not. 
   One of the most important disciplines you 
can build in life is to challenge your own 
thoughts. Say to yourself, I know what I'm 
thinking, but is that really true?  
   No matter how far you go in your 
spiritual walk, your old, sinful nature will keep 
trying to take control of your thoughts. You have 
to learn to question your thoughts, not just 
one time but throughout your day and throughout 
your life! 
   When you start to think nobody likes you, 
ask yourself if thats really true. If you 
think its never going to get better, ask 
yourself if its true. When you think your life is 
worthless, question what Satan is trying convince you 
of. Then, remember what you know from Gods 
Word to be true. [Daily Devotional by Rick 
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] 

CLOSING THOUGHT

An End to Sins Control
   Do you ever find yourself doing the very 
thing you dont want to do or thinking the 
thought you dont want to think? If so, youre 
not alone. In chapter 7 of Romans, we find the 
apostle Paul struggling with sin and how to overcome 
it. 
   He wrote, I want to do what is good, 
but I dont. I dont want to do what is 
wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I 
dont want to do, I am not really the one doing 
wrong; it is sin living in me that does it 
(verses 19"20 NLT). 
   Interestingly, theres not a single 
mention of the Holy Spirit in Romans 7. But in the 
next chapter, we can find at least 20 references 
to the Holy Spirit. So we see the apostle Paul 
trying to do things in his own strength, but then 
he realized there was help in the Holy Spirit. 
There was power available to live the life that 
God called him to live. 
   If you are a spiritual person, then you 
will want to do spiritual things. For instance, 
when a person is fit, theres most likely a 
reason for that. It involves what they eat (and 
dont eat), their exercise regimen, and other 
things they routinely do. 
   Now lets apply this to our spiritual 
lives. Paul wrote, God declared an end to 
sins control over us by giving his Son as a 
sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just 
requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, 
who no longer follow our sinful nature but 
instead follow the Spirit (Romans 8:3-4 NLT). 
   If you want to do better spiritually, 
then you need the help of the Holy Spirit. And 
the best way not to go backward is to go forward 
in the Holy Spirit. [Greg Laurie from Harvest 
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com] re vs. 4 

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY 

Romans 8:6 - SPIRIT LIVING! How to Take 
Every Thought Captive. 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20201020-0827.html 

Colossians 3:2 - Be Heavenly Minded.

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220325-1012.html 

Ephesians 4:22-24 - Gods Goal: Your 
Character, Not Your Comfort. 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210511-0946.html 

Colossians 3:12, 13 - Christian Clothing; 
Character. 

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220527-1053.html 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs  

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

Most Important Decision in Life: 
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0 

A Man without Equal by Bill Bright: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo 

Steps to Peace by Billy Graham: 
https://stepstopeace.org/ 

Seeking God Made Real: 
http://vimeo.com/31489782 

Prayer Made Real: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE 

LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES 

Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: 
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/ 

Amazing Facts Bible Studies: 
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx  

Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study 
Guides: 
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover 

Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: 
http://www.bibleresearch.info/ 

LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS

Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of 
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible 

Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug 
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/  

Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW: 
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens 

Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657