Romans 8

In his book, “Let Your Life Speak” Parker J. Palmer writes about what he calls “Functional Atheism”:

A third shadow … is “functional atheism,” the belief that ultimate responsibility for everything rests with us. This is the unconscious, unexamined conviction that if anything decent is going to happen here, we are the ones who must make it happen – a conviction held even by people who talk a good game about God.

This shadow causes pathology on every level of our lives. It leads us to impose our will on others, stressing our relationships, sometimes to the point of breaking. It often eventuates in burnout, depression, and despair, as we learn that the world will not bend to our will and we become embittered about that fact. ⁱ

As I have reflected on Romans 8, it seems Paul was also writing about this shadow. In this section he is reflecting on the difference between ‘life in the flesh’ – ‘relying on myself for all I need’ – and life in the Spirit, which is learning to lean into and live in God’s grace.

In essence here, Paul is calling people away from self-reliance alone and towards reliance on God… away from reliance on keeping the letter of the Law for its own sake (by human achievement) and towards depending on God’s grace.

Romans 8.1-5

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do… 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.

You may wondering just what Paul means when he writes about FLESH and SPIRIT. Arland Hultgren put it clearly in his reflection:

Paul is not talking about flesh that adheres to one’s bones. He uses the term “flesh” as a metaphor for the human tendency to seek and to possess all that brings immediate and imminent satisfaction to one’s own self and without regard for a spiritual perspective. The consequence of this way of living is death. Again Paul uses a metaphor. The term “death” in this context does not mean physical death, but a dying of the self as God intends one to be, spiritual death. ⁱⁱ

Paul is inviting his readers, across the ages, to the freedom and grace of life in the Spirit, a new life that entails deep trust in God for our future.

A related question, which is at the heart of Paul’s writing in this climactic chapter of Romans is this question: “How does the living God speak to the living church today?”

We already have clues. In Acts 10 Peter had a dream about God’s new way, which invited him to ease his grip on the Law as he heard God inviting him to include Gentiles(!) in this new Christian movement. This was unheard of for Peter, and yet it was part of God’s plan. Earlier, the Pharisee Gamaliel (Acts 5) had urged the Sanhedrin to allow for the movement for God’s Spirit when dealing with the Apostles. Law (flesh) and Spirit (God) is an ongoing struggle for us in the church. But with God’s grace we can do it.

For, as Jennifer Pietz puts it:

Paul doesn’t give a list of ten tips for righteous living, but rather calls believers to continually let themselves be led by the Spirit who dwells in them (vv. 9, 13-14). The foundation of Christian life is an active awareness that we have been brought into the very life of the Triune God, where we are loved, secure, and empowered by God’s Spirit. This gift is what enables us to reflect Christ in daily life.ⁱⁱⁱ

And so, to finish with Paul’s own words (Romans 8.9, 14)

“But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. … For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”