RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-10-01	What Does It Mean 'By the Spirit You Put to Death'? (Ro.8:13)
		Rom 8:13  For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. So God says we are to put to death or slay the deeds of the body. Paul means the sinful deeds of the body are to be put to death. It does not mean, just make sure your body does not do bad things, no matter what your heart condition is in. Of course not. Paul knows that bodily deeds that are wrong are rooted in the heart that is wrong. The killing begins at the root cause aka, the heart. So killing the deeds means to slay the root cause of our sinful acts. How do we put to death the deeds of the body? Paul tells us the how to by saying, “if by the Spirit” So how do you do it? You do it by the Spirit. You act in such a way that the Spirit is active. You kill in such a way that it is the Spirit killing the sinful deeds. What does it mean to kill sinful deeds by the Spirit? This is as essential as it gets in living the Christian life. For Paul this was the Christian life. In another place Paul tells us to walk in the Spirit” (Ga.5:25) In yet another Paul said, to be “led by the Spirit” (Ga.5:18) These phrases help explain how do we act toward holiness and sinfulness in such a way that the Spirit Himself is acting through you. Steps of how do we put to death sinful deeds (Ep.6:17). 1. Killing by the Spirit means by the Word of God. Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God The weapon the Spirit uses to kill sin is the Word of God. This is the one piece of armor here in Ephesians 6 that is used for killing is the sword. This is the sword of the Spirit. When Romans 8:13 says, “put to death the deeds of the body” by the Spirit, and the Spirit has a sword, and is used for killing, and the sword is the Word of God. 2. We take the Word and believe what we hear (Ga.3:5) Gal 3:5  Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? What do we do with the Word in order for the Spirit to be active in killing sin? The answer is when we hear by faith the Spirit works miracles. Hearing by faith the Spirit is supplied to you in this sin killing work. How do we put ourselves into a position where the Spirit can wield the sword of the Word in your life to kill sin? We do it by hearing the Word and trusting what we hear. We believe all the promises of God are “yes” in Christ (2Co.1:20) in order to kill specific sin 2Co 1:20  For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. For example, let's take the sin of greed. Heb 13:5  Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU." Heb 13:6  So we may boldly say: "THE LORD IS MY HELPER; I WILL NOT FEAR. WHAT CAN MAN DO TO ME?" You kill the love of money or greed knowing, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (v.5). So with confidence we know the Lord is my helper. How do we put aside greed? We hear a word that says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Christ will be our sufficient helper. So killing sin means daily calling to mind and trusting the promises of God. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

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