‘Mortification & Assurance’
The opening affirmation of Romans chapter 8 is a glorious one - “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” When we’re truly converted we’re placed under new management; we’re now in union with Christ. Our lives are now being regulated, inspired, and reshaped by the Holy Spirit. As decided Christians, our lives are being transformed and redirected by the regulating power of the Holy Spirit; by what the Apostle Paul refers to as the ‘law of the Spirit of life’ (Rom.8:2). This assures us that we’ve been freed from God’s eternal judgment, we’re being freed from the power of sin, and we will be freed from the very presence of sin. In light of these assurances, Paul forms the following conclusion - “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh (Rom.8:12).” What Paul is saying is both challenging and comforting!
Since we’ve been repositioned before God in Christ, our lives are reoriented, and we now have a new set of obligations. We’re no longer under obligation to the flesh and subject to the tyranny of the old sin nature; rather, we’re in the Spirit (v.9) and our lives are centered in Christ and animated by his Spirit. We’re no longer to habitually live lives that are shaped by the impulses and passions of the flesh, but we’re to “...put to death the deeds of the body…(v.13).” This appeal is prompted by the seriousness of continuing to “live according to the flesh”. If we continue to yield to the sinful passions of the flesh it will, in the least, trouble our good conscience before God and, at the worst, expose the fact that we’re spiritually dead. To continue to intentionally and habitually live a sinful life is a serious business; it will lead to eternal separation from the favor of God. We must strive to ‘mortify the flesh’, to put it to death, to put it away, to kill it! Dr. Derek Thomas underscores the urgency of the struggle this way - “There is to be no “peace” with sin. We dare not baptize our sins with benedictions. It is imperative that sin be destroyed. Its life is not to be spared. There must be a radical destruction of sin. Kill it; strangle it; starve it of oxygen until it cannot breathe again. There is no other way.” [1] How do we engage in this process of mortification?
Paul’s Answer
The Apostle Paul answers this important question in a carefully worded statement - “...if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (v.13).” Unlike justification, sanctification (the mortification of the flesh) involves a cooperative dynamic; we must engage the struggle and assert our will. Sanctification isn’t the work of the Spirit alone, nor is it humanly achieved apart from the empowering of the Holy Spirit, both are at work. We’re not passive, but we are dependent. We’re engaged in “God dependent effort”. [2] Also, sanctification isn’t unrelated to justification. Our sanctification flows out of our justification; both are works of grace. When we’re justified by faith we’re also enlivened and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live a Christ-honoring life. So when it comes to the work of the Spirit and the need for self-engagement in the process of sanctification, it’s not an either/or proposition; rather, it’s a both/and engagement with the flesh. This keeps us on our knees!
How is this Spirit enlivened cooperation expressed? First, it’s expressed by reaffirming the gospel, by resting in the fact that we’re saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Christ is the source of both our justification and our sanctification. Spirit enlivened cooperation, then, is being confident that “....he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion…(Phil.1:6).” It’s believing that “those...he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified (Rom.8:30).” Spirit enlivened cooperation is trusting the gospel promise that when Christ appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (1 Jn.3:2).” This is the sanctifying power and hope of the gospel!
Acknowledge Who You Are
This cooperative engagement in sanctification is also expressed by acknowledging who we are in Christ. We’ve been “crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing (made ineffectual), so that we might no longer be enslaved to sin (Rom.6:6).” In verses 11 & 12 of the same chapter Paul writes - “....consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions.” As Christian believers we’re part of a ‘new creation’ (2 Cor.5:17), a new order of existence, that takes its cues from the ‘Age to come’. We’re no longer ‘in Adam’, we’re now ‘in Christ’! We’re no longer ‘in the flesh’; we’re ‘in the Spirit’! Remember who you are...you’re a Christian...you’re in union with Christ….you bear his name! You’re no longer under obligation to the sinful flesh! So through the enlivening power of the Holy Spirit - be who you are!
Footnotes:
Derek Thomas, How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home, (Reformation Trust Publishing, Sanford, FL., 2011) p.43.
J. I. Packer, Concise Theology - A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs, (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL., 1993) p. 170.