Well hey there - hello, hello! Welcome to episode 92 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show! I’m your host, Jan L. Burt, and I am so glad to have you here today. We are taking a look at the promises we find in Romans chapter 8, and this is the second podcast episode in that series. Verses 2 & 6 of Romans 8 will be our main focus, and to really grab hold of what God has promised us, we will take a look at verses 3,4, & 5. The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode 9...
Well hey there - hello, hello! Welcome to episode 92 of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show! I’m your host, Jan L. Burt, and I am so glad to have you here today. We are taking a look at the promises we find in Romans chapter 8, and this is the second podcast episode in that series. Verses 2 & 6 of Romans 8 will be our main focus, and to really grab hold of what God has promised us, we will take a look at verses 3,4, & 5. The Burt (Not Ernie) Show is part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app. This is episode 92.
On the last episode we began this new series and to kick it off we discussed the powerful promise God gives us in Romans 8, verse 1. If you haven’t listened to that episode, #91, I’d encourage you to be sure to do that cuz it’s really good stuff in that verse.
And today’s verses? Also really good stuff!!
In the CSB, Romans 8:2 says: because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
You are no longer under condemnation because the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
This is real freedom, folks! And as a follower of Jesus, I kind of am a freedom fighter. I don’t want to ever stop talking about the freedom that can only be found in Jesus.
And I really love how this verse uses the phrase “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus”.
Here is what it says in the AMP - For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
The law of our new being. You are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come. You are new. And you are free. How great is that to remember every now and then? Cuz we forget! I mean, I seriously doubt I am the only one who needs this reminder on a regular basis. You are new. You are free. There is like an actual law in the spiritual realm that states that Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. And that, my friend, is a real thing, the law of sin and death. The phrase dead in your sins is truth. That’s what we all are without Jesus. Just flat dead in our sins. And death? It is eternal when you don’t Jesus personally. Like hell doesn’t somehow get less intense over time. Oh no. A billion years of eternal punishment and damnation and total separation from God does not bring souls even one second closer to the end. It goes on and on and on and some of the things Jesus said in the New Testament seem to imply that if anything, it gets worse. And those jokes about being there with your buddies? Nah. I find no evidence of that in the Bible. You aren’t palling around with anyone. And satan isn’t gonna be kind of nice or a semi-good guy when upon arrival, like you’re all on the same team or something. No. He hates.It’s what he does, he just hates and hates some more. And he won’t get less hateful or hate-filled when eternal punishment begins. There is no reason for hell to be the reality for anyone because Jesus paid the ultimate price so that you and I have our ticket to heaven punched. All we have to do is believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, that He paid for our sins and repent, turn from our sinful way of living and come into His kingdom by means of Jesus, the only way into the Kingdom of God. So there is an actual law at work in our world, wherein sin must be dealt with. But wow oh wow, Romans 8 shows us that that law (the law of sin and death) is superseded by the law of the Spirit of life. In light of the little snippet I just shared regarding the law of sin and death, isn’t this totally awesome news?
The promise here in this verse is so good! It is literally the promise of life. New life right here on this raggedy old planet earth and then eternal life thereafter. Once you are in Christ, your eternal life has begun. And it won’t ever stop. It’s an incredible promise from an incredible chapter in the Bible. Thank You, Lord.
The next few verses go on to say that what the law could not do because it was weakened by the flesh (that’s all of mankind, me and you and everyone, the flesh) what the law could not do, God did.
When you start feeling like you just can’t get across the finish line, like maybe this is all just too much and you don’t think you can live well in this sin tainted world, full of hurts and evils and just all the stuff we encounter day after day - when you start feeling that way, then Romans 8:3 is a good word for you. What man cannot do, God can do. He knows you and I have got to have the Spirit of the Living God within us or we won’t hold up so well. God did what the flesh made not doable. And God is still God, is He not? So we can, and we should, ask Him to help us when we need it. Which is for me every day.
Through Jesus the requirements of the law were fulfilled. Fulfilled. That does not hint at some kind of remaining work to be done, does it? No. Fulfilled. There isn’t some scrap here and bit there and another hunk of work down the road a ways that you and I are going to have to take care of as far as meeting the requirements of the law goes. And where there is a law, there is a requirement to be met. Jesus did that. Fulfilled. Somebody may need to remember that word “fulfilled” every now and again. The devil comes in to lie to you about your status as a child of God and you may need to say to him, “Fulfilled. Romans 8. Fulfilled.”
Now I’m not reading all of the chapter of Romans 8 today, but I want to encourage you to take a look at it sometime. Just see for yourself what it says, cuz it is really good. Big promises for you.
And I want to move on to verse 6, (we’re jumping from verse 2 to verse 6) and let’s look at this in the AMP.
Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever];
(my thoughts real quick - the mind of the flesh is death both now and forever - you cannot pretty up, clean up, straighten up your flesh. It is what it is, and it is death now and death forever, and death always. Don’t try to compromise with the flesh, improve upon it or make it better somehow. Don’t get into some partnership type thing with what the Word of God says is death… just crucify it. The way you and I are to deal with the mind of the flesh which is death both now and forever is to crucify it. Don’t mess around with it, don’t play patty cake with it, just kill it off.)
You may be wondering, “Hey now Jan, where is the promise in this verse?” And it’s here, I promise, it’s here!
Because of what Jesus did for us, we now have the gift of living under the law of the Spirit of life - we pretty well established that, right from the start of this episode. And this verse gives us this information about a massive benefit, a promise, we get because of what verses 1 and 2 state. The mind of the flesh is death, and that’s now and forever, so a permanent state that we can’t possibly change or fix or alter in our own strength. The CSB uses the word “mindset”. This is about our mindset. You hear a lot about mindset from a whole lot of different sources, Instagram, books, all over the place. But this is where we find what we really need to know about our mindset - right here in the pages of the Bible.
I’ve heard the saying, “Mindset matters.” and it really does. That’s a very true statement. So, if something matters, why would we get our info about that particular topic from all these other places but not from the Bible? I want every single thing the Lord has for me. You are probably the exact same way. And verse 6 of Romans 8 tells me that the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, it is the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God. It isn’t gonna fade away with time. This promise of life and peace is huge!
To be able to know without any doubt whatsoever, for all the days that lie before us, come what may in the physical sense, we can and we will have life and peace because that’s what it means to have the mind of the Spirit, well, that sounds amazing.
Ever meet someone who is not at peace, and you can just tell that no matter what you say to comfort them or encourage them, they are not going to be at peace because the issue is in their mind? And you and I, we can’t really get into someone’s mind and change their thinking. What we think reveals itself in how we live, who we think we are often leads us down roads in life that we didn’t really want to travel, ya know? So those folks who don’t have any peace of mind, they can’t be talked out of that. It’s not that simple because there is a very real spiritual element involved. Their mindset is holding them hostage, in a sense.
But for those of us who know Jesus, well, we are no longer slaves, so of course no part of us can be held hostage (unless we allow it, that is), and our thoughts cannot be overrun by this lack of peace we see so many people dealing with. It’s just such a great verse, such an amazing promise!
The CSB says Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace.
What’s your mindset today? I sure hope it’s not one of death, one of living according to the flesh. And the flesh, it can be loud and demanding and agitated and downright bossy. But the mindset of the Holy Spirit? Well there ya go, buddy boy, that’s life and that’s peace and that is exactly what God wants you to have. Every. Single. Day.
No days off. No exceptions. This is your promise today. This is for you. And this is really, really important!
Because if you don’t want for yourself the things God wants for you, then you are wanting the wrong things.
I’m going to repeat that, because it is crucial. So woo hoo, listen up, you need to hear this.
If you do not want for yourself the things that God wants for you, then you are wanting the wrong things.
The Lord wants you to have peace of mind, a truly healthy mindset. He says so in Romans 8. And He provided the way to have peace of mind, to be able to live a life that doesn’t just endure or keep on plugging away, trudging along day by day. That’s not life the way Jesus wants you to have it.
And I really want each one of us to begin to want for ourselves what God wants for us. If He wants it, then I gotta want it too.
That’s gonna be a wrap for today’s episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show. And I want to encourage you that this chapter can be your chapter. There is no reason why you can’t start living in the reality of all of Romans 8 right now, today. Next time, we are looking at verses 10 and 11, on episode 93.
And coming up very soon is a guest spot I did on Michele Bowman’s podcast, Woman Where Is Your Confidence. She talks to women about having the confidence that comes from Jesus, and I am looking forward to sharing more about that podcast when it is released in February of 2022.
I’m praying that you begin to fully live with a Holy Spirit led mindset and that any and all thoughts that don’t come from Him just slip away like smoke in the wind. And I do believe that is a prayer that God will answer.
This is TBNES, part of the Spark Network, now playing in the Edifi app.
Lord bless you today!!
~ Jan
Grab a copy of "The Power of God's Will - 40 Days of God's Promises Devotional" via Amazon
A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents - on Amazon
I'd like to invite you to subscribe to my new YouTube channel - God's Promises for You (subscribers helps get the videos in more search results on YouTube, which means more people hearing about His promises!) ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaqejjmiy-g0lGZMhH-FuA
To sign up for my email list & have a chance to win one of the really great giveaways this month, click this link & scroll down a teeny bit to add your email address to my mailing list ~ https://janlburt.com/
