(Rom 8:8) “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”  These Words of Jesus will suffice: (Mat 7:22) “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (23)  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

(Rom 8:7) “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”   The result is a heart of rebellion towards God. Many a time I have heard: “I know what the Bible says, but…” Rebellion. Either one is submitted to His Word or they are not. A submitted soul is careful of their walk for they love their God and wish not to offend Him.

 (Rom 8:7) “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”  Believers often wrongly blame the lost because of their thinking. Their thinking is wrong but cannot be otherwise. Best to look at ourselves and continue to seek God’s Word to more and more correct our own thinking (Rom 12:1-2).

(Rom 8:6) “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”  If the second is true (and it is – it is the Word of God – truth) then why is it that so many believers have worries – concerns? Our flesh draws our hearts to the environment around us. Key: (Isa_26:3)  “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

 (Rom 8:5) “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”  If one who professes salvation only demonstrates a love for the things of the flesh, should we not conclude that they are “of the flesh” rather than “of the Spirit? God’s children love their Father and wish to please Him. Should not our question be, “Why is it that you do not love the Lord enough to desire to please Him?”

(Rom 8:5) “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”  Those “after the Spirit” are led by Him to look at life entirely differently from the lost. The heart seeks to please Him. For example: Sunday becomes His; the life is separated more and more from things that displease Him; a thirst is found for the things of God including the Bible and prayer; a tithe is seen as His; and the souls of the lost become a burden to our soul.

(Rom 8:4) “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”  Since the context of the chapter is: unsaved – the flesh; saved – the Spirit; to walk means you are alive in and thus influenced by the Spirit of God, Who is directing your soul (mind, inner being) through your now alive spirit. That means you will manifest things the unsaved soul does not since He is influencing you.

(Rom 8:4) “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Having faith that we are now no longer under condemnation (v.1); faith that our sins against God’s laws have been paid by God’s Son (v.3); faith that the spirit-life we now walk in allows us to now please God (v.2); we now fulfill the law in our hearts by faith in Jesus’ life.

 (Rom 8:3) “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”  How did the Lord Jesus condemn sin in the flesh? Answer: He loved His God and Father so much that He put God’s will before His Own in every way, every second of His earthly stay. Even the best of men do not do that and in comparison are thus condemned. In other words, Jesus lived as we should have lived.

(Rom 8:2)  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”  I draw your attention to the descripton of the Law of Moses, “the law of sin and death”. Why those words? Answer: (Gal 3:21b) “…. if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. (22)  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin (sinful man could not keep it), that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.”