Preaching - Life in the Spirit

I was invited to continue the series that Bridge of Allan Parish Church have been working through, looking at Paul's letter to the Romans. The passage provided to me was the first 11 verses of chapter 8, looking at how we should live in the Spirit of God. This is quite a difficult passage but has a simple message at its core - move from a life of sin and death, to a life of freedom in God, and eternal life with Him.

In a change from recent preaching outings, I was given the opportunity to lead the whole service. Thankfully the organist had selected songs that were not only ones that the congregation would know, but that also fitted beautifully with the theme. I then steered the service, including a short all age thought around the theme, that compared a balloon to a stone, with one representing the life in the Holy Spirit, and one representing the life of self fulfilment, sin and spiritual death. I'll let you work out which one was which!

The service is usually live streamed on Facebook but with some people away, this was unable to happen. That's probably a good thing as you know my face is made for radio! But I did record the audio so that is shared below.

Additional Bible references in the message came from Leviticus 6 and Exodus 36. The message was delivered in 2 halves with the choir singing in the middle, but for ease and also music copyright reasons, the choir has been removed from the recording. They were a great addition to the service and I was grateful for all the music ministry.

The congregation were very receptive, with many smiling and engaged faces for me to scan around during the sermon. They were very kind as they left, with many also saying I had given them much to think about.

So yet another tough topic handed to me to preach, but with thanks to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I think I once again got away with it! Judge for yourself below!

As always, you can either listen to, or read the sermon below. And if you'd like me to come to your church to preach, please do get in touch.

Romans 8 at BofAPC 5 July

21:53

Life in the Spirit - Bridge of Allan Parish Church - Sunday 5 July 2026

Romans 8:1-11

Our Bible Reading today started with the word “Therefore”.  That means we just need to quickly look backwards before carrying on, to just be sure of the context Paul is speaking in here.

You’ve been working your way through Romans so have the advantage of some recent study.  Paul has taken us on a journey from God’s wrath against sinful humanity; His righteous judgement; how the Jews had interpreted and enforced the law; God’s faithfulness; human unrighteousness; linking those together to understand righteousness through faith; a reminder of how Abraham was justified by faith; peace and hope in God; there is death through Adam, life through Christ; we are dead to sin but alive in Christ; slaves to righteousness; freedom from the law and a binding to Christ; the law and sin. Paul ended chapter 7 saying “so then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”  The whole crux of the message for the people of Rome was that our human nature holds as a slave to the law of sin, but when our minds are focused fully on God, we are better bound by His holy law.

And so we make it to the first part of chapter 8 that we’re looking at today, where Paul writes that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.   After all the Romans have been told over the preceding chapters, you may wonder why they need to be told this at this stage. Have we not finished with justification and assurance? Well, it seems this has caused much difficulty with scholars, and has led some really quite excellent commentators to search for different meanings of the phrase no condemnation.  It might mean no defeat or something of this kind. People have been driven to quite astonishing ends to make it mean something different from no condemnation. What has caused, then, such alarm amongst the early Christians that they need this constant reassurance?

The answer, quite simply, is in verse 2: “through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”   What they need reassurance about is this matter of the law of sin and death. It was the essence of the Christian gospel that Christ had come to deal with just this great enemy. He did so by this death for our sins and by his conquest over the grave at his resurrection. By his death and resurrection, he set us free from the law of sin and death.  All this was clear to them, as it should be clear to us.

However, what caused them such alarm and despondency, and should cause us the same, was the continued reign of sin and death in the Christian community. As they looked around amongst their fellow Christians and looked within their own hearts, they realized that they were still sinners. As Christians, too, they noticed that they were still mortal, that the early generations of Christians were dying, just like everybody else around them in pagan society. 

Paul touched on this back in chapter 5, when he reminded the people of Rome that sin entered the world through one man – Adam – and that as a result, death would come to all people.  Sorry, that’s not really a cheery thought.  But it is the reality.  However, before Jesus came to earth, the understanding was that death meant death.  Now it still means we die in the human form, but have the joy of living forever with Christ in heaven.  Paul said back in chapter 5, v15, that “if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”  Jesus came to undo what Adam had done: to take the sin that the first Adam pulled down from the tree and nail it back where it belonged.  Adam reached for something that wasn’t his. Jesus let go of everything that was His. Adam took. Jesus gave. Jesus didn’t just carry sin. He became sin for us.

Just to wrap this bit up, and because the Christians in Rome were getting hung up on this, it might be helpful to join the dots back to the Old Testament interpretation of all this.  You will know that there were many regulations around the types of offerings that had to be brought to the temple.  Certain types of animal, flour, oil etc for different types of issues.  Leviticus 6:24-30 says this about the sin offering: “²⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁵ “Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. ²⁶ The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. ²⁷ Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area. ²⁸ The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. ²⁹ Any male in a priest’s family may eat it; it is most holy. ³⁰ But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned up.”

Did you pick up within there that the sin offering was “most holy”.  It was a very important element of what at the time was a very complex operation which we know then got incredibly distorted by religious leaders over time.  And so, when Jesus went to the cross, he became the ultimate sin offering.  The most holy person on earth, took on all the sin that ever had been or ever was to come, and put it back on the tree, the cross, and paid the price for ever, releasing life in the Spirit by his resurrection on the third day.

That sequence of acts has led us to what Paul writes about in todays passage.  v3: “…he (Jesus) condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

This is great news! The “law of the Spirit of life” breaks the chains of sin and death. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, God did what we could never do: He defeated sin’s power over us. Colossians 2:13–15 echoes this, saying God “cancelled the record of debt that stood against us” by nailing it to the cross, disarming the forces that accuse us. Imagine a courtroom where every charge against you is dropped—not because you’re perfect, but because Jesus paid to set you free. That’s the freedom we have in Christ. Sin no longer has the final word; the Spirit does.

Think of life as a fork in the road. One path is the flesh, which is chasing self-centred desires, like pride, comfort, or instant gratification. This path leads to death, not just physically because we’ve already established that this happens for everyone.  This is a path that leads to spiritual death, as it pulls us away from God’s purpose. The other path is the Spirit aligning our minds with God’s will, submitting to God, and seeking to please Him. This path leads to life and peace.

Choosing between the flesh and the Spirit is like standing in your kitchen after a long day. You’re tired, and that bag of crisps or take away menu looks so easy.  Scrolling social media or snapping at your family feels the same way. It’s tempting but leaves you empty. Now, picture choosing a fresh, home-cooked meal, or maybe it’s reading a Bible verse, or taking a moment to pray before reacting. It takes effort, but it fills you with peace and strength. Paul here is reminding us that setting your mind on the flesh leads to death, but focusing on the Spirit brings life.  Falling into the things that aren’t good for us leads to trouble, but focusing on the ways of God brings life beyond measure and fuller than we could ever imagine.

We established what Paul is getting at here.  If we continue to live a worldly life, then we do not please God or bring glory to Him.  We essentially ignore what Jesus did for us on the cross.

And so we come to the last couple of verses of todays passage, which contain words that should have been incredibly uplifting for the recipients in Rome.  In the last section, they might look at themselves and think, “Oh no! I’m in the flesh. I will surely die!” But this text gets them back in touch with reality.

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Notice here that Paul doesn’t say you are in the Spirit, if you are making all the right choices and always focusing perfectly on God’s will. But the condition is that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Paul uses the phrase “in the Spirit” like he spoke about being in Christ to show a unity with God. Being in the Spirit and having the Spirit in us could remind us of Jesus’ prayer in John 17, that His followers would be one with Him and the Father. The Spirit living in us enables us to align our desires with God’s, and experience life in its fulness through the Spirit.

Many people wonder what it means for the Spirit to be in us, but quite simply, it means the exact opposite of sin dwelling in us and taking control of us to bring us death. If we choose to set our minds on the Spirit by loving what God loves, and hating what He hates, then we belong to Him. And here’s the promise: The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies. God isn’t just saving our souls for heaven; He’s transforming us now, making us holy, reshaping our desires to reflect His.

This echoes Ezekiel 36:26–27, where God promises, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you… I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.” God is at work, sanctifying us, bringing our fleshly desires in line with His will. Change isn’t just possible—it’s God’s promise. He has infused us with new life!

So, what does this mean for us? Simply, it means we’re not condemned, even as we battle in our flesh. When you fall short, and let’s not pretend that we don’t, do you feel saddened and depressed?  Your feelings aren’t in touch with reality.  Sin has already been dethroned by the Spirit. Do not be deceived. Trust in the victory we have in Christ. Trust in the fact that you have left the realm of sin and death and entered into the realm of the Spirit of life. Put God back in His rightful place and keep fighting the spiritual battle.

Today’s section of Romans 8 is encouraging us, and reminding us of the tools already at our disposal, to live differently, fulfilling Gods righteous requirements not by our strength but through the knowledge of what God has done for us.

So, ask yourself: Where is your mind set? Are you chasing fleeting pleasures or seeking God’s will? Sadly, there are many people who say they love God, but they aren’t living for Him or allowing Him to guide their lives.  I was in a session recently where we had the opportunity to chat with the person next to us about how Jesus had impacted our lives in the previous week.  Now if you’re not fully living in the Spirit, that can be a difficult question to answer, because there is a danger that you just go through the motions, even in Church service, and not living life through God’s Holy Spirit.  You may think that you’re not living for passions and desires that conflict with God, choosing to focus on what pleases you and makes you feel good, but actually, if we’re not listening for God and following His ways even in what might appear a sin free life, we’re actually just as bad.  And all these decisions, whether they feel bad or not, can lead us to an unhealthy relationship with God. That’s living by the flesh and rebelling against God and not living in the Spirit.  We must choose to focus our minds on God’s will with every decision we make, even the small ones, in fact, especially the small ones.  Because all those little misjudgements can add up by slowly eating away from the inside without us knowing until it’s too late. Living by the Spirit means constantly choosing to live by God’s Word with a heart eager to please Him, letting His truth shape your choices.

So, how do we change?  Here’s a three-point plan for you!

1.    Reject the lie of condemnation. When we mess up, Satan’s first tactic is accusation with planted thoughts like “You’ll never change”.  The first verse we shared today can be an instant defence for you: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” When guilt hits, don’t wallow.  Don’t let is win and control not just your thoughts, but also your actions.  Come to God. Confess.  Thank Him for Christ’s victory, get back up, and get going again.  It’s really important to not live your life like you’re on probation.  You must live like you’re adopted because you are – as a child of God!

2.    Starve the flesh, feed the Spirit. Paul told us in verse 6 that says “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”  Have a look at your week.  Where do you regularly feed the flesh, even without realising it?  Maybe social media scrolling? Sharing that tasty titbit of half news about someone or something? Self-indulgence?  Not reading the Bible?  But what about where in your week you feed the Spirit? Praying? Reading the Bible regularly? Active service? Now if there’s a few things that came to mind that you need to switch, don’t try to do it all in one go. Make one deliberate shift this week.  Identify one flesh-feeding habit at a time, and switch it for with a Spirit-feeding one.

3.    Live in resurrection hope. After we have accepted Christ as our Saviour, and been adopted as a child of God, we have a new life. God wants us to see ourselves as risen from spiritual death to a new life in the Spirit. This new life isn’t supposed to be spent serving sin, but uniting ourselves with our God. This is a relationship so there will be ups and downs.  But as much as we are learning about ourselves, we are also learning about the one we are in a covenant with.  And this isn’t a one-time action.  It’s not an easy fix solution.  But every moment is absolutely worth it, as we are constantly changing to please God and become the person we should have been all along.  Yes, He loves us unconditionally, but he still wants us to focus our time on him.

Change isn’t easy, but it’s not hopeless.  Living life through the Spirit sets us free from sin’s grip. By choosing to walk in the Spirit, we align ourselves with God’s purpose, and His Spirit works in us to make us holy.  So, as we reflect through our next song, think of one step you can take to set your mind on the Spirit this week? The words of the chorus will help us to do this: “Spirit of God, unseen as the wind, gentle as is the dove: teach us the truth and help us believe, show us the Saviour's love!”

May we trust God’s promise to give life to our mortal bodies and lead us into true, lasting change, that is life through the Spirit.