THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS #22

Romans 8:1-17 has caused stress and anxiety for many Christians. Yet Paul intended this passage to encourage believers, not to unsettle them. What he teaches in verses 18 to 39 is clear evidence of this purpose.

The difficulty centres in our perception of his meaning in a word used frequently in this passage: the Greek word sarx ' which simply means 'flesh'.

The word is translated in various ways: 'flesh' [KJV, NASV], 'sinful nature' [NIV] and 'human nature' [GNB]. The Living Bible uses a number of different phrases, containing words like 'evil' 'sinful' and 'lower'.

Interestingly and importantly, the Greek does not contain any adjective; it simply uses the word 'flesh', and consistently this 'flesh' is contrasted to 'Spirit'. Whatever 'flesh' is, it is the opposite of 'Spirit'.

The Message expresses Paul's meaning more clearly. Peterson uses a range of phrases - 'the human condition', 'the disordered mess of struggling humanity', 'fractured human nature', 'do it on their own', 'measuring their own moral muscle', 'obsession with self', 'focusing on self', 'completely absorbed in self', 'this old do-it-yourself life' ' to bring out the meaning of the one word sarx - 'flesh'.

So what is Paul saying here in Romans 8:1-17? He is contrasting the unbelieving mindset which stands in the presence of God depending on its own performance with the believing mindset that stands in the presence of God depending on Jesus Christ. He is contrasting the person who thinks he/she has to gain acceptance with God on the basis of his/her own righteousness with the person who knows they have already gained acceptance with God on the basis of God's gift of righteousness in Christ. He is contrasting the person who trusts in him/herself with the person who trusts in Christ.

This contrast is depicted by Jesus in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-collector. The Pharisee related to God according to 'flesh', according to what he himself was; the tax-collector related to God according to God's mercy. And it was the tax-collector, Jesus said, who went home 'justified' ' acquitted, declared righteous. That is the flesh/Spirit contrast.

To trust in ourselves and our own performance will never result in the gift of righteousness ' this is the way of the flesh. To trust in the mercy of God, ultimately revealed and provided in Jesus Christ, is to receive the gift of righteousness ' this is the way of the Spirit. 

Scriptures: Romans 8:1-17; Luke 18:9-14