“So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:12-14 NASB1995)

To whom is this being addressed? To the body of Christ, to all those professing faith in Jesus Christ, who claim to be in Christ by faith in him, who believe all their sins are forgiven them and that heaven is secured for them for when they die. And if we are students of the Scriptures we will see that many of these letters written to the church in various locations have language such as this, where they were instructed in the ways of the Lord, and where they were told, too, what it looks like to be or not be “in Christ.”

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB1995)

For not everyone who says, “Jesus is Lord!,” is a true follower of Jesus Christ. Many people give lip service to God but their hearts are far from him. They made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ but they were never crucified with Christ in death to sin, and so they were never raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as servants of the Lord Jesus in walks of surrender to God in obedience to his commands. No heart change ever took place. So they are still living by the flesh.

“Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?” (Romans 6:16 NASB1995)

We who believe in Jesus Christ cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve God and the flesh, too. We cannot be slaves of sin and slaves of God, too.

“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8 NASB1995)

So, we need to take these Scriptures and what they teach us to heart. For many people today are professing that they believe in Jesus as their Savior but he is not Lord of their lives. They want to be forgiven all their sins, but they are not willing to give up their sins. They want the grace of God to overlook their sins while they forget that God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives (see Titus 2:11-14).

Therefore, as Romans 8:12-14 tells us, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, for if we are living (in practice) according to the flesh, we must die. But if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the body (the flesh), we will live (in Christ, by faith in him). For it is not all who give lip service to the Lord who are the children of God, but it is all who are being led by the Spirit of God who are children of God. And that means sin is no longer our practice, but obedience to God is our practice.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Acts 26:18]

The Spirit Calling

An Original Work / November 12, 2019
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Hear the Spirit calling.
He’ll keep you from falling.
Tenderly He’s calling,
“Come and follow Him.”

Walk with Jesus daily.
Don’t give in to lazy.
Folks may call you crazy.
Fellowship with Him.

Follow where He leads you.
Eat what Jesus feeds you.
His love will renew you
If you follow Him.

Do what Jesus tells you.
Don’t let your faith fail you.
His love will avail you
If you walk with Him.

Jesus, Lord and Savior,
Reigneth now forever.
He gave us His favor
So we’d live with Him.

Turning now from our sin,
Holy Spirit live-in.
Holiness we walk in,
Purified by Him.

We Are Under Obligation
An Original Work / March 13, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love