We are in week four of the Romans 8 series. How are you feeling about Romans 8? Do you think you are beginning to understand what Paul was writing to the church in Rome? What an amazing and encouraging message to receive. John McGowan did a wonderful job of summing up verses 9-17 with the five things the Holy Spirit is doing inside of us. As John said, “The Spirit is doing incredible things inside of us.” I want to review those five things even though we will only be discussing one in particular.

1. The Spirit is saying we belong to Christ (v.9)
2. The Spirit is promising our resurrection (v.11)
3. The Spirit is killing sin inside of us (v. 12-15)
4. The Spirit is testifying to our sonship (v. 15-16)
5. The Spirit is declaring we are heirs of God
and co-heirs with Christ (v. 17)
I want us to focus more on point number three, “The Spirit is killing sin inside of us,” by looking more specifically at verses 12 and 13.

Romans 8:12-13 (NIV)
(12) Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. (13) For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live…

John Owen said in his book, Mortification of Sin in Believers, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” This is a direct correlation with verse 13, “…if by the spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” This is simply saying that we should be actively resisting our fleshly inclination to sin by the power of the Spirit. You cannot make yourself righteous! But because we are righteous by faith, that is to say because of Christ’s righteousness, we are able to grow in practical righteousness by the power of the Spirit in us! We need to allow Christ and His Spirit to work IN us and through us. This does not mean that we will never sin again but that we are bent to want to not sin because we are a new creation in Christ. In order for us to cooperate with the Spirit we must confess of our sins that the Spirit has convicted in us, turn away from those earthly desires, and submit to the Spirit’s control. We are all convicted by the Spirit in different ways but the point is to actually listen to those convictions and not ignore them.

In verse 12, it says, “We have an obligation… to live according to it.” We are obligated to live by the Spirit because the Spirit is the one at work in us and by its power we are able to put to death our sinful nature. Praise the Holy Spirit just for that alone! Now my challenge to you is to really search yourself and ask the Spirit to show where you have sinful tendencies and then submit to the power of the Spirit to overcome those tendencies. By the power of the Spirit we shall live!

Discussion Questions

1. Read Romans 8:1-17
2. What does killing sin mean
(ie: Putting to death the deeds of the flesh)?
3. What will killing sin involve?
4. What does “by the Spirit” mean?
5. What is the Spirit’s role? What is our role?