Romans 8:13 - What Did Paul Mean By Mortifying The Flesh and How Do We Accomplish It?

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TakeTheHeavenQuiz.comWe don't accomplish it, it's as simple as that and this verse, like Romans 8:1, is yet another of those Holy Scriptures that has been corrupted by the men of the Christian Religion and therefore gets miss-taught by so called ministers and pastors in the various denominations (demon-inations).

Let's copy the verse here and analyse it in detail, for this is the only way we can come to a full understanding of what The Lord Jesus Christ was saying to us through Paul.

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Now you will notice that I have written the important parts of this verse in italics which excludes the word 'mortify'. I have done this deliberately, because the word 'mortify' is the word that mainstream Christian 'teachers' would and do focus on when teaching on this verse and they will often try to teach you how to 'mortify' the deeds of the body, when in reality it's none of their business and, combined with that, they don't know how the deeds of the body are mortified anyway, they haven't a clue.

Let me be very specific here and say that this verse is saying much more than first meets the eye. First off, Paul is making a statement: If ye live after the flesh? Well, as a Christian, is that what you are doing? Are you living after the flesh? If so, why, and do you actually know what living after the flesh means? For example, is it your habit to visit the local brothel or do you have a call-girl pop round for some fun and games on a regular basis? When your husband has gone to work, does your lover come round? Do you get habitually stoned or drunk? Do you beat your wife up? Do you thrash your children for trivial misdemeanours? Do you systematically fiddle your income tax returns or short change your customers when under contract to be honest and just in all your dealings? Do you pay your employees a just wage, or work them long hours for a pittance? Do you regularly skive off work whilst your employer is still paying your wages? Do you regularly put selfish ambition to the forefront of your dealings when in relationships with work colleagues? I could go on, but I am sure you get the point, for all these activities would constitute "living after the flesh". So, if, as a Christian you are living this way then something is drastically and seriously wrong. A better question would be: would a real Christian regularly behave in this way? No is the answer to that one.

The thing is, is this the emphasis Paul is making here and how do we square verse 13 with all the other verses of Romans 8 which are saying something in a very different way from verse 13, so let's quote them here one at a time so we understand what's going on. Each verse of the first half of Romans 8 is a statement of fact, not an instruction, nor a statement with conditions nor with any exhortations to do things. I will start with verse 1, quoting it, as it should be quoted and as explained in my earlier article: "The 2,000 Year Old Good News or 21st Century Modern News - Which Do You Believe?"

Romans 8.

Verse and statement of fact 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.

Verse and statement of fact 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Verse and statement of fact 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:

Verse and statement of fact 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Verse and statement of fact 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.

Verse and statement of fact 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Verse and statement of fact 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Verse and statement of fact 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Verse and statement of fact 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Verse and statement of fact 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Verse and statement of fact 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Verse and statement of fact 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

Verse and a conditional remark and thereby suspicious because it contradicts all the above verses and statements of fact 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Now get this and let it sink in; if we are living after the flesh i.e. how I described above, the Holy Spirit would not be with us - period. This is something that could not happen, for the Godhead cannot live with sin; it's impossible, so why is this questioning statement being made? Let's make it clear from verse 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. What does "condemned sin in the flesh" mean? I will tell you; it means sealed in the flesh or locked into the flesh of our bodies which are decaying towards an inevitable death, but we as indwelled Holy Spirit beings are separated from this dying body for all time. This dying body is no longer us. We are in effect two beings, one that is made alive by The Holy Spirit and the other that is dying.

Note this and note it well for it is not us that is putting to death our bodies for they are already slain by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, so we have nothing to do, just be led by the Holy Spirit. The problem is Romans 8:13 is not saying that, what it's saying is this: "If you live after the flesh" Hello, excuse me, but it says in verse 9: But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. This means we cannot be living after the flesh. How's that then, and how does that work? Easy, through our confession of sins, our baptism and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are now dead to sin, so how can we live anymore therein - it's impossible.

OK we're now left with this question of "mortifying" the deeds of the body; what's going on here, when we now know that our bodies are already mortified by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? From my previous article, as mentioned earlier, which I hope you have read, we know that Romans 8:1 is contaminated in the KJV, but to what end? Again that's easy, for as the Net Bible commentators correctly stated, it was contaminated because, for the translators, it smelled too much of Grace. Now if one verse is bogus in a chapter why not in another, and of course we do have another and it's verse 13. You see, it should have been another statement of fact spelling out our glorious saved condition, just like all the other verses of Romans 8, but verse 13 isn't. What I will now do is re-write it as I know the Lord Jesus Christ through Paul would have wanted it written:

For to live after the flesh, is death: but to live by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, means automatic mortification and/or an instantaneous death to the deeds of our bodies, and we live. We don't have to do a thing, for our bodies of sin are already mortified!!

Notice what I have done, I have removed the pathetic human element from this verse, for it has nothing to do with us, for, as stated, we mortify nothing. This is all about our willingness to be voluntarily led by the Lord Jesus Christ via His Holy Spirit. This is something we will want to do, if we don't want to, then there is something seriously wrong with us and we have to start questioning whether or not we are Born Again.

If we analyse this verse more closely, for it is very subtle in the way that it teaches salvation by works and even blasphemes against the Holy Spirit. Notice "But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Can you see it, for it's not that easy to spot? If YOU through the Spirit!! What is this telling us? Quite simply it's telling us that we're in the picture, we're in charge, for we are prompting or telling the Holy Spirit to do a little mortifying of the deeds of our bodies which includes the occasional wicked thoughts of our minds. This too also includes wicked thoughts that we may or may not even be aware are wicked, so how will we mortify those thoughts!!??

Look at verse 5 again: 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.

This is a statement of fact that those that are after the flesh, lust after the things of the flesh. Those that are after the Spirit lust after the things of the Spirit. I've used the word lust here deliberately to show you how we are dealing with two opposing mind sets and yet both as committed to the things they are following or lusting after. On the one hand, one that the Devil has set in motion and the other which The Father God has set in motion and did so when he called us to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is final point, if we are continually worrying and fretting about mortifying our bodies, when do we live? I will leave you, dear readers, to meditate on this crucial point, but not for too long I hope, for you have a life of abundance to live under His glorious grace, so go and live it.

Charles Crosby.

yes2truth@hotmail.com

Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. Psalms 146:3

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