The Man Who Cannot be Saved (Romans 8 Personal Indwelling)

The Man Who Cannot be Saved (Romans 8 / Personal Indwelling)

Commonly Declared Summary: In the personal indwelling view of Romans 8, one must obey the gospel to be in the Spirit, but one must be in the Spirit to obey the gospel.

It seems to me that the prevailing view in churches of Christ about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit contradicts the very passage cited as establishing position’s foundation: Romans 8.

Romans 8:6-11 reads:

 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

The Romans 8 position of Personal Indwelling leaves man without escape.

The Romans 8 position of Personal Indwelling leaves man without escape.

For many, the passage seems to create a clear distinction between those who are in Christ and those who are lost. That distinction is perhaps best summarized by these words: “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

How could the Bible make the statement any more plainly? To be in Christ is to have His Spirit and to have His Spirit is to be in Him.

The seemingly necessary and reasonable conclusion is that every Christian must the receive the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But a closer examination of this text will show there is at least one difficulty with that approach.

The Personal Indwelling View of Romans 8:9

First, there are four points that the personal indwelling view draws from verse 9:

  • Whenever the Spirit dwells in a man, that man is “in the Spirit.”
  • Every man who is a Christian has the Spirit dwelling in him.
  • Every man who is a Christian is “in the Spirit.”
  • Every man who is not a Christian is “in the flesh.”

These four points do seem to support the personal indwelling view’s foundational tenet that every man who is a Christian has the Holy Spirit, and no man who does not have the Spirit is a Christian. The belief seems to fit the clear words of the text and seems to be in harmony with the rest of the New Testament’s teaching on the universal nature of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Consequences of the Personal Indwelling View of Romans 8

However, it is verses 6-8 that create a great difficulty for this view. Consider the following thoughts:

  • With the understanding outlined above it must be argued that anyone who is “in the Spirit,” is no longer “in the flesh” – “You, however, are not in the flesh . . . if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you” (v. 9).
  • No man who is “in the flesh” belongs to Christ (is a Christian) – “. . . in the flesh . . . Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”
  • Those who are “in the flesh” have the “mind of the flesh” (v. 6) and have their minds “set on the things of the flesh” (v. 7).

Paul’s affirmation is that those who have their minds “set on the flesh” cannot submit to God’s law (v. 7). It follows then that only those who “are in the Spirit” (v. 9) and so have their minds “set on the things of the Spirit” (v.5) do submit to God’s law and “live according to the Spirit” (v. 5).

Also, those who are outside of Christ cannot submit to God’s law (v. 7) because they are:

  • Without the Spirit (v. 9).
  • “In the flesh”(v. 9).
  • And have their minds “set on the things of the flesh” (v. 7).

Again, there is nothing particularly troubling with those thoughts until this question is asked:

“How does the man who is ‘in the flesh’ ever obey the Gospel?”

The act of obeying the gospel is an act of submission to God’s law. Yet, verse 8 unilaterally affirms that those who are “in the flesh” cannot please God. In order to please God, they would have to “mind the things of the Spirit” without ever being “in the Spirit.” The problem can be stated in this manner:

  • If it is impossible for those who are “in the flesh” to submit to God’s law (v. 7);
  • And it is true that all men who are outside of Christ do not have the Spirit (v. 9);
  • And it is always true that those same men have their minds “set on the flesh” (vs. 6-7);
  • Then those men “in the flesh” have no possibility of ever submitting to God’s law.

The Personal Indwelling and Repentance (Romans 8:13)

The personal indwelling view faces yet another contradictory problem in Romans 8:13: The man “in the flesh” cannot repent:

  • Paul affirms that it is by “the Spirit” that we “put to death the deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13).
  • According to the personal indwelling view the man “in the flesh” is outside of Christ and so has no access to the Spirit.
  • If he has no access to the Spirit, he then cannot “put to death the deeds of the body” by the Spirit. How then can he ever repent?

The personal indwelling view places the lost man in a position where he cannot repent, cannot submit to the law of God, and so therefore, he can never be saved.

Romans 8 and Titus 3

The situation becomes even worse when these thoughts are put together with how many personal indwelling advocates view Titus 3:5-6:

 [He] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior . . .

From that passage we are told:

  • It is in baptism (the “washing of regeneration”) that we receive the “renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
  • The renewal equates to the gift of the Holy Spirit found in Acts 2:38.
  • The function of the renewal is explained by Ezekiel 36:26-27:
    • And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
  • In baptism, God’s work is the renewal of our hearts.
  • The heart of stone is replaced by the heart of flesh of which Ezekiel speaks.
  • The renewal occurs at baptism when God makes His Spirit to dwell within us.

In other words, the work of God described in Titus 3:5-6/Ezekiel 36:26-27 occurs:

  • The moment that we become the possession of Christ.
  • The moment that we are transferred from being “in the flesh” to being “in the Spirit.”

Further, we are told that after conversion the indwelling of the Holy Spirit strengthens us and provides us the “moral power” to stand against sin and empowers us to “put to death the deeds of the body.”

From a redemptive standpoint, Titus 3 puts the personal indwelling position in a worse condition than Calvinism. The Calvinist allows for the Spirit to come upon man BEFORE he obeys the gospel. In fact, they argue the Spirit’s irresistible influence is necessary upon those who are “in the flesh” because those “in the flesh” cannot obey God on their own. In that one point, their view is consistent with the prevailing understanding of Paul’s declaration in Romans 8.

In our stand against Calvinism, we (until recently) in churches of Christ have vehemently argued that those in the world cannot and do not receive the Spirit. We argue that the Spirit comes upon man only AFTER he obeys the gospel.

But in so doing, we create a great difficulty from these texts (Romans 8/Titus 3). That difficulty is summarized as this:

  • Those who are in the flesh are those who have the heart of stone.
  • It is impossible for those who have a heart of stone and have their minds set on the things of the flesh to obey God’s law.
  • The Holy Spirit is necessary to “put to death the deeds of the body.” And no man “in the flesh” has access to this power.

If it is only at conversion the heart of stone is replaced with the heart of flesh; we are renewed by the Holy Spirit; become those who are now “in the Spirit;” and the Spirit’s indwelling strengthens us in our fight against sin, then:

What mechanism exists to move man from having a heart of stone that cannot obey God’s word to having a heart of flesh that God “causes to walk” in His statutes?

In answer to that question, we have quickly and rightly argued that it is the preaching of the gospel that calls a man to salvation. But that is precisely the dilemma the personal indwelling view of Romans 8 faces.

The personal indwelling view uses this text to establish that the indwelling of the Spirit is not a “word-only” operation. We are told the indwelling of this passage is the special blessing of Christianity. It is the gift of the Spirit only Christians receive. It is the seal of the fact that we are Christians.

All those “truths” necessitate that no lost individual can ever receive the benefits of the indwelling of Romans 8 – in any way. The personal indwelling view of Romans 8 necessarily precludes the Spirit’s indwelling from influencing one who is not yet a Christian. Yet, Romans 8 demands that it is only those who are influenced by that same indwelling that can obey God. The result is this self-contradictory conclusion:

In the personal indwelling view of Romans 8, one must obey the gospel to be in the Spirit, but one must be in the Spirit to obey the gospel.

The man “in the flesh” can hear the preached gospel but can never respond to it. He cannot be “in the Spirit” because so long as he resides “in the flesh” he cannot have the Spirit of Christ. And as the personal indwelling view excludes a direct operation of the Spirit upon the heart of the sinner (i. e. Calvinistic influence), proponents of that view have no mechanism by which a man can be saved.

Conclusion

In short, the challenge faced by the personal indwelling view of Romans 8 is to find a way for a man who is “in the flesh” to have his mind “set on the things of the Spirit.” The view must show how a man can be “in the Spirit” without the Spirit of Christ dwelling in him. The problem for the personal indwelling view is that is the very condition Paul defines as “impossible.” Unless one turns to Calvinism, another understanding of Paul’s meaning of “flesh” and “spirit” is needed.

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The Indwelling of God

The Indwelling of God

Did you know there are nearly as many verses in the New Testament promising the indwelling of God the Father and Jesus as there are which promise the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Yet, we never talk about them. We never claim any special blessing from the Father’s or the Son’s presence. We hardly discuss the topic at all.  Our energy is singularly focused on the personal indwelling of the Spirit.  It is almost as if because He is a “Spirit” (Ghost – KJV), that we assign to Him mystical properties that we never do to the Father or the Son. It is almost as if we feel free to make claims about Him that are unique within the Godhead.

What and Who indwell you?

What and Who indwell you?

To me, the whole construct feels limiting.  I, for one, do not want to settle for one member of the Godhead dwelling within me.  I want – and have – all three within me. And I am in them. Its called a relationship. There’s nothing mystical or hard to understand about it.

Here is a sampling of verses that state the indwelling of the Father and Jesus:

Joh_6:56  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Joh_14:20  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Joh_15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Joh_15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Joh_17:23  I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Joh_17:26  I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Rom_8:10  But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

2Co_13:5  Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Gal_2:20  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Eph_3:17  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Col_1:27  To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

1Jn_3:24  Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

1Jn_4:4  Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1Jn_4:12  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

1Jn_4:13  By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

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How Long in the Tomb?

How Long in the Tomb?

Jesus described how long he would be in the tomb. The words and phrases He used as He did this have often troubled Bible students. Those who focus only on the words of Matthew 12:40 usually concluded that these words demand that He was crucified on Thursday and raised up on Sunday. In their understanding this is the only way Jesus could have been in the tomb for three nights.jesus tomb

Then, there are those denominations whose emphasis is on the Sabbath. One such group says that Jesus was raised precisely 72 hours later and that resurrection was on Saturday just precisely at the same time He was buried three days before. To them, the resurrection was “discovered” on Sunday morning.

Other Sabbath keepers use the words of Matthew and conclude that he was crucified on Wednesday and raised on Saturday morning. To them the three nights are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night. Is there any way to know just what happened?

Remember that Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Jesus often mentioned the time He would be raised but uses two other phrases to describe that time. He only once spoke of “three days and three nights,” but in the gospel accounts He used the phrase “the third day” at least eight times. Both Peter and Paul also use this phrase (Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4). The accounts of His resurrection show He was raised on Sunday morning. Those disciples walking on the road to Emmaus said, “Today is the third day” (Luke 24:21). If Sunday was the third day, then Saturday and Friday were the other two. This does not solve the problem of the three nights of Matthew, but it shows one cannot simply read the one account. He must deal with every word Jesus spoke. Consider what Jesus said in His message to Herod. “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold,’ I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow and the third day I shall be perfected’” (Luke 13:32).

Jesus also used another phrase which complicates this matter. In Mark 8:31, Jesus said that “He must…be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” There is no way to take the phrase “on the third day” and “after three days” literally and not make the Bible contradict itself.

So, what is the solution? Was He literally in the tomb three nights, raised on the third day, or after three days. Atheists and unbelievers use this problem to say that the Bible contradicts itself. What is the solution? Was it on the third day or after the third day? We will look at the solution in next week’s article. It may not be as hard as it appears.

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Chance of Dying 100%

Chance of Dying 100%

Several years ago, there was a doctor in England who said he was working on a drug that was going to reverse the effects of aging. He claimed that remarkable medicine would prevent the body from growing old. When someone asked him whether it would prevent people from dying, he said, “no.” The treatment wouldn’t prevent diseases, cancers, or accidents. The average human lifespan would increase to, he thought, nearly 1000 years in the best-case scenario, but eventually, chance would catch up, and we would be hit by a bus or something like that.

dying 100%

Chance of Dying? 100%

The point of this little story is that even if we were to eliminate cancer, disease, aging, and all other afflictions that may come our way, we would still contend with death. The Bible says, “it is appointed for men once to die, and after this, the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Paul wrote, “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). Notice the juxtaposition of life and death in these verses. We are confident being in the body, but we are also pleased to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Death has no power over us. Christians don’t invite death, but they accept its reality. Revelation 14:13 states, “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’” Jesus has released us from the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Do we trust Him?

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The Death of Peter

The Death of Peter

In the closing verses of John, Jesus foretold the nature of the death of Peter. He reminded Peter of that time when he was young and could dress himself and was free to go wherever he wanted. He then said, “But when you are old another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”

The Holy Spirit then adds these comments, “This He said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God” (John 21:18-19). Tradition says that Peter was crucified, but, at his request, he was crucified upside down for he did not feel worthy to die like Jesus.

We are not sure of the details of Peter’s death, but we do have his writings shortly before he died. “Knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as the Lord Jesus Christ showed me” (2 Pet. 1:14). They show us how he used the short time he had.

Note how Peter regarded his own body. It was just a tent. It was not his eternal dwelling. Some who pay so much attention to keeping the body fit and healthy, getting proper exercise and eating the proper food, fail to realize that while bodily exercise profits, godliness is “…profitable for all things, having promise for the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:8). Paul speaks of how in this tent we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed in heavenly garments (2 Cor. 5:1-2). We must never forget that our body is simply a tent which we lay aside in death.

With death approaching, what was Peter doing with the time he had left? He was spending time with those who already knew truth and was not negligent in reminding the saved of these matters, so that they could continue to be established in the truth they already knew (2 Pet. 1:12).

He was spending time “as long as I am in this tent” to always remind them and to stir them up by that reminding (2 Pet. 1:12-13). There is a grave danger in the lives of Christians today of a vital truth. As they mature, they reach a point when they think they no longer need Sunday Bible classes, Sunday evening service and Wednesday classes. Failure to continue to study the Bible or to think we already know it is so dangerous. Peter knew the Christians to whom he was writing already knew what he was telling them, but he also knew that hearing truths again and again strengthens us.

Peter saw that how he spent his life would impact the lives of those after he brought glory to God in how he died. “I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease” (2 Pet. 1:15). In death we leave behind a treasure of eternal truth that will remind others.

Think about it. What are you doing “as long as you are in this tent”?

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