Sermon 5/26/2024: “Flesh v. Spirit”

Listen here: “Flesh v. Spirit

Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-15

  • The distinction between flesh and spirit in the Bible has given rise to way too many misunderstandings. At its root it is the difference between Christ’s humanity and His divinity.
    • And historically, this distinction is at the source of the most pernicious heresies, which deny either Christ’s humanity, making Him a purely divine being devoid of humanity or flesh; or which deny Christ’s divinity, making Him a purely human being devoid of divinity or His Godhood.
  • The Bible is not arguing for some sort of Buddhist escape from the needs and demands of this world.
    • Christianity is not an ascetic discipline. This error crept into Christianity very early in its history.
    • The central concern of Christianity is not the death of self. Yet it only begins with the death of the old self.
  • The struggle between flesh and spirit comes from not being in a community of support, a community whose attention is focused on life in Christ.
    • The old community, or life without Christ, tends toward our old habits of self-concern or sin. The old community reminds us of our old ways, and that brings tension and struggle.
    • All of this is to say that there is more to being born again than one’s own individual experience of it.

Sunday morning messages are available on the website (www.stpaulsmarietta.org/audio). Tell your friends.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *