Romans 8:1-10 – Walking After the Spirit

As we go verse by verse through Romans, we become aware that the book is the A to Z of God’s plan for mankind condensed into one book.

It reveals God’s righteousness by faith, the dispensation of grace, the gospel of Christ, and the mystery revealed to Paul. No Christian can fully enjoy the gospel or understand deliverance without grasping the first eight chapters of Romans.

Romans has led more people to salvation than any other book. It presents the purest gospel. It begins with the problem of sin and ends with the Spirit‑filled walk of the believer.

Romans establishes the believer on Paul’s gospel (the purest gospel) and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery (Romans 16:25).

It is the foundation for salvation and takes the reader on the most important journey of his life that begins at the understanding of God’s righteousness by faith, moves through the revealing of, and the knowledge of, the dispensation of grace, and continues through the clear revelation of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, His work and His offer of eternal life to all that believe.

Chapter 8 is the mountaintop of the epistle to the Romans, explaining how the Spirit indwells us, shapes our thinking, and directs our walk, but Romans 8 cannot be understood properly without Romans 7, and Romans 7 cannot be understood without Romans 6, and so on. Paul’s “therefores”, “fors” and “but nows” that he uses throughout Romans, and, in fact, all his epistles, tie what he’s saying back to the last verse and often the verse before that and the verse before that. Sometimes whole chapters are linked together as one whole doctrine this way. This is Paul’s style, and this ability to tie in whole verses and chapters makes Romans, in the opinion of many scholars, one of, if not the, greatest piece of literature ever written.

Paul begins Romans by declaring he is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Romans 1 shows why this gospel is needed: humanity rejected God from creation onward, became foolish, and fell into deep sin. People are “without excuse.” God gave them up to their own corruption.

Romans 2 turns to Israel. God gave them the law so they could judge right from wrong, but the law condemned them because they could not keep it. Hearing the law was not enough; doing it was required, and Israel failed.

Romans 3 asks, “What advantage has the Jew?” They had the Scriptures, but still “none is righteous.” All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Paul then explains the gospel: Christ is the propitiation through faith in His blood, giving righteousness “without the law” and “freely by His grace” (Romans 3:24–26).

Romans 4 proves justification by faith from Israel’s own Scriptures. Abraham and David were justified by faith, not works. Their righteousness was imputed, and the same is imputed to all who believe that Christ died for our sins and rose again for our justification.

Romans 5 shows the results of justification. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, we’re reconciled to God, and stand in grace. Adam brought sin and death; Christ brings righteousness and life. Believers are now “in Christ,” not “in Adam”, and possess blessings freely given.

Romans 6-8 expands this identity in Christ. Romans 6 asks: if we are under grace, may we continue in sin? Paul says no—we’re dead to sin and alive unto God. Romans 7 explains that the law can’t help us serve God; it only exposes sin. Paul describes the struggle of the flesh and cries out in Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” The answer is Jesus Christ.

Romans 7 shows two laws at war inside us: the law of God in the mind and the law of sin in the members. The believer wants to do right but can’t perform it through the flesh. The flesh is weak and contains “no good thing.” The law is holy, just, and good, but it can’t give life because it is “weak through the flesh,” as Romans 8:3 will say.

This sets the stage for Romans 8, which shows how to walk “after the Spirit.” The Spirit was mentioned briefly in Romans 5, but here Paul explains His (the Spirit’s) role in our thinking, our direction, and our daily walk.

Romans 8:1 declares:

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Most Christians celebrate the first part—no condemnation in Christ—but misunderstand the second part: “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

They think this means performing good works, acting holy, or maintaining a spiritual appearance. They try to look or behave like they imagine “walking in the Spirit” should look. When they fail, they feel condemned.

But Paul’s not talking about outward performance. “Walking after the Spirit” is a mindset, an inner knowledge, an understanding of the difference between our new man in Christ and our old man in Adam. It’s knowing what God says about us in His Word and believing and trusting that above all else, even though we can’t meet the requirements of holiness in our own selves.

Without this knowledge, we fall into the condemnation described in Romans 7.

Romans 8 is the mountaintop of the epistle because it teaches that the Spirit indwells us, shapes our mind, and directs our walk. It lifts our affections toward heavenly things and explains how believers, already justified, now live by the Spirit rather than the flesh.

Without Romans 8, or any of Paul’s epistles for that matter, we could never understand the difference between walking in the flesh and walking in the Spirit.

One man who knew this difference and was able to truly see who he was in Christ was Horatio Spafford, who wrote the timeless hymn, “All Is Well With My Soul”, that has inspired and uplifted people facing tragedy for over 150 years.

We have embedded a version of this wonderful hymn under this broadcast.

In November 1873, Spafford decided to take his entire family to Europe for a vacation, intending also to assist DL Moody in his evangelistic work once he arrived there. However, Spafford was unexpectedly held up in Chicago, but decided to send his family aboard the S.S. Ville du Havre as scheduled. Midway through the trans-Atlantic voyage, the ship was struck by the English vessel Loch Earn and foundered in about 12 minutes. Spafford’s four daughters—Anna, eleven; Maggie, nine; Bessie, seven; and Tanetta, two—were among the 226 who perished. Mrs Spafford, one of the few who were spared, sent her husband the heartbreaking telegram: “Saved alone.”

Spafford immediately sailed for England to join his grief-stricken wife. As his ship passed the approximate location where his daughters had drowned, his deep sorrow, mingled with his unwavering faith in God’s goodness, caused him to compose this hymn and its words that have comforted countless souls suffering personal tragedy, doubts, fears and tribulation through the last century and a half.

As we said in the last episode, the word “therefore” opens up Romans 8:1, tying what’s about to be said to all that’s previously been said.

We can’t get what’s being said now if we don’t know what’s just been said, and this is extremely important!

Without the correct context, people will go straight into condemnation because they think these words are about always doing good works, or worse, trying to speak and act differently, like some of the ridiculous and embarrassing reels that pop up on social media of congregations doing crazy and often obscene actions and falsely attributing it to being “filled” with the Spirit. Or they simply try to look and do that which they think “walking in the Spirit” means.

But “walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” doesn’t mean any of these things at all; it’s a mindset, an inner knowledge, that brings an understanding of the difference between who and what we are spiritually and who and what we are naturally.

It’s a knowledge based on something more sure and certain than anything in this natural world. It’s knowledge based on the truth of the Word of God and what He says about us.

We must understand this difference between our spirit, the new man in Christ and our flesh, the old man in Adam, if we’re ever going to be free of the condemnation that comes on us through not always doing what’s right and good.

Romans teaches two essential truths:

1. That our position in Christ is fixed, secure, and given by God.
2. Our condition or our walk — our daily thinking, choices, and direction.

Positionally, in our position in Christ, there is no condemnation. But conditionally, in our condition, we must learn how to walk by faith to avoid the condemnation of Romans 7.

Salvation is unconditional—believe the gospel of grace (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). But walking without condemnation requires learning to walk after the Spirit. Romans 8 begins by joining these ideas when it says:

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 5 says believers can “glory in tribulations,” but that’s not automatic. We must know how to walk by faith for tribulation to produce patience, experience, and hope. Romans 8 explains how the Spirit shapes our mind and guides our walk.

Understanding the difference between position and condition is vital. Our position is our standing—our God‑given place in Christ. Our condition is our daily experience. We may have peace with God as we’re shown in Romans 5:1,  yet still feel anxious or overwhelmed. That’s condition, not position.

Walking after the Spirit begins with acknowledging what Christ has done. If we start with “What must I do?” we return to the law and self‑effort—the very things that condemned us in Romans 7. We just cannot perfect ourselves by the flesh.

Galatians 3:3 asks believers,

Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

Salvation and maturity both depend on the Spirit, not on the flesh, not on our natural ability to do right. We simply can’t.

Colossians 2:6 says,

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Colossians 2:7 says how this is done,

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

We walk the same way we were saved—by grace through faith.

Romans 6 shows sin is not the path. Romans 7 shows the law is not the path. Romans 8 reveals the “other way”: walking after the Spirit.

Romans 8 uses the word “Spirit” twenty‑one times—more than any other chapter. It repeatedly speaks of “walking.” But walking after the Spirit begins with knowing. Romans 1–7 lays the foundation before Romans 8 ever mentions this walk.

Paul prays the same pattern in Colossians 1:9–10: believers must first be “filled with the knowledge of His will,” then they can “walk worthy,” and then they bear fruit. Knowledge comes before walk.

Ephesians 1:13 shows salvation’s order: hear the gospel, believe it, then be sealed with the Spirit. The Spirit cannot work in us apart from what we know.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 says the Word works effectually in those who believe it. Ephesians 5:17–18 teaches we cannot be filled with the Spirit unless we understand God’s will. Even singing must teach right doctrine (Ephesians 5:19). Emotional worship without truth, without God’s Word, is nothing more than deception.

1 Corinthians 2:12 says the Spirit is given “that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”  

The Spirit’s ministry in this dispensation is to give understanding through the Word.

Romans 8:1 then says believers must “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The next verses explain why. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

At this point it would be extremely profitable for you to read the whole of the rest of Romans 8 because it lays out this walk so clearly and plainly that it’s really hard not to see it.

Romans 7 described two laws: the law of God in the mind and the law of sin in the members. Romans 8 reveals a third law—“the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” This law is not our will or performance. It’s the Spirit’s work based on what Christ accomplished.

As we’ve said, walking after the Spirit begins with knowing, knowing what Christ did.

Romans 8:9–11 teaches that the Spirit indwells believers, replacing the hopeless struggle of Romans 7 with a new principle of life. Romans 7 said “sin dwells in me” in my flesh, while Romans 8 says the Spirit dwells in me, in my inner man.

This new law frees us from condemnation and enables a walk that’s not based on the flesh or the law, but on the Spirit’s work and the truth we believe.

Christians often assume their inner self is clean while sin exists only “out there.” Scripture says sin remains in our members. Yet Romans 8 adds a second truth: the Holy Spirit also dwells in us. Though the flesh contains “no good thing,” the Spirit has quickened our inner man, sealed us, and now operates by a new principle—“the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”

This law begins with what the Spirit has already done. The Spirit baptises believers into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13–14). This baptism is not water; it is the Spirit placing us into Christ. In fact, let’s read that important passage,

For by one Spirit are we all baptised into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

For the body is not one member, but many.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Romans 6 explains that this Spirit‑baptism identifies us with Christ’s death and resurrection. We were made in the likeness of His death so we could walk in newness of life made possible by His resurrection, as Romans 6:4-5 said. This baptism is not water; it’s the Spirit placing us into Christ.

Once we believe the gospel, the Spirit seals us and unites us with Christ (Ephesians 1:13–14). Romans 8 calls this “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” meaning the Spirit’s work in placing us into Christ frees us from “the law of sin and death.”

This freedom is not achieved by our performance but by Christ’s work and the Spirit’s operation.

How did we receive life in Christ? By believing the gospel: Christ died for our sins, rose again, and His righteousness was imputed to us (Romans 3–4).

Eternal life is “the gift of God”, so says Romans 6:23.

None of this came from our works. Paul now says that this same principle—the Spirit giving life in Christ—is the law that governs our walk. If salvation came by Christ’s performance, our walk must also rest on His performance, not ours.

Romans 7 shows the hopeless struggle of the flesh: the mind wants to do good, but the body serves sin. Romans 8 reveals a new principle—the Spirit’s law of life—which works only for those in Christ.

In Christ our spirit is made alive, our soul is no longer condemned, and though sin still dwells in the flesh, we’re spiritually circumcised and separated from its power. Outward appearance does not determine our standing; God looks at the inner man.

Before salvation, the spirit was dead, and the body served sin, but now the spirit is alive, the soul justified, and our life comes from Christ, not the flesh. The law could never give life because it was weak through the flesh, but Christ condemned sin in the flesh and freed us from the old law of sin and death. True life is in Christ, hidden with God, and known only by faith.

Romans 8:3 says:

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.

The law could not give life because it was “weak through the flesh.” God sent His Son “in the likeness of sinful flesh” and “condemned sin in the flesh.”

The law was holy, just, and good, but it could not quicken our spirit or give eternal life. Galatians 3:21 says if the law could have given life, righteousness would have come by the law. But the law only revealed sin; it couldn’t deliver us from it.

Christ did what the law could never do.

He came “in the likeness of sinful flesh”, fully human—body, soul, and spirit—yet without sin. He was born of a woman (Galatians 4:4), under the law, but not born in sin. This proves human flesh was not created for sin; sin corrupted it. Jesus shows that a human body can be a vessel for righteousness.

By His death and resurrection, He condemned sin in the flesh and provided life through the Spirit.

Sin is not a natural part of humanity.

God made man without sin. Christ lived as a true man—fully human, yet sinless. Second Corinthians 5:21 says He “knew no sin,” yet was made sin for us so we could be made righteous in Him.

He forgave sins, crucified the old man, and reckoned the flesh dead.

He performed what we could not.

Philippians 2 explains His humility: though equal with God, He “made himself of no reputation,” taking the form of a servant and appearing as an ordinary man.

He changed His appearance, not His deity. He put on flesh, John 1:14 says, walked among us, and looked like any other man, though He was far more.

This is the same as the believer’s experience. We may not look sanctified or heavenly, but God says we are in Christ. Christ knew His identity because He is God; believers must trust Scripture to know theirs.

This is the foundation of the believer’s freedom and the reason the Spirit’s law now operates in us.

People often claim they “keep the law,” but true law‑keeping would require never once breaking it. The moment someone needs a sacrifice or a confession, they’ve already failed. Israel’s sacrificial system proved the law could not save. Animal blood could never truly atone for sin.

King David received the Holy Spirit by God’s grace, not by law‑keeping. When he sinned, he begged God not to take the Spirit from him (Psalm 51:11). If the Spirit were given based on perfect obedience, no one would have Him.

Romans 8:3 says, “What the law could not do… God did.” The law could not save because sin dwells in us. It could not change the inner man, separate us from sin, or make us righteous. It could only reveal sin and condemn.

Christ came “in the likeness of sinful flesh”—fully human, yet without sin. He was born of a woman (Galatians 4:4), under the law, but not born in sin. This proves human flesh was not created for sin; sin corrupted it. Jesus shows that a human body can be a vessel for righteousness.

Christ condemned sin in the flesh by His death. He separated believers from the body of the sins of the flesh (Colossians 2:11). He forgave sins, crucified the old man, and reckoned the flesh dead. He performed what we could not.

Walking after the Spirit begins with understanding this truth: salvation and sanctification rest on Christ’s performance, not ours. The Spirit applies Christ’s work to us. Our life is in Christ, not in our flesh.

Understanding Christ’s incarnation is essential for learning how to walk after the Spirit. Christ lived as a true man—fully human, yet sinless. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says He “knew no sin,” yet was made sin for us so we could be made righteous in Him.

Philippians 2 explains His humility: though equal with God, He “made himself of no reputation,” taking the form of a servant and appearing as an ordinary man. He changed His appearance, not His deity. He put on flesh (John 1:14), walked among us, and looked like any other man, though He was far more.

This is similar to the believer’s experience. We may not look sanctified or heavenly, but God says we’re in Christ. Christ knew His identity because He is God; believers must trust Scripture to know theirs.

Christ came into a world ruled by sin, yet He did not sin. He came “for sin”—to deal with it, redeem sinners, and break sin’s power. Matthew 1:21 says He came to “save his people from their sins.” 1 Corinthians 15 says Christ died for sins, then Romans 8:3 adds that He “condemned sin in the flesh.”

Christ’s death was not the result of sin’s wages, because He had no sin. He died to destroy sin’s power and remove sin from others. His resurrection mocked sin’s greatest weapon—death.

Sin controls humanity because it leads to death. The sinless Christ died and rose again, proving sin cannot conquer Him. Anyone in Christ shares His victory.

1 Corinthians 15:53 says:

“This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

Christ put on mortality so He could bring immortality to us. Because He condemned sin in the flesh, believers—body, soul, and spirit—are redeemed. The flesh is still weak and mortal, but it is now claimed for God’s service. The Spirit dwells in us, and our body becomes a vessel God can use.

Walking after the Spirit begins with knowing these truths: Christ came in real flesh, defeated sin in that flesh, redeemed our entire being, and now directs our walk through the Spirit who dwells in us.

2 Timothy 1:10 says Christ “abolished death” and brought “life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Eternal life is not only future; believers possess it now.

Romans 8:4 says:

“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Many misunderstand this verse the same way they misunderstand Romans 8:1. They think it means believers now keep the law’s commandments. But Paul doesn’t say the works of the law are fulfilled in us; he says the righteousness of the law is fulfilled.

Righteousness today is not gained by law‑keeping. Romans 3:21 says “the righteousness of God without the law is manifested.” Romans 3–7 already proved that no flesh is justified by the law and that even after salvation the law only condemns.

Romans 8 teaches that righteousness comes through Christ’s performance, not ours.

Walking after the Spirit is not following Jesus’ earthly example in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Christ lived sinlessly because He was God in the flesh. Believers cannot reproduce His earthly perfection.

Nor is Romans 8 describing the New Covenant operation promised to Israel in Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36, Hebrews 8, 1 John 2:27 and many other places, where the Spirit causes Israel to keep the commandments.

Romans 8 describes the Spirit’s work in the present dispensation of grace, where righteousness is imputed, not performed.

Imputed means it was charged to our account—given, not earned.

When Romans 8:4 says righteousness is fulfilled in those “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,” it means walking after the Spirit is simply trusting Christ’s finished work, not relying on fleshly performance.

2 Corinthians 5:16 says we “know no man after the flesh,” meaning we don’t define people by outward appearance or behaviour but by what God has made them in Christ. The flesh fails, but Christ performed perfectly. His righteousness is counted to us, and the Spirit applies it.

Daily failures in the flesh do not remove the righteousness that was never ours by performance; it was always Christ’s righteousness. Walking after the Spirit means acknowledging His work, trusting His righteousness, and refusing to measure ourselves by our deeds in the flesh.

If we believe the gospel of grace and trust Christ, we are in Him—justified, reconciled, sanctified, complete, and accepted (Ephesians 1:6).

Seeing others this way requires knowing what it means to be in Christ: our identity is not based on outward performance but on Christ’s work and the Spirit’s sealing.

Romans 8:5–9 continues to reveal the critical difference between walking after the flesh and walking after the Spirit.

Walking after the flesh is thinking according to the flesh—trusting our performance, relying on our willpower, measuring ourselves by our failures. Walking after the Spirit is thinking according to the Spirit—trusting Christ’s work, believing what God says about us, and setting our mind on truth.

Now we move to Romans 8:6, which says,

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

There’s that “for” again tying the verse to the previous ones. It’s explaining why Romans 8:5 says “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.”

For or because,

..to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Why?

Romans 8:7 is about to tell us that as well,

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

Carnal thinking leads to the same condemnation Paul felt in Romans 7. Spiritual thinking leads to life and peace—the experience that matches our position in Christ.

The carnal mind is enmity against God. It’s an enemy of God, and it can’t be subject to the law of God. This proves again that law‑keeping can’t be the path of the believer’s walk.

Romans 8:8 is a sort of summing up of this thought line, as we can see again from the opening word “So”, which is tying directly into Romans 8:7.

So [because of these previous verses showing the difference between the carnal and the spiritual mind], So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

This clearly explains that those in the flesh cannot please God.

Even though our spirit is quickened, the same mortal body remains, and when we walk according to its desires or its ignorance, we effectively oppose God.

Every believer must know the things of the Spirit so we can discern flesh from Spirit and encourage one another to walk rightly.

Though we still possess flesh, we’re in Christ, and our body now belongs to Him. We must reckon it dead and walk in the newness of life that we now have in Christ. The danger comes when we forget this and treat our body as our own, letting its desires or it’s ignorance guide us.

Galatians 2:20 says,

“The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God”.

Our mind must be fixed on this truth.

Those who are truly “in the flesh”—unsaved, and without the Spirit—can’t please God, no matter how religious or sincere they appear or how many good deeds they try to do.

Without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). Without Christ’s righteousness and the indwelling Spirit, there’s no spiritual life. This is why holiness movements that wait for the Spirit or rely on fleshly performance can’t please God. Only those in Christ, sealed by the Spirit, are His.

Then we come to the wonderful truth of Romans 8:9-10, which has been the lifeline for so many people through the ages and which removes all condemnation for the believer.

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.

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

Even when we fail and walk after the flesh, our position doesn’t change. We’re not in the flesh but in the Spirit because God has placed us in Christ. Knowing this truth is the foundation for walking after the Spirit.

How do I know the Spirit dwells in me according to Romans 8:9-10? Scripture answers plainly.

In 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul tells even the carnal Corinthians, “Ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost.”

Romans 5:5 says the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost… which is given unto us.

Galatians 3:2 teaches that the Spirit is received “by the hearing of faith,” not by works or signs.

Ephesians 1:13-14 says that upon hearing and believing the gospel, “ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise…”

And 1 Corinthians 12:13 shows that no one is in Christ unless the Spirit has baptised them into His body. “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

So, Romans 8:9 stands firm: if we have believed the gospel, we’re in the Spirit. If a man “hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”—he is unsaved.

This is why many chase tongue-talking or some other emotional experience, thinking these things either prove or somehow “call down” the Spirit’s presence.

But Scripture says the Spirit is given by faith, not by waiting, striving, or seeking signs.

In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, no one but Christ had the Spirit dwelling in them. Jesus promised the Comforter in John 14:16, and told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit was given (Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4–5).

But that was Israel’s program.

Today, under grace, the Spirit indwells every believer at the moment of faith.

Therefore, the believer’s confidence is this: we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. Our body is still mortal, but our identity is in Christ. We please God because we’re accepted in the beloved as Ephesians 1:6 tells us we are.

Walking after the Spirit begins by knowing, by reckoning this truth and refusing to let the flesh define us.

Romans 8:9-10 does not apply to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It cannot.

The disciples were chosen by Christ, but they didn’t have the Holy Spirit. Something has changed now. Now everyone who believes the gospel of the grace of God gets the Holy Spirit of God. Even Hebrews chapter six doesn’t work according to Romans 8:9. It’s a different dispensation. Hebrews 6:4 says that if their minds go back to how it was, it’s impossible to renew them to repentance again. That’s a totally different situation than Romans 8.

Thank God for His grace.

Romans eight says, if we’re in Christ, by faith we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. That’s one of the blessings of God’s grace. And so we should walk after the Spirit, in what God’s instructed us about who we are in Christ. That’s what Romans 8 is teaching us.