The Engine of the Spiritual Life / Romans 8:1-15

The Fatigue of Effort

I don’t know what the changing seasons do for you, but for some reason, the fall always reminds me of when I was a kid. I love foggy days. I remember waking up early when we lived off of Nees and Temperance out in Clovis. Back before there were homes out there, it was just cows and orchards. I remember waking up early in the morning and feeding the cows in the fog. We got into all kinds of trouble out there—shooting things we shouldn’t have shot and doing things we shouldn’t have done—but that’s what growing up in the country does for you.

One of the high points I remember is when my dad bought me a go-kart. He brought this go-kart home, but what he didn’t tell me was that it was in a box. It was basically a pile of pieces and a “good luck with that.” But I was fired up. I went into our little barn garage, sanded down the frame, put a fresh coat of paint on it, and put the wheels on. Of course, it didn’t have an engine—that was another thing he didn’t tell me.

I learned very quickly to do the bobsled thing. I’d grab the steering wheel, run as fast as I could, and then jump in to drive it for a minute. Then I’d get out, run, run, run, jump in, and drive again. For a big guy, I could really get moving. I’d have a little slalom course going, dodging cow manure, chickens, and our pig named Wilbur. But I was getting tired very quickly, and it really wasn’t that fun. So I had a bright idea: I’d find a friend and invite them over so they could push.

I’d get in, Wreck-It Ralph style, and they’d push me. That was more fun for me, but as you can imagine, it was exhausting for them. Are you laughing at my weight? I know I was a big kid, but I’ve been going to counseling to get over that. The real fun finally came when Dad brought over a Briggs & Stratton motor. We put a lawnmower engine on that thing. Now that was fun. Being a typical boy, it wasn’t about going for a drive anymore; it was about wondering what I could jump and how fast I could get it spinning. The real excitement came when the engine was put in.

I want to suggest to you that when it comes to the spiritual life, there are many here who are trying to do their spiritual life like I tried to do that go-kart. With good effort and good intention, you’re running alongside it and jumping in, only to find it doesn’t go far. So you get out, run, and jump in again. You’re going somewhere, but you’re fatigued. The propulsion of your spiritual life is just you trying hard to be good, which only lasts for a short time.

Some of you, recognizing your own inability to move your spiritual life, thought, “I should find a friend, or a church, or a small group, and they can push me.” You find a podcast, a book, or a group, and they push. That works better and it’s less fatiguing for a while, but it’s just as unfruitful because they eventually get tired of pushing your spiritual life, too. You realize there has to be a better way.

The Box Set of Romans

Paul, the author of Romans, has laid out a masterful argument in chapters six, seven, and eight. It really needs to be taught as a “box set.” If you teach Romans 6 without Romans 7, you’ll go insane. Romans 6 tells us that because we are identified with Christ, we have died with Him, and the mastery of sin is broken. We don’t sin because we have to; we sin because we choose to. But if that’s all you show people, they’ll get frustrated, because most of us live in the odd tension of Romans 7.

Romans 7 communicates the struggle: the thing I want to do, I don’t do, and the thing I don’t want to do, I find myself doing again. Paul says it’s not him doing it, but sin dwelling in him. That’s where most of us live—in that tension of knowing what we ought to do but failing to do it. If you teach chapters 6 and 7 without chapter 8, the story is unfinished. That’s why we have to recognize that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

Romans 8:1-2 (NASB)

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Why does Paul start chapter 8 with that? Because it’s on the heels of personal struggle. He recognizes that the spiritual life is a day-to-day street fight against the flesh. When we look at our record of wins and losses at the end of the season, we’re going to see a lot of losses. We start thinking God must not love us or that a “real” Christian would do better. We feel shamed. But Paul says, “No, there is no condemnation.”

Through these chapters, Paul uses the words “for” or “therefore” 70 times. He’s snapping Lego pieces together. He understands that for us to get our minds around the spiritual life, we need the whole picture. He brings us to the recognition that there is an energy driving the spiritual life that is not us. It’s not a small group, a curriculum, or a worship experience. There is an engine God has placed in us. When we live by it, the spiritual life becomes fun. Now we’re excited because God is doing something through us.

The Law and the Delivery System

Paul sets up a contrast between the old life pushed by our own effort and the new life propelled by God. He starts with the Gospel.

Romans 8:3 (NASB)

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God [did]: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and [as an offering] for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

You need to know that your Bible—the law—is good. It is unique and inspired by God for teaching and training in righteousness. The problem is not the Word of God; the problem is the delivery system. The law was weak “through the flesh.” It’s like pure water being piped through a contaminated pipe. When the pure Word of God tries to be expressed through our flesh, we contaminate the process.

So, Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. He clothed Himself in humanity and recognized every temptation we face, yet He was without sin. He condemned sin in the flesh so that we would not be condemned.

Romans 8:4 (NASB)

so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The requirement of the law is death—the wages of sin. That requirement was fulfilled in Jesus. Now, Paul introduces the idea of “walking,” which refers to the habitual action and normal expression of our lives.

Romans 8:5 (NASB)

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

A life marked by the flesh doesn’t just show preoccupation; it shows origin. If your life is marked by the deeds of the flesh—immorality, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger—it shows what is really driving you on the inside. It’s evidence that you’re trying to push your religious life like a go-kart without an engine. You will never be able to fulfill what God has called you to be on your own power.

But if your life reflects love, joy, peace, and patience, that’s the fruit of the Spirit. It’s not just behavior modification; it suggests that something different is driving you. You are under the propulsion of the Holy Spirit. As a face reflects in water, the heart of a person reflects who they really are.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

This is a high-stakes game. The mind set on the flesh is death. It doesn’t just lead to death; it already is death. I hear people say, “I’m in high school, I’ll play around, and then I’ll get right with God in college.” Friend, a life driven by the flesh is already death.

Romans 8:6-8 (NASB)

For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so], and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

If you are in the flesh, you are unable to please God. We spend a lot of time “religious hoop jumping”—going to church, joining a group, reading the Bible to check a box. These things are fine, but they are exhausting and ineffective if they are done in the flesh. They won’t give you life. The engine of the spiritual life is the Spirit of God.

So, who is the Holy Spirit? He isn’t “the Force” from Star Wars. He isn’t karma or “good vibes.” The Holy Spirit is God—the third person of the Trinity. He was present at creation, hovering over the waters. In the Old Testament, the Spirit would come upon people like Samson or Saul for specific tasks and then might be taken away. But in the New Testament, the game shifts.

Jesus promised that out of our innermost being would flow rivers of living water. He told the disciples they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them to be His witnesses to the remotest parts of the earth. Titus tells us He saves us by the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Do you have any idea what dwells inside of you right now? If you have placed your faith in Jesus, the Spirit of God is in you—leading you, guiding you, and convicting you. You have a big V8 engine in your tiny little go-kart, and yet you’re still out there playing “bobsled spirituality.” Stop running around the driveway dodging cow patties! Fire up the engine and enjoy the ride.

The Spirit-Filled Life

In chapters one through seven of Romans, Paul mentions the Holy Spirit once. In chapter eight alone, he mentions Him 20 times. He’s making the point that we must shift from a life driven by the flesh to a life driven by the Spirit.

Romans 8:9 (NASB)

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

To “dwell” means to make oneself at home. The Holy Spirit has made His home in you. You are His temple. Some people ask, “Are you a believer, or are you Spirit-filled?” as if there’s a JV and a Varsity version of Christianity. That’s nonsense. If you belong to Christ, you have the Spirit. You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise the moment you believed. It’s not a loaner; it’s a down payment.

Romans 8:10-11 (NASB)

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But 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 same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. He empowers you. Sanctification, holiness, and obedience come from Him. He drives and sustains us. We haven’t received a spirit of timidity, but of power. This isn’t some “booty” lawnmower engine; this is the most horsepower-filled thing you can imagine. We have to let Him drive.

Initiative and Response

Now, we have a responsibility. You don’t lean on a shovel and pray for a hole. The spiritual life is God’s initiative and our response.

Romans 8:12-14 (NASB)

So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh– for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Imagine you’re driving and see a sign that says, “Caution: Curves Ahead.” You can choose to ignore it, which leads to death, or you can heed the sign and live. The Spirit gives you signs, cautions, and warnings. If you ignore the Spirit when He asks you to deal with an issue, you’re heading for a wreck. But if, by the Spirit, you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

This is a progressive thing. You don’t just put one sin to death and then it’s easy street to heaven. Every single day, we put the deeds of the flesh to death as God shows them to us. And we do this because we have a new relationship.

Romans 8:15 (NASB)

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’

“Abba” is the Hebrew term for “Daddy.” It signifies a special relationship. My kids have a special privilege in my life; if they need me, they get my time because they are my children. We are no longer children of wrath or strangers; we are heirs. We can call the Creator of the universe “Daddy.” We have been adopted into the family, inheriting all the benefits of sonship and daughtership.

Heeding the Road Signs

What does this look like on a Wednesday? The Spirit uses road signs to guide you. He uses prayer—you’ll be praying and a thought will come to mind about how you treat your spouse, your materialism, or how you spend your time. He might say, “I’m glad you’re working overtime, but your wife is a single parent because you’re never there.” Or He might convict you about what you’re looking at online. When He lays out a road sign, do what it says.

He uses the Bible. This Word exposes sin. Don’t be surprised if you get a “kick in the face” when you read it. That’s a road sign. He uses other people—friends who aren’t impressed by you and are willing to tell you the truth. He uses circumstances. Sometimes you’ll see the hand of God in the middle of a train wreck, showing you what you missed.

Years ago, I was in Hawaii for a pastor’s conference. A group of older Hawaiian men wanted to race a boat against a group of us competitive, Type-A pastors. I sized them up and thought we’d crush them. When the gun sounded, we were turning ourselves inside out paddling. We were exhausted and going nowhere.

Next to us, the Hawaiian team had a guy in the front who didn’t even have a paddle. He just yelled, and the guys responded. He yelled, they paddled. He yelled, they paddled. Their boat literally levitated and they were gone. Our human effort couldn’t propel us, but they had initiative and response. The leader called, and they responded.

Your spiritual life is no different. God calls, and you must respond. He is the one at work in you, giving you the will and the power. So, what is He showing you today? Don’t be overwhelmed. Just pick one sign and respond. Then pick another. If you try to do it on your own, you’ll flame out every 60 days. Connect to the engine. Connect to the source.

Closing Prayer

Father in heaven, I thank You that You have not left us alone. We don’t have to figure this out without You. You’ve given us Your Spirit to lead us and guide us. Would You give us a sensitivity to heed the road signs in our lives? Whatever issues You are trying to show us, give us the courage to respond. May we actively, by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body that we might truly live. We thank You for the privilege of being in a relationship driven by the Spirit of God. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.