There’s a difference between real and fake Christianity. And this litmus test, given by the Apostle Paul in Romans 8, shows where you stand. Your mind is either: (1) set on the spirit or the flesh; (2) set on life or death; and (3) subject to the law of God or in hatred to it. That’s why there’s no such thing as a “gay” or “thieving” Christian. If you’re a true believer, you will denounce such sins and put them away. You know who you are by what rules you—be it the spirit or the flesh. 

 

Today we're in Romans 8, 5 through 11. The whole subject is real or fake Christianity. And what the Apostle Paul is doing here is he's driving four contrasts to help us to understand that there there really is a difference between real and fake Christianity and there are only two kinds of people And the first contrast is the mind set on the flesh or the mind set on the spirit. That's in verse five. And he's talking about the inclination of the mind, the things that the mind wants to think about determines really whether you are a believer or not.

The second contrast is the mind set on death or life. This is all about the mind. What is happening in the mind? You know who you are by what's happening in your mind. The third contrast is the mind subject to the law of God and the mind that hates the law of God.

That's verses seven and eight. And you have this matter of rejecting God's law. You know who you are if you love or whether you hate the law of God. And the fourth contrast really is really the believers in Rome where The apostle says, but you are not in the flesh, you are in the spirit. Okay, this is the point that the apostle Paul is making.

And he's saying that if you're a believer, you will not continue in your sinful life. This is what's so deceiving about people today who are contending that they are gay Christians. There's no such thing as a gay Christian. There's no such thing as a murdering Christian. There's no such thing as a thieving Christian.

If you are a Christian, these things have passed away and are continuing to pass away. So what's important about this? Every person should ask the question, is my life, is my mind set on the flesh or on the Spirit? And this passage of Scripture is a helpful litmus test for understanding whether you are in the Spirit or in the flesh. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

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