‘So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh,'

So, says Paul, we must recognise that we are debtors. We owe it to God to be what we should be and yield our lives to His Spirit. On the other hand we own no debt to the flesh, by pandering to it and in consequence living in accordance with its demands. Indeed it has no rights over us. To ‘live after the flesh' is to own the right of the flesh to dictate our lives. It is those who happily follow their own desires without recourse to God who ‘live after the flesh'. They are at enmity with God (Romans 8:7). In contrast the true believer's aim is to follow after the Spirit, looking to God for guidance and help in the way we live. Thus aim and motive are of vital importance. Compare the mind serving the Law of God (Romans 7:25), even though the flesh serves the law of sin.

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