Romans 8:7-8 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
The real human problem is clear: hostility towards God. This problem developed when Adam and Eve wanted to become like God. This hostility is not simply passive but open rebellion. When the law is revealed, people are driven by their fallen nature to rebel against it. There is no neutral position between the flesh and the Spirit. Being controlled by the flesh allows the self to rise up in rejection of God’s will as expressed in his law. There are two reasons the law is not kept: by choice and by inability. Not submitting to God’s law denies God’s sovereignty. Verse 8 emphasizes the inability to keep the law. We were created to please and praise God. God’s plan for humanity is not for us to appease the desires of the flesh controlled by sin but to be found in Christ where there is life and peace.
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