Romans 8:14 reads, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Have you noticed that Romans 8 doesn’t charge us to seek after the leading of the Spirit? It only mentions the fact of our being led. Most of the verses in chapter eight just speak the facts. Verse 1 says that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. There is no charge. Verse 2 says that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and of death. Again, there is no charge. Verse 3 speaks of God sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemning sin in the flesh.
Verse 4 says that the righteous requirement of the law could be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to flesh but according to spirit. Again, just a fact is mentioned. Verse 6 says that the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. Again, this is just a kind of mentioning of a certain fact. Verse 7 says that the mind set on the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. There is no charge here. Verse 8 says that those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Another fact is mentioned.
Verses 9 through 11 say that “you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him. And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of the One (lit.) Who raised Jesus from among the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who indwells you.” In these three verses there are facts mentioned, but no charge.
Verse 13 says that “if you live according to flesh, you are about to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live.” Then verse 14 says that “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” In all these verses there is the mentioning of facts. But there is no charge, no commandment, no exhortation.
Through experiences plus much study I have learned one thing: if you are going to enter into Romans 8, you must stay with this chapter. You have to forget about other references. Every other reference is a kind of distraction to Romans 8. You have to confine yourself to Romans 8. Don’t bring in the cross references, the inner feeling, or the outward circumstances. Just stick with the leading in Romans 8:14. Otherwise, you may be distracted. You may use verses in Romans 8 other than verse 14, but do not go to other chapters. Later on you will see why this is absolutely necessary.
Most believers have misunderstood the leading in Romans 8. It is not so easy, once a habit has been built up, to get away from that built-up habit. Sometimes, for example, we say some words habitually. After saying those words, we realize that we said something according to our habit. When we talk about the leading of the Spirit, or the leading by the Spirit of God, we spontaneously understand it in a habitual way. The most damaging thing, and yet such a hidden thing, is our spiritual habit. Over fifty-five years ago I began to seek after the spiritual things, but I did not get the proper help.
Besides the improper help, we ourselves have brought in a lot of religious things from our background. Even before I got saved, I learned a lot of Christian things. But I was not saved until I was nineteen years of age. I was not saved, but I was in Christianity. I attended the Sunday school, and I studied at Christian schools. I heard the Bible stories, and I heard the name of God, and I knew that God was the unique Creator. Even I defended our family’s religion, Christianity. I fought against the idols, yet I didn’t have God. I had God just in my mentality. I had picked up so many things from the Christian background before I was saved, and once I was saved, I put them into my Christian practices.
Also, I brought in a lot of cultural things. So I had the improper help plus the things from my Christian background plus even the best things from my culture. All these things were added into my Christian practices. I loved the Lord, and I was really seeking after Him. Yet I didn’t get the proper help, so all these three categories of things were added into my practice of the Christian life. When I studied the Bible I studied with colored eyeglasses. I had three pairs of colored eyeglasses: one pair was the improper help; I treasured those helps. Sometimes I took a lot of notes, and when I studied Romans 8 I would go back to those notes. So the reading of Romans 8 was under that kind of colored glasses. Another pair of colored glasses was the things I picked up from the Christian background. The third pair of colored eyeglasses was the culture.
Finally after around ten years I began to realize that these things were not so right, not so genuine. But all of them were good. Even of the improper helps, not one item was bad. All these things were good, but I began to realize that they were not so genuine. So I spontaneously became a real seeker, seeking after so many things. This was the reason I traveled through many kinds of Christianity: organized Christianity, fundamental Christianity, Pentecostal Christianity, and inner-life Christianity. But in all these regions there was not something to satisfy the inner longing. There was a kind of aspiration within that was not satisfied.
Christianity has been on this earth over nineteen centuries. It has gone through many generations and many regions. It has gone through Europe, through Asia, through America, through most parts of the earth. Whenever Christianity went through a certain section, it picked up something. This was true not only with the Catholic church, but also with the other groups. If you look at today’s Christianity, you can see that a lot of things have been picked up since the Apostle Paul was on this earth. Most believers think that the things they have picked up are helpful to their Christian life.