Romans 8:5~8
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. God is the Creator and he made all things in heavens and on earth. God gave man personality and put him in charge of everything and let him rule over, subdue and use them. Man was created with the ability to think, see, hear, touch and use things. He can act according to his thoughts. Man can be ruined or achieve success according to the way he thinks. Spiritually speaking, man is ignorant, so he judges what happiness and unhappiness is according to his sinful nature (Romans 8:6~7). When Adam accepted God’s will and obeyed him, he was happy both body and soul. But from the moment Adam committed sin by listening to the devil, he became a hopeless being. Submitting to God’s law is the only way for him to have life and happiness. But he was cursed because he listened to the devil, and he will be ruined along with him (Matthew 25:41). The Bible tells us that in the time of Noah God decided to wipe mankind from the face of earth because man rebelled against God and was filled with evil (Genesis 6:5~7). But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord for he was obedient to God (Genesis 6:8). The mind controlled by the enemy leads to destruction. Unless he repents, God will judge his sin and destroy him along with the devil. "He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." 1 John 3:8. God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their evil deeds (Jude 6~13). But Abraham's nephew, Lot, and his daughters were spared, since they obeyed God. It is our salvation and life to obey God’s word which contains his will (John 6:63). Listening to God’s word means that we agree with him. It is our spiritual instinct to live eternally. Even though those who follow the world by gratifying their sinful desires to have many possessions, honor and power, hear God's word, they don’t take it seriously, just like Lot's wife and his sons-in-law. They will be completely destroyed in the end as Sodom and Gomorrah were. Jesus Christ died on the cross, shedding his precious blood to save those who lived according to the mind of sinful nature, and he has asked them to repent. Those who don’t repent of their sin are God’s enemies as they have rejected the working of Jesus' blood. Repent! Don’t just listen to the word, but act on it. Repentance is the only way to be set free from your diseases, curses, death and the suffering of hell. Turn away from all your evil thoughts before the working of Jesus' blood and repent of your sins so that you can have the same thoughts with Jesus Christ. Let us escape from death as Noah and Lot did, and let us have the same thoughts with God and be happy.
