This document is a commentary on Romans 8:12-30 discussing the privileges and responsibilities of Christians as children of God. It describes four key privileges: 1) God is their Father, 2) Jesus Christ is their elder Brother and they inherit what he inherits, 3) The Holy Spirit helps them by guiding them, assuring them of their sonship, and interceding for them in prayer, 4) Heaven is their true home. It also discusses two main responsibilities: to remember they are in debt to God for all he has done, and to mortify, or put to death, the deeds of the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit.

1. HOLY SPIRIT KILLING
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Romans 8:13 13Forif you liveaccording to the flesh,
you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the
misdeeds of the body, you will live.
BIBILEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Privileges And Responsibilities Of The Children Of God
Romans 8:12-30
C.H. Irwin
The apostle in these verses makes a high claim for believers - the claim of
being children of God. In this eighth chapter he unfolds, as in a panoramic
view, the whole plan of salvation. He begins with the idea that those who are
in Christ Jesus are delivered from condemnation. But salvationis something
more than that. It means sonship also. And stepby step, verse by verse, the
apostle advances, ateachstep unfolding some fresh view of the Christian's
privileges, till at last, as he surveys the whole field of sin and sorrow, of joy
and suffering, of trials and temptations, of time and eternity, he grows
strongerin the confidence of his sonship, and exclaims, "For!am persuaded,
that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other

2. creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord."
I. THE PRIVILEGES OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD.
1. God is their Father. They can saythat in a specialand spiritual sense. In
one sense allhuman beings are the offspring of God. We are all the creatures
of his hand, and are dependent continually upon his bountiful care. But sin
has come in and separatedus from him. It has made us prone to disobey
rather than to fulfil our Father's commands. Jesus came into this world that
he might bring us back again into the relationship of God's spiritual children.
He became a child of humanity that we might become children of God. He
became "sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him." All who believe on him are born again. They are by creation
God's children; now they are his by a spiritual birth. Now they receive "the
Spirit of adoption, whereby they cry, Abba, Father" (ver. 15). Oh, the
greatness ofour heavenly Father's love! He has not castus off. He has sent his
own Son to bring us back, to restore his image in our hearts, and by-and-by to
have us sit down with him in his everlasting kingdom.
2. Jesus Christis their elder Brother. "If children, then heirs; heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ" (ver. 17). The inheritance which Christ has we
have, if by receiving him we become children of God. It is almosttoo greata
privilege to conceive, but it is plainly revealedto us by God. If we are Christ's,
all things are ours; for we are Christ's, and Christ is God's. Christ's own
prayer was, "Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me
where I am." And then there is a family likeness betweenthe children of God
by adoption and their elder Brother. If children of some humble rank were
adopted into a noble or royal family, there would be a greatdissimilarity
betweenthem and the children of that family. There would not be community
of feeling. It seems a wonderful thing that we, poor, weak, sinful creatures,
should be adopted into the family of God, and made the brothers and sisters
of Jesus Christ. How canthere be any likeness betweenus and him? But God
has provided for this. Those are remarkable words, "Forwhom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformedto the image of his Son,
that he might be the Firstborn among many brethren" (ver. 29). Thus God

3. has provided that as we are to be the brethren of Christ, we shall be like him.
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him: for we
shall see him as he is." This likeness to Christ is a gradual growth. It is the
development of the Christian character. It is not in the infant lying in the
cradle that much likeness to its parent canbe detected. But as the body
matures, as the features become more marked, as the individuality of
characterbegins to show itself, then we see the likeness, and we say, He is his
father's son, She is her mother's daughter. Those beautiful statues ofthe
Louvre or of Florence, which are the admiration of the world, did not spring
by magic from the sculptor's hands. He had his ideal. He had his plan. With
that ideal before him, he took the rough material, and on it he gradually
workedout his plans. He first modelled his figure in clay, and then took the
rough, shapeless mass ofmarble, in which no one could see any traces of the
future statue's loveliness or symmetry of form. But the sculptor's love for his
work, the skill of his hand, the patience and perseverance ofhis mind, the
hammer and chiselwhich he wielded, slowly but surely accomplishedhis
purpose, until at last the statue stoodforth in all its beauty. So God has his
ideal for the Christian - likeness to Christ, the image of his Son. He has his
plan, the plan of redemption, of sanctification. With that ideal before him he
takes our human nature, and, by the slow and sometimes painful discipline of
Christian experience, he develops the Christian character, until at lastthe
believer is found meet to be a partakerof the inheritance of the saints in light.
3. The Spirit of God is their Helper. There are three ways mentioned by the
apostle in which the Spirit helps us.
(1) He shows us the path of duty. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God" (ver. 14). The Spirit uses the Word of God, and
applies it to our conscience andour heart.
(2) He gives us assurance ofour sonship. "The Spirit itself beareth witness
with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (ver. 16). How does he give us
that assurance?Byproducing in us the fruit of the Spirit. "Hereby do we
know that we know him, if we keephis commandments" (1 John 2:3). If our
delight is in the Law of the Lord, if we are striving, howeverimperfectly, to

4. walk in his ways, to follow in the footsteps ofChrist, then this is the Spirit's
testimony to us that we are the children of God.
(3) The Spirit also makes intercessionforus in prayer. We are more
accustomedto think of Jesus as interceding for us. But the Spirit's work of
intercessionis here described in very forcible words. "Likewise the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what to pray for as we ought: but the
Spirit itself maketh intercessionfor us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. And he that searcheththe hearts knowethwhat is the mind of the
Spirit, for he maketh intercessionforthe saints according to the will of God"
(vers. 26, 27). Christ intercedes for us in heaven; the Holy Spirit intercedes in
us on earth. We know not what we should pray for aright. But the Holy Spirit
reveals to us our need. He helps our infirmities. He creates within us high and
holy aspirations;and even when we cannot rightly express our wants, be that
searcheththe hearts knows what our desires are;for the Spirit expressesthem
better than we can. Let us avail ourselves more of this threefold help of the
Spirit of God, that we may be guided in the path of duty, that we may receive
a strongerand clearerassuranceofour relationship as children of God, and
that we may be assistedin the prayers we offer at the throne of heavenly
grace.
4. Heaven is their home. "ForI reckonthat the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealedin us"
(ver. 18). While enjoying the fellowshipof our earthly homes, let us think of
the better home on high, the only home that shall never be broken up.
II. THE RESPONSIBILITIESOF THE CHILDREN OF GOD. They are
summed up in the apostle's brief words, "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors,
not to the flesh, to live after the flesh" (ver. 12). "If ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (ver. 13). We are to remember
that we are debtors. We are to reflecthow much we owe. We are to realize
God's claims upon us. We are to think of the claims of that heavenly Father
who has condescendedto adopt us as his children, and who is constantly
caring for us. We are to think of the claims of that loving Saviour who gave
himself for us. We are to think of the claims of that Spirit who has quickened

5. us from the dead, who has been enlightening our minds, and who is renewing
us after the image of God.
"All that I am, e'en here on earth,
All that I hope to be
When Jesus comes, andglory dawns,
I owe it, Lord, to thee." C.H.I.
Biblical Illustrator
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Romans 8:13
Sin and death, or grace and life
G. Burder.
I. IF SIN LIVE IN US, WE SHALL DIE.
1. To live "afterthe flesh" is to obey the orders of our corrupt nature; to
gratify its sinful desires without regardto or in contradiction of the will of
God. And this will appear if we consider —(1) The actions of a carnal man
(Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:12; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Corinthians 6:10).(2) His
words (Matthew 12:34;Ephesians 5:4; James 3:6).(3)His thoughts (Proverbs
23:7; Matthew 15:18; Psalm10:4; Philippians 3:19; 1 John 2:15).
2. Now, mark the consequence ofliving after the flesh; "ye shall die I" (ver. 6;
1 Timothy 5:6; Ephesians 2:1; Romans 6:2). What else could be reasonably
expected? There are but two eternal states, andevery man is training up for
one of these. The carnal man is unfit for heaven; for all the joys and
employments of the blessedare spiritual.

6. II. IF SIN DIE IN US, WE SHALL LIVE.
1. To mortify sin is to put it to death, as the magistrates put a felon to death by
due course ofjustice; he is suspected, apprehended, tried, and executed.
Crucifixion is the manner of killing it which God has appointed (Galatians
5:24). This is —
(1)A violent and painful death.
(2)A scandalous death.
(3)A slow and lingering death.
2. By what means may we effectually mortify sin? "Through the Spirit." We
must first have the Spirit, that we may experience His sanctifying power. The
Spirit helps us to mortify sin —(1) By enabling us to discoverit, and by
showing us its abominable nature; filling our souls with a sincere dislike to it,
and a holy determination to destroyit.(2) By giving us faith, and leading us to
Christ for pardon, righteousness, and strength.
3. This promised help of the Spirit does not exclude the use of means on our
part. The Spirit so works in us, as also to work by us. The duty is ours; the
grace is His.
4. Thus doing, we "shall live." There is no condemnation to persons of this
character. This is an evidence that they have "passedfrom death unto life"
(John 5:24). They live indeed, for Christ liveth in them. They live to God; and
in this, their gradual sanctification, consists their meetness for heaven, where
sin shall be all done away. But, oh sinner, what will be the end of thy present
pursuits? (Romans 6:21).
(G. Burder.)
Grace the only source of goodness
Preb. Griffith.
I. WITHOUT GOD, ENDLESS CONFLICT.

7. 1. "The body" or "the flesh" (Romans 7:25; Galatians 5:17) or "the earthly
members" (Colossians 3:5;Romans 8:23).(1) Is regarded as the source of —
(a)Our animal appetites (Galatians 5:19, "fornication," etc.).
(b)Our selfishpassions (Galatians 5:20, "hatred," etc.).
(c)Our mental perversities (Galatians 5:20, "idolatry," etc.) —all those false
notions which are called(Ephesians 2:3) the working of the understanding
that judges according to sense, as distinguished from the pure reason
(Romans 1:21).(2) All these workings of "the flesh" are sinful, i.e. "abnormal,
contrary to the end for which God has made us" (Romans 7:14, 18).
2. "The spirit," "the mind," "the inward man" (Romans 7:22, 23) is the
source of our —
(1)Moralprinciples (Romans 7:22; Matthew 26:41).
(2)Socialaffections (Galatians 5:22).
3. These workings of"the Spirit" are in endless conflict with the workings of
the flesh (Galatians 5:17;Romans 8:7-25), but with no sufficient power to
overcome them (Romans 7:18, 19; Matthew 26:41); so that the result is only
self-contradiction, self-condemnation, misery, and death (Romans 7:24).
II. WITH GOD, FINAL VICTORY (vers. 2-4). "The deeds of the body," or
"works ofthe flesh" (Galatians 5:19), mean the products of our lower nature,
whether of thought, or feeling, or act. To "mortify," "crucify" (Galatians
5:24), "deaden" them (Colossians 3:5), is to reduce them to impotence.
Observe the antithesis:If ye put to death your animal nature, you yourself,
who are spirit, shall live. And this death of sin is to be effectedby the life of
God in the soul.
1. Raise us above sin. God's Spirit in us raises us into the region of spirit. And
in this atmosphere sin cannotreachus (1 John 5:18). The thought of sin is
most alien when the thought of God is most vivid. In fellowship with holy men,
how hateful sin appears!How much more, therefore, when in fellowshipwith
the Holy One? Aaron down in the plain was soonseducedfrom God's

8. commandments. Moses in the mount graspedthem firmly with both hands.
Whence the importance of prayer (Matthew 17:21).
2. Hearten us againstsin (ver. 15). Knowing that we are on God's side, we
know also that God is on our side (Genesis 6:24;Numbers 19:9; 2 Kings 6:16;
Isaiah41:10). And so the animation of Moses fills us: "Fearnot I Stand still,
and see the salvationGod can work" (Exodus 14:13, 14). Jesus, full of the
spirit of Sonship, put back easilyall the suggestionsofthe tempter.
3. Make us triumphant over sin. The things impossible to man by himself are
possible to him with God (1 John 4:4; Ephesians 6:10; Philippians 4:13).
(Preb. Griffith.)
Mortificationa Christian duty
Thomas Horton, D.D.
In the text itself there are two generalparts considerable. First, a conditional
threatening or dreadful commination upon supposition of miscarriage:"If ye
live after the flesh, ye shall die." When it is said of such persons that they shall
die, we must take it in the full latitude and extent of death, that is — First, as
to temporal death, or natural, which consists in the mere separationof soul
and body. This it holds good, according to a twofold account. First, in the
course of God's justice, who hath so ordained it and appointed it (Romans
1:32). Secondly, from a connectionof the cause with the effect. Sin, and
especiallya living and conversing in the ways of it, brings death. Secondly,
spiritual death, which consists in deprivation of grace, and holiness, and
peace, and spiritual comfort. "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die." Thirdly,
there is another death, and that is death eternal. The separationof soul and
body from God for everin hell. And this is also consequentupon living after
the flesh. The secondis the conditional promise or comfortable intimation
upon supposition of repentance and new obedience in these:"But if ye
through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh," etc. Wherein againwe
have four particulars. First, to speak of the duty itself, which is mortification.
"If ye," etc. This is a duty which lies upon every Christian, to exercise and

9. inure himself to mortification, that is, to the killing and crucifying of sin in
him. For the better opening of this present point unto us, there are two things
especiallywhich are here to be declaredby us. First, wherein this mortifying
of sin, whereofwe now speak, does mainly and principally consist. And this
we may take according to these following explications. First, it does imply an
active and spontaneous oppositionof sin of our own accord. Secondly, it does
imply difficulty and trouble in the performance of it. Dying, it is usually with
some pain: as being that which nature does struggle with and strive against,
especiallyviolent death and that which follows upon killing. This, it is painful,
especially. Creatednature does not more abhor natural death, the death of the
body, than corrupted nature does abhor this mystical death. The killing of sin.
Oh, it is that which a carnalperson cannotendure to hear or think of. This
arises from that strength and settlement which sin hath in the heart. As we see
it is againin nature, that those who have the strongestconstitutions, they have
commonly the painfullest deaths. Even so is it likewise in grace:those who
have the strongestcorruption, they have the hardest mortification. Thirdly,
this mortification, it does imply a weakening ofthe powerand vigour of sin in
us. That look as a body which is dead, it is thereby made unserviceable and
unfit for the actions of life. So a man also, that is spiritually mortified, sin is in
him made unactive and unfit for the former services andperformances which
proceededfrom it. Fourthly, it implies universality, that is, a resisting of all
kind of sin, without exception. Killing, it is a destroying of life in every part.
There must not be only a restraining of some sins, but a fighting againstall.
Where any one reigns there is no true mortification. Fifthly and lastly, it
implies continuance and the often renewing of this acttime after time. The
secondis the grounds or reasons whichdo make for the performance of it,
which may be reduced to these heads. First, the nature of sin and the thing
itself, which is to be mortified, and that is our mortal and deadly enemy. "If a
man find his enemy," says Saul, "will he let him go well away?" Enmity, it
invites destructionas well as threatens it. Secondly, there is reasonfor it also
from that powerwhich is wrought in a Christian by Christ's Spirit tending
thereto, and the specialvirtue which is contained in the death and sufferings
of Christ to this purpose. Because ye are dead and risen with Christ, therefore
"mortify your earthly members," etc. Thirdly, it is requisite also from that
obedience which we owe to God in the whole course of our lives. No man can

10. be alive to God, that is, perform lively service to Him, but he that is first dead
to sin, that is, that hath sin and corruption first crucified and mortified in
him. Fourthly, as an evidence of our justification and the forgiveness ofour
sins unto us. No man can be so comfortably assuredthat his sin is pardoned
that does not find his sin mortified. Wherever sin remains in the power of it, it
remains also in the guilt of it. To quicken and provoke us so much the more
hereunto, let us take in these considerations with us. First, the command of
God, who has laid this duty upon us. Secondly, our own interest and the great
goodwhich we reap from it, both in point of grace and comfort, and at last of
salvationitself, as it follows afterwards in the text, where it is said, "Ye shall
live." Thirdly, the evil of the contrary, and the great disparagementwhich lies
upon sin unmortified. Sin it is an odious business in many respects, andhath
sundry inconveniences with it. First, there is no true pleasure or contentment
in it. Secondly, sin is also insatiable, and the more that men give wayunto it
the more it prevails still upon them. Thirdly, sin is deceitful and dangerous. It
makes us slaves to Satan; it makes us enemies to God; it crucifies Christ; it
fights againstthe soul. Now for the right performance of this duty, and that
we may do it so as we should do, it is requisite for us to take notice of these
three following rules, or directions, which conduce hereto. First, there must be
a steadfastpurpose of opposing and resisting of sin with might and main.
Secondly, there must be a diligent heed for the avoiding of all occasions ofsin
and all inducements which lead thereunto. Thirdly, there must be a
conscionable use ofall such means as serve to the subduing of sin in us. What
are they? First, a soberand moderate use of the creatures in those things
which in their own nature are lawful and warrantable. Secondly, prayer and
fasting; that is another help likewise. Thirdly, and principally, an actof faith
in the death and sufferings of Christ. The secondis the objectof this duty, or
the matter which it is conversantabout. And that is here expressedto be the
deeds of the body. What is the meaning of this? that is, indeed, the sins and
miscarriages ofthe whole man. We are not here to take it in the limited sense
only, but in the extended. This work of mortification, it begins first of all in
the inward man, and so ends in the outward; only the outward is here
mentioned and named. And it is said the deeds of the body expressly, because
the body it is that wherein sin does especiallyshow and discoveritself;
whereas the mind is not so easilydiscerned in the corruptions of it. So 2

11. Corinthians 5:10. The things which are done in the body, though
comprehending the soul likewise, the actions of the whole person;and
Colossians 3:9, the old man with his deeds. The third particular is the
principle whence this duty doth proceedin us, or the means whereby we
perform it. And that is here expressedto be the Spirit. "If ye by the Spirit,"
etc. By the Spirit we are here to understand the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit
which is calledso emphatically. Mortification of sin is the proper work of this
Spirit in us, and is effectedin no other way. The same Spirit that is active in
quickening of us and in infusing of grace into us; the same Spirit is also active
in mortifying of us and in killing of sin in us. This must needs be so upon these
following considerations. First, from the strength and power of sin, and that
rooting which it hath in the soul. None canovercome the strong man, but
some one that is strongerthan he indeed is. Secondly, from the proper means
of the killing of sin in us, which, as we showedbefore, is the application of
Christ's death unto us. Now, this is done only by the Spirit which is active in
us to this purpose. Thirdly, from the covenantof grace whichGod hath made
with all believers, which is to bestow His Spirit upon them to this purpose, as
Ezekiel36:27. The fourth, and last, is the benefit or reward consequentupon
it. That is in these words, "Ye shall live." It holds goodin all the notions and
specifications oflife whatsoever. First, of natural life, "Length of days is in
her right hand " (Proverbs 3:16). Secondly, of spiritual life, "I am crucified
with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life
which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith," etc. Thirdly, of eternal life
(Romans 6:22), "Ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting
life." And Galatians 6:8, "He that sowethto the flesh, shall of the flesh reap
corruption."
(Thomas Horton, D.D.)
Mortification
S. Charnock, B.D.
I. THE ACT — "Mortify."

12. 1. Sin is active in the soulof an unregenerate man. Justificationsupposeth
guilt, sanctificationfilth, mortification life, preceding those acts.
2. Nothing but the death of sin must content a renewedsoul. No indulgence to
be shown to it; not the loss of a member, but the loss of its life. As nothing but
the death of Christ mould satisfy the justice of God, so nothing but the death
of sin must satisfythe justice of the soul.
3. "Do mortify." The time present. As sin must have no pardon, so it must
have no reprieve. Dangerous enemies must be handled with a quick severity.
4. "Do mortify." It notes a continued act. It must be a quick and an
uninterrupted severity,
II. THE OBJECT — "The deeds of the body."
1. Mortificationmust be universal; not one deed, but deeds, little and great.
Though the main battle be routed, yet the wings of an army may getthe
victory.
2. The body signifies corrupt nature, deeds are the products of it; all the
sparks issue from the furnace within.
3. The greatestobjectof our revenge is within us. Our enemy has got
possessionofour souls, which makes the work more difficult. An enemy may
better be kept out than castout when he has gotpossession.
III. THE AGENTS — "ye," "the Spirit."
1. Man must be an agentin this work. We have brought this rebel into our
souls, and Godwould have us make as it were some recompence by
endeavouring to castit out.
2. Through the Spirit.(1) Mortification is not the work of nature; it is a
spiritual work. We must engage in the duel, but it is the strength of the Spirit
only can render us victorious. The duty is ours, but the success is from God.
We cansin of ourselves, but not overcome sin by ourselves.(2)The difficulty of
this work is manifested by the necessityofthe Spirit's efficacy. Notall the
powers on earth, nor the strength of ordinances, cando it.

13. IV. THE PROMISE — "Ye shall live."
1. Heaven is a place for conquerors only (Revelation3:21). He that will be
sin's friend, cannot be God's favourite. There must be a combat before a
victory, and a victory before a triumph.
2. The more perfectour mortification, the clearerour assurance of glory. The
more sin dies, the more the soul lives.
3. Mortificationis a sure sign of saving grace. It is a sign of the Spirit's
indwelling and powerful acting, a sign of an approach to heaven.
(S. Charnock, B.D.)
The mortification of sin
S. Charnock, B.D.
I. WHAT MORTIFICATION IS.
1. A breaking of the league naturally held with sin (Ephesians 5:11; Hosea
14:8).
2. A declarationof open hostility. When leagues betweenprinces are broken
war ensues. This hostility begins in cutting off all the supplies of sin (Romans
13:14, etc.).
3. A powerful resistance, by using all the weapons ofthe Christian armoury
(Ephesians 6:13, 14, etc.).
4. A killing of sin.
II. HOW WE MAY JUDGE OF OUR MORTIFICATION.
1. Negatively.(1)All cessationfrom some particular sin is not a mortification.
It may only be —(a) An exchange. It may be a divorce from a sin odious to the
world, and an embracing another that hath more specious pretences.(b)A
cessationfrom some outward gross acts only, not from a want of will to sin.
There may be pride, ambition, covetousness, uncleanness, whenthey are not

14. externally acted;which is more dangerous, as infectious diseasesare when
they are hindered by cold from a kindly eruption, and strike inward to the
heart, and so prove mortal.(c) A cessationmerelybecause ofthe alterationof
the constitution. Lust reigns in young men, but its empire decays in an old
withered body; some plants which grow in hot countries will die in colder
climates. Ambition decays in age when strength is wasted, but sprouts up in a
young man. A present sicknessmay make an epicure nauseate the dainties
which he would before rake even in the sea to procure.(d) A cessationmay be
forcedby some forethoughts of death, some pang of conscience, orsome
judgment of God; which as a pain in one part of the body may take awaya
man's appetite, but when removed, his appetite returns.(e) A cessationfrom
want of opportunity.(2) Restraints from sin are not mortification of it.(a)
Mortificationis always from an inward principle, restraints from an outward.
A restraint is merely a pull back, by a strongerpower, but mortification is
from a strength given, a new mettle put into the soul (Ephesians 3:16).(b)
Mortificationproceeds from an angerwith, and a hatred of, sin, whereas
restraints are from a fear of the consequents ofsin; as a man may love the
wine, which is as yet too hot for his lips.(c) Mortification is a voluntary,
rational work of the soul; restraints are not so.
2. Positively. The signs are —(1) When the beloved lust doth not stir upon a
temptation that did usually excite, as it is a sign of the clearness ofa fountain
when after the stirring of the water the mud doth not appear; or as it is with a
man that is sick — setthe most savoury meat before him, if his appetite be not
provoked, it is an argument of the strength of his distemper, and where it is
lasting, of his approaching death. None will question the deadness ofthat tree
at the root which doth not bud upon the return of the spring sun; nor need we
question the weaknessofthat corruption which doth not stir upon the
presenting a suitable temptation.(2) When we meet with few interruptions in
duties of worship. Easycompliance with diversions is a sign of an unmortified
frame; as it is the signof much weakness in a person, and the strength of his
distemper, when the leastblow or jog makes him let go his hold of
anything.(3) When we bring forth the fruits of the contrary graces. The more
sweetand full fruit a tree bears, the more evidence there is of the weaknessof
those suckers whichare about the root to hinder its generous productions.

15. III. THE REASONS WHY THERE CAN BE NO EXPECTATION OF
ETERNALLIFE WITHOUT MORTIFICATION. An unmortified frame is
—
1. Unsuitable to a state of glory (Colossians1:12). Conformity to Christ is to
fit us for heaven, He descendedto the grave before He ascended;so our sins
must die before our souls can mount. It is very unsuitable for sin's drudges to
have a saint's portion. Every vesselmust be emptied of its foul waterbefore it
can receive that which is clean. No man pours rich wine into old casks.
2. Such as God cannot delight in. To delight in such would be to have no
delight in his own nature. To keepsin alive is to defend it againstthe will of
God, and to challenge the combatwith our Maker.
3. Against the whole design of the gospel. Ratherthan sin should not die,
Christ would die Himself; it is therefore a high disesteemof Christ to preserve
the life of sin, and if we defend what He died to conquer, how canwe expectto
enjoy what He died to purchase? Forwhat the grace ofthe gospeldoth more
especiallyteach, readTitus 2:4; Psalm 5:4. It is an inseparable characterof
them that are Christ's, that "they have crucified the flesh with the affections
and lusts."Conclusion:Let us labour to mortify sin. If we will not be the death
of sin, sin will be the death of our souls.
1. Implore the help of the Spirit.
2. Listen to His convictions.
3. Pleadthe death of Christ, the end of which was to triumph over sin.
4. Often think of Divine precepts.
5. Be jealous of our own hearts. Venture not to breathe in corrupt air, for fear
of infection.
6. Bless Godfor whatsoevermortifying grace we have received.
(S. Charnock, B.D.)

16. Life in mortification of the flesh
J. B. Owen, M.A.
I. WHAT IT IS TO MORTIFY. This word occurs but twice in the whole
Scriptures — in the text, and in Colossians3:5.
1. "To mortify" is now commonly used in a far less extreme sense than its
original signification. Thus we speak of mortified pride, which has been
simply disappointed of its passing object;whereas to mortify is to be in a
process ofdeath, though joined to something living — as a diseasedlimb may
be mortified, while the other parts of the body are healthy; and it is only by
the process ofthe healthy part of the body casting off from itself the mortified
flesh, that the whole system can escape dissolution. In this sense we are to
understand the mortification of the carnaland ungodly desires, which the
powerof Divine grace, the vital energyof the new creature, will enable it to
castfrom itself, and thereby save the soul alive, which the process ofmoral
putrefaction had otherwise corrupted and slain. Hence the striking force of
the injunctions — "Crucify the flesh";"put awaythe old man"; "castout the
bondwoman"; "cut off the offending right hand," or "pluck out the right
eye."
2. Then to mortify sin is not to deal equivocally with it, to fight againstits
practices and leave untouched the principle, as Saul slew the Amalekites, but
spared Agag. To mortify sin is not merely to smite and oppose it, but to put it
to death — to have "no confidence in the flesh" — to "yield no member to
uncleanness" — to "deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts" — to "avoidthe
very appearance ofevil" — to "letit not be so much as named among you as
becomethsaints." It means, that "if sinners entice, we are to consentnot"; but
in every sense to "be not overcome with evil," but to "resistthe devil, and he
will flee from us," clinging hard and fastby "the God of peace, who shall
bruise Satan under our feet shortly."
II. WHAT IS TO BE MORTIFIED? "The deeds ofthe body" — that is, not
one deed, but all, whether of the inward or of the outward man. This may be
illustrated by the injunction — "If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out"; not
that Jesus would have us literally maim the body which He createdperfect.

17. But as He had just been speaking of the adultery of the eye, as distinguished
from, yet identified in guilt with the actual sin, and there calledit "the
adultery of the heart," His meaning is, that we should begin the cure of sin at
the seatof the disease, the corrupt heart — that we should destroy the fruits
of sin by plucking up the lust at its roots. What so delicate, so useful, or so
expressive a feature as the right eye! But if rather than sin, and imperil the
whole body, the right eye is to be plucked out, then we learn that the tenderest
affections and the most necessarycomforts that would impair the beauty of
holiness are all to be sacrificed. Again, "If thy right hand offend thee, cut it
off." The right hand is the emblem of dignity — Josephsits at the right hand
of Pharaoh; of power"Thy right hand shall teachthee terrible things"; of
friendship — "To me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship";of
covenants — "ThoughConiah were the signeton My right hand"; of industry
and business — "Let my right hand forgether cunning."If, then, the "right
hand" that casts a stumbling-block in our way is to be "cut off," then is the
place of seculardignity to be resigned, if we find it lifting up our hearts above
humility. And the post of power must be renounced if we discoverthat it has
led us to forgetour weaknessapartfrom God. And the bond of friendship, if it
has led us to softendown the points of distinction betweenthe worldling and
the believer, must be broken. And the covenantwith ungodliness must be
dissolved. Even industry in business may be in our way, and if so we must
consentto mortification here. Better cut off the hand than lose the head;
rather maim the body than mar the soul. If religionbe worth anything, it is
worth everything; therefore sacrifice anything but Christ.
III. BY WHOM THE DEEDS OF THE BODYARE TO BE MORTIFIED?
There are two agents — the one active, the Holy Spirit; the other passive, the
believer himself. "If ye through the Spirit do mortify." We can do nothing
without Him; He will do nothing without us.
IV. THE ANIMATING RESULT OF THE SUCCESSFULCONFLICT
WITH THE FLESH. "Ye shall live" a life of grace and holiness, of
estrangementfrom the world and communion with God; of happiness,
usefulness, and comfort on earth, and of glory and blessednessin heaven.
(J. B. Owen, M.A.)

18. Higher or lower:which shall win
Charles Kingsley, M.A.
1. We shall all agree, who have tried to do right and avoid wrong, that there
goes onin us a strange struggle. We wish to do a right thing, and at the very
same time long to do a wrong one, as if we were a better and a worse man
struggling for the mastery. One may conquer, or the other. We may be like
the drunkard who cannot help draining off his liquor, though he knows that it
is going to kill him; or we may be like the man who conquers his love for
drink, and puts the liquor away, because he knows that he ought not to take it.
We know too well, many of us, how painful this inward struggle is. We all
understand too wellhow Paul was ready at times to cry. "Oh wretchedman
that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" We can
understand too the parable of Plato, who says, that the soul of man is like a
chariot, guided by a man's will, but drawn by two horses — the one horse
white, beautiful and noble, well-brokenand winged, always trying to rise and
fly upward with the chariot towardheaven; but the other black, evil, and
unmanageable, always trying to rush downward, and drag the chariotand the
driver into hell.
2. In the text St. Paul explains this struggle. First, there is a flesh in us — that
is, an animal nature. We come into the world as animals do-eat, drink, sleep
as they do — have the same passions as they have — and our carnalbodies die
exactly as they die. But are we nothing more? God forbid. We know that to be
a man we must be something more than a mere brute — for when we call any
one a brute, what do we mean? That he has given himself up to his animal
nature till the man in him is dead, and only the brute remains. Our giving way
to the same selfish, shameless passions, whichwe see in the loweranimals, is
letting the "brute" in us conquer. The shameless andprofligate person — the
man who beats his wife — or ill-treats his children — or in any wise
tyrannises over those who are weakerthan himself, gives way to the "brute"
within him. He who grudges, envies, tries to aggrandise himself at his
neighbour's expense — he too gives way to the "brute" within him, and puts

19. on the likeness ofthe dog which snatches and snarls over his bone. He who
spends his life in cunning plots and mean tricks, gives way to the "brute" in
him, just as much as the fox or ferret. And those, let me say, who, without
giving way to those grossetvices, lettheir minds be swallowedup with vanity,
always longing to be seenand lookedat, and wondering what folks will sayof
them, they too give way to the flesh, and lowerthemselves to the likeness of
animals. As vain as a peacock,says the old proverb. And what shall we say of
them who like the swine live only for eating and drinking and enjoyment? Or
what of those who like the butterflies spend all their time in frivolous
amusement? Do not all these in some way or other live after the flesh? And do
they not fulfil St. Paul's words, "If ye live after the flesh ye shall die"?
3. But some one will say — "Of course we shall all die — goodand bad alike."
Then why does our Lord say, "He that liveth and believeth in Me shall never
die"? And why does St. Paul say, "If ye through the Spirit do mortify the
deeds of the body ye shall live"? Let us look at the text again. "If ye live after
the flesh ye shall die." If you give way to those animal passions you shall die;
not merely your bodies — they will die in any case — the animals do — for
animals they are, and as animals die they must. But over and above that, you
yourselves shall die — your character, your manhood or your womanhood,
your immortal soul will die. There is a seconddeath to which that first death
of the body is a mere trivial and harmless accident, and that may begin in this
life, and if it be not stopped and cured in time, may go on for ever.
4. This is the dark side of the matter. But there is also a bright side. "If ye
through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." If you will
be true to your better selves, if you will listen to and obey the Spirit of God,
when He puts into your hearts gooddesires, and makes you long to be just
and true, pure and sober, kind and useful. If you will castawayand trample
under foot animal passions, low vices, you shall live. You shall live, your very
soul and selffor ever — all that is merciful, kind, pure, noble, useful — in one
word, all in you that is like Christ, like God, that is spirit and not flesh, shall
live for ever. So it must be, for "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God." Those who let the Spirit of God lead them upward
instead of letting their ownanimal nature drag them downward, are the sons
of God. And how cana son of God perish? How can he perish, who like Christ

20. is full of the fruits of the Spirit? — of love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,temperance? The worlddid not give
them to him, and the world cannottake them from him. They were not
bestowedon him at his bodily birth — neither shall they be taken from him at
his bodily death.
5. Choose,especiallyyou who are young and entering into life. Remember the
parable of the old heathen. Choose in time whether the better horse shall win
or the worse. And let no one tell you, "We shall do a greatmany wrong things
before we die. Every one does that; but we hope we shall be able to make our
peace with God before we die." That kind of religion has done more harm
than most kinds of irreligion. It tells you to take your chance of beginning at
the end. Common sense tells you that the only way to get to the end is by
beginning at the beginning, which is now. Do not talk about making your
peace with God some day — like a naughty child playing truant till the last
moment, and hoping that the schoolmastermay forgetto punish it.
(Charles Kingsley, M.A.)
for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit
you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die - Though μελλετε αποθνησκεινmay
mean, ye shall afterwards die, and this seems to indicate a temporal death, yet
not exclusivelyof an eternal death; for both, and especiallythe latter, are
necessarilyimplied.

21. But if ye through the Spirit - If ye seek that grace and spiritual help which the
Gospelof Christ furnishes, resist, and, by resisting, mortify the deeds of the
flesh, againstwhich the law gave you no assistance, ye shall live a life of faith,
love, and holy obedience here, and a life of glory hereafter.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Romans 8:13". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/romans-
8.html. 1832.
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Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
For if you live … - If you live to indulge your carnal propensities, you will sink
to eternal death; Romans 7:23.
Through the Spirit - By the aid of the Spirit; by cherishing and cultivating his
influences. What is here required canbe accomplishedonly by the aid of the
Holy Spirit.
Do mortify - Do put to death; do destroy. Sin is mortified when its poweris
destroyed, and it ceases to be active.
The deeds of the body - The corrupt inclinations and passions;calleddeeds of
the body, because they are supposedto have their origin in the fleshly
appetites.
Ye shall live - You shall be happy and saved. Either your sins must die, or you
must. If they are suffered to live, you will die. If they are put to death, you will
be saved. No man canbe savedin his sins. This closes the argument of the
apostle for the superiority of the gospelto the Law in promoting the purity of
man. By this train of reasoning, he has shown that the gospelhas

22. accomplishedwhat the Law could not do - the sanctificationof the soul, the
destruction of the corrupt passions ofour nature, and the recoveryof man to
God.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon Romans 8:13". "Barnes'Notes onthe New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/romans-
8.html. 1870.
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Haldane's Expositionon the Epistle to the Romans
Forif ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify
the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die. — The reasonin the former verse
why those to whom the Apostle wrote were not debtors to live after the flesh
— under any obligation to obey its dictates — was takenfrom their
obligations to God in respectof their privileges; here it is takenfrom the
doom of those who thus live. If ye live agreeablyto your carnalnature,
without Christ and faith in Him, and according to the corrupt principles that
belong to man in the state in which he is born, ye shall die. Ye shall suffer all
the misery that throughout eternity shall be the portion of the wicked, which
is calleddeath, as death is the greatestevilin this world.
Thus the wrath of God is denounced againstall who do not live to God, in
obedience to His commands, but serve the lusts of the flesh, and do not seek
salvationin the way He has appointed, howeverharmless and even useful they
may be in society. At the same time, this proves that nothing done by the
natural man, in his best efforts and highest attainments, will leadto God and

23. to life. The Apostle thus repeats what he had affirmed in the sixth verse, that
to be carnally minded is death. But if ye through the Spirit do mortify the
deeds of this body. — The deeds of the body are the works whichcorrupt
nature produces. The believer neither indulges nor walks according to them,
but mortifies and puts them to death. Those to whom the Apostle wrote had
mortified the deeds of the body, yet they are here calledto a further
mortification of them, which imports that this is both a gradual work, and to
be continued and perseveredin while we are in the world. This shows that the
sanctificationof the believer is progressive.
Some have objectedto the doctrine of progressive sanctification, andhave
conceivedthat to assert it is a greaterror. They hold that there is no more
progress in sanctificationthan there is in justification, and that both are
complete at once on believing the truth. There is just so much truth in this as
serves to make the error plausible. It is true that there is a sense in which
believers are perfectly sanctifiedfrom the moment they believe.
That sanctification, however, is not in themselves;it is in Christ, as much as
their justification. The moment they believe, they are justified in Christ and
perfectly righteous; and the moment they believe, they are sanctifiedin Him,
and in Him are perfectly holy. Viewed in Christ, they are ‘complete.’But
there is a personalsanctification, which commences with the new birth on
believing the truth, and which is not perfectedtill death.
Many passagesofScripture import this doctrine. The following prayer of the
Apostle is explicit and decisive: — ’And the very God of peace sanctifyyou
wholly,’ 1 Thessalonians 5:23. The Apostle Peter enjoins on believers to desire
the pure milk of the word, that they may grow thereby, and begins his second
Epistle by praying that grace might be multiplied to those to whom he wrote,
and concludes it by enjoining on them to grow in grace. ‘The path of the just
is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfectday.’
Believers obtain sanctificationby the Spirit through the truth. Their
sanctification, then, must be in proportion as the truth is understood and
believed. It is through faith in Christ, Acts 26:18; if so, according to the degree
of faith will be the degree of sanctification. But all Christians are not equal in

24. faith, neither, then, are they equal in sanctification;and as a Christian
advances in faith, he advances in sanctification. If he may say, ‘Lord, increase
my faith,’ he may likewise say, ‘Lord, increase my sanctification.’He receives
the Holy Spirit only in a measure. He may and ought, therefore, to pray for a
largermeasure of influence and grace from Him who gives grace in that
measure which pleases Him. We should pray that God would grant unto us
according to the riches of His glory, that we may be strengthenedwith might
by His Spirit in the inner man. They who have already put on Christ as their
sanctifier, are still exhorted to put Him on, ch. 13:14 — that is, more and
more. There are babes in Christ, Corinthians 3:1; there are little children, and
young men, and fathers, John 2:12. Through the Spirit. — It is through the
powerof the Holy Spirit, who testifies of Christ and His salvation, and
according to the new nature which He communicates, that the believer
mortifies his sinful propensities.
It is not then of himself, of his own power or will, that he is able to do this.
‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves;but
our sufficiencyis of God.’ No man overcomes the corruptions of his heart but
by the influence of the Spirit of God. Though it is the Spirit of God who
enables us to mortify the deeds of the body, yet it is also said to be our own
act. We do this through the Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in men according to
the constitution that God has given them. The same work is, in one point of
view, the work of God, and in another the work of man. Ye shall live. — Here
eternal life is promised to all who, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the
body. The promise of life by the Gospelis not made to the work, but to the
worker;and to the worker, not for or on accountof his work, but according to
his work, for the sake of Christ’s work. The promise, then, of life is not made
to the work of mortification, but to him that mortifies his flesh; and that not
for his mortification, but because he is in Christ, of which this mortification is
the effectand the evidence. That they who mortify the flesh shall live, is quite
consistentwith the truth that the gift of God is eternallife, Romans 6:23; and
in this gift there is no respectto the merit of the receiver. This describes the
characterof all who shall receive eternallife; and it is of greatimportance.

25. It takes awayevery ground of hope from those who profess to know God, and
in works deny Him; for they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts.
In all this we are reminded that, while we cannot in this life attain to the
fulfilling of the law in our ownpersons, we must seek to be conformed to that
law, and so mortify the old man in our members, otherwise it is a proof that
we have no part in the righteousnessofChrist. Forcan it be supposed that by
Him we are absolvedfrom sin in order to obtain a license to continue in sin
ourselves? Onthe contrary, our justification and our sanctification, as is
shown in the sixth chapter, are inseparable. Jesus Christcame by water and
blood; not by wateronly, but by water and blood, — signifying by the blood
the expiation of the guilt of our sins by His death, and by waterthe virtue of
His Spirit for our sanctificationin washing our souls from the pollution of sin.
In like manner, under the law, there were not only sacrificesofanimals whose
blood was shed, but various washings, to teach us that these two benefits are
inseparable in the Gospel. Accordingly, when David describes the blessedness
of the man whose transgressionis forgiven, whose sin is covered, unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity, he immediately adds, in whose spirits there is
no guile. For ought we to wish to receive the remission of sin, and to continue
to walk in guile? Ought we thus to seek to divide Christ, receiving only the
efficacyof His blood and not that of His Spirit; desiring that He should be
made to us righteousness andnot also sanctification? We are to seek in Him
the cause ofour justification, and observe in ourselves its proofs and effects.
We should see that, as we are pilgrims in this world, we have for our guide the
Spirit of sanctification.
Copyright Statement
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Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography

26. Haldane, Robert. "Commentary on Romans 8:13". "Haldane's Exposition on
the Epistle to the Romans and Hebrews".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hal/romans-8.html. 1835.
return to 'Jump List'
The Biblical Illustrator
Romans 8:13
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Sin and death, or grace and life
I. If sin live in us, we shall die.
1. To live “afterthe flesh” is to obey the orders of our corrupt nature; to
gratify its sinful desires without regard to or in contradiction of the will of
God. And this will appear if we consider--
2. Now, mark the consequence ofliving after the flesh; “ye shall die I”
(Romans 8:6; 1 Timothy 5:6; Ephesians 2:1; Romans 6:2). What else could be
reasonablyexpected? There are but two eternalstates, and every man is
training up for one of these. The carnal man is unfit for heaven; for all the
joys and employments of the blessedare spiritual.
II. If sin die in us, we shall live.
1. To mortify sin is to put it to death, as the magistrates put a felon to death by
due course ofjustice; he is suspected, apprehended, tried, and executed.
Crucifixion is the manner of killing it which God has appointed (Galatians
5:24). This is--
2. By what means may we effectually mortify sin? “Through the Spirit.” We
must first have the Spirit, that we may experience His sanctifying power. The
Spirit helps us to mortify sin--

27. 3. This promised help of the Spirit does not exclude the use of means on our
part. The Spirit so works in us, as also to work by us. The duty is ours; the
grace is His.
4. Thus doing, we “shall live.” There is no condemnation to persons of this
character. This is an evidence that they have “passedfrom death unto life”
(John 5:24). They live indeed, for Christ liveth in them. They live to God; and
in this, their gradual sanctification, consiststheir meetness for heaven, where
sin shall be all done away. But, oh sinner, what will be the end of thy present
pursuits? (Romans 6:21). (G. Burder.)
Grace the only source of goodness
I. Without God, endless conflict.
1. “The body” or “the flesh” (Romans 7:25; Galatians 5:17) or “the earthly
members” (Colossians 3:5;Romans 8:23).
(a) Our animal appetites (Galatians 5:19, “fornication,” etc.).
(b) Our selfish passions (Galatians 5:20, “hatred,” etc.).
(c) Our mental perversities (Galatians 5:20, “idolatry,” etc.)--
all those false notions which are called (Ephesians 2:3) the working of the
understanding that judges according to sense, as distinguished from the pure
reason(Romans 1:21).
2. “The spirit,” “the mind,” “the inward man” (Romans 7:22-23)is the source
of our--
3. These workings of“the Spirit” are in endless conflict with the workings of
the flesh (Galatians 5:17;Romans 8:7-25), but with no sufficient power to
overcome them (Romans 7:18-19;Matthew 26:41); so that the result is only
self-contradiction, self-condemnation, misery, and death (Romans 7:24).

28. II. With God, final victory (Romans 8:2-4). “The deeds of the body,” or
“works ofthe flesh” (Galatians 5:19), mean the products of our lower nature,
whether of thought, or feeling, or act. To “mortify,” “crucify” (Galatians
5:24), “deaden” them (Colossians 3:5), is to reduce them to impotence.
Observe the antithesis:If ye put to death your animal nature, you yourself,
who are spirit, shall live. And this death of sin is to be effectedby the life of
God in the soul.
1. Raise us above sin. God’s Spirit in us raises us into the region of spirit. And
in this atmosphere sin cannotreachus (1 John 5:18). The thought of sin is
most alien when the thought of God is most vivid. In fellowship with holy men,
how hateful sin appears!How much more, therefore, when in fellowshipwith
the Holy One? Aaron down in the plain was soonseducedfrom God’s
commandments. Moses in the mount graspedthem firmly with both hands.
Whence the importance of prayer (Matthew 17:21).
2. Hearten us againstsin (Romans 8:15). Knowing that we are on God’s side,
we know also that God is on our side (Genesis 6:24;Numbers 19:9; 2 Kings
6:16; Isaiah 41:10). And so the animation of Moses fills us: “Fearnot I Stand
still, and see the salvation Godcan work” (Exodus 14:13-14). Jesus, full of the
spirit of Sonship, put back easilyall the suggestionsofthe tempter.
3. Make us triumphant over sin. The things impossible to man by himself are
possible to him with God (1 John 4:4; Ephesians 6:10; Philippians 4:13).
(Preb. Griffith.)
Mortificationa Christian duty
In the text itself there are two generalparts considerable. First, a conditional
threatening or dreadful commination upon supposition of miscarriage:“If ye
live after the flesh, ye shall die.” When it is said of such persons that they shall
die, we must take it in the full latitude and extent of death, that is--First, as to
temporal death, or natural, which consists in the mere separationof soul and
body. This it holds good, according to a twofoldaccount. First, in the course of
God’s justice, who hath so ordained it and appointed it (Romans 1:32).
Secondly, from a connectionof the cause with the effect. Sin, and especiallya
living and conversing in the ways of it, brings death. Secondly, spiritual death,

29. which consists in deprivation of grace, andholiness, and peace, and spiritual
comfort. “If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die.” Thirdly, there is another
death, and that is death eternal. The separationof soul and body from God
for everin hell. And this is also consequentupon living after the flesh. The
secondis the conditional promise or comfortable intimation upon supposition
of repentance and new obedience in these: “But if ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the flesh,” etc. Wherein againwe have four particulars.
First, to speak ofthe duty itself, which is mortification. “If ye,” etc. This is a
duty which lies upon every Christian, to exercise andinure himself to
mortification, that is, to the killing and crucifying of sin in him. For the better
opening of this present point unto us, there are two things especiallywhich are
here to be declared by us. First, wherein this mortifying of sin, whereofwe
now speak, does mainly and principally consist. And this we may take
according to these following explications. First, it does imply an active and
spontaneous oppositionof sin of our own accord. Secondly, it does imply
difficulty and trouble in the performance of it. Dying, it is usually with some
pain: as being that which nature does struggle with and strive against,
especiallyviolent death and that which follows upon killing. This, it is painful,
especially. Creatednature does not more abhor natural death, the death of the
body, than corrupted nature does abhor this mystical death. The killing of sin.
Oh, it is that which a carnalperson cannotendure to hear or think of. This
arises from that strength and settlement which sin hath in the heart. As we see
it is againin nature, that those who have the strongestconstitutions, they have
commonly the painfullest deaths. Even so is it likewise in grace:those who
have the strongestcorruption, they have the hardest mortification. Thirdly,
this mortification, it does imply a weakening ofthe powerand vigour of sin in
us. That look as a body which is dead, it is thereby made unserviceable and
unfit for the actions of life. So a man also, that is spiritually mortified, sin is in
him made unactive and unfit for the former services andperformances which
proceededfrom it. Fourthly, it implies universality, that is, a resisting of all
kind of sin, without exception. Killing, it is a destroying of life in every part.
There must not be only a restraining of some sins, but a fighting againstall.
Where any one reigns there is no true mortification. Fifthly and lastly, it
implies continuance and the often renewing of this acttime after time. The
secondis the grounds or reasons whichdo make for the performance of it,

30. which may be reduced to these heads. First, the nature of sin and the thing
itself, which is to be mortified, and that is our mortal and deadly enemy. “If a
man find his enemy,” says Saul, “will he let him go well away?” Enmity, it
invites destructionas well as threatens it. Secondly, there is reasonfor it also
from that powerwhich is wrought in a Christian by Christ’s Spirit tending
thereto, and the specialvirtue which is contained in the death and sufferings
of Christ to this purpose. Because ye are dead and risen with Christ, therefore
“mortify your earthly members,” etc. Thirdly, it is requisite also from that
obedience which we owe to God in the whole course of our lives. No man can
be alive to God, that is, perform lively service to Him, but he that is first dead
to sin, that is, that hath sin and corruption first crucified and mortified in
him. Fourthly, as an evidence of our justification and the forgiveness ofour
sins unto us. No man can be so comfortably assuredthat his sin is pardoned
that does not find his sin mortified. Wherever sin remains in the power of it, it
remains also in the guilt of it. To quicken and provoke us so much the more
hereunto, let us take in these considerations with us. First, the command of
God, who has laid this duty upon us. Secondly, our own interest and the great
goodwhich we reap from it, both in point of grace and comfort, and at last of
salvationitself, as it follows afterwards in the text, where it is said, “Ye shall
live.” Thirdly, the evil of the contrary, and the great disparagementwhich lies
upon sin unmortified. Sin it is an odious business in many respects, andhath
sundry inconveniences with it. First, there is no true pleasure or contentment
in it. Secondly, sin is also insatiable, and the more that men give wayunto it
the more it prevails still upon them. Thirdly, sin is deceitful and dangerous. It
makes us slaves to Satan; it makes us enemies to God; it crucifies Christ; it
fights againstthe soul. Now for the right performance of this duty, and that
we may do it so as we should do, it is requisite for us to take notice of these
three following rules, or directions, which conduce hereto. First, there must be
a steadfastpurpose of opposing and resisting of sin with might and main.
Secondly, there must be a diligent heed for the avoiding of all occasions ofsin
and all inducements which lead thereunto. Thirdly, there must be a
conscionable use ofall such means as serve to the subduing of sin in us. What
are they? First, a soberand moderate use of the creatures in those things
which in their own nature are lawful and warrantable. Secondly, prayer and
fasting; that is another help likewise. Thirdly, and principally, an actof faith

31. in the death and sufferings of Christ. The secondis the objectof this duty, or
the matter which it is conversantabout. And that is here expressedto be the
deeds of the body. What is the meaning of this? that is, indeed, the sins and
miscarriages ofthe whole man. We are not here to take it in the limited sense
only, but in the extended. This work of mortification, it begins first of all in
the inward man, and so ends in the outward; only the outward is here
mentioned and named. And it is said the deeds of the body expressly, because
the body it is that wherein sin does especiallyshow and discoveritself;
whereas the mind is not so easilydiscerned in the corruptions of it. So 2
Corinthians 5:10. The things which are done in the body, though
comprehending the soul likewise, the actions of the whole person;and
Colossians 3:9, the old man with his deeds. The third particular is the
principle whence this duty doth proceedin us, or the means whereby we
perform it. And that is here expressedto be the Spirit. “If ye by the Spirit,”
etc. By the Spirit we are here to understand the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit
which is calledso emphatically. Mortification of sin is the proper work of this
Spirit in us, and is effectedin no other way. The same Spirit that is active in
quickening of us and in infusing of grace into us; the same Spirit is also active
in mortifying of us and in killing of sin in us. This must needs be so upon these
following considerations. First, from the strength and power of sin, and that
rooting which it hath in the soul. None canovercome the strong man, but
some one that is strongerthan he indeed is. Secondly, from the proper means
of the killing of sin in us, which, as we showedbefore, is the application of
Christ’s death unto us. Now, this is done only by the Spirit which is active in
us to this purpose. Thirdly, from the covenantof grace whichGod hath made
with all believers, which is to bestow His Spirit upon them to this purpose, as
Ezekiel36:27. The fourth, and last, is the benefit or reward consequentupon
it. That is in these words, “Ye shall live.” It holds goodin all the notions and
specifications oflife whatsoever. First, of natural life, “Length of days is in her
right hand “ (Proverbs 3:16). Secondly, of spiritual life, “I am crucified with
Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith,” etc. Thirdly, of eternallife (Romans
6:22), “Ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” And
Galatians 6:8, “He that sowethto the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption.”
(Thomas Horton, D.D.)

32. Mortification
I. The act--“Mortify.”
1. Sin is active in the soulof an unregenerate man. Justificationsupposeth
guilt, sanctificationfilth, mortification life, preceding those acts.
2. Nothing but the death of sin must content a renewedsoul. No indulgence to
be shown to it; not the loss of a member, but the loss of its life. As nothing but
the death of Christ mould satisfy the justice of God, so nothing but the death
of sin must satisfythe justice of the soul.
3. “Do mortify.” The time present. As sin must have no pardon, so it must
have no reprieve. Dangerous enemies must be handled with a quick severity.
4. “Do mortify.” It notes a continued act. It must be a quick and an
uninterrupted severity,
II. The object--“The deeds of the body.”
1. Mortificationmust be universal; not one deed, but deeds, little and great.
Though the main battle be routed, yet the wings of an army may getthe
victory.
2. The body signifies corrupt nature, deeds are the products of it; all the
sparks issue from the furnace within.
3. The greatestobjectof our revenge is within us. Our enemy has got
possessionofour souls, which makes the work more difficult. An enemy may
better be kept out than castout when he has got possession.
III. The agents--“ye,”“the Spirit.”

33. 1. Man must be an agentin this work. We have brought this rebel into our
souls, and Godwould have us make as it were some recompence by
endeavouring to castit out.
2. Through the Spirit.
IV. The promise--“Ye shall live.”
1. Heaven is a place for conquerors only (Revelation3:21). He that will be
sin’s friend, cannot be God’s favourite. There must be a combat before a
victory, and a victory before a triumph.
2. The more perfectour mortification, the clearerour assurance ofglory. The
more sin dies, the more the soul lives.
3. Mortificationis a sure sign of saving grace. It is a sign of the Spirit’s
indwelling and powerful acting, a sign of an approach to heaven. (S.
Charnock, B.D.)
The mortification of sin
I. What mortification is.
1. A breaking of the league naturally held with sin (Ephesians 5:11; Hosea
14:8).
2. A declarationof open hostility. When leagues betweenprinces are broken
war ensues. This hostility begins in cutting off all the supplies of sin (Romans
13:14, etc.).
3. A powerful resistance, by using all the weapons ofthe Christian armoury
(Ephesians 6:13-14, etc.).
4. A killing of sin.
II. How we may judge of our mortification.

34. 1. Negatively.
(a) An exchange. It may be a divorce from a sin odious to the world, and an
embracing another that hath more specious pretences.
(b) A cessationfrom some outward gross acts only, not from a want of will to
sin. There may be pride, ambition, covetousness, uncleanness, whenthey are
not externally acted; which is more dangerous, as infectious diseases are when
they are hindered by cold from a kindly eruption, and strike inward to the
heart, and so prove mortal.
(c) A cessationmerelybecause of the alteration of the constitution. Lust reigns
in young men, but its empire decays in an old withered body; some plants
which grow in hot countries will die in colder climates. Ambition decays in age
when strength is wasted, but sprouts up in a young man. A present sickness
may make an epicure nauseate the dainties which he would before rake even
in the sea to procure.
(d) A cessationmay be forced by some forethoughts of death, some pang of
conscience, orsome judgment of God; which as a pain in one part of the body
may take awaya man’s appetite, but when removed, his appetite returns.
(e) A cessationfrom want of opportunity.
(a) Mortification is always from an inward principle, restraints from an
outward. A restraint is merely a pull back, by a strongerpower, but
mortification is from a strength given, a new mettle put into the soul
(Ephesians 3:16).
(b) Mortification proceeds from an angerwith, and a hatred of, sin, whereas
restraints are from a fear of the consequents ofsin; as a man may love the
wine, which is as yet too hot for his lips.
(c) Mortification is a voluntary, rational work of the soul; restraints are not
so.
2. Positively. The signs are--

35. III. The reasons why there canbe no expectationof eternal life without
mortification. An unmortified frame is--
1. Unsuitable to a state of glory (Colossians1:12). Conformity to Christ is to
fit us for heaven, He descendedto the grave before He ascended;so our sins
must die before our souls can mount. It is very unsuitable for sin’s drudges to
have a saint’s portion. Every vesselmust be emptied of its foul waterbefore it
can receive that which is clean. No man pours rich wine into old casks.
2. Such as God cannot delight in. To delight in such would be to have no
delight in his own nature. To keepsin alive is to defend it againstthe will of
God, and to challenge the combatwith our Maker.
3. Against the whole design of the gospel. Ratherthan sin should not die,
Christ would die Himself; it is therefore a high disesteemof Christ to preserve
the life of sin, and if we defend what He died to conquer, how canwe expectto
enjoy what He died to purchase? Forwhat the grace ofthe gospeldoth more
especiallyteach, readTitus 2:4; Psalms 5:4. It is an inseparable characterof
them that are Christ’s, that “they have crucified the flesh with the affections
and lusts.”
Conclusion:Let us labour to mortify sin. If we will not be the death of sin, sin
will be the death of our souls.
1. Implore the help of the Spirit.
2. Listen to His convictions.
3. Pleadthe death of Christ, the end of which was to triumph over sin.
4. Often think of Divine precepts.
5. Be jealous of our own hearts. Venture not to breathe in corrupt air, for fear
of infection.
6. Bless Godfor whatsoevermortifying grace we have received. (S. Charnock,
B.D.)
Life in mortification of the flesh

36. I. What it is to mortify. This word occurs but twice in the whole Scriptures--in
the text, and in Colossians 3:5.
1. “To mortify” is now commonly used in a far less extreme sense than its
original signification. Thus we speak of mortified pride, which has been
simply disappointed of its passing object;whereas to mortify is to be in a
process ofdeath, though joined to something living--as a diseasedlimb may be
mortified, while the other parts of the body are healthy; and it is only by the
process ofthe healthy part of the body casting off from itself the mortified
flesh, that the whole system can escape dissolution. In this sense we are to
understand the mortification of the carnaland ungodly desires, which the
powerof Divine grace, the vital energyof the new creature, will enable it to
castfrom itself, and thereby save the soul alive, which the process ofmoral
putrefaction had otherwise corrupted and slain. Hence the striking force of
the injunctions--“Crucify the flesh”; “put awaythe old man”; “castout the
bondwoman”; “cut off the offending right hand,” or “pluck out the right eye.”
2. Then to mortify sin is not to deal equivocally with it, to fight againstits
practices and leave untouched the principle, as Saul slew the Amalekites, but
spared Agag. To mortify sin is not merely to smite and oppose it, but to put it
to death--to have “no confidence in the flesh”--to “yield no member to
uncleanness”--to “denyall ungodliness and worldly lusts”--to “avoid the very
appearance ofevil”--to “let it not be so much as named among you as
becomethsaints.” It means, that “if sinners entice, we are to consentnot”; but
in every sense to “be not overcome with evil,” but to “resistthe devil, and he
will flee from us,” clinging hard and fastby “the God of peace, who shall
bruise Satan under our feet shortly.”
II. What is to be mortified? “The deeds of the body”--that is, not one deed, but
all, whether of the inward or of the outward man. This may be illustrated by
the injunction--“If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out”; not that Jesus
would have us literally maim the body which He createdperfect. But as He
had just been speaking ofthe adultery of the eye, as distinguished from, yet

37. identified in guilt with the actual sin, and there calledit “the adultery of the
heart,” His meaning is, that we should begin the cure of sin at the seatof the
disease, the corrupt heart--that we should destroythe fruits of sin by plucking
up the lust at its roots. What so delicate, so useful, or so expressive a feature as
the right eye!But if rather than sin, and imperil the whole body, the right eye
is to be plucked out, then we learn that the tenderestaffections and the most
necessarycomforts that would impair the beauty of holiness are all to be
sacrificed. Again, “If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off.” The right hand is
the emblem of dignity--Joseph sits at the right hand of Pharaoh;of power
“Thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things”; of friendship--“To me and
Barnabas the right hand of fellowship”;of covenants--“ThoughConiahwere
the signeton My right hand”; of industry and business--“Letmy right hand
forgether cunning.”If, then, the “right hand” that casts a stumbling-block in
our way is to be “cut off,” then is the place of seculardignity to be resigned, if
we find it lifting up our hearts above humility. And the post of power must be
renounced if we discoverthat it has led us to forgetour weakness apartfrom
God. And the bond of friendship, if it has led us to softendown the points of
distinction betweenthe worldling and the believer, must be broken. And the
covenantwith ungodliness must be dissolved. Even industry in business may
be in our way, and if so we must consentto mortification here. Bettercut off
the hand than lose the head; rather maim the body than mar the soul. If
religion be worth anything, it is worth everything; therefore sacrifice anything
but Christ.
III. By whom the deeds of the body are to be mortified? There are two agents-
-the one active, the Holy Spirit; the other passive, the believer himself. “If ye
through the Spirit do mortify.” We cando nothing without Him; He will do
nothing without us.
IV. The animating result of the successfulconflictwith the flesh. “Ye shall
live” a life of grace and holiness, of estrangementfrom the world and

38. communion with God; of happiness, usefulness, and comfort on earth, and of
glory and blessednessin heaven. (J. B. Owen, M.A.)
Higher or lower:which shall win
1. We shall all agree, who have tried to do right and avoid wrong, that there
goes onin us a strange struggle. We wish to do a right thing, and at the very
same time long to do a wrong one, as if we were a better and a worse man
struggling for the mastery. One may conquer, or the other. We may be like
the drunkard who cannot help draining off his liquor, though he knows that it
is going to kill him; or we may be like the man who conquers his love for
drink, and puts the liquor away, because he knows that he ought not to take it.
We know too well, many of us, how painful this inward struggle is. We all
understand too wellhow Paul was ready at times to cry. “Oh wretchedman
that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” We can
understand too the parable of Plato, who says, that the soul of man is like a
chariot, guided by a man’s will, but drawn by two horses--the one horse white,
beautiful and noble, well-brokenand winged, always trying to rise and fly
upward with the chariot toward heaven; but the other black, evil, and
unmanageable, always trying to rush downward, and drag the chariotand the
driver into hell.
2. In the text St. Paul explains this struggle. First, there is a flesh in us--that is,
an animal nature. We come into the world as animals do-eat, drink, sleepas
they do--have the same passions as they have--and our carnal bodies die
exactly as they die. But are we nothing more? God forbid. We know that to be
a man we must be something more than a mere brute--for when we call any
one a brute, what do we mean? That he has given himself up to his animal
nature till the man in him is dead, and only the brute remains. Our giving way
to the same selfish, shameless passions, whichwe see in the loweranimals, is
letting the “brute” in us conquer. The shameless andprofligate person--the
man who beats his wife--orill-treats his children--or in any wise tyrannises
over those who are weakerthan himself, gives way to the “brute” within him.
He who grudges, envies, tries to aggrandise himself at his neighbour’s
expense--he too gives way to the “brute” within him, and puts on the likeness
of the dog which snatches and snarls over his bone. He who spends his life in

39. cunning plots and mean tricks, gives way to the “brute” in him, just as much
as the fox or ferret. And those, let me say, who, without giving way to those
grossetvices, lettheir minds be swallowedup with vanity, always longing to
be seenand lookedat, and wondering what folks will say of them, they too
give way to the flesh, and lowerthemselves to the likeness ofanimals. As vain
as a peacock,says the old proverb. And what shall we say of them who like the
swine live only for eating and drinking and enjoyment? Or what of those who
like the butterflies spend all their time in frivolous amusement? Do not all
these in some way or other live after the flesh? And do they not fulfil St.
Paul’s words, “If ye live after the flesh ye shall die”?
3. But some one will say--“Ofcourse we shall all die--good and bad alike.”
Then why does our Lord say, “He that liveth and believeth in Me shall never
die”? And why does St. Paul say, “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the
deeds of the body ye shall live”? Let us look at the text again. “If ye live after
the flesh ye shall die.” If you give way to those animal passions you shall die;
not merely your bodies--they will die in any case--the animals do--for animals
they are, and as animals die they must. But over and above that, you
yourselves shall die--your character, your manhood or your womanhood, your
immortal soul will die. There is a seconddeath to which that first death of the
body is a mere trivial and harmless accident, and that may begin in this life,
and if it be not stopped and cured in time, may go on for ever.
4. This is the dark side of the matter. But there is also a bright side. “If ye
through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” If you will
be true to your better selves, if you will listen to and obey the Spirit of God,
when He puts into your hearts gooddesires, and makes you long to be just
and true, pure and sober, kind and useful. If you will castawayand trample
under foot animal passions, low vices, you shall live. You shall live, your very
soul and selffor ever--all that is merciful, kind, pure, noble, useful--in one
word, all in you that is like Christ, like God, that is spirit and not flesh, shall
live for ever. So it must be, for “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God.” Those who let the Spirit of God lead them upward
instead of letting their ownanimal nature drag them downward, are the sons
of God. And how cana son of God perish? How can he perish, who like Christ
is full of the fruits of the Spirit?--of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,

40. goodness,faith, meekness, temperance?The world did not give them to him,
and the world cannottake them from him. They were not bestowedonhim at
his bodily birth--neither shall they be takenfrom him at his bodily death.
5. Choose,especiallyyou who are young and entering into life. Remember the
parable of the old heathen. Choose in time whether the better horse shall win
or the worse. And let no one tell you, “We shall do a greatmany wrong things
before we die. Every one does that; but we hope we shall be able to make our
peace with God before we die.” That kind of religion has done more harm
than most kinds of irreligion. It tells you to take your chance of beginning at
the end. Common sense tells you that the only way to get to the end is by
beginning at the beginning, which is now. Do not talk about making your
peace with God some day--like a naughty child playing truant till the last
moment, and hoping that the schoolmastermay forgetto punish it. (Charles
Kingsley, M.A.)
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "Romans 8:13". The BiblicalIllustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/romans-8.html. 1905-1909.
New York.
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John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die,.... Such persons are dead, whilst they
live, and shall die a secondor an eternal death, if grace prevent not. It may be

41. asked, whetherone that has receivedthe grace ofGod in truth, can live after
the flesh; flesh, or corrupt nature, though still in such a person, has not the
dominion over him: to live in sin, or in a continued course of sinning, is
contrary to the grace ofGod; but flesh may prevail and greatlyinfluence the
life and conversation, for a while; how long this may be the case ofa true
believer, under backslidings, through the powerof corruptions and
temptations, cannotbe known; but certain it is, that it shall not be always thus
with him. It may be further inquired, whether such an one may be so left to
live after the flesh, as to die and perish eternally; Christ expresslysays, such
shall not die that live and believe in him; grace, which is implanted in their
souls, is an incorruptible and never dying seed;grace and glory are
inseparably connectedtogether;but then such persons may die with respectto
their frames, their comforts and the lively exercise ofgrace, which seems to be
here intended; as appears from the next clause,
but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. This
is not to be understood of the mortification of the body itself; nor does it
design any macerationor afflicting of it by any severities of life; nor of the
destruction of the body of sin by Christ: or of the being and principles of sin
in the saints by the Spirit of Christ; which is contrary to Scripture, to the
experience of the saints, who find it in them, alive in them, and to their
expectations, whilstin this world: nor is this mortification to be consideredas
a part of regeneration, which by some divines is made to consistin a sense of
sin, grief for it, and hatred of it, in avoiding it, and in an expulsion of vicious
habits and inclinations; but it should be observed, that the apostle is writing to
persons that were already regenerate;nor does he ever exhort persons to
regenerate themselves,which he would do here, if this was the sense;
regenerationis a work of the Spirit of God, in which men are passive, whereas
in the mortification here spokenof the saints are active, under the influence of
the Spirit of God; besides, regenerationis done at once, and does not admit of
degrees;and in and by that, sin, as to its being and principle, is so far from
being destroyed, that it seems rather to revive in the sense and apprehension
of regeneratedpersons:but it is a mortification of the outward actings of sin
in the conversation, called, "the deeds of the body": and in the Claromontane
exemplar, and in the Vulgate Latin version, "the deeds of the flesh": or as the

42. Syriac version renders it, ‫,יכפוה‬ "the conversations", ormanners of it, and so
the Ethiopic version; that is, its outward course of life: and it signifies a
subduing and weakening the vigour and powerof sin in the lives and
conversations ofthe saints, to which the grace and assistanceofthe Spirit are
absolutely necessary;and such who are enabled to do so, "shalllive"
comfortably; they shall have communion with Christ here, and shall live a life
of glory with him hereafter. Such a way of speaking as this is used by the
Jews;say theyF1,
"whatshall a man do that he may live? it is replied, ‫י‬ llahs eh" ,‫עצמו‬ ‫מית‬
mortify himself";'
which the gloss explains by "he shall humble himself"; walk humbly before
God and men, in his life and conversation.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Romans 8:13". "The New John Gill Exposition
of the Entire Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/romans-8.html. 1999.
return to 'Jump List'
Geneva Study Bible
15 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

43. (15) Another reasonfor the profit that follows:for those who battle and fight
valiantly will have everlasting life.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon Romans 8:13". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/romans-8.html.
1599-1645.
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die — in the sense ofRomans 6:21.
but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body — (See on
Romans 7:23).
ye shall live — in the sense of Romans 6:22. The apostle is not satisfiedwith
assuring them that they are under no obligations to the flesh, to hearkento its
suggestions, without reminding them where it will end if they do; and he uses
the word “mortify” (put to death) as a kind of play upon the word “die” just
before. “If ye do not kill sin, it will kill you.” But he tempers this by the bright
alternative, that if they do, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the body,
such a course will infallibly terminate in “life” everlasting. And this leads the
apostle into a new line of thought, opening into his final subject, the “glory”
awaiting the justified believer.
Note,
(1) “There can be no safety, no holiness, no happiness, to those who are out of
Christ: No “safety,” becauseallsuch are under the condemnation of the law
(Romans 8:1); no holiness, because suchonly as are united to Christ have the

44. spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9); no happiness, because to be “carnally minded is
death” (Romans 8:6)” [Hodge].
(2) The sanctificationof believers, as it has its whole foundation in the atoning
death, so it has its living spring in the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ
(Romans 8:2-4).
(3) “The bent of the thoughts, affections, and pursuits, is the only decisive test
of character(Romans 8:5)” [Hodge].
(4) No human refinement of the carnal mind will make it spiritual, or
compensate for the absence ofspirituality. “Flesh” and“spirit” are essentially
and unchangeably opposed;nor can the carnalmind, as such, be brought into
real subjectionto the law of God (Romans 8:5-7). Hence
(5) the estrangementof God and the sinner is mutual. For as the sinner‘s state
of mind is “enmity againstGod” (Romans 8:7), so in this state he “cannot
please God” (Romans 8:8).
(6) Since the Holy Ghost is, in the same breath, calledindiscriminately “the
Spirit of God,” “the Spirit of Christ,” and “Christ” Himself (as an indwelling
life in believers), the essentialunity and yet Personaldistinctness ofthe
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, m the one adorable Godhead must be
believed, as the only consistentexplanation of such language (Romans 8:9-11).
(7) The consciousnessofspiritual life in our renewedsouls is a glorious
assurance ofresurrectionlife in the body also, in virtue of the same
quickening Spirit whose inhabitation we already enjoy (Romans 8:11).
(8) Whatever professions ofspiritual life men may make, it remains eternally
true that “if we live after the flesh we shall die,” and only “if we through the
Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body we shall live” (Romans 8:13, and
compare Galatians 6:7, Galatians 6:8; Ephesians 5:6; Philemon 3:18,
Philemon 3:19; 1 John 3:7, 1 John 3:8).

45. Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Romans 8:13". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/romans-8.html. 1871-8.
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Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Ye must die (μελλετε αποτνησκειν — mellete apothnēskein). Present
indicative of μελλω — mellō to be about to do and present active infinitive of
αποτνησκω — apothnēskō to die. “Ye are on the point of dying.” Eternal
death.
By the spirit (πνευματι — pneumati). Holy Spirit, instrumental case.
Ye shall live (ζησεστε — zēsesthe). Future active indicative of ζαω — zaō
Eternal life.
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography

46. Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on Romans 8:13". "Robertson's Word
Pictures of the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/romans-8.html.
Broadman Press 1932,33.Renewal1960.
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Vincent's Word Studies
Ye shall die ( μέλλετε ἀποθνήσκειν)
The expressionis strongerthan the simple future of the verb. It indicates a
necessaryconsequence. So Rev., ye must.
Mortify ( θανατοῦτε )
Put to death.
Deeds ( πράξεις )
Habitual practices. See onRomans 7:15; see on John 3:21.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon Romans 8:13". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/romans-8.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
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Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

47. The deeds of the flesh — Not only evil actions, but evil desires, tempers,
thoughts.
If ye mortify — Kill, destroy these.
Ye shall live — The life of faith more abundantly here, and hereafter the life
of glory.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Romans 8:13". "John Wesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/romans-8.html. 1765.
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Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
13.Forif ye will live after the flesh, etc. He adds a threatening, in order more
effectually to shake off their torpor; by which also they are fully confuted who
boastof justification by faith without the Spirit of Christ, though they are
more than sufficiently convictedby their own conscience;for there is no
confidence in God, where there is no love of righteousness.It is indeed true,
that we are justified in Christ through the mercy of God alone;but it is
equally true and certain, that all who are justified are calledby the Lord, that
they may live worthy of their vocation. Let then the faithful learn to embrace
him, not only for justification, but also for sanctification, as he has been given
to us for both these purposes, lest they rend him asunder by their mutilated
faith.

48. But if ye by the Spirit, etc. He thus moderates his address, that he might not
dejectthe minds of the godly, who are still conscious ofmuch infirmity; for
howeverwe may as yet be exposedto sins, he nevertheless promises life to us,
provided we strive to mortify the flesh: for he does not strictly require the
destruction of the flesh, but only bids us to make every exertion to subdue its
lusts.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on Romans 8:13". "Calvin's Commentary on the
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/romans-8.html.
1840-57.
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Vv. 13. In this way the regenerate manhimself would go on to death. So the
flesh will rewardus for our fidelity in discharging our debt to it.— ΄έλλετε:
"there is nothing for you but to die; such is the only future which awaits you."
Now was the time to resume the sentence whichhad been begun: "Ye are
under obligation...to the Spirit." But the apostle supposes this idea to come
out clearlyenough from the expressedcontrast:not to the flesh, and continues
as if he had expressedit: "But if through the Spirit," etc. Whither does this
principle, whose impelling powertakes the place of the flesh, leadus? To
death also;to the death of the flesh, and thereby to life: ye shall live. The
rhythm of this verse is quite similar to that observedby Calvin in Romans
7:9-10; Romans 13 a, the life of the flesh is the death of Prayerof Manasseh
1:13 b, the death of the flesh is the life of man. Why does the apostle say:the
works of the body, and not of the flesh? This difference already struck certain
Greco-Latincopyists, who have soughtto correctthe text in this direction. But

49. it is unnecessary. The complement: of the body, is not here the genitive of the
instrument, but that of the author. The acts of which the body is the simple
instrument are not its own. Paul would suppress those of which it is the
independent author, and wherein, consequently, it withdraws from the
dominion of the Spirit. These should come to an end, because in the Christian
the Spirit should direct and penetrate all, even his eating and drinking,
according to the example quoted by the apostle, 1 Corinthians 10:31. In all
these acts of life the body should not guide, but be guided. Every act of
sacrifice wherebythe independence of the body is denied, and its submission
to the spirit forcibly asserted, secures a growthof spiritual life in man. It is
only as a void is clearedin the domain of the flesh, that the efficacyof the
Spirit shows itself with new force. Thus is explained the ye shall live, which
applies to every moment of the believer"s existence onto the state of
perfection.
This last word: ye shall live, becomes the theme of the following passage. For
the two attributes sonand heir of God, which are about to be developed, the
one in Romans 8:14-16, the other in Romans 8:17, exhaust the notion of life.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Godet, Frédéric Louis. "Commentary on Romans 8:13". "Frédéric Louis
Godet- Commentary on SelectedBooks".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsc/romans-8.html.
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Scofield's ReferenceNotes
mortify
make to die the doings of the body.

50. Copyright Statement
These files are consideredpublic domain and are a derivative of an electronic
edition that is available in the Online Bible Software Library.
Bibliography
Scofield, C. I. "ScofieldReferenceNoteson Romans 8:13". "Scofield
Reference Notes(1917Edition)".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/srn/romans-8.html. 1917.
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John Trapp Complete Commentary
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Ver. 13. If we live after the flesh] We must not think to pass E coeno ad
Caelum, from the mire to heaven, to dance with the devil all day, and sup with
Christ at night, to fly to heaven with pleasantwings. Beetles love dunghills
better than ointments; and swine love mud better than a garden; so do swinish
people their lusts, better than the lives of their souls. At Paris ut vivat
regnetque beatus, Cogiposse negat. (Horat.)That carnal cardinal said, that he
would not part with his part in Paris for Paradise.
But if ye mortify the deeds, &c.] Either a man must kill here, or be killed, Aut
fer, aut feri, as Queen Elizabeth often sighed and said to herselfconcerning
the Queenof Scots. Valentinian the emperor dying, gloried about one victory

51. above the rest, and that was his victory over the flesh. Inimicorum
nequissimum devici, carnemmeam, said he. Be always an enemy to the devil
and the world, but speciallyto your own flesh, said Robert Smith, martyr, in a
letter to his wife. Surely, as the Prince of Orange said to his soldiers at the
battle of Newportwhen they had the sea on the one side and the Spaniards on
the other; If, saith he, you will live, you must either eatup these Spaniards, or
drink up this sea;so must men either eatup their fleshly lusts, or drink of the
burning lake:Fire and brimstone shall be else the portion of their cup, Psalms
11:6.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Romans 8:13". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/romans-
8.html. 1865-1868.
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Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Romans 8:13. Ye shall die— ΄ελλετε αποθνησκειν, ye shall die hereafter;
namely, the seconddeath at the lastday. The wickedChristian professoris
nigh unto the curse;whose end is, to be burned. See Hebrews 6:8.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.