Romans 6:8 and OSAS
“For to be carnally minded IS DEATH; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6 KJV)
I see some using this one verse and making it about loss of salvation, out of context of the Book of Romans. In the Greek this was written, the word DEATH in this verse is not talking about loss of salvation. It is about PHYSICAL DEATH.
The English translated word death is “thanatos” in the Greek. It is Strongs Concordance, G2288 and is defined as…
“properly, the death of the body, i. e. that separation (whether natural or violent) of the soul from the body by which the life on earth is ended.”
If we, as believers, just get born again by belief on Christ and His final payment for all sins o the cross, and then just go and live life in what Paul calls THE FLESH (our corrupt sinful mind), that just leads to big troubles in life and eventually physical death, many times early death because of how we live.
Later in Romans Paul states that as believers we are to RENEW OUR MIND by the truth with guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit who guides us. That is, our SPIRIT is already eternally recreated and fully redeemed the very moment we believe on Christ (Eph 1:13-14, 2 Cor. 5:17-21) but our MIND is not yet redeemed. In fact, Paul stated this,
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood CANNOT inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” (1 Cor. 15:50 KJV)
And that this is the reason why a born again eternally saved believer must be bodily resurrected in our future with NEW glorified bodies like Jesus now has. Only then we will be fully redeemed in body and Spirit. That is also why when Paul describes a believer at physical death that our new SPIRIT is immediately with the God, “absent from the body is present with the Lord” is what Paul wrote. The body, well it just goes to dust on Earth. But on the day of the Harpazo Rapture (the snatching off Earth of believers in Christ), our Spirit will receive a NEW GLORIFIED BODY!
So Romans 8:6 is physical death. Such a believer who is living carnally is still born again and still saved. But is not very useful on Earth for the Kingdom as James taught. A DEAD (useless faith) is one that is useless in helping others to come to Christ nor in helping the poor etc. Not DEAD as in no longer saved.. no no no. James used the word dead as analogy for USELESS.
Even a believer, an eternally born again saved person, will reap what we sow in THE FLESH. If a saved person steals, they have not loss salvation, but they can still go to jail.
The same writer Paul says this to the Galatians,
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” (Gal. 5:16 KJV)
It is all about the fact that our SPIRIT is already as righteous as Christ. God MADE us the righteousness of God, IN CHRIST (2 Cor. 5:21), but we still have our original physical birth, mind, Adam mind, which is sin bent. Paul calls this THE FLESH. In a believers, there is an internal war between THE FLESH and THE SPIRIT. (Romans 7)
Until our bodily resurrection we need to be walking in THE SPIRIT, not living carnally in THE FLESH.
Here is a diagram of who a believer in Christ was MADE BY GOD, the moment they trusted on Christ alone for righteousness and forgiveness of sins. It helps to see Scriptures on salvation according to the Gospel of Grace through Christ Jesus.
WALK IN THE SPIRIT – that is now the NEW US.
It is who we are at our core being; now as born again people. Renew your MIND, and the devil will deceive you less and less as we replace false beliefs in our corrupt minds with the TRUTH from God.
We are BODY, SOUL (mind) and SPIRIT as saved believers. Let our life flow more from the Spirit to the Soul (mind) and in outward action in love for others in the Body. A flip side of an unbeliever.
All glory to God for allowing this through Christ Jesus our Lord enabling us!
