Romans 8: The Law of the Spirit That Lets You Take Flight

Introduction

"Do you like to fly?" With this question, the pastor of the Église Protestante Évangélique Elim opens his message on the Sunday after the summer break. For many people, an airplane means vacation. But do you know why a plane flies? Since childhood we learn the law of gravity, Newton's apple falling to the ground: we are meant to stay on the earth. Yet another law, aerodynamic force, becomes stronger than gravity and lets the plane take off.

"The Christian life is like the airplane," the pastor explains. It takes enormous power, because we are usually held down on the earth. That power is the Spirit of God.

Starting from Romans 8 and Galatians 5, he shows how this law of the Spirit works in you. Then he returns to the church's motto, loving God, loving God's family and serving others, and proposes that for the new year we go up a level: take up the challenge of loving, toward the weakest and toward the new generation.

Message Outline

1. Two Opposing Laws, and the Stronger One Is the Law of the Spirit

• Romans 8:1-2: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death."
• When Christ died on the cross, he gave us salvation and justified us. We start a new life, we are a new creation. "There is no option": when you are saved, you immediately enter the life of the Spirit (Romans 8:9).
• Two laws are at work in us. The law of sin pulls us down, toward the earth. The law of the Spirit lifts us up, toward heaven. For the Christian there is no doubt: the stronger one is the law of the Spirit.
• Do you object that you still sin? From God's point of view, your spiritual position is already in the heavenly places. The force pulling you down still acts a little today, but one day it will be completely eliminated.

2. Walking, Being Led, Living by the Spirit

• Galatians 5:16-18 and 25: "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won't fulfill the lust of the flesh." The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other.
• What God declares is not yet your whole experience. But little by little, day after day, it becomes more and more real "if you let the Spirit take his place in you."
• The pastor points out three verbs. Walking: it is a long walk, a marathon, and it takes patience. Being led: always staying sensitive, listening, focusing on the Spirit. Living: letting every area of your life be touched by the Holy Spirit.
• It is a process that will last until the end of our lives, until Jesus returns.
• The flesh is not only sin. You can do good things with bad motives. It is human nature following its own tendencies, the old self. But it has already been condemned by God: "Be confident, it no longer has a hold on you."

3. A Flight That Climbs, Despite the Turbulence

• An airplane's best flight is almost level, tilted slightly upward, and climbing higher and higher. For us Christians, flight rarely looks like that: "You fly a little, you drop lower, you climb again, sometimes you go very high and come back down."
• What matters is that the direction always stays upward. It takes faith not to be discouraged by the small drops.
• At takeoff, the engine roars, the plane shakes a little, then it picks up speed. "Tell the person next to you: you are going to take off!"
• The higher you climb, the more the things of the world fall away. Today we are troubled, sad, affected by what is happening below. Once in flight, you get closer to heaven and you become stronger.

4. The Basic Program: Loving God and Loving His Family

• You would not board a plane whose pilot has not finished training. Christians also have a flight-training program.
• This basic program is the "three loves" of Elim's motto: loving God, loving God's family, loving people by serving others. The pastor recalls the previous Sunday, devoted to loving souls, when young missionaries from around the world went out to evangelize with the church.
• Loving God is the great commandment (Mark 12:30-31), "not an option." It comes through three elements: the Word, prayer, and praise and worship, which is its deepest form.
• Loving God's family: "So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). To be part of a family, you have to be present. Being faithful at church matters, because that is where you receive your spiritual food, just as you eat at home.
• John 13:34: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, that you also love one another." Jesus set the bar very high. Loving means sharing, living fellowship, praying together, supporting one another and entering into the other person's struggle: working parents, single-parent families, young people looking for work, children at school.
• Since arriving five years ago, the pastor sees a lot of progress in the church: "We are going to fly together."

5. The Challenge of Loving: Carrying the Weak, Because We Are All Vulnerable

• For the new season, we move up a grade: the challenge of loving in an even deeper way. Romans 14:1: "Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions."
• In Rome, Christians from a Jewish background kept dietary rules and feast days. Others, taught by the apostles, knew they were free in Christ. These "strong" believers were right, but they broke unity and peace by criticizing and despising the weak, looking down on them.
• Paul answers: what takes priority in the church is not the principle "I am right," it is the principle of love. On secondary doctrines, you set your certainties aside: no condemning, no criticizing, no judging.
• Romans 15:1: "Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves." The key word is "bear." If you think the other person is still a baby or is sick, carry them and do them good.
• "Each of us is actually very vulnerable." You can be very strong in one area and very weak in another.
• A sister confided to the pastor that she could no longer stand her husband, who cried like a five-year-old. This man, a Christian for many years, had been in very good health for a long time. He had recently had surgery. Perhaps an anxiety had been triggered in him, the fear of no longer being in control.
• The pastor also tells how someone once criticized him for giving orders. He reflected: having always worked for himself, with no superior, he is used to commanding. In a professional setting that works, but not at church. Like in a car, he too has blind spots.
• We all have blind spots. We need to let the Holy Spirit reveal them to us: "Lord, I need your help. I do not want to judge or criticize."

6. Loving the New Generation

• Generations Z and Alpha were born digital. Their difficulties are real: fragile attention, quick frustration, disrupted sleep, addiction. According to statistics the pastor cites, in some countries a third of teenagers are depressed and see psychologists or psychiatrists.
• But he also sees a lot of good: they are searching for meaning and thirsty for authenticity. They cannot stand what is fake or a traditional Christianity in name only, they want what is real. They are inventive and want to take part.
• How do we respond? Let go, dare to try bold projects with them, include them in family projects, not get stuck on their behavior, walk beside them "as a companion" rather than imposing our dreams on them.
• The promise of the Spirit poured out on all flesh, sons, daughters, young men and old men, is for them too (Joel 2:28, numbered 3:1 in other versions): "It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions." God will raise up a generation of leaders.
• When children grow up, you have to let them become independent and tell them: "I believe in you." No longer trying to keep them around you is also a sign of faith in God.
• They struggle in a more violent world, online as well as in real life. With the compassion of Jesus, step into their shoes, become a reference point, encourage them. "Love is patient and is kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4): parents, educators, mothers, be full of kindness.

7. Constantly Filled by the Spirit

• The basic program is still good, but we need to learn to climb higher and to progress "by the power of the Spirit and not by ourselves."
• Ephesians 5:18: "but be filled with the Spirit," which the church reads together like this: "Let yourselves be constantly filled by the Spirit."
• You need to thirst for the Spirit, pray that God will fill us, stay alert and say: "Lord, teach me this year again to walk by the Holy Spirit."
• "God is here to make us all fly." Let us walk together, let us grow together.

Key Takeaways

• In Christ there is no more condemnation: the law of the Spirit of life is stronger than the law of sin that pulls you down.
• Walking, being led and living by the Spirit is a lifelong process. The flight has its drops, but its direction stays upward.
• Loving God comes through the Word, prayer and worship. Loving your spiritual family takes presence and involvement in the struggles of others.
• In the church, love takes priority over being right. Whoever thinks they are strong carries the weak, without judging on secondary matters.
• The new generation needs traveling companions who believe in them and in the promise of the Spirit.

Personal Application

1. Do you feel today more pulled down or lifted up by the Spirit? Which truth from Romans 8:1-2 do you need to take hold of for yourself?
2. Among the three verbs of Galatians 5, walking, being led, living, which one needs the most attention from you right now?
3. Is there someone in your church you have looked down on over a secondary question? How can you carry them this week?
4. What blind spot might the Holy Spirit reveal to you in the way you speak or act with others?
5. Which young person around you can you walk "beside," telling them that you believe in them?

Verses Cited

• Romans 8:1-9
• Galatians 5:16-25
• Mark 12:30-31
• Ephesians 2:19
• John 13:34
• Romans 14:1-2
• Romans 15:1-2
• Joel 2:28
• 1 Corinthians 13:4
• Ephesians 5:18

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "the law of the Spirit of life" mean in Romans 8?

The pastor compares the Christian life to an airplane. The law of sin pulls downward like gravity, and the law of the Spirit lifts upward like aerodynamic force. In Christ there is no more condemnation: the force of the Spirit is the stronger one, and one day the one pulling downward will be completely eliminated.

How do you walk by the Spirit according to Galatians 5?

The preacher points out three verbs. Walking by the Spirit, like a marathon, with patience. Being led by the Spirit, staying sensitive and attentive. Living by the Spirit, so that every area of life is touched by him. It is a process that lasts until the end of our lives.

What does "bearing the weaknesses of the weak" mean in Romans 15?

In Rome, strong Christians despised those who kept dietary rules and feast days. Paul reminds them that what takes priority in the church is not being right, but love. Whoever thinks they are strong must carry the other person, without judging or criticizing over secondary matters.