²⁹For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29 KJV)

 Almost all Christians believe that this verse automatically applies to them. They think that since they have “believed” in Jesus for salvation from their sins that they automatically qualify for adoption as a son of God. Paul does not teach this. I believe that many Christians have simply not considered what it means to be “conformed to the image of [God’s] son,” and thus overlook Paul’s implications here.

Rather than considering these deep ramifications Christians instead focus on the first part of Romans 8:1 which says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus….” Many preachers preach this aspect of the Gospel every time their sheep come to church, leaving their flock with the mistaken belief that God requires nothing more of them than their faith that Jesus died for their sins. They wholly ignore the second part of verse one which says, “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

When was the last time that you heard a sermon on walking by the Spirit versus walking by the flesh? When was the last time you heard a preacher say that if you in fact did walk by the flesh then you will in fact face condemnation from Jesus? I have heard very few teachers says this, but in this precarious time we live in, I am beginning to hear it from a few.

But Paul makes it very clear in Romans 8 that only people who live according to the Spirit will ever be declared a son of God. He says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Rom 8:14) On the other hand, he just as adamantly declares, “for if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die.” (Rom 13a) Then he equates living with being a son of God, saying, “if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Rom 13b).

Paul teaches throughout this chapter that Christians have two options. They can live “according to the Spirit” or they can live “according to the flesh.” He sets forth two diametrically opposed principles. Living by the Spirit will lead to eternal life and being declared a son of God. He thus shows that only men led by the Spirit will ever become conformed to God’s image. Alternatively, he says, all men led by the flesh shall die. This does not speak of a bodily, physical death, or of our eternal spiritual death. It speaks of the second death, the death of our soul. It speaks of being thrown into the Lake of Fire wherein we become cleansed of the carnality we were unwilling to put off in this world. Paul says,

⁵For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. ⁶For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. ⁸So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Rom 8:5-8)

 This explains why God requires us to learn to be led of the Spirit. If we fail to do this we remain carnally minded and utterly unable to become subject to the law of God. Sadly, far too many Christians say this is a good thing! because they have already thrown off God’s Law and publicly declare the heresy that Jesus “put away” the Law. But if Jesus “put away’ the Law then sin no longer exists and he died for nothing. Again, you could now do whatever you want to because no moral law remains to constrain your behavior. But, this amounts to calling evil “good” which is the heresy that cannot be forgiven. This sin cannot be forgiven because one cannot repent of it. He cannot repent of it because he thinks sin does not exist. But, God’s Law defines sin and those who are led of the Spirit will willingly subject themselves to that law.

Paul teaches here that anyone who refuses to voluntarily submit to God’s Law cannot please God and, in fact, remains in enmity against God. For seven full chapters prior to this culminating one Paul taught that men cannot fulfill God’s Law in the flesh. Why does he seem to change gears here? Because he transitions from the flesh to the Spirit. Nowhere does Paul say here that we must obey all of God’s Laws by the power of our flesh. Instead he teaches that those who live according to God’s Spirit and learn to be led of that Spirit will find themselves coming into agreement with God and will, by the power of that Spirit, find themselves putting off the wicked deeds of their carnal flesh and obeying his Law.

It is by being led of the Spirit that one becomes conformed to God’s image, never by a fleshly, carnal striving to be like God. We can never attain to immortality and godhood by doing certain rituals. We can never become an “ascended master,” for example, or any other high-sounding spiritual entity by learning and doing some type of secret plan. No, the truth of the matter remains very simple indeed, for “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”