We Are Debtors

“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” -Romans 8:12–13

By use of an antithetical enthymeme (one part of the antithetical argument is left off because it is so obvious) Paul concludes with the practical implications of what he has been demonstrating. Since we are not any longer under the debt of sin, since we owe our flesh nothing, we should not live our lives according to the dictates of the flesh.

And, since we are debtors to the Spirit (since by God’s spirit we possess life and peace), then it is to the Spirit we owe our allegiance; and, we should, by the Spirit’s power put the deeds of the body (our sins) to death so that we might live!

We need always remember that death is the compensation for sin and life and flourishing is the fruit of the Spirit