Either / Or
Nov 1, 2009
It seems to me that a lot of people are “either/or” kind of people. It’s either chocolate or vanilla. It is either 89.5 or 106.9FM. It is either classical or rock, praise songs or hymns. It’s either your way or my way. I find myself not so much an either/or person but more of a both/and person. I like both chocolate and vanilla, classical and rock music. I like the beach and I like the mountains. The old hymns of the faith move me as much as the new praise songs. There are times in worship that I want to be still and bask in the glory and presence of an awesome God, and then there are times I want to clap my hands, stomp my feet and shout “Praise the Lord!” There is so much in life to enjoy and so much of God’s creation to experience that I want to take it all in. Why limit yourself to one or the other and so I have discovered that I am a both/and kind of person.
In Romans 8, one of the great chapters of all of Scripture, there is much that we can sink our teeth into. In this chapter Paul is describing 2 different kinds of people. There is one that is dominated by the sinful nature, that Paul refers to as “the flesh.’ The focus and center of this person is self. The only law this person knows is his/her own desires. The theme of this person’s life is “I want what I want when I want it.” This is the ancient Epicurean philosophy of life who’s motto is, “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow I die.” The life of “the flesh” is pride-controlled, passion-controlled, lust-controlled, and ambition-controlled, and it always this world oriented and it is lived only in the “now.”
Contrasted to this Paul writes, is the life that is dominated not by the flesh, but by the Spirit of God. The focus and the center of this life is Jesus. The law that controls this life is the will of God. This person’s mind is the mind of Jesus and his/her desire is to be like Christ. This person is Holy Spirit-controlled, Jesus-centered, and God-focused with love as the motivating force that drives this life.
While I am a both/and kind of person, here is a clear/case of either/or. And the either/or is this: which nature will dominate our lives? While it is true that as Christians we have both the flesh nature and the spiritual nature vying for control of our lives, the question and issue is this: which one will be dominate and how much will that nature dominate the other? Some are way over on the flesh nature, some are more balanced between the fleshly and spiritual natures, and others are way over on the side of the spiritual nature. The key is that Paul is saying that you cannot be both heavenly minded and earthly minded at the same time. They are mutually exclusive. You can’t be hot and cold at the same time. You can’t stand still and be moving at the same time. The key here is that Paul is saying that the life dominated by the flesh and self is hostile to the things of God’s kingdom and is resentful of God’s laws and His control. For this person God becomes not a friend, but an enemy. The flesh then leads to death and destruction. So by allowing the flesh to dominate your life you are committing spiritual suicide and becoming unfit to stand in the presence of God.
Contrast this to those who are in Christ Jesus and who are not controlled by the flesh nature but by Jesus. Paul writes that for that person “there is no condemnation.” These verses are very clear in contrasting these 2 lifestyles that it is an “either/or” proposition. The person dominated by the spiritual nature finds life and goodness and blessings in all its fullness. Verse 6 tells us that following after the Spirit leads to life and peace. Our world desperately needs peace—in the Middle East, in Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Korea, in places in Africa, in the streets of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Camden. All this destruction is symptomatic of a world that is living under and by the law of the carnal nature of the flesh.
Paul is also talking about personal peace within the individual. You’re greatest need is for peace—inner peace that leads to peace with people, be it spouses, kids/parents, family members, neighbors, co-workers, and even within the church family. Inner peace can only come about when we reject the control of the flesh nature because that only leads to discord, strife, and animosity. Inner peace is the result of being controlled by the Holy Spirit that results in the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22f), which is “love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, and self control.”
Jesus said the same thing: “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” No one can serve 2 masters. The Christian life is not both the kingdom of God AND the kingdom of this world. It is not both walking with Jesus and walking with the devil. It is not both saving grace and living in sin.
The bottom line is that Christianity is not a both/and proposition. Following Jesus is an either/or decision. Everyone has a decision to make. I am going to follow and life for Jesus or I am going to follow and live for the flesh and this world. As you partake the Lord’s Supper, do so with a deep desire to spurn the life dominated by sinful, human nature and commit your life anew to that which is dominated by the Holy Spirit of God.