Many believers struggle with what Paul calls “the things of the flesh.” This struggle often manifests as an inward ache, a persistent accusation that they don’t measure up, and a religious guilt that lingers even after reading the Bible. It is the voice that whispers that God is distant because of performance failures. Understanding how a believer—declared righteous forever—deals with this struggle is crucial.
Paul’s teaching in Romans 8 reveals that “the flesh” is not merely a list of bad habits or sinful desires. Rather, it is a whole operating system, a mindset. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7 KJV). The flesh represents the totality of who a person is in their own strength, especially when that strength is directed at pleasing God. It is the “self” that tries to manage sin, achieve righteousness, and earn God’s favor through performance. This mindset is death.
This death is not the wrath of God—that was dealt with at the cross. Instead, it is an inward state: “the spirit of bondage again to fear” (Romans 8:15 KJV). It is the shame of Adam and Eve hiding in the garden, feeling naked and condemned long before God pronounced judgment. The voice that says, “You are naked,” is the voice of the flesh. It produces a subjective experience of weakness, separation, and condemnation that causes one to shrink back from God. Living according to this logic of insufficiency is to “die” spiritually, dwelling in a heavy, joyless space of religious debt.
What Walking in the Flesh Actually Looks Like
What are “the things of the flesh” (Romans 8:5)? They include covetousness—not only for material things but also for spiritual attainment. It is the desire to add something to one’s life that brings glory, even the glory of being a “good Christian.” It is measuring oneself by devotion, purity, or theological correctness. This often begins with a sincere desire to keep the law but ends in frustration and rage when that law cannot be perfectly kept. Anger arises—at oneself, at others, and eventually at God—with the thought, “No matter what I do, I’m condemned.” This is the mindset set on the flesh, which is enmity against God because it refuses to accept that Christ’s work is finished.
Paul’s statement in Romans 8:1 is striking: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” It is tempting to remove the condition “who walk not after the flesh,” thinking that if condemnation is gone, it is gone unconditionally. But Paul carefully explains that the experience of “no condemnation”—the freedom, boldness, and peace—is known by those who do not operate according to the flesh’s system. Those who walk by the flesh will feel condemned because that system’s only output is a sense of lack and debt.
How the Spirit Kills What the Flesh Produces
The key to overcoming fleshly thoughts is not self-analysis or moral effort—both of which are expressions of the flesh. The solution is found in a different mind. “For 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” (Romans 8:5 KJV). To “mind” the things of the Spirit means to set one’s thoughts in agreement with what the Spirit continually testifies about the believer.
What does the Spirit say? He is the “Spirit of adoption” (Romans 8:15 KJV), constantly bearing witness that the believer is a child of God, an heir, justified, and accepted. The Spirit testifies that God is for the believer and that there is no charge against them. The things of the Spirit are the truths of sonship, acceptance, and union with Christ. The believer’s spirit is already alive because of righteousness (Romans 8:10); the mind simply needs to catch up.
This is the mortification Paul describes: “But if through the Spirit ye do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13 KJV). It does not say you mortify, but through the Spirit mortification happens. How? By setting the mind on the Spirit and agreeing with His testimony. When an accusatory thought arises—“You’re not good enough, God is displeased”—the response is not to argue but to turn to the Spirit’s testimony: “Thank you, Father, that I am accepted in the Beloved. Thank you that there is now no condemnation for me. Thank you that I am your child.” This is preaching the gospel to oneself.
In this agreement, a divine exchange occurs. The Spirit carries the killing power of the cross. As the believer is filled with the mind of the Spirit—the truth of death and life in Christ—the Spirit actively puts to death the deeds, cravings, and power of the body. It is not about managing sin but about being occupied with Christ. “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16 KJV). The Spirit is the killing element; focusing on Him quenches the thirst for fleshly desires.
What This Means for the Daily Battle
Practically, what should be done when fleshly thoughts of insecurity and accusation arise?
First, recognize thirst. When sin or condemnation surfaces, it signals that one has been drinking from the dry well of self. Instead of apologizing or introspecting, recognize the thirst and come to Christ. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37 KJV). Approach the throne of grace boldly—not to gain something lacking but to enjoy what is already possessed in Christ.
Second, speak to the soul in faith. This is not mere positive thinking but agreeing with God’s record. When the flesh says “Orphan,” the Spirit says “Son.” Speak what the Spirit says, even aloud. There is power in hearing one’s own voice affirm the truth that feelings deny.
Third, understand freedom. “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh” (Romans 8:12 KJV). There is no obligation to obey the flesh’s logic of debt and performance. Freedom lies in ignoring its demands and believing the truth. Every step toward God is a step of faith in the blood. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22 KJV).
The Christian life is not about gradual improvement of the flesh but about the gradual renewal of the mind until the believer is more at home with the Spirit’s witness—“Abba, Father”—than with the old voice of condemnation. The flesh will always be present, but its power is broken. Its voice can be ignored. Those who have the Spirit of God dwelling in them are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. Living there, setting the mind there, causes the things of the flesh to lose their grip—not by fighting them, but by being fully occupied with Another.
