The Leading of the Spirit (Rom. 8:12-14)

One of the phrases that is common in Christian talk is ‘the leading of the Spirit’ and it is used to describe a wide range of spiritual experiences. Paul mentions the phrase in verse 14 and we may be surprised at what he links the leading with. We can see that he uses it in connection with what has preceded it, and in those previous verses he describes the Christian activity of slaying one’s sins. He also uses it in connection with what follows verse 14, and those following verses he speaks about prayer and the witness of the Spirit in the hearts of believers. So we can see already from Paul’s connections that a person who is led by the Spirit will be concerned with prayer, mortification of sin and assurance of salvation.

Being led by the Spirit

The first point to note is that Paul says that the Spirit leads every Christian. We may be surprised by this emphasis because often it is assumed that only devout believers are led by the Spirit. I can think of two ways in which the Holy Spirit leads Christians who have sinned: first, he leads them to the cross of Jesus in order to be forgiven and, second, he leads them to the heavenly Father for family correction.  

Of course, the words ‘led by the Spirit’ use imagery drawn from everyday life. It illustrates that he goes ahead of us and that he is going somewhere. Matthew Henry depicts this divine leading as follows: ‘They are led by the Spirit of God, as a scholar in his learning is led by his tutor, as a traveller in his journey is led by his guide, as a soldier in his engagements is led by his captain; not driven as beasts, but led as rational creatures, drawn with the cords of a man and the bands of love. It is the undoubted character of all true believers that they are led by the Spirit of God.’

Although the leading of the Spirit is a large topic, there are some basic principles we need to remember, and here are three of them. First, Jesus stated in John 16:13 that the Holy Spirit would lead believers into the truth, which is a reminder that the Spirit does not lead us contrary to the Word of God. Second, sometimes the Spirit can lead us into situations in which we will be tested concerning our loyalty to God. This is what happened to the Saviour after his baptism (Luke 4:1). This can happen to us shortly after a spiritually uplifting time. Third, the Spirit leads us along with other Christians. He is leading every Christian in the world to heaven. Fourth, the Spirit leads us to deal with our sins, and that is the aspect that Paul deals with here in Romans 8:12-14. So what does he say?

Mortification is continuous

Paul speaks of the activity of mortification in the present tense in verse 13, a reminder that engaging it is constant. Paul’s words in Romans 8:13 make it clear that the health of our spiritual life requires its constant engagement. John Owen, in his classic book on the Holy Spirit, gives this solemn warning: ‘We must be exercising it every day, and in every duty. Sin will not die, unless it be constantly weakened. Spare it, and it will heal its wounds, and recover its strength. We must continually watch against the operations of this principle of sin; in our duties, in our calling, in conversation, in retirement, in our straits, in our enjoyments, and in all that we do. If we are negligent on any occasion, we shall suffer by it; every mistake, every neglect is perilous.’

Mortification is a shared activity

Mortification is an aspect of the process of sanctification. Sanctification often is misunderstood in two ways. One wrong way is to assume that the Holy Spirit does everything and we need to do nothing, that we ‘let go and let God’; the other wrong way is to assume that we must do everything and therefore we engaged in a constant chasing after a process that will provide the clue for achieving the result. The correct way is to remember that sanctification is a shared work between the Spirit and the believer. As Paul puts in Philippians 2:12-13: ‘Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.’ Obviously it is a work of the Spirit, but it is a work that involves the contribution of each Christian.

With regard to the process of mortification, Paul in verse 13 describes the believer as active, putting to death the deeds of the body with the Spirit’s help; in verse 14 he portrays the believer as passive, being led by the Spirit of God (the conjunction ‘for’ at the beginning of verse 14 indicates that this divine leading is connected to mortification). We will need his divine strength for this essential Christian activity, for ‘without the Holy Spirit’s strength there will be no mortification, but without our working in His strength there will also be no mortification’ (Jerry Bridges).

Mortification is difficult

In the New Testament, we have two graphic illustrations of the process of mortification of sin. One illustration is taught by Jesus in Mark 9:43-48: ‘If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched”.’

We are not to imagine that Jesus is advocating literal amputations. Nevertheless his illustration indicates that personal dealing with sin is as painful to the heart as literal amputations are to the body. After all, there are particular sins attached to our souls similar to how our arms and legs are attached to our bodies. What sins could they be? It all depends what we call particular attitudes. For example, a person can be involved in activities in order to draw attention to himself, which is self-centredness. In fact, all these sins begin with the prefix ‘self-’. We may imagine that we cannot do without these sins in the way that a person cannot function without his limbs and eyesight. But we have to take the sword of the Spirit and deal with them.

The other imagery is that of crucifixion and it is used by Paul in Galatians 5:24 to describe the difference between works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. There he writes that ‘those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires’. It is important to note who is the executioner in this image – it is the Christian. The Christian has to take each of his sins, drag it to the cross and prevent it escaping, nail it to the tree despite its cries for toleration, and make sure its stays there until it dies, which could take a lifetime. After all, crucifixion was not a form of instantaneous death.

Mortification is usually straightforward

How is it straightforward? To begin with, we need to remind ourselves that usually a believer will realise when he has sinned, not only because of his conscience that prods him, but also because the Holy Spirit will convict him of the sin. We may wonder why the Holy Spirit, who possesses all power, does not personally destroy the sin immediately. Yet such a response fails to recognise that God’s way of addressing the problem is for each Christian to deal with his own sin through the help that the Holy Spirit graciously will provide.

What is involved in mortification? We may suspect that something spectacular is required before we can deal with our sins. If that were the case, we would need to experience spectacular solutions continually! Of course, it all depends on what we mean by spectacular. The way to mortify our sins is to use the means of grace, especially prayer and Bible reading, and also by asking advice from experienced Christians. In using the Bible, we should use relevant passages connected to the reason for reading it. With regard to mortification, the psalms are very helpful because they detail the inner conflicts that many believers had with personal sins.

There are some ways of responding to our sins that are not mortification. For example, sin has not been mortified if all we do is hide it from the observation of others by covering it up. Nor has it been mortified if all that has occurred is cessation of outward practices, such as ceasing to watch inappropriate programmes but still thinking about the ones we have seen. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount states clearly that heart sins have to be mortified as well as outward actions.

I am going to mention three details that are essential aspects of mortification, aspects that need to be continually engaged in by every Christian if he wants to have ongoing victory over his sinfulness, and we can consider them in connection to the sin of pride. The first aspect is to starve the sin of its usual sources of energy – we can be proud of all kinds of things and we need to examine ourselves to find out what they are. The second is that we have to think or do something profitable instead of the previous wrong thoughts or practices. In virtually every case the remedy for sin is to think about Jesus and his work and focus on doing what pleases him. And the third is to engage in specific repentance for our sin of pride, doing so aware of God’s great promises of forgiveness and Christlikeness.

Someone has likened each soul of a Christian to a garden. Before any became a believer, his soul was like a piece of waste ground full of weeds. At conversion, the heavenly Gardener changed the ground into a potential garden, making it full of life and planting the seeds of beautiful flowers. However, he did not eradicate all the weeds, although he did reduce their power. He wants each of his people in this life, through the power of the indwelling Spirit, to continue weakening the weeds and watering the flowers. As time goes by, there should be more flowers and fewer weeds in our garden.

Mortification is profitable

Each of these aspects – starvation of sin, focussing on Jesus, and repenting of our sins – is an essential element in an ongoing spiritual endeavour. Their presence is incontestable evidence of a healthy Christian life, that the person who has them is being sanctified. What are some of the blessings that we enjoy because of their presence? Here are a few.

First, they result in the person becoming less sinful and more Christ-like. The individual Christian may dispute that reality because he will become more aware of how deeply engrained some of his personal sins are. Yet he is becoming more and more like Jesus, and while he will not be perfect in this life he does make meaningful progress and growth in grace.

Second, such believers become examples to their fellow-Christians and encouragements to them that they also can deal with their sins by mortifying them. It is helpful for one who has known the battle to come alongside one who is commencing to deal with mortification and encourage them that their sins can be dealt with. I used to look at some Christians and imagine that their spiritual stature suggested they could not have had the same conflicts I was having. It was encouraging to find out from their own humble explanation that they had known such times and indeed suspected that they would have more.

Third, the presence of these aspects becomes a means of assurance to our souls that we are truly converted. There are many arguments that can be used by us in order to achieve a strengthening assurance, one that makes us spiritually comfortable regarding our eternal destiny. And one of them is the desire and activity connected to mortification of sin.

Fourth, we also enjoy the fellowship of the Spirit as we proceed along the Christian pathway as he continues to lead us each step of the way. This fellowship is partly described by Paul in subsequent verses when he refers to the witness of the Spirit.