Nicole’s e-Pistle “Flesh & Spirit”

July 8, 2026

Greetings, Friends!

One of our scripture readings on Sunday will be from Romans 8:1-11. In verse one, Paul says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Then he goes on (ad nauseam, in my opinion) on sinful, dead flesh vs. life in the Spirit. Since my sermon will predominately focus on the texts from Genesis and Matthew, I thought I might expound a little on Romans today.

The first line, in which there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, speaks openly and clearly that people – sinners – are not condemned in Christ. Rather, sin itself is condemned when Jesus dies on the cross. Sin and death are defeated. They no longer hold power over us. Yet, as the Lunch Bunch has been studying Romans on Mondays at noon, we realize that even after Jesus’ death and resurrection, we continue to sin and we continue to die. When a person is “saved” – however that is understood in the different denominational interpretations, it does not negate that person’s tendency to sin. I wish it did, but that simply is not how salvation works.

While reading this passage from Romans out loud annoys me, merely because the word flesh is used so much, I find it incredibly comforting in its deeper meaning. Our bodies cannot escape sin and death in this life. Yet our hope in Christ is that our continued existence is not dependent either on our ability to avoid sin (an impossible task) or our ability to keep our bodies in perfect working order forever (also impossible). Instead, our existence, our ability to thrive in this life and the next, is kept intact by the Spirit of God that lives within us.

If we use these concepts to remember that our truest Enemy is sin and not people, we may be better equipped to embody our Love First, Love All mission in this world. It is a hard thing to do when we easily put faces to what we believe is “wrong” with the world. However, while we are called to be forces for goodness and light in the world, it is not people but harmful ideologies which we must battle. Individual people with whom we fundamentally disagree are no more nor less bound to the sins of the “flesh” than we are ourselves. Rather, the Spirit that indwells each of us is at work in the world. Our calling as followers of Christ is to allow that Spirit to move freely among and through us as we seek to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength, and to love all our neighbors as we love ourselves… perhaps even better than we love ourselves.

I look forward to worshipping with you on Sunday, and as I focus on the Seed and the Sower, I hope you will feel the Spirit that moves among us, planting seeds of faith, hope, and love. Until then…

Blessings and peace to you all, my dear friends!