Eleven Marks of True Salvation from Romans 8
Part One (Marks of Salvation One through Six)
INTRODUCTION: The book of Romans is the longest treatise on salvation in the entire Bible. In chapters 5 through 8 the rich benefits of our union with Christ are opened up to our understanding. The eighth chapter of Romans describes the infinite blessings of being indwelt by Christ’s Spirit. We may accurately say that the third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit, produces the Christian life (the Holy Spirit empowers our faith; our fruits; our service; and our Christian character).
It was Jonathan Edwards who said that the work of the indwelling of the Spirit is so important to our Salvation that we may describe Christ’s work on Calvary as purchasing the Spirit for the people of God. The Spirit’s initial work of calling us to Christ involves the impartation of a new life through His work of regeneration. This new life in God we have received is worked out in our lives through the Spirit’s ongoing ministry of indwelling and enabling the believer to do the will of God.
The Holy Spirit expresses this newly imparted life in a series of new orientations and behaviors which mark out, or contrast, the true Christian from the ‘natural,’ or unsaved man or woman. When we are walking by means of the Spirit and are rightly ‘adjusted’ to the Spirit (by not grieving; quenching; or resisting Him); we will manifest the character of Christ.
This proper adjustment to the Spirit is described by Paul in Romans eight as being led by the Spirit. Being led by the Spirit is not some esoteric, subjective experience. The Spirit’s leading always involves both the enablement and the disposition to do the will of God found in Holy Scripture. Now Romans eight has a particularly large concentration of evidences or marks (behaviors) of those who are led by the Spirit. The marks of salvation found in Romans eight are by no means exhaustive—many additional marks can be found throughout the remainder of Scripture; but the sheer concentration of markers in Romans eight which manifest the mindset, affections, and behaviors of the person who belongs to Christ provide an invaluable portrait of a true believer.
Therefore, it is paramount for us to study this chapter in depth, and to comprehend these marks as evidences of the reality of salvation life. And as those intent on being involved in ministry, in order not to ‘trifle’ with souls, we must study to show ourselves approved if we are to be wise, careful, and discerning physicians of the souls of those around us (2 Tim 2:15).
A saved individual is a person who is led by the Holy Spirit. The following eleven marks of salvation are not produced by mere will power or by moral self-reformation—they are evinced in the life of an individual led by the Spirit—they can only be produced supernaturally by the Holy Spirit. Therefore these marks constitute a powerful diagnostic to help determine an individual’s spiritual condition.
MARK 1. Those led by the Spirit love the way that Christ has saved them. They eagerly confess Christ as Savior and Lord, and they show deep affection for the gospel (vv. 1-3).
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom 8:1-3).
To love the way in which God saves (by means of the penal substitution in Christ)—that is to love Christ as He is offered in the gospel—as our suffering Substitute, crushed and raised for us in our place. But the ability to love the gospel is above the power of flesh and blood. The gospel is foolishness to the natural man (1 Cor 2:14). Only a person born of the Spirit rejects all natural, instinctive religion in order to embrace the gospel of Christ crucified for sinners.
Paul’s victory cry in verse one of Romans eight, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” is his ‘exit’ out of Romans seven. For Romans seven contains Paul’s commiseration with other true believers over the fact that they are dismayed at the reality of indwelling sin. But Romans eight begins with the exultation that the true believer is free from condemnation despite what remains of his indwelling sin.
Therefore, to love the way God saves us through Christ is to rejoice that sin’s grip has been cancelled. It is to understand that the power of sin is broken only when our guilt and condemnation are broken through Christ’s work on Calvary. To love the way God saves not only affirms the cross; but repudiates all false refuges from judgment and all false solutions to guilt and condemnation.
Diagnostic: does this person you are discipling with show a love of the gospel, an understanding of the gospel, and an overflowing gratitude for the way in which God saves? Our text says that, “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has set you free from the law of sin and death. . .” In other words, the truly saved person will be living a life liberated from the dominating principle of sin— that saved person will be rejoicing in the freedom won for them by the gospel of Jesus Christ. And they will treasure the blessed way that God saves through the perfect sacrifice of Christ.
MARK 2. Those led by the Spirit walk according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh. Their thought life is characterized by thinking the things suggested by the Spirit; not the things suggested by the flesh (vv. 4-8).
“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom 8:6). The Spirit’s quickening and indwelling work produces both the ability and the inclination to obey the moral law of God—this is an obedience which begins in the thought life. By contrast, those who think the thoughts suggested by the flesh are hostile to God, are not in submission to God, and cannot please God (8:7).
The true believer is a person who is according to the Spirit. The Spirit is the believer’s ‘sphere of operation’ and source of divine enablement (v. 5). Paul is setting up an antithesis between those who are of the flesh and those who are of the Spirit. It is all a matter of orientation which centers in the thought life (vv. 4-5). God’s people have God’s Spirit living inside of them; therefore they are willing and desirous of being ruled by God’s Word. It is therefore natural for them to always be thinking, “What does the Lord require and expect of me? How may I please Him today?”
Diagnostic: does this person have a ‘runaway thought life’ that is characterized by listening to the suggestions and thoughts proposed by the flesh? Is a flesh-suggested thought life the general direction in their life? The person led by the Spirit, welcomes and cultivates the kind of thoughts suggested by the Spirit (he practices occupying his mind on “things above”—Col 3:1-3). The Spirit-led person has the truths of Scripture dominating exceptionally in their thought life; therefore they walk “according to the Spirit” (that is according to the dictates of the Spirit—see 8:4).
MARK 3. Those led by the Spirit do not let the flesh set the standard for their
behavior (vv. 7-8).
The person led by the Spirit is the person who is “according to the Spirit”—that is a person whose life is characterized by the Spirit’s constant influence. In other words a true believer allows the Spirit through the Word to set the standard for their behavior. By contrast, the person who is “according to the flesh” is a man or woman who is not in the habitual frame of mind of saying “no” to the flesh. Therefore when they consult what they want; or how they may solve a problem—they permit the flesh to set the standard for their behavior. Paul tells us that the man or woman who is “according to the flesh” is hostile to God and is unable to please God (8:7-8).
To live according to the Spirit is a fight. The day we are born again we realize we have a bottle in one hand (the milk of the Word), and a sword in the other hand (the Word our spiritual weapon). Needless to say, the true believer feels the constant battle between flesh and Spirit. For the standard of behavior set by the Spirit runs across the grain of the standard set by our flesh. It says in Galatians 5:7 that “the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh for these are in opposition to one another so that you may not do the things that you please.” To do what you please is to allow our natural fleshly desires to set the standard for our behavior as opposed to doing what God commands.
The true believer gains victory over the desires of the flesh by the approach approved by Scripture. This means that the believer conducts his or her life by dependency upon the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. The biblical way to gain victory over the flesh is described by Paul, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal 5:16).
Diagnostic: we are not preaching sinless perfection here. What our text is telling us is “life direction.” In other words, what is the normal direction, the path, or course that a person is following? The individual who is led by the Spirit will NOT habitually allow the flesh to set the standard for their behavior. In other words, they don’t live by their emotions or by their natural desires. The person who is “according to the Spirit” makes it a habit to submit to the Spirit—the Spirit has His way with this person—the saved man or woman submits to the Spirit by allowing our heaven-sent Comforter to the set the standard for our behavior through the Word of God.
MARK 4. Those led by the Spirit are always putting to death what remains of indwelling sin by means of the Spirit. They practice mortification of sin as a daily habit, and life direction (vv. 12-13).
Our text says that the true believer is “under obligation, not to the flesh. . .” (8:12). Now regarding the Christian’s responsibility to daily put sin to death—it is not a burdensome task to a genuine believer. Those who love God do not find His commandments “burdensome” (1 Jn 5:3)—they fully embrace their obligation to put indwelling sin to death by the Spirit’s power. To shoulder that responsibility of obedience ‘willingly’ is what characterizes a true believer. It is the “easy yoke” Christ spoke of (Matt 11:30). This of course means that a true believer will not be living in détente with sin (not living in a ‘peace treaty’ with sin).
We put sin to death by saying “no” to its overtures. We put sin to death by refusing to give in to its invitations—this involves denying it an opportunity or an occasion to express itself. It can help us to think through this issue if we remember that sin behaves like a parasite which needs a willing host in order to operate. It is important to think of killing sin not only as abstaining from evil; but also as replacing disobedience with its opposite—put off falsehood; put on truth speaking (Eph 4:25).
As we consider the Spirit’s assistance in this effort to mortify sin let us remember that the Spirit does more than simply help us to grit our teeth and say “no” to sin. He leads us into obedience by assisting our efforts to put off fleshly behaviors and put on Spirit-enabled behaviors (see Ephesians 4:20-32 and Colossians 3:12-25).
Putting sin to death is not instinctive, it has to be learned. The battle is for the mind. Our success in killing sin will improve as we learn to use our thought life to build a case for obedience (with actual reasoned arguments of the benefits of obedience), and by building a case against disobedience with a riveting set of the consequences of disobedience. These must be consistently presented to the mind.
Now our text indicates that those who are of the Spirit put sin to death by the power of Christ’s Spirit. In other words, the Spirit’s ‘sphere’ is Christ and His finished work. Thus, to put sin to death by the Spirit is to reckon that through ‘co-crucifixion’ with Christ, we are dead to sin and alive to God (Rom 6:11). Christ’s work as the focus of the Spirit’s ministry is underscored by the words of Christ concerning the Spirit in John 16:14, “He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.”
Diagnostic: the true child of God will have a holy fear of offending His heavenly Father by willful sin. The genuine believer will be cautious about falling into sin. Those led by the Spirit are always killing sin—they labor to maintain with care the preciousness of unbroken fellowship with the Lord. By contrast, the false believer will be reckless, apathetic, and presumptuous about sin—and the false believer will be half-hearted about putting sin to death.
MARK 5. Those led by the Spirit manifest the pervading consciousness of
sonship as the controlling factor in their Christian walk (vv. 14-15).
Our faith plays an immense role in our willingness and ability to fulfill the will of God in mortification of sin and in holistic obedience. Our faith is joined to the reality of sonship. Concerning the spiritual reality of sonship; we can’t manufacture or ‘gin up’ a sense of sonship. Producing the consciousness of our sonship is solely the domain of the Holy Spirit.
However, the Spirit incorporates the Word of God in granting us the conviction that we are sons of God indeed. We cooperate with the Spirit of sonship as we feed our faith on the sonship truths of Scripture. These truths constitute a deep goldmine which leads us to awe and loyalty at the thought that Christ, through our adoption, has given us His own right-relatedness the Holy Trinity. In fact, the new covenant name of Almighty God is “Father.”
Through adoption in Christ Jesus, true believers have become ‘sons of God.’ When the Spirit of Christ comes to live in a true believer at the moment of salvation, there is a pervasive consciousness that God has become our Heavenly Father who loves and accepts us. According to 1 John 3:1, the reality of this adoption by God the Father indicates the measureless privilege of being the object of His paternal love (adoption to sonship by the Father is an exotic, other-worldly love that excels any earthly natural love).
Now as to why this is a “mark,” or evidence of salvation: it is the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit who produces the mindset and consciousness of a son in us. We do not produce that confidence. It is the Spirit’s doing to constantly manifest the relational reality that the true believer is God’s child (Gal 4:5-7). The Spirit enables our prayers to rise above dry, stiff, formalism so that we are enabled to honestly habitually cry to God as our beloved Father. The Aramaic here (“Abba”) suggests an intimate heart cry of, “papa, daddy.” “Now shall not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?” (Luke 18:7).
Because sonship is at the heart of our relationship with the Lord, we could say along with Lewis Sperry Chafer, “Sonship is the motive and meaning of gospel holiness.” So fully does the reality of sonship permeate the life of the true believer that the promises of sonship are indeed a source of eternal wealth to the believer. The saint treasures the sonship promises, many of which are found in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. God promises in this passage to dwell with us; to walk among us; to be our God and us His people; and to be a Father to us. But, the enjoyment of these promises is stipulated our willingness to separate ourselves from evil (2 Cor 6:14-17).
The exhortation to holiness which springs from the privilege of sonship is as follows: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor 7:1). The fear of God in this context includes the concept of filial fear—that is the reverential respect a son or daughter has for their father. Thus we would ask, “Does the person you are discipling or counseling find great preciousness in their sonship; OR, are they able to live under the displeasure of God for a lengthy period of time? The issue then is this: are the sonship promises regarded as exceedingly valuable—so much so that the individual lives with an active principle of separating from sin? The child of God with filial fear values sonship so deeply that he or she turns away from behaviors which would incur the displeasure of their Heavenly Father.
Diagnostic: does the person you are dealing with enjoy the Father’s presence? Do they talk to God intimately? Do they have a mindset of sonship—wanting to share their thought life with God and desiring to always be pleasing to their Father above? Are they troubled when God hides His face? Do they stir themselves to restore fellowship as soon as they are aware that they have offended their Heavenly Father? It was Lewis Sperry Chafer who said of the importance of sonship, “Sonship is the motive and the meaning of gospel holiness.”
MARK 6. Those who are led by the Spirit enjoy assurance of salvation and
confidence of the Father’s favor in Christ (v. 16).
No person ever manufactured genuine assurance of salvation and confidence of God’s favor. Many men have boasted of assurance when it was not in their actual possession—they never went beyond mere presumption (or assumption of salvation when nothing was there). Genuine assurance is a gift of the Spirit which He is desirous of granting to His true child. The Spirit gives to the genuine child of God a blessed awareness of forgiveness of sins. The Spirit testifies to the true believer’s heart that a work of saving grace has passed upon the soul. Thus the Spirit allows the child of God a grace-given vantage point to “see” that all things have become new: God is reconciled—His wrath propitiated—the child held now in the bosom of God’s love and favor. As a consequence of the Spirit testifying to the reality of adoption by the Father, the child of God is done with craven fear, religious superstition, and endless doubts—for the “Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God” (8:16).
One of the great glories of Romans chapter eight is its ability to function as a mirror of the true believer’s heart experience in Christ. We look into this chapter with overflowing gratitude as we find that the Apostle Paul has found words to describe our Christian experience and spiritual affections. As a result we find deep consolation; for we are reassured that the comforts, longings, hopes, and affections we experience are produced in us by God’s Spirit. This chapter is a picture of how we flourish in Christ by the power of the Spirit. Every genuine believer is overjoyed to find that this chapter is autobiographical (it portrays his own life in the Lord).
Diagnostic: false assurance makes men reckless about sin. True assurance makes men careful to please the Heavenly Father. Which “kind” of assurance does the person have whom you are counseling? In order to be established in the faith—to grow to maturity—to succeed in the fight against sin; the child of God must enjoy his or her sonship. Those led by the Spirit manifest a pervasive consciousness of the reality that they belong to God as His precious child.