Romans 8:13

This verse is often misinterpreted as a warning that Christians can lose their eternal salvation by failing to sufficiently mortify sin, imposing a works-based condition on security in Christ; alternatively, it is wrongly seen as promoting ascetic self-denial through human effort alone, disregarding the essential empowering role of the Holy Spirit, or as irrelevant to believers since it only applies to unbelievers dominated by the flesh.

Romans 8:13 teaches that true spiritual life for believers comes through the Holy Spirit's power in putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, in contrast to living according to the flesh which results in death; this underscores the necessity of ongoing dependence on the Spirit for victory over sin, enabling believers to experience abundant life in Christ rather than defeat and spiritual stagnation.