Sunday Worship Service
A New Kind of Walk
Romans 8:1 – 11
Proposition: We look to Calvary to be free from the penalty of sin. We look to Pentecost to be free from the power of sin.
Application: Be indwelt by the Holy Spirit by admitting your sin, believing in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and calling on Him to be saved. Be victorious over sin by renewing your mind with the Word and allow the Spirit to work with the members of your body.
Introduction
On January 6, 1941, the late President Franklin Roosevelt gave his State of the Union address, known as the Four Freedoms speech. Here is an excerpt: In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want—which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear—which, means a world-wide reduction of arms so that no nation will be in a position to commit acts of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world. That is no vision of a distant future. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb. This was Roosevelt’s charter of freedom.
In Romans eight we find the Christian’s Charter of Freedom – a freedom from the penalty of sin; a freedom from the power of sin; a freedom to live in a new way. It is a freedom that is possible because the Spirit lives in us.
Transition: Romans 8 declares our victory over sin. It begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation.
I. . . . Because Sin Is Condemned in Us (8:1 – 4)
No Condemnation (8:1): Paul does not say there is now no sin, he says there is now no condemnation for sin. Condemnation refers to God’s verdict against sin. We know the law diagnosis our sin then condemns us for having sinned. But in Christ Jesus condemnation for sin is removed but consequences may remain. In Adam we are condemned. But we are no longer in Adam, we are in Christ, therefore there is no sentence for sin. The phrase in Christ Jesus conveys our glorious position in which God has placed us. God no longer sees us in Adam, He sees us in Christ. In that sphere, condemnation can never reach us.
Noah was saved from God’s wrath because he found shelter in the ark. What it meant for Noah in the ark, it means for us in Christ Jesus.
Read Ps 34:22
No condemnation depends on our position in Christ not on our walk in the Spirit. In the KJV and NKJV Bible, the phrase who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit appears to be an import from 8:4. The added phrase is not found in the earliest Greek texts. The added words suggest the condition for no condemnation depends on our walk in the Spirit. Justification is the opposite to condemnation. We are not justified because of our righteous walk; we are justified by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all in Christ Jesus are free from condemnation.
Transition: God has bestowed on His children the double blessing of Calvary and Pentecost. We look to Calvary to be free from the penalty of sin. We look to Pentecost to be free from the power of sin.
In Romans seven, I is mentioned 30 times and Spirit is not mentioned once. In Romans eight Spirit is mentioned 20 times. We cannot win the good fright of faith without the help of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s cry who will set me free is now answered. A new law has come into effect making possible our freedom from the power of sin.
New Law (8:2): The term law suggests a force causing a uniform action. For instance, the law of gravity always pulls an object toward earth. A spiritual law is an influence that governs our thoughts, speech, and actions in a uniform way.
The law of sin governs our thoughts, speech, and actions in opposition to God. The law of the Spirit governs our thoughts, speech, and actions to align with the will of God.
As Christians we are infused with the law of the Spirit of life. Yet the law of sin and death still works within us. Just as the law of light overwhelms the law of darkness, so the law of the Spirit overcomes the law of sin and death. The law of the Spirit does not remove sin, rather it overcomes the power of sin so that we might live in a new way.
Any attempt to live the Christian life apart from the law of the Spirit ends in failure. Since the Spirit of God lives in us, there should be no further talk of defeat.
Read 2 Cor 3:17
Transition: It has been said that the law of Moses has right but not might. The law of sin has might but not right. The Law of the Spirit has both right and might.
No Power (8:3): Let’s say I buy a car, but it fails to start. Why? Because the tank is empty. The fault is not the car, the fault is the lack of gas. Just like most cars are not designed to work without gas, the law is not designed to conquer sin. The Law can expose sin. The Law can forbid sin. The Law can apply consequences for sin, but it cannot conquer sin. The weakness is not the Law the weakness is the flesh. It is not that God asked too much of us, it is that we cannot live up to His standard. But what the Law could not do and what we could never do, God did! He made a way for us to live in a new way. He did so in the Person of Christ Jesus. God did not send an angel He sent His Son, with whom He had a unique relationship even before the world was.
Read John 1:1
Notice it does not say Jesus came in sinful flesh it says He came in the likeness of sinful flesh. The word likeness suggests a true resemblance but not a complete identity. Jesus was truly human in all matters except in the matter of sin. His humanity was real and sinless at the same time. If there was sin in Him, He could not be an offering for sin.
Read 2 Cor 5:21
The One who lived a sinless life, died a sinner’s death – estranged from God and the object of His wrath. Jesus did not become a sinner, He became a sin bearer. On that tree God laid on Him the sins of the entire world past, present, future. He then judged our sin so that its power is destroyed. Sin that guaranteed our condemnation, was itself condemned.
Transition: What the Law required the Lord fulfilled.
New Power (8:4): For 33 years Jesus lived in a body like ours except never once did He commit sin in thought, speech, or action. The righteousness of Christ Jesus is now biven to us by the Holy Spirit living in us. A vine does not produce grapes by an “act of Parliament.” Grapes are the fruit of the vine’s own life. The conduct which conforms to the standard expressed in God’s law is not produced by the commandment but by the Spirit of God. What God commands in His Law the Spirit brings about in our life. John Bunyan once wrote: To run and work, the law commands, yet gives me neither feet nor hands; but better news, the Gospel brings, it bids my fly and gives me wings.
But should we walk according to the flesh we will bring forth the fruit of the flesh.
Read Gal 5:19 – 21a
When we walk according to the Spirit, we bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.
Read Gal 5:22, 23
The law will not condemn us being loving, or kind or patient. By bearing the fruit of the Spirit, the righteous demands of the law are met in us.
Transition: There is but one condition to live the victorious Christian life and that is to live in the Spirit.
All mindsets can be reduced into two camps: a sinful mindset or a spiritual mindset.
II. . . . Because the Spirit of Christ Lives in Us (8:5 – 11)
New Mind Set (8:5, 6): A sinful mindset does not delight in the things of God. It delights in the things of this world. A sinful mindset is egocentric – preoccupied with selfish desires.
It is busy in the pursuit of pleasure, power, prestige, position, public image, and possessions. A mind that is not renewed is a mind set on the flesh.
But the mind set on the Spirit is a feature of a mind that is being renewed. Such a renewed mind delights in the things of God. Our life will either be characterized by Galatians 5:19 – 21 or by Galatians 5:22 – 23. It depends on what we set our mind.
New Distinguishing Feature (8:7 – 9): Do you believe it is feasible for Danielle Smith and Rachel Notley to agree on a new policy? Not likely to happen. When the Holy Spirit is the ruling party in my life then my flesh is the opposition party and will be in a hostile posture toward the Lord. The egocentric flesh and the God-centred Spirit can never agree on any matter. The values of this world and God’s values are on a collision course.
Read James 4:4
We cannot embrace the values of this world and at the same time maintain fellowship with the Lord.
The presence of the Spirit in the Christian is not an extra to be seen in a few super-spiritual people. It is the normal and necessary feature of being a Christian at all.
The Holy Spirit living in us is what sets the Christian apart from a non-Christian. That is because the Holy Spirit is the Author of our communion with God, the essence of this communion and the consummation of this communion.
This passage also teaches that the Spirit indwells a Christian at conversion and not at some later post-conversion experience.
New Life (8:10, 11): If the Spirit of God is in us then Christ is also in us. If the “Spirit” in a person comes across in a way contrary to Christ, then we have to ask ourselves is this truly a move of the Spirit of God. The Spirit is not divorced from the Son. The Spirit of God is the Administrator of the life of Christ Jesus. Even though our present body is subject to death, it has the promise of life through the resurrection. Our spirit was made alive at the time of our regeneration.
Our body will be made alive at the time of our resurrection. The indwelling Spirit guarantees this future reality.
Read 2 Cor 4:14
Conclusion
Whether or not a person has the Holy Spirit is an issue of life and death. There is no relationship with the Lord Jesus apart from the Spirit of God. We may feel religious; we may even have an intense spiritual experience, but if the Spirit of God does not dwell in our heart, we have no relationship with the Lord. We may have a good relationship with the church, with other Christians, and even with Christianity, but none of these realities unite us to the Lord. How do we receive the Holy Spirit? Admit you are a sinner. Believe in the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sin. And call on Him to be saved and He will give you the Spirit of life.
If you are indwelt by the Spirit and yet feel weary and burdened in your struggle against sin. Let the Word of God renew your mind. Allow the Spirit of God to work with the members of your body then the law of the Spirt will overcome the law of sin.
A New Kind Of Walk
Romans 8:1-11 |
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An "I" Problem
Powerpoint images for Romans 7:14-25 |
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An "I" Problem
Romans 7:14-25 |
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Till Death Do Us Part
Romans 7:1-13 |
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A Matter of Life and Death
Romans 6:1-11 |
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Grace Abounding
Romans 5:12-21 |
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Love So Amazing, So Divine
Romans 5:1-11 |
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Faith Is Stable Because God Is Able
Romans 4:16-25 |
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A Perfect Credit Rating
Romans 4:1-15 |
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Amazing Grace
Romans 3:19-31 |
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The Divine Diagnosis
Romans 3:1-18 |
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Religion or Redemption
Romans 2:17-29 |
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No Free Pass
Romans 2:1-16 |
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A Clear and Present Danger
Romans 1:18-32 |
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Unashamed
Romans 1:1-17 |