Finding Rest in Our New Position Pt 1
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Last week we used these words of Jesus as a springboard for our message:
Luke 10:20 (ESV)
20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
This was the theme of our text- what is it about our salvation that ought to thrill our souls with joy?
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Therefore, there is now NO death-sentence for the ones in Christ Jesus. This is a statement of position. If you are in Christ, if you are united to Christ, then you have cause for great joy!
When you are untied to Christ- everything that is true about Christ is also true about you believer.
Why is there now no condemnation (not death-sentence) for the believer? Because there is no condemnation for Christ, and because Christ cannot be condemned, and because we are united to Christ, so that what is true of Christ is true of us- then our souls can thrill in this grace! There is no longer any possibility of condemnation for those in Christ!
But, how can this be true?
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
For or because we are now under the law of the Spirit of life.
We used to be under the law of sin and death. In our connection with Adam and because of our sinful nature- we were under the power of sin and under the condemnation of death. But now IN CHRIST JESUS, this is positional language again, because of our union with Christ we are under a new law. That is we are under a new power or binding authority. We are now under the law of the Spirit of life! There is a new power operating over us and for our behalf. And this power if so great that it has set us free! We are forever free of the old law- the law of sin and death. Sin and death no longer have any binding authority or power over us. We are no longer under law, friends, in Christ we are now under grace!
What made this possible? How did this happen? How did I get this wonderful grace so effectually applied to my account?
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
For / Because God HAS DONE! What was impossible for the law to do in the one weakened through the flesh (weakened through the corruption of our sinful natures inherited from Adam) God HAS DONE! This is grace friends. And this grace ought to thrill our souls!
How has God done the impossible for us?
by sending his only Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin (for a sin offering). By means of this look what God has done!
He condemned sin in the flesh. He pronounced the death-sentence on sin!
What was the purpose of this grace?
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us!
Our sins have been propitiated by the blood of Christ- so the righteous retribution demanded by a just God on account of our sins has been paid.
Jesus righteousness has been credited to our account- we have been justified through faith.
This is why there is no condemnation for those in Christ. This is what it means that we are under the law of the Spirit of life.
And this ought to bring our souls great joy! Rejoice that your names are written down in heaven!
The verse that I want to use as a springboard for our text this week is Matt. 11:28-29.
Matthew 11:28–29 (ESV)
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Not only does a right understanding of our salvation and of our being under grace produce great joy in our souls, but it also allows us to rest.
Friends, I invite you to find soul rest this morning. Find rest the only way possible. By coming to Christ, by resting in the grace afforded you through Christ.
For those that don’t know Christ I invite you this morning to come to Christ and find rest in His grace.
For those of you who do know Christ but struggle to find you identity in Christ, you struggle to see your favor with God only by means of Christ, you have been laboring and you are heavy laden with trying to please God by means of your own works, to you I say come to Christ, come to His grace and find rest for your souls.
What truths do we need to understand about grace in order to find rest for our souls?
If you are in Christ then you have been transferred into a new realm that is dominated by the Holy Spirit (vv. 5-8)
If you are in Christ then you have been transferred into a new realm that is dominated by the Holy Spirit (vv. 5-8)
If you have been united with Christ, then you have been transferred from the realm dominated by the flesh to the realm dominated by the Spirit.
Paul is eager to show us here that the grace of God in our salvation is effective in us not only for our initial justification, but for our sanctification and glorification as well.
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
This is a transitional verse by Paul. Here Paul transitions from showing how the grace of God worked for our behalf in our justification to how the grace of God works for our behalf in our sanctification. And all of it defines what it means that because we are in Christ we are under the law of the Spirit of life.
Romans 8:4 (ESV)
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The first half of the verse tells us the purpose of result of God condemning sin in the flesh.
Remember v. 3- God has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. God sent his only Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as our sin offering, and by doing that God pronounced the death-sentence upon sin. Why did he do that? For this purpose that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.
How was the righteous requirement of the law fulfilled in us? By means of the propitiatory work of Christ and by means of the crediting of the righteousness of Christ to our behalf. This is all a description of the justification aspect of our salvation. And it is all a work of God’s grace. This can only be true of the one who is united to Christ. Only the one who has called upon the name of the Lord by faith and has received the great gift of salvation can have assurance that they are under the law of the Spirit of life. It is all God’s grace freely given to us as a gift in Christ. Praise the Lord.
Then Paul transitions to speak about our sanctification.
Romans 8:4 (ESV)
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
What does it mean to walk according to the Spirit?
It is the direct opposite of what it means to walk in the flesh.
5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
To live in the flesh and to walk in the flesh are the same thing. To walk according to the flesh means to have one’s life determined and directed by the values of this world. What do we mean by “this world”? We are talking about the values of a world that is in rebellion against God and is under the control of Satan.
Illustration: Several weeks ago the Satanic Temple hosted an event called SatanCon in Boston. The Satanic Temple now has over 700,00 registered members. They claim that they do not believe in either God or Satan as a deity, but in what Satan represents—the total rebellion against God, that is total rebellion against the divinely imposed standards of God.
During this convention a young woman stood in front of a crowd and repeated ripped pages out of a bible to the cheers of the onlookers. Before she doing this stunt she said this, “We stand here today in defiance of their seige and destroy their symbols of oppression.” She also ripped up a thin blue line flag. Then the people picked up the torn up pages of God’s Holy Word and posed with them for social-media pictures.
During this event there were many different seminars that were held. And the topics of these seminars included:
“Deconstructing you Religious Upbringing”
“Reclaiming the Trans Body”
“Sins of the Flesh- Satanism and Self-Pleasure”
Summary of these events:
Why religion is terrible and ought to be discarded
Transgenderism
Hedonism / Masturbation
Abortion
Racial Intersectionality
These ideas are illustrative of the values of this world, a world that is in rebellion against God and is under the control of Satan.
So to live in the flesh and to walk in the flesh is descriptive of an unbeliever. Any person outside of Christ positionally is said to be in the flesh, and because they are in the flesh they have no choice but to walk after the flesh. Those outside of Christ are enslaved to sin, sin reigns over them. They are in the dominion of death and under the reign of sin.
6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
This is no longer true positionally of those who are in Christ. In Christ Jesus we have been release from the law of sin and death and we are under a new law- the law of the Spirit of life. We died to that which held us captive! God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as our sin offering so that we might die to the old law through union with Christ. But not only does God provide in Christ a way for the righteous requirement of the law to be fulfilled in us, He also sends the Spirit into the hearts of believers to empower a new obedience to his demands.
We now serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
Romans 8:4 (ESV)
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
2. To walk in the Spirit then means to live under the control, and according to the values of the Holy Spirit.
The ones united to Christ and who have the righteous requirement of the law fulfilled in them because of their justification, are the ones who also walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
This is true of all those who are in Christ- the ones in Christ are also the ones who walk according to the Spirit. In other words, “Christian behavior is the necessary mark of those in whom this fulfillment takes place.” (Moo, 485)
The question that Paul answers then in vv. 5-8 is not “how do you walk in the Spirit?” By “why do you walk in the Spirit?”
Why do some people walk according to the Spirit and other people walk according to the flesh?
Romans 8:5 (ESV)
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
This is why some people walk according to the flesh and some according to the Spirit.
Paul says the way you walk is determined by whether your existence is determined by flesh or Spirit.
The translation here is a little unclear. The ESV translates, “those who LIVE according to the flesh or Spirit.”
This makes it sound like a continuous action that must be worked out. If you desire to constantly live according to the Holy Spirit- that is submit to, live under the control of, and be empowered by the Holy Spirit, then you must continually set your mind on the things of the Spirit.
Refutation: This is a biblical idea. The notion that living by the Spirit requires action on our part.
Galatians 5:25 (ESV)
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
There is a human responsibility side of our sanctification.
Philippians 2:12 (ESV)
12 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,
If we want to grow in progressive sanctification we must work out our own salvation. There is a human responsibility. But that is not what Paul is emphasizing in Romans 8:5. In our text Paul is highlighting the divine sovereignty part of our salvation.
13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
And it makes sense that here in our text he highlights the Spirit’s role in our sanctification because his whole aim in this text is give Christians assurance because of God’s grace working in their lives.
Romans 8:5 (ESV)
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
The Greek word that is translated as “live” in the ESV is the word, εἰμί. For anyone who knows Greek they will realize that this verb is a being verb. We have lots of being verbs in English—am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been. I still remember memorizing that from grade school.
That is the word Paul uses here. Here is the Pastor Jon translation of this verse.
For the ones being according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but the ones being according to the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
The NASB brings this meaning out well:
Romans 8:5 (NASB95)
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
What is the point of all this? Remember our question: why do some people walk in the Spirit and some people walk according to the flesh?
Paul’s answer is this, if you are in the position of being in the Spirit, then you will also walk according to the Spirit. And if you are in the position of being in the flesh, then you will walk according to the flesh.
Paul is speaking positionally here again, not behaviorally.
He is speaking about the difference in the position of an unbeliever verses a believer.
The moment you were united to Christ in salvation you were also transferred from the realm dominated by the flesh, to a new realm- the realm dominated by the Spirit.
That means that if you are in Christ you are in a new realm, you are now under grace, you are under the power or the law of the Spirit of life. God’s grace in your salvation not only means that you have been justified, but God’s grace in your salvation also works on your behalf for you sanctification as well.
If you are in the position of being in the Spirit not only will you walk according to the Spirit, but you will also set your minds on the things of the Spirit.
Romans 8:5 (ESV)
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
The word for “mind” here in v.5 and the word for “mindset” in v. 6 both come from the same Greek root. This root speaks about not merely a mental process, but also includes the direction of our will, it encompasses all the faculties of our soul—including our reason, understanding, and affections.
What is the only way a person will walk according to the Spirit- that is live under the control of, and according to the values of the Holy Spirit? What is the only way a person will set their minds on the things of the Spirit—that is turn our all our reason, understanding, and affections in the direction of the Spirit? Only if we have been united to Christ in salvation and thus placed into a new position of being in the Spirit.
But here is where our souls can find rest. If you have been united to Christ and placed in the position of being in the Spirit, then you will walk in the Spirit and you will set your mind on the Spirit. Why? Because it is an act of God’s grace! God will do it! It is God that works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. We serve not in the old way of the written code, but by the new way of the Spirit.
There is rest here friends! Your sanctification is empowered by the grace of God! And only by the grace of God! It is only through a relationship with God through Christ and through the Spirit that you can grow in your sanctification.
Do you know what that means? It means your sanctification is not dependent upon a list of rules. You can amass as may regulations as you want and impose them upon your life. They will never produce sanctification. They will only cause you to become weary and heavy laden-ed. Jesus says to you this morning, “come unto me and I will give you rest.” Rest for your souls. Enter into a vital living relationship with Christ, rest in the grace of the Spirit at work in you.
This means that your sanctification is more about your relationship to Christ through the Spirit than it is about rules and regulations. Come to Christ, learn from Him and He will give you rest. The grace of God and the power of the Spirit of life will transform your will and your affections. The Spirit of God through the Word of God will shape your understanding and your reasoning. He will help you to live under His control and according to His values. Friends, the ones who are according to the Spirit will set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Rest in this grace today.
But what about the ones who are according to the flesh?
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
If you are in the Spirit you will set your mind on, or you will have a mindset of the Spirit and this is life and peace. This is eternal life and peace with God. Not speaking of peace of God, although this is also true (just not in this text).
There is a logical chain of grace working here.
Life and peace illustration
If you have been united with Christ, then there is no condemnation at for, and you are under the law of the Spirit of life, and you are in the position of being in the Spirit, so you will walk in the Spirit, and you will set your mind on the things of the Spirit, therefore you have life and peace.
This is what Paul means when he says to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
BUT- in contrast to this, Paul says to set the mind on the flesh is death.
Some translations have this idea “to be carnally minded” is death. This is a poor translation. It is the same word translated as flesh in v.5. Why they changed to carnally minded in v. 6 I am not sure. But, this translation makes it sound as if Paul is speaking of a carnal Christian. This is not what Paul is talking about. Paul is speaking about an unbeliever. They are the ones who have their minds set of the flesh. And the mind set on the flesh is death.
Why is that true?
Why is it true that the mind set on the flesh is death?
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
If you are in the position of an unbeliever, you are outside of Christ, you are still a slave to sin, and you are still under the law of sin and death, then you can only have a mindset (that is a reason, understanding, and affections) that is set on the flesh.
And if you can only have a mindset set on the flesh then this is what is true of you. Your mindset (you reason, understanding, and affections) are hostile to God. Why? Because that kind of mindset does not submit to God’s law. That kind of a mindset will not submit or surrender its will to God’s standard of righteousness. Why not? Paul says it cannot! Why not? That is what Paul has been explaining in Romans 5-7. An unsaved mindset is hostile because it does not and cannot submit to God’s standard of righteousness because of our sinful nature. Because we are slaves to sin! Our slave master will allow no other will but his own! This is part of the law of sin and death in chapter 7. Paul said there I may have a desire to do what is right, but I no ability whatsoever to carry it out. Because of our sinful nature we inherently, outside of Christ, outside of God’s grace, cannot submit to God’s law.
And then Paul goes on and works out the dreadful conclusion.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Refutation: Some of you might be thinking. But there are people who do good who are not Christians. They give money to the poor, they volunteer in soup kitchens, they adopt orphans. Are you telling me that they cannot please God?
Yes- Dr. Marty Lloyd Jones said it this way. There may be people who appear on the surface to be clean and good, but “it is only skin deep.” What does he mean by that? Underneath the surface, when you get down to the heart, everyone outside of Christ does not and cannot submit to God’s law.
Even the moralist who does as much good as possible thinking that he will earn favor with God, does not submit to God’s standard of righteousness. God says all have fallen short of my glory. There is none that does good no not one. All have sinned and come short. And the moralist says, “I won’t accept that. I won’t believe that. I’ll show you differently. God you can’t tell me what to do.”
“An unsaved person cannot offer any form of obedience to God except to receive Jesus as Savior. Persons who have not trusted Christ are already engaged in the worst form of disobedience. They are rejecting God’s Son.” (Bauder, 39)
Friends this morning I am here to tell you that God’s grace offers you rest.
How will you rest in God’s grace this week?
Maybe you are not a Christian. Maybe you are not putting your trust in Christ alone to save you. This morning Jesus invites you to come and find rest for your souls. His grace and his grace alone is sufficient to save you from your sins. Rest from your own efforts of trying to save yourself. Come to Christ, call out for Him to save you from all your sins. Cry out for his grace. Find rest in Him.
Maybe this morning you are a Christians, but you have lived a very legalistic life. You have tried to manufacture righteousness by amassing rules and regulations in your life and you are bone tired. Come unto Christ this morning and He will give you rest. Come and rest in His grace. Rest, know that it is by means of a relationship with Christ through the Spirit that produces sanctification in your life. Rest in the powerful working of His grace. Repent of your sinful thinking and begin growing in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
What does that look like practically?
Knowing Christ- not merely knowing facts about Him, but knowing Him personally.
Letting His word dwell in your hearts richly.
This week let me challenge you to pick a passage of Scripture and meditate on it. Think about it over and over again, talk about it to yourself, preach the message of it to yourself. Pray over it. Speak back to God as He speaks to you though the Word.
This is what I mean when I talk about a relationship. You speaking to Christ and Him speaking to you through the Word. Then you grow in an awareness of His presence and you grow in an attitude of prayer. And you begin to depend upon Christ, and the Spirit, and the Word to produce in you sanctification. And you rest in the knowledge of the grace of God working for your behalf.