Linchpin pt1

Thesis: Because of the work of Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit we are no longer under condemnation and have entered in a covenant that has changed us and desires to use us to change the world around us in preparation for the return of Heave to earth when Jesus arrives

The book of Romans is one of the most powerful collections of theology and practical spiritual counsel in the Bible. I cannot tell you how many times that this book has spoken to me in different ways.

But though that is true, the overall theme of the book has a greater purpose. Romans was written to tell us who we are and how we should live once we have that knowledge. And Chapter 8 is a powerful confluence of those 2 great themes, and is, in many ways, the linchpin which the entire book revolves around.

So for the next few weeks, interrupted only by our Ghana report, we are going to dive into the 39 verses that comprise this section. And we are going to get an amazing view of what God thinks about us, what He has done for us and what He is inviting us into as we follow Him.

I would challenge you to do something in light of this series- actually 2 somethings, which you can choose or do both. the first is, I would challenge you to read Romans 8 once a day. It will take about 8-12 minutes depending on how fast you read. That’s it. This will help your mind to become more familiar with the passage when we engage with it in Sundays.

The second challenge, read the book of Romans thru once a week for the length of this series. It is 16 chapters long. You could read 2 chapters 5 days a week and 3 on two other days. Or listen to it. Whichever works. Because that will help you see how themes we look at are in the whole book!

So turn with me to Romans 8:1-11.

Paul is going in full speed as this passage kicks off. No condemnation. None. He spent the previous chapter talking about the war with sin, and now he dismisses it in one statement. And the reason for that freedom is immediately identified.

Being in Christ ends condemnation!

We are no longer condemned- by God, by sin, by hell, by our own works, on and on and on. We are free.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

Romans 7:25 teaches that freedom from the power of the lower nature has been provided by God through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Therefore there is no longer any condemnation at all for those who are “in Christ Jesus,” that is, who have been made one with him by faith in his redemptive sacrifice. The just penalty incurred by the sins of the human race was paid by the death of Christ. The unfavorable verdict has been removed. Now all those who are in Christ are the beneficiaries of that forgiveness

Imagine it as a person who is facing the electric chair, suddenly set free.

So now we need to talk about what has happened. That is what the rest of this section is about and it will define the rest of the time we are in this chapter.

First the how…that’s a big deal. Look at verses 2-4.

Jesus is the reason we are not condemned. What He did- He and He alone is what has set us free from condemnation.

We have been set free in Christ- so only when we are in Christ are we free

Romans (3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39))

We lose the battle only when we engage the enemy without the resources supplied by the Spirit. God never intended us to go it on our own. Did not Jesus say, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5)? The difficulties of the Romans 7 experience are self-imposed. They show the natural outcome of failing to appropriate the Spirit of God. The victory of Romans 8 results from living in vital union with Christ Jesus, sustained and empowered by the Spirit of God

God has addressed the weakness of the law (which could tell us when we were wrong but had no power to save us from those wrongs in a permanent fashion) by sending Jesus to fulfill the righteous requirement of the Law that sin must be punished by death.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

The old law is the power of sin that inevitably results in death. The new law, which sets the believer free from the power of the old, is the law of the Spirit. The new law of the Spirit says that only by living in union with Christ Jesus can believers break the power of sin in their lives. It is the Spirit of God who provides victory, and that Spirit is the possession of every true child of God

So where as we faced the electric chair, Jesus stepped in for us and took that death- He stood condemned in our place. (Gospel presentation here)

And as a result, we walk no longer by the flesh, but by the Spirit (that will be vital shortly)

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

We do not store up grace but stay in constant contact with the one who is the source of all life and power. Our lives display the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22–23). This kind of life demonstrates that the righteous requirements of the law have been met in us.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

Moral choice precedes and determines intellectual orientation. People do not think themselves into the way they act but act themselves into the way they think

So what does this new life look like? Well first, let’s start by looking at what it does not look like go to verses 6-8.

The former life was killing us slowly AND it was robbing us of peace.

The former life was engaged in a war vs God- even if we did not believe that God existed

And the former minds did not want to submit to what God said was right.

As a result we could not, by any effort, please God.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

The same contrast is found in Gal 6:8: “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

That’s a big deal. It literally trounces a lot of arguments about earning our way into heaven or good outweighing bad. And that may make you a little angry. You like to think, we all do, that we are good people, who just need a little saving, not like the BAD people.

But compared to Jesus we are all BAD people. Think about it like this- at what point do you add enough crap to ice cream where you think it is not edible anymore. Anyone going for ice cream that has poop in it? No? Why not? It is contaminated!

Same way sin works- it wrecks the whole thing!

That is why verse 8 says we cannot please God when we are in the flesh- that is without the Spirit of God in our lives.

Verse 9 shows the shift…what happens when the Spirit comes and takes residence in our lives. The Spirit “dwells” in us…that means we are now His home, each of us.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

Nowhere in Scripture do we find a clearer indication that the Spirit enters a person’s life at the moment of conversion (cf. also 1 Cor 12:13). If the Spirit needed to wait for some subsequent commitment to holiness, it follows that he would be absent between conversion and that later point in time. But that cannot be because Paul clearly indicated that a person without the Spirit does not belong to Christ. It is because God has given us his Spirit that “we know that we live in him and he in us” (1 John 4:13). Without his Spirit there can be no assurance of salvation.

And it is not just any spirit. Look at verse 11. This is the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead.

Church we are RESURRECTION people. Do you hear me? We are people who are co-partakers in the resurrection of Jesus, because we were dead in our sins and Jesus brought life to our souls. And He made us alive, even thought because of sin, our mortal bodies will one day fail, inwardly we are renewed and one day we will break free of this broken body and inherit an eternal one free from the ravages of sin, because of Jesus!

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

Throughout his writings Paul drew a close connection between the resurrection of Christ and that of his followers. To the Corinthians the apostle wrote, “The one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus” (2 Cor 4:14; cf. 1 Cor 6:14; 1 Thess 4:14). In Rom 8:11 the Spirit (who lives in the believer) is the means by which God gives life. The prerequisite for resurrection is the presence of the indwelling Spirit. Since that is the case in the life of the believers (and the construction in Greek indicates that it is145), then God, who raised Jesus from the dead, will give life to their mortal bodies. Not only has the spirit of the Christian been made alive (v. 10), but in time the body (now under the curse of death) will be resurrected as well. The indwelling Spirit is the guarantee of the believer’s future resurrection

So then, how should we live? Go back to verse 5-6.

We should have our minds set on the things of the Spirit which is the thoughts of God as revealed in His Word. To know those thoughts we must be immersed in the Word. We should be learning the Word through our own study, memorization, meditation, and through studying with others who are also followers of Jesus. Sharpening one another and being sharpened by God.

And through these new thoughts, we should experience the fullness of life that God intended for us and be at peace- because God has given us that. We should be able to rest in the One who holds the future.

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

the Spirit-controlled mind leads to life and peace. The same contrast is found in Gal 6:8: “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

Romans 3. Living in the Spirit (8:1–39)

The other way to live is to place oneself under the control of the Spirit. In this case people focus their interests on the things of the Spirit. In Galatians 5 Paul contrasted the acts of the sinful nature with the fruit of the Spirit (vv. 19–23); sexual immorality, fits of rage, and selfish ambition (to name but three of the fifteen) are set over against such qualities as love, kindness, and self-control

So this morning, are you living by the flesh or the Spirit? And if you are inhabited by the Spirit, are you giving yourself to the things He calls us to so we can experience the fullness of the life He has to offer?