Standing Sure
Notes
Transcript
ILLUST:John Newton - slave trader after expelled from Navy, pirate, life identified by sin - converted to preacher, wrote a hymn
RECAP - (Personal) Feedback from last week… told me two things:
1 - People occasionally do listen to the sermon
2 - Context and words are crucial
My sermon, said we all had in common being sinners - allow me to clarify
“Formerly” identified as sinners (speaking to those who are believers)
Believers are no longer identified as “sinners” even though we still sin
We are indeed SAINTS - set apart by His grace
So…what we have in common, believers, formerly sinners now saints, still in the fight between the flesh and the Spirit
Chapter 8 of Romans nails this, and it was good timing for the comment and conversation!
And…if you are a believer, God expects believer-type behavior from you…
READ: Romans 8:1-25
Blessings Related to Life in the Spirit (part 1)
Blessings Related to Life in the Spirit (part 1)
Where we got to here…
Justification - not guilty
Sanctification - set apart to live for and serve Him
NOW - Glorification! Chapter 8 - some more instruction, then some reminders of disappointing news, to elation, excitement, sheer joy and jubilation
First blessing to discuss…
1) There is No Condemnation
1) There is No Condemnation
You are set free, you are not guilty, you are not and will not be condemned!
The issue to address? ASSURANCE
Not ‘might not be’ or ‘pretty sure there is no’ - THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION, for those in Christ Jesus
This is not freedom from feeling guilty
The mastery of sin over you is done!
You are now a child of God - and your life from here forward is for Him, with Christ as your master
Q - What keeps people from growing, spiritually?
Assurance of acceptance with God
Once you are sure of that, you will grow in grace and conform to His ways (hint: Rom. 12)
You are free! But how?
Think on this…
God gave the Law, divinely
The mission? Keep the Law - knowing only ONE could do so
The law could not overcome sin
So the personal action of God, in Christ, did!
So if you want to overcome sin, you must be connected to the ONE who did
You are regulated by sin/flesh, or by the Spirit
Your controller, is one or the other
So, you are regulated by the Spirit? Good, what does that look like?
2) What the Spirit Accomplishes
2) What the Spirit Accomplishes
What’s the difference between the lost and saved?
The lost ONLY have the sinful nature, with a still-dead spirit
Believers have the Spirit, the cure/remedy for the sinful nature
COMMENTARY:
No one who lacks the Spirit belongs to Christ. Everyone who trusts Christ has the Spirit.
See Ephesians 1:13 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,”
The expectations of the believer (dare I say ‘obligation’?)
(cannot expect these of sinners, so don’t be so dismayed at how they live)
BUT, since we so proudly say we are no longer “sinners” - do we live like believers??
NOTE: Human effort can ONLY see success “by the Spirit”
Do not expect to manage the battle with the sinful nature by sheer determination!
The lost never deal with sin
The saved can only deal with sin by the Spirit’s power
DISCUSS “Self-control” concept
Who controls your self - YOU? or the SPIRIT?
The Spirit guides the believer - check your current guide, is it Him?
Again, ASSURANCE is a central theme in living by the Spirit
ILLUST - Easier to do something you KNOW you can do
And I can drive across a bridge I trust to be safe
I can live for the LORD if I trust in the power He has given in the Spirit
When is the last time you leaned on the LORD and trusted in His power?
You know you can do that - you’ve done it before
You can trust in HIM who defines trust!
HE HAS ALREADY SHOWN THAT TO YOU
Adoption concept - born with sin and the flesh as our master
Now calling YAHWEH our father
Adoption grants you everything as a full child
Permanent validity, authenticity, a bona fide true child of the King!
ASIDE (nerd alert) - Paul’s use of terms here
“Children” = think regeneration
“Sons” or “Daughters” = think legal standing
It is the Spirit Who causes the growth you hopefully desire
It is you, your very self, that can hinder that
So you yield to the Spirit, how does that benefit you?
3) Future Glory
3) Future Glory
Especially compared to present suffering and hardship
What will glory be like?
Where do you go for the answers?
READ - Revelation 4:1-8
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
Later we also see a description of the New Jerusalem
But really, what will glory be like?
Here is what Scripture makes certain, CRYSTAL CLEAR
We know little of what glory will be
But we are assured that glory will be
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
Glory WILL be!
Biggest blessing of the Spirit
KNOWING you are a child of God! A non-condemned, CHILD OF GOD!
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
NOTE: The believer here does not cry out (to others) “God is my Father”
The believer simply cries out “FATHER!” - The believer KNOWS
How do you know you are saved? Because you CAN know, see 1 John 5:13
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
How do you know? CAN you know? Of course, Bible says so
How do you know?
ANSWER: The presence of the Holy Spirit in you, in your life!
The gift of the Spirit
Given when one becomes a believer
The pledge, down payment, God’s promise of the completion of salvation
From justification to sanctification to eventual glorification
That’s the promise!
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
Saints are sealed! Eph 1:13
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Meanwhile, we wait
We HAVE BEEN saved
We wait patiently - with endurance, with determined focus - for the final, eternal glorification
THIS fuels us now
We are spiritually re-born
And we wait for the redemption of the body (as does creation)
The exercise of patience - we call HOPE
HOPE is certain, not yet realized
The fully regenerated spirit, combined with the fully glorified body - is not fit for here, there is no place for that in this world
It’s why believers making decisions to please God feel so out of place here
How do you know? (test…)
Do you feel really comfortable living in this world?
Or do you long for glory, knowing that you need the Spirit’s power to live and function here?
The believer, the adopted child of the King of kings
Is no longer condemned by God
is powered by the very Spirit of Christ
Is beautifully and humbly crying out Abba! Father!
When you cry out to the Father, you grow.
And when you cry out to the Father, daily, people know, and the kingdom has a chance to grow.
Live as though you are NOT condemned, with the Spirit in control!
