Released from the Law: Dying to Live

Good morning

I hope and pray you all survived the storms that rolled through this past week and weekend

As Barb said in the announcements today please get you Jr Sr high students signed up for camp at Galilee no later than 4/26

If you need help I will bring my chromebook with me to worship night and will help you during the fellowship dinner

Let’s Pray

We have been looking at being freed from the law and living in and under grace

how there is true freedom in that

how there is true life saving

life changing power in that

this morning we take a look at how we are released from the law and the impact that has on us as Christians

powerful stuff today

this morning continues to lay the foundation and ground work for things to come!

Romans 7:1-6

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Romans 7:1–6 “Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 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. 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 morning we are looking at 1-6 as a whole not necessarily going verse by verse

1. Only Released From The Law By Death

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Paul uses divorce to illustrate this concept

If I am honest I am wrestling with divorce because of this section of scripture because I want to understand it God’s way

the impact

the ramifications

how to deal with it individually

and how to deal with it as a pastor and leader of this congregation

that will come to you later after God truly teaches me

I say all that to say this

divorce isn’t the teaching here

Paul is writing to those who knew the law

they knew that God hates divorce

They knew God was against divorce

they knew that God only allowed divorce on very narrow circumstances

God’s marriage is life long and the only way to truly be released from marriage in God’s eyes is death or an allowable reason such as sexual immorality

Don’t get caught up in divorce this morning

don’t start wrestling with right or wrong and justifications as that will all come later

today see it as it is meant to be seen the only way out of marriage and be legally married to another is death

You and I must die to the law

this is only done through Christ Jesus

we are born sinful “married” to the laws bound by the law

servants to the law

the only way to be released from the law and live in Christ is to die to the law

death is the only way out

Romans 6:2

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Romans 6:2 “By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

we have looked at this in depth and I pray you get it

you have to die to sin

how can you still live in sin if you have died to it

just like sin you must also die to the law and if dead to the law you are alive in Christ

but also just like sin if you are dead to the law how can you still live in it?

if you need or want to go deeper here go to our website or app and watch the sermon on Romans 6:2

Today I want to look at how and what happens when you die to the law

Romans 8:2

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Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

Holy Spirit sets you free when you die to sin and law and self

that is what happens at salvation

once you are saved the Holy Spirit arrives as He is the down payment of your inheritance in Christ

Holy Spirit allows all those truths in scripture to be true and begin to transform you

I have said it before and will say it again

salvation is the beginning not the end

once you are saved you start on the journey called sanctification

becoming holy as God is holy

moving from milk to meat

but to live you must die

Galatians 2:19

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Galatians 2:19 “For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.”

You have to die in order to live

this is the time of year that gardens are being planted and worked

think about that process

you take a piece of land

you till it

you fertilize it

you prepare it for life

that includes killing the grass that was there so you can make way for the garden to come

Once the dirt is prepared and ready to receive the seed you begin to plant

you plant the seed in the ground cover it up with the dirt then you water it and wait

here is the thing for that seed to produce a plant that will produce fruit it must die

the seed dies in order for the plant to live

sound familiar

the Holy Spirit prepares your heart and prepares you so He can plant a seed

once you are ready He plants the seed that leads to repentance that leads to salvation

That salvation, forgiveness and eternal life is only available because Jesus became your sin and died for your sin on the cross

He had to die so you can live

once that seed dies in you producing repentance and salvation you must then die to the law and sin and death

There are many fruits produced but one is Freedom from the law

you are released from the law when you die to the law

Galatians 5:18

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Galatians 5:18 “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

This is how you know you have died to the law

The Holy Spirit is in control

you respond to conviction

you grow

you mature in Christ Jesus

you begin to understand and obey scripture

do you do all of that perfectly

nope

do you do all of that every time

nope

but it is there

Holy Spirit is producing fruit

all this is done by the Holy Spirit when you are led by the Spirit and not under the law

2. When You Die To The Law You Are Free To Live

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Colossians 2:14

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Colossians 2:14 “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

Before Jesus you lived in the flesh

you lived in sin

that created a record of debt that has to be paid

there are real legal demands here spiritually

to help us understand that I want you to think of a credit card

now before we get going I am not telling you to go out and get a credit card

they are so very dangerous and you have to be so very disciplined when using one or you can become enslaved to debt so very easily

Credit card companies give you a card with a spending limit but within that limit you are free to spend it however you want

However that begins a record of debt that must be repaid

if that debt is not repaid as agreed there are very real legal demands that will be placed upon you

collections

lawsuits

garnishment

real legal demands

in the spiritual that legal demand is death

Christ paid that debt for you therefore once that payment is put against your record of debt you are released from those legal demands

just like when you pay what you owe you are released from the legal demands of the credit card

Spiritually this is only done by the blood of Jesus

once you are redeemed you are then released from the law because you died to the law and are now able to live in Christ

How

The Holy Spirit

none of this is done by you or me

it is all done by the Holy Spirit living in us as Christians

there will be signs of Holy Spirit in you

I will never win the lottery because I won’t play it....it is God’s money and gambling doesn’t honor Him

but if I won the lottery I would not broadcast it but there would be signs

If you are saved and the Holy Spirit is inside of you there will be signs

what are those signs

thank you so much for asking

one of the signs is

New Attitude

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Galatians 5:22-23

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Galatians 5:22–23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

We have gone through each of these a few times since I have been here but I want to again

the cool thing about God’s Word is you rarely repeat because if you are growing in the Holy Spirit and Christian maturity each time you return somewhere you have already been and studied in the Bible you gain a deeper understanding so it is not repeating it is continued learning!

Why do you learn more every time you return to scripture

Because you continue to die to the old you and today you are not the same person who was there the last time you were there in scripture

Joy

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Joy is not happiness

happiness is based upon circumstances

joy is driven by divine promises and eternal spiritual realties

God is God

God never changes

and because that is true you have joy because as a Christian you are eternally spiritually secure with God

that means no matter the circumstance

or

situation

or

trouble

or persecution

you have joy not in the pain of the situation but that God is there in the pain and you are good spiritually

Peace

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Jesus is peace

having Jesus as your Lord and Savior

that relationship

always results in inner peace and calm

many will say if you need peace you need more faith

wrong

if you need peace you need more Jesus

you need more relationship

a true

intimate relationship with Jesus

Just like any relationship it takes work

it takes commitment

it takes time

it takes effort

it takes sacrifice

you must seek Him

you must be intentional about trying to get to know Him

Patience

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long suffering

long suffering is a willing

intentional

choice to endure and suffer through

injuries

heartache

pain caused by others

Just as sin is always a choice patience....choosing to suffer long is ALWAYS a choice

the next time you begin to get mad with someone

the next time you begin to get frustrated with someone

the next time your flesh fires up and you feel the need to say that someone is stupid

stop

realize what is going on

and make an intentional decision to suffer long

make an intentional decision to endure and see what happens

Kindness

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True concern for others

a desire to treat others as Christ treats you

loving

kind

this has nothing to do with what a person does

what a person says

what a person deserves

you are to be Kind because in Jesus you received the ultimate act of kindness on the cross

what and who don’t matter

they are alive you are to be kind

period

end of story

Goodness

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kindness comes from goodness

my study bible defines goodness as moral and spiritual excellence manifested in active kindness

kindness is goodness in action

we are so worldly

we claim we are not

we claim we have died to the world

yet if you truly do an audit of your

thoughts

feelings

actions

beliefs

you will find so much is based on the world not the Word

the more goodness you find in your life the more Word you are basing things on because Holy Spirit is the ultimate goodness and He will produce that in you

Faithfulness

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true

absolute loyalty

you are trustworthy

you are loyal

people can depend upon you because you do what you say and say only what the Holy Spirit leads you to say!

Gentleness

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also meekness

again a choice to be humble

a choice to be gentle

a choice to be kind

just because it is allowed doesn’t make it right

be humble in Christ alone

Self-control

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restraining yourself through the power of the Holy Spirit

Doing it God’s way not your way!!!

As a Christian you will see all of these things being produced in you by the Holy Spirit

In addition to a new attitude you will also see

New Actions

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John 15:1-2

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John 15:1–2 ““I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

This is true

this happens

being pruned by God is a normal part of the life of a Christian

is it pleasant

Nope but it always produces more fruit

God cuts away

thoughts

beliefs

actions that are against His will

things you once thought and believed you will no longer think or believe

reactions begin to change

you are becoming the righteousness of God

II Corinthians 5:21

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2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

In Jesus and Jesus alone you can become the righteousness of God

not your works

not your obedience

not your thoughts

not your beliefs

Jesus in you

all of these things

works

obedience

thoughts

beliefs

all come from Jesus not you

they are a result of salvation not a way to be saved

Church the truth is you are either dead to the law and therefore released from the law and alive in Christ or you are dead to Christ and doomed by the law to eternal death and separation from God in hell

it starts with repentance that leads to salvation which then allows you to die to self and sin and the law.....you are released from the law and all its legal demands and it is replaced with Freedom to live in Christ

are you alive in Christ this morning

if not come

if something is standing in the way come

nail it to the cross

dying to it and living in the freedom of Christ

now is your time