Living by Resurrection Power

Today we are kicking off a new series entitled “Six Secrets of the Christian Life”. Now this is not an original title. I am basing this series off of a book written by a guy name of Zane Hodges. And so let me start off by giving credit where credit is due. This book “Six Secrets of the Christian Life” has been one of the most impactful christian books, on my own Christian life, outside of the Bible of course. It is a extremely short book, under a hundred pages, but it contains profound Biblical principles that will help you overcome or avoid some of the major pitfalls that we as believers fall into as seek to live the Christian life. This is available of Amazon for $6. So, I urge you please order a copy and read through it and study it as we go through this series.

And just so you know. I’m not into formula driven Christianity. When I see books with 5 easy steps, or 3 keys to success, as I rule of thumb I instinctively run in the other direction, but this book is the exception to the rule. What makes this book different is its depth. It’s rooted in rich theology, not gimmicks. It points believers back to the true source of the Christian life—the resurrection power of Jesus Christ that dwells within every believer.

But not only that, this book highlights the transforming power of God’s Word, not as a quick fix, but as the tool that God uses to shape and change us over the course of our Christian lives. You see, the study of God’s word transforms us little by little. In other words, God transforms us gradually as we learn from Him over the course of our lives.

So let me tell you what this series isn’t going to do. This series isn’t going to give you a quick fix. This study isn’t going to give you a short cut to spiritual maturity (there isn’t one), but it will give you the framework on how to get there. In other words, it will provide the skeleton on which to build the meat of your Christian life. This study will give you the foundation on which to build a victorious Christian life.

And this the question that we are all really trying to answer over the course of our Christian lives,

How do we live victorious Christian lives?

Right. I mean once we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life we are born again, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We have access to the throne of grace. We have the word of God which gives us everything we need to live godly lives and be throughly equipped us for every good work. Simply put, we have all the tools for the job. God has given us every resource needed to live for Him. His power indwells us!

And yet, we struggle and we deal with sin everyday, and sometimes we get caught up in habitual sins. The more formal term for habitual sins is besetting sins. And that term probably comes from the old King James translation of Hebrew 12:1

Hebrews 12:1 KJV 1900

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

The author instructs his readers to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us”. So, the next question is what on earth does that mean? What is the writer getting at when he says, “the sin which doth so easily beset us?” Well, let’s start by defining the Greek word for “beset”.

Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament εὐπερίστατος

εὐπερίστατος (euperistatos), ADJ.

And this word is an adjective. What do adjectives do? They describe something. What is this word describing in this verse? It is describing sin. Look back at part of our verse.

Hebrews 12:1 KJV 1900

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

As we learned the author is telling His readers to set aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us”. Here is the point. This word besetting is describing the nature of sin. What does sin do?

Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament εὐπερίστατος

εὐπερίστατος (euperistatos), ADJ.

Sin encircles us. It traps us. It entangles us and hinders us from running the Christian race the way God intends. Notice that the definition describes it as "easily ensnaring." In other words, sin does not merely trip us up occasionally—it has the potential to easily wrap itself around our lives and entrap us.

We need to wake up to that reality because too often we treat sin casually. We convince ourselves that we can dabble with it without being affected by it. We say things like, "I’ll go out with the boys for a couple of hours " . But we end up coming home in the wee hours of the morning. Or, "It's only one drink." But then we go out and drink a half a dozen or more. Or, "I'm not actually doing anything wrong; I'm just looking a website." Or, "It's only a little gossip—everyone is talking about it."

The danger is that sin never presents itself as a trap. It presents itself as harmless, pleasurable, manageable, and easily controllable. And our flesh whispers to us, "You can handle this. You can stop whenever you want." But Hebrews tells us that sin is easily ensnaring. What begins as a small compromise quickly becomes a habit, a stronghold, or an addiction. What we thought we were controlling ends up controlling us.

That is why Hebrews doesn't tell us to manage sin, negotiate with sin, or get as close to sin as possible without crossing the line. Scripture tells us to lay it aside. It tells us to remove it from our life. Why? Because every sin we entertain is another strand wrapping itself around our feet, making it harder and harder to run the race that God has set before us.

And so, here is where I’m going with all of this. If we are going to live victoriously for the Lord Jesus Christ we have to be able to overcome the power of sin in our daily lives. We have to do what the author of Hebrews tells us to do. We have to set aside those sins that are entrapping us, entangling us, and keeping us from running a good race. And so this series is designed to give us the tools to do just that.

Because here is a major pitfall that we fall into as Christians. We start struggling against sin, and we start depending on our power to overcome the problem. Don’t we. Let’s suppose we are developing a drinking problem. Or insert whatever is becoming a problem in your life. It could be drinking, pornography, anger, envy, pride, you name it. And when this struggle against sin and the flesh starts we think to ourselves ok, I’ve time to stop. this drinking is affecting my marriage or my job. I’ve just got to quit.

And then one of two things normally happens. We either try to stop cold turkey, or we setup a set of rules to rein the problem in. And we rationalize to ourselves ok, I’m not going to drink during the week, or I’m not going to drink anything but beer. And whether we tell ourselves we are not going to drink or we setup a bunch of rules to “control” our drinking the end result is always the same. Failure followed by guilt and shame.

Why does this happen?

Because we are fighting a spiritual battle with fleshly weapons.

We think the answer is more determination. More discipline. More willpower. We convince ourselves that if we just try harder, work harder, and grit our teeth a little longer, we'll finally overcome.

But what we discover is that sin is stronger than our resolve. The flesh is stronger than our promises we make to ourselves and God. And before long we're right back where we started, except now we're carrying the additional burden of discouragement and self-condemnation. We carrying that guilt and shame.

The tragedy is that so many believers spend years fighting a battle God never intended them to fight in their own strength. And here is what we get terribly wrong. We know we're saved by grace, but then we try to live the Christian life by sheer force of will. We trust Christ for our justification, but then we trust ourselves for our sanctification. That’s our spiritual progress in our daily experience. Let me put it this way.

We think we are going to make ourselves more holy by following the commandments and rule keeping. And every time we approach the Christian life this way, we run headfirst into the same wall. Which is, “I know what I’m supposed to be doing, but I keep doing the exact opposite. I know what is right inwardly, but I cannot make my flesh stop doing the what I know is wrong.

And Paul jumps all over the Galatians for doing this.

Galatians 3:3 NKJV

3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

You see, the Galatians had been born again by faith alone in Christ alone. That is what Paul says, “Having begun in the Spirit”. Paul’s point which he makes plain in the verse right before this one is that his readers had received the Holy Spirit by hearing His gospel and believing. That is how they began “in the Spirit”. But now Paul is making a huge point that I need you to understand. Paul says, “are you now being made perfect by the flesh”?

So, let’s quickly break this down. What does Paul mean by being made perfect by the flesh? Well, that word perfect in the Greek carries the idea bringing to completion. So, I think Paul is talking about their Christian maturity. I think Paul is saying, “guys you were born-again by faith, did you somehow think your were going to grow into spiritual maturity by your works”. And Paul’s point is that works performed in the power of the flesh was not the way they were born again, nor was it the pathway to spiritual maturity.

Here is my point. That approach to the Christian life never works. Why? Because victory over sin does not come from trying harder; it comes from relying on a power greater than ourselves. The Christian life was never designed to be lived through self-effort. It was designed to be lived through the very power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. And that power lives inside of each of us. God dwells inside each of us.

Which brings us to the first secret of the Christian life and the title of today's message:

Living by Resurrection Power

Let me elaborate on this a bit and include my subtitle. The Secret to victory over sin is living by resurrection Power.

Ok, with all that being said. We are ready to dig into our text for this morning so let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to open our understanding.

Ok, so this morning I want to look at two different passages from the book of Romans. One passage is found in Romans 7 and the other comes from Romans 8. I absolutely love this section of the book of Romans because it gives us instructions on how to live the Christian life. Let me put it this way. These two chapters in Romans show us the wrong way to approach the Christian life which leads to defeat, and then they show us the right way to approach the Christian life which leads to victory.

So let's turn to Romans 7 for a moment and look at what I would call the wrong way to live the Christian life.

What I love about this passage is that Paul doesn't just give us theology—he gives us his own testimony. He pulls back the curtain and lets us see the struggle he went through.

Early in his Christian experience, Paul tried to live up to God's standard by focusing on the commandments and relying on his own determination. He knew what was right. He wanted to do what was right. But the harder he tried in his own strength, the more he discovered his own weakness.

And where did that road lead? Frustration. Failure. Defeat. And church, if focusing on the commandments and good old fashioned will-power didn’t work for the Apostle Paul, there is no way it is going to work for us.

Listen to what he writes starting in verse 15.

Romans 7:15 NKJV

15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.

Do you see the internal struggle here? Paul inwardly knew what was right. A few verses later Paul is going to write, “I delight in the law of God according to the inward man”. Clearly, when Paul wrote this he was born again. And he saying, I know what I am supposed to be doing. Paul inwardly wanted to do what God required in the commandments, but somehow that inward desire of the inner man was not translating to his outward behavior. That is exactly what Paul says here in verse 15, “For what I will to do, that I do not practice”.

This is probably the clearest passage in the NT that proves willpower is not going to get the job done. Look carefully at what Paul says, “what I will to do”, I don’t do. Paul says, I want to do the right thing, but I end up doing the wrong thing. And He says it again in verse 18.

Romans 7:18 NKJV

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

Notice what he says in the second part of the verse. “for to will is present with me”. Paul wanted, Paul wished, Paul willed to do the right thing, “but how to perform what is good I do not find”. Paul could not find the power in himself to live for God. Paul’s willpower to do the right thing failed him. And when we try to live for God by our willpower, we have the exact same experience. Failure.

Do you see what I’m getting at here? This is the fundamental problem of the Christian experience. And every person in this room can relate to these verses because all of us have fallen into this trap. All of us. And it is a vicious self-defeating cycle. It is a cycle of defeat that Paul experienced himself. And look what it leads Paul to write in verse 24.

Romans 7:24 NKJV

24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

I like to call this verse Paul’s rock bottom. You see, Paul came to the realization here that he absolutely could not do it. Look at what he says, in the second part of this verse. “Who will deliver me from this body of death?”. Paul himself could not solve the problem. Notice He says, “who”. That who right there is so important. Why? Because it shows us that Paul realized that he couldn’t solve the problem. Paul realized he needed help.

And let me stop and make a huge point. As Christians we have to come to this same realization. We have to humble ourselves and say, God I’m incapable to living for you in my own strength. I need you. Help me.

Like the apostle Paul we have to cry out to God, “Oh wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death! In other words, as believers we need to realize that victory of sin in our daily experience comes through the grace of God. Let me say it this way. We are saved by God’s grace, and we are being saved by God’s grace everyday. Everyday when we live enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit, that is how we are able to overcome the power of sin. It is by the resurrection power of God operating through us.

Here is the net net. All of us as believers have to come to the realization that we can’t overcome the power of sin (that operates in our flesh) by our own strength. We have to come to the realization that we need the power of God operating in us to do that. And that is what Paul makes plain in the next verse. In verse 24 Paul asks who shall deliver me or rescue me from the power of sin operating in his flesh, and in verse 25 he gives the answer.

Romans 7:25 NKJV

25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

You see, Paul is acknowledging where the deliverance from the power of sin is coming from. It is coming through Jesus Christ our Lord! Let me restate this one final time before we move on.

And this is a quote from Hodges book. “If is safe to say, therefore, that we have not grasped the true nature of Christian living unless we perceive this basic truth.

If we imagine that by some effort of our own will we can do what the Lord expects of us, we are seriously mistaken. - Zane Hodges

Ok, so that is the bad news. The bad news is that we can’t live for God by our own strength. But, we are getting to the good news, shortly. Now, let’s turn now to Romans chapter 8 where Paul gives us the solution to the believer’s sin problem.

Romans 8:10 NKJV

10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Now stay with me here because this is going to take some carefully study. We need to think carefully on every word in this verse. Notice Paul begins by saying, “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin”. This is a shocking statement that Paul makes. Notice He says if Christ is in you the body is dead. Paul is speaking about people who are born-again and have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. And what He is saying is even if you have the Spirit of God dwelling inside you your body is dead.

Let me say it again for the people on the back row. Even with the Spirit of God dwelling inside of us, our bodies are dead. And this is the major problem of the Christian experience. Our born-again inner man and the Holy Spirit inhabit a dead body. And this is the problem that we as Christians often fail to realize. We fail to realize that our bodies are dead because we are physically alive. So, we don’t tend to think is terms of having a dead body.

So, what does Paul mean we he says our bodies are dead? Well of course he is not speaking physically. Paul is speaking spiritually. So, Paul is saying that our spiritually alive inner man inhabits a spiritually dead body.

And inhabiting a spiritually dead body is a problem for us. Why? Because it means that our flesh is completely unresponsive to the new life we now posses inwardly.

Let’s think about it this way. A person who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit is a believer. Meaning when a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ for His free gift of everlasting life, their inward being, or nature changes. We are given spiritual life inwardly. But our physical body remains completely unchanged. These bodies are the same as they were before the new birth. Our bodies are still infected with the deadly virus of sin, and because God didn’t give new life to our bodies they remain completely unresponsive to the new life we posses inwardly.

That is why every Christian understands Paul’s Romans 7 experience. We have all felt that struggle. We have all had the desire to obey God inwardly, but been unable to carry out those desires in our everyday lives. And the reason is because of our spiritually dead bodies. You see, these bodies aren’t a little bit alive. It’s not like they are in critical condition and they can be nursed back to health with our own effort. No they are dead. Dead, dead. As in completely unresponsive to God and the new life that we possess inwardly. So, here is the real issue.

We cannot make our dead flesh responsive to God.

You see, more effort and more willpower is never going to make a spiritually dead body obedient to God. It is impossible. Their is only only thing that can make these dead bodies respond to God, and that is resurrection power. Which brings us to verse 11. And this verse contains the good news that I told you was coming.

Romans 8:11 NKJV

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

First let me point out that twice in this verse Paul mentions the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.” And then Paul says, “He who raised Christ from the dead”. I think Paul mentions the resurrection twice here to emphasize a point. Paul wants to emphasize to his readers that we as believers have the resurrection power of God dwelling inside of us, which is absolutely amazing. We have the Holy Spirit within us and therefore, we have the same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead living inside of us. And as amazing as that is, here is an even more amazing truth.

Look at what Paul says the Holy Spirit is going to do for us. Paul says, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies.

This is the major point of this entire lesson so please pay attention here. Do you understand what Paul is saying in this verse? He is saying that since we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us, God can give life to our mortal bodies. This means that God’s resurrection power can enable our spiritually dead bodies to live for Him.

Let me say it this way. The problem of the Christian experience is that we have spiritually dead bodies. The solution to the problem is God’s Holy Spirit giving life to our dead bodies so we can live for Him. In other words, our willpower can’t enable our dead bodies to respond to God, but the resurrection power of God can.

Simply put, we need God to enable our flesh to live for Him. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead can "resurrect," so to speak, our spiritually dead bodies and make them responsive to God. The Holy Spirit can energize us to obey Him, empower us to resist sin, and enable us to do what we could never do through our own strength. What we cannot accomplish through determination, discipline, or self-effort, the Holy Spirit can accomplish through His resurrection power working within us. That is the secret of victorious Christian living—not trying harder, but depending on the indwelling Spirit to give life to our mortal bodies.

So, as we close this morning, let me leave you with this one simple truth: the Christian life is impossible to live in our own strength.

Paul tried. The Galatians tried. And if we're honest, we've all tried. We make promises, create rules, and rely on determination, only to discover that our flesh is powerless to overcome the power of sin.

But the good news of Romans 8 is that God has not left us to fight this battle alone. The very Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives within every believer. And that same resurrection power is available to give life to our mortal bodies, enabling us to do what we could never do through our own efforts.

So the first secret of the Christian life is:

The miracle of God’s resurrection power operating in us.

You see, when we see a person living the true Christian experience we are not looking at an experience based on human effort, determination, or willpower. We are looking at the operation of the power of God. (Hodges, pg. 24)

And when we finally come to the end of ourselves, like Paul did in Romans 7, we are in the perfect position to experience the victory of Romans 8. The question is not, "How strong am I?" The question is, “do I know how weak I am” and "Am I depending on the One who lives within me?"

Church, stop looking to your willpower. Stop looking to your resolutions. Stop looking to yourself. Look to Christ and rely on the resurrection power of His Spirit. Because what we cannot do, God can do in us and through us.

The secret of the Christian life is not self-effort. It is resurrection power. Amen.

Let’s pray.