Sermon Tone Analysis

Romans

Romans 6 - Our death to sin through Christ and being raised (born again) to newness of life

Romans 7 - Released from the burden and condemnation of the law, to walk and bear fruit in the Spirit.

We looked at the duality of man, the battle between Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Paul was saying that Jesus provides the answer by the Holy Spirit...

Romans 8 - Today, describes the work of the spirit in our lives; what Life in the Spirit looks like.

The basis of life in the Spirit is our identity Jesus.

Before anything else, we must define what it means to be “in Christ Jesus”

John Stott of the C.S Lewis Institute

The most common description in the Scriptures of a follower of Jesus is that he or she is a person “in Christ.”

The expressions “in Christ,” “in the Lord,” and “in him” occur 164 times in the letters of Paul alone, and are indispensable to an understanding of the New Testament.

To be “in Christ” does not mean to be inside Christ, as tools are in a box or our clothes in a closet, but to be organically united to Christ, as a limb is in the body or a branch is in a tree.

It is this personal relationship with Christ that is the distinctive mark of his authentic followers...

What distinguishes the true followers of Jesus is neither their creed, nor their code of ethics, nor their ceremonies, nor their culture, but Christ.

What is often mistakenly called “Christianity” is, in essence, neither a religion, nor a system, but a person, Jesus of Nazareth.

Paul uses a similar analogy...

Regardless of the term (salvation, born again, in Christ), Paul is speaking to those who find their hope in Christ and submit to Him as Lord and Savior.

This is what it means to be “Christian”

Some have said it meant “little Christs”

It’s literal meaning is “of the house of Christ”, Jesus is our head, we find identity in Him, our lives reflect His Headship

After a storm, I may see a branch that has fallen that needs to be cleaned up...

I have to clean up that fallen oak branch

The branch is defined (identified) by what the tree is was anchored too, by what it was rooted in....

This is a conditional clause: If....then

So everything that follows applies only to those who are first and primarily “in Christ”

Life in the Spirit means our legal standing before God is secure.

No Condemnation- no longer under God’s wrath, we are pardoned, we have peace with God

This is not a temporary condition, we do not move in and out of condemnation

Not like the girl holding a daisy, He loves me…He loves me not

It is not temporary...Condemnation no longer exists

This doesn’t mean we will no longer sin, but all of our sin has been forgiven (past, present, future)

It does not mean we will not be convicted of sin, but that our standing before God remains, we are declared righteous… He loves me, He loves me, He loves me.

Martin Lloyd-Jones

The difference between an unbeliever sinning and a Christian sinning is the difference between a man breaking the law of the State, and a husband who has done something he should not do in his relationship with his wife.He is not breaking the law, but rather wounding the heart of his wife.

That is the difference.

It is no longer a legal matter, it is a matter of personal relationship and of love.

The man does not cease to be the husband (legally in that instance).

Law does not come into the matter at all...

In a sense it is now something worse than a legal condemnation.

I would rather offend against a law of the land objectively outside of me than hurt someone who I love.

In that case, you have sinned of course, but you have sinned against love.

You may and should feel ashamed, but you should not feel condemnation, because to do so is to put yourself back 'under the law'.

So, what keeps us from moving in and out of the grace of God?

Our freedom is governed by the higher law of the Spirit of Life.

The universe is governed by certain laws (gravity, kinetic energy, electricity, magnetism)

Gravity - Isaac Newton found that apples fall down…it’s a law

When we throw an apple up into the air, we don’t break the law, we temporarily appeal to a higher law (kinetic energy)

Rom 3:23 , says the wages of sin is death, we deserve condemnation - this is the LAW of SIN and DEATH

But the Law of the Spirit is the Gospel - it is a permanent and infinitely higher law that overcomes the Law of Sin and Death…it is superior!

The Law of the Spirit is superior because Jesus became our curse in order to become our righteousness.

Jesus lived a life I couldn’t live to die the death that I fully deserved

God has condemned sin in the Death of Jesus as our substitute

God has counted Jesus’ perfect life of obedience to our account

phrase - “might be fulfilled” - this is passive, not something I do, but something that has been done for us (completed by Jesus)

This is the benefit of being “in Christ”....we are united with Him

In Marriage…Mr and Mrs Timothy Pruitt

Amanda’s identity is tied to me

If she had been in debt but I was rich…she is now considered rich, her debts are covered.

Jesus has paid our penalty and shares with us the riches of his righteousness (right-ness, or his good/right standing) with God.

Life in the Spirit means living empowered by the Spirit of Christ who dwells in us.

The mind set on the flesh seeks what only life in the Spirit can offer, life and peace.

The Mind set on the Flesh

Cannot submit and is hostile - it sees no value, desires autonomy and self-rule

The tragedy of the mind set on the flesh is the continual search for for the temporary.

Temporary happiness, joy, peace....they are fleeting pleasures

Money, House, Job, Spouse, Family, Recognition

results - Tired, Worried, Frustrated, disappointing

The Mind on the Spirit

This is a descriptive text, not a command… Those in Christ will be lead by the Spirit

New identity we will be aware of the things of the Spirit and enabled to submit to God

This identity and leading shepherds us to “life” and ‘peace”

We begin to see God and His will as good

We start to see our “stuff” in proper perspective

We can live at peace, with ourselves and with others

The fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5) The Spirit works in us to produce...

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness

Life in the Spirit enables us to kill sin and pursue God our Father.

The Spirit bears witness, there is assurance, God is our Father

We see our DAD as good, right, perfect

We will want to be more like DAD

Our desires become more like his....(DUKE)

We will hate our sin, we will seek to kill it

Killing sin might make us uncomfortable, it might cost

Friendships

Comfort

Time

But we have a far greater treasure

What motivates us to kill sin, is not duty or obligation, it is seeing God (Father) as our greatest treasure and finding joy in our pursuit of Him

Life in the Spirit means we are continually learning that our satisfaction, is only found in Jesus.

Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, “How can I get the air out of this glass?”

One man shouted, “Suck it out with a pump!” Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass.”

After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass.

“There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.”

He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by “sucking out a sin here and there,” but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.