Pardoned, Purposed, Powered

Secular -

"A customer called tech support in a panic: 'Help! My brand-new, top-of-the-line computer won't turn on! I pressed the power button, I shook the mouse, nothing happens!'

The tech support agent calmly asked, 'Is it plugged into the wall outlet?'

The customer replied, 'I can't check right now. The power in my house went out, and it's completely dark in here.'"

A lot of people try to run their lives without being plugged into Power! Today we will talk a little bit about being plugged into the power source.

Historical/Cultural Context -

Paul wrote Romans to explain the gospel and to establish the theological foundation of the faith. It was written between A.D. 56-58.

Recap -

Last week we talked about how the law has no power over us anymore. That it’s purpose was that of a school teacher. To teach me how full of sin I really was. This week Paul will be showing us or position in Christ. Romans 8 brings life in the area of mental health. Because it shows us who we really are in Christ Jesus. It speaks to our past heaviness as well as our Present. It also speaks to our anxiety about the future. In all things we can have peace within ourselves because of what Jesus did on the cross and subsequent resurrection.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - Christ Cancels Our Death Sentence. So Stop Living In The Flesh And Walk Daily In The Power Of The Holy Spirit.

Life Point- In Christ There Is No Condemnation, Only True Freedom.

Exegetical-

Romans 8:1–4 BSB

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Homiletical-

Romans 8:1 NKJV

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

There is therefore, therefore what?

Because Christ has fulfilled the law and it’s requirements and has put us under grace there is therefor no condemnation.

Condemnation, that word is often just read through without any thought about it. The term translated condemnation carries with it the idea of capital punishment. Death because of sin. But with Christ there is death no longer, but life found only in Him.

How do we know that we are in Him. Because we love Him and the change that He has wrought in us we no longer walk according to that sinful nature that we talked about last week. Now we walk according to the Spirit of God.

We can see Christ exercising His life upon the woman caught in Adultery. He says to her you no longer are bound by the law that states you must be stoned, because I forgive your debt and release you from it.

John 8:1–11 BSB

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He went back into the temple courts. All the people came to Him, and He sat down to teach them. The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do You say?” They said this to test Him, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger. When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.” And again He bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard this, they began to go away one by one, beginning with the older ones, until only Jesus was left, with the woman standing there. Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.”

This situation shows the law taking it’s authority over someone. Jesus declared that since no one was left to throw the stones at her to condemn her to death, that He doesn’t either. He has freed her to walk in life. He has given her a command also. “Go and sin no more.” He does it with a tone of her sin being forgiven, dealt with, and has freed her from the law. Forgiven and set free. That is how we all are to be.

I also like the last part of this verse that says we are IN Christ Jesus. We used to say that being in Christ was like Noah and the ark, we are to be getting as many people in the boat as we can. Being in Christ is like being in that boat. Like a verse from the old Hymn Leaning on the Everlasting arms tells us, that we are safe and secure from all alarms and also what have I to dread, what Have I to fear.

Being in Christ means you are a true Christian, not a false convert, you are safe and secure in Him. This world keeps wanting to plug along looking for peace but true peace can only be found in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:3–4 BSB

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The law of God is not weak, but we are. How? Because we can’t keep it perfectly. So God did by sending His son and He went willingly to the cross as an offering for our sin. You see He could not go for His sin, because He had no sin. So what He did, He did on our behalf.

He did this so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us.

Now how is the righteous standard fulfilled in us?

You see when you are truly saved you have the Holy Spirit come in to you and He teaches all things. He teaches you how to live and because He sheds His love for us upon our hearts we want to live out the standard of love in God’s law.

If you are a Christian you don’t have to walk in accordance with your sinful nature anymore. You walk in accordance with the Spirit.

Let me ask you a question.

Matthew 22:36–40 BSB

“Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” Jesus declared, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

This is all the law summed up. Your relationship with God and your relationship with others.

Can keep this perfectly?

No, of course not. You see you don’t have to anymore if you are a true Christian. The Holy Spirit quickens our hearts to make us live out this new law, the law of love.

This isn’t some hippie dippie kind of love this is AGAPE. That is God’s kind of love is selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional. It’s the love that prioritizes the well-being of others over one’s self.

Jesus is commanding affection or warmth here but a commitment to the person’s overall welfare.

There are times when you will have to call sin, sin and tell them there is a cure for sin and it is Jesus.

This kind of love won’t make you feel good all the time and you will feel rejected, but you are looking out for other’s well being.

We live and walk out AGAPE. We can’t do that, if we don’t have the Spirit of God in us. But because we have the Spirit of God we can walk out God’s kind of love.

Only true Christians walk according to the spirit.

Illustration -

A prisoner is sitting on death row, waiting for the executioner's signal. The verdict was just; the evidence against him was indisputable. The law demanded his life, and he had no defense. Right as the warden prepares to carry out the sentence, a voice calls out to stop the execution. A proxy steps forward—someone who has never broken a single law—and takes the convict’s place in the chair. The proxy pays the full penalty of death, while the warden walks over to the convict, unlocks the heavy iron chains, opens the heavy steel door, and hands him a full, unconditional pardon signed in blood.

But the pardon comes with a new gift. As the freed man steps out into the sunlight, he isn't just left to wander back into his old life of crime. The benefactor has placed a guide at his side—a mentor who shifts his desires, giving him a heart that no longer wants to break the law, but delights in living rightly out of overwhelming gratitude.

That is what Paul is talking about. The Law was like that iron prison cell—it could justly declare our guilt and sentence us to capital punishment, but it was powerless to change our hearts or set us free. In Christ, the death penalty is canceled, the Ark door is shut behind us, and the Holy Spirit now moves in to teach us how to walk in the selfless, sacrificial love of Agape.

Life Point - Will You Yield To Carnality?

Exegetical -

Romans 8:5–8 BSB

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.

Homiletical -

Remember last week I said the battle field begins in the mind. Whatever we set our minds on, we will do those things.

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the flesh

Paul tells us the mind of the flesh is death.

Want to know what death feels like? Live a carnal life and you will eventually see everything in your life fall apart. Because the end of sin is death.

I heard a preacher use the term carnal Christians. That my friend is an oxymoron. They don’t go together. We should be continually looking more and more like Christ. Remember no fruit, no Jesus.

Let’s take a second and talk about living in the flesh. I believe living in the flesh is why America is falling apart today. Too many people worried about their flesh and not enough living in AGAPE.

A carnal person asks, “Where can we eat now? What new hobby can we enjoy, now? What vacation can we take, now?” Always looking at tickling the flesh rather than looking ahead at the future and living sacrificially before a Holy God.

We think living in the flesh is committing blatant sins. While that is certainly apart of it, in reality, to live in the flesh simply means to give priority to the things of the material realm. Not the Spiritual reality in Christ.

This is also why Christianity is so hated by our world. All these people who live according to the flesh are hostile toward God. Because Christianity calls us to take account of our sin and become accountable to God. Folks, in the flesh, no one wants to be held accountable for anything.

The Fleshly nature cannot submit to the law of love. The law of God, which is living in AGAPE. Because the flesh is all about “me.” What I want, what I think I need. The flesh is all about feeding the flesh.

Those controlled by flesh cannot please God. Nor does the flesh have any desire to do so.

Illustration -

Think about this, you are trying to grow a vibrant, fruit-bearing garden inside a pitch-black, airtight basement. You bring in prime soil and pour in water, but you refuse to open the windows to let in sunlight or fresh air. You sit in the dark, wondering why nothing grows except pale mold and decay. No matter how hard you work or how much fertilizer you throw in, a seed simply cannot produce healthy fruit without light. Darkness is inherently hostile to life; it stifles growth and guarantees decay.

Those who set their minds on the flesh are living in that dark basement. You can’t produce the fruit of the Spirit or live out Agape while shutting out the light of God's Spirit. A life centered on self, ease, and comfort is completely starved. The fleshly mind can only produce spiritual decay and death, while setting the mind on the Spirit floods the soul with the sunlight of true life and peace.

Life Point - Make Sure Your Plugged Into The Power Source.

Exegetical -

Romans 8:9–11 BSB

You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

Homiletical -

Those who are saved are controlled not by the flesh nature. So stop yielding to it. It is a loud lion with no teeth. If you are born again then the Spirit of God lives in you. Without the Spirit of God you cannot live to please God.

If you don’t have God’s Spirit living on the inside of you, then you don’t belong to Christ you can do nothing but sin. How about letting go of that sin in your life and let the light of Christ dwell in you richly today?

Something to note here. I used to wonder why if we are saved do we still die physically?

There are many things one could say about that question but it all comes down to our body is dead because of sin. Sin entered the world through Adam and the consequences of those actions still resonates today.

But praise God, God is not finished with us. There is coming a time when we will have a new body that will live forever. We will rise again.

Why?

Because the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us and He will give life to us.

Paul echos this in:

1 Thessalonians 4:13–17 BSB

Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

Have you noticed up to this point how often Paul has talked about having the Spirit of God in you, living in you? That anyone who doesn’t have the Spirit of God doesn’t belong to Christ?

You know what that means right? If you don’t know God and are telling yourself that you do then you are a false convert and need to get saved.

If you know, you don’t know Jesus as a your personal Lord and Savior, then today He is calling you to repentance too. Will you come to know Jesus today?

Illustration -

You walk into a skyscraper at night. On the outside, it has high walls, impressive architecture. But inside, every room is pitch black, the climate control is dead, and the elevators won't move. You can hang a sign on the front door that says "Operational Headquarters," but if the building isn't connected to the power grid, it’s just a cold, empty shell.

The moment the high-voltage master power line is plugged into the building’s main circuit, everything changes instantly. The lights surge on, the air begins to circulate, and life fills every hallway.

You can put a "Christian" sign on the outside of your life, come to church, and look impressive from afar, but without the Holy Spirit dwelling inside, there is no spiritual life. Only dark self-reliance. But when you are truly born again, you are plugged into the power grid, transforming you from an empty shell into a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Life Principle– Christ Cancels Our Death Sentence. So Stop Living In The Flesh And Walk Daily In The Power Of The Holy Spirit.

Call to Action – altar call….