Therefore Part Two - Set Free

Therefore Series: “Therefore” series is going to be asking the question “now what?” Now that we are believers and followers of Christ, what does that mean?

Unbeliever: answers the question what does it mean to be a Christian, what are the benefits?

For us it should be both a great comfort and challenge to us.

This chapter is about the implications of what Jesus has done for us and how we can live and enjoy those blessings.

And so this chapter focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Romans 8 talks more about the Spirit than any other place in Scripture.

How does the Holy Spirit factor into our salvation?

Illustration: Time I got lost as a child … horrible feeling … for a parent there can be no more agonizing feeling than to have a missing child.

Question: Has the Holy Spirit gone missing? Should we put the Spirit on Milk Cartons and billboards?

I think for many of us in the Church, the subject of the Holy Spirit is one too controversial, mysterious, or just plain scary.

Illustration: “Salvation in a Charismatic Church”

Very often I’m tempted think of God only on two planes:

God the Father who is sovereign creator who in is charge of the show

iGod the Son who has secured for us salvation by his death and resurrection. ⁃But I believe we are missing out hugely when we forget the important and essential role of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit

Illustration: Millions of Americans are missing out on billions in forgotten cash. Currently, states, federal agencies and other organizations collectively hold more than $58 billion in unclaimed cash and benefits.

When we forget the work of the Holy Spirit we miss out hugely!

Main Idea: Here in Romans 8:1-4, we see that the Holy Spirit 1) Apply the Work of Christ to Us 2) Connects us with the person of Christ, 3) Calls us to a life lived for Christ.

The Spirit Applies the Work of Christ

But here’s a question. How does the work of Christ do this for me personally?

How does what Jesus did 2000 years ago help me and you today?

The key point Paul is making here is that it is the Holy Spirit that makes this a reality for us.

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

WSC Q. 29 -- How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ? A. We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit.

CALVIN QUOTE - “We must understand that as long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value for us. Therefore, to share with us what he has received from the Father, he had to become ours and to dwell within us.” --John Calvin

What happens is that we are united to Jesus in his perfect life, His sacrificial death, and even His resurrection by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

And just as all of these apply and are true of Jesus, they are true of us!

The Spirit Connects Us to the Person of Christ

So how does the Holy Spirit apply the work of Christ to us?

When the things we need to be clear of that when we become a Christian we do not just simply have an intellectual ascent and then begin a new philosophy of life.

What happens is when a person has saving faith?

She is then made alive when the Holy Spirit bring that person from spiritual death to spiritual life (John 3). And that same Holy Spirit unites us with Jesus, his perfect life, his death, and his resurrection.

“So we can move from “no condemnation” to “life.” How? Paul’s answer is characteristically precise and formulaic: we need to be “in Christ.” All that Christ accomplished for us on the cross needs to be internalized. We must be brought into a living and personal relationship with Jesus.” (Dr. Derek W.H. Thomas)

Illustration: Royal wedding. We have royal blood now. Christ himself is in us.

Biblical Illustrations of our union with Christ:

Vine and Branches: "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit of itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. . . . Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5).

Eating and drinking, which we adhere to literally every time we share in the Lord's Supper: "This is my body" and 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood" (1 Cor. 11:24-25).

Head and Body, in which he compares the members of the church to the various parts of Christ's body (cf 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18).

Husband and wife in marriage. Paul ends his teaching about marriage by saying, "This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church" (Eph. 5:32).

“In Christ … “ is the place of safety and liberty. It is the place of safety in that the one in Christ Jesus has the security of eternal life, a life that can never be taken from him and which he cannot lose by definition.

The Spirit Calls us to a Life for Christ

So now that the work of Christ is applied to us and we are now vitally connected to him; we should live accordingly.

If you have royal blood, you should seek to live accordingly.

Galatians 2:20

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Conclusion

Unbeliever: How do you get “in Christ”?

Work of the Holy Spirit

By Faith … Ephesians 3:17

Ephesians 3:17 ESV

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Believers: So back to where we started. Do we have unclaimed benefits, unclaimed assets?

We are royal blood. We are intimately connected with Jesus.

Are we living this way? Are we living in the new relationship we have with God in Christ?