Romans 7:24-8:4

Illustration: Testimony… I attended Church my whole life and I was unaware of my condition apart from Christ.

Romans 7:24 NASB95

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

So this week, while we were at camp, we wanted to be as clear as we possibly could realizing our limitations.

Paul is speaking here as a believer, and even he realizes that nothing good is in him.

The reality is, We can be crystal clear when it comes to the Gospel, and people can still reject it.

Here is where we must admit our inability.

Because even though he is saved, he still remains in this body of death.

However, oftentimes the Gospel is not preached with clarity, especially to our young people.

We water down the truth of the Word of God.

We have made things relevant, but we have failed to

It is sugar coated, or portrayed in a way that is easy believism.

Sin kills.

And our bodies and our lives are associated with sin.

A lot of churches as a result of preaching a cheap Gospel and oftentimes a false Gospel, have produced many “decision makers,” but many of those do not turn out to be genuine disciples of Christ.

Thats really all we know.

That being said.

WE HAD THREE SPECIFIC WORSHIP TIMES AND IN EACH, WE DISCUSSED A DIFFERENT ASPECT OF THE SAME MESSAGE.

Every day is a war within ourselves.

We began with the Reality of our condition apart from Christ.

The passage we read was

Ephesians 2:1 NASB95

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

Ephesians 2:1–6 NASB95

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 2:1–4 NASB95

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

Paul here tell of our condition before Christ.

Hear this:

This WAS the condition of every believer before Jesus.

Everything he writes here is in the past tense.

But here the direness of our condition.

Dead. Spiritually, Paul says here that we are dead.

Dead is the absence of life.

The unbeliever has no interaction with God.

Their are dead in the sphere of sin.

Sins and trespasses.

Both of these speak of deliberate actions against God.

We all have. Because we are sinners we sin.

Ephesians 2:2 NASB95

in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Those who are dead in sin are described in verses 2-3

These people walk according to:

The ways of the world.

Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but most people are not following Christ with their lives.

The majority of people are on the broad path that leads to destruction mention in .

And here we see that Unbelievers follow other unbelievers.

According to the prince of the power of the air.

Essentially, the unsaved are in the clinched fist of Satan. They live according to His plan.

Well isn’t that a little harsh?

Is it?

If someone is not believing, then they are still opposing God through their sin.

They follow the way of the one who has opposed God,

According to the Spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

There is a spirit that is working in the hearts and lives of those who are not saved, but it is not the Holy Spirit.

It is either the Spirit of the age, or it is the Spirit associated with the prince of the power of the air, but either way, it is a spirit that influences them toward disobedience.

In verse 2, we see what influences these people. In verse 3, we see what these people do and the result.

Ephesians 2:3 NASB95

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Live according to our flesh.

Those apart from Christ are more worried about appeasing and satisfying their flesh than they are appeasing and satisfying Christ.

Instead of living for the one who created them, they live for themselves.

The result of this is that they along with the rest of those who oppose God are children of wrath.

By nature Children of wrath.

The result of our sinfulness is the wrath of God. by nature here means that this sin, at our core, is who we are. And who we are as sinners sets us against who God is as Holy.

God’s holiness demands that he punish sin.

Thus, All sin will be punished.

So here is our reality apart from Christ.

We are dead, unable to get ourselves to a condition of life.

We are under the control and influence of the world, of Satan, and the Spirit of disobedience.

We continuously indulge in the desires of the flesh because of who we are.

And all of that brings the righteousness anger and wrath of God.

This is the reality.

But what is the remedy?

Ephesians 2:4–5 NASB95

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

tells us what happens in salvation.

God, because of his mercy, makes us alive.

But how?

How does he do this?

How can he just mercifully pardon us of our sin?

Turn with me in your Bibles to

Romans 8:1–4 NASB95

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

Romans 8:1 NASB95

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Therefore. Paul has just got through explaining his struggle sin as a believer.

He is wrestling with the reality that even though he is in Christ, he still wrestles against his sinful nature.

At the end of chapter 7, concludes that he is a wretched man, but he also that Jesus is his remedy.

In verse 1, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

The implication here is that, there used to be condemnation for those who are not.

Again, the wrath of God abides on those who are not trusting in Christ.

But for those in Christ, Paul here declares that there is no condemnation for them.

but thats not it.

Romans 8:2 NASB95

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

He goes on to say in verse 2 that the spirit of Christ, has set us free from our previous influences. We just mentioned those in .

But again, How does he do this? What is the remedy of our condition?

Its obvious we cant do it.

Look right here in verse 3

Romans 8:3 NASB95

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

The Law could not do.

Please understand what Paul is saying.

The Law and keeping Laws cannot make us right with God.

Why? Because our flesh is weak, and we fail.

When you combine God’s Law? and our weak flesh, we fail every time.

We can’t do it.

But here is what I hear people say all the time.

“I’m just living the best I can, preacher.”

“you know, Nobody is perfect.”

“Well I try to go to church when I can.”

And they may be correct, but please understand, living the best you can ain’t good enough. “Going to church when you can, aint getting you into heaven.”

Going to church doesn’t get rid of the fact that you have sinned against a holy God.

We often think that God works like a scale. that if my good out weighs my bad, I’m safe. But thats not how it works.

Hear what Paul says here.

the Law cant do it.

The Law was never meant to.

But listen, what the Law couldn’t do. What you couldn’t do.

God did.

What you couldn’t do God did.

In Christ and only in Christ, we have all that is necessary for salvation.

He is our remedy.

He has taken the punishment that is rightfully ours. This has allowed for God’s mercy and has satisfied God’s justice.

He has became sin.

He has stepped in our place and condemned for us. And God has poured his wrath out on Christ.

verse 4

Romans 8:4 NASB95

so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The requirement of the Law can be fulfilled in us....

How? I could never keep it.

Christ kept it for me.

The requirement of the Law (justice) can be fulfilled in us…

How? I could never pay that.

Christ paid it for me.

Christ is our remedy.

Do you believe this?