ROMANS THE WAY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Bible Text: Romans 8:9-13

Subject: Obligation

Title: Which Obligation Controls You?

INTRODUCTION

Biblical Orientation:

Last week we studied the thought: which mind controls you? There are two natures battling it out inside of your body. If we let the carnal, fleshly mind control our life; we will have death and are driven by the flesh. In contrast, if we allow the spiritual mind to control our life, there is life and peace. The choice always seems obvious, but implementation can sometimes be harder than we thought

Why is it that even though we know how we are supposed to live we do not always translate truth and knowledge into a way of life? The reason is simpler than one may think: we feel an obligation to the flesh. We feel that we owe the flesh something for all of its help. What we fail to realize that it is the flesh that kept us separated from God and caused us to be dead in the first place!

Obligations themselves are not a bad thing. If you have made a promise to the Lord, that is an obligation. The person who promises God they will give up a sin or serve in a certain way has an obligation to fulfill the promise. This can be a really wonderful thing

Sermon Orientation:

As we study that death no longer has power over our lives, we must understand the depth to which we were dead and the height to which Christ makes us alive. It sounds weird but it is important for us to note how dead dead is and how alive alive is

Paul uses a conversation about life and death to help us learn how to overcome this feeling of obligation to the flesh. Which should you feel more of a debt towards: the flesh that brought you to death or the Spirit that gave you life? We know the answer of course

When you choose to follow the Spirit life is good: you have life and not just any life, life that is worth living

MAIN TEXT/EXPOSITION

I. HOW DEAD DEAD IS

A. Dead Means Not Being Born Again V 9

1. The person who is in the flesh is a person that does not have the Spirit of Christ

2. Therefore, they are not saved

3. A person cannot be saved and not have Christ in them

4. The person who does not know Christ will not be with Him for eternity

B. Dead Means The Body V 10

1. The body is the flesh

2. The body has no life because of sin

a. Remember 7:24

b. The flesh has one desire, fulfill itself

c. As a result of fulfilling its desires, man sins, therefore man is dead

3. Dead is used to mean not just a physical thing

a. Thought that will happen as a result of sin

b. The type of dead meant here is to be dead to God

i. To have no spiritual relationship with God

ii. To not be able to commune with Him because He does not recognize you as a living being

iii. Those without God are totally alone

4. Sin kills, it makes us totally dead to God and is incurable without Christ’s intervention

II. HOW ALIVE ALIVE IS

A. Alive Means Being Spiritual V 10

1. Paul uses two phrases to describe what happens to us when we are saved

a. First, Christ be in you

i. Christ promises to be with us forever

ii. John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you

b. Second, The Spirit is life because of righteousness

i. Because of God’s imputed righteousness, a believer is alive spiritually[1]

ii. Even though our body is dead, through sin, spiritually we are alive to God through the Spirit

iii. Our relationship gives us fellowship

B. Alive Means Being Raised As Christ Has Been Raised V 11

ü John 10:17-18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father

1. The resurrection of Christ involved the whole Trinity

a. Jesus gave His life

b. The commandment to rise up is from the Father

c. The power to rise up is from the Spirit

2. The promise to those who trust in Christ

a. Christ was the firstfruit, many more to come

b. The Spirit that raised Christ will make these mortal bodies to live

i. Mortal meaning finite and going to die

ii. When you called on Christ, the Spirit that indwelt you also caused your life to be eternal

iii. At Christ’s return, this mortal body will be given immortality and be made perfect

3. Then, we shall be like Christ and have a perfect body

C. Being Alive In The Spirit Means Not Being In Debt To The Flesh V 12

1. When God saved you, He changed you from the dead to the living: a miracle in itself

ü Read Romans 6:4-5

a. Therefore, you have a new debt

b. It is to God who has translated you from death to life

c. Since the Spirit of God transformed you, your debt is unto Him

2. The debt that you thought you had to the flesh is not valid

a. The only thing it ever did for you was to make you dead unto God

b. It has not helped, it has only hurt you

c. You cannot be in debt to the flesh once you are saved or you will try to live in the flesh

D. Alive Means Mortifying The Deeds Of The Body V 13

1. We have studied the results of living in the flesh

a. You will continue to sin

b. You will be displeased with the results

c. It may even cause your body to die prematurely

2. Living in the Spirit of God that dwells in you allows you to overcome the flesh

a. To mortify the deeds of the body is to kill its unholy actions

b. As a person lives in the Spirit, the Spirit of righteousness takes over

c. Righteousness kills off unrighteousness

d. Thus allowing the Christian to live a much better life than they did before they were saved

PREACHING PORTION

Sometimes When We Study Passages About The Holy Spirit We Feel Uncomfortable

It can be from a lack of knowledge

It can be from a lack of understanding of who and what the Holy Spirit is

It can be that we get a feeling like this is mysticism

The Holy Spirit Is God And Is Revealed In The Scriptures

ü 1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

In the same manner as you can know God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ; you can also know the Holy Spirit of God

The Holy Spirit has a few major functions in the Trinity

He convicts men of sin and convinces them of their need of Jesus Christ for salvation

He is the power in the regeneration of man (the one who translates us from death to life)

He causes us to understand God’s will and God’s Word

Studying His functions helps us live for the Lord

You And I Have A Deep Obligation To The Spirit

As with any good relationship, we need to cultivate it to see it grow

Study and learn how to live through the Spirit

As we learned in chapter 6: know the Spirit of God, reckon His presence in your life to be true, and yield unto His promptings

As we learned in chapter 7: let Him guide you in all the grace of the Lord

Now we learn to thank Him for His wonderful works in our lives

As we learn about Him, we grow our relationship with God

CONCLUSION

Are you cultivating your relationship with the Holy Spirit?

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[1]Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary: An exposition of the scriptures (2:470). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.