Romans 8:9-11 "Life By The Spirit pt.2"

Introduction:

Our text this morning is set in contrast to the previous section that we looked at 3 weeks ago.

Life in the Flesh is hostile to God and it is unable to submit to God’s law. And it is impossible therefore to even please God.

Life in the Spirit is the only way this can be rectified and bring about change in a person’s life. The Holy Spirit must be present in order for this to happen. Look back at your text to verse 9:

I. The Presence (9).

At the end of the day it is the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life that is the mark of the authentic Christian.

This is how one has the capacity to be in the Spirit instead of being in the flesh.

Yes, religious deeds and rituals can be done in the flesh but the motive behind them is not necessarily something that is pure.

Because such actions are not done out of a Holy Spirit transformed life.

As the Apostle Paul says at he end of verse 9, One must have the Spirit of Christ in them or they don’t truly belong to Christ.

You may have a long history and lineage of Christians before you and you may have good works of a religious nature running out your ears but none of that necessarily makes you a Christian.

Without the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life there is no reason for you to believe that you are truly a Christian. You must be born again for the work of Christ to be applied to your life.

One of the most frightening things imaginable would be to live your life deceived thinking you are saved only to find out on the final day that you are not.

The Holy Spirit is the means by which regeneration is worked and the benefits of Christ are applied.

Christian true salvation is of the Lord. This is because it takes a miracle to transform the dead to life.

Perhaps you remember in Ezekiel 37 when the Lord took His prophet Ezekiel to the Valley of Dry Bones and the Lord asked His prophet a question in Ezekiel 37:3 “And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.””

And the Lord instructed Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. And if you know the story Ezekiel did in Ezekiel 37:4-10 “Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”

It is a false notion that becoming a true believer is only a mental assent. Because one cannot enter nor can the see the Kingdom apart from a supernatural work of almighty God. It takes power for transformation the dead must be made alive. Look back at your text to verses 10-11:

II. The Power (10-11).

The Spirit of Christ in you Christian is what makes you alive. The reality of our sinful flesh may be all around us and it may be lurking in the shadows of our minds and hearts but that our primary source and identity.

If we are in Christ there is a life that has been made knew by the power of the Holy Spirit.

His character is righteous and not only is righteousness imputed to us by faith alone for our justification but the Holy Spirit is working righteousness into our actions through our sanctification.

He is the Spirit of Truth and He doesn’t work through falsehood. Lies and deception and manipulation don’t do the Holy Spirit’s bidding.

Jesus told us in John 16:8 “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:”

But these are the exact things that in our modern time so many are convinced that we have to keep back in our preaching and evangelism.

The marketing gurus have been sought out and the studies have been done, and people are not buying into sin in light of God’s righteous and the judgement to come.

So church has been adjusted to accommodate the sin and the absolute certainty of eternal judgement o come.

And that is why the statistics reflect the modern church as they do. According to the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University that only 9% of professing Christians have a biblical worldview.

One reason is because the Holy Spirit’s ministry through the word of God has been pushed to the side because He is no longer relevant in His task of convicting of sin in light of the righteousness of God and the certainty of the coming judgement.

Christian, if He dwells in you He is the power of your transformation not only in the here and now but that reality translates into hope for our final transformation in eternity.

If you love Christ then you will love what His Spirit has to say to you.

He is the life giver to our mortal bodies. Sin, Death and Decay will not have the final say in our case. He is currently working His sanctifying grace in our lives.

If you are truly a believer, you can’t go on lying to your spouse and others. You should be convicted in your actions.

If you are truly a believer, you can’t go on committing adultery in your marriage by having an affair or indulging in pornographic internet sites.

If you are truly a believer, you can’t neglect the regular practice of community worship in thinking it is optional as a believer.

If you are truly a believer, you can’t think that the sovereignty of the self is superior to the sovereignty of God.

As a pastor I never worry about the eternal state of people who are broken before a Holy God over their sin. That tells me that the Holy Spirit is there. And He is so much better about working sanctifying grace than any pastor could ever be.

All I am is the little messenger boy. I get to preach the gospel in the midst of His conviction and watch Him work the conviction and apply the message of the gospel of grace to the people of God.

The second and third graders Sunday School class but a big card outside of my office saying thanks Pastor Brett for preaching the word of God to us. It touched my heart to see that. Thanks so much 2nd and 3rd graders!

But the Holy Spirit is the one who works through the word to make it effectual for transformation. He is the life giver and He uses imperfect people to declare His truth.

Conclusion:

And He is here again to work the word into the hearts of fallen men and women again.

Unbeliever He is here to convict you of Sin in light of the righteous, holiness of God and to call you to saving faith in Christ.

Believer He is here to convict you of Sin in light of the righteous, holiness of God and to call you on in obedience in your sanctification.

This is the pursuit in the here and now as we live in our hope for eternity. If we love Christ then we should love what the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ has to say to us.

Confess and receive His grace to you. Let’s pray!