Expound: Romans 8:1-27 - Part B

You say yes to Jesus as the Holy Spirit comes within you.

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead. The fleshly control body control. You don't have to be controlled by the old impulse to surrender your life to Christ spirit is living inside today on connect with Skip Skip shares about different and more purposeful delight becomes when you say yes to Jesus and let the spirit take up residence within want to let you know about a resource that will deepen your knowledge of God's word even more joy in the midst of hardship is a hallmark of the Christian life. But is it really possible is when you height. Sometimes what starts out as a happy trail turns into a really daunting road and we have to figure out how to navigate. A lot of times God's purpose in allowing trials is to get opportunities to grow to the point where we can genuinely experience joy in the midst of trial were not appraised trials with courage, wisdom yes joy with one use booklet happy trials when you get $20 or more today to help keep this Bible teaching ministry of the air will send you a special bond with three booklets by Linda happy trials don't test me and speak no evil. Get your bundle of three booklets for gift of $20 or more by calling 800-922-1888, or give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer that's connectwithskip.com/offer Romans chapter joy skip. Now we understand what Jesus meant when he said to his disciples were all out of shape. Jesus would be leaving. You can leave us to leave us because it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not know. I can't send the Holy Spirit. But if I go, I will send the Holy Spirit to Jesus went on to describe the glorious work of the Holy Spirit bringing things to remembrance empowering us for service so it's to our advantage. Now Paul is tapping into that advantage. As he says law of the Spirit S and verse for not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit S that is the holy spirit. Now I have to unravel something for you because it can be a little bit mystified. In verses two, three and four Paul uses the term law, notice it in your Bibles, but he uses it in two different ways. But he means two different things by so when we think of law we think of something that is a dictate a regulation, a regulatory principle, a legal regulatory principle like you can go over the speed limit. There's a lot you can do this. There is a law or we think of in terms of the law of Moses right you shall do this you shall not do this all of the stipulations written in legal parlance, but there's another way in which the word law is used and that is it means principle or driving force or that which motivates or controls so in verse two he says the law of the Spirit S of the law of Moses is not a legal mandate a legal requirement. He speaking here about the driving principle the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

The driving principle of sin and death. So we speak of the law of gravity doesn't mean that the United States Constitution, wrote gravity into law and therefore gravity exists because it's one of the laws in our country that that kind of like the principal we speak of columns law of electrostatic or electromagnetic force or we speak of the law of self-preservation.

We we mean something different. By that, right.

So there is an impulse in thus naturally a principle that drives us to do wrong, but now now by the Holy Spirit. There's an impulse, a principal that drives us to do right.

That's the idea of the law, but it's used.

A second way and that is in verse three he speaking out of the law of Moses.

What we know as the Old Testament law for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirements of the law. That is the law of Moses might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. So God gave the law but the law couldn't fix me like he said in the previous chapter.

The problem wasn't with the law. The problem was with me and somebody said amen right problem is with you, Skip and she's right. It is so the law is spiritual, but also I am carnal. I'm fleshly.

I'm not as spiritual so the law was on able to fix me the law could point out I had a problem the law like a mirror could point out I'm dirty, but the law cannot cleanse what I see can fix me. God made that apparent even from the beginning, when the children of Israel. When Moses said I'm going to go up and I'm good to hear from God.

The children of Israel who did not want to get near that mountain because of the lightning and the thunder and the noise they said yeah Mo you go you go go buddy go up there were not coming near you go up and you listen to God and you tell us what God says and you come back down and give us the word, and that what ever God tells us we will do. That's what they said. Famous last words and God responded and said oh that my people had such a heart to obey God recognized they couldn't do it, they wouldn't be able to do it. He was giving the law as a standard whereby we have a standard of reference that shows us how far we fall, but can't fix us. It was temporary.

Yes, there were sacrifices that covered over the issue covered over sin dealt with it on a temporary basis until the fullness of the time. Galatians 44 God would send his own son, verse five. For those who live according to the flesh set their mind on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded fleshly minded only thinking of gratifying your flesh to be carnally minded is death to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind the fleshly mind the. The old view. The old man the unregenerate self. The carnal mind is enmity or hostile against God or it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

That's a pretty good description of you and me BC before Christ. Before we were saved. We lived with the mind on the on the flesh, to gratify fleshly desires to gratify ourselves Jesus in the sermon on the Mount said don't worry about what you can eat what you gonna drink what you can aware. For after all these things the Gentiles seek. So the unbelieving world lives. It only lives to fulfill fleshly desires you have certain biological drives what they call primary biological drives and secondary drives among your primary drives as you have the air drive, but that the need to breathe and when you breathe. You oxygenate your bloodstream so you have that basic drive you underwater for a while. You gotta get up because youths got to do that. Gotta bring oxygen to those cells. You also have the drive for water. You have to keep hydrated otherwise because your body is so much water you'll die without it. You also have the drive to heat a food drive which replenishes energy for your cells in your body helps you grow. You have a Sex Dr., God put that drive within all of us so that you can have posterity of your future generations. All of those things drive biologically a human being. Nothing wrong with them. But if those things control you.

They can be problematic if the sex drive controls you. If you live only for sexual experiences or only culinary experiences or your desire to drink causes you to imbibe substances that are detrimental to you overlong all they can be problematic. We talked last week about body soul and spirit having the mind, the soul dominated either by the spirit or by the flesh. He's just continuing on that and explaining that a bit further. So, than those who are in the flesh cannot please God, but now this is the new you. That's the old you that you BC before Christ.

But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if indeed the Holy Spirit of God or the Spirit of God dwells in you know if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he is not his. When you say yes to Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes within you.

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead. The fleshly control the body control. You don't have to be controlled by the old impulses anymore. If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Now things have changed.

Now you live differently now you think differently now you want to please God. You want to serve God. Man, I remember that is one of the first indications that my life was changing. I didn't want to go to church before I was saved I had to go to church and when I was a teenager I would go to church stone hi just to get through it. I would tell my friends, I saw the priest fly up in the room with all the altar boys and got a float was a spiritual experience but it was brought on not by the Holy Spirit, but by the unholy spirit of lysergic acid dimethyl my LSD, but suddenly I gave my life to Christ and I remember the afternoon that I did that in all of a sudden I remember having the impulse to get to church.

I know of this church. I was up in San Jose know this crazy church down in SoCal called Calvary Chapel.

I'm in a go there all my friends were going there. All of a sudden I want to read the Bible you I didn't want to read the Bible before I would've understood it, had I tried to read but I had such a craving for so I think differently. We think and live differently.

We have a new desire, but also not only a desire we have capability capacity put within us by the Holy Spirit to do that which we desire.

We desire what we desire. Now in Christ because he put that desire in us.

He put that desire in us so that he might fulfill that desire in us by giving us the Holy Spirit. So we have a new desires to please him to serve him in a new capacity to do those things. So you kinda mix all these things there is no condemnation you at the no condemnation to the Holy Spirit's invigoration and that spells life transformation. Total change by the Holy Spirit and and he's making that evident that this is what should be in every child of God, controlled by the spirit of Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Somebody once said, if your religion doesn't change you, then you should change your religion wise thinking.

I've always believe, as I've always had this is my religion really is a really help your done any good because if not, you may want to think about switching and you find that Jesus, unlike a religion gives you the capacity to serve him, love him, be changed by him walking him, enjoy him, and he puts the Holy Spirit within you to do that. He makes you holy. By the way, that's the purpose of the holy spirit living in you.

Why is there a Holy Spirit to make you holy wait a minute I thought, God's job was to make me happy. No, it's not his job.

The purpose of the spirit is to make you holy but I guarantee you when you're holy, you will be happy best quickest way to happiness is holiness live to serve and please God, you'll be the happiest person in town only gets better. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die.

But if by the spirit you put to death the old word was mortified to get to that if you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Paul is simply saying, look, you have no obligation to your old self to your sinful fallen nature even though it wants you to know it's there and demand that you do something for every day your old nature was a what I mean what my needs feed me feed me feed me you don't call it anything.

However, you do have a responsibility and accountability to the Holy Spirit who lives in you. It is working in you, he was one that led you to Jesus Christ for salvation.

You're a child of God because of his work. See you all the old nature nothing the flesh. Nothing. But we do have a responsibility what you might say an obligation to the Holy Spirit.

Now here's how it works and and I think you discovered this to be true. We are either progressing in our relationship with Christ or we are regressing. I discovered that following Jesus is sort of like riding a bicycle uphill.

When I stop pedaling. I go back so stay out of this 1 foot in front of the other keep going. Keep walking in the Lord. There was an old Native American gentleman who was trying to describe after he came to Christ what it was like living after the spirit, but also having the flesh, and he said I have two dogs living inside of me a little one and a big one and they're always fighting each other and his friend said, well, which one wins the old gentleman said whichever one I feed the little one he met the spiritual life.

The big one had been there a long time. That's his sinful flesh, but if you feed the spirit then essentially are starving the flesh.

If you feed the flesh to starve the spirit so feed the spirit it ON. You'll find more spiritual dominance than fleshly dominance in your life, you know, it's also like this, our spiritual lives are like planting a flower garden. If you want to. If you want beautiful flowers you have to do a little gardening work right you you have to use right lies are the right kind of soil right kind of conditions of the soil, the right temperatures to get them to grow right now we need on the other hand, you don't worry about you never have to plant a weed of the cultivator. We do have to really try to get it to grow. I got to do is walk away. It grows naturally your old nature grows naturally, we were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Paul said in Ephesians 2. It's our nature. That's what grows naturally, the old you that big dog bark barking. So feed the spirit because you don't owe the flesh. Anything you have no obligation whatsoever. Choices put to death the old theologians called mortifying the flesh, that sort of a Puritan term based on this language of Paul in the old King James version put it to death mortified it kill it. If you are struggling with areas of your old nature and you're saying, well, you know, I've been dealing with us for a long time and so I'm gonna cut back on those activities them, to do it less. You'll never win, you have to starve it.

You have to close the door lock it walk away from it and feed the spirit that's that's the key to victory starve that puppy that is barking. Let it die for as many verse 14 as are led by the spirit. These are the sons of God. Children of God sons and daughters of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out father the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Notice how the language changes sons of God, adoption, children of God. The term adoption is a very important New Testament term. Paul uses a five times in his writings and it means to be placed as an adult son or an adult child in the Roman world adoption had interesting ramifications if you are adopted into a Roman family you immediately as the adopted son lost all of the rights and privileges, and debts of your previous family and you were given all the rights and privileges in the new family. In fact, you have the same right as an adopted child as a natural born child in a Roman household you even became a co-air when there were inheritance laws or land passed out viewing if the children would inherit an estate. The adopted child would get as much as the natural born child. So we became children of God. We were born again.

Jesus uses that language. Paul uses the language of adoption placed as adult sons. So, we received the spirit of adoption verse 15, by whom we cry, Bob father is an Aramaic term but also a Hebrew term, if you go to Israel you will hear that frequently in the stream back if you're in Jerusalem you hear these little kids crying out and you I know what that word is as you read your Bible, you know, Romans was that I bought which is daddy father. That's all. Jesus taught us to pray to God he said, when you pray, say, our father is very different from Jews before Jesus rabbis before Jesus never taught there.

Tell Nadeem their students to have a personal relationship with God and have was very formal.

It was very distant. It was very remote. God was put off by that and so when they pray they didn't even call God God. They didn't call him by his name Yahweh.

What they did when you'll still still here at today and in the or an Orthodox community. They will refer to the Lord our God is hot sham hot sham hot sham is Hebrew for the name. So when you want to talk about God using thy name said this guy name did that how different from when you pray, say, our father Danny so intimate, so different that Skip the message from the series expound here. Skip to share how you can keep these messages coming your way to connect you and many others around the world. God's truth when Jesus walked the earth. He was known for loving the most unloved and marginalized people in society and he does the same today through you and me his people. I want to ask you to consider partnering with this ministry, as we expand the reach of these Bible teachings to include folks who might not otherwise hear the life-changing message of the gospel.

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