Know ... Consider ... Present

Threats 5 1/2 chapters. Here Paul has been teaching theological truth. He's been expanding our minds and our vocabularies as to the great doctrines that are now the believers right in and experience.

Now Paul for the first time, commands the believer to do something. And guess what he commands the believer to know comes to this critical point in his letter and says, in effect, okay, you know enough about this theological truth that you need to know for now think that way as life unfold. Is it only for intellectuals today working to discover that the study of God can and should be the most exciting study in the universe as Christians are standing with God has nothing to do with how we feel we might feel inadequate or alone or unloved, or helpless, but despite how we feel the Bible is clear our position in Christ is firmly rooted in his promises to us and not in our feelings working to learn more about that wonderful theological truth today.

This is wisdom for the heart, and Stephen Dave. He is calling this message. No consider present. I can remember one of my professors correctly challenging me with the truth that we as people of God cannot behave unless we believe that acting biblically was the direct result of believing biblically. He often said that the average Christian, did not behave correctly because they did not think correctly. As the apostle Paul wants to learn anything. Does he want us to expand our vocabulary. Does he want us to think theologically, I'm convinced that unless we think correctly. We cannot live correct lives. The glorify God. In fact, I think there are three keywords that being the first of the three words that Paul will you sort of as an outline of this The three keywords are no K.

NOW the next word is consider. In the third word is present.

Now notice in verse six where we left off last Thursday, let's pick it up there.

Be ready to circle these words as they appear.

Knowing he says this, that our old self was crucified with him that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, for he was died is freed from sin again Paul is going back to the original question that launched this chapter of study.

Can we live in sin. Having come to faith in Christ. Paul is already basically answered out that a person ever want to live in sin having been immersed into the body of Christ by the agency of God spare clothes with Jesus Christ publicly identified with Christ through water immersion, thus signifying identification with his death, burial and resurrection. How can we, who have had that done to us, and have identified that way ourselves and go back to this prison house of sin. Paul says, in effect here. Didn't get it the first time. Let me repeat myself just using slightly different language. Let me add some commentary. The believer will soon but the believer cannot sin without guilt and misery and discipline the most miserable person or people on planet Earth are sending Christians they can't enjoy a truly enjoy their sin because they know what it costs Christ and they know that it grieves the spirit within them there, miserable, whatever they do sin, guilt outweighs temporary gain whenever they do rebel. The discipline of God outlasts temporary delight. So for the true believer guilt outweighs any gain. Discipline outlasts any delight, but what about the person's as well as Jesus in my heart a long time ago and I've been living the web and living thing to do them but really that matter, I don't want to have so I can live this probably life of sin by signing the card over that person on repentance is unmasking their temporary profession.

John wrote it this way in first John 219 they went out from us, the sitting unrepented person they went out from us, but they were not really out of us, for they had been all of us.

They would've remained with us, for they went out in order that it might be shown that they were not all of us on repentance unmasks unbelief in anybody because it is an all right role say to somebody when you're not saved my comment if somebody might come to me as I'm living the way want to live and I'm in sin but I don't want Evan, I feel it is my duty to tell a man every reason to believe regarding the hell, maybe God's spirit will use that challenge and warn them they perhaps have been deceived. You want to circle the two times Paul uses the word to know in this paragraph used by the way back in verse three.

Do you not know verse six knowing this thing in verse nine knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead as never did I get is is I want you to know certain things about certain truths thinking correctly is the foundation for living correctly now. What does Paul want us to know when he writes in verse six, our old self was crucified with him that our body of sin might be done away. Some would believe that this old self is a reference to moral nature, our sin nature. I believe it simply refers to what Paul's Artie been talking about that we the old part of us was in Christ, as it were, on the cross of anything this old self could refer our old way of living, Jay McLean, a great theologian is now the Lord wrote the old man means the old self.

What we were in Adam that old man was crucified with Christ at the cross and in the mind of God.

The task is finished. People today talk about crucifying the old man. Paul says the old man has been crucified already.

Christ is already on the if Paul is thinking about the old nature or the sin nature, which is certainly not eradicated a salvation to talk about in a minute. Paul illustrates that truth in chapter 7 where he will talk about the struggle he has within himself between wanting to do things that he doesn't do and not doing the things that he doesn't will study that at least when we get there was some would say well Paul here in verse six.

If you go back there says our body of sin might be done away. That sounds eradicated to manufacture translation might read the body of citizens destroy something is eradicated, it would seem with the Greek verb translated destroyed or done away with is a wonderful verb cut or go which means to be rendered inoperative not to be extinguished, but literally you can render it to be put out of business. I think that's my favorite to be put out of business is the same word by the way the polling is in first Corinthians chapter 13 verse eight is a related to the specific gift of prophecy.

He said the prophecy will be cut or go prophecy will be done away with the doesn't mean God is destroying prophecy we have it simply means that that gift of prophecy is going to be put out of business. Why is going to give us the completed canon of Scripture that you happen to have bound sitting. I hope in your lap. So in other words, we don't need to hear from prophets. Today they been put out of business, as it were, because we are hearing what they have already said, for God's revelation will Paul says our body of sin has been cut or go he means not that it's been extinguished. This old nature, he simply means it's been made inoperative, unnecessary. It's been put out of business within you say will wait a second. If it's been put out of business so much trouble with. Let me illustrate what I think Paul is saying when he says that our body of sin has been cut or get a number of years ago when my wife and I moved into this area. We were doing shopping over by Glenwood Avenue.

You know the mall is sort of in the base of this valley and then you have Glenwood that goes up a steep hill, and eventually levels out in the neural of shops and restaurants.

We were shopping up in that area and my wife said to me honey. We need to stop and get gas run empty and what I say yes dear no I did. I said honey were okay little later on honey we'll get gas for you to get stranded somewhere you can put gas in the car and I said you know every why do wives do this but don't they realize they were trying to be stubborn idiots at that moment in our lives and we want to do what we want to do.

Just let us go when she's now were okay will sure enough we finish shopping. We were up there in that area that a little bit to eat and we are coming back and just as we crested the hill. Guess what happened I ran out of gas in my wife said said little you know. And I'm thinking oh no, I cannot believe this, and we were actually going on the hill so I just thought put this thing in neutral and coast as far as I came in so I put it in neutral, we begin the coast on that long hill with a lot of the work and end up, but I just hope we keep coasting somewhere so we got down to the bottom of the hill and you know that stoplight is thereby the corner where the mall is stays red for like 89 minutes right before we got to it turned green I was so glad I didn't want to get stranded there, we coasted right through it there at the corner. There used to be little gas station. We coasted through the light turned in into the parking lot turnaround actually coasted right up to the gas pump.

Thank you. He rescues the foolish man from calamity. That's all I meant was fortunate will my car experienced Connor go that is, it ceased to operate.

It was rendered ineffective. Why many gas in the engine. Now let's suppose for a minute. This is not a very good analogy. So don't take to four but suppose for a minute that that car represented your sin nature. There were times when it did represent my sin nature. But let's say for a moment and then as it's stopped at the gas pump and represented your signature, what would you not want to do.

You would not want to put gas in it you would not want to feed it you would not want anything. The spark in the engine you're still in it. It's not eradicated, but you don't want to have that thing come back to life. I think that's the point of the struggle that we might have with our old nature. We want to make sure that we do not feed it. We want to make sure that we do not cause something that spark something that brings back that old nature where it can dominate where you can as Paul will later say bring us back into that kind of living that is bondage to sin. We want to leave a nonempty. Don't feed it.

Paul is going to talk about that point later on, but for now the first key word is the word no need to know. You need to think theologically the truth, knowing that you've died in Christ, your old nature was stripped of its power.

You do not have to sin be prepared. However, the battles DL Moody, the evangelist who founded Moody Bible Institute, and later Moody Memorial church as it would become known, pastored by Dr. Luther Buford is coming once wrote in the late 1800s when I was converted I made the mistake of thinking the battle was over in one of the great challenges to those who come to faith in Christ is that first discovery, maybe a week later, maybe a month later, maybe two months later that the battle is an over Jim when he said that was my first mistake that my old corrupt nature was gone. He goes on to write, but I found out after serving Christ for just a few months that conversion was more like enlisting in the Army and now battles were on every hand. He found it to be true.

It is true you have a greater difficulty with sin after coming to faith in Christ than before because before you never thought about it and as you grow in Christ every airing thoughts plagues you every selfish desire brings you grief you have entered the battle as Moody said was our hope, our hope is first of all that we know down in verse nine we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead is never to die again death no longer is master over him.

He died as it were, to the penalty.

The claim of sin once for all, to give you a second word is the word consider verse 11. Look there.

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus, and reminds us of the truth.

Back in verse seven he was died to sin is freed from sin. What does Paul mean freed from sin special. I still battle sin I don't feel free. What he means is is that you are free from the dominating tyrannical rule and reign, and obscenity are still within sins reach, but you're not Anderson's rule, a freed slave can stand directly in the presence of his former master, and even though we might be shaking in his boots, so to speak. He can look his master in the eye and ignore every one of his commands. The former slave no longer has to obey the master because the master has been put out of business.

So Paul in verse 11 says think, consider your translation might redirect Ken, that's a great word) proves Paul was a Southerner reckon yourself to be dead to sin. By the way, you need another verse 11 is a hint. This letter, it changes something very, very important.

James Boyce made this interesting observation intrigued me and I did a little searching is true, he made the thought that as he wrote that this verse is the first exhortation of Paul in this letter. It's the first time Paul tells us to do anything then interesting. In other words, throughout 5 1/2 chapters. Here Paul has been teaching theological truth. He's been expanding our minds and our vocabularies as to the great doctrines that are now the believers right in and experience. Now Paul for the first time, commands the believer to do something. And guess what he commands the believer to know think, consider, reckon, think theologically, consider this meditate on this Greek word is look good so my from which we get our words logic logical. Let this impact you so that you logically consider the truth of it comes to this critical point in his letter and says, in effect, okay, you know enough about this theological truth that you need to know for now you are dead and your life is hidden with Christ. You're also buried and resurrected and ascended with Christ now think that way as life unfold.

Let those thoughts dominate your mind. Isn't it true that the battle in life is the battle of the mind. So Paul says as circumstances unfold in your life. Think these things to be true, reckon them to be true. Why does that work. Let me give you a couple of illustrations you're tempted to say I feel unacceptable to God. The old master of that kingdom whispers your unacceptable God will think consider the truth of this, therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted you to the glory of God. That's the truth you say II feel inadequate for life.

Consider the truth of second Corinthians 3 not that we are inadequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves some putter. There is a, he goes on to say, but our adequacy is from God. I can do.

Why all things through Christ who strengthens me. That's the true you feel alone. Consider the truth, for I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come her powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, think theologically, God himself said I will never leave you. I will never forsake you.

Hebrews 13 five. That's the truth you feel unloved. Consider reckon to be true. The word of God is says therefore be imitators of God, because your beloved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for you and offering and a sacrifice to God is a fragrant aroma.

Paul would later write in Romans eight he who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for Saul. This is how much he loves you, ladies and gentlemen who was the one who condemns you. Christ Jesus is he who died, yes rather is raised who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us who will separate us from the love of Christ. That's the truth. You think you are hopeless maybe you think life is hopeless.

Listen to the truth of David wrote in Psalm 16 I have set the Lord continually before me was he said continually meditating on the truth that he is with me is before me, behind me, around me. Now notice what happens.

Because of that, because he is at my right hand because I think that way I will not be shaken by heart is glad of my glory rejoices. My flesh will dwell securely. You will make known the meal God the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy in your right hand there are pleasures forever. So I feel afraid that Satan is going to get after me in some way and I don't have a chance. The Bible says the truth is that you reckon consider think greater is he who is in you than he was in the world. Paul wrote, for he rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin say whether in the anything really special about me maybe that's how you feel. Maybe the whisperings of the enemy from the old Kingdom says God never really thinks about you. How he loves you but he supposed to do that is God right but didn't think about you. Here's the truth. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ was blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ himself, according to the kind intention of his will leaving you things about you is thought about you before the world were created in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished on us. Paul is telling them and telling us is think about these true by the way, considering the reckoning is not acting as if something is true. It's acting because it is true when Paul tells us to consider something to think something here he is just playing some sort of word game and on the put on a smile and think happy thoughts.

That is what he saying he's literally talking about the matter of conforming our minds and renewing our thought patterns to the truth of God's perspective ineffective saying you know the truth now think it and let it rewrite all of the messages while you lived under the domain of the enemy. Think the perspective of God. The secret to all life and as he begins the one veil holy living is not necessarily that how you feel. It isn't even you are what you believe you are as a man thinks in his heart. What so is believe, consider, reckon yourselves to be dead to the tyranny of sin allowed to go to Christie's, there's 1/3 word that I want to address weekly. The first word is related to theological information. The second word was related theological calculation. The third word has to do with theological application. Verse 12 therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lusts. Why would he tell them to not do that because I get to be tempted to what to do that and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present, there is the word again present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. The key word in this text is the word present your translation might read yield is a wonderful translation yield. The members of your body. What's that your hands your eyes your ears your feeds yield them to God not had a note on my desk for some time so that I would not forget. Because I forget just about everything. It reminded me that I had to go and get my drivers license renewed because this month is my birthday. I am 45. Halfway to 50.

I told my kids tragic in well if I don't get my drivers license renewed this month and I passed that date, I gotta take the poll exam all over again. You know the exam so you want to make sure that you get your drivers license renewed before that date. Life and I decided take a little bit of the test because I went down this week and I waited in line and an inordinate amount of time.

Finally got up to the little desk there and the lady said sit on please never look to me. I think the whole time sheets, rattled her way through it and she said may have your drivers license. I gave her my drivers license.

She looked at it and she looked at me and she looked at this and she said in this drivers license your picture does not have you wearing glasses.

Do you need glasses. I don't know why paused. I don't know why just just didn't say yes I have age since that picture I didn't need them, but I've actually gone from glasses to bifocal since that picture of me yes I did. I don't know.

I hesitated and said she said well you take a glasses officer and look into this little contraption here and the put your eyes there and read the top line of letters. I could see something in their she said the top line of letters.

I knew there was something at the top and more than one so I begin the fake. He be she, F, which was my great by the way, for that she sits or put your glasses back on, she said now look in there in read the first line I looked in there and it was filled with wonderful things, a L in PR had nothing to do with it.

So I now have a drivers license with me in these now. She had me look a little bit further because the test was not over and she said I want to look at the bottom there and there are signs tell me what the first one is, there was no writing on this was a trick first one. Yes, the first one she said that the speed limit. That's right.

I've seen that before. I was really going the wrong direction with this lady. She said keep keep reading and I went through all of them and got to the triangular oneness on the rights or she help me with about 23 the questions so that I could pass the test, but I thought about that I knew with that one. And that's a pretty important sinus because you're driving along and maybe there's a road merging in with yours. Or maybe you're entering the interstate and you see that sign. That means your to stop or at least slow down and maybe come to a complete stop because the other driver has the one right away you pass with A+. The other driver has the right-of-way, so you gotta stop you get a yield of them. They've got the right to be first grade definition and illustration of that particular word that means that God has the right-of-way over your life and you need a slow and make sure that you are doing with your body. God wants you to do because he has the rights over the members of your body. The last thing you ever want to do is give the right-of-way to the NME to the old Kingdom yield present them to God who has the rights over your body.

Your heart your life. Everything about your God's we need to continually yield to God and pursue obedience to him. Thanks for joining us today here on wisdom for the hearts are Bible teacher Stephen Devi is calling this message. No consider present if you joined us a little late or if you had to step away for part of this message, you can go back and listen to it in its entirety on our website. In addition to listening for yourself. You can share this and all of Stephen's messages with others. That's a great way to help us reach more people with the truth of God's word. Our website is wisdom online.org. Thanks for taking the time to join us today. We were glad you were with us and I hope you will be with us next time right here on wisdom for the heart