[0:00] Take your Bibles and go with me to the book of Romans, Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8. This morning, we're only going to be looking at verses 1 through 4.
[0:10] Romans chapter 8, the first four verses, verses 1 through 4. Romans 8, verses 1 through 4, as we just continue to make our way through the Word of God.
[0:22] I'm probably going to step back into the 7th chapter and read verses 24 and 25 so that we can put it in context, okay? So if you're physically able and desire to do so, I'm going to ask if you'll join with me as we stand together.
[0:35] We read the Word of God, found in Romans chapter 8, verses 1 through 4. Backing up, catching the last two verses of the 7th chapter so that we can set it in context and hopefully understand the weight and the power behind it.
[0:50] The Word of God says, Wretched man that I am, who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then on the one hand, I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other with my flesh, the law of sin.
[1:07] Romans 8, verse 1. 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.
[1:20] 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.
[1:33] 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. Let's pray. Lord, we thank You so much for this day.
[1:45] And God, we realize there is so much to be in prayer for. There are so many around us who, Lord, just need the undergirding and the support of prayer. And Lord, we lift them up. We're mindful of them.
[1:56] But God, as we have gathered together and we've opened up Your Word, we pray that Your Word would speak to us. We pray that we would be able to grasp the truth that it contains. And Lord, that that truth would not only be understood, but Lord, that it would be received and it would transform our lives.
[2:12] It would draw us closer to You, Lord. It would move us closer to one another. Lord, it would compel us to live as we should in the world You've put us in. God, we thank You for each one.
[2:22] We thank You for every opportunity. And Lord, we say, here we are. Speak to us. And we ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Amen. We have been gradually making our way through this great book, the book of Romans, as Paul is writing to the church at Rome, attempting to lay for them the foundations of the doctrines, the foundational doctrines of the faith which they claim to believe.
[2:48] The church at Rome, we have no idea who started it. We have no idea who begun it. We have an understanding that it was probably someone who came from the diaspora, that is the dispersion, and came into Jerusalem and listened to that message preached by Peter on Pentecost, who had accepted Jesus Christ, went back to his hometown, told other people about it, and as is true with the gospel, where two or more are gathered together, all of a sudden we have a church.
[3:14] And they begin to assemble one with another, to be encouraged along with one another, and to move one another closer to walking as they should in faith. We know that there are some great believers who come out of the church at Rome.
[3:27] Paul encounters some of them during his missionary travel, some great men and women that he encounters in different regions, but he has yet to make it to Rome. We know that Paul will eventually make it to Rome.
[3:39] He will make it to Rome as a prisoner bound in chains, awaiting really his trial before the emperor, and eventually would lead to his crucifixion. Would lead, not his crucifixion, but his death.
[3:51] It would lead to his martyrdom because of the faith. We know that when Paul gets to the land of Rome, he is greeted by this great church who walks a certain distance, some distance, to meet him and to escort him into the city proper.
[4:06] We know that by the time Paul gets there, there's a thriving church, not just in one location, but in multiple locations around the city. And Paul, as is his custom, bore a concern for every church, not only for those which he started, but for those which he was aware of.
[4:24] And he wanted to ensure that the churches were living according to the requirements and the commandments and the call of God, not in a legalistic manner. Paul didn't attempt to lay down a set of rules of do's and don'ts.
[4:38] Rather, Paul wanted men and women to really understood who they were in Jesus Christ. If you read the letters of Paul and you see the work of Paul in the church which he started and pastored, in the churches in which he wrote letters to with concern, it wasn't that they would be legalistically correct, but that they would be spiritually right.
[4:57] That they would really understand who they are in Jesus Christ. And his concern for the church at Rome was that they would understand the foundational doctrines of the faith. It is not that they were good enough people.
[5:09] It is not that they attained the right standard. It is not that God accepted them because they did all the right things. They crossed all their T's and dotted all their I's and they made all their check marks in the right boxes.
[5:20] He wanted them to understand that they were saved by grace through faith alone, that it was the work of Christ and Christ alone, and that it would radically change their life in belief alone. He wanted them to offer something to the world that had been offered to them, and that is the free offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
[5:37] And we see that eventually that does transform the nation of Rome. Paul took three chapters, and I kind of give it to you in a nutshell, displaying man's problem.
[5:48] He showed us the great problem of man, and then he began to introduce for us the great work of God, the justification by faith. He began to introduce us to the fact that we are not good enough.
[5:59] We will never be good enough. That is not a disparaging remark. That is not a belittling remark. Rather, that is a truthful remark that shows us we are completely, desperately dependent upon Jesus Christ.
[6:11] And it shows us that we are depending upon the right person, of the right circumstances, and it brings us to this time where we run to Jesus as our only hope, not just as a good choice. We come to Him because we have nowhere else to go.
[6:25] We can't even look in the mirror and trust in ourselves. We must run to Him because He is all we can count on. And Paul says that's a great place to be. And then he begins to lay that out, and he shows us in the seventh chapter, you remember last week, we looked at being caught between the law and grace.
[6:41] Do we nullify the law of God? Absolutely not. That God's law shows the perfection of God, but man, we lean on God's grace because that's the only way we can fulfill that law. And now we come in to chapter 8.
[6:54] It was my ambition and my desire to preach further into the 8th chapter than this. I really wanted to go down to about the 11th through the 12th verse. And as I prepared a sermon this week, and I was looking at it, and I was studying it, and I really kind of outlined the first 11 verses, and I was pretty comfortable with that.
[7:12] And as some have said, you know, sermon preparation and even sermon preaching is a very unique thing. It's not something you can explain, but there comes a time when the Spirit of God intercedes, and He begins to rework in you what you thought you had worked out.
[7:24] And so I came back the last day. I was going towards the end of the week, and I was like, well, I've already kind of got it all together, and I'm good, and, you know, I was pretty comfortable where I was at. I did that Thursday, just so you understand my practice of sermon preparation, okay?
[7:37] You say, it doesn't matter, but I just want you to get it. I try to have my sermons done by Thursday so that I can think on them on Friday and Saturday and then preach them on Sunday. It's kind of put them on the stove and let them simmer for a little while.
[7:47] You know, the whole pot of chili thing. It's better if it simmers for a little while. Just so that God has the freedom to move and to work. So Thursday, I left the office. I was pretty comfortable. I came back Friday morning, and God just completely rewrote it and told me I needed to get rid of what I had there, and He stopped me at the fourth verse because it's so amazing.
[8:06] And I want you to see the freedom He offers. We see in Romans 8, verses 1 through 4, the freedom He's offering us. Because Paul cries out at the end of chapter 7, Who will set me free from this wretched body of death that I am in?
[8:23] He has displayed in the seventh chapter that though the law is perfect and though God tells me what it takes to be acceptable to Him, and though God tells me everything I must do to get it right, the problem is that in this body, I can't get it right.
[8:37] In this body, I keep messing up. In this body, I keep falling because I find this battle going on within me. I want to do right, but man, my body won't let me do right, and I keep messing up.
[8:48] And there's this constant struggle, and He says, Now who is going to set me free from this wretched man, this miserable body of death which I possess, this thing that is hindering me from being who I know I should be?
[9:00] And then He answers that and says, Praise be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And then He goes on and talks about how in the body we serve the flesh, but in the spirit and in the mind we're serving Christ.
[9:11] And then in the first four verses of chapter 8, He kind of shows us this freedom. What type of freedom is this? And I want you to see the freedom that Christ offers us because until we really understand it, we cannot live in it.
[9:27] And until we really understand it, we don't know how to offer it to anyone else. The reality is this, that we know what it takes to be acceptable to God.
[9:38] And knowing it is not enough because we have found that even though we know it in the body, we can't do it. And we say, Somebody has to set me free. So we come to Christ and we cry out to Him. And He says, I'll set you free.
[9:49] But now we need to understand what type of freedom this is. I want you to see, first of all and foremost, this freedom is wonderful. It is wonderful. Look at what the Word of God says just in the first verse.
[10:01] Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I know there are some translations out there. I know the New King James Version does. I'm pretty certain the King James Version doesn't.
[10:12] I'm sure there are some other versions that add who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit to the rest of this verse. I don't want to get into Bible translations with you, but according to the best and the oldest manuscripts we have, that's not in there, and hopefully you'll see why in just a minute, because it kind of puts a condition upon the freedom that's offered.
[10:31] And the freedom that Jesus Christ offers you is not conditional, okay? I want you to understand that. We have to be careful. We'll read that verse. It is not that Jesus says, I'll set you free if you'll live right.
[10:41] Because here's the main problem. According to the rest of Romans, you can't live right. And if God says, I'll set you free as soon as you can live right, then we have a problem because He said, but God, you know I can't live right, so you're offering me something that I can never receive.
[10:53] But we read it here, and we see that the freedom is first of all wonderful. It says, therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This is wonderful because it is present.
[11:06] Look at what it says. Therefore there is now. You know what I have found that we forget sometimes, and the thing that we need to keep in mind all the time is that when Jesus sets us free, He doesn't set us free in eternity.
[11:19] He doesn't set us free someday. He sets us free today. The Bible says, therefore there is now. We have been given freedom today. We have been given freedom in the present.
[11:29] We have been given freedom from those things which bound us, those things which entraft us, those sins which snare us, all those temptations which come at us. The Bible says, therefore there is now, right now, at this moment, at this time, in the present day.
[11:44] Will we be set free? Sure, we will live free eternally, but the problem is that Satan whispers in our ear, you'll be free someday when the Bible tells us we are free today.
[11:56] The problem is is we think freedom will come when the Scripture says freedom has come. And if Satan can do anything, he can hinder us in our walk. And the way in which he hinders us in our walk is he tries to tell us we're not free yet.
[12:10] But when I read my Bible, it says, therefore there is now. Now. Now. Freedom. You say, well, what difference does that matter?
[12:21] Well, what if you really believed you were free from the sin you can't stop doing? What if you were, what if you really believed, not just thought it, not just intellectually agreed with it, but what if you really believed and acknowledged that Jesus has already set you free from the thing you think holds you captive?
[12:40] What if you really, really, I mean completely, with all of your heart and all of your mind believed that even though Satan says you have to do something, you can look at him, you have the authority and the power to say, I don't have to do anything.
[12:57] Because Jesus told me I'm free today. What if you really believed that when the flesh was weak and the mind tried to convince you you can't help but do it because you're still in the weakness of the flesh.
[13:11] What if you really believed or what if I really believed and I could look at myself and say, no, you don't have to do that because I'm free today. I don't have to listen to you, flesh.
[13:22] I don't have to listen to you, Satan. I don't have to listen to you, temptation. I don't have to listen to you because I have already been set free. It's not that I will someday be free. See, one of the dangers in putting our faith in Jesus Christ is that we trust in the grace of someday and he's offering us a grace for today.
[13:39] We say he will set me free or I will be saved or I will live with him. That's not biblical, friend. Listen, we are saved, we are free and we are living with him today. The reality of believers is that we are living as much with him today as we will live with him in heaven in eternity.
[13:55] The only difference is we'll see him then face to face whereas now he's dwelling within us. But it is no difference. We ought to live so daily with him now that when we make that transition into eternity, there's no change in the relationship.
[14:10] It's just all of a sudden we go, oh wow, I didn't really think that you'd look completely like that. That kind of messes up the mental picture I always had. You know, we've been hanging out all these years, Jesus, and I didn't really have a picture.
[14:21] I mean, I kind of knew what it said in Scripture and I kind of thought that, but we ought to be amazed by the appearance, not by the person, not be amazed by all of a sudden the relationship we have because we've been living that way already because, listen, that freedom is wonderful because it is present.
[14:36] It is not only wonderful because it is present. It is also wonderful because it is absolute. Look at what it says. Therefore, there is now no, no. I love that word, no. No is a powerful word, right? Therefore, there is now no condemnation.
[14:48] There is therefore now no condemnation, which means which charge can be brought against you? None. Absolutely none. You've done a lot wrong. I've done a lot wrong. I have failed in every way.
[14:59] The big problem is is that I am a sinner and that in sin I have rebelled against a holy God. And God could point out any number of things that I have done and He can point out all the actions that I have taken.
[15:10] He could probably by the end of the day today point out an action that I did today that was wrong. And He could tell me that I'm not going to judge you because of this action. I'm going to judge you because of your problem. You have a sin problem.
[15:21] But the Bible tells me that I am so free today that there is now no condemnation for me. Condemnation means there's no guilt. There's no shame. There's no charge. There's nothing against me that can be levied against me.
[15:33] There's nothing that a court of law could ever throw against me. There's nothing that Satan could tell me that will stick because listen He is the accuser of the brethren. The Bible says that He goes before the Father.
[15:43] I don't understand this. Okay? I read the book of Job and it blows my mind. I don't know how long it's been since you read the book of Job. But when I'm reading the book of Job and I'm going down through there and all of a sudden it says there comes a day when the sons of God came before the throne of God and Satan was in the midst of there that God allowed Satan to kind of come before his throne and then Satan comes in there and says well God looks at Satan and says you know have you considered my servant Job?
[16:07] Man I wish God didn't bring my name up and then Satan's like yeah but he begins to accuse Job of having this easy believism like well you've never tested him life's too easy for him he wouldn't believe you if you got difficult and he began to accuse the faith of Job and then God's like okay go do what you want to to him just don't touch his life.
[16:23] But what I want you to understand is that's not unique to Job. You have an enemy that is an accuser of the brethren the Bible says that he brings accusations against you. You have an enemy such that not only hurls abuses towards you he hurls abuses about you towards other people.
[16:40] He accuses you in the court of heaven he accuses you he's always saying well Billy Joe's not all that and Billy Joe has this problem and all these charges they are probably accurate because he knows me and he knows my weaknesses just like he knows yours.
[16:53] But here's the reality I am so forgiven there is no condemnation. There's no accusation he can bring against me there's no charge he could raise against me there's nothing he could say about me that the court of heaven will accept because I am completely free.
[17:12] And my friend that's transformational. I don't care how much you've done I don't care how far you've been I don't care how far you fell yesterday I don't care how far you fall today the freedom that is offered you is an absolute complete freedom.
[17:26] It is one where there is no condemnation whatsoever. You don't have to condemn yourself anymore you don't have to let others condemn you you don't have to let people judge you because God has already said there is no judgment coming towards you.
[17:40] It is wonderful because it is absolute. It is wonderful because it is present and it is also wonderful because it is exclusive. It's wonderful because it's exclusive it's not just for everyone.
[17:53] You know Carrie and I sometimes we go to Sam's for the church and I know this is kind of maybe this is kind of funny okay maybe I'm just weird like this but I kind of like it that the church has a business Sam's account because that means we get in a little bit earlier than everybody else so usually when we get done driving the bus I'll meet Carrie and we'll go run pick up some supplies for the church we'll go to Sam's well Sam's I think opens at like 10 o'clock to the general public but if you have a business card which I didn't realize we had until the first time I went it opens earlier than that for you but then you go in they have coffee and they have donuts and they have all this stuff that I used to be able to eat that everybody else couldn't eat because by the time you got there the general public got there it was gone but it was kind of exclusive I didn't want to take care of their business people and I thought first time I walked in I was like cool they're giving us food and coffee and all this other stuff you know it's something that was exclusively offered just for some it wasn't offered for all and anytime we get something like that it makes us feel special right it's something that that means something Southwest Airlines they don't have reserved seating but have you ever noticed those who have flown Southwest you know you have to check in at a certain time and man you can only check in 24 hours before your flight departs
[19:01] I don't know where all those people hang out on their phones and at the 24 hour minute mark they hit check in it seems like everybody checks in before me and I'm always like in boarding group C anytime I fly so there's like A, B, and C and I'm always thinking man if I could over get A problem is there's this exclusive group that boards even before A and I was like man that'd be cool you know because then you don't have to sit you know where all you look out your window and see is a wing that'd be kind of cool you'd be exclusive there's something to be said about this exclusivity this stuff that makes it that makes it wonderful it makes it special look at what this verse says therefore there is now that is today right now presently no condemnation that is absolute for those you see that for those in Christ Jesus the freedom that God offers is not a general freedom okay it is not offered to the general public it is a freedom that is available to all but it is not a freedom that is for all it is a freedom that is extended to all but it is not a freedom that is experienced by all that is completely different this does not mean that God is a big mean God reserving you know the select boarding for these or giving the donuts to these and not giving it to others no it is that it is an exclusive thing you have to be in to get it right you have to be a part of the in crowd and I am not trying to belittle this at all but literally for those in Christ Jesus is an exclusive offer there are so many people that want God's freedom they want God's forgiveness they want God's mercy but they want nothing to do with God's offer that is Christ Jesus there are so many people that would love the benefits of this freedom they would love to live a life of no condemnation they would love to live a life of freedom for today they would love to live a life free from all sin and guilt and they wonder why they can't do it when they see other people that can do it it's because it's an exclusive offer there's only one place it can be found and it is in Christ Jesus the other day
[20:52] I was going down to radio and Moody Radio was on and the guy that was on there and I don't know who it was because I just kind of picked it up halfway he asked a question a very compelling question I thought about it he said think about it just for a minute have you ever met someone who had real joy he said I'm not talking about temporary happiness I'm not talking about happy for the moment he said I'm talking about unbelievable joy joy in the midst of suffering joy in the midst of trials joy when things are going bad he says have you ever met someone who had genuine joy who was not a believer in Jesus Christ I thought about it and he answered and he said me neither you know why because the Bible says I will give you joy unexplainable friend the world can offer happiness the world can offer pleasantness the world can offer pleasure the world can offer temporary things but the world cannot give you joy just like it cannot give you freedom because those things are exclusive which is why they're wonderful that's why they're wonderful the freedom that God offers through
[22:06] Jesus Christ is wonderful not only is it wonderful number two his freedom is transformational it changes everything look at what the word of God says in verse 2 for the law of the spirit of life now the spirit of life is a very unique word I don't know how all translations say it but I know the New American Standard puts it like that and it's a little reading of it the spirit of life is a very unique wording because it is referring to a person not a thought not a thing you know not like the thought of life or anything it's referring to a person that is the Holy Spirit for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus there you go there's that exclusive offer has set you free from the law of sin and of death for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death here is the transformational power the freedom he offers you he says what you have is a law of sin because God has given you a perfect holy law and you have looked in your imperfect and broken body you can't live out that perfect holy law and the law of life that is the
[23:11] Old Testament has now become to you a condemnation of death because the law in the Old Testament says that whosoever sins shall die that if you can't live according to the standard then you will not be able to live at all that if you sin you will die that's the law in a nutshell it says you mess up you sin you die that's the wages of sin is death okay we see that beginning with Adam and in us death reigns we have found out that from Adam till now there's this common denominator among men men die and the reason they die is because of the problem of sin but God's holy law tells us how to live life and then we try to live life and we can't we still find out we die and his perfect law has really become a condemnation to us it shows us we're gonna die I mean every time I read the Old Testament I'm reminded again I can't live up to this standard the wages of that is death so now this perfect law has become the agent of death to me and I have found it inside of me there's this reigning of death I want life but I can't attain it man so wants life man so wants to live to the fullest he tries to invent ways to do it and he tries to seek thrills and all these other things why do you have so many thrill seekers and you push things to the extent and to the limit and you know some things we call craziness because they just really want to experience the fullness of life and they want to know what it's like to have life inside of them and kind of look death in the face and say
[24:41] I'm not scared of you in reality they know they can't avoid it but now that's contrasting he says but the law of the spirit of life it is the Holy Spirit has moved you in Christ Jesus freedom he offers us is a transformational freedom because it takes us from death to life it is the spirit that he gives us the Bible tells us in the book of Ephesians we are sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption we are given the Holy Spirit as a permanent possession the Bible tells us that our bodies are the temple of the spirit that he lives inside of us and now no longer do we have the law of the condemnation leading to death now we have the law of the Holy Spirit or the spirit of life producing inside of us life unto life unto life we are moving from life to life you say yes but but pastor you could die today wrong my body could stop today but I won't die today you say pastor you could fall over right now okay then just move the body out of the way because I'm somewhere else there is no longer this condemnation of death inside of me it is a movement from life to life to life it is death in the physical body according to scripture is just the rest of the body that my body is laid down to rest it is going to sleep for a while until
[25:54] Jesus calls it back up to join my life that is living in paradise with him I am no longer afraid of death because death no longer has grip over me oh death where is your sting we see that in first corinthians 15 and then in the gospel of john jesus says for whosoever believes in me has past tense passed from death and into life present tense we are no longer living in death because we have been transformed from death to life the body may look the same it may wear out the same it may deteriorate the same but friend listen to me the change the transformation is not on the outside yet the transformation is on the inside and that's what's important because deep within me I used to know all that reigned inside of me was death and now it has been transformed and it is life and I'm looking to life and I'm moving towards life and I'm going from life to life I'm not living my best life now I don't believe in you only live once I believe you live forever and this is not my best life because my life right now is hindered through this worst body my life right now is hindered through this broken vessel my life right now is held back through this tent but praise be to
[27:01] God there will be a day when the life that is inside of me will be clothed with a perfect body it'll be clothed with a house it'll be clothed with the fullness and then I will live my life and then I will reign with him on high and then I will live eternally as I have been called to do and it is the spirit of life that is inside of me it is a transformation because of the freedom he offers and we walk around like we got bad news when the reality is we have good news we walk around all sad and whole drunk like something bad has happened to us so what if the body deteriorates and fades away you can't take the life away from the believer that's already what a transformation the world may not see it the world may not notice it because in the body it's still covered up and it's there and you know it and
[28:14] I know it his freedom is transformational not only is the freedom wonderful not only is the freedom transformational his freedom is attainable because we ask ourselves this question well how can I really do that!
[28:28] is that kind of freedom really possible I mean is it possible to be that free pastor you talk about the fact that you don't have to live captive to sin anymore you talk about the fact that you don't have to that thing which was ruling me when I walked in the door doesn't have to rule me when I walk out the door pastor you talk like it's so easy I never said can do it so I just gave up there's no way I can do it but I want to tell you friend listen to me the freedom he offers you is attainable which means it can be done you say how look at verse 3 for what the law could not do weak as it was through the flesh it's not that the law of God is weak for the law that's the old testament that's the perfect standard you say all my life or you know for the last few years I wanted to be closer to God so what I've been doing is I've been reading the
[29:28] Bible and man it says to love those who hate me to pray for those who persecute me toumm walk away okay because the law is weak not because the law is weak the law is weak in my flesh the only weakness of the law is the fact that I'm trying to fulfill it in the flesh and there are centuries in the flesh and aren't what they should be and it says what the law could not do weak as it was to!
[30:12] the! God did. God did. What couldn't be done because the flesh was weak, what couldn't be attained because the flesh kept messing it up, what couldn't be done because the body you were trying to do it in kept falling short, God did.
[30:30] What you couldn't attain, perfection, God did it for you. Look at what it says. It says, 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, Jesus was fully man and fully God, but He was not sinful man.
[30:48] Okay? He was fully man. The Bible says He's tempted in every way we were, yet without sinning. He did not fall. He was offered everything we're offered and yet He never fell. He was in the likeness of us, but He wasn't like us.
[31:05] Okay? He bore our image, but He did not bear our nature. He was not the seed of man. He was the seed of a woman. And whose nature did we inherit?
[31:15] The nature of Adam. Right? The Adamic nature. The nature of Adam is that which produces in us sin. Jesus was not the seed of a man.
[31:28] Go all the way back to Genesis 3 where God pronounces judgment upon Satan and says, The seed of a woman shall crush the head of the serpent. Now all of a sudden, scientifically, that messes us up because you don't get babies from the seed of a woman.
[31:42] I mean, we're not trying to go into a class here on how that works, but we just know that's not how that goes along, right? We don't understand that. Well, you do when God is the Father and works things out in a supernatural way.
[31:59] The seed of a woman will crush the head of the serpent because everybody else going according to the seed of Adam has inherited this sin nature, but Jesus took on a sin-like nature. He took on something like us in the likeness of the flesh.
[32:13] It says, He came in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh. Friend, listen to me. The reason it's attainable is because your sacrifice has already been made.
[32:26] The reason it's attainable is because the sacrifice for your sins, the work that is required for every misconduct we've performed, for every failure we've made, there has to be a death and that death is finished.
[32:41] It's done. It's already been offered because one like us, that is the Son of God, Jesus Christ in the flesh, one like us came and died for us. He condemned sin in the flesh.
[32:54] So now all of a sudden that which was impossible becomes attainable and the freedom that God offers you, He's not offering you something He can't give you, He's offering something He's already done for you and it is attainable.
[33:08] Friend, quit believing the lie of Satan that you cannot move beyond where you're at. I don't care if you're a believer or a non-believer, I don't care if you have been following Christ for 85 years, I don't care if you've just now accepted Jesus Christ and we all have these struggles, Satan whispers in our ear and says, yeah, but you'll never move past this.
[33:28] We can't believe that because that is, we'll say, yes, you know what, Satan, in the flesh, I'm not strong enough, but praise be to God, God did. What I couldn't do and what I cannot do, God has already done by offering that sacrifice and it is attainable.
[33:49] It is attainable. Now we move to the last and final one. Not only is the freedom He offers wonderful, transformational, attainable, it is observable.
[34:03] It can be seen. It's noticeable. We see it here in the fourth verse. Verse three, let's read it again. For what the law could not do, weak as it was to the flesh, God did, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh so that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.
[34:22] That is, in Christ, when we're living in Christ, what the law requires is already done, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. You say, oh, there you go, Pastor C.
[34:33] It says, this is something we have to do. No, wait a minute. Let's put it in this right context. In us. Well, who is the us? Who are we? Paul is not just throwing this general net out there saying that everybody has this freedom.
[34:45] Again, it's this exclusivity of it. It is in us and he said, and this is the characteristic of us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Freedom is observable.
[35:00] It can be seen. You know, a free man walks different than a captive man. A free man lives different than a bound man.
[35:12] A free man walks with his head high and without a concern. A free man doesn't worry about who's around him. A free man doesn't worry about who may be with him. A free man lives different than a bound man.
[35:27] We see that in history. We see it around the world. You go to places where people are still bound captive to slavery and you'll notice the demeanor and even the actions of those individuals are so different than those who are free.
[35:40] You go to places where the governments do not allow the freedoms that are offered in our own land and you go to places where there's still suppression and things are different. I had a professor in one of my Bible classes.
[35:53] I think I've told you about him. I used to love listening to him. I loved him first of all because he started every class. I took him every semester I could until he quit teaching because he would always say this. I don't give grades in this class.
[36:03] Everybody's going to pass. And that was the first amen. You're like, amen. That's all I needed to know, right? Doesn't matter what kind of paper I read. Doesn't matter what kind of book I read. He's already told me everybody's passing this class. I love that.
[36:14] But this is why he didn't give grades. He said, I came from Romania. I fled Romania because of religious persecution. The land that I left, people were dying for the faith. So when I come here, I don't want to grade you based on what you know.
[36:26] I want you to know my life. Guess what? I read every book he told me to read. I wrote every paper he told me to write. I did every work he wanted me to do.
[36:36] Why? Because his testimony was difference. And he lived different because he knew what it was like to be captive versus what it was like to be free.
[36:47] I think at this time he was a professor at like three or four different Bible colleges. He was extending himself well into his later years. He wanted to utilize his time because he knew what it was like to be in a land where he couldn't talk and now all of a sudden he was in a land where he could talk and nobody can make him be quiet.
[37:06] A free man lives different. Then why is it the only place that we accept the free man to continue to live like a slave is inside the church? Just a question for you to think about.
[37:19] Why is it that if we say that Christ has set us free we still want to live as if we're bound to that which used to hold us captive? Paul says it can be seen.
[37:30] He says in us and I'll tell you who we are. We are those who no longer walk according to the flesh but we walk according to the spirit. Now he'll dive into this this is why I wanted to continue on but the Lord doesn't want me to do that this morning.
[37:43] He'll dive into this in just a minute what that looks like but this is the question I want to leave you with. If you have really put your faith hope and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior if you have genuinely seen that there is nothing you can do to earn God's forgiveness if you have seen throughout not only just the book of Romans but all the Bible that the standard is too high and in desperation you come to Jesus and he sets you free then friend the question I have for you then why would you keep living as if you're a slave?
[38:16] Why if the mind and the flesh couldn't do anything for you before Christ why would you still try to live according to the flesh after coming to Christ?
[38:30] Who no longer walk according to the flesh? according to the spirit because the law of the flesh is death but the law of the spirit is life you know how we observe the freedom?
[38:47] is that those people just look different they do they love different they talk different they give different they're just different they're just used to be they were called Jesus freaks they were called Christians in mockery Christ-like in Antioch for the first time when you read the book of Acts they were called Christians for the first time in Antioch they were Christ-like they just were different there was something you could see in their life that was different it was observable what was it?
[39:25] they're no longer walking according to the flesh another walking according to the spirit walking according to the spirit when the spirit prompted them to do something they would do it when the spirit asked them to move they would move when the spirit asked them to stop they would stop when the spirit asked them to speak they would speak when the spirit asked them to love they'd love when the spirit asked them to give they would give they would no longer do what the flesh told them to do they would walk according to the spirit and man, it changed the world.
[40:01] The question we have to ask ourselves is, is our freedom genuinely observable? If it's not, then why?
[40:13] Are we really free or are we just trying to convince ourselves we are? Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you, Lord, for all you've done, for the freedom you offer, Lord, for the salvation that's extended.
[40:29] I pray that each one of us, Lord, would take time to examine our hearts, to come before you and say, here we are, oh God, search us and know us. Lord, we want to be free. We want to live life as you've called us to live.
[40:44] Lord, we know that the only way we could do that is through the power and presence of your Spirit, not through the work of our flesh. So God, do your work. Move as you see fit.
[40:54] Lord, we give you the opportunity. And Lord, we look forward expectantly to seeing it come about. We ask it all in Jesus' name. Amen. God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God, God Thank you.
[42:24] Thank you.