Winning the Battle Against Sin, Part 3

now as you know we are in the 8th chapter every so I feel like I need to go back to Romans chapter 8 and make sure that the latest version of Grace Community Church is fully aware of all the blessed realities that are in this chapter and we're just getting started in the 8th chapter of Romans let me read for you the opening 9 verses that is where we'll be looking this morning will not cover all of it but you need to have it all in mind Romans 8 beginning at verse 1 through verse 9 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 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 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 for those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh but those who are according to the spirit the things of the Spirit for the mind set on the flesh is death but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God for it does not subject itself to the law of God for it is not even able to do so and those who are in the flesh cannot please God however you're not in the flesh but in the spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you but if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to him just to begin you will notice again a reference in verse 3 to what the law could not do what the law could not do God did so that verse 4 the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us this causes us then to think initially as we look at this passage about the role of the law of God the law of God the holy law of God that which is a perfect reflection of his holy nature has come in several stages into human experience first of all before the fall before the fall and the perfection of the Garden of Eden there was no sin Adam was a pure reflection of the image of God and so was Eve there was no need for written law there was no need for a revealed law because the law of God was written in the heart of Adam and Eve Adam imitated God naturally Adam did God's will and only God's will Adam obeyed God's law and only God's law God's will and God's law was the essential nature of his being because he was made in the image of God his thinking was godly thinking and his behavior was godly behavior God's will ruled his mind and so it ruled his behavior then came the fall and after the fall man's heart was dramatically changed it was darkened by evil and now only sin was natural he did not obey God's law he did not think about God's law because he had a fallen sinful nature bent on disobedience so God began to write his law from heaven he revealed his law and eventually pulled it all together in Exodus and laid it all out in summary fashion in the Ten Commandments and God wrote his law not on the heart but on stone and it was not positive it was not a positive force because the law had no power in the sinners life it had no force on fallen humans in fact it was just a lot of terrifying threats the law of God was full of judgments for disobedient thinking and disobedient behavior and what dominated the heart of all humanity after the fall was sin sin was now natural sin dominated every heart and no matter what God wished and what God willed and no matter what God demanded or commanded obedience to God's law was completely impossible to humanity that's what it says in verse 8 no one can please God who's in the flesh the law in stone revealed the law of God but all it did was reveal something impossible for men to keep they had no will to keep it they had no power to keep it so the law in stone just crushed the sinner with guilt and judgment the threat of divine wrath the law as a revelation of God's will had no power to bring about fellowship with God the holy law of God by itself could provide no fellowship with God because no one could keep that law nor did they desire so that form of law couldn't help at all the condition of men in fact there's a sense in which the ten commandments on stone were as collapsible as the tabernacle so what was its purpose its purpose was to define sin and render to humanity the recognition that they were sinners we find that in the sixth and seventh chapters of Romans in Galatians we also find in chapter three that it was intended to be the tutor that led people to Christ because if the law does nothing but damn you and condemn you then in desperation you cry out for a redeemer someone to rescue you from the curse of the law so the law gave the knowledge of sin the law demonstrated the inability of the sinner and the law caused the sinner to cry out for a redeemer so the first time the law came it was written in Adams heart and then it was in stone the third time the law came in a unique way was in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ in him the holy law of God was made visible in a human life divine yes but also truly human the law was written on his heart not in innocence as with Adam but in perfection eternal perfection the father said this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased in contrast to those in the flesh who cannot please God Jesus pleased God in every sense because the law of God was written in his heart it was true to his own nature he was holy harmless undefiled and separate from sinners Hebrews 7:26 he was actually a far better example of the holy law of God then the law written in stone or even the law written on parchment because here you saw the full orbed visible demonstration of holiness perfect obedience to the law of God he is therefore a clearer more understandable revelation of the law of God and therefore the will of God and the character of God but as the law written in stone could not help anyone so the law written in the heart of the Son of God and lived out in perfection could not help anyone either in fact his perfect life is as useless to save as is the law written in stone why because you cannot keep the law written in stone but you certainly cannot live the holy life that the Son of God lived in fact his example of the law is more depressing more disturbing you hear people say from time to time unwitting people say we need to live like Jesus sure in absolute holy divine perfection I don't think so we cannot keep the law written in stone we certainly can't keep the law written in the heart of Jesus and demonstrated in his holy perfection he is a higher standard than the written law and therefore he is more disturbing and he is more intimidating the law that was written had been adjusted for the Jews and Jesus said to them you have heard it said unto you and quoted the law as they had interpreted it and then he would say but I say unto you but I say unto you but I say unto you he was far more disturbing than the written law as the living law he was so disturbing that they killed him they killed him but he was the perfection of the law lived in all its fullness there's a fourth way in which the law comes and that's in our text when the spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets a sinner free from the law of sin and death through the sacrifice and offering of Christ the one who receives that salvation according to verse 4 is able to fulfill the requirement of the law verse 4 is a powerfully defining statement so that in other words salvation so that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us not just by us as if some external behavior but in us why because we have been made new creations go back to Jeremiah 31 where we are first introduced to the New Covenant and the definitive character of that New Covenant Jeremiah 31 31 verse 31 behold days are coming declares the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not like the Covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt my covenant which they broke although I was a husband to them declares the Lord that was the Old Covenant the law but this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days declares the Lord I will put my law within them and on their heart I will write it and I will be their God and they shall be my people there's coming a new covenant and in the new covenant God writes the law on the heart the law was written on the heart of Adam the law was written on the heart of Christ Adam and innocence Christ an absolute divine perfection and now again the law is written on the heart of those who come under new covenant power and transformation Ezekiel also expresses the same marvelous reality in ezekiel chapter well it's actually several places but we'll look at chapter 36 of ezekiel as he speaks of the new covenant in the same or similar way chapter 36 verse 25 i will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean i will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols moreover i will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you and i will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh i will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will be careful to observe my ordinances when a person comes under new covenant power they receive a new heart a new spirit they walk in obedience to the will of god and are careful to observe his ordinances that is a statement fact that is a statement of fact look back at verse 4 the Spirit has set us free from the law of sin and death through the sacrifice of Christ 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 that is now a fact that is a fact if you go back to chapter 6 verse 20 you see it stated in a different way you were slaves of sin and you were free in regard to righteousness therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed for the outcome of those things is death but now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God you derive your benefit resulting in sanctification and the outcome eternal life you were a slave of sin you were freed from that you became a slave of righteousness you are now sanctified and headed for glory these are statements of fact in 1st John chapter 2 just to add some scripture that will enrich your understanding of this chapter 2 verse 20 true believers have an anointing from the Holy One and you all know so if you're a true believer you've been redeemed reconciled to God regenerated you have been given by God and anointing that gives you knowledge what what is that I have not written to you verse 21 because you do not know the truth but because you do know it and because no lie is of the truth if you are a true believer you know the difference between lies and truth you know the truth of God you have been delivered as Paul says in Romans to that form of teaching that schema of teaching that accords with the will of God and righteousness down in verse 27 he says as for you the anointing which you receive from him that is from Christ abides in you who is that then the anointing is the Holy Spirit and you have no need for anyone to teach you but as his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie and just as it has taught you you abide in him if you are a true believer you have a new heart a new disposition a new mind everything about you is new and the Spirit of God has taken up residency in you and the Spirit of God teaches you all things so that you know the truth and you can see the difference between truth and error in the words of Paul in Chapter 7 verse 22 i joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man down deep in my heart my new nature my new creation loves the law of God joyfully affirms the law of God so the question then is now that I have been transformed now that I have been justified and sanctified the requirement of the law is being fulfilled in my life because I now do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit that's a fact you might be saying well am I going to make it am I going to be able to live the law I love am I going to be able to do that the Lord designed the table that we're going to come to a little bit later this morning as a point for us to examine our hearts and confess any sin before we partake of this so we don't bring down divine discipline on our heads so we know about the spiritual battle we talked about it a couple of weeks ago will I be able to live the law I love what will I be able to do what I want because Paul says verse 23 of chapter 7 I see a different principle in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members wretched man that I am I I have a corpse tied to me the body of death will I make it will I be able to live the law I love well yes you will because that's your new nature that's more true to who you are then the way you used to live loving the law of God is the truest aspect of your new nature that's natural for you to love God to love his word to love his law to desire to obey that's the truest expression of who you are in Christ and the good word from heaven is this you will be able to live the law you love the good word from heaven is that you will never be condemned and that's how chapter 8 begins there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus why because the Spirit has set them free from the law of sin and death the spirit of life has given them life and with that new life comes the fulfillment of the law of God you have been born of the Spirit so that you fulfill the law of God verse 4 then look at it so that the requirement of the law is fulfilled in us from the heart salvation is not only righteousness imputed it is righteousness imparted Jesus Christ has become to you righteousness justification and sanctification 1st Corinthians 1:30 the requirement of God's holy law is fulfilled in you it was fulfilled in Adam and innocence it was fulfilled in Christ in perfection it is fulfilled in us in imperfection it's not all we are but it's the truest of who we are salvation is a real transformation we now walk in the spirit not in the flesh walk has to do with daily conduct we live in the spirit we walk in the spirit there is no condemnation that is really good news we cannot ever be taken out of this condition this eternal condition of sanctification and put back under condemnation because Christ has paid in full the penalty for all our sins already and when you think about the wrath of God as described in chapter 1 verse 18 through chapter 3 verse 20 it's a terrifying terrifying wrath this is a comforting word if you're in Christ you will never be condemned Jonathan Edwards said the wrath of God upon the wicked is as intense as his love upon the Saints so we pass out of that intensity of Wrath into the intensity of his love forever so the truth of the great declaration that opens this chapter is so incomprehensible that Paul states throughout the rest of the chapter how it can be true how can this be true how can this be true that we will never be condemned when we struggle still with sin as we saw in chapter 7 how can it be true because we are defined as condemned in chapters 1 2 3 we are shown that Christ has basically achieved our no-condemnation status in chapters 3 to 7 and now in chapter 8 we find that the Holy Spirit applies the work of Christ to us never will we be condemned never because the Holy Spirit does all these things for us he gives us life he frees us from sin and death he enables us to fulfill the law he changes our nature he arranged raises us to immortality he empowers us for victory over temptation he confirms our adoption he guarantees our glory he aids our prayers he conforms us to Christ he secures our everlasting glory this whole chapter explains how the Spirit of God brings those who have been justified and sanctified to glory now last time we talked about the first thing that he does he is the spirit of life he gives us life frees us from sin and death but let's look at that second one in verse 4 so that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us listen to this saving grace was given that the law might be fulfilled saving grace was given that the law might be fulfilled this is not incidental God wants a people who obey Him who honor him who bring him glory by fulfilling his law saving grace was given that the law might be fulfilled that great statement I borrowed from agustin saving grace was given that the law might be fulfilled in your life in mine here and one day in perfection in glory God is ultimately honored when he is obeyed and you have been saved so as to fulfill his law for his glory all things are for him as well as through him and by him David Brainerd wrote that the law of God is nothing but a transcript of his holy character and when we emulate that holy character we give Him glory when a soul is regenerated the Spirit will produce in that soul then the fulfillment of the law of God to the glory of God FF Bruce wrote it this in a summary paragraph that I think is helpful Christian holiness is not a matter of painstaking conformity to the individual precepts of an external law code it is rather a question of the Holy Spirit's producing his fruit in the life reproducing those Grace's which were seen in perfection in the life of Christ the law prescribed a life of holiness but it was powerless to produce such a life because of the inadequacy of the human material that it had to work with but what the law was powerless to do has been done by God now that God's own son sent to earth in the likeness of sinful flesh has given up his life as a sin offering on his people's behalf the death sentence has been passed on indwelling sin it found no foothold in the life of Jesus it was effectively overcome in his death and the fruits of that victory are now made good to all who are in him so that the law then required a way of life a way of conformity to the will of God that is now realized in the believers life through the power of the Holy Spirit a poet put it this way to run and work the law commands but gives me neither feet nor hands but better news the gospel brings it bids me fly then gives me wings as our Lord by the Holy Spirit fulfilled all righteousness so we by the Holy Spirit were saved unto good Ephesians 2:10 which God had ordained that we would do Titus chapter 2 and verse 14 says this way he gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify a people for himself for his own possession zealous for good deeds we were saved in order to fulfill the law of God that's what God intends us to do that's what we do in this world and that's how we let the light of the gospel shine others see those good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven so we move from a condition of not having the power to keep the law which condemned us to having the power to keep the law and never be condemned how is this possible the answer is in the same text because the Holy Spirit changes our nature go back to verse 4 we do not walk according to the flesh that is not the pattern of our daily lives that is not the normal disposition of our minds and our behavior we do not walk according to the flesh the flesh means all that is corrupt and sinful but according to the spirit for those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh but those who are according to the spirit the things of the Spirit for the mind set on the flesh is death the mind set on the Spirit is life in peace because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God does not subject itself to the law of God it is not even able to do so and those who are in the flesh cannot please God however you are not in the flesh but in the spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you but if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to him what has happened to us we used to be in the flesh now we're in the spirit we used to mind the things of the flesh now we mind the things of the Spirit we used to walk in the flesh now we walk in the spirit everything has changed our minds have changed our behaviors have changed our affections have changed because our nature has changed once we were according to the flesh verse four but now we are according to the spirit once because we were according to the flesh we set our minds on the things of the flesh but now because we are according to the spirit verse five we set our minds on the things of the Spirit the mind set on the flesh is death but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace god never divides people by culture he doesn't divide people by education and economics race sex God divides people two ways according to the flesh according to the spirit those are the two categories of humankind God only recognizes the difference between those who are according to the flesh and those who are according to the spirit those according to the flesh are headed toward eternal wrath those who are according to the spirit are headed to eternal glory what we're talking about here is the dominating influence the dominating influence of unconverted people is the flesh it is dominated it's it's their nature it's how they think it's how they act and it's why they died but believers have their nature changed so that they are according to the spirit and therefore they think on the things of the Spirit they act on the things of the Spirit and the end is life and peace that is the pathology of human hearts and back to verse five for a moment you can see the flow linking verses 4 and 5 in verse 4 it was walk in the flesh walk in the spirit in verse five now we've gone to the mind so we've moved from behavior back to thinking the reason people walk that way is because they think that way behavior is stressed in verse four and now the thought stressed in verse five is that that's because they think that way they walked in the flesh behavior because they mind the things of the flesh thinking because they are according to the flesh nature on the other hand believers walk in the spirit because they mind the things of the Spirit because they are according to the spirit your nature defines your thinking you're thinking defined your behavior this is the flow of Paul's thoughts the ability to fulfill God's law comes from proper thinking which comes from a new nature regenerated by the Holy Spirit that is a basic axiom of fact they that are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh those who are according to the spirit the things of the Spirit that is how it is if you are without the Holy Spirit you function totally in the flesh that's how you think and that's how you act because that's your nature you are after the flesh you are in the flesh as it says down in verse eight then that's corrupted and leads to death notice the phrase in verse five set their minds this basically is a word for now the noun form is friend it doesn't so much mean mind as it means disposition it is a term used to describe the seat of all mental faculties and affections all mental activity including emotion including will the problem is the whole mind of of an unregenerate person is basically corrupted by the flesh it is not really the specific word for mine that's the word noose you see that in first Corinthians 2:16 where it says we have the mind of Christ this is the word for disposition this is the word for dominating controlling influence unbelievers have an internal dominating controlling fleshly power that defines how they think and that defines how they act and by the way it is not a product of education it is not a product of bad parenting and it can't be changed it's who they are the bent of unconverted people is toward the flesh that's all they know they are the children of Satan John 8:44 he is a liar and a killer they are bent in that same direction they are hateful toward God their affections are from the flesh their confidence in the flood is in the flesh they do deeds of the flesh they operate on the desires of the flesh they trust the flesh they worship the god of the flesh that's why John says they love the world and the love of the father is not in them in 2nd Peter 2:9 Peter says they indulged the flesh in its corrupted desires they indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires Philippians 3:19 describes them this way whose end is destruction whose God is their appetite whose glory is in their shame who set their minds on earthly things that's the pathology of a non-believer fleshly corruption fleshly thinking fleshly desires fleshly emotions fleshly attractions fleshly affections fleshly behavior leads to death like James one says when sin is conceived it brings forth death but on the other hand those who are of the spirit back to verse five mind the things of the Spirit if you're a new creation your life as a new bent it has a new disposition it has a new predominating influence you are empowered by a new heart a new spirit the Holy Spirit your deepest longing is to demonstrate your love to God by obeying his word if you love me you keep my Commandments right you have a completely new disposition the disposition of the redeemed is to seek the things of the Spirit because we have the mind of the Spirit because we have a new nature created by the Holy Spirit we have the mind of Christ the disposition which controls you is who you are sometimes those in the flesh can do something superficially good but it doesn't please God because it's not for his glory and certainly sometimes those of us who are in the spirit do things that basically are a result of the temptation of the flesh for the unbeliever he cannot please God for the believer we can be displeasing to God but the bent of our life is to love him and keep his law it's the dominating influence that's why John in first John lays out this same statement over and over again if you're a true believer you confess your sins if you're a true believer you love if you're a true believer you obey there's no such thing as a person who is a believer who has received salvation who is not walking in some measure in the spirit that's a fact we're not walking always as we should and we're basically enjoined to walk more faithfully in Galatians 5 walk in the spirit you won't fulfill the lust of the flesh they're still there and that's why Paul talks about the wretchedness of the battle but the reality is that you're going to be known discernibly known by the new nature manifesting itself in your thinking and revealing itself in your behavior so Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 13:5 examine yourself whether you be in the faith so what are you looking for look all the way down to the disposition what's your disposition how do you feel toward God do you love God you love his word you love his church you love his people do you love righteousness do you love obedience do you love the holy things even though you stumble and fall are those the things that are the purest expression of your inward nature than you are literally in the spirit and then look at the second level what do you think about what occupies your mind and your thoughts is it the desire to show love to the Lord to think on things that are holy and righteous and good and Noble and then look at your deeds that's the third test is the disposition of your life the bent of your life the direction of your life the dominating force of your life going toward the path of righteousness with the same joy that Paul said he had back in Chapter 7 verse 22 that's the test you don't start with your behavior you start with your desires your longings you know you're a true believer if you love what God loves and if you love God and you love whom God loves and you love his law even though you don't keep it as you should which is your great grief that's an indication of the truest expression of your nature when you are dissatisfied and grieved over your own disobedience if you're a true believer you are living according to the spirit minding the things of the Spirit walking in the spirit it's not everything it should be but it is the disposition of your life and you can say with Paul I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man I walk in the spirit because I mind the things of the Spirit that's my disposition because I have a new heart and the spirit lives within me

Channel: Grace to You

Views: 83,531

Keywords: John MacArthur, Bible, Preaching, Christianity, Expository, Exposition, Sermon, Jesus, Christ, Grace to You, Holy Spirit, Sanctification

Id: EK0Q2XqjuJU

Length: 43min 18sec (2598 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 03 2020