Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.
And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.
We continue this morning in our series in the book of Romans.
You'll remember that Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s AD.
And it is called Romans because it is written to the churches in the city of Rome.
Romans is about the gospel. It's about the good news of Jesus' life and death and resurrection.
Just like I did last week, I want to remind you where we are at in the larger flow of the letter going back to chapter 5.
You'll remember in chapter 5, Paul tells us we are saved by Jesus' life and death and resurrection, not by what we do.
Okay, so it's God's grace, not our works.
Chapter 6, Paul then goes on to say, what?
However, even though you're not saved by works, that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, live however you want.
You still live lives of holiness.
Then in chapter 7, we begin to ask this question, well, how do those lives of holiness happen?
Chapter 7 tells us, well, it doesn't happen by the law.
More rules will not save you.
Which brings us to chapter 8, which finally provides the answer, holiness comes by the Spirit of God.
Holiness comes by walking in the Spirit.
And so that's where we left off last week.
Remember last week we asked this question, how is it that we walk by the Spirit?
How do we walk in that holiness?
And we saw that the answer was by setting our minds on the things of the Spirit.
The things of the Spirit are the things of Christ and his work and the benefits that flow to us because of those things.
That we're living all of life in light of the resurrection.
So that's where we left off last week.
Verse 5, for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.
But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
We might say that last week we asked the question of what it is that we do.
This week we turn to the other question, what does God do?
What does the Spirit work in us?
What does the Spirit do in us?
As we walk by the Spirit, it cannot simply be us setting our minds, but also God at work.
This week I'm going to use the same strategy I've been relying on.
I'm going to just preach in a straight line and we're going to go verse to verse from top to bottom.
With that I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 8 starting at verse 9.
You can find that on page 8 of your worship guide.
No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word.
Jeremiah chapter 23 tells us that God's Word is a rock that breaks a hammer into pieces,
which is a way of saying that there is nothing so powerful that God's Word is not more powerful still.
So that's why we read now Romans chapter 8 starting at verse 9.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Verse 11.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your moral bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.
Our Father in heaven, we do praise you and thank you again this morning for your Word.
And we thank you also for your Spirit that comes and gives us life.
We ask that you would pour out the Spirit now in a special way among us.
And that you would, by your Spirit, make your Word clear to us.
That it would cut us to the heart.
That it would burn within us.
That we would have continued zeal and excitement and enthusiasm about you and your gospel and your grace
that would cause us to follow after you in faith.
And we ask that you do this not because we've earned it or deserved it.
And we know that we haven't and we don't.
We simply ask for it in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Years ago, a member of our church here at Cheyenne Mountain went off to college.
And that member connected with a college ministry.
And that college ministry said to him,
Well, you know what?
It's great that you are a Christian, but you need something else.
It's great that you're a Christian, but you also need a second baptism.
You need the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
You can be a Christian, in other words, at least according to these folks, and not have the Spirit of God.
Now, what are we to make of that?
What are we to think of that?
Is it true that some Christians have the Holy Spirit and others don't?
Is it true that we need another baptism or a second baptism?
Paul answers that for us here in this passage.
In verse 9, we pick up where we left off in verse 8 from last week.
Verse 8 from last week says this,
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
And I'm going to remind you again, and probably will in future weeks,
what we mean when we speak of the flesh.
You'll see the same definition from last week on page 7 of your worship guide.
The flesh is human nature as corrupted, directed, and controlled by sin.
So those who are in the flesh, those who are directed and controlled by sin, cannot please God.
In fact, they're fighting against Him.
They're rebelling against Him.
They cannot do what the Christian can do, which is to do the right thing for the right reason.
You'll remember this is what theologians call total inability.
That outside of God's power in our lives, it is impossible for us to please Him.
It's impossible for us to do things for God's honor and His glory,
to do the right things for the right reason.
That's a quick review, which takes us right back to this week, verse 9.
You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to you.
Okay, so yes, verse 8, those who are in the flesh cannot serve God, please God.
But, and, verse 9, that's not true of you.
And that's not true of you, because all Christians, every single Christian, has the Holy Spirit.
There is no such thing as a Christian who does not have the Holy Spirit living within him or her.
And that answers our question.
You don't need a second baptism.
If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit.
And if you have a question about that, it's right here in verse 9.
Now, Ephesians chapter 4 tells us you can grieve the Spirit.
1 Thessalonians chapter 5 says you can quench the Spirit.
But what must be true if you grieve or quench the Spirit?
You cannot grieve or quench a Spirit you don't have.
By the way, you might be wondering,
Okay, if it's so clear in Romans chapter 8 that all Christians have the Spirit,
why would there be some Christians going around and teaching that not all Christians do,
that some don't, that they need this second baptism?
The answer is that it's basically a certain interpretation of the book of Acts that is incorrect.
Okay, I'll just leave it at that.
The point, though, is this.
Remember I said we're preaching from top to bottom.
The point of verse 9 is that there are not two classes of Christians.
The point of verse 9 is there are not two classes of Christians.
You do not have normal and average Christians who lack the Holy Spirit
and then super extra special Christians that you do.
If you are a Christian, you have God's Spirit living within you.
It's great news.
If you're a Christian, if you belong to Jesus Christ,
if you follow Him in faith,
God, by His Holy Spirit,
has taken up residence in you and your life.
If you're a Christian,
God, by His Holy Spirit,
lives in you.
Now, I've been telling you that Romans is the fifth gospel,
which is to say that what Paul teaches,
Jesus taught first.
Jesus speaks about this a lot in the gospel of John.
John chapter 14, He says,
I'm going to ask God the Father,
and He will give you another helper to be with you forever.
Even the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive.
Remember, those who are in the flesh can't please God.
Because it, that is the world,
neither sees Him nor knows Him.
You know Him,
for He dwells with you
and will be in you.
Jesus then, in John chapter 16,
says something even more shocking.
There, He says,
it's actually good that I leave the earth.
It's actually a good deal.
It's a good trade.
It is good that I leave the earth
because in exchange,
you're going to receive the Holy Spirit
and receiving the Holy Spirit
is actually better than having me.
Now that's counterintuitive.
It's a little mind-blowing.
Jesus is saying,
look, it's actually better
that you're here in 2026 with the Holy Spirit
than in the early years A.D.
when Jesus is walking the earth.
When Jesus is walking the earth,
He interacted with some people
in certain places at certain times.
Now, He sent His Holy Spirit
to live in you in every place
at every time.
The gift of the Spirit
is so important
that it is better that Jesus is in heaven
than that He is here.
Jesus then in John 14 says this,
In that day,
you will know
that I am in my Father
and you in me
and I in you.
You in me
and I in you.
Jesus says that He lives in you
by His Holy Spirit.
Notice in verse 9,
first of all, we have the Spirit.
Then it's called the Spirit of God
and then suddenly,
we call it the Spirit of Christ.
Which is to say,
while we don't divide
the three persons of the,
where we don't,
not divide,
we don't join or fuse
the three persons of the Trinity,
they have their separate
persons and actions, right?
They are so closely identified,
they work so closely together
that the Holy Spirit
can be called
the Spirit of Christ.
This is what theologians call
the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit.
Now you might be wondering,
well, how exactly
does this indwelling work?
It's a great question.
It's a mystery.
What I can tell you is this,
Jesus ascends
to the right hand
of God the Father Almighty
and sends the Holy Spirit
to His church.
That's what we see
in the book of Acts,
the outpouring
of God's Spirit
in answer
to His promise.
Okay, that's verse nine.
Raises a question, though,
for us.
If it's so good
to have the Spirit,
if it's better
than having Jesus,
why is it?
Paul goes on to tell us
in verses 10 and 11.
It is better
to have the Spirit
because the Spirit
means life now
and the Spirit
means life
in the future.
The Spirit
means life now
and the Spirit
means life
in the future.
But Paul says it
in a way
that could potentially
be confusing.
So this is verse 10.
He says,
the body is dead
because of sin.
What body?
And how exactly
is that body dead?
When Paul says
your body,
he is referring
to your whole person,
your embodied existence,
and the fact
that it still
has the presence
of sin.
You'll remember before
we've talked about
the fact that sin
has three elements
to it.
It has a power,
a penalty,
and a presence.
Jesus in his life
and death
and resurrection
have dealt
with the power
and penalty
of sin
in the life
of the Christian.
The presence
of sin
remains.
Part of the presence
of sin
is the way
it affects
your entire
person.
It's present
in the sins
that you commit,
in the temptations
you face,
and it is present
in the way
that sickness
and decay
and death
and disease
are still
at work.
So the body
is death.
Death
is still
at work.
We could put it
another way.
Despite
the presence
of the Holy Spirit,
you still
struggle
with sin.
Despite
the presence
of the Holy Spirit,
your physical
body
will one
day die
and is
dying
now.
That's what it
means to have
the body
of death.
If you have
a body,
by the way,
which I think
you all do,
you know this.
I don't have to
convince you
that death
is at work,
at least if you've
made it past
a certain age.
that takes
us to the next
piece of verse
10.
Paul says
this,
if Christ
is in you,
although the
body is dead
because of sin,
the Spirit
is life
because of
righteousness.
Now,
we've already
talked about
how Christ
is in you.
He is in you
by the
indwelling
of the Holy
Spirit because
of Jesus
and God
the Father
sending the
Spirit to
the church.
We've already
talked about
verse 9,
how we moved
from Spirit
of God
to Spirit
of Christ.
Verse 10
tells us
the Spirit
is life.
Yes,
your body
has death
here
and
now,
but because
of the Holy
Spirit,
life
is what
is ultimately
true,
which raises
another question.
What does
that mean?
What does it
mean that you
have life
of the
Spirit?
Part of the
answer to
that question,
Paul's going
to unpack
in the rest
of Romans
chapter 8,
so I'm not
going to spoil
all of it
for you.
By the way,
some people
believe that
Romans chapter 8
is the best
chapter in
the entire
Bible.
So we're not
going to tackle
all of it
this morning.
I'm going to
give you a few
examples,
though,
of what it
means to
have life
because of
the Spirit
of Christ.
have you
ever been
convicted
of your
sin?
If you're
a Christian,
you have to
say yes to
that.
It's part of
what it means
to follow
after Jesus.
If you've
ever been
convicted of
your sin,
that was
the Holy
Spirit at
work giving
you life.
have you
ever read
the Bible
and had
incredible
clarity
about Jesus
and his
work on
your behalf?
That was
the Holy
Spirit
illuminating
the Scriptures
for you.
1 Corinthians
chapter 2
says we
can't actually
understand
spiritual
things,
the things
of God,
unless his
Holy Spirit
is at
work.
If you've
ever listened
to a sermon
and there's
just been so
much clarity
and truth
and life
that has
come to
you,
that is
ultimately
and finally
the work
of God's
Spirit,
not the
work of
the preacher.
It's the
work of
God's Spirit
giving the
preacher
clarity,
the work
of God's
Spirit
giving you
clarity.
That's the
Spirit
giving life.
Sometimes
people will
say,
you know,
before I
became a
Christian,
I would
listen to
the word,
I would
read it,
I would
go to
church,
and it
just
bounced
off of
me.
And it
bounced
off of
them
because the
Holy Spirit
was not
there giving
life.
It went
in one ear
and it
went out
the other
until one
day it
cut them
to the
heart.
And why
did it
cut them
to the
heart?
Because the
preacher was
amazing?
No,
because God's
Spirit was
at work
giving them
life.
Have you
ever had a
powerful sense
of God's
presence with
you in
suffering?
love?
That was
the Holy
Spirit.
We've
already
talked about
that.
Romans
chapter 5,
remember
verse 5,
God's
love has
been poured
into our
hearts
through the
Holy Spirit
who has been
given to
us.
Paul's
speaking about
that.
If you
remember back
to chapter
5, he's
talking about
suffering.
He's
saying you
experience and
feel God's
love and
joy in the
midst of
trials and
hardships because
of the work of
His Holy
Spirit giving
life to
you.
But if
Christ is in
you, although
the body is
dead because
of sin, the
Spirit is
life because
of righteousness.
And there's
more.
More that we'll
talk about as we
work our way
through Romans
chapter 8.
I'll just give
you one more
example.
If you look
back on your
life and you
think back to
10 years ago,
and you
say to
yourself,
today I
have more
love, joy,
peace, patience,
kindness, gentleness,
and self-control
than I did
before, why is
that true?
It's not
true because
you made a
habit tracker and
worked on your
virtue.
It is true
because the
Holy Spirit,
the Spirit of
Christ, was at
work in you and
your heart and
your mind,
and your
life bringing
life to you.
The Spirit is
life because
of righteousness.
The point of
verse 10 is
this.
As a
Christian, you
do not simply
or merely
believe or do
different things.
Now you do, as
a Christian, there
are different
beliefs and
behaviors, right?
But it is not
merely or simply
that.
You also
have a new
power and
a new heart
at work
within you.
if you're a
Christian.
If you're a
Christian, you
do not merely
or simply
believe or do
different things.
No, you have
a new heart
and a new
power.
And as
the Spirit
works in you,
because the
Spirit works in
you, you know
more and more
that your
salvation
is real.
and as
the Spirit
works, you
have greater
and greater
assurance
of God's
love.
Verse 10
also tells us
the basis
of this life.
The Spirit
is life
because of
righteousness.
In other
words,
the Spirit
is at work
in you
because of
Jesus'
life
and death
and
resurrection.
Now remember
I told you
the Spirit
is good
because the
Spirit
gives you
life now
and gives
you life
in the
future.
It's the
future that
we see
in verse
11 which
tells us
we will
not have
to struggle
with the
body of
death
forever.
This is
verse 11.
If the
Spirit
of him
who
raised
Jesus
from the
dead
dwells
in you.
He
who
raised
Christ
Jesus
from the
dead
will
also
give
life
to
your
mortal
bodies
through
his
Spirit
who
dwells
in
you.
Paul
is saying
this.
God
the
Father
by the
power
of the
Holy
Spirit
raised
Jesus
Christ
from
the
dead.
And
if you
are a
Christian
if you
belong
to him
he will
do the
exact
same
thing
for you.
God
raised
Jesus
from the
dead
God
will
raise
you
from the
dead.
What's
true
of Jesus
will
become
true
of you.
What
is
Christ's
present
is
your
future.
That
future
is a
new
body
that
will
live
forever.
That
future
is a
new
body
that
is
completely
free
of
sin
and
temptation
and
disease
and
misery
and
decay.
It
will
not
be
a
body
of
death.
That's
what
Paul
means
by
mortal
bodies
in
verse
11.
It
will
be
a
body
of
life.
Remember
last
week
we
talked
about
the
body.
The
body
isn't
bad.
The
body
is
just
tainted
by
sin.
We're
going
to
have
bodies
in
heaven.
They
will
just
be
bodies
that
are
perfect.
1
Corinthians
chapter
15
talks
about
Jesus
and
his
resurrection
as
the
first
fruits.
Now
first
fruits
is
an
agricultural
term.
When
you
look
at
the
first
fruits,
the
first
part
of
!
the
harvest,
it
shows
you
harvest
will
look
like.
In
other
words,
if you
want to
know
your
future,
look at
Jesus
Christ's
present.
Resurrected
from the
dead,
just
as you
will be.
And how
do you
know that
that will
be true?
There's
many ways
you can
know that
that's
true.
One
of them
in this
chapter
is the
presence
of the
Holy
Spirit
now.
Paul
is
saying,
do you
see the
Holy
Spirit
at work
in your
life
right now?
Well,
guess what?
Philippians
chapter 1
verse 6
is true.
He
who
began
a good
work
in you
will
bring it
to
completion
at the
day of
Jesus
Christ.
And
what
is the
work
of the
Spirit?
We
see it
already
in
Jesus.
The
work
is to
give
you
life
in
your
body
and
your
soul
and
your
mind.
Romans
is the
fifth
gospel.
And
what
Paul
teaches,
Jesus
taught
first.
Again,
the
gospel
of
John
chapter
11,
Jesus
says,
I
am
the
resurrection
and
the
life.
Whoever
believes
in me,
though
he
die,
yet
shall
he
live.
And
everyone
who
lives
and
believes
in
me
shall
never
die.
Do
you
believe
this?
Do
you
believe
it?
Do
you
believe
in
Jesus'
life
and
his
death
and
his
resurrection?
Do
you
repent
of your
sins
and
trust
him
to
cover
them?
And
do
you
accept
his
perfect
life
on
your
behalf?
Do
you
follow
him
in
faith?
If
so,
he
is
giving
you
a
resurrected
body
in
the
future
as
he
raises
you
from
the
dead
by
the
power
of
the
Holy
Spirit
just
as
he
did
in
Jesus
Christ.
And
he
is
giving
you
life
by
his
spirit
now.
the
power
that
raised
him
from
the
grave
now
works
in
us
to
powerfully
save.
He
frees
our
hearts
to
live
his
grace.
Now
go
tell
of
his
goodness.
Let's
pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
we do
thank you
and praise
you for
your
overwhelming
grace
and mercy
to us.
That you
do not
simply
give us
your
righteousness
and take
the
punishment
for our
sins,
but you
bring us
life
by your
spirit.
Life
that we
experience
now and
life we
look forward
to in
the future.
We ask
that you
would grow
by your
spirit
our
confidence
in this
hope,
that it
would
shape
our
hearts
and our
minds
and our
lives,
that we
would
live
by the
spirit,
by
minding
the
things
of the
spirit.
We ask
these
things in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.