Good morning. We're reading from Romans 8, starting from verse 5.
For it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot.
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
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.
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.
I turned it off. Good morning.
As Simon has already introduced, we're continuing in our series on Romans 7 through 8 and looking at the issue or the matter of assurance,
the assurance that we can actually have in our faith, in our relationship to God.
And last week David looked at our foundation, that foundation being in Christ.
The key verse, which we used to put on t-shirts back in the day, bumper stickers, all that sort of things, is verse 1.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
No condemnation.
But gee, if we're going to actually even get through that verse, I think one of the things that we do as a culture at the moment is we kind of skirt around condemnation.
If we stay far enough away from it, it's okay.
We can read that verse through and then swallow it.
But if we get anywhere near the word condemnation, I think we really struggle.
See, I'm amazed.
I'll try not to slip into a rant here.
You know, I'm 50 now.
It's starting to come up in me.
But there was a time when truth used to come from outside of yourself.
There was a time when everyone agreed on what truth was and what right and wrong was.
I remember as a child, if I disobeyed, if I broke one of these rules, it didn't matter who caught me up, they would give me a clip around the ear.
If I complained to my parents, they would give me another one because they were pretty sure that that first person was right.
Now, in my case, maybe that was more often than perhaps it was for you.
But that's the reality of things.
There was this sense of what is right and what is wrong.
And it was understood to be out there, to be out there, to be objective, to be something we could refer to and that everyone in society could refer to as well.
Well, now we have a name for people who have that kind of view of the world.
We call them old.
But here's the problem.
You see, that old view is kind of the view that's actually represented by the Ancient of Days, our God.
That expectation that there is an objective truth in the world.
We've moved to this place where we've actually internalised where we find truth.
So we look inside ourselves when we were looking for truth.
What that looks like, for example, is that when I'm trying to work out what's right and wrong in my life, I look inside myself and I decide, well, what feels best for me?
What do I think will best serve my purposes?
What do I think will actually best give me a sense of enjoyment and fulfilment?
I want to tell you something up front.
Because this concept of pursuing wholeheartedly what I think, I feel or I desire is a really thorny one.
If we go down that path, it's a really thorny one on two counts.
First, in the direction that it can lead.
And second, I think if we go down this path, it's a very hard path to see that we're on.
When I judge the world and my own behaviour within it, how I interact within it, on the basis of what I find within, it is very hard for me to see when I'm going wrong.
In fact, I'd go so far as to say this, if you are sinning, if you are sinning and you're not enjoying it, you're doing it wrong.
So if I'm actually looking internally to find that compass that will actually help to direct me through life, I'm going to really struggle.
I'm going to really struggle with how I live.
This issue of condemnation, I've got to keep that way away from me.
Because it confronts me.
But the problem that we have is that we're left in this nebulous place of existence where, man, we don't want people to say that there's something to be condemned.
But we really, really want to have some kind of direction in life.
We want to know what it means for there now to be no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
What does that look like, lived out?
That sounds like a passing.
What does it look like, lived out?
And what happens as we go into verses 5 to 13 is we actually find out what it actually looks like to live it out.
Verses 1 to 4 go on to unpack this issue of no condemnation.
The removal of condemnation in Christ bit.
It unpacks what it, this passage that we're about to go into, unpacks what it means to be in Christ Jesus in an ongoing sense.
And as it does, it builds and strengthens the assurance available to us in Christ through the Holy Spirit.
Last week, new life in Christ Jesus.
This week, new life in the Holy Spirit.
Notice that salvation is a Trinitarian work and we'll see this as the Son, then the Father this week, and then the Spirit this week, and then the Father next week.
Father, Son, and Spirit are wholeheartedly involved in saving us.
Only in Christ are we set free from condemnation and only through the Spirit is this freedom applied to us.
In a real and tangible and meaningful sense.
So let's look at how Paul does this, because what he does is he actually presents us with a comparison.
It begins in verses 5 and 6.
Paul has already introduced the role of the Spirit in verse 2.
The Spirit applies the truth of the Gospel to us.
We'll unpack that a little bit more in a moment.
But here in verse 5, what Paul does is he compares flesh and Spirit to show how that role works.
He says these words,
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.
Now, to understand what Paul means here, we need to understand the terms Paul uses.
When he says to live according to, he doesn't mean the things that you do in life.
He means who you are.
The Greek word that Paul uses here for live means to be.
It means my life, who I am, what I live for, my foundation for existence.
And ultimately, it's a comparison here between life according to the flesh on the one hand, or not Christian,
and life according to the Spirit on the other hand, or Christian.
He takes life according to the flesh first.
Let's start there.
Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.
Those who live according to the flesh are those who live for themselves.
It's when I define myself by who I am, and what I think, and what I feel, and what I desire.
It's life apart from God.
And living according to the flesh can look like one of two paths.
Rebellious, which I think is easy to see.
Or religious, which is really interesting because it actually looks very much like the Christian life that we should be living.
Let's start and have a look at these then.
So the rebellious life.
And think too, as Paul is actually speaking to the Roman church,
where he's trying to dovetail two different people groups, in the Jews and the Gentiles,
coming into one family, one church.
Think of how he's drawing these two groups in, and which group these particular groups might represent,
rebellious or religious.
But think also about ourselves.
Let's think about ourselves and how we actually fit into this too.
You see, when we talk about rebellious, I think we get what rebellious is.
And Paul describes his pathway in Romans 1, verse 18 and following.
So you can go and look back at that and get a sense of what it's like.
It's basically, in a nutshell, those who actively turn their backs on God.
Those who reject the truth.
Those who choose to pursue a life that conflicts with God's rule and plan and design.
But what it looks like in their minds is not actually a form of rebellion,
but a form of pursuit, of fullness of life.
A rebel pursues the life that they decide is fruitful.
And in terms of wondering, well, how does this actually work?
How do I know when this is the path I'm on?
Well, let me just suggest this.
That people on this path struggle with criticism.
Now, everyone struggles with criticism, but let's actually unpack why they struggle with criticism.
They struggle because they reject anyone else's right to judge them.
If that's the kind of thing that wells up in your heart, hang on a minute.
I'm me.
I get to choose who me is.
How dare you confront or challenge or rebuke me for being me?
The religious person, as I said, is slightly different and harder to see.
They also struggle with criticism, but we'll come up to that in a moment.
The religious person, in fact, it's even possible for us, for some of us here,
to think that we're Christians, but be in this camp of religious person.
Paul describes a religious pathway in Romans 2, verses 12 and following,
as he addresses the Jews.
There it's the Jews who obey the Mosaic law zealously,
but reject God's offer of salvation through his son when he comes.
A religious person pursues God by living the life that they think is worthy.
They try really hard to be a good person because it's this goodness,
this goodness in their life that determines how good their relationship with God is.
And as I've said, people on this path, they also struggle with criticism.
But they react badly for a different reason.
They react badly because their spiritual identity is defined by how they live.
They're chipping away at the very foundation that they're using to build on to move closer to God.
If we're going down the religious pathway, we'll also be prone to hiding our flaws
and judging others.
Not to help them, not to speak truth into their lives,
but to rank them on a scale of goodness.
Because the religious person builds a sense of spiritual superiority over others
on the basis of their goodness.
So as Paul speaks of those who are in the flesh,
we need to remember that he actually has both the rebellious on the one hand
and the religious on the other, both groups in his sights.
The rebel abandons God and pursues the life that they decide is fruitful.
The religious person pursues God by living a life that they think is worthy.
But both reject Christ
because both are building their foundation on the flesh.
Those who are in the flesh, on the one hand,
are not grounded in Christ.
But those who live according to the Spirit
are grounded in Christ.
Paul goes on to say,
those who live according to the Spirit
set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
Now Paul isn't saying to switch your brains off here
just so you understand.
You know that old let go and let God type thing,
kind of get in touch with our spiritual side.
As far as I'm concerned,
that's not far off a Christianized version of the Ouija board.
What Paul is saying here is actually the opposite.
Focus on what the Spirit is doing
and get in step with it.
Cooperate.
Be a part of it.
Cheer the Spirit on.
My first trip to England,
I was about 15, I think I was,
when we went across to England.
And it was my brother and I who went to visit our relatives
who we'd not seen.
My parents are English.
They brought us out here.
Anyway, so I went back to visit my grandparents
and my cousins and all that sort of thing.
And I had a great opportunity to go and watch Sheffield Wednesday.
My family team,
the team that my family has supported for generations,
to go and watch Sheffield Wednesday play at Liverpool,
against Liverpool,
at Liverpool,
at Anfield Road.
Now the thing was,
Sheffield Wednesday back then was a decent team.
There were lots of people supporting it.
And you only get a little thin wedge of supporters
if you're playing away.
So you've got to get in early to get your tickets.
We didn't get a ticket in that area.
The only way we could get a ticket
was to buy one in the Liverpool area.
And so what that meant was,
we turned up wearing absolutely no team colours.
And when we walked in,
we discovered that that made us obvious.
That demonstrated exactly who we were supporting.
Because we turned up and we walked into the ground
and there was this thin wedge of blue and white,
surrounded by a sea of red.
And there we were in neutral clothes,
just jeans and a jumper.
Everyone knew what we'd done.
We were sitting amongst these guys.
The score was two all.
At one point,
I actually jumped to cheer one of the goals
and my brother grabbed the back of my jumper
and pulled me back into my seat.
Because he didn't want me to give away
who I was barracking for.
Man.
When we get a sense of what's going on here,
what Paul is saying is,
those who live according to the Spirit
set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
He's saying,
get on God's side,
get on with seeing what the Spirit is doing
and cheer Him on
as He transforms your life.
So what is the Spirit doing?
Well, as I said earlier,
just a few verses earlier in chapter 8, verse 2,
Paul tells us.
Here Paul speaks of the law of the Spirit of life
setting us free.
Now, law in the Bible,
even in Romans,
can refer to rules,
like the Old Testament law,
or it can refer to a binding power or authority.
And here, in this verse,
Paul is saying that the Spirit
has that binding power or authority
to set us free in Christ.
He doesn't introduce a new law that we have to obey,
a new rule we have to obey,
but he actually represents that power
that can liberate us.
The Spirit applies the gospel of Jesus Christ
to our lives.
The Spirit sets us free from condemnation in Christ.
That's the work of the Spirit
that Paul has in mind here.
And what does that look like?
Well, it looks like this.
The Spirit shows us ourselves
and how far we have fallen short
of God's righteousness.
That's a hard thing to hear
if we're defining right and wrong for ourselves.
But here's the thing that,
this is something that Spurgeon said,
which I think is really helpful.
He said this,
If any man thinks ill of you,
do not be angry with him,
for you are worse than he thinks you to be.
Those who live according to the Spirit
know the truth of this.
They know they are far worse
than anyone around them will ever realize.
They are far worse
than they themselves will realize.
This is part of the work of the Spirit,
but the Spirit doesn't stop there.
He rebuilds our foundation on Christ.
There is no condemnation for us.
It's not that we escape
or that we're let off.
It's that our sin has been punished already.
The law has been fulfilled,
we read in verse 4.
Now David described last week
how our sin can undermine
our assurance of salvation.
Big sins in the past,
he described,
that we still feel the shame of
as they come into our consciousness.
Persistent sins that we can't get rid of.
But nothing we have done
or are doing or will do
can condemn us
because the Spirit is bringing us to life.
Through the power of the Gospel,
he's applying that power to us.
So for those who live according to the Spirit,
life begins now.
Enjoying the reality of life and peace with God
begins now.
And it's a life we're called to participate in.
Now there's these two ways of living
that Paul's described here
that he's contrasted.
And then he goes on to look at the outcomes
of those ways.
And these are quite confronting again
for however we approach life.
These are challenging.
See, two different lives
build on two different foundations,
both with very different outcomes.
Because, as Paul goes on to say,
those in the flesh cannot please God.
And those in the Spirit
receive new life.
In the flesh,
Paul continues in verse 7,
for the mind that is set on the flesh
is hostile to God,
for it does not submit to God's law.
Indeed, it cannot.
Those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.
The mind set on the flesh
is hostile to God.
Please notice,
there is no Switzerland here.
In this age of tolerance,
I don't think we like to think of ourselves
as hostile to anyone,
but we are.
We're hostile to anyone
who takes away our freedom
to think and do what we want.
But think about it.
This is something that Abraham Kuyper
once said.
He describes the sovereignty of God
over us in this way.
There is not one square inch
in the whole domain
of our human existence
over which Christ,
who is sovereign over all,
does not cry,
mine.
Don't you find that
just a little bit jarring?
I cannot even keep
one part of me back from God.
I can't compartmentalise
just one little bit of me
and say that's mine,
that's how I'm going to live
in that part of my life,
but everything else God can have.
I can't do that
because it's all God's.
And when I try to hold back,
I'm actually stealing from him.
Now guys,
we know stealing is a crime.
You know,
we can acknowledge that.
But hostility,
I think that's something
entirely different
that we really struggle with.
It means being enemies,
like two countries fighting.
That's what the word,
the Greek word means here.
And even as we understand fighting,
when two countries fight,
we understand that
when enemy fighters are captured,
they're treated according
to the Geneva Convention.
They're locked up,
but they're cared for.
But that's enemy fighters.
When a member of a country
at war
chooses to fight
against their own country,
they're not called prisoners of war.
They're called traitors.
And what we do with traitors
is entirely different.
Traitors,
in the last great war,
were executed.
Now,
Kuyper says,
we are gods.
So if we go to war against God,
we aren't just rebels.
We are traitors.
We have betrayed
our rightful king.
Whether openly rebellious
or religiously zealous,
those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.
Because they've rejected
their rightful king.
They've switched sides.
Worse than enemies,
they are traitors.
But, says Paul,
in verse 9,
the ray of light shines in.
But, says Paul,
you are different.
Let's look 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.
The language here
of not being in the flesh,
but in the spirit,
is about identity.
To be in the spirit
is to absolutely identify
with the spirit.
It's an all-in commitment.
And the mind-boggling thing here
is that it's mutual.
I love the way that
Sam told the kids' story
this morning
about the spirit
moving into the house.
It's mutual.
You and I
are in the spirit.
And,
the spirit of God
dwells in us.
Christ is in you.
And Paul goes on to say
in verse 10
that there's some implications
to that.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead
because of sin,
the spirit is life
because of righteousness.
If the spirit is in you,
if Christ is in you,
then he's for you.
That first trip
back to England
that I got to go
and watch that football match,
I was on the sides,
you know,
wanting to barrack
with all my heart.
But the crazy thing is
the God whose power
is at work in my life
is barracking for me.
He loves me dearly.
He wants to promote
good in my life.
The Holy Spirit
is working zealously
for me.
All the time
applying the gospel
to me.
Now,
when I remember
that sin that I regret,
and you'll know this,
you'll know this experience,
I'm sure.
You know,
the memories
that you hide from people
that you don't tell
even your closest friends.
The ones that cause you
to well up with shame.
When I remember
that kind of sin,
and I wonder
if I can even
be a Christian,
it's the Spirit
who reminds me
that God
has already condemned
that sin on the cross.
It's real,
but it's paid for,
and I'm free.
And when I get caught up
in that same weakness
again,
and again,
and the last place
I feel I can go to,
the last person
I feel I can get
anywhere near to
is God.
The Spirit draws me
back to the gospel.
The Holy Spirit
is there in me
saying,
in Christ,
you're forgiven.
children,
child,
you are mine.
God already knows
who his precious children are.
It's us who have to realize
who he is as our Father.
The Spirit of God
is not idle.
He is constantly
applying the gospel
to my sinful soul.
But the Spirit
doesn't just
push back death
or push back
condemnation.
The Spirit
brings life.
Paul goes on
to say in 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.
The Spirit
gives life
to our mortal bodies.
Let's be clear,
we're going to continue
to age and die
this side of Christ's return.
Paul says in verse 10
that we will continue
to age and die
in the flesh.
And we do that
because our bodies
are dead because of sin.
Spoiler alert though,
there is a time coming
when even the dead
even that death
will be rolled back.
It's coming up
in a couple of weeks.
I think David's got that one,
that passage.
So,
we will continue
to age and die
but he also says
that the Spirit
will bring life now.
And I'm going to suggest
to you
that this means
we are being transformed
now.
That new life
that we will experience
in fullness
at some point
in the future
is breaking in
here and now.
This life
the Spirit
gives us now
is to put to death
the deeds
of the body
in verse 13.
Let's read those verses
out,
12 and 13.
So then,
brothers,
Paul concludes,
we are debtors
not to the flesh
to live according
to the flesh
for if you're living
according to the flesh
you will die.
But if by the Spirit
you put to death
the deeds of the body
you will live.
here's the partnership
that means
we participate
in this.
We are involved
in setting our minds
on the things
of the Spirit.
The Spirit is at work
in us.
He calls us
to actually get involved
in what he's doing.
We're also involved
in putting to death
the old ways
of the flesh.
But it's the Spirit
that leads this process.
It's in his power
that it's accomplished.
And how does he do this?
Well,
the Spirit exposes
our flaws to us.
He teaches us
how the Gospel
redeems us
from the guilt
and shame
of those flaws.
And he replaces
our old mindset
with a new mindset.
He transforms us
into something better
than we could ever
conceive
alone.
I've got to say
this here and now
that I don't fully
appreciate what the
Gospel is doing in me.
I can't see
what I'm to be
because I've never
seen it.
I need the Spirit
to do this work
in me.
Our families
are fans of
a TV show
called
Antiques Roadshow.
Perhaps more so
because we're flying
out to England
next week
and so
Joe and I
are getting
re-acclimatised
to the accents
in the countryside
and anticipating
our holiday
and we're kind of
in that point.
We're not counting
down,
although it's
eight days
and seven hours
before we fly out.
No, we're not
counting down the days
but certainly
as we approach
going back home
we start to think
about things of England
and there's this one
particular Antiques
Roadshow episode
that was really
interesting.
You see,
they introduced me
to this concept
or this craft
called
Kintsugi.
I don't know
if you've heard
of this
but it's a
centuries old
Japanese art
of fixing
broken pottery
with a special
lacquer
basically mixed
with gold powder.
Beautiful seams
of gold
glint
in the cracks
as you can see
up on the pictures
here
of ceramic
where once
they've been
broken
is how they
fixed them.
They give
a unique
appearance
to every
single piece.
This repair
method
actually
celebrates
each pot's
unique history
by emphasising
its fractures
and breaks
instead of
disguising them
as had been
the case
in the past.
Kintsugi
often makes
a repaired piece
even more
beautiful
than the original.
Revitalising
it with new
life
is what
they're aiming
for.
Friends
we
we boast
in our
strengths
so when I
talk about
the role
of the
spirit
and actually
showing us
our weaknesses
and
transforming
those things
towards God's
likeness
I don't think
that's a
particularly
welcome thing.
We boast
in our
strengths
whether it
be religiously
or because
we've chosen
those things
to be the
defining
characteristics
of our
lives
but the
spirit
works
on our
weaknesses
those cracks
those imperfections
the things
we hide
are showing
the gospel
far better
than our
best efforts
to be good
ever could.
We boast
in our
strengths
the spirit
will have
us
boasting
in what
God
can do
with our
weaknesses
breathing
new life
into us
turning
those
areas
that were
just such
a source
of guilt
and shame
to us
transforming
those areas
into pure
gold
in his
hands
our
brokenness
is turned
into
beauty
and
nothing
commends
the gospel
to me
more than
seeing that
at work
in my
life
and seeing
it at work
in your
lives
this is
the assurance
that Paul
offers us
the God
who so
identifies
with us
that he
not only
dies
in our
place
but dwells
in us
and as he
dwells in us
he transforms
us
into something
far more
beautiful
than we've
ever seen
before
and he
does this
the last
way
we would
want him
to
he exposes
our flaws
and cleanses
them
and transforms
them into his
beautiful
likeness
through the
power of
the gospel
friends
that spirit
is at work
in you
let's pray
father god we
don't know what
perfection looks
like because
none of us
have achieved
it so
none of us
have ever
seen it
but we
do know
through your
word
that you
are perfect
and you
have
demonstrated
it
not only
have you
demonstrated
but you've
invited us
into your
presence
cleansing us
from unrighteousness
not just
legally
so that we're
no longer
condemned
but day
by day
purifying
us
returning us
and restoring
us
to the way
we were
intended to be
to just
display your
likeness to
the world
but I
pray that
you would
help us
by your
spirit
to build
our lives
on the
truth of
the gospel
and not
in the
hope
that we
can in
any way
approach
you through
anything we
do
father god
show us
the goodness
in jesus
name
amen