WEBVTT

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 Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.

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 It's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

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 This morning we're continuing our series in the book of Romans. The book of Romans is a letter

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 written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s AD.

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 It's called Romans because it is written to the church in the city of Rome

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 and it is about the gospel. It's about the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection.

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 If you've been with us you know that we are in chapter 6. We're finishing that chapter

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 today and chapter 6 has one primary question which is this.

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 If God's grace is real, why do I still have to live a life of holiness?

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 If God has forgiven me my sins, why can't I do whatever I want?

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 To that one question, you'll remember Paul has three different answers.

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 His first answer, and this is what we looked at in verses 1 through 14, is this.

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 To continue in sin as a Christian doesn't actually make sense because you cannot be

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 both dead and alive at the same time.

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 You're alive because of your union with Christ.

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 What's true of Christ is true of you and so when Christ died, you died to the power of sin.

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 When Christ was raised from the dead, you have newness of life through the Holy Spirit.

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 So that's answer one.

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 Answer two, it doesn't make sense why would a freed slave go back to his former master?

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 If you've been in slavery, you've been set free, why would you go back?

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 And continuing in sin, as we saw last week, is miserable.

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 It is a type of slavery.

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 Then the final answer, the answer we're going to look at today, is this.

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 It doesn't make sense to continue in sin.

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 Why would you do something that kills you?

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 Why would you do something that leads to death?

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 So we have three answers.

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 Answer one, it doesn't make sense because of your union with Christ.

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 Answer two, it doesn't make sense.

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 You're no longer a slave to sin.

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 Answer three, sin leads to death.

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 Why does God's grace mean that I can't just sin more?

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 Why would I obey?

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 Why should I obey?

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 That's the question we're continuing with this week.

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 I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter six.

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 We're going to start at verse 20.

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 You can turn in your worship guide.

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 You'll find it on page seven.

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 And remember as we come here that this is God's word.

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 Proverbs chapter 30 verse five tells us every word of God proves true.

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 He's a shield to those who take refuge in him, which is why we read now starting at verse 20.

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 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

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 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?

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 For the end of those things is death.

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 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God,

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 the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

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 For the wages of sin is death.

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 But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

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 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

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 Our Father in heaven, we do thank you again for this church that you've established here.

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 We thank you for your word that you've given to instruct us and guide us.

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 We thank you that we are united with Christ.

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 What's true of Jesus is true of us.

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 That you freed us from the bondage and slavery of sin.

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 You've rescued us from death and brought us to life.

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 We ask that you would, by your word and your Holy Spirit, stir in our hearts this morning.

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 You remind us of those truths.

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 You'd grow us in our love for you, our obedience to you.

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 And most of all, you'd show us Jesus.

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 That we would see his great glory and beauty and power and love.

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 We'd follow him in faith.

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 We ask these things in his mighty name.

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 Amen.

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 In the early 2000s, a movie came out called Thank You for Smoking.

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 And the movie tells the story of a man named Nick Naylor, who is a lobbyist or a spokesman for big tobacco.

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 And his goal is this, to convince the American people that cigarettes are harmless.

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 And they're harmless in two ways.

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 They're not addictive.

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 And they won't kill you.

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 Of course, Nick knows this isn't true.

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 At the very beginning of the movie, he tells us this.

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 I earn a living fronting an organization that kills 1,200 human beings a day.

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 So he knows what he's doing isn't true.

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 And yet he continues doing it.

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 There's several storylines in the movie.

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 Maybe one of them is his fight, his battle against this senator from Vermont who wants warning labels put on cigarettes.

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 He wants not just the text label you might see today.

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 He wants the skull and crossbones put on it.

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 And he wants in all caps the word poison.

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 And so there's this showdown at this congressional hearing.

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 And this doctor comes and testifies.

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 And the doctor says this.

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 The skull and crossbones means one thing.

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 Poison.

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 Thus, the message is quite clear.

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 Like any other product that carries the branding, if you take it, you will die.

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 Paul, in this passage, is putting the warning label on sin.

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 He has three arguments, as I've told you.

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 And so if you've been with us for a while, you're tracking with those three arguments.

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 Maybe the previous two were not convincing to you.

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 Maybe you thought, well, union with Christ.

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 Christ died to sin.

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 He rose to new life.

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 Whatever.

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 Maybe you thought, well, sin doesn't really feel like slavery to me.

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 It feels great.

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 So that argument doesn't convince me either.

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 So if those have not moved you, Paul comes in with his final and greatest argument.

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 And he's really blunt.

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 Sin will kill you.

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 He is putting the skull and crossbones warning label on sin.

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 And he's telling us it is a poison.

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 Now, the movie I told you about, it's a comedy.

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 And it's a comedy because it's kind of ridiculous in the modern day to try to convince people that smoking has no risk to it.

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 So that's the root of a lot of humor throughout the movie.

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 Other things, however, are not always so obvious.

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 And we're picking up the argument of that from last week.

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 Romans chapter 6 verses 15 through 19.

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 You may remember verse 19 says this.

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 Present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

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 Verses 20 through 23.

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 Follow up on that to answer the question why.

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 Why is it that you should present your members as slaves to righteousness?

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 Well, verse 20 tells us, begins it, says,

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 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

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 So Paul's still on this idea of slavery, his second argument.

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 And you'll remember, as we've discussed many times now, there are two powers and only two powers that control and direct your life.

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 You can serve God or you can serve sin.

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 You can serve God.

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 You can serve sin.

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 Whichever one you serve will rule you.

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 Sin offers misery.

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 God offers freedom.

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 So there's two slaveries.

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 There's a slavery that leads to death and a slavery that leads to life.

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 Different people use different words to explain this way of thinking about there being a power that controls the center of your heart.

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 Martin Lloyd-Jones talks about what governs or controls or directs or dominates your heart.

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 John Murray talks about what has authority or mastery over your heart.

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 What Paul is saying here in verse 20 is exactly this.

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 Free from righteousness means that when you were a slave to sin, righteousness did not direct or control or master your heart.

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 You were free from the reign of righteousness.

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 So verse 20 is kind of repeating what has come before.

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 Thank you.

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 It's a little bit of a review.

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 But it's important for us to review that because it is tempting when we think of Christianity to think of it as a moral code.

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 Okay, I was living by one type of moral code.

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 Now I become a Christian.

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 I'm living by another.

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 And that is part of the truth.

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 Right?

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 That's not wrong in a sense.

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 It's incomplete, but it's not wrong.

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 There is an ethic to the Christian life.

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 But the whole truth is this.

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 It is not fundamentally or primarily that you are living by a new code.

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 It is fundamentally and primarily that you have a new heart.

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 It's going back to what we saw in Ezekiel chapter 36 in the Old Testament.

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 That you had a heart of stone.

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 God has taken that and replaced it with a heart of flesh.

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 And I'm telling you what we've looked at over and over again now in the book of Romans.

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 If you are a Christian, there is a supernatural power at work in you.

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 You are not merely called from one way of life to another way of life.

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 No, you have been taken from death to life.

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 You were dead in your sins and trespasses.

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 You are now empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit.

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 Ephesians chapter 1, which I've told you about many times and I will remind you of again next Sunday.

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 The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

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 That power is at work in you.

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 If you belong to him.

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 That power empowers you to live your life for God's glory.

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 It enables you to do the right thing for the right reason.

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 It's what Jesus tells us, John chapter 8.

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 If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

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 That takes us then from verse 20 to verse 21.

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 Paul says this, he's continuing his argument.

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 By what fruit, but what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?

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 For the end of those things is death.

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 What Paul is saying is this.

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 When, before you were a Christian, and you were living however you wanted to live,

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 what was it doing for you?

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 How was it helping you?

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 How was it serving you?

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 Whatever it was,

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 it wasn't good.

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 As you look back on your life

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 before you were a Christian,

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 and you think about the way that you were living and thinking,

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 you're ashamed.

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 You could be ashamed because you were doing sort of scandalous, wicked things.

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 Maybe you were living kind of an upright moral life.

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 Maybe you didn't have any scandal,

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 but you were pursuing wrong things for the wrong reasons.

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 Maybe you're doing glorious good things.

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 Maybe you're doing the right things,

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 but you're doing them for the wrong reasons.

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 Maybe you're captured by worldviews and philosophies that are destructive and make no sense.

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 I've told you many years ago,

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 I told you the story of a friend of mine

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 who had a little bit of a dramatic conversion to Christianity,

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 and after he became a Christian,

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 he went, he opened up his web browser,

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 and he went to all the pages that he had bookmarked.

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 So he looked at everything he'd saved,

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 that he wanted the pages he wanted to return to.

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 There wasn't anything scandalous there,

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 but he looked and he thought,

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 what was I thinking?

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 These are pages with ideas and philosophies and movements

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 that I actually abhor now.

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 Why did I ever find any of that attractive?

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 Why was that appealing to me?

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 We could say, with Paul here,

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 those are things of which he was now ashamed.

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 And my whole orientation of my entire heart and life has changed.

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 So why would you keep serving sin?

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 Why would you keep serving something of which you're now ashamed?

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 If the results were bad,

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 why would you go back to it?

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 There's that old saying,

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 fool me once, shame on you.

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 Fool me twice, shame on me.

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 Don't get fooled again by sin.

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 Don't get fooled again by sin.

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 It takes us to verse 21.

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 It's not just that they were ashamed.

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 It's not just that this previous life

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 did not provide the fruit they were looking for.

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 It's actually even worse than that.

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 That previous life leads to death.

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 This is verse 21.

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 For the end of those things is death.

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 Now there are two ways for us to think about this death.

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 We could think about it as death right now

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 as you live life in this world.

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 I'm not going to repeat everything from last week,

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 but you'll remember we talked about

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 how miserable slavery to sin actually is.

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 When you realize that if you present yourself to sin,

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 it will rule over you.

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 You actually don't have life and peace

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 when you serve those things.

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 So that's one way we can think about

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 the death that sin leads to.

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 The other way, and this is the way we must think about it,

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 is that Paul here is talking about death in the future.

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 Paul is reminding us that when we die,

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 there are two options.

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 We can go to heaven or we can go to hell.

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 Hell is a place where there is nothing good from this world.

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 In hell, we do not experience God's presence,

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 at least not his presence in the sense of his goodness.

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 And it's very critical that we understand this.

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 What is confusing, I think, for many people,

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 what allows them to fall asleep to the reality

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 of eternal judgment is this,

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 that as you live in this life,

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 whether you recognize God or not,

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 you enjoy his gifts.

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 So Matthew chapter 5,

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 the Sermon on the Mount,

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 Jesus says this,

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 he says,

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 the sun rises on the evil and the good.

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 And then he says,

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 the rain falls on the just and the unjust.

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 What Jesus is saying there is this,

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 whether you believe in God or not,

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 right now,

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 you enjoy his good gifts.

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 Everything good that you experience in this life,

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 it comes from God and his presence.

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 You love the mountains?

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 Guess who made that?

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 God did.

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 You appreciate sunshine every day?

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 Guess who provides that?

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 God.

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 You enjoy food?

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 Who is it that sustains the earth?

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 It's God.

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 And so now,

00:16:36.180 --> 00:16:39.360
 you can enjoy God's gifts

00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.279
 without recognizing the giver.

00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:45.159
 You can actually insult the giver.

00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:46.720
 You can say he doesn't exist.

00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:49.860
 And you still live in his world.

00:16:49.959 --> 00:16:51.600
 The sun will still rise on you.

00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.319
 The rain will still fall.

00:16:56.459 --> 00:16:58.299
 If you reject the giver,

00:16:58.779 --> 00:17:00.819
 if you reject God,

00:17:01.299 --> 00:17:02.899
 one day,

00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:06.399
 all the gifts are removed.

00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:08.880
 One day,

00:17:09.060 --> 00:17:10.380
 all that's left

00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:11.880
 is hell.

00:17:12.840 --> 00:17:13.860
 Which, in a sense,

00:17:13.900 --> 00:17:15.180
 is a fitting punishment, right?

00:17:15.460 --> 00:17:17.080
 You've said you don't want God.

00:17:18.060 --> 00:17:18.400
 Well,

00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:20.060
 hell's the place

00:17:20.060 --> 00:17:20.880
 where you don't have him.

00:17:22.080 --> 00:17:23.380
 But you don't have

00:17:23.380 --> 00:17:24.400
 the good things

00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:25.560
 you have

00:17:25.560 --> 00:17:26.400
 now.

00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:28.000
 That's the death

00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:29.120
 Paul is talking about.

00:17:29.780 --> 00:17:30.180
 He's saying

00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:31.240
 that's where sin leads to.

00:17:31.300 --> 00:17:32.280
 That's the end of the path.

00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:34.279
 You keep rejecting God.

00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:36.079
 You are going to end up

00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:36.899
 in a place

00:17:36.899 --> 00:17:38.079
 of eternal torment

00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:39.339
 after your death

00:17:39.339 --> 00:17:41.440
 where none of God's gifts

00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:42.639
 exist.

00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:46.099
 Yesterday,

00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:46.740
 we had a

00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:48.539
 beautiful funeral

00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:49.680
 for Sue Stoner.

00:17:50.639 --> 00:17:51.940
 Beautiful for many reasons.

00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:52.599
 One of them is that

00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:53.200
 we can rejoice

00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:54.200
 in her faith in Christ.

00:17:55.639 --> 00:17:57.139
 We know that she is

00:17:57.139 --> 00:17:57.980
 experiencing

00:17:57.980 --> 00:17:59.019
 God's goodness.

00:17:59.019 --> 00:17:59.160
 happiness.

00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:00.759
 Now,

00:18:00.879 --> 00:18:01.500
 there's a book

00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:01.980
 that came out

00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:02.980
 a number of years ago

00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:04.460
 called 12 Rules for Life.

00:18:05.099 --> 00:18:06.539
 And if I ever write a book

00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:07.879
 called 12 Rules for Life,

00:18:07.940 --> 00:18:08.480
 one of my rules

00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:09.200
 is going to be this.

00:18:09.900 --> 00:18:11.139
 You need to go to funerals.

00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:12.819
 And the reason

00:18:12.819 --> 00:18:13.680
 you need to go to funerals

00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:14.019
 is this.

00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:15.799
 It reminds us of death.

00:18:16.500 --> 00:18:17.519
 It forces us

00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:18.379
 to look death

00:18:18.379 --> 00:18:19.720
 dead in the eyes.

00:18:21.019 --> 00:18:21.819
 And what we do

00:18:21.819 --> 00:18:22.460
 in this life,

00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:23.460
 so much of our life,

00:18:23.579 --> 00:18:25.920
 is distracting ourselves

00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:27.319
 from the reality of death,

00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:29.000
 avoiding thinking about it,

00:18:29.019 --> 00:18:31.759
 if funerals kind of,

00:18:31.900 --> 00:18:32.879
 they force us

00:18:32.879 --> 00:18:35.059
 to look at it once again.

00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:36.059
 It reminds us of this.

00:18:36.139 --> 00:18:37.440
 There are two places.

00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:40.779
 Every one of us,

00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:42.559
 unless the Lord returns,

00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:44.180
 will die one day.

00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:49.160
 You will have a funeral.

00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:53.319
 And what will happen to you

00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:54.740
 after your death?

00:18:54.740 --> 00:19:01.519
 You will either go to heaven

00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:04.120
 or you will go to hell.

00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:06.259
 You will either follow

00:19:06.259 --> 00:19:07.480
 the path of sin,

00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:08.660
 rejecting God,

00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:09.559
 and get finally

00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:10.380
 what you ultimately

00:19:10.380 --> 00:19:11.380
 have been asking for,

00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:13.759
 or you will follow

00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:15.279
 the path of life.

00:19:16.779 --> 00:19:17.740
 Paul tells us here,

00:19:18.420 --> 00:19:18.920
 the fruit,

00:19:19.019 --> 00:19:19.859
 this is verse 22,

00:19:19.859 --> 00:19:21.359
 that leads to sanctification

00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:22.799
 and its end,

00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:24.899
 eternal life.

00:19:27.199 --> 00:19:27.939
 And so Paul's not just

00:19:27.939 --> 00:19:28.819
 reminding us of this

00:19:28.819 --> 00:19:30.299
 sobering reality of hell.

00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:31.619
 He's actually writing

00:19:31.619 --> 00:19:32.519
 to believers, remember?

00:19:32.599 --> 00:19:33.559
 He's writing to the churches

00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:34.699
 in the city of Rome,

00:19:34.719 --> 00:19:35.579
 and so he's also writing

00:19:35.579 --> 00:19:37.319
 to remind them of heaven.

00:19:37.679 --> 00:19:38.539
 That's the reminder

00:19:38.539 --> 00:19:39.359
 of verse 22.

00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:41.899
 Now that you have been

00:19:41.899 --> 00:19:43.159
 set free from sin

00:19:43.159 --> 00:19:44.240
 and have become

00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:45.279
 slaves of God,

00:19:45.639 --> 00:19:46.919
 the fruit you get

00:19:46.919 --> 00:19:48.319
 leads to sanctification

00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:49.839
 and its end,

00:19:50.459 --> 00:19:51.839
 eternal life.

00:19:52.899 --> 00:19:53.740
 So remember,

00:19:53.859 --> 00:19:54.359
 verse 21,

00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:54.839
 he asks,

00:19:54.939 --> 00:19:56.119
 what was sin doing for you?

00:19:57.319 --> 00:19:58.459
 Sin was leading to shame.

00:19:59.659 --> 00:20:00.479
 Verse 22,

00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:01.959
 what is righteousness

00:20:01.959 --> 00:20:03.219
 doing for you?

00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:05.419
 Righteousness is leading

00:20:05.419 --> 00:20:06.659
 to sanctification

00:20:06.659 --> 00:20:08.159
 and eternal life,

00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:09.200
 which is Paul's way

00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:09.860
 of saying this,

00:20:09.980 --> 00:20:11.080
 you are becoming

00:20:11.080 --> 00:20:13.259
 more like Jesus now,

00:20:13.860 --> 00:20:15.200
 that's the sanctification,

00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:17.240
 and your future

00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:20.320
 will be with Jesus forever,

00:20:20.860 --> 00:20:21.900
 that's eternal life.

00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:23.120
 You're becoming

00:20:23.120 --> 00:20:24.800
 more like Jesus now,

00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:26.019
 that's the sanctification,

00:20:26.800 --> 00:20:29.040
 you will be forever

00:20:29.040 --> 00:20:30.880
 with Jesus in the future,

00:20:31.340 --> 00:20:33.360
 that's eternal life.

00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:35.900
 And so a very simple way

00:20:35.900 --> 00:20:36.720
 of thinking about heaven

00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:37.540
 and hell is this,

00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:40.640
 hell is the removal

00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:42.140
 of God's presence,

00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:43.180
 the removal of all

00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:43.920
 his good gifts.

00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:45.140
 He's present in the sense

00:20:45.140 --> 00:20:46.040
 that he's judging you,

00:20:46.300 --> 00:20:47.820
 but he's not present

00:20:47.820 --> 00:20:48.980
 in the sense of his mercy

00:20:48.980 --> 00:20:49.580
 and his goodness

00:20:49.580 --> 00:20:50.279
 and his love.

00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:51.240
 In fact,

00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:52.300
 it's a place of punishment.

00:20:53.700 --> 00:20:54.620
 Heaven is the opposite.

00:20:55.460 --> 00:20:56.660
 Heaven is the fullness

00:20:56.660 --> 00:20:58.640
 of God's presence.

00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:01.640
 You experience a taste

00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:03.540
 of God's goodness now,

00:21:03.539 --> 00:21:06.019
 you will experience

00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:07.460
 experience all

00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:09.599
 of God's goodness

00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:10.779
 in the future.

00:21:12.220 --> 00:21:13.460
 It's going to be a place

00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:15.000
 unpolluted by sin.

00:21:16.139 --> 00:21:17.500
 Revelation chapter 21

00:21:17.500 --> 00:21:18.659
 tells us it's the place

00:21:18.659 --> 00:21:19.559
 where God wipes

00:21:19.559 --> 00:21:21.059
 every tear

00:21:21.059 --> 00:21:22.460
 from our eyes.

00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:25.099
 And so Paul's saying,

00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:26.000
 of course you obey.

00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:28.220
 Of course you live

00:21:28.220 --> 00:21:29.399
 a life of holiness.

00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:30.440
 You are living

00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:31.620
 into the future,

00:21:32.380 --> 00:21:34.160
 your future.

00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:37.040
 And then in case

00:21:37.040 --> 00:21:37.820
 it's not clear,

00:21:38.120 --> 00:21:38.880
 he wraps it up here

00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:39.660
 in verse 23.

00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:42.040
 For the wages of sin

00:21:42.040 --> 00:21:42.860
 is death,

00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:44.560
 but the free gift

00:21:44.560 --> 00:21:45.140
 of God

00:21:45.140 --> 00:21:46.300
 is eternal life

00:21:46.300 --> 00:21:48.100
 in Christ Jesus

00:21:48.100 --> 00:21:49.240
 our Lord.

00:21:50.340 --> 00:21:51.000
 And the word

00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:51.900
 for wage here,

00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:52.580
 the Greek word,

00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:53.460
 is the word used

00:21:53.460 --> 00:21:54.000
 to talk about

00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.380
 what a soldier is paid.

00:21:56.060 --> 00:21:56.660
 Some people say

00:21:56.660 --> 00:21:58.140
 this is the daily rations

00:21:58.140 --> 00:22:00.080
 that a soldier receives.

00:22:00.820 --> 00:22:02.140
 I think some of you know

00:22:02.140 --> 00:22:03.000
 about getting paid

00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:03.540
 as soldiers.

00:22:05.560 --> 00:22:07.420
 It's your W-2 income.

00:22:08.120 --> 00:22:09.500
 You work for sin,

00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:11.019
 you serve sin,

00:22:11.600 --> 00:22:12.500
 sin's going to pay you,

00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:12.920
 it's going to give you

00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:13.300
 a paycheck.

00:22:14.040 --> 00:22:14.900
 That paycheck

00:22:14.900 --> 00:22:15.860
 is going to look

00:22:15.860 --> 00:22:16.519
 like death.

00:22:17.540 --> 00:22:18.700
 You earn death,

00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:20.080
 your wages get paid out.

00:22:20.340 --> 00:22:21.040
 We all know this,

00:22:21.100 --> 00:22:22.380
 actions have consequences.

00:22:23.180 --> 00:22:24.460
 You may not experience

00:22:24.460 --> 00:22:26.160
 those consequences now,

00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:27.880
 they do catch up

00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:29.779
 with you at some point.

00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:30.540
 Of course,

00:22:30.600 --> 00:22:31.540
 we all experience this,

00:22:31.620 --> 00:22:31.720
 right?

00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:32.580
 There's consequences

00:22:32.580 --> 00:22:34.140
 to the ways we treat

00:22:34.140 --> 00:22:35.279
 our body and our money

00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:36.420
 and our relationships.

00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:38.120
 And Paul's telling us,

00:22:38.180 --> 00:22:38.240
 hey,

00:22:38.300 --> 00:22:39.500
 there's consequences

00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:40.759
 that are true

00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:43.200
 of eternity as well.

00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:46.759
 So sharp contrast,

00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:47.040
 though,

00:22:47.100 --> 00:22:47.800
 there's wages,

00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:49.180
 that's what sin pays out.

00:22:49.600 --> 00:22:50.940
 You earn the death

00:22:50.940 --> 00:22:51.779
 that comes from sin.

00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:54.000
 Righteousness,

00:22:54.080 --> 00:22:54.200
 though,

00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:55.220
 you don't earn righteousness.

00:22:55.220 --> 00:22:55.440
 righteousness.

00:22:57.079 --> 00:22:58.539
 Doesn't say the wages

00:22:58.539 --> 00:22:59.279
 of righteousness

00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:00.279
 is eternal life.

00:23:00.380 --> 00:23:00.519
 No,

00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:01.039
 what does it say?

00:23:04.120 --> 00:23:06.579
 The free gift of God

00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:08.160
 is eternal life

00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:09.420
 in Christ Jesus,

00:23:09.940 --> 00:23:10.420
 our Lord.

00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:12.339
 How do you enjoy

00:23:12.339 --> 00:23:13.039
 this new power?

00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:17.720
 What do you need to do

00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:19.519
 for the power

00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:20.799
 that raised Jesus Christ

00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:21.460
 from the dead

00:23:21.460 --> 00:23:22.700
 to be at work in you?

00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:25.940
 What is it you need

00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:26.600
 to accomplish

00:23:26.600 --> 00:23:27.880
 to spend life

00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:28.740
 in eternity

00:23:28.740 --> 00:23:31.380
 full of God's goodness

00:23:31.380 --> 00:23:32.160
 and his presence

00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:33.279
 unpolluted by sin?

00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:39.319
 You have to accept

00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:39.700
 the gift.

00:23:42.779 --> 00:23:43.840
 You don't earn it.

00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:47.740
 You don't prove yourself.

00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:49.519
 No,

00:23:49.559 --> 00:23:50.120
 you actually admit

00:23:50.120 --> 00:23:50.740
 that you can't.

00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:53.299
 That you admit

00:23:53.299 --> 00:23:54.880
 that you need

00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:56.539
 Jesus to die

00:23:56.539 --> 00:23:56.980
 the death

00:23:56.980 --> 00:23:57.559
 that you deserve.

00:23:58.400 --> 00:23:59.960
 You need his life,

00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:00.940
 his righteous life

00:24:00.940 --> 00:24:02.740
 credited to your account.

00:24:06.339 --> 00:24:07.500
 So my job this morning

00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:08.140
 is very simple.

00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:11.180
 My job this morning

00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:12.279
 is to look you

00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:13.480
 dead in the eyes

00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:18.180
 and ask you

00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:19.279
 to consider your death.

00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:23.720
 When you die,

00:24:25.380 --> 00:24:26.700
 will you go to heaven

00:24:26.700 --> 00:24:27.839
 or will you go to hell?

00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:31.240
 Will you be separated

00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:32.759
 from all of God's goodness

00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:33.559
 and his gifts?

00:24:33.700 --> 00:24:34.980
 Will you finally get

00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:37.319
 the end result

00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:37.779
 of the way

00:24:37.779 --> 00:24:38.880
 you've been living your life?

00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:40.319
 You said you didn't want God.

00:24:41.400 --> 00:24:41.860
 Well, that's how

00:24:41.860 --> 00:24:42.519
 it's going to end up.

00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:44.900
 Or will you accept

00:24:44.900 --> 00:24:45.539
 the free gift?

00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:49.599
 Will you receive

00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:51.220
 what God offers?

00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:54.139
 Are you serving

00:24:54.139 --> 00:24:56.440
 sin or God?

00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:00.900
 Will you go

00:25:00.900 --> 00:25:02.319
 to heaven

00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:03.819
 or hell?

00:25:08.119 --> 00:25:09.339
 If that's something

00:25:09.339 --> 00:25:10.420
 you're unsure about,

00:25:10.420 --> 00:25:12.820
 pages 17 and 18

00:25:12.820 --> 00:25:13.759
 of our worship guide

00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:14.500
 at the very end,

00:25:15.220 --> 00:25:16.620
 we go into much more detail

00:25:16.620 --> 00:25:17.440
 about what it means

00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:18.140
 to be a Christian

00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:19.500
 to follow Jesus Christ

00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:20.700
 in faith.

00:25:22.600 --> 00:25:23.480
 I want you to see

00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:24.980
 how this verse ends though.

00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:25.400
 It says,

00:25:25.860 --> 00:25:27.640
 in Jesus Christ,

00:25:27.779 --> 00:25:28.340
 our Lord.

00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:29.300
 That's the very end

00:25:29.300 --> 00:25:30.500
 of verse 23.

00:25:31.080 --> 00:25:32.100
 We've seen this

00:25:32.100 --> 00:25:33.660
 in language before.

00:25:34.080 --> 00:25:34.779
 Remember earlier

00:25:34.779 --> 00:25:35.400
 in the chapter,

00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:36.140
 Paul talked about

00:25:36.140 --> 00:25:36.840
 being baptized

00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:39.319
 into Jesus Christ.

00:25:39.439 --> 00:25:40.439
 So at the very end,

00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:41.259
 the last verse,

00:25:41.859 --> 00:25:42.439
 chapter 6,

00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:43.339
 the last phrase

00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:44.379
 of the last verse,

00:25:45.579 --> 00:25:46.519
 Paul goes back

00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:47.839
 to union with Christ.

00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:51.019
 This gift

00:25:51.019 --> 00:25:52.220
 happens

00:25:52.220 --> 00:25:54.399
 as what's true

00:25:54.399 --> 00:25:54.839
 of Jesus

00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:55.639
 is true of you.

00:25:56.359 --> 00:25:57.359
 This gift happens

00:25:57.359 --> 00:25:58.179
 as you are connected

00:25:58.179 --> 00:25:58.619
 to him,

00:25:58.679 --> 00:25:59.779
 that in his death

00:25:59.779 --> 00:26:01.059
 you died

00:26:01.059 --> 00:26:02.179
 to the power of sin.

00:26:02.180 --> 00:26:04.460
 in his resurrection

00:26:04.460 --> 00:26:06.180
 you live

00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:06.920
 with newness

00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:07.720
 of life.

00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:10.640
 It's a gift

00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:12.320
 because of what

00:26:12.320 --> 00:26:12.920
 Jesus did.

00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:13.480
 It's a gift

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 because of his death

00:26:14.580 --> 00:26:16.299
 and his resurrection.

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 That's what we celebrate

00:26:21.080 --> 00:26:21.600
 at Advent,

00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:22.440
 which is the season

00:26:22.440 --> 00:26:23.440
 that we're in right now,

00:26:23.700 --> 00:26:24.740
 is that Jesus came

00:26:24.740 --> 00:26:26.259
 and he came

00:26:26.259 --> 00:26:27.019
 to set us free.

00:26:27.860 --> 00:26:29.120
 He came to set us free

00:26:29.120 --> 00:26:30.140
 from the slavery

00:26:30.140 --> 00:26:30.880
 of sin.

00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:31.160
 Remember,

00:26:31.160 --> 00:26:31.940
 we've talked about

00:26:31.940 --> 00:26:33.160
 its power,

00:26:34.140 --> 00:26:34.779
 that he's broken

00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:35.420
 in his death.

00:26:36.040 --> 00:26:37.380
 He came to give us

00:26:37.380 --> 00:26:38.660
 the gift.

00:26:39.080 --> 00:26:39.620
 So that's what we're

00:26:39.620 --> 00:26:40.120
 going to sing

00:26:40.120 --> 00:26:40.660
 right now.

00:26:41.600 --> 00:26:42.060
 Remember,

00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:43.340
 Christ our Savior

00:26:43.340 --> 00:26:44.920
 was born

00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:45.980
 on Christmas Day

00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:48.300
 to save us all

00:26:48.300 --> 00:26:49.460
 from Satan's

00:26:49.460 --> 00:26:50.640
 power

00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:52.840
 when we were

00:26:52.840 --> 00:26:53.400
 gone astray.

00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:55.620
 Let's pray.

00:26:57.400 --> 00:26:58.540
 Our Father in Heaven,

00:26:58.660 --> 00:26:59.120
 we do

00:26:59.120 --> 00:27:00.560
 praise you

00:27:00.560 --> 00:27:01.000
 and thank you

00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:01.619
 that the gift

00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:03.039
 of eternal life

00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:03.779
 is a free gift.

00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:06.220
 We ask that you'd

00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:06.700
 be at work

00:27:06.700 --> 00:27:08.319
 now by your spirit

00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:10.480
 searching our hearts

00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:11.099
 and our minds

00:27:11.099 --> 00:27:12.000
 that we would look

00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:12.900
 death straight

00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:13.559
 in the eyes.

00:27:14.660 --> 00:27:15.519
 We wouldn't

00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:16.460
 glance at it

00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:17.059
 or turn away,

00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:17.839
 but we would ask

00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:18.359
 the question

00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:19.039
 of where we're headed.

00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:21.119
 Following sin

00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:21.599
 to death

00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:22.099
 or you

00:27:22.099 --> 00:27:22.920
 to righteousness.

00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:23.920
 Father,

00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:24.380
 we ask,

00:27:24.539 --> 00:27:25.500
 thank you for that gift.

00:27:25.500 --> 00:27:26.299
 we ask that you'd

00:27:26.299 --> 00:27:26.880
 be at work

00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:28.539
 drawing our hearts

00:27:28.539 --> 00:27:29.440
 closer and closer

00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:30.240
 to you,

00:27:31.019 --> 00:27:32.180
 growing in faith

00:27:32.180 --> 00:27:33.460
 and love

00:27:33.460 --> 00:27:34.519
 for you and one another.

00:27:34.660 --> 00:27:35.539
 We ask these things

00:27:35.539 --> 00:27:36.259
 in Jesus' name.

00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:36.940
 Amen.

00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:39.559
 I invite you to stand

00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:40.400
 for our closing hymn.

00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:50.220
 Bluetooth

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