The Daily Christian Life
Power for Living
Wildwind Community Church
David K. Flowers
July 29, 2007
Good morning. I hope you have come with Bibles this morning. My goal today and for the next four weeks is to get you really well acquainted with the eighth chapter of the book of Romans because it gives us a picture of what our daily lives are to look like if we claim to be Christ-followers. Those here today who do not make that claim, I want to talk to you briefly. First, welcome to Wildwind. I am glad you are here. Believe it or not, you make this church what it is. Much of the freshness, the energy, and the enthusiasm that characterizes this church comes from the steady flow of people into our church who have not really bought into Christianity yet. Our church is a place where Christians can come to celebrate Jesus Christ as the forgiver of their sins and the leader of their lives. It is also a place where those who are not yet Christians can come and observe, ask questions, and find out what Christianity is all about. We are serious about both of those things. This series we are starting today is one of the few series I do during a year that is directed specifically toward those who are already Christ-followers. That does not mean there will be nothing for you to learn today, I’m just asking for your patience as I might attend to some things that might seem kind of “in-house” – that is to say, between Christians. Nevertheless I welcome you again, and I promise you that you will not leave here today feeling like you were sitting at a table where you were not welcome. Much the contrary, and you will see that as we proceed.
I know not everyone brought a Bible today, and that’s fine – everything we’re looking at will be on the screen – but if you brought your Bible, please turn to Romans chapter 1. Table of contents. New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. Find it? Good. When you get to that page, flip the pages until you get to the big number 8 – that’s chapter 8. Today we’ll be looking at the first eight verses of chapter 8.
Before we read the text, I just want to ask you a question. What is the main difference between someone who is a Christian and someone who is not a Christian? The main difference between Christians and those who are not Christians is their source of power. We all have a source of power in our lives – a place our energy comes from, something that focuses us, guides us in a certain direction, and motivates and inspires us. For some the source of power might be their belief in themselves. For some the source of power might be a deceased loved one who they see themselves as now living on behalf of or keeping a promise to. For some it might be money. For some the source of power might be what they might call an inner light or a higher power. For the Christian, none of these things are the source of power. For the Christian the source of power is God – and specifically God’s Spirit alive in us. Now this sounds weird, but it’s not at all. After all, every person living has a spirit – it’s that part of them that is uniquely them. If there is a God, then it makes sense that God would have a Spirit, doesn’t it? And since God is not matter but spirit, it makes sense that God’s spirit could go wherever it wanted to go, doesn’t it? And since God’s spirit could go anywhere, it is completely logical to believe that God’s spirit might choose to take up residence with our spirits, and become the source of power in our lives. The Bible, in fact, goes to great lengths to describe to us how this is precisely what happens in the life of a Christian.
This is what I want to address with you for the next few weeks. This series is called Power for Living, and in this series I want to talk to you about the source of power in our lives. I want to talk to you about how God’s Holy Spirit will free us from struggling and suffering, in ways that are perhaps not so obvious. I want to talk to you about how the Holy Spirit will ultimately free the entire creation from struggling and suffering, and then I want to conclude with assurances we have that this will happen.
In other words, what I want to address with you is what it means to live your life with a day to day belief in the power of God’s Spirit working in you, and working in the events of your life and this world. This is what Romans chapter 8 talks about. It’s one of the most important chapters of the Bible for a Christian to know, understand, and hope in. Let’s look at our text, Romans 8:1-8.
Romans 8:1-8 (NIV)
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,
4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
As much as possible, I want to preach through this chapter verse by verse so by the end of this series the chapter will be incredibly familiar to you.
Verse 1 – There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let us begin with the obvious opposite – that for those who are NOT in Christ, there will be condemnation. Not a PC message is it? Not one any pastor will get popular preaching, but the message of scripture is that for those who are not in Christ, a day will in fact come when there will be condemnation. What is condemnation? In the literal sense, it means death. Death will be the fate of those who are not in Christ.
John 1:4 (NIV)
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
In Christianity the world is described as being on a collision course with death – that the natural way we go leads to death – that the whole creation is not ultimately getting better and moving upwards, but getting worse and spiraling down. Jesus Christ is described not only as knowing how to help us find life, but as actually BEING life – the actual SOURCE of life. In him was life. Jesus himself said,
John 14:6 (NLT)
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…
So there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And there will be one day, for those who are not. This isn’t because God in his cruelty has determined that certain people should be condemned. It’s in the nature of things. Think of water. In a very real sense, water is life to us. Those who drink water will live. Those who do not will die. It’s in the nature of things. That’s not because God, in his cruelty, has decided to kill all the terrible people who don’t drink water. It’s because if you decide not to drink water, you make yourself an enemy of that which brings life. It’s in the nature of things that desire for water will lead to thirst which will lead to craving which will lead to desperation and dehydration, and, if you do not drink, the end point will without question be death. We ignore this source of physical life at our own peril. Spiritually the same is true. We ignore Christ at our own peril. Spiritual desire will lead to thirst which will lead to craving which will lead to desperation and spiritual dehydration, and, if you do not drink of the water of spiritual life, the end point will without question be spiritual death. Jesus said to a woman at a well one day:
John 4:13-14 (NIV)
13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Now we are told in this verse not only about condemnation, but about being “in Christ.” We are told there is no condemnation for those who are “in Christ?” What does it mean to be “in Christ?” This is very simple. If you slip into a tuxedo or dress, then no matter where you go or what you do, you are in that tuxedo or dress. You may be at a prom, at a restaurant, at a bowling alley, or at home sleeping on the couch, but you are in that tuxedo or dress. In Romans 13 the Apostle Paul says,
Romans 13:14 (NIV)
14 … clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ...
In other words, step into Christ – move into life, into the light. Clothe yourself with Christ, so that no matter where you go or what you do, you are “in Christ.” Be “in Christ” at work, at home, in bed, in peace, in war, in happiness and sadness, in prosperity, in suffering – clothe yourselves with Christ and be “in him.” Live in him at all times – make him the defining reality of your life.
Okay, think you got verse 1? There is no condemnation (death) for those who are in Christ. There will be condemnation someday for those who are not. And we are to live “in Christ” at all times. Notice that what you wear is a choice. In the same way, whether you choose to live “in Christ’ is a choice. You can make a faith commitment to Christ and yet still not choose to clothe yourself daily with Christ. That’s up to you, and requires a continual choice on your part.
Verse 2 – Why is there no condemnation for those who are in Christ?
Romans 8:1-8 (NIV)
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Umm. Okay. What does that mean? What is the law of sin and death? In Romans 7, Paul described this beautifully:
Romans 7:18-23 (MSG)
18 I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it.
19 I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway.
20 My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
21 It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up.
22 I truly delight in God’s commands,
23 but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
That, my friends, is what Paul calls the law of sin and death. The fact that despite our good intentions, there’s a part of us that WANTS to sin, WANTS to do things we shouldn’t do. And the harder we try to be good, the more we think about being bad. The effort we put into not sinning becomes time we spend thinking of sinning. It’s like when you’re on a diet. How many times can you say to yourself, “Don’t eat that piece of chocolate cake,” before it finally becomes, “That piece of yummy chocolate cake,” which becomes, “That piece of luscious yummy cake that you know it’s fruitless to resist,” and eventually, “That piece of cake you might as well not resist because you know it’s fruitless to resist.” In the end, we usually end up eating the cake. Sin is the same way. There’s something about sin that is attractive to us, and the harder we try not to do it, the more we are reminded of how much fun it might be if we did it. That’s the law of sin and death.
Paul says that through Christ the law of the Spirit of life set him free from this law of sin and death. The Spirit of life, my friends, is God’s Spirit in the heart of the Christian. Let’s look at verse 3 and 4 here:
Romans 8:3-4 (NIV)
3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,
4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Sounds like a mouthful, but Paul is just showing us how the law of the spirit of life sets us free from the law of sin and death. There’s that sinful nature, that tendency to want to sin we all have that constantly does battle with any desire we have to do good. So God decided to go for the jugular. He sent Jesus Christ in the form of a human being to suffer alongside us, to be subject to temptation and failure and weakness. In spite of all these things, Christ (God in the flesh) lived a sinless life, did what none of us could ever do. And his moment of death was his greatest moment of triumph, for it sealed his perfect life forever – he never sinned. He served as a “sin offering.” Just like the Hebrews used to put lambs on the altar and sacrifice them for their sins, Jesus, in effect, served as this sacrifice for us.
Hebrews 10:11-12 (NIV)
11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.
Christ’s sacrifice was an eternal sacrifice, made one time for all time because Christ was God – an eternal being. What Christ did on the cross, in effect, was defeat sin. Christ made it possible for us to live a life where the chokehold of sin is loosened. How? Through killing sin in us. How did he do that? As long as I tell you, “don’t eat that cake,” all you have is your willpower, which eventually will fail. But what if there was a way for me to make it so that you came to no longer desire cake? It’s easy for you to stay away from things you don’t desire, isn’t it? After all, who struggles to not eat beets/liver/Brussels sprouts/etc? That’s what Jesus did on the cross. He made it possible for us to come to no longer desire sin. And when we no longer desire it, it no longer has control over us. We’ll always lose the battle against sin when it’s what we really want to do, but Christ undercut that battle by making it possible for us to no longer desire it. And I have seen the real effects of that over and over. People who were living with all kinds of sin in their lives put their faith in Christ and almost immediately decide they simply don’t want to live in certain ways anymore – just like that. This is what is meant by the phrase, “he condemned sin in sinful man.” Instead of sin putting us to death, Christ put sin to death.
Verse 4 ends that we who follow Christ do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit. This begins a great new line of thought for Paul. What does it mean to live according to the Spirit? It is to understand that Christ is not only to be the forgiver of our sins, but the leader of our lives. Living according to the Spirit means to take marching orders from Christ from now on – pattern our lives after him. Which means what? Learning to live without sin, because that’s what he did! So we’re under new ownership. For the first time we find ourselves desiring to sin less than before. Sin becomes less attractive. We begin to see its devastating effects with increasing clarity and what used to seem like fun begins to appear to us as it appears to God – abominable and tragic and ultimately deadly. This continues throughout our lives of service to God. As we live by the Spirit, sin gets uglier and uglier, and the things of God become more and more attractive.
Verse 5 –
Romans 8:5 (NIV)
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
This makes sense, right? I’ll explain this using an analogy I’ve used often at Wildwind. Squirrels have their minds set on acorns. Birds have their minds set on worms. Lions have their minds set on antelopes. Men have their minds set on women. Med students have their minds set on medicine, mechanics on cars, musicians on rhythm, teachers on learning. Everything has a nature, and the nature of what something is determines what it is set on, what it thinks about, and what it will do. In the same way, many in this world live not according to God, but according to what Paul calls the “sinful nature.” They’re just drifting along on auto-pilot, indulging themselves in whatever, whenever. They live to do what they want to do, and what they naturally want to do is sin. Sin is as natural as breathing, as natural as a lion hunting an antelope. It’s in the nature of sinners to sin. But some people have decided to approach Christ – the source of life – and ask him to forgive their sins and be the new leader of their lives. And when they do that, God places in them his Holy Spirit – check this out. Hundreds of years before Jesus came, God said:
Ezekiel 11:19-20 (MSG)
19 I’ll give you a new heart. I’ll put a new spirit in you. I’ll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart.
20 Then you’ll obey my statutes and be careful to obey my commands. You’ll be my people! I’ll be your God!
When does God say we will obey him? When God bends us over and puts our nose in our mess and swats our butt with a newspaper? No way! When your heart changes! When suddenly you find yourself WANTING to obey. And that’s exactly what God made possible through Christ, for us to want to obey! So when we live according to this new nature God places in us as his Spirit -- the Spirit of Life – comes to live inside of us – we suddenly find that our hearts are set on what that nature desires – that is, on things that please God. The Spirit of Life becomes our source of life! We are in Christ and everything we do is in him, no matter where we are. We seek to please God and avoid things that do not please him, and we find ourselves seeking God’s pleasure quite naturally because for the first time that is our nature.
Verse 6 –
Romans 8:6 (NIV)
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
Is this becoming clear to you, now that you are seeing the background behind it? Sin leads to spiritual death, doesn’t it? So the mind of a person stuck in sin is a mind filled with death. But the mind of a person freed into life by Christ and by God’s Spirit is life and peace – after all, Jesus said he is life, remember? It can’t be any other way.
Verses 7 and 8 –
Romans 8:7-8 (NIV)
7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
The sinful mind is hostile to God. Look around you and you’ll see this again and again. These are two worldviews that simply cannot be reconciled.
John 3:19-20 (BBE)
19 And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil.
20 The light is hated by everyone whose acts are evil and he does not come to the light for fear that his acts will be seen.
There is light, and there is darkness. Darkness is threatened by the light and hates it. Some of you here today are torn between light and darkness. You have inched closer to the light again and again, only to scurry back into darkness. You have built relationships with Christians and perhaps even given your life to Christ, but then have found reasons to hate the church, reasons to be bitter and critical – all coming out of the darkness you were used to living in. Light is a wonderful thing, but when a person who has always lived in darkness steps into the light, it hurts. It’s uncomfortable. It’s temping and easy to run back into the darkness. It is a battle that is fought in the realm of the spirit. That is why, Christians, we must pray. The church has learned that the battle for hearts and minds happens not with the weapons of war but with prayer and faith in God.
Because the sinful mind is openly hostile to God. It does not, and CANNOT, submit to God. Those who have chosen, for now, to remain in sin cannot please God. Because Jesus is the life and the light. God’s Holy Spirit is the source of power in our lives, the only way we can escape the condemnation that will be the ultimate price sin will extract. So I cannot end this sermon without asking you to examine your own heart. Have you been resisting God? Are you ready to submit to him? Have you been fighting that battle, in God’s camp one day and back in the devil’s camp the next day? Do you need to surrender to God? Have you been trying the American formula for salvation, which is simply to “be a good person,” and realized that you honestly don’t want to be good sometimes? Maybe even during this message, have you come face to face with the reality of your own sin and your need for God?
I believe real life begins for human beings when we say the words, “I need God.” We may not even fully know what that means, but we know it’s true. You can walk out of here today in a different place. Yes, it’s a journey, and we never arrive. We will always need God’s grace. But you can make up your mind today to be done with sin. You can ask Christ today to forgive your sins, to let you in on what he did when he put sin to death, and to fill you with his Spirit and a desire to live for him. That will put you on a brand new path.
Christian here today, do you need a tune-up? Do you need to live with God as the source of power in your life? Have you been trying to do this on your own? Do you need to maybe stop trying so hard and let God’s grace flood your life?
We’re going to play some music for a few minutes and I’m just going to ask you to come forward and pray. Come to let go of sin and embrace God. Come to confess sin in your life and start over again. Christian, come and ask God again to fill you with his Spirit and be the source of your life. Just come.
