Sermon Series ¡§The Gospel of God ¡V A Study of Romans¡¨
Week #4 ¡§The Doctrine of Sanctification¡¨
Sermon Text: Romans 6:1-8:39
Opening Text: 6:19
INTRODUCTION: We enter now our third week of our study of Romans
„X Week #1 we discussed Paul¡¦s letter to the Roman church is the preeminent doctrinal work of the New Testament
„X Week #2 we learned about the doctrine of sin and how sin is universal
„X Last week we studied the doctrine of ¡¥righteousness and justification¡¦
This week we are going to study the doctrine of sanctification
[In some of your texts, the word ¡¥holiness¡¦ may have been used in place of ¡¥sanctification¡¦ in verse 19]
To sanctify something means you have ¡¥set it apart for God¡¦s service¡¦
Examples include God sanctifying:
The Israelites
The Land of Canaan
The City of Jerusalem
The Temple
The Feasts
Etc.
And God sanctifies the believer by setting us apart for His service after having been justified through faith in Christ
Nelson Bible Dictionary describes sanctification as ¡§The process of God¡¦s grace by which a believer is separated from sin and becomes dedicated to God¡¦s righteousness¡K sanctification results in holiness, or purification form the guilt and power of sin¡¨
The key word there is ¡¥process¡¦
Separation from our sinful ways is not something that happens overnight
Illustration: ¡§Children form abusive homes¡¨ We are like children who grow up in abusive homes. When they finally are adopted by loving parents it takes time to become acclimated to the love, attention, warmth and the rules of the new family
These children often steal food rather than just ask and receive because it was a habit held over from their old life
As Christians we have old habits that hold into our new lives in Christ
Sanctification is the process in which God the Holy Spirit purges us of our sinful ways and makes us like Christ
Simply put:
Justification is where we receive the forgiveness of sin and the righteousness of Christ by faith
Sanctification is the process that allows us to grow in our faith
In Romans, Paul really expounds on the doctrine of sanctification
[Though we are going to hit on the three main points this evening, I encourage you to study Romans chapters 6-8 concerning the process of sanctification]
I. The Path of Sanctification
a. Because of grace we have been set free from the penalty of sin
i. BUT this in no way gives us license to sin
ii. Romans 6:1-2 ¡§What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?¡¨
iii. Many people use their ¡¥justification¡¦ from the penalty of sin as a free pass to indulge in sin
b. We are to consider ourselves dead to sin
i. Romans 6:11 ¡§Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.¡¨
ii. Example: When we are tempted by a desire to sin, a good thing to remember is ¡¥I have no right to do this¡¦
iii. Say to ourselves, ¡¥I am dead to this sin¡¦ and ¡¥Christ did not die so that I would do this¡¦
1. Remember we have been bought with a price
2. Christ¡¦s blood was our payment
3. Romans 6:17-18 ¡§But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.¡¨
c. Sanctification begins with a decision of discipline
i. Romans 6:19 ¡§I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye presented your members [as] servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now present your members [as] servants to righteousness unto sanctification.¡¨
ii. What is being said here is
1. Before salvation we willingly present our members to sin
2. Now we are to purposefully present our members to righteousness
iii. This is not a natural thing, as we will learn about in Ch 7
1. This requires that we decide to follow Christ with our actions not just our words
2. And the Holy Spirit, who is our helper, takes us through this process
II. The Problem of Sanctification
a. Sanctification is a battle
i. READ: Romans 7:14 ¡V 25
ii. Paul separates the flesh from the spirit in this analogy
iii. He says there is an ongoing battle between the two
iv. Jesus confirmed this point in Matthew 26:41 ¡§The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak¡¨
b. There are those who say that Paul is referring to his old self, before becoming a Christian, but a good look at the scripture tells otherwise
i. He says ¡¥I am¡¦ rather than ¡¥I was¡¦
1. v. 14 ¡§I am carnal, sold under sin¡¨
2. v. 24 ¡§O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?¡¨
ii. He says ¡¥am doing¡¦ rather than ¡¥have done¡¦
1. v. 15 ¡§For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.¡¨
2. v. 19 ¡§For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.¡¨
iii. He says ¡¥now¡¦ rather than ¡¥then¡¦
1. This should answer all questions of when he was referring
2. v. 17 ¡§But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.¡¨
c. Paul is showing here the battle with sin that even the believer in Christ must face
i. We have a body that is drawn toward sin
ii. But because we have been given a new heart, we have a spirit that goes against it
iii. Application: What we must do is allow our spirit to control our body rather than allowing our body to lead our spirit into sin
iv. This is the discipline Paul is referring to when he says that he ¡¥beats his body into subjection¡¦
v. I Corinthians 9:27 ¡§But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection¡¨
d. We need to have spiritual roadblocks for sin
i. Example: I am currently reading a great book about the battle men fight with sexual desire and it tells of ways to create mental roadblocks against lust of the eyes and the heart
ii. But this is not only for lust ¡V it may be greed, envy or gossip that you fight
iii. You need to find ways to curb your fleshly appetite for sin
iv. Spiritual roadblocks help stop you from traveling sins path
III. The Promise of Sanctification
a. Romans 8:1 ¡§There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.¡¨
b. This is an encouraging verse because, though we will fight battles with our sin, we have a great promise
i. Because we are currently without condemnation
ii. When is there no condemnation [Everybody: ¡§NOW¡¨]
c. And now that we have no condemnation, we are forever in the arms of God
i. Question: What can separate you from God¡¦s love?
ii. Could I have someone read this for us?: Romans 8:38-39 ¡§For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.¡¨
iii. Isn¡¦t that amazing ¡V nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ
CONCLUSION: I want to close out the evening with a thought:
Sanctification is a ¡¥mind set¡¦
Romans 8:8-9 ¡§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, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.¡¨
When you are allowing the Holy Spirit to move you, your mind will be set on the things of God
You will not be perfect and you will still fight a battle with the flesh¡KBUT it is a battle you can win!
Because scriptures says that there is no temptation you have faced that is uncommon
And that with every temptation, there is a way out
We follow the path of the Spirit and the way of sanctification when we choose to take the way out rather than fall into sin
[Let us pray]
I want to encourage you tonight, If you feel like you aren¡¦t winning battles over sin in your life, to start praying for the sanctifying power of the spirit in your life
The Greek work for the Holy Spirit is ¡¥paraclete¡¦ and it means ¡¥helper¡¦
And He can help you through whatever sin you are facing
But it is up to you to decide to stand and follow Him rather than follow your flesh
