141123 Cooperative Sanctification

Philippians 2:12-18 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things without grumbling or disputing, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷ Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸ Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

 The Apostle continues his counsel to the Philippian church, and to us. He has a goal for them, and for us, that we should be blameless, innocent, children of God without blemish. We need to maintain that condition in the midst of a crooked and twisted world. We shine as lights in the world. Jesus had said that those who dwell in him are the light of the world and we are to let our light shine. Throughout the New Testament we are taught to cooperate with God in His work in our life. His goal for us is that we be like Christ Jesus by becoming more and more free from sin in our actual lives.

First, let me make one thing clear. When Paul writes, “work out your own salvation”, he certainly does not mean that we can somehow earn our salvation. The Scripture is very clear. We are saved by grace, through faith, which is a gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8-9) We are not saved by any works of righteousness that we have done. He saved us according to his own mercy. (Titus 3:5)  Once salvation is ours then we have the responsibility to do good works which God has prepared for us.

Just as a baker kneads the dough so the yeast is spread all through the bread, so we are to spread salvation through our life. That process is called sanctification. Now, let’s get into the sermon.

The new birth gives us power not to continue in sin. Turn with me to Romans 6:11-14. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ¹³ Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

The Christian life is absolutely impossible for a son or daughter of Adam and Eve to live out. Just as when Nicodemus came to Jesus, we must be born again! (John 3) Becoming no longer children of Adam but now children of God. That new birth puts a new dynamic in our lives. Yet, at the same time we have a responsibility to accept God’s proclamation and consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. That condition is absolutely impossible until one is in Christ Jesus. The power of God comes to live in the believer making one able to prevent the rule of sin. We have the ability to NOT let sin reign. We are to give ourselves up to God to become tools for righteousness in the world we live in.

And, so far as I’m concerned, verse fourteen holds one of the greatest promises in all the Bible. “… Sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Yes, we may fall back into sin again and again. But God’s promise to us is that sin will not be able to rule over us forever. We will be dead to sin and alive to God “in Christ Jesus”.

We have the ability, and responsibility, to cooperate with God in resisting sin in our mortal body. I am not talking about “sinless perfection”. I am saying that God has come into our lives through the Holy Spirit and has given us the power to live a life that honors and glorifies Him.

In Christ Jesus we are dead to sin and for that reason we are baptized by being immersed in water (buried with Him) and raised up out of that water to walk a new life. (Romans 6:3-4) We have died to sin…

Yet, we can never say we are completely free from sin. Turn with me to 1 John 1:7-10.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

We believe that when John wrote this little letter he was the last living apostle of Jesus Christ. He may have been nearing one hundred years old. He had walked with Jesus, had seen many miracles and was with Him to the end. John had lived out his life close to the Lord Jesus Christ and was filled with the Holy Spirit.

With all of that going for him, John still has to say, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” “We”, “ourselves”, and “us” are inclusive pronouns! John the apostle admits to the presence of sin in his body. He also states clearly that he has to continue to confess his sin so that God will forgive and cleanse. I submit to you that if John had to do this we certainly must also do it! We can never say that we are completely free from sin but…

We do not, on the other hand, keep on sinning. Let’s look further into John’s little letter and read 1 John 3:6-10. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. ⁸ Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Remember the promise? “Sin will not rule over us because we are not under law but under grace.” We can never say that we are completely free of sin because inherited Sin lives in our body and, though we are in the process, our sanctification will never be completed in our lifetime. On the other hand we should never say that a particular sin has defeated us and we cannot rise above it.

When a person comes to faith in Christ confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord they are born again to a new kind of life. A process begins then that changes our desires so that we no longer love sin. We were formally slaves to sin but are enslaved no longer. Sanctification begins at salvation and continues throughout our Christian lives. We are no longer to yield our body to unrighteousness and impurity. We are now to yield our body to righteousness, for sanctification. We are in the process of being changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. So that when He returns we shall be like him. (1 John 3:2) My hope for a long life rests on the fact that I must be changed into the image of Jesus and I am now far from that.

We have a primary responsibility to develop sanctification in our own lives but…

Sanctification is first of all God’s work. Turn with me to 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Though we have a responsibility to live a godly life yet it is God Himself who does the work. These are words of great encouragement. If we are, in our own strength, to somehow “sanctify” our whole spirit and soul and body and remain “blameless” at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ we have no hope! Instead, it is God Himself who will “sanctify” us completely! Our whole spirit and soul and yes even our body will be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember, he who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it. You see…

God disciplines us. Turn with me to Hebrews 12:5-11. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

     “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. ⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

⁷ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹ Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ¹¹ For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

The process of sanctification is not always easy and fun. If we are children of God then He will treat us like children! Just as our earthly father disciplined us when we did wrong, our Heavenly Father will also discipline us. Much of the process of sanctification is God dealing with our old habits and lifestyle. In fact, if you can sin and get away with it you are probably not a child of God. I am not talking about the ability to commit sin I’m talking about a changed attitude towards sin.

One thing that I have noted is that when a person truly comes to faith in Christ he or she begins to notice that their feelings have changed. Things they did and said in the past now suddenly become things that make them uncomfortable. There is definitely a move in the life of the believer away from the past and into the future.

God’s discipline, when it happens, seems painful but later it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

Salvation cannot be earned and neither can sanctification…

In Christ Jesus we have sanctification. Sanctification is a gift of God just as faith is. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1:30. And because of him (God the Father) you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

Because of God’s work in our lives we are “in Christ Jesus” and, as such, Jesus gifts us with the things we do not have. We certainly did not have wisdom before we were saved. Oh, there is a certain amount of wisdom in the world but that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about God’s kind of wisdom. Only after coming to faith in Christ do we begin to realize God’s wisdom is working itself out in us. We have no righteousness of our own, all our righteousness is like filthy rags! (Isaiah 64:5) That being true, He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Being in Christ Jesus gives us God’s righteousness! Along with that God gives us sanctification and redemption. We need to cooperate with God in the process of sanctification but it is God Himself who does the work in our lives and Christ Himself who is our sanctification. Praise God! Father, Son and Holy Spirit work together to sanctify our lives. God chose His people and sent the Son to work our salvation on the cross and…

The Holy Spirit releases fruit in our lives. Turn with me to Galatians 5:22-26. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Once a person is born again through the confession of sin and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord, the Holy Spirit begins to work in that person’s life changing him, or her, into the image of Jesus. The Holy Spirit produces in us “the fruit of the Spirit ”. That fruit expresses itself in character traits that are part of our growth in sanctification. Part of the process of our salvation is subduing the flesh with its passions and desires and living by the Spirit. On a day-to-day basis we need to learn how to “keep in step with the Spirit”. This is all a part of the process of working out our salvation. Not earning our salvation but working it out into all the parts of our lives.

Recently, someone posted an image on Facebook of a church building with the words, “God wants full custody of His children. Not just weekend visits.” God wants to penetrate all of our lives. Christianity is not just a Sunday morning event it is a day-to-day walk with Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit releases fruit in our life and also…

The Holy Spirit allows us to grow in sanctification. Thank God we are not limited to who we are at salvation. As Peter wrote we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18) Sanctification is not an event, it is a process. Turn with me to Romans 8:13-17. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

This passage shows the active part we play in our sanctification. We are told that we are to “put to death the deeds the body”. Granted, we do that by the Spirit, but it is not a passive waiting on the Spirit to do the work in our life. It is an active process that we do in obedience to Him. This is a working out of our own salvation and it is to be done with fear and trembling. We have received the Spirit of adoption as sons. Since we are sons we are subject to our Fathers discipline. Throughout the New Testament we are taught to strive for holiness; abstain from immorality; obey the will of God and purify ourselves. We are to continually build up patterns or new habits of holiness. In order for this process to work well…

We need each other. Real Christianity is a group process. Turn with me to Hebrews 10:24-25. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

“Let us consider” speaks of working out a plan, or thinking through a process. It is not just a private process for me to grow or for you to grow. It is a group process. We are to stir up one another. As Paul said to the Ephesians we are to speak truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15) Here in Hebrews we are to stir up one another to love and good works. We are instructed to meet together — to encourage one another to love and good works.

The Bible teaches us that sanctification will have a positive effect on everything about us. We have put on a new nature that is being renewed in knowledge. Our love for others can grow as we work out our salvation. We will grow in wisdom and knowledge as we cooperate with God. More and more we will be able to abstain from the wrong and grow towards that which is right. We will be able to work out our lives according to God’s will. As we grow in the Lord we will cleanse ourselves from everything that is wrong and we will apply ourselves to being holy in body and spirit. Sanctification will even affect our bodies. As we grasp the truth that sin shall not rule in our bodies we will be able to be healthier in every way. As we cooperate with God we will recognize that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and we will glorify God in our spirit and soul and body.

Have you committed your life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Today is the day of salvation.

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Debtors? No and Yes 120610

Romans 8:12-13, "So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."

For much of man's history, debt, that could not be paid, could lead to imprisonment or even death! Paul is speaking to us from a world where that was true. Remember the story that Jesus told? It is found in Matthew, chapter 18. A man owed his master a vast amount of money. His master ordered him to be sold with his wife and children along with all that he had. He begged for forgiveness and was forgiven. That man went on to demand payment from a fellow servant and was unforgiving in his heart toward his fellow servant. The master then put him in prison until he could pay his debt! Well, in a way we owe a debt we cannot pay. Yet it was paid for us! Jesus came to set us free. So do we now owe a debt? No, at least not to the flesh, but we do owe a debt of obligation.

We are really big on being saved by grace through faith and that not of ourselves it is the gift of God. That's found in Ephesians 2:8-9. Yet we seem to forget that powerful statement in verse ten. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." I think it's wonderful that God prepared, before we were saved, work for us to do — a path for us to walk in. I know sometimes we feel like we're all on our own. We feel as though we have a job to do but were given no details and directions as to how to do it. That feeling is wrong — we have a lot of instruction and a lot of details that we need to follow. The instruction and the details are found in the Bible. We should be familiar with that book so that we can follow instructions. And yes we are debtors. We are debtors to grace and we are children of the King and as such we have lots of "family responsibilities". Instead, we seem to accept the ingrained responsibilities to the flesh that we are declared to be dead to.

Our debt is not to the flesh.

We are born of the flesh. Turn to, John 3:6, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" Jesus, of course, was talking to Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews, a teacher of Israel. This is a man who knew the Scriptures. In a similar manner, Jesus confronted another group of religious leaders, and said to them, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me," (John 5:39) You see, you can know the Scriptures and even search the Scriptures and still miss the point. As long as we walk in the flesh we will fail again and again. Later, Jesus said, "… the flesh is no help at all." (John 6:63) It is possible to know a lot about Scripture and little about the God who is presented in that great book. We have a problem, and that problem is that we were born of the flesh and need to be born of the spirit. Even after we were born of the spirit we fall back into our old habits. Sometimes we refer to the "comfort zone" of a person. That is what we are very familiar with but it's not necessarily good. In fact, if our "comfort zone" is not controlled by the Lord Jesus Christ, guided by His Spirit, it's for sure that it's not right.

We spent our lives developing our flesh. Look at Philippians 3:4 and read through verse 9, "I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ,"

Saul had spent his life developing a biblically-based lifestyle in his own strength and ability. When most of us talk about our old ways we're talking about some pretty bad stuff! But not Saul of Tarsus! He could begin with his birth and show that he had met all the standards of his age and race. Then, on the road to Damascus, he met Jesus and that really messed up his worldview. You can read about it in Acts chapter 9. Saul of Tarsus died that day because he had been crucified with Christ. He was buried with Christ and raised up with him to walk a new life. At some point he realized how much it changed him and he even changed his name from Saul, the Pharisee and persecutor the church, to Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ. In his religious world he had been the cream of the crop. At the same time he was the "chief of sinners". Let me explain that. In writing to Timothy Paul stated that he was the star sinner. He wasn't talking about his ongoing condition he was talking about his past record. Before he was born again he set a record that no one else had met. Like a star athlete in high school whose record is posted on the gym wall Paul could look back to the time when he had been the "star" among sinners. A Christian is declared repeatedly in the New Testament to be a saint. The Christian is not a sinner saved by grace, he or she is a saint who sins. If we'll keep our terminology right we can keep focused on our true identity.

Others of us had a much poorer version of the flesh reflected in Paul's words in Galatians 5:19-21, "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Don't despair when you read that list and remember your past or your present thoughts and temptations. Paul is not talking about some kind of works salvation. "Those who do such things" represents a pattern of life that is consistent not temptations that are stumbled into. Remember the words of our text and I paraphrase, "We are not a debtor to the flesh". Remember also, "The law of the spirit of life has set us free, in Christ Jesus, from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:2) We have spent a long time developing our flesh patterns. In fact…

Having spent our life developing our flesh it remains with us. Years after his salvation Paul still agonized over what he had been and how it still clung to his body. Read with me Romans 7:24, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" This passage is often used to show how hopeless our life is but it shouldn't be used for that purpose of all. A quick scan of Romans 7 show us that the word "sin" often refers to an evil power that the Christian struggles against. There is real hope in the fact that we struggle against this evil force. Those who walk according to the flesh don't struggle against it they just try to make it socially acceptable. Also it's not that we have two natures as some would teach. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior they become a new creature and have a new nature. Literally, in the eyes of God, a Christian dies to their old life and begins a new one at salvation. However, at the same time the flesh patterns developed throughout their life, and often reinforced even in their Christian life, provides a place (probably in our brain) where this evil force can move in alongside and mess us up. The habits of the old life are left with us. We don't have to rehearse them just because they come into our mind. We don't have to live under obligation to the old way of living. Remember, we have been set free from the law of sin and death.

We are not under obligation to live according the flesh.

We do struggle against the power of sin. Turn with me to: Galatians 5:17, "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do." The fact that you want to do the right thing proves that you have spiritual life given from God. One sure sign of Christian conversion is the change in the conscience. What before was simply a "personality trait" or, "that's just the way I am", changes to a sense of guilt and a sense of wrongdoing. But we struggle on, often using our old habits and walking in the flesh, even though we have been set free from it. We do improve in the world's eyes but as long as we are operating in our own flesh we cannot be pleasing to God. The spirit that's been placed in us has a jealous desire to shape us more completely into the image of Christ. That will happen but it will be slow as long as we continue to follow our old habits and ways.

Satan uses the habits of the past. Read with me Romans 7:9-11, "I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me." Paul's old flesh patterns were stirred up by the commandment not to covet, and the more he struggled the more he coveted. Sin deceived him by coming in alongside the commandment and showed him how hopeless it was to fight in his own strength against the power of sin. It killed him spiritually. In the sermon on the Mount Jesus talked about sin being in the mind before the action. To hate one's brother was the seed of murder. To look and lust is the seed of adultery. The more we struggle to overcome the evil the more in bondage we are. If you ever heard the stories of Uncle Remus, you will remember the story of the Tar Baby. Br'er Rabbit was always being chased by the Fox but never caught. One day Br'er Fox had a great idea. He would fashion a doll out of a lump of tar and he would dress it up like a little boy and put it by the road. When Br'er Rabbit approached, since he was very good mannered, he spoke to the tar baby but he got no response. He was offended by this lack of manners so he punched the tar baby and found himself stuck. The more he struggled the "stuckter" he got. Now, Br'er Fox had captured Br'er Rabbit! Immediately Br'er Rabbit begged not to be thrown into the briar patch. He told the Fox to do anything he wanted to do with him but not to throw him into the briar patch. Of course, that's exactly what the Fox did and Br'er Rabbit was able to run away. Well, fighting the flesh with the habits of the past is like fighting the tar baby. The more we struggle the more we are in bondage. We need to remember who we really are and what has really happened to us. Our true biblical identity is what we need to live up to. As we struggle with the flesh we need to remember that…

Christ has set us free. Turn with me to, Romans 7:25a, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" In Romans seven Paul clearly states again and again that his desires have been changed and he has to struggle against "Sin" that lived in his body! His desire was to do right, to do good. He said he delighted in the law of God in his inner being but the law of sin that lived in his body waged war against his choices. So that he asked the question, "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" And immediately answers it with, "thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" We cannot free ourselves. If we could then God is very unjust and we know that's not true. If man can save himself them Jesus' prayer in the garden would've been answered with by legions of angels who would have delivered him. You remember he prayed "Let this cup pass from me". But he went on to say that he only wanted the will of the Father. Only Jesus' death on the cross would satisfy the righteous anger of God at the sin of mankind. The debt had to be paid. Remember, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and wages of sin is death. But thanks be to God, the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord! So that, "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:9-10) and the result is that…

We are a debtor to grace. 

By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone is our only hope.

We need to put to death the old way. Turn with me to, Colossians 3:5-6, "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming" This concept is taught many different ways in the New Testament. In Ephesians 4:22 Paul says we are to put off the old man. The ESV and many other modern translations uses "self" rather than "man". That is a poor translation. The "old man" is the Adamic nature we are all born with. We need to consciously put that off. To the Colossians Paul said we are to put off the "body of flesh" by the circumcision of Christ. And again, he told the Colossians, "seeing that you have put off the old man with its practices." We should apply ourselves to the process of putting aside the old. It is identified only with our old life before we met Christ. We may have set some real flesh records in the past but they are just garbage compared to knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection. Jesus used the term "born again" to identify the relationship we have with God. John wrote about it in his gospel at the very beginning…

We have a new identity set by birth. Turn with me to, John 1:12-13, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." Born of God! What a wonderful phrase that is! We once were part of a family known for its rebellion against God. We were born into a family of sinners. Upon our confession of faith in him we are born again into a family of Saints. Saints that sin for sure but Saints nonetheless. We need to research our new identity by studying the word of God. We need to practice our new "family values". Many times in my childhood I remember hearing my mother or father say to me, "We don't do that (whatever it was I wanted to do) in this family." Or, "They may do that in your friend's family but we don't do it in ours." Being a Bray was a very serious business and how we acted was an important part of it. I thank God for that upbringing. But mostly I thank God that my parents came to know Christ and made sure that we kids were exposed to the gospel every week. One of our "family values" was seen on Sunday morning. We went to church and I never remember a time when I would've questioned that. If I had asked, "Are we going to church?" The answer probably would've been, "Is it Sunday?"

Since we have a new identity we need to live like who we are. Turn with me to, Ephesians 5:8-10, "at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." You are not a sorry sinner just doing what comes naturally. It’s important that you understand this. What you believe about your identity is going to make a huge difference because you will “life out” whatever you believe is your true self, your true identity. We are the holy sons of God in Christ Jesus. We don't get holier, more accepted, more justified, or more forgiven. We are to simply experientially “life out” who and what we already are. We are a holy people. Now let's get on with living like who we are.

This passage, Romans 8:12 & 13, sets forth very clearly who we are and how we need to respond to the world around us. If you get nothing else out of this message, I hope you get the statement, clearly stated in the Bible, that we are not in debt to the flesh. When we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead we are: saved, born again, crucified with Christ, raised with Christ, seated with him in heaven, a Temple of the Holy Spirit, a new creature, a child of God… etc, etc.. In short, we now have a new identity but we still have all the old habits and memories and wrong thoughts and decisions ingrained in our lives. We do have a responsibility — a debt — to fulfill if we are to live the Christian life the way it was intended by God. We cannot earn our salvation but we can, should, must, live lives that honor our new identity. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do the works that he has prepared us to do. 

All Scripture quotes are from The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

No Condemnation 120520

Romans 8:1-4, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Romans chapter eight begins with, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." And ends with, "(nothing) will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." This chapter should be a great source of encouragement for those who live by faith. You need to remember that faith is living like God tells the truth. The old saying, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" sounds right but it is wrong. If God said it that settles it. If I believe it I can enjoy it. Our belief, or unbelief, neither adds to nor takes away from the validity of what God says. God said, "… no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". Yet many Christians live out their lives in condemnation of one form or another. What can we do about it?

Jesus intended us to be free from condemnation. Satan intends that we live under a load of condemnation. Jesus said it himself in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly."

You see, we are Free from the Law.

The Law is a ministry of condemnation. 2 Corinthians 3:7-9, “Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?" Here Scripture refers to the Old Testament law, even the Ten Commandments, carved by the hand of God, as, "the ministry of death"! Imagine that, when God met with his people, whom he had just set free from slavery in Egypt, he set before them an impossible standard. Some may claim to keep the law but the Scriptures teach that we cannot keep the law. Even for those who do not have the written law there is a moral law recognized by all people. Again, it's not possible to keep it perfectly. However, it is further evidence of the existence of God. All people everywhere recognize that there are certain things wrong and other things that are right. They also recognize that they fail to keep that moral law.

The purpose of the law is to reveal sin. Romans 3:20, "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." Our conscience comes alive when we confront the law. It brings condemnation. Romans chapter five talks to us about how sin entered the world. There was one negative law: No fruit may be from the tree in the middle of the garden. Pretty simple and easy to keep. That law was broken, not by backslidden sinners who were far away from God, but by two people who walked and talked with God everyday. Adam and Eve had the closest possible relationship to God yet Satan came in deceived Eve into breaking the only law they had to break! God had a plan from the very beginning that included giving the law to show man how exceedingly sinful Sin is.

But we are not under law we are under grace. Romans 6:14, "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." If we are in bondage under the law we have no hope. The law reveals our sin and then tells us that the payoff of sin is death. What a great condemnation this heaps on all of us! But praise God, we are free from the law. As the great hymn writer, P. P. Bliss put it:

Free from the law, O happy condition, Jesus hath bled, and there is remission; cursed by the law and bruised by the fall, grace hath redeemed us once for all.


Once for all, O sinner receive it; once for all, O brother, believe it;


cling to the cross, the burden will fall, Christ hath redeemed us once for all.


Now we are free there's no condemnation, Jesus provides a perfect salvation; "Come unto me," O hear his sweet call, come, and he saves us once for all.

Christ hath redeemed us! O, How I love the old hymns because by and large they have excellent theology teaching truth we can hang onto. Not only are we free from the law living under grace but it is once for all. Justification by faith alone changes us into children of God. Our sins are forgiven and Christ's righteousness is given to us. It cannot be earned and it cannot be taken away. Indeed, it is Once for All!

I pray that each of you enjoy the comfort of knowing that you have received Jesus Christ as Lord by faith and his grace rules in your life.

A new law takes precedence.

The law of the Spirit of life. John 5:21, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.” Jesus gives life to whom he will! Remember when he stood at the grave of Lazarus? There he gave back physical life as an evidence that he could give spiritual life. When Martha rebuked him for not being there to heal her brother, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:25-27) Jesus, as God in the flesh, could give life where he wished. Not just life on earth but life eternal. He promised his disciples that when he went away he would send the Holy Spirit and, in that Spirit, he would never leave us or forsake us. Many years later John wrote three little letters. In the first letter he said, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—" (1 John 1:1-2) in chapter 5 John added, “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:11-12)

This law is the Spirit of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:45, "Thus it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit." Adam is the federal head of the human race and as such sold us into Sin. Jesus, by virtue of his death, burial and resurrection, became the federal head of a new people. A people who were once dead in trespasses and sins and who are now made alive by God's grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! The law of the spirit of life is none other than Jesus Christ himself. The overcame the law of sin and death. We find in the book of Hebrews 2:14-15, "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ that person is no longer in bondage. The law of the Spirit of life takes precedence over the law of sin and death. The believer is justified by grace as a gift of God. I know, some of these theological terms seem difficult, but justification is not too hard to understand. Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology gives this definition, "Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight." We know that in our flesh there is no good thing. God does not declare us righteous on the basis of our goodness he declares us righteous on the basis Jesus' goodness.

Being justified we have his Spirit. In Galatians 4:6, Paul wrote "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' " There are those who teach that receiving the Holy Spirit is a second work of grace. We need to remember that God is one. He doesn't come in pieces. We don't receive the Father then later receive the Son and then, if you're really good, you receive the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, we find these words, "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit." The body we are baptized into is the body of Christ, the Church. The Spirit that baptizes us and of which we are made to drink is the Holy Spirit. If you are born again it was the work of the Spirit not of your own will.

We need to remember, this is God's work not ours.


We cannot save ourselves. Many people seem to believe that somehow their goodness can make them right with God. Paul wrote the following words to Titus, speaking of God, “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior," (Titus 3:5-6) We have nothing that we can do to save ourselves. People either don't know, or seem to forget, that we were born spiritually dead as sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. A dead person can do nothing to help themselves. That's equally true of the spiritual as the physical. Any person, sensitive to the call of God, is drawn by God into life so that he or she can accept Jesus Christ as Lord and be born again.

God sent his son for sin. John the apostle wrote, "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." 1 John 4:9 The only hope of life and escaping condemnation is found in Jesus Christ. As John the Baptist was baptizing repentant people in the Jordan River he saw Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world", John 1:29. Takes away the sin of the world. Not just pays for our sins but takes them away from us. Sin is a natural part of mankind and through the flesh, or our old habits, continues to cause us to struggle — even to feel condemned. But remember, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". The truth is God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. This reconciliation brings all believers into the body Christ.

God condemned Sin to set us free. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." What an amazing truth is found in this passage. "For our sake" should fill us with grateful admiration for the living God who found us in our sin, condemned our sin, made the Lord Jesus to be sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in HIM! Our greatest need involves the problem of sin. So, God took our sin, not just our sins, but the sin nature itself and placed it on our sacrifice, the Lord Jesus himself. In doing that he justified us. You cannot be justified without being placed in Christ. And the moment we are placed in Christ sanctification has already begun in us! We are wholly justified but we are just beginning sanctification. As Peter put it in 1 Peter 2:24, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness". God has arranged things so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Living to righteousness is a process that will continue as long as we live on this earth. At our death, or Christ's return, our sanctification will flow into glorification. Sanctification is a process that makes us more and more free from sin and more and more like Christ in our life on earth. It is not a progress towards "sainthood" since we are made Saints at salvation. Repeatedly throughout the New Testament believers are called Saints. In Romans 1:7 Paul refers to his recipients as those who are "called to be saints". In 1 Corinthians 1:2 he adds that he is writing "to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints…". In 2 Corinthians chapter 1 he refers to "all the Saints who are in the whole of (Greece)". Etc. etc.… Saints are not perfect and we have plenty of evidence in our own lives. Since we are Saints and we still have the old habits of the flesh our imperfections stand out. But nonetheless according to the Bible — and that's all we can base our lives on — all Christians are Saints and as such are in Christ Jesus. For those who are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation! I pray that that is the condition of every person reading this.

The whole message of Romans could be summed up in chapter 1 verse sixteen that says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,…". The law came in alongside the flesh to bring condemnation to all people. The law was never intended to "cure" sin but simply to reveal sinfulness of sin. But Praise God! We are not under law but under grace. Jesus has come into the life of every believer in the power of the spirit and justified us by grace through faith. We were born dead in sin and unable to save ourselves. So God sent his son, Jesus Christ, for sin so that he could condemn sin in the flesh and set us free. I hope you have received him as Lord and Savior so you can enjoy the benefits of abundant life.

All Scripture quotes are fromThe Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001, Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.