Steve Gentry
[0:00] Open your Bibles to Romans chapter 8. We read a section out of that chapter this [0:06] morning. A lot of people have life verses. Mine tends to change by the day. [0:12] But if there was one chapter of Scripture that I believe, it almost just [0:20] kind of sums up and just completely is the embodiment of what I believe and what [0:27] I am trusting for and what I’m hoping for, like we just sang the words of that [0:32] song, the hope that we have for eternity, the hope that we have for another
[0:38] day and another kingdom in which we will live and there will be no suffering, [0:42] there will be no pain, there will be no weeping, there will be no wars, there will be [0:45] no violence, there will be no interpersonal conflict, which is like war [0:48] to me and it’s terrible, and there will be a day when those of us who trust [0:53] those of us who follow him, those of us who are enduring in this faith under the [0:59] power of the Holy Spirit will experience someday. And if there’s one chapter of
[1:03] Scripture that I believe sums up not simply the reasons for that hope, but the [1:09] posture and the attitude that that type of hope gives us as believers, as [1:15] followers of Jesus, it’s Romans 8. When I was in college, I really went [1:22] through the book of Romans for the first time, I’d never done that before, and I [1:25] went through the book of Romans and I got to chapter 8 and it just does [1:30] something to me. I can’t even really explain it, it just, I get excited because
[1:36] you know as you’re walking in faith there are days, weeks, months, and years [1:42] sometimes where it’s just, it’s like man, it’s like that soggy toast that sometimes [1:47] you have to eat in the morning when the butter sat on it too long, it’s just not [1:50] as good. It’s just, you know, it’s just kind of like you go to McDonald’s and [1:55] the french fries have been under the heat lamp for an hour, it’s like, oh come [1:59] on, it’s just you’re not enduring well, you’re struggling, you don’t feel
[2:04] inspired. This morning I hope that as we go through the first part of Romans [2:11] chapter 8, that today will not be that type of day, but rather we will go into [2:17] the coming months excited about what God has for us, excited about what God [2:24] is doing through us, and excited about what he’s done for us and what he’s [2:27] doing for us right now, and I struggled. I knew I wanted to end this series in [2:33] Romans 8, I just didn’t know where, and so there was like, there was like an hour
[2:37] one day when I was like, maybe I’ll just go through the whole chapter, and then I [2:40] remembered that you eat lunch, and I was like, maybe they won’t like it for me to go [2:44] through the whole chapter because they want to actually get out of here in under [2:46] an hour, which probably isn’t gonna happen anyway. If you’ve been here for a [2:51] long time, you know that. If you’re new here, welcome to the village. I hope [2:55] you’re comfortable in that seat. I’m just kidding. But in Romans chapter 8, here’s
[2:59] what we have. Here’s what we typically focus on. There’s this verse in Romans [3:04] chapter 8, it’s towards the end, Romans 8, 28, and this is like the coffee cup [3:08] verse, it’s on t-shirts, we write it on a post-it note and stick it on the wall, [3:13] when somebody’s having a bad day, we quote it to them, and then they want to [3:16] punch us in the face, and it’s this verse, and we know, and man, and we know [3:24] that for those who love God, and those who are called according to his purpose,
[3:29] all things, all means all, all things work together for good, and it’s this verse [3:37] that we cling to, and some of us look at it and we say, I don’t even know if I [3:44] struggle to live like that, and then he goes even further and he explains the [3:49] process of redemption that’s taking place and has taken place in our lives, [3:53] and he uses for future terminology past tense verbs, like he says, we’ve been [4:01] glorified, something that if we know anything about the Bible, we know that
[4:04] that doesn’t take place until we get to heaven, but Paul writes about it in the [4:08] past tense, because he’s so certain of it, and then he uses terminology, like we’re [4:14] adopted as sons, that the creation itself groans for the restoration that [4:20] God’s bringing in his kingdom, but we’re experiencing first fruits of the spirit, [4:25] and we’re adopted, and then there’s another place in chapter 8 where he [4:28] says, that through Jesus, we go to God the Father, and we cry unto him Abba,
[4:34] this familial verb, or excuse me, this familial noun for what a dad is to you, [4:39] what I want my son to feel for me, that he can come to me and just say, daddy, I [4:43] need you, and that in Jesus, God is, he’s daddy, he wants us with him, we’re not a [4:53] bother, we’re his children, whom he lavishes his love on us, and then further, [5:02] he says, what can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, and he goes [5:07] through this huge list that just kind of contains everything, and he says, not even
[5:13] that, he says, nothing can separate us from the love of God, and we’re like, I [5:21] want that hope. Paul, in this chapter, is filled with nothing but hope, and I [5:32] think sometimes we read the end of the chapter, and we say, I want it, I’m gonna [5:38] try to have it, and then the next day we lose it, because I think our problems [5:46] with these promises is we don’t start with where they came from, we don’t [5:49] really begin with the foundation for the hope, and we like, try to build the
[5:53] roof, and we put a roof down on the ground, and then try to get under it, to [5:58] put a foundation under it. If you work construction, how much sense does that [6:03] make? None. You don’t build the roof, then the foundation, you build the [6:08] foundation, and build a house on top of it, and somewhere in a prefab warehouse, [6:11] they’re doing what I just said, but pretend it’s like 1950, okay, and that [6:14] they still build houses the old way. You can’t, you need that foundation, because
[6:21] rarely do we look to Romans 7 in the end. Let me tell you how Romans 7 ends, [6:29] because we see how Romans 8 ends. It’s like, wow, this climax of praise, this [6:34] great pantheon of praise to God about his glory that he’s gifting to us. The [6:41] end of chapter 7, here’s where Paul finds himself. He says, [6:45] So I find that to be a law, that when I want to do right, evil lies close at [6:50] hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being, but I see in my members,
[6:56] or in, when he says the word members, he’s talking about, I see in the way that I [7:01] actually live. I see in the things that I actually do. I see in the mindset that I [7:06] actually have. Another law waging war against the law of my mind, and making me [7:14] captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. And then you look at this, [7:19] wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? Do you see [7:29] how different his attitude is in Romans 7 than it is in Romans 8? Is this
[7:35] complete despair? Where he looks inside of himself and he sees nothing but sin. [7:44] He says, Oh wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of sin? [7:51] And here’s what I think he’s hitting right here. I think he’s hitting this [7:54] reality that you, under your own power, cannot muster up faith. You cannot muster [8:01] up the strength. You cannot muster up hope to get to the end of Romans 8. And in [8:09] Romans 7, he’s pleading for that. He wants that hope. He wants to be there. And then
[8:15] he says, and so what I do is, is I look inside of myself and I try to go after it. [8:19] And he says, I can’t. He says, I even have the desire and I want it. But then I look [8:26] at the way I actually live and it doesn’t add up. I have no hope. But here’s what he [8:31] says. He says, who can deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God [8:39] through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind, [8:44] but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. And he says, there’s something that needs
[8:55] to take place outside of me because what’s going on inside of me is killing me. [9:03] It’s death. It’s depravity. It’s sin. But then comes chapter 8 verse 1. He identifies [9:13] the source of redemption. He identifies the source of hope, but he’s struggling with [9:19] it. And so here’s what he says. He says, there is, in chapter 8 verse 1, there is [9:23] therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit [9:31] of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has
[9:38] done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness [9:44] sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. What he did there was he said [9:54] that inside of me, there is a law that is being followed. And this law that is being [10:00] followed is a law of sin. It is something that I cannot redeem. No matter how much [10:14] by my bootstraps, I still at the end of the day can find huge portions of my life that [10:22] are selfish, self-centered and completely sinful and against God. And because of that,
[10:30] I am hopeless. But here’s where he goes. He says, thanks be to God, it is not based on [10:38] me. Thanks be to God that even though I serve the law of sin and flesh, God loves me anyway.
[10:52] And so here’s what typically happens. We’re like, well, that’s good. That sounds like good [10:56] stuff. Free grace. It’s amazing. All right. I have life in Jesus even though I’m experiencing [11:04] death in sin. But here’s what we don’t do. Some of us, but rarely do we do it. We do [11:14] not see the effect of that grace on our lives and the way that we live our lives. Here’s [11:34] this world. It’s not that hope can’t be found in me, which it is because I’m in this world, [11:40] but it’s also that hope cannot be found anywhere else. And we talked a little bit about this
[11:46] last week. Listen to the podcast. If you weren’t here, that we strive after joy, hope, peace, [11:56] this inner thing that we want to fix all of the sadness, fix all of the hurt. But what [12:01] we do is because we can’t find hope in ourselves, we try to pull it into ourselves through all [12:07] sorts of activities. And in Colossians chapter three, Paul starts talking about sexual immorality, [12:13] impurity, passions of the flesh, covetousness, that through sex, drugs, alcohol, careers, [12:21] family, status, fame, through all of these things, we are seeking hope. We are seeking peace and
[12:33] satisfaction and joy. And Paul here is just putting a bookend on that reality and saying, [12:39] you’re never going to find it. Because as soon as you get the very thing that you thought was [12:46] you were going to find, you’re going to find it. And it’s not going to bring you hope. It is [12:49] dissatisfying and it is disappointing and it leaves you empty. So what do you have to do? [12:55] You either have to then seek more of it or you just turn to another idol, another God, [13:00] because that’s what it is. Whatever you’re pursuing in this life with everything that you’ve got,
[13:06] we’ve all got something, is what you’re worshiping.
[13:15] It’s your God. And Paul says, they’re going to disappoint you. They’re never going to give you [13:23] peace. And if you want hope, which is what he’s looking for at the end of Romans seven, [13:30] you have to realize that Jesus is our source of hope. That outside of him, [13:35] there exists nothing that can be trusted. You can have the most money. And at one point, Rockefeller [13:44] in the United States, he had the most money. And somebody looked at him and said, but why don’t you [13:49] stop? You have more money than your grandchildren can ever spend. And they said, how much is enough?
[13:54] And his quote that rings through history says, just one more dollar.
[14:00] Just one more dollar.
[14:07] We often, especially parents, whenever you become a parent, you inevitably, your values shift [14:11] completely to protecting your children from everything. And we realize there is this ramp [14:17] and promiscuity taking place in the world today among teenagers and it’s getting younger and [14:21] younger sexually. And you look at them and you’re like, well, how many sexual partners is enough? [14:26] And I guarantee you they’d have the same response. Rockefeller, one more,
[14:31] we’ve got one more person that can bring me ultimate satisfaction.
[14:36] It’s just like Rockefeller. You’ll never get enough. You’ll never find it. And so what Paul [14:43] is looking for is this thing that can erase all of the condemnation, all of the guilt, [14:49] all of the baggage that seeking after false gods has brought him and his great sentence [14:55] that is really just kind of just the centerpiece of scripture. [15:00] There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. It’s all about Jesus.
[15:13] We must learn to be a people who are consumed with a trust in Jesus that changes our very [15:24] lives. But here’s what most of us want. We want the hope that is entailed in Jesus, [15:29] but we also want to be able to continue to chase after our false gods.
[15:36] Because we have believed that we cannot have hope that fills us in this life, but we might be able [15:45] to have a hope for the next life. So we grab ahold of the hope in Jesus and it gives us hope for [15:52] the next life, for when we die. But right now I’m still going to chase after everything else while [15:58] holding on to the hope that Jesus is giving me for after death.
[16:06] That’s false hope. It’s not true. It’s not real. It cannot be trusted.
[16:17] The Christian is no longer condemned to follow his sinful nature. See in Romans 7, [16:24] that is what Paul is striving for. Is this posture in his life where he’s no longer [16:31] enslaved by sin, but he can be free and he can be free from condemnation. He can be free to live.
[16:44] And he says in this text that it is only found in the truth of Jesus Christ. [16:49] Look in verse 2, the law of sin condemns, but in verse 2 he says the law of the spirit of life has [16:56] set you free. When you read a text like that you should sigh, just the sigh of relief. [17:07] Whew.
[17:12] Paul’s giving us this picture here that a freight train of condemnation and sin is headed directly [17:19] for us and there’s nothing we can do to get out of the way and it is going to nail us [17:27] with at full speed with every ounce of weight that it has and then Jesus stops it, pulls us [17:34] off the tracks and then says, walk with me.
[17:41] What are you going to do in that situation? No, I prefer the tracks.
[17:48] But when you continue in the reality of what Jesus has done with you through the cross and [17:56] through the resurrection, when you continue to chase after false gods, false idols, false hopes, [18:03] sinfulness, when you continue, that is what you’re saying.
[18:10] Thank you for your salvation, God. That’s great, but I prefer life on the tracks.
[18:18] Do you see the deception? The scripture says he came that we in John chapter 10 verses 10 and 11, [18:26] Jesus Christ himself says, I came that you might have life and that you might have it more [18:32] abundantly. He’s giving us a promise that he’s giving us life as it was truly meant to be lived.
[18:45] I guess that sounds good. I really like these false gods. They’re really good.
[18:53] They’re so good, they’re killing me.
[18:57] This false god of prestige is so good, I’m working 80 hours a week. [19:01] I don’t even know my kids’ names, but that false god is good. [19:06] This false god of apathy and laziness is so good, I’m destitute, I’m broke,
[19:12] but it’s a good god, so I’m gonna keep chasing it. It’s killing you.
[19:22] Let’s keep reading.
[19:25] It finishes up verse 3. It says, for God has done what the law weakened by the flesh. You see, [19:31] there’s this idea that the law of God, that even in religion it’s seeking after a false god. We’ve [19:37] turned the law that God gave us into a god, and so what we do is we look at things like the Ten [19:42] Commandments and we’re like, I’m gonna obey them, but then the book of James says if you disobey [19:46] one of them, you disobeyed them all, and I’m sure if I asked how many of you have lied, every one of [19:51] you’ve raised your hands, and the ones that aren’t raising your hands are now lying. So it’s like
[19:55] we’re all liars, we’ve all broken the Ten Commandments, and then James says once you’ve [20:00] broken one of them, the rest of them are pointing at you, and you’ve broken them too. You break one, [20:05] you’re unholy. You’re unholy. You see, the problem isn’t the law. The law did exactly what it was [20:12] supposed to do. The law was supposed to show us our sinfulness. That’s what it did, and see, [20:19] the law can’t save us, not because there’s something wrong with it, but because there’s [20:23] something wrong with us. We’re sinful. So the law, which was weakened by the flesh, it couldn’t do
[20:29] it, it couldn’t save us, but Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. Do you see [20:39] that? He came in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. Jesus came because we were sinful, [20:48] not in spite of our sin. If we weren’t sinful, He wouldn’t have come because He wouldn’t have needed to.
[21:00] He came for sin, but look what He does.
[21:05] He condemned sin in the flesh. There’s a contrast between the way verse 1 begins and the way verse [21:12] 3 ends. In verse 1, He says, therefore, if you’re in Christ Jesus, there’s no condemnation for you. [21:19] In verse 3, He says, now sin is condemned on its own. So He’s done something to us in the cross. [21:27] He’s made us alive to something in the cross. He’s made us alive for something in the cross. [21:31] He’s taken us from hopeless to hopeful. We were going to be condemned with sin, and He said, [21:37] no, I’ll take the sin and condemn it myself and liberate you from it.
[21:43] Now, if you truly believe you’ve been liberated from sin, will that change your life? [21:48] Well, maybe, but let’s see what Paul says. Verse 4, He condemned sin in the flesh in order that [21:58] the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to [22:04] the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set [22:08] their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds [22:14] on things of the Spirit. So hope has its source in Jesus, but hope is experiencing life in Jesus.
[22:29] Okay, here’s why I wanted to end the series this way on hope. This is six weeks. There’s a [22:35] lot of stuff that I’m just going to pretend most of you heard, even if you haven’t heard it. So go [22:38] listen to all 19 and a half hours of it. But there was only six of them. I know.
[22:48] Hope that is not lived is not true hope. Hope that is not lived is not true hope. [23:00] Okay, here let me just give you a little story here. Gather around kids. My son when he was born, [23:08] he had a hole in his heart. Okay, very small one. He had a heart murmur, very small hole in his heart. [23:14] Okay, and man talk about scared to death. A new father. I mean, nothing scares you more than when [23:20] you have a child and they find something wrong. And here’s how they did it. We were in the hospital [23:25] for like three days. And everything’s great. Everything’s fine. We’re getting released in five
[23:30] minutes. By the way, what? So I was like, I was like, I’m angry at you guys. Why didn’t you tell [23:35] me before? So we go to a cardiologist and there is a hole. And he says, come back in six months.
[23:44] And I was like, Oh, that’s great. So I get to sit on this for six months. [23:47] Six months. So for six months, I mean, I’m praying, [23:52] begging God, heal my son, heal him. I mean, daily begging him because my firstborn son. [24:01] So we go back in six months and he said, I’m hopeful for this. [24:05] And we go back in six months. Oh, the muscle grew around the hole. There’s no hole in his heart.
[24:12] Oh, man.
[24:17] After that, I didn’t pray that God would heal the hole.
[24:21] Why not? Because he’d already healed the hole. [24:26] Okay. He’d done it. I could now experience life with a son whom I was fully ensured. [24:36] He did not have a hole in his heart with technology today. You can find that stuff. [24:39] Now he may have another medical malady down the road, but at that point and up until this point, [24:46] there’s no hole in my son’s heart. So I live in the reality that there’s no hole in my son’s heart. [24:52] There’s no despair that there’s a hole in my son’s heart. There’s no praying that there’s no hole in
[24:57] my son’s heart. There’s just him not having a hole and me glorying in the fact that my son doesn’t [25:02] have a hole in his heart. You are living as if there is still sin to be atoned for in your life [25:11] when you follow after the same sinful passions that condemned you without Jesus. [25:19] So how should a person who’s experiencing life in Jesus live when it comes to sin? [25:25] You should live like you are no longer condemned by the law of sin, but that you are alive to the [25:33] Holy Spirit. And you say, I struggle to trust that I know you do, but be honest. It’s because
[25:39] you do not have the hope of Jesus in your life. If you did, it would not be your taskmaster.
[25:53] It would not be what defines you. Your false gods would be the things that you cease to worship [26:02] with everything you’ve got. The only people who have the hope of Jesus in their lives are those [26:20] of Jesus, are people who experience life in Jesus. Wait a second, wait a second, wait a second,
[26:33] I’m still gonna sin, right? Yeah. You said some things that wouldn’t do a taskmaster, right? [26:43] Yeah. So here’s the difference. And then it’s going to be muddy and then I’m going to try to [26:49] get a little muddy. It’s a difference between saying, how far into sin can I go and still be [27:01] saved? It’s a difference between that and then saying, how far into Jesus am I allowed to go [27:09] to experience his glory? So one of those is wrapped up in hope in Jesus, love in Jesus, [27:16] passion for Jesus, desire for Jesus. And the other one says, I want to get as much joy out
[27:20] of sin as I’m allowed to get and still get into heaven. One person’s saved, the other person’s [27:26] going to hell. I’ll be that honest with you. Be that honest with you. I was a youth pastor. [27:37] It shocked me. That was the question I got every week. How far can I go with my girlfriend? [27:43] How far am I allowed to go? As far as you want to stay pure, son. [27:50] I wish I just looked at him and said, well, you’re going to hell, so get saved.
[27:55] But you know, that was a little moralistic as a youth pastor, I guess.
[28:01] But here’s the thing. We’ve been redeemed from a taskmaster that condemned us to a life in Jesus [28:07] and we act like it’s just the most unattractive thing in the world and it’s just it in and of [28:11] itself is condemning in spite of everything scripture says. Aranius, who was a second century [28:17] bishop, says this. He says the glory of God is a human being fully alive. In 1 Corinthians chapter [28:24] 15, where we started this series, we said we’re going to spend the first week on everything [28:29] else in 1 Corinthians 15 and then for six weeks it’s going to take us that long to unpack what
[28:35] it means to stand in the resurrection, what it is to hold fast to the hope that we have in the [28:42] gospel. And that’s what we’re doing today. We’re saying, what does it actually look like to be [28:47] fully alive, fully engaged in the life of Jesus? Should the life of a Christian be one of constant [28:55] defeat, constant disobedience, constant disappointment, or should the life of a believer [29:00] be one of victory, be one that is positive in nature, be one that is spent in growing in Christ, [29:06] or are you condemned to continue to serve sin? But for most of you, you want to argue about it,
[29:15] but it’s because you are still living in the same sin that you believe you’ve been redeemed from, [29:22] even though you haven’t been redeemed from it because you’re still sitting headlong into it [29:26] and you’re loving it. Does Jesus have your passion or does your sin?
[29:35] The fulfillment of the mission of Jesus rests in the life of his followers. He has done the work. [29:44] It is finished. The question isn’t what would Jesus do, as Tim Keller says. [29:48] The question is, what did Jesus do? He did everything. There’s nothing that I can do [29:57] or need to do to be saved. There is simply a life that I am now given to live. [30:05] We must be the fulfillment of his mission. The application of his atonement is in our present [30:14] lives. The mission of Jesus is a life to be lived, but it is only lived out.
[30:27] It is only in that it is lived out that we can find any hope. Are you hopeless?
[30:34] What is stealing your hope?
[30:38] What is it that you’re not trusting God with? You’re not trusting the cross for it.
[30:49] Jesus came to fulfill the law and in doing so, he gives his life to us so that we may live lives [30:55] that bring glory to God through walking in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit that Jesus [31:01] promised to give us in John chapter 14. In John 14 verses 26 and 27, Jesus gives prophecy of [31:08] what’s going to take place after he leaves and he says, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, [31:12] whom the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance [31:18] all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives
[31:26] do I give to you. This is different. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
[31:36] Do you see the hope? Do you see the peace? Do you see the comfort? Do you see that Jesus [31:44] gives us a lack of fear? He says, don’t be afraid.
[31:54] Because no matter what this life brings to you, no matter what sin tries to place at your doorstep,
[32:02] I am your victory. The Holy Spirit will minister to you words of victory. The Holy Spirit will [32:09] give you my words through my word. My Holy Spirit will give you peace. It will give you comfort. [32:16] It will give you to me. But then he says, it’s not the same as what this world gives. Nope.
[32:24] It’s not the same. Are you in debt up to your eyeballs? Well, you may be able to [32:33] climb out of that debt, but understand that money is not the cure for the dread that that debt [32:40] caused. You have cancer. Cancer is healed now. Oftentimes, medicine, breakthroughs, [32:54] God has given us so much wisdom that will heal it. But the healing of that physical malady is not [33:00] where your hope lies. It is nothing more than a revelation of the power of God to heal. But the [33:09] hope that you need is the hope of Jesus. With cancer or without cancer, you’re going to die.
[33:20] But notice, never let them be afraid. Don’t let your heart be troubled or afraid. Because even [33:25] if cancer kills you, if you’re in Jesus, guess what? That’s just an advantage, as Paul said. He [33:30] was Christ, but to die is gain, because I’m going to be with Jesus. A pastor that some of you know [33:35] is old. He’s dead. John R. Rice, there’s a story that he went to a diner one time in Hammon, [33:40] Indiana. And he came out of the diner. And him and another pastor were there. And it was around [33:45] midnight because he had just been preaching. And a guy comes up to him, pulls a gun, says,
[33:49] I’m going to blow your brains out if you don’t give me your wallet. And the story goes, nobody [33:52] knows this is true. John R. Rice looks in the eye and says, son, are you threatening me with heaven?
[34:00] All right. Now, I don’t know if I’d say that. I’d run, cry, wet myself.
[34:12] Whether that’s true or not, the application stays the same.
[34:18] Hope is found in realizing that in this physical body, no matter what,
[34:27] I’ve got Jesus. And everything that I do is for Jesus. Everything that I beg Him for is for Him. [34:39] Because I’ve been freed from that death. I’ve been freed. And I’m liberated. And we keep going.
[34:47] Now, how do we actually get that? How do we actually have that filling us? How do we actually [34:52] do that? Look at verse six. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the [35:02] spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not [35:06] submit to God’s law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. When you are [35:15] chasing after false gods, you cannot please Him. But notice what’s very interesting here. He does [35:19] not talk about changing your actions. He does not say, stop sinning. He actually says,
[35:26] you can’t stop sinning. And even if you did, you’d still be sinful because you still want to sin. [35:31] But see, the way we want to cure everything is we want to stop sinning. We want to stop the action. [35:39] And Paul here is telling us, even if you stop the action, the base desire is still [35:43] going to be there. That base craving for sin is still going to be there. So what’s going to happen? [35:49] You’re just going to transfer it over to another sin. So what does Paul tell us?
[35:55] The liberation is going to come. It’s going to come from changing your mind. [36:00] You’re like, what? It’s not that simple. It’s not about just thinking. Yeah, it actually is. [36:05] In the New Testament, what he’s talking about here is repentance. We talked a little bit about [36:09] repentance last week. But in the New Testament, the word for repentance is this Greek word, [36:14] metanoia. The word metanoia, do you know what it actually means? It means change your mind.
[36:21] Change your mind. That’s what it means. It’s the literal translation. Change your mind. [36:27] And that’s what he’s talking about here. He says the mind that is set on the flesh [36:30] is condemnation. The mind that is set on the things of the flesh is death.
[36:39] So let me ask you, in your mind, what are you pursuing with your life? [36:44] What do you fully believe will be your Savior? What do you fully believe will save you?
[36:51] Do you find yourself dwelling on the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do you find yourself dwelling on [36:57] what he has done for you and what he is in you? Or do you find yourself dwelling on things that [37:02] are temporary? Dwelling on salvations that are small? Dwelling on things of this world? And I’m [37:08] not just talking about like, do you spend your time dwelling on pornography? Even though that is [37:15] absolutely death. But here’s what we do. Some of our mental pornography is money. [37:22] Some of our mental pornography is a more beautiful wife. Even though your wife is more beautiful
[37:27] than you deserve, bro. Some of our minds are stuck on better kids. Even though if they’re terrible, [37:35] look in the mirror. I’ve already prepared myself for the reality that when my son gets in trouble [37:41] in middle school and I’m called to the principal’s office, it’s my fault. Because I did it. Because [37:47] that’s me. Some of our minds are stuck that if we could just make one more dollar, if we could just [37:54] go on one more vacation, if we could just have one more shirt, for me it’s one more pair of shoes. [37:59] If I could just have one more channel, if I could just watch one more UFC, if I could just watch
[38:04] one more football game, if I could just throw a football better, if I could just be a better [38:08] athlete, if I could just be smarter, if I could just do this or do that or do the other thing, [38:14] I’d be saved. The mind that is set on the flesh is death. The mind that is set on the flesh is death.
[38:23] Why do you think rich people have so many problems? Because it’s not enough.
[38:30] The difference between a rich person and a poor person is a rich person can pay to make their [38:34] troubles look a little better. But the mind that is set on the things of the spirit gives life.
[38:50] Hope compels continual change.
[38:56] And here’s that place where we were talking about the fact that you’re going to sin.
[39:03] But I fully believe the more you engage Jesus, the more you run headlong into Him,
[39:09] the less attractive it’ll be.
[39:13] But the more aware of it you will be. See, but the thing is when you run headlong into Christ, [39:20] you’re not aware of sin in the same way. Because before you were aware of sin because you wanted [39:25] it. You thrived off of it. It filled your desires. When you run headlong into sin, [39:32] you’re aware of it because you realize how much more sinful you were than you thought you were [39:36] and how much greater the redemption that you have in Jesus is the more thankful you are and the more [39:41] of your life you want to give Him. See, because there is an intentionality to repentance in this
[39:48] phrase. Look in Matthew chapter 3 verses 8 through 10 where Jesus Himself says, [39:52] bear fruit in keeping with repentance. What did we talk about the past two weeks? We talked about [39:57] bearing fruit. We talked about obedience. And what Jesus is saying is the only way you’re ever going [40:02] to bear fruit is if you put your mind on Him. Metanoia is the verb that Jesus uses here for [40:08] repentance. And what He’s saying is change your mind and you will bear fruit. Because this is what [40:13] He says, and do not presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father, for I tell you,
[40:18] God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the roots. [40:23] Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into fire. Here’s what Jesus [40:28] says, do not think that because your mama and daddy were Christians that you’re going to get any good [40:33] favor with God. Do not think that because you have some kind of religious heritage that you’re better [40:38] than anybody else. Do not think because you have more money you’re better than anybody else. Do not [40:42] think that rich people find the same type of salvation in their riches as poor people do in
[40:46] their poverty. Rich people say, well, I’m better because I’m rich. Poor people say I’m better [40:50] because I’m poor. I know what real life is like. And so what Jesus is saying here, don’t think [40:59] that because you are who you are or you are where you are is going to do anything. Everyone needs [41:06] to live a life of repentance where they’re changing their minds over to the ways of Jesus. [41:13] And how do you do that? Notice what Paul says in the book of Philippians chapter two verses 12 [41:19] through 13. He says, therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now not only as in my
[41:23] presence, but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. So here’s [41:28] what Paul’s saying in verse 12. He’s saying you must work out your salvation with fear and trembling. [41:35] You must realize there is an intentionality that you must have to change your mind. You are not [41:41] going to, as Rick Warren says, watch your television three hours a day, read your Bible [41:45] three minutes a day and experience revival in your life. Use some common sense, Einstein.
[41:54] It’s kind of like thinking that walking for a mile is going to prepare me to run a marathon.
[42:02] Not going to happen, folks. You know, I don’t know why God’s not working in my life [42:08] because you’re not working out your salvation with fear and trembling. [42:12] You’re not setting like we talked about last week, setting your mind on things that are above. [42:18] There is no metanoia taking place in your life. You are not realizing the depth of your sin [42:24] and the greatness of his glory. You are thinking your sin is shallow and he’s right with you.
[42:32] You have a low view of sin and you have an even lower view of God. [42:38] So if you’re in your 20s, you still think I can be in Jesus and I can chase skirts. [42:44] I think that’s what a 65 year old man calls it. I don’t know where that came from.
[42:51] My father just entered the stage. That is so weird.
[42:57] Weird man. Welcome to the drive in kids.
[43:03] It’s not going to happen.
[43:06] But notice verse 13.
[43:15] It is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. [43:27] There’s this place that you get to when you begin to see your mind change [43:31] and you begin to see yourself fill up with the excellencies of Jesus.
[43:38] You realize I’ve been doing all this activity, but I’m not doing it under my own power. [43:47] You didn’t save yourself. So you think you’re going to sanctify yourself?
[43:53] It’s God that’s working in you. That fear and trembling is God actually working himself into [43:58] your life. And if you are not experiencing it, be afraid. Man, let’s move. We got to get to lunch, [44:04] right? Look at verse nine. Here’s where he addresses the believer.
[44:16] And here’s where most of us are going to say, I don’t know if that’s true of me.
[44:21] Because he says that the mind that is set on the flesh does not submit to God. But he says, [44:25] you, however, are not in the flesh,
[44:33] but in the spirit, if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the [44:40] spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Those who are growing in repentance, read that verse, [44:51] and they are shaken to their core because it makes you take inventory of your life. [44:57] And it says, makes you say, I want to give more and more of me to Jesus.
[45:02] But there are some of you who are not growing in the faith, who do not know Jesus. And you read [45:08] that verse and you’re like, well, I’m safe no matter what. That doesn’t scare me. That doesn’t [45:14] worry me. That doesn’t cause me to shake. That doesn’t cause fear in me. What are you trying to [45:20] say? I’m not safe. Do you think you’re better than me? No, I don’t think I’m better than you. [45:24] I actually think I’m worse than you. And that’s a fruit of repentance. That’s the difference.
[45:35] But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life [45:40] because of righteousness. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [45:45] he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through [45:49] his spirit who dwells in you. Here’s what he’s talking about there, because I’m like, man, [45:53] that doesn’t make any sense to me. God through Jesus has given us a future hope. [46:00] He’s given us an eternal joy. He’s given us an eternity in heaven with him.
[46:05] We have been saved from the pit of hell, which is real, which is a literal place.
[46:17] He saved us for that. So our hope is trusting in the future, but it is living in the present. [46:29] Because here’s what he says. He says, look, I know that sin is still in your bodies. How do we know [46:34] that? Well, the big indicator is that we’re dying. I’m getting older. I struggle. I hurt. My shoulder [46:41] has hurt for like eight months. That’s a lot of work. I’m getting older. I’m getting older. I [46:42] am getting older. That is an indicator that sin is killing my body. I’m going to die.
[46:50] But he says, even though you’re physically going to die, I don’t know what happened right there, [46:54] physically going to die. It’s like a burped mid sentence is weird, man. It happens folks. [47:05] Even though I’m sure that I’m physically going to die because of sin. [47:10] Notice the verbiage he uses here. And I want to get it exactly right. He says,
[47:16] although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life. Here’s what he says. You are [47:22] dying. And so most of us, we take that to mean we have no hope. Well, I’m just going to wait [47:28] around to die. Here’s what we do. We condemn the world. Well, the world’s really going to hell in [47:32] a hand basket. So I’m just going to sit here and I’m going to wait until Jesus comes back. [47:35] And then everything’s going to be fixed. There’s nothing I can do to fix this world. [47:38] That’s not the mentality Paul takes. Paul says, even though you are physically dying,
[47:44] the spirit is life, not will be, but is life. You are to experience all the verbiage here. [47:53] You are to experience unity with Jesus and the Holy Spirit in this life, in this present world. [48:02] You are to glory in the cross for the rest of your days, pursuing him with everything that [48:09] you have. That is the tangible fruit of repentance in your life that you are changing, that you are [48:15] growing. But most of you do not want to change. Or you think that you’ve made it somewhere where [48:23] you don’t need to change anymore. When the apostle Paul himself says, number one, I’m the chief of
[48:30] centers. Number two, I press forward. He says this in Philippians. I press forward towards the [48:35] prize, forgetting that which was behind, strained into that which is ahead, realizing not that I [48:41] have already obtained the apostle Paul. He wrote more than half of the New Testament. And he says, [48:49] even as an apostle whom the Holy Spirit talks to openly, I still need to change. And so when you [48:57] sit in your sin or you sit stagnant in your religion, thinking you’ve done enough, [49:01] you’ve grown enough, you’ve changed enough, what you’re saying is I’ve got it more figured out
[49:06] than Paul did. I don’t think so. I don’t think so. You’re like, well, why isn’t the world [49:26] that’s why? Why doesn’t the world have any hope? Because your hopes no different than theirs. [49:35] Because your hopes not in Jesus. Your hope is the hope of the world. And without your hope, [49:43] the world cannot be expected to be hopeful. Well, why isn’t the Holy Spirit moving? [49:50] Because you’re not moving, folks. He’s not waiting for you. He’s going on without you.
[49:58] Because he doesn’t need you. You need him. And that’s the big problem that we have, [50:04] is we have this weird, sick, individualistic notion that God needs us. God doesn’t need us. [50:11] He loves us in spite of who we actually are. And I cannot finish a series like this without [50:21] looking all of you in the eye and saying, you need to change. Whatever it is that’s stopping [50:28] you from changing, get over it. Whatever hang up you have with someone in this church, [50:34] it’s keeping you from going to a small group. Get over it.
[50:39] Whatever hang up you have, it’s keeping you from serving. Get over it.
[50:48] And I say that, the most loving way possible, I say that
[50:55] because there is a depth of joy.
[51:01] That isn’t something that I want you to experience, but I do. I do.
[51:08] But it’s what God wants to just give you.
[51:14] And so when I see anyone claiming the name of Jesus that says,
[51:21] there’s better stuff on cable.
[51:25] It scares me for you. It scares me for you. Because here’s what happens to Paul. [51:34] Okay, I’ll close with this. There’s so much I didn’t get to, but you’ll get to it in your [51:39] community group, I hope. Here’s what amazes me. Paul spends these 11 verses really talking about [51:49] how much he needs to change and how much repentance he needs and all that Jesus has done for him. [51:56] And his response in verses 12 through verse 39 [52:03] is the greatest pantheon of praise to God that I’ve ever read in my life.
[52:10] It’s this hope, this security, this comfort.
[52:16] And he says, basically, I cannot give enough of myself over to him. I wish I had more. [52:24] I wish I could just give more of myself. I wish I could do more. I wish I could be more [52:28] like Jesus. And so what did Paul do? Paul quit his luxurious life as a Pharisee and went around [52:35] the world three times planting churches and telling people about Jesus Christ. He became more like [52:41] Jesus every day. That’s what he means by to live is Christ, to die is gain. He’s saying, [52:46] if I live, I want to be more like Jesus. I will be more like Jesus. And here’s what happens.
[52:50] He becomes more like Jesus because Jesus said he came to seek and to save that which was lost in [52:55] Luke 19 verse something. He said, I came to seek and to save that which was lost. And in Matthew [53:01] chapter 28, Jesus says, you want to be more like me? Make disciples, sacrifice the lie that is your [53:06] life, the lie of hope that you think you have. Sacrifice that and give it over to me. Go make [53:11] disciples and I will give you hope like you’ve never seen it before. You’ll be so secure that [53:17] you’ll find yourself in bad places and you’ll say, what can separate me from the love of Christ?
[53:20] Nothing. What does it take to make you feel like Jesus doesn’t love you?
[53:29] That’s how far you’ve gotten in your Christian life. Father,
[53:35] as we enter into this time of just reflection, as we enter into this time of communion, [53:42] may we worship you, may we praise you?
[53:50] Lord, you have given yourself to us. There is no condemnation. [53:56] None. There’s no fear that needs to take over my life. None. Lord, nothing can take you away from me.
[54:08] But you give me life abundantly. I pray that you would help me to trust that. I pray that you [54:15] would help me to believe that. I pray that I would look at your mission and not see a drudgery, [54:19] but that I would look at it and I would see life as it was meant to be lived. That I would see a [54:24] life of worship in which I am actually able to pour myself out over and over and over in worship [54:32] to you. That I will never be the same because I don’t want to be the same. I want to be like you.
[54:39] Lord, may the village be a place where that overcomes us. May the village be a place where [54:47] that overtakes us. Where even though we don’t have it all figured out, we’re not there. [54:55] But like Paul said, we haven’t obtained it, but we press forward towards the prize because we know [55:01] we will obtain it in you. May we have real faith that gives us hope today.