Set Free.

Steve Gentry

[0:05] Amen.

[0:07] All right. [0:08] Go ahead and have a seat. [0:09] Welcome to Village Church. [0:10] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve. [0:12] I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church, and I’m grateful that you’ve chosen to spend [0:17] your morning with us.

[0:19] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Romans chapter 6. [0:22] We’re going to be starting in verse 15 this morning, dealing with the topic of what it [0:29] looks like to be set free from sin for the purposes of God’s work in and through our [0:37] lives. [0:39] One of the things that I encounter oftentimes, whereas being a Christian, being a follower [0:45] of Jesus Christ, is concerned, and in a culture that sometimes has many misconceptions about

[0:51] what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, is that we are often told that those who [0:57] are followers of Jesus sometimes are self-righteous, sometimes seem to be very pious people, [1:03] and that oftentimes we’re found to be hypocrites.

[1:09] Sometimes we struggle to have a response when people lay those, sometimes we feel maybe [1:15] that they’re claims on us, or maybe we feel that they’re laying a word on us that maybe [1:21] you don’t feel like you deserve. [1:23] But I want to kind of free you this morning from the burden of thinking that it is on [1:30] your shoulders to vindicate your faith as a whole to a culture that honestly seems [1:37] to be growing ever increasingly aggressively against the faith in Jesus Christ.

[1:45] I am honestly openly ready to admit that Christianity and Christians often tend to be hypocrites. [1:54] That’s a true statement. [1:57] If you claim to believe that the Bible is the word of God and that all that it claims [2:02] that you need to follow and all that it claims that you need to be in your life, if you [2:10] admit that and you should, because we believe that this is the very word of God, then at [2:15] some place in your life you’re going to be found to be a hypocrite.

[2:20] You’re going to be found to be saying, you should do this with your life, and then you’re [2:25] going to do something maybe even opposite to that. [2:31] And that’s of course why you will never cease to need the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

[2:38] And this morning what we’re going to talk about is what we should gear our life towards, [2:44] but with an admittal that you will be imperfect in this. [2:50] And so the claim that Christianity is full of hypocrites in no way destroys your faith, [2:57] but rather it actually vindicates the message. [3:02] It vindicates the gospel of Jesus Christ. [3:05] Because our faith is not based on my obedience or your obedience.

[3:11] My faith is actually based on my lack of obedience and my need to have someone else’s [3:18] obedience applied to me. [3:20] There’s only been one person in the history of the world who’s ever been fully obedient [3:26] to what God calls us towards, and that person is Jesus Christ, God the Son. [3:31] The eternal God who spoke all that is into existence, created all that is out of absolutely [3:38] nothing, became a human being, and what must be considered an absolutely amazing miracle

[3:47] that only God himself could pull off, God became fully man while continuing to be fully [3:53] God. [3:55] And he lived for more than three decades in this world fully obedient to God, fully obeying [4:05] all the demands that God the Father ever made of him, obedient to the point where [4:13] he took it on himself to be a substitute to die for you, because you weren’t obedient. [4:21] You aren’t fully obedient even now.

[4:26] And in that he gives us what can be called nothing less than amazing grace, a grace that [4:32] completely forgives me of all of my sins, which are many. [4:38] The great preacher Charles Spurgeon was once accused of being a sinner by a woman in his [4:44] congregation, and he said, you only found one, I’ll tell you of many more.

[4:50] So we are not a people who claim in any way to be perfect, nor friends are we to be a [4:56] people who claim to have perfect children. [5:00] But instead, we are a people who are not just imperfect. [5:06] You see, that understates the case. [5:09] We are a people who were born dead in our sin, all of us, no matter what your age.

[5:17] We’re a people who desperately are in need of a savior, and that’s how great the grace [5:23] of our creator God is. [5:26] Is that while we were dead in our sin, he provided for us his Son, Jesus Christ, who [5:31] had no sin to die for, Romans 5 tells us, but instead offered himself up as a sacrifice [5:38] for you. [5:40] He substituted himself in an obedient life, and then substituted himself in a fully obedient

[5:46] death to redeem you and I from our sins. [5:51] And so the hope that you are to offer to those around you is a life in which you’re [5:58] pursuing Jesus Christ, but a life in which you, when you fail, and you will, you don’t [6:06] simply hide your sin, but instead you confess it, because we believe that we have a God [6:12] who says he’s faithful and just to forgive it when we do. [6:16] And it’s not a baseless forgiveness, but instead it’s a forgiveness full of justice, and that

[6:20] justice always being found in the cross. [6:24] And then after Jesus died on the cross, he did something revolutionary. [6:27] He didn’t stay dead. [6:30] Three days later, he rose from the dead to a brand new life, and this is what he offers [6:35] you. [6:37] He offers you a new life in which the Holy Spirit comes to you and gives you the ability

[6:45] to pursue a life of obedience in God, but while you’re pursuing him, when your sin [6:52] shows itself strong, you have this amazing ability to rest in grace and continue your [7:00] pursuit. [7:01] You’re throwing off your sin. [7:05] You’re seeking obedience.

[7:09] But when you’re found disobedient, God says, I still forgive you. [7:16] And this is what our faith is based in, and that is what Romans chapter 6 has taught [7:21] us for two weeks. [7:23] It’s taught us that we are dead to sin. [7:26] It no longer has dominion over you, but you are also alive in Christ.

[7:37] Therefore, you can seek to obey God himself. [7:43] And when we get to verse 15, Paul begins what I believe is to unpack a lifestyle of pursuing [7:51] grace and seeking to live the life of worship that God has called us to live so that we

[8:14] can live the life that God has given us to live. [8:18] So look in Romans chapter 6 verse 15. [8:21] He begins with a question. [8:23] The apostle Paul, writing this text, he says, what then? [8:27] He begins the middle of the chapter the same way he started the beginning of the chapter [8:31] by asking a question.

[8:33] He says, are we to sin because we’re not under law but under grace? [8:37] By no means.

[8:40] See, he’s dealt with this last week, and he said that if you are alive in Jesus Christ, [8:46] then you are no longer under God’s law, because the law came to show us our sin. [8:53] But once we are under the grace of God, the law can no longer condemn you, because all [9:00] of the laws that you’ve broken, the penalty for those were laid on Jesus. [9:04] So what do we say about that? [9:07] Does that mean we can just continue to sin?

[9:10] And Paul again offers the response that he offers throughout the book of Romans. [9:14] You should take your sin very seriously, because he says by no means. [9:20] It’s not even on the radar of truth. [9:24] He says, do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, [9:33] you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of [9:41] obedience, which leads to righteousness.

[9:44] But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the [9:50] heart, to the standard of teaching to which you were committed. [9:54] Those are challenging words. [9:56] And having been set free, have become slaves of righteousness. [10:00] I’m speaking in human terms because of your limitations. [10:04] For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness,

[10:11] leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading [10:16] to sanctification. [10:18] For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regards to righteousness. [10:24] But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? [10:30] For the end of those things is death. [10:32] But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit

[10:38] you get leads to sanctification. [10:41] And to its end, eternal life. [10:44] For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ, [10:53] our Lord. [10:55] It’s the word of God. [10:56] Pray with me, our Father.

[11:00] You’ve offered life.

[11:04] May we grab hold of it through faith in Jesus Christ. [11:08] May we seek to worship you. [11:11] May we seek to love you. [11:13] But more importantly, may we seek to be those who are so saturated with your grace that [11:18] we realize that this gift is something that came at great cost. [11:24] That this gift is something that changes everything in life.

[11:28] And may we be so overcome with it that we pursue you. [11:31] And while in pursuit of you, may we become known as a people who offer grace to others.

[11:38] In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. [11:40] Amen. [11:42] Paul is telling us of the change that faith in Jesus Christ gives you. [11:49] And the first change that it gives you is an understanding of what grace leads to in [11:53] your life. [11:54] Number one, I want us to understand that grace is free, but it is not cheap.

[12:00] Grace is free, but it is not cheap. [12:03] Paul is speaking of a lifestyle in which you look at sin and you look at the grace of God [12:08] and you say, well, if I can just be forgiven based on what Jesus has done, then a great [12:13] thing for me to do is just to continue in my sin because I’ll always have this free [12:17] gift. [12:17] I’ll just sin all day.

[12:18] When I lay my head down on my pillow at night, I’ll just start confessing the sins left [12:22] and right, left and right, because isn’t that what grace can do? [12:25] Doesn’t grace have the strength to do that? [12:28] Absolutely grace has the strength to do that. [12:30] But if you live under the grace of God, you realize the cheapness of that type of lifestyle [12:35] and the fact that when God says that he comes to make you a slave of righteousness, the

[12:40] Holy Spirit comes and he makes his home in your life and he pushes you towards the worship [12:44] of God. [12:44] You would never do something like that if you were actually a Christian.

[12:49] So when he says by no means that type of response is one of offense. [12:55] He says that if you toy with such a mentality, then you are not worshiping God. [13:02] If you toy with such a lifestyle, then it’s hard for Paul to believe that the life of [13:07] God even bears witness in your life because the gospel is about the purchase of redemption [13:15] at the cost of life, both Jesus’s and yours. [13:22] You see the gospel does claim two lives and Paul has already talked about that in the

[13:25] beginning of Romans chapter 6. [13:28] The gospel clearly cost Jesus’s very life so that he could lay his life down for you. [13:34] Redemption is literally about a purchase of life. [13:39] That sin had laid claim to you. [13:43] You were its slave. [13:46] And Jesus on the cross overpowered your master.

[13:51] He undid the rule of sin in your life and thus purchased you by his very blood, Romans [13:58] chapter 3 and Romans chapter 5 tell us, so that you could be declared innocent and you [14:06] could be declared righteous. [14:09] The effect of that, Paul is telling us, is that it turns you into a slave of righteousness. [14:15] One who loosens the binds that sin had on you and then places itself under bondage [14:21] to a new master, Jesus Christ.

[14:24] Because you are always under a master.

[14:28] One master simply dominates you to the point of death and the other master offers you [14:32] a free gift. [14:34] It’s the gift of grace.

[14:37] We have a very strange inclination in this world is that often times we look at free [14:42] and we think cheap. [14:45] Many times that’s the problem with our lives and following Jesus is that we believe that [14:50] since grace is free, then it’s also cheap. [14:53] Grace is the most expensive thing that’s ever been purchased in this world. [14:59] Think about it this way, if somebody came to you this morning and offered you a brand

[15:03] new home, brand new, it’s top of the line, it was just built, it’s got all the upgrades, [15:10] it’s granite countertops, shaker cabinets, I mean it’s exactly the design that you would [15:15] want for it. [15:16] It’s beautiful, I mean it’s got everything that’s right.

[15:22] You look at that house and say, a free house. [15:25] First off you’d probably be like, there’s gotta be a catch.

[15:31] But if there’s no catches and they’re really offering it to you, I don’t think you in [15:36] the way would look at it and say, what a cheap gift.

[15:42] No, you would understand the value and you would say, wow, what an expensive gift.

[15:51] Or at Christmas time when your spouse gets you exactly what you were hoping for, most [15:56] of the time that’s not cheap.

[16:01] Ladies, come on.

[16:05] Sometimes you gotta help a guy out.

[16:10] You in no way look at that gift though it was free. [16:15] Think to yourself, what a cheap gift. [16:17] You value it, you take care of it. [16:21] You maybe put it in a safe if it’s of a certain price.

[16:27] But so also you must consider the grace of God through Jesus Christ. [16:31] It was free to you, but it was not free to God. [16:36] It was not free to Jesus Christ. [16:40] It cost him humiliation as the God with the power to speak worlds into existence that [16:51] never existed before. [16:53] To speak matter out of nothing.

[16:58] This God humiliated himself to the point of becoming one of his very creation. [17:03] He can speak you into being and he became you.

[17:09] That’s cost, friend. [17:12] But even more than that Philippians 2 tells us, he humiliated himself to the point of [17:17] death. [17:17] A God who has only known life for eternity pays the price of death and the Philippians [17:24] 2 goes further and says, death even to the death of the lowliest criminal on a cross.

[17:33] He bled and he died. [17:36] There’s no greater cost. [17:38] Scriptures will tell us there’s no greater friend.

[17:42] And so the grace of God comes at great cost, not to you, but great cost to God. [17:48] And Jesus lays his life down and he says that if you believe it, then it was also going [17:54] to cost you your life.

[17:57] Certainly you won’t have to physically die. [18:00] That’s the cost Jesus paid. [18:01] Certainly you won’t have to have the wrath of God for all of sinful humanity laid on [18:07] to you. [18:08] You don’t have to do that. [18:09] Jesus did that for you.

[18:13] Instead he frees you to have what is life. [18:15] That’s what it costs you.

[18:19] And it is a cost. [18:21] And it is not cheap. [18:23] But it’s absolutely free. [18:26] Look at what Jesus says about what grace brings in John chapter 8. [18:30] He says, and you will know the truth, he says to the Jews, and the truth will set you free. [18:39] It’s this free gift that takes the bonds of sin off of us and gives us a brand new life.

[18:44] And then they answered him. [18:46] They argue with him. [18:48] Think about how foolish this is. [18:51] And they say, look at our family tree. [18:54] We’re the offspring of Abraham. [18:55] We’ve never been enslaved to anyone.

[18:57] How is it that you will say you will become free? [19:00] See, that’s our problem. [19:02] As we believe this lie that we’re free and then whenever anyone offers us what really [19:07] is life, we are so deceived to believe that we’re really living what it really is. [19:13] That’s deception. [19:14] That’s a lie.

[19:15] They look to their offspring, the offspring of Abraham, and they say, look at the law. [19:20] We’ve got the law. [19:22] And they think just by holding it in their hand. [19:24] It’s like you thinking that when you carry your Bible on your dashboard, you’re going [19:28] to get out of speeding ticket just by nature of it being there.

[19:33] Don’t act like you haven’t done it.

[19:39] This is not something you just hold and it becomes a good luck charm. [19:43] This is not a genie in a bottle. [19:46] Just look at the law. [19:47] It condemns you. [19:50] You don’t live up to it. [19:53] You lie.

[19:54] You covet. [19:54] You envy. [19:55] You lust. [19:57] You’re a law breaker.

[19:59] Jesus continues. [20:01] He says, truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. [20:06] They say, don’t we have the law? [20:08] And Jesus responds in his wit and he says, yeah, and you’re a slave to it, aren’t you? [20:15] Because you’ve broken it. [20:17] But then note what he says.

[20:18] He says, the slave does not remain in the house forever. [20:21] The son remains forever. [20:24] And he says, so if the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. [20:30] See, oftentimes we’ve had prison bars around us for so long that we don’t even know our [20:36] great need of being freed. [20:38] We need Jesus, the creator, to come in and remind us through his life that we’re not

[20:45] free. [20:47] We’re slaves to our own desires, slaves to our own passions. [20:51] And Jesus comes in and he says, you’re free. [20:56] Follow me and you’ll be free. [20:59] And then we may respond and say, well, I want freedom. [21:03] That sounds great, but shouldn’t freedom mean that we do whatever we want?

[21:08] Friend, that would be a contradiction. [21:11] If you were to be free from sin in order to sin, it doesn’t work that way. [21:18] If that is how you view life, then you are not free. [21:23] You are a slave to sin still. [21:26] Grace gives God dominion over your life and you gladly submit.

[21:32] I mean, we’ve all thought about it. [21:33] If you spent any time in church or you went to Sunday school as a kid, you heard all [21:37] the stories of the nation of Israel after they were freed from Egypt. [21:42] And after they’re freed from Egypt, they go into the wilderness and they disobey God, [21:47] and then they get condemned for disobeying God, and then they get thirsty and they can’t [21:52] find any water, so they complain about that.

[21:54] And then they get hungry and God gives them manna and they’re like, manna again. [21:58] And so they start complaining about that. [22:01] And then they’re like, oh, my goodness, we were better off back in Egypt as slaves because [22:06] at least there, you know, they beat us but gave us better food.

[22:12] And we’ve all made fun of them. [22:14] I mean, what was wrong with those Israelites? [22:17] What didn’t they get?

[22:21] They didn’t get what freedom was really all about. [22:24] And friend, oftentimes neither do you. [22:27] Because when you look at the object of freedom in Christ and you begin to think, but that [22:32] should mean I do whatever I want and I’m the boss of my life if I’m free.

[22:38] God says you the same way he said to the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 15 when he looked [22:42] to them and he says, you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and [22:47] the Lord your God redeemed you. [22:49] The Lord purchased them. [22:51] The Lord bought them. [22:53] And then he says, therefore, I command you.

[23:01] See, it’s interesting when God talks about freedom, freedom means that you live the [23:04] life that you were designed to live. [23:06] And we look to the nation of Israel and we say, well, obviously, if they were purchased [23:09] by God out of Egypt, they should have obeyed God. [23:12] Look at all that God did for them. [23:14] Don’t they know any better?

[23:15] Why are they complaining?

[23:18] But then we must consider the gospel of Jesus Christ, the great cost that Jesus paid for [23:26] us. [23:26] And then God looks into our lives and he says these words, he says, you shall remember [23:31] that you were a slave in the land of sin.

[23:37] The Lord your God redeemed you. [23:40] Therefore I command you. [23:45] See the same slavery that had overtaken Israel was really the same slavery that we have. [23:51] It’s not a slavery to a specific person. [23:53] It’s a slavery to our own sinful flesh. [23:57] A sinful flesh that believes that it’s wiser, that it’s the exception to every rule that

[24:02] God lays out. [24:04] But you’re a sinner nonetheless.

[24:07] You can be free, but you must follow Jesus for that freedom. [24:11] Number two, this morning, you are either a slave to sin or a slave to Jesus. [24:18] There are no other alternatives. [24:20] That’s what verse 17 through 19 begins to tell us. [24:25] When he lays out for us and he says, thanks be to God that you who were once slaves to [24:32] sin have become.

[24:35] You see that? [24:37] He says it’s a straight route. [24:39] You were a slave to sin, but you have become obedient from the heart. [24:45] There’s that repentance again. [24:48] Repentance literally means a change of mind throughout the book of Romans.

[24:54] And he says, you have become obedient from where? [24:57] From the heart. [24:58] And whenever you see the term from the heart or things about the heart in the scripture, [25:02] it’s talking about the center core of who you are. [25:07] The center of your being, the center of your motivation, the center of your decision making, [25:12] the center of your passion, the center of your desires.

[25:16] This is not just some behavior modification. [25:20] This is something that God has purchased your life and therefore he’s changed your emotions. [25:25] He’s changed your personality. [25:26] He’s changed your desires. [25:28] He’s changed the very core of what defines you.

[25:34] This is your obedience from the heart.

[25:39] Life in God is about obeying and loving what God has laid out through the teachings of [25:47] his word. [25:49] Know what it says next. [25:52] It says you’re obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were [25:58] committed.

[26:01] He’s not talking about something that you signed up for. [26:03] He’s not even talking about something that you did. [26:05] He’s saying that when you come to faith in Jesus Christ, God commits you to his word, [26:12] to his teaching, which is the word of God. [26:17] In Acts chapter 2, they commit themselves to the apostles’ teachings.

[26:25] 1 Peter chapter 2, starting in verse 15, reminds us by saying this is the will of God, that [26:33] by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. [26:39] And he says live as people who are free. [26:42] He equates freedom to obedience to God. [26:47] He says not using your freedom as a cover up for evil, but living as servants of God.

[26:55] How often do you excuse yourself from obedience to God by claiming, well, grace, with no [27:03] intention of ever actually changing, with no intention of actually obeying God? [27:09] What Peter’s telling you in this text is that when you do that, you’re trying to use your [27:14] freedom as a cover up for your evil heart.

[27:19] Because what’s motivating you is not the gospel in that moment. [27:23] What’s motivating you is a slavery to sin. [27:27] He says don’t do that because then you give foolish people ammo to take shots at your [27:33] faith. [27:35] He says but live as servants of God. [27:38] Same word as slaves.

[27:42] But see, Paul in the text, he says, please excuse the analogy that I’m using here. [27:48] He says I know that it’s a harsh analogy. [27:50] I mean, he’s calling you a slave. [27:52] Nobody wants to be called a slave. [27:54] He says, but I use it because it’s the only way for me to help you to understand because [27:58] of your natural limitations, what it actually means to be alive in Jesus Christ.

[28:06] So when he writes that you are to be a slave to sin, he’s saying that you know that you [28:10] need to give your life so fully over to Jesus Christ in joy that it is if you are in bonds [28:16] to him, it is if you have an obligation to him. [28:19] And Paul writes in Romans, chapter one, at the very beginning, he says, I am obligated [28:25] to the gospel.

[28:28] So many of us treat it as an option.

[28:33] As if in your life, one option is to actually live for the gospel. [28:38] And yet you believe this lie that you can have the gospel and not obey it. [28:44] You fool.

[28:47] That’s what a slave to sin will believe, not a slave to Christ. [28:53] Well, Peter’s telling us is that our will. [28:57] Will of God for our lives has been redeemed along with our lives. [29:04] Being a servant of God is a privilege. [29:07] Paul realizes that Peter realizes that every author in scripture realizes it. [29:13] You never see one of them dragged, kicking and screaming.

[29:16] I have to obey God.

[29:20] They treat it as a privilege. [29:21] They say, oh, what joy.

[29:25] Peter writes, and he says, it gives me inexpressible joy.

[29:29] These are men so filled with joy that the threat of death could not make them stop. [29:34] That’s where they were dragged, by the way.

[29:40] Friends, are you in slavery to sin or are you in slavery to Jesus? [29:45] How do you know? [29:48] Let me ask you. [29:50] How do you treat the privilege of following Jesus? [29:54] How do you view it? [29:56] Are you in slavery to the dreams and callings of this world?

[30:01] Or are you sacrificing those things to follow what is greater in Jesus? [30:07] I want to ask you a few questions now. [30:10] To help you gauge and help me gauge where we are in this journey.

[30:16] How are you thinking about the following areas? [30:19] I mean, think about it this way. [30:21] How does being a slave to Jesus affect my fill in the blank? [30:28] How does being a slave to Jesus affect my thoughts?

[30:33] My motivations. [30:35] What do you think about? [30:36] How do you decide what to do with your life?

[30:43] How’s the gospel redeeming your mind?

[30:48] When it’s just you, what invades your thoughts?

[30:55] What invades those moments in your mind?

[31:00] I mean, sure, it could be very sinful or it could be defeated.

[31:06] Or it could be that you just don’t believe you have any value. [31:09] You don’t believe that you can do anything right. [31:12] Or it could just be constant thoughts of immorality.

[31:17] How does being a slave to Jesus affect that for you?

[31:21] What about your actions?

[31:24] How do your actions reveal that you’re a slave to Jesus? [31:27] What are you doing with your life?

[31:32] What do you spend the most of your days on? [31:36] What are you spending your free time on?

[31:41] What are you doing that’s contrary to the will of God? [31:45] Where does sin find a home for you? [31:47] Where’s your temptation?

[31:50] Where’s your servanthood of God in your hours? [31:54] Where are you sacrificing in life what is less than because you believe the gospel [31:59] of Jesus is worth more?

[32:03] How does being a slave to Jesus affect my goals?

[32:08] How do your goals show that you were hoping to grow in following Jesus?

[32:14] I mean, if I pay in this crowd, I’m sure I would find weight loss goals. [32:19] I’m sure I would find money goals. [32:21] I’m sure I would find career goals. [32:23] I’m sure I would find education goals. [32:25] But what are your goals in following Jesus? [32:28] Do you have any?

[32:32] Do you see the gospel taking you anywhere in this life? [32:37] Do you have goals for where you’re going to grow?

[32:41] Do you look down the road and you say, where is following Jesus going to take me? [32:45] What can I sacrifice next?

[32:48] For the purpose of Jesus. [32:50] See, the problem with most of us is we’re looking for where we can sacrifice less. [32:55] So we can have more me time.

[33:00] How does being a slave to Jesus affect my relationships? [33:05] See, friends, how we view and treat others is a direct reflection of how much grace [33:11] we think we need from God.

[33:16] Not how much you think others need grace, but how much you think you need grace. [33:19] If everybody is just a burden, if everybody’s just an obstacle, if everybody’s just an annoyance, [33:26] then you don’t think you need grace. [33:26] You don’t think you need much grace, do you?

[33:31] It’s home for me. [33:34] If you’re smarter than everybody else, if you’ve got to be right every time,

[33:41] you don’t need much grace, do you? [33:44] If nobody’s allowed to tell you how to live, if nobody’s allowed to have authority over you, [33:52] you don’t need much grace, do you? [33:55] You know, church is messy.

[33:58] Relationships are messy. [34:01] But being a slave to Jesus means that you pursue others with forgiveness, kindness, understanding, submission.

[34:16] The gospel.

[34:22] How does being a slave to Jesus [34:24] affect the way that I view my trials? [34:27] Tribulations. You see, Jesus promised tribulation in our lives.

[34:33] And are you just constantly looking for relief?

[34:37] Do you just get mad at God when it doesn’t go the way that you want it to go? [34:42] You think that he failed you? [34:45] Or do you trust God to do things differently than you would have done them? [34:49] Or are you seeking to see what God is teaching you and how God can use it to further the message of Jesus in your life?

[34:59] How do you view your trials?

[35:01] How does being a slave to Jesus affect my success?

[35:07] What is your definition of success? [35:10] Is it measured the same way that the world does apart from Jesus? [35:15] How does the spread of the gospel in your life and the lives of others factor into what you believe is success?

[35:25] How does being a slave to Jesus affect how you view your failures?

[35:32] When something doesn’t go your way, does it devastate you?

[35:36] Or is God just answering prayer in a way that you didn’t realize that he would? [35:41] You didn’t think that he would. [35:44] You see sometimes our struggles in prayer [35:48] is not that God isn’t answering us, it’s that he’s giving us an answer that we didn’t think that he would.

[35:56] But here’s the key, he’s God, you aren’t.

[36:02] God’s greatest gifts aren’t unanswered prayer. [36:06] God’s greatest gifts oftentimes are prayers that he answers away that I didn’t want him to. [36:13] And I may not know for years [36:15] how much better my life is without that. [36:19] I may not even know in this life [36:22] how much better it is, but I’m promised by God that it will be in this life or the next.

[36:32] Do you trust God’s sovereignty in your life or do you trust your own more than you trust God’s? [36:39] You see ultimately this is about the word of God and your inner lawyer. [36:47] So Christian counselor Paul Tripp writes that all of us need to grow in following Jesus and [36:53] silencing our inner lawyer. [36:57] Your inner lawyer [36:58] has probably been talking to you much of this sermon.

[37:03] Your inner lawyer will give you reasons why [37:06] things are different for you. So the scripture doesn’t apply for you right now, right here.

[37:15] Here’s why you don’t need to obey God right here because you’ve got reasons. [37:21] It says your inner lawyer.

[37:24] That’s called the flesh. [37:27] Sin. [37:28] You see friends you need to stop giving reasons why things are different for you. [37:32] Stop giving reasons why certain teachings don’t apply to you. [37:37] Stop giving reasons why others may need this environment for growth or that environment for growth. [37:43] Why others may need to sacrifice here or sacrifice there, but you’re different or your situation is different

[37:50] or this time in your life is different. So that doesn’t really apply to you right now. Maybe when things change you’ll get back to that.

[38:00] Friends, [38:01] stop giving reasons [38:03] why you can do it on your own apart from God. Friends, stop believing that your situation is so unique [38:11] that some things don’t apply to you.

[38:18] We all have struggles. We all have reasons.

[38:24] That’s why God has called us to trust him with those reasons. [38:30] You see the greatest need though is to stop giving reasons why you don’t need to repent of your sin.

[38:37] When you stop changing for the gospel you stop growing in the gospel. [38:44] Friend, are you becoming obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed by God?

[38:54] This is a change of mind and action. [38:58] How much grace do you think you need? If it isn’t a big need then you won’t follow Jesus in big ways. I’ll tell you that right now. [39:05] Because finally, [39:07] number three this morning, freedom is only found in following Jesus. [39:13] Freedom is only found in following Jesus. To finish chapter six, Paul poses us a very interesting question. [39:18] He poses us the question,

[39:21] of what fruit were you getting without Jesus in your life? [39:26] And what fruit are you getting now with Jesus in your life? And are they any different? [39:31] See Romans 5 through 8 teaches this doctrine called regeneration. [39:37] It’s this belief that when you put Jesus, put your trust in Jesus for redemption, [39:42] a supernatural act of God happens in your life. [39:46] He changes you through the power of his Holy Spirit.

[39:51] And that is the source of everything that he talks about in chapter six. [39:56] He begins in verse 20. He says, for when you were slaves to sin you were free in regard to righteousness. In other words, [40:02] you didn’t have to obey God.

[40:05] It didn’t matter.

[40:08] You were going to hell. What difference did it make?

[40:11] But the problem is, is that many of us carry that thought over into Christianity and say, well I’m under grace. [40:17] What difference does it make?

[40:21] To which God says, it makes all of the difference. One has the life of God, one does not.

[40:29] Then he continues.

[40:31] He says, but what fruit were you getting at that time? [40:34] When you didn’t have Jesus in your life, what were you getting? [40:37] And Paul says, I’ll tell you what you were ultimately going to get. You were going to get death. [40:43] It’s the ultimate fruit of everything that you will do apart from Jesus. [40:47] Everything that you’re doing in your life right now that doesn’t need the power of Jesus, it’s going to die with you.

[40:58] Many of us will spend decades wasting our lives on rubbish.

[41:07] And it won’t even be around in 50 years.

[41:13] Yet somewhere deep down inside, your sin is convincing you that you’re building some kind of an empire in this life.

[41:21] You’re not. Not apart from Jesus.

[41:26] Friends, what difference has Jesus made in your life?

[41:31] Jeremiah chapter 12 gives us the vision [41:34] of what you will reap in your life apart from the gospel. Here’s how the prophet Jeremiah warns us. [41:40] It says they have sown wheat [41:42] and reaped thorns. [41:44] They have tired themselves out, but profit nothing. [41:48] They shall be ashamed of their harvests because of what? Because of the fierce

[41:53] anger of the Lord. That is not a coffee cup passage. [42:00] We don’t print that one on t-shirts.

[42:05] Because we believe something different. We say, well, you know, I’m gonna gonna get what I give and I’m gonna sow good. [42:12] I’m gonna reap good. [42:14] And he says not if you’re not following Jesus.

[42:18] It says you can sow wheat without Jesus and you will reap thorns.

[42:24] You can have all the best intentions in the world, but if it’s not for Jesus, guess what it ends in? [42:30] The fierce anger of the Lord. That doesn’t sound good. [42:34] I’d prefer to avoid that.

[42:38] But here’s how the gospel changes reaping and sowing. The apostle Paul writes in Galatians chapter 6. [42:44] He says the gospel changes the whole paradigm. He says for the one who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption. [42:51] He says what was said in Jeremiah is true. [42:52] But look, but the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap what? Eternal life. [43:00] He says that if you’re following Jesus, whatever you sow for Jesus will return for eternal life. [43:08] Great value. Free gift of grace.

[43:13] There’s no fail.

[43:17] And so many of us, our inner lawyer is convincing us over and over and over and over again. [43:23] Don’t reap too much for Jesus because it might not pay off next week.

[43:29] What pays off next week may reap hell.

[43:35] What pays off for the gospel will reap eternal life.

[43:41] This is about the change of mind and action that the gospel gives us. Look down in verse 22.

[43:48] He says, but now.

[43:51] I love how he always follows hope. [43:54] After the tough stuff. [43:55] He says, but things are different now. [43:59] He says, but now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, [44:05] the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. [44:11] He uses a word that maybe you’re not familiar with,

[44:14] but it’s this term sanctification that means a life that is set apart for the purposes of God.

[44:21] So when you follow Jesus, that’s what God gives. [44:25] It’s what you get. You’re set apart for his mission.

[44:31] And then he says, and to its end, eternal life. You literally go from death to life. [44:35] But note the verbiage here. He says the end of sanctification is eternal life. In other words, [44:41] without being a set, excuse me, without being set apart for the purposes of God, you will not get eternal life.

[44:49] If you continue in your sin, you will not inherit eternal life. [44:53] If you never experience the change of being born again in faith in Jesus Christ, I’m not saying

[45:02] that if you go to church your whole life, I’m not saying if you were raised in a Christian home. [45:08] I’m not saying if you serve on a serve team. I’m not saying if you do a bunch of activities [45:16] that are religious. I’m not saying if you give to charity. I’m not saying if you give money to us. [45:22] What I’m saying is, is that if you have not been born again, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, [45:29] then you will not reap eternal life.

[45:35] My great fear is that many of you will be involved in a lot of religious activity, [45:39] but never know the grace of Jesus Christ. Because you were too prideful to admit [45:44] that God has not changed your motivations. God has not changed your emotions. God has not [45:51] changed your desire to actually follow Jesus friend. That is the fruit of sanctification. [46:00] It’s not just doing stuff. It’s about being changed so much that you want to do stuff.

[46:10] If you don’t admit your condition,

[46:15] if you won’t silence your inner lawyer right now,

[46:21] then you will pay the wages of your sin. [46:25] Look at verse 23.

[46:29] It says, for the wages of sin is death.

[46:34] Don’t move too quickly to that next part.

[46:38] I’m saying that if you never experience the life of God, if he never changes the core of who you are,

[46:49] if he never works on your heart, if he never wells up motivation to follow him,

[46:58] then you will eternally pay the price for your sin in hell.

[47:05] But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[47:18] In this moment, I believe that some of you are feeling a great weight on yourselves.

[47:26] You’re realizing through the power of the Holy Spirit right now [47:30] the reason that you’ve never wanted to do much, the reason that you’ve given reasons [47:35] for not sacrificing for the gospel, the reason that you struggle to even want to be a part of [47:40] the church, the reason that you struggle to even want to build relationships with other people [47:45] is because you have never been born again to new life.

[47:51] Do not allow your inner lawyer to condemn you to death.

[47:57] Do not allow your pride to condemn you.

[48:07] Admit your condition, because if you trust Jesus, that means that he has paid the wages of death [48:14] for you, and he will give you eternal life. [48:18] Admit your need. Trust Jesus.

[48:24] Christians, continue to follow Jesus, but always be aware of the temptation to sin. [48:34] Always tell yourself the truth. Always take inventory of where your desires and motivations [48:41] are. Always be aware of what actions your life is actually producing. God’s will for you [48:50] is the gospel. Always be moving in that direction.

[48:58] You know, as the band comes up,

[49:02] communion is a time that we reflect on every week,

[49:08] where we express by eating and drinking that we believe that Jesus has paid the wages for death [49:15] in our lives, and that he’s given us life through his substitutionary death.

[49:23] If you’re in here and you’re not a follower of Jesus, I’m going to ask you to abstain, [49:28] to not come to the front or go to the back and get communion, because I don’t want you to lie.

[49:37] I want you to be honest. If you don’t believe, you don’t believe. But know this.

[49:45] In this moment, God has brought you here this morning for a specific purpose. [49:52] I believe God brought you here this morning to hear his message for you, and that message is [49:58] that there is a cost to your sin. There’s a cost to your refusal to believe in Jesus. [50:05] And that’s the cost of your very life, eternally. But God loves you personally.

[50:18] God loves you to the extent that he sent his own son to pay those wages for you, [50:27] so that you could have eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

[50:32] Friend, it’s free. It doesn’t cost you.

[50:39] Nothing you can do to earn it. But it costs the Son of God his very life

[50:47] and love with you. Accept the gift this morning.

[50:54] I’ll be right over here. I’d love to pray with you. I’d love to talk to you. There’ll be some [50:57] in the back. But if you’re a follower of Jesus in here today, when you eat and when you drink, [51:04] do it proclaiming that you are a slave to Jesus. When you’re ready, come.