The Application of Our New Position
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Last week I gave an invitation for you to find joy and rest in your salvation, in your position of being united to Christ.
What truths do we need to understand about grace in order to find joy and have rest for our souls?
I. For those who are in Christ there is a binding authority or power at work which guarantees everlasting life. (8:1-2) Total Salvation
I. For those who are in Christ there is a binding authority or power at work which guarantees everlasting life. (8:1-2) Total Salvation
1 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.
II. Your salvation is assured because of what God has done for you not what you have done yourself. (8:3-4) Justification
II. Your salvation is assured because of what God has done for you not what you have done yourself. (8:3-4) Justification
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.
III. If you are in Christ then you have been transferred into a new realm that is dominated by the Holy Spirit (8:5-8) Sanctification
III. If you are in Christ then you have been transferred into a new realm that is dominated by the Holy Spirit (8:5-8) Sanctification
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
IV. Your future resurrection is guaranteed by the power of the triune God working on your behalf (8:9-11) Glorification
IV. Your future resurrection is guaranteed by the power of the triune God working on your behalf (8:9-11) Glorification
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Hymn: out of his infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again.
That is the point Paul has been making in these 11 verses. Find rest and joy in your position in Christ. Find rest and joy in God’s overwhelming grace!
So what?
So what?
I think Paul then concludes with two points of application in vv. 12-13.
The first point deals with the objection of his opponents that has filled chapters 6-7. Do you remember the objects his opponents raised?
20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
Paul, we can’t teach people about this kind of grace! If we teach this kind of grace we will through open the door for people to sin and sin and sin. Paul you are teaching lawlessness! We cannot say these things.
Here we find Paul’s answer in his first application of this limitless radical grace.
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
We are debtors- we are obligated persons, we are people who are under a moral obligation to do something.
We are not debtors to the flesh. We are no longer in debt to the realm of the flesh. To sin, to this rebellious sinful world under the control of Satan. We are no longer debtors to that realm any longer. Why not? We are dead to it, we have been transferred out of it, it no longer has any power over us. We are not debtors of it and so we don’t have to live according to it.
What are we debtors to? Christ!
Here is the important question- why? In other words what is our motivation for this debt?
15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
We now serve God willingly because we love Him. When you teach God’s grace, so full so free, you empower Christians to become debtors, not to the flesh, but to Christ. And the motivation for service is no longer rooted in fear, but rather in love.
17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
Application #1: Recognize that when you rejoice and rest in the grace of God for your salvation your love for God becomes your primary motive for obedience.
Application #1: Recognize that when you rejoice and rest in the grace of God for your salvation your love for God becomes your primary motive for obedience.
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
We are debtors to God, to live according to the Spirit.
Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed
Alas! and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sov’reign die,
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
Was it for sins that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here Lord, I give myself away:
’Tis all that I can do.
Rejoice and rest in God’s grace. See the powerful grace of God working on your behalf in every area of your salvation, from the beginning all the way to the end. And then go out and serve God, walk according to the Spirit, out of an awed overwhelmed heart of love. Let your love for God compel your obedience to God!
The second point of application comes in the form of a warning.
13 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.
Paul concludes this paragraph with a stern warning. And we would be fools not to let the weight of this warning have its full effect.
For if you live according to the flesh you will die?
What death is he talking about? Second death! Lake of fire death.
It cannot be physical death only. What kind of warning is that? We will all face physical death someday!
Paul’s warning is that if YOU (plural- referring to Roman Christians!), if you, Christians, live according to the flesh, then you will die. And here Paul really does use the verb, “to live” that is if you lead a certain kind of life, if you live in a certain manner, and that manner is according to the flesh- then you will die. You will experience eternal separation from God in the lake of fire.
What does living according to the flesh look like?
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 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.
Paul says that even if you claim the name of Christian, and yet you lead a certain life that is characterized by these kinds of things- then you will die.
13 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.
BUT, if by the Holy Spirit, you (Roman Christians) put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
What is Paul talking about here?
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
This is action you have to accomplish. You have to do this. It is empowered by the Spirit, but it requires human effort.
Notice the results of walking in the Spirit.
22 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.
These are the exact opposites of the works of the flesh.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Romans 8:13 (ESV)
13 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.
If you are working these things out in your life, if you are walking in the Spirit, and producing the fruit of the Spirit thereby putting to death the deeds of the body, then you will live.
What kind of life is he talking about? Everlasting life. Salvation life.
This is a hard warning to understand! Paul you just spent 11 verses explaining in no uncertain terms that my salvation is all a product of God’s grace and is not in any way dependent upon my works. And now you tell me that if I live my life according to the flesh then I will die, but if I live according to the Spirit then I will live. Which is it Paul? The answer is BOTH.
In Romans 8:1-11 Paul is highlighting and magnifying the divine sovereignty side of our salvation. And it is wonderful to behold. And we must preach and believe every last word.
Now in Romans 8:12-13 Paul is highlighting the human responsibility side of our salvation. And we must preach and believe every last word.
Why? Because the Scripture teaches both.
Philippians 2:12–13 (ESV)
12 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.
Over and over again the Scriptures put side by side both the truth of divine sovereignty and the truth the human responsibility. And because the Scripture teaches both we must believe both.
But what the Scriptures do not teach us is how these two truths blend together. And therefore, it is a mystery. A mystery is any truth that human beings cannot understand apart from additional revelation from God.
God has chosen not to reveal to us how divine sovereignty and human responsibility blend together. But clearly Scripture teaches both so I believe both.
If you emphasize either side to the exclusion of the other you end up in error. If you highlight the human responsibility side you end up with the teaching that you can loose your salvation or that your sanctification is based on your own unaided effort.
If you emphasize the sovereignty part you end up with a “let go and let God.”
Neither the indicative—what God has done for us in Christ—nor the imperative—what we are commanded to do—can be eliminated.
13 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.
Application #2: If we live lives dominated by the dictates of the flesh, then all we have to look forward to is eternal damnation.
Application #2: If we live lives dominated by the dictates of the flesh, then all we have to look forward to is eternal damnation.
For the one who really is in Christ they are in a new position. They are in a new realm. And if they are in Christ then the Spirit is in them. And if they are in the Spirit then they will set their minds of the things of the Spirit and they will put to death the deeds of the body and they will have life and peace.
This is on the one hand a work of God’s grace, but on the other hand we still must put to death the deeds of the body. We do it by the Spirit who dwells in us, but we must still do it.
Any person who claims to be a believer ought to show evidence of that claim. What will that evidence look like? Putting to death the deeds of the body.
We will never be perfect, we will always struggle with sin, but if the Spirit is in us then we will, over time begin to put to death sin in our lives.
Caution: Sometimes we think this work of putting to death the deeds of the body, that is a join effort of the believer and the Spirit, sometimes we think this ought to happen sooner rather than later.
Especially in a disciple-making relationship. We can do great damage to people when we call into question their salvation. “You still have this sin in your life, you must not be saved.” And we can do this when we have already seen evidences of the Spirit in their lives in the past.
Parents we can be the worst at this in the lives of our kids. Be very careful here. If that person is a believer, then they have the Spirit in them, and the Spirit is working in their life to put to death the deeds of the body, even if it isn’t happening as fast as you think it should.
Realize, if that person can give a credible testimony of salvation, if they can articulate the gospel as personally applied to their lives, then we should be very careful in calling into doubt their salvation when we think that personal holiness should be happening faster in their lives than it is.
On the flip side: warnings like this one in Romans 8:13 are all over the place in the NT. And we must let these warnings have their full weight. If you are in Christ, and the Spirit is in you, then you will see evidence of that. You will begin to see sin being killed in your life.
13 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.
If the Spirit has taken up residence within us, He will produce a mindset which tends toward doing the will of God and resists the ways of the flesh. We must also do our part in putting to death the deeds of the body. But, through a divine mystery, those who are united to Christ, who are under the law of the Spirit of life, who have God’s grace at work at every stage of their salvation, who have the power of the triune God working for their behalf, that one will by the power of the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body and live.
But if you are constantly dominated by the dictates of the flesh, if your life is characterized by the works of the flesh, if there is no Spiritual life in you at all, then all you have to look forward to is death. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. And this fact will reveal itself in the way you live your life.
If that is you this morning. If the Spirit of God is using the warning of Romans 8:13 to prick your heart I invite you to come to Christ. What you need is to receive the gift of salvation by faith. You need the grace of God powerfully working on your behalf. You need to be saved.
Christian, in invite you to come to Christ this morning. Find joy and rest in God’s grace. Be motivated by love and go out and joyfully obey Christ.