Well, tonight, if you're visiting, we're continuing our study in the book of Romans, and we come to chapter 8 tonight. The focus and the text will really be verses 5 through 8. There's a lot here in Romans 8, and we'll read together the first 11 verses, and I'll be having you take out during the sermon your Blue Saltra hymnals to the back to page 30, and so do please keep those close to you. Romans chapter 8, and we'll read together the first 11 verses. This is on page 1200 in your pew Bible. Let's give our attention tonight to the Lord's Word. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 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 condemns sin in the flesh, 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. Now our text. 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. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 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. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 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. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 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. May the Lord bless tonight the hearing of His Word. Well, I'm sure that you have read in the Gospels often certain statements that when you read them, they're rather distressing at times. And you wonder, why did Jesus say them? Jesus gave an entire parable of the ten virgins. And remember, in that parable, he described five who were wise and five who were foolish. And the point of the parable in Matthew chapter 25 is to really look at how the behavior and what the behavior is in this long delay that is happening of Christ's return. And that parable is having people think of the reality that many in the kingdom are not ready. Many are not ready for the Lord Jesus Christ to come. And Jesus gives very strong words about that. He says, so at midnight, this cry was heard and the announcement came. Behold, the bridegroom is coming. Go out to meet him. So all of the ten virgins went out to meet Christ, but only five were ready. And they went into the wedding and the door was shut. But then the other five virgins who were not prepared came to the door. And in the striking verse of the parable, they began to say, Lord, Lord, open to us. And he answered and said, assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you. Depart from me. You stand back from a verse like that and you say, whoa. Remember the Sermon on the Mount? Many are going to come to him on that day and say, we've done all these things. We've done all these things in your kingdom. And what's the Lord going to say? I never knew you. I never knew you. Why was Jesus saying these things? Why was he constantly giving messages like this? I mean, was he saying these things to scare people? Have you felt it? Was he saying these things to make the true Christian feel like maybe they're not Christians? I've heard pastors say that's a good thing. Is it? Is it a good thing for you to feel tonight like you're not? Sure, Jesus was exposing a very real problem in the church, that there are many present who Jesus would say have not been born again. He dealt with someone called Nicodemus who had not been born again. And his life demonstrated it. You know, we say this to our children, don't we? Well, I say to my children, I say, well, children, there are believers and there are make-believers, right? We say this all the time. That's a reality in the Scripture. But the mere fact that this is common and that Jesus is dealing with this in the Gospels and often exposing this so often, it can cause a lot of grief for the true believer, can't it? Sure it can. And we're confronted tonight with these things when we come to this important question in light of Matthew 25. Well, how do I know that I'm going to enter in? How do I know that I'm going to make it? How do I know that I'm even a true Christian? If that's a reality, if that could go on. And I believe Paul has been dealing in Romans with what is the very real struggle. We've looked at this for the past weeks. The very real struggle of the Christian carrying around what he calls this body of death, the struggle with the sinful nature. It's still there. It has not gone away. And remember, he has even said in Romans 7, I keep on doing the things that I don't want to do. I feel like at times I'm two different people. How could I desire this and do this? Feel that? Do you know that? And what does that struggle really say about me? What does that struggle really say about me? Is it a possibility then that I'm just no believer at all and then I read these passages that Jesus gives and throw up my arms? Jesus everywhere exposed hypocrisy. Jesus everywhere. exposed it many who say they are believers and who live in the darkness and the question that i want to explore tonight is how in the world is the sensitive christian not going to draw the same conclusion about himself when he finds himself in this kind of warfare with his own sin how is he not going to wrestle with that and how is he going to deal with that and i say up front i believe that's part of the sufferings of this present evil age that we still have to still have the sinful nature and that we're called to fight the sinful nature and that the biblical writers always seem to be conscious and so careful to speak to the christian because they understand this and you'll notice that in verse 12 this is or verse 11 this is on paul's mind because he ends this section i'm not going to get into this tonight but he ends this section by saying if the spirit of him who raised jesus from the dead dwells in you he who raised christ jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you when's that the resurrection the spirit is going to do that you're going to be raised brand new and yes the body he says is dead yes the body has to die and we'll unpack that next time but it's a really fascinating way to look at this in light of romans 7 and 8 that that the christianity when we look at the christian life it's complex isn't it it's complex uh how could over here you have such a victory described and over here it's so up and down in the warfare and it's not so easy for us it's not some calm smooth sailing life contrary to false teachers it's turbulent it's extremely up and down i go through even as a pastor periods of real up and then i go through periods of real down and i know you should stay away from me when i'm down and you probably say that about your own spouse this is life this is the christian the christian struggle but i believe it's that struggle that's the link between seven and eight of what paul is is dealing with and addressing here to answer that problem for the christian and what he does to answer that to answer this burden of every sincere christian who goes through periods of doubt we would be crazy to say that we don't the sincere christian will and what he does here is he's describing for us the difference between what a true christian is and what he is not the apostle sees it as a radical difference because of why because of who i said last time 21 times in chapter 8 somebody is mentioned isn't he it's the holy spirit and this should be the greatest encouragement to us paul is explaining it through that lens and he's saying there are basically two kinds of people and i'm going to show you clearly what these two kinds of people look like what marks them as different how their lives are distinguished from one another and i'm doing this to comfort the believer because this whole section the way he speaks to the believer is so tender and so wooing and so careful to be pastoral. I'm doing this with comforting the believer, helping you to understand why there can be confidence that by the time we get to the end of Romans 8, you have hit the highest note. Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God. Last week, you remember this glorious statement in verse 1. look what it says there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in christ jesus why did he say that well that came right on the heels that came right after his description of this intense struggle with his sin and paul begins by saying here's the truth of the matter this ongoing battle that you're finding yourself in does not affect what is already true and that's so important for the christian to think about that's so important for the christian to realize that's why he's back to the gospel what is it there is no condemnation for the believer done you have everything you need in christ's life in his death in his resurrection you have been justified you are acquitted by faith alone in him you have received everything you need and his righteousness imputed to you so that romans 5 has already told us there is peace with god having been justified you have peace he hasn't even gotten to the battle of the christian life at that point did he and so he's he's telling us how the christian is to think that that this ongoing warfare this ongoing struggle with the body of sin as he calls it the sinful nature does not at all conflict and does not all at all call into question the declaration that you're forgiven it takes faith to believe that that's a wonderful truth and that's why i said hold your heidelbergs out tonight and you'll see how wonderful it is again if you turn to page 30 let's confess lord's day 23 and i want you to notice how the framers of the heidelberg how they had this right in their minds when they were they were applying and speaking about justification notice um question 59 and we'll just go through these and have you answer this is page 30 what good does it do you however to believe all this answer in christ i am right with god and heir to everlasting life so there it is right off the bat in christ i'm right i'm already an heir of this how are you right with god only by true faith in jesus christ even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all god's commandments and of never having kept any of them And even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner. As if I had been perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. all i need to do is accept this gift of god with a believing heart do you realize he could never say romans 8 1 if that were not true he could never say there's no more condemnation unless there was this truth that christ supplies absolutely everything that we need and that when we are acquitted it's once and for all boys and girls when you believe the gospel and you are justified you'll never be more right with god than you are right then and there and that's beautiful and heidelberg goes on to talk about it's not faith itself it's not faith itself it is only christ's satisfaction righteousness and holiness that does this that makes me right with god but I receive it by believing and trusting. So that's Romans 8.1. That's what Paul's working from. That's what we've been studying in Romans. This should be by now something so beautiful and that we understand clearly because Paul has been explaining this over and over and over to us. So in verse 2, he says, the law of the spirit of life has made you free from the law of sin and death free now i want you to pause for a minute and i want you to think about the roman christians trying to put all this together for the first time and to understand this paul you've said over and over we're freely justified by grace through faith but i don't understand if that's true and it's so glorious why i'm still fighting this bad why the battle is this hard Why I'm finding myself doing what I don't want to do. Especially if it's possible that one could make a profession of faith, be in the church, do lots of good deeds, and not be saved. I don't see, since that is a reality, how I could be all that assured myself. Paul responds, Do you believe that you have everything you need in Christ? If you say that, if you believe that, if you can say that, condemnation's over it's done no wrath judgment day has already happened for you correct you say that but now what paul you know paul answers you're not understanding what is happening now do you think that the lord justifies and now says you're on your own go at it the law he says is actually being fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit notice that's very important something's happening in us so there's a very important difference here having been justified by faith paul now says god hasn't left you alone he secured you with somebody he's given you his spirit you're not alone and and you see you need to understand what the spirit is now laboring to do in you so paul does something very important and you'll notice here that he's already said it but he's now distinctively and separated out two very different kinds of people there are those he says who are walking according to the flesh and he says then there are those who are walking according to the spirit. And the very important point to notice in that is Paul is not saying there's a middle ground here. He's already said this in Romans 6. You're either a slave to sin or slave to righteousness. There's no middle ground. There's no ground of me as the autonomous self. I'm one or the other. And he's back to that principle. And so what he's doing is unraveling and explaining what the two different people, what their lives look like with the goal of helping us think through. The goal of helping us think through the difference. These two very different kinds of people are, notice he uses the word walking, walking in totally different directions, with different affections, with different desires, with using the words of Scripture all over the place, different masters. They are different trees. They are on different paths. They enter different doors, all making the key point that these are two, in God's sight, very different kinds of people. And so we're getting at God's description of the Christian, aren't we? What is the Christian? And you say, looking at this, he's someone who's been justified by faith, who has been given life by the Holy Spirit. He has been born again. He is living now. And this is what he's going to unpack for us. what that looks like. The challenge is I don't always see that. Maybe it's not the best comparison, but it's like a weightlifter. Have you ever known a man who's obsessed with weightlifting? He lifts all the time and he's obsessed with his body. And the guy may be huge to us, but he thinks he's going nowhere with it. And you talk to weightlifters and that's constantly what they'll say. They're obsessed with this. I'm not making any progress in this. And we're saying, what in the world do you mean? That's exactly what the Christian life is often like. I don't often see the progress, but that doesn't annul what is actually happening by the Spirit. And that's what he wants us to realize. Paul says his mind and his actions are set on what the Spirit desires. So Paul expounds the contrast now. And sometimes the greatest way to explain what a Christian is, is to first tell you what he's not. And I like how he does that. He's telling us what he's not up front. And so in verses 5-8, he outlines four characteristics of the unbeliever, or what we would call the make-believer. Look at verse 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. What a Christian is not, what does he say first? He's not carnally minded. There's no such category as the carnal Christian. Paul says the driving characteristic of someone who is not a Christian is seen in the way they think. Their minds are given to the flesh and it's really important here when you see that word flesh to not think of the body but to think of the sinful nature. His mind is given to whatever his sinful nature wants. He's given to that. The mind is dominated. The mind is controlled. The mind is principled by whatever lust comes into that mind and he wants to act on it. He thinks upon it and then it moves to action. Paul said this all over the place. In Ephesians, he said this i say therefore and testify in the lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the gentiles walk in the futility of their mind notice he starts there having their understanding darkened being alienated from the life of god because of the ignorance that's in them because of the blindness that's in their heart you see the mind dominated by darkness the mind given over to pursue the sinful nature and so what he's describing here is someone who is completely controlled by it controlled by the dictates of his own heart glorying and living completely for himself and that could be what we consider a very immoral person or that could be what we consider You're a very moral person. I think William Hendrickson's really helpful on this point. He says, Paul is reminding the members of the church in Rome that it's impossible to be on both sides at once. That is, the basic, this adjective should be stressed, the basic disposition or direction of our lives, and I would add mine, is either on God's side or on the side of sinful human nature. The dominant force of your thoughts. And Paul goes on, notice what he says, to set the mind on the flesh is death. But to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. He just said the person who's governed by the desires of the mind, notice what he said, he's dead. He's not saying that leads to death, which it does. He is dead. He's dead spiritually. and remember that one of the most helpful verses for me in understanding when you evangelize or when you talk to people about the christian faith why some people just won't respond the most helpful verse for me has always been first corinthians 2 where he says now we have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit of him who is from god that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God these things we also speak not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual but the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness to him nor can he know them because they're spiritually discerned they're dead they don't have the ability and that's what paul's saying that's what paul's saying here is the second characteristic they're dead spiritually they're carnally minded they're dead spiritually they lack any kind of ability to understand the things of god or a desire to know the things of god maybe this will help remember the parable of the sower jesus gives this parable that he said is so important for understanding all other parables and he tells the sower about a sower who went out in the kingdom and the powerful thing about that parable is he's looking at those who hear the word of god and the first seed is cast and where does it land it lands on the path and it has nowhere to go and it lands on the wayside the birds come and they devour it up and how does jesus apply that what did jesus say is the application to that when anyone hears the word of the kingdom they're hearing the words of life this is the deposit of truth that is able to save when the spiritual things of god are set forth what does jesus say and they do not understand it then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart the word goes out overall somebody doesn't get it and then because of the darkness the devil comes and hardens them to it and calcifies them against that truth and that's why you see so many responses to the word of god this is what jesus was telling us to understand about the word this is the thing in the ministry that i i just expected everyone to say great you know this is the word of god And that doesn't happen. It's been hard to see that. You expect it to go out and we expect it today to only change hearts. And the Lord has told us that the Word of God is a double-edged sword and it's cutting two ways. And so this is important. We'll come back to the good soil where he understands it. But notice here, there's no interest. Paul is saying there's no interest. They're dead spiritually. There's no interest for the things of the Spirit of God. And that's what characterizes the life. And he moves on to the third characteristic. Look at verse 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. What does the Lord teach us to pray as Christians? Not my will, but your will be done. Do you think the unbeliever cares at all about that? If the mind is darkened and he's acting upon that, we see this all the time. They don't care ultimately about how they live. I think it's been striking in the news, and I only raise the homosexual discussion is because it's been so blatantly set before us as of recent. And I think we have to think through what's happening. And all of the hate speech that's going on and these sort of things that they accuse Christians of, what's been amazing to me in these discussions is one person points out the Christian position. Some have done it well. Some have done it very poorly. And then somebody else comes along and they say, wait a minute. I am a homosexual, but I'm a Christian. And you're getting a lot of that now. And this is exactly what Paul is describing. People who will not subject themselves to the law of God. That's a fruit of being in the darkness. And as James says, they become judges of God's law, standing over the law, so that their law is driven by lawlessness. So you have the mind controlled, no spiritual life, and what happens when they hear the truth as it exposes sin? Jesus told us. If for everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, why? He doesn't want his deeds exposed. He doesn't want to have the light of God's law shine down on the darkness of the life to have it exposed so as for him to have to bow the knee and so he does not subject himself to the law of God and it's a challenge today because you know we've developed a mindset in Christianity that we can't criticize anything now and one pastor calls it we've got an a la carte Christianity now where you can pick and choose whatever you like and people putting together a religion of all the pieces that they like removing whatever they don't like ultimately ends up removing and creating a religion that keeps us from god himself and his law and that's the day we live that's what's happened don't judge me you know that's our day so we've constructed a christianity today that keeps us from God. Having His light exposed. Result? No membership anymore. No accountability. No discipline. No law. No lifestyle change. Trying to create what Jesus said. There's no middle ground. You can't have God and mammon. Both. All under the banner of compassion, tolerance, and understanding. And I believe Paul basically has 1 Corinthians 6 on his mind when he told the Corinthians, don't be deceived about this. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. So Paul summed it up. If you want to know what a non-Christian is, this is it. He's got a darkened mind. He's spiritually dead. He's driven by whatever his sinful desires want to do. And there's nothing he can do that pleases God. And right in the heart of this, Paul has drawn this contrast so that we would understand what the Lord has done for us and praise Him tonight. Because we don't deserve it. We never deserved it. This is where we would be. This is what we would choose. This is who we are by nature. And God has done something wonderful for all of you. Let me tell you what's different, says Paul, about you. First, no condemnation. You never have to fear it. And then in verse 5, if the non-Christian lives according to the sinful nature, sets his mind on the things of that nature, what does the Christian do? This is what the Spirit's doing for you. He's instructing your mind so that you would learn to set your minds on the things of the Spirit. Living according to the Spirit, what does that mean? The driving concern of your life now is what the Spirit wants for you. is what the Spirit is working in you. Being led in the direction of the Spirit. Walking in that direction. Well, what does the Spirit do? Why did the Spirit come? Remember Jesus said it? What did Jesus say one of the principal works of the Holy Spirit would be? And when He comes, the Holy Spirit, He will convict the world concerning sin. What is the thing of the Spirit? What is He working in you? Romans 7. Romans 7, the battle that you're fighting and feeling, and that is all evidence of the Spirit's work. That now you see it. And that now you're in the fight. And that now you're convicted. That's the Holy Spirit. When you're dead, you don't care. It doesn't matter to you. When you're alive, you're sensitive. And that's what Romans 7 has been describing for us. And if the Spirit is doing that in the born-again believer, what begins to happen to the Christian? He hates his sin. He becomes really sensitive to it. And instead, what does he begin to love? The law of God. This is why the psalmists are saying it over how I love your law. that's the evidence of the spirit and those are the mind the things of the spirit that's what he's doing and then you have what jesus said of the good soil remember what he said about the good soil what is the first thing he heard said about the good soil when he hears the word what happens first thing jesus said he understands it well you guys are just so wise tonight you get it more than everyone else right Pastor Gordon figured it out. Pastor Gordon's not a bright guy. This is the Spirit doing this. When you understand the Word and love the Word, the Spirit has done something. And that's evidence. The key evidence. Remember what he said in 2 Thessalonians 2 that the evidence of the gospel work of the Spirit is a love for the truth. A love for the truth. How about this in Hebrews 10? And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us. For after saying, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days declares the Lord, I will put my law on their hearts and write them on their minds. Then he adds this, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. Thing of the Spirit, he's bearing witness of your forgiveness. Of Christ's work and assuring you of your forgiveness. His work is to do that. And don't ever take it for granted. I believe I have taken that for granted. I walk around understanding the glory of what the Lord has done and I live in this understanding of where I'm going and what He's done for me and the assurance of this marvelous gospel and how often do I take that for granted going through life? Angels want to look into that. Angels want to know about that. I don't know how else to say it, but the greatest evidence of the Spirit's work is yes, trusting the promises of the Gospel. Where is that going to be manifested? Where is that going to be shown? Where is the thing of the Spirit in your life going to be the most shown? Right here. Worship. Worship. You know the Spirit loves to feed you and to strengthen you and to renew your minds when you gather so that you would go out into this week eating that food and going on that food. I've always thought that it's a bad sign when the things of the Spirit are an add-on to the priorities and the things that we have made more important than Him. And when a love of God's house and worship is shining in us, boy, that's an evidence of His glorious work. Before and after, think about it. Before and after, the Word had no place in me. The Bible was this giant book that I never cared about. You know, now what's it become to us? Now the Bible's a spring of life to us. Before, you know, being saved, you know what I did with the church? I said, get me away from it. I don't want to be a part of that. I don't like those people. I made every complaint under the sun to stay away from those people. And I never once would have thought that it's not about me. And so what happened afterward? I loved God's people. I cared about those people because Christ died for them. When I wasn't, as soon as the amen hit, you know, I was dashing for the door to what was really important for me. And I was a self-centered man. But you see, you know this. Now that you've been born again, the things of the Spirit you treasure. You love His house. Worship has become precious. You love His sheep. You come to hear the Word and you rest yourself and you trust the Savior. Paul says that kind of life is life and peace. And that's a blessing, isn't it? That the peace that He gives us in this life is that we get to go through this life having His peace surround, and I love the word in the Greek, it's like a garrison guarding the heart and the mind through all the anxieties of life. That that's the life I get to enjoy. That's the life He gives to me. And so we need to ask this, of course. Are the things of the Spirit a priority to us? He tells us, and we'll pick up with this next time, you, however, are not in the flesh. Notice how He's speaking to these Christians. And teaching them to think, you're not in the flesh. You're not controlled by those desires, but in the Spirit. If, in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ doesn't belong to Him. But if the Spirit is in you, although the body is dead, yes, the body has to die because of sin. The Spirit is life because of righteousness. So, dear Christian, by contrast to everything that I've said tonight, You know, the apostles saying, you are not under the control of that darkness. You're not. And you need to think of yourself that way. You need to reckon that to yourself. The Spirit has given you life. The Spirit has sealed you for the day of redemption. The Spirit dwells in you. Boys and girls, I'll never forget. I was probably third catechism class as a young child. And I can't remember exactly how old I was. But the catechism teacher said it. He looked at us and he said, you can know. He looked at me and he said, Chris, you can know that what the Lord Jesus Christ has done is for you. And I've never forgotten that. And the reason that is so is because of the glorious work of the Holy Spirit. Let's thank Him tonight. Oh Lord, our God, we are grateful for Your working in our life that You don't start the work and then abandon us. That You have assured us that the work that You start, You will complete. I pray that if there are any tonight who have not or do not have the Spirit, that You would give them life this night. That they would be born again. And that what is described here would be true of every single person who's gathered together. These are the words of life. And tonight, from the depths of our hearts, we praise and thank You that You've done this because we don't deserve it. And because we don't deserve it and we've received such grace and mercy, we long for this to go to the ends of the earth. Make us useful for the Master this week in telling others the wonderful things that the Lord has done for us in pulling us off the path of darkness that leads to destruction and bringing us to the path of life. We praise You, O God. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.