Life in the Spirit

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

We're continuing our series in the book of Romans. You remember that Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s AD.

It's called Romans because it is written to the churches in the city of Rome and this letter is about the gospel, about the good news of Jesus' life and death and resurrection.

And as I've done the last couple weeks, I'm going to remind you again where we are at in the argument, the flow of the book of Romans because it can be complicated at times.

In chapter 5, we talked about the fact that we are saved by Jesus' life and death and resurrection. We are not saved by our works. We're not saved by anything you do.

Chapter 6 then goes on to say, okay, you are saved not by your works but by Christ's work and but you can't do whatever you want.

You still have to live a life of holiness, which then takes us to this next question which we're still answering in chapter 8, which is how do we do that?

How do we live that life of obedience to God? So chapter 7 then goes on to say what the answer is not.

Chapter 7 says the answer is not more rules. The law cannot create holiness. Holiness does not come from more rules.

Which then now we come to the payoff in chapter 8, which gives us finally the answer. Paul tells us holiness comes by the Spirit of God.

And so chapter 8 is a chapter about life in a Spirit. Life empowered by God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

Two weeks ago, verses 5 through 8, we talked about how we live by the Spirit.

We live by the Spirit by setting our mind on the things of the Spirit.

The things of the Spirit are Jesus Christ and His work, His life, His death, His resurrection, and all the benefits that flow to us from that.

So we're living life, all of life, in light of Christ's resurrection. That's how we live in the Spirit.

Then last week, verses 9 through 11, we saw that God, by His Spirit, also gives us new life.

It gives us new life, both now and in the future.

We talked about the fact that Christianity is not just or merely new beliefs and new behaviors.

It is also a new power at work within you and a new heart.

Because God, by His Holy Spirit, has taken up residence in your life.

Jesus lives in you.

And that happens by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

We have life now as the Spirit's at work, convicting us of sin, assuring us of God's love, making the gospel clear, among many other things.

We have life in the future as we have a resurrection body.

We get a new body that will not decay, that will live forever, that won't have sin and temptation, sickness, and disease.

So that, I've caught us up.

That's where we ended last week.

We ended with the new body, the resurrection life that we look forward to.

This week, we're continuing this same overarching question of how we live in holiness, how we walk by the Spirit.

And we have a specific question this week, which is why?

Why do we say no to sin and yes to righteousness?

Why should you obey God?

And what does the Holy Spirit have to do with that?

By the way, I bid off more than I could chew for this week.

It was extremely ambitious, thinking we would make it all the way from verse 12 to verse 15.

We are only looking at verses 12 and 13.

I'm not even going to read 14 and 15 for you.

So 14 and 15 are in your worship guide.

They are a problem for Monday, Matthew.

But it is Sunday, Matthew.

So I'm going to preach the same strategy we've been using, straight line from top to bottom.

So with that, I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 8, starting at verse 12,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

which you will find page 8 of your worship guide.

Remember, as we come here, that this is God's word.

Jeremiah chapter 23 tells us that God's word is like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces,

Jeremiah 23 · chapter mention

which is a way of saying that there is nothing so powerful that God's word is not more powerful still.

And so that's why I invite you to read with me now Romans chapter 8, verse 12.

Romans 8:12

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die.

But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we do thank you and praise you again for your many gifts to us and your mercy and your grace,

especially the gift of your Holy Spirit that comes and gives us new resurrection life.

We ask that you would pour out the Holy Spirit here and now in a powerful and extra special way among us as we come to your word,

that you would open up our eyes, you would unstop our ears, you'd clear our minds, you'd soften our hearts,

that we would be able to hear and see and understand and believe everything that you've written in your word.

And we ask these things not because we have earned them or deserve them.

We know that we haven't and we don't.

We simply ask for them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

I want you all to imagine with me, we're going to do a thought experiment,

that you have two things.

You have a free Saturday afternoon and you have an extra $1,000.

Okay?

There's a catch though.

You have to spend that afternoon with someone and the person you spend the afternoon with,

you have to give them the $1,000.

So you have this free afternoon, you have this $1,000, but it's not actually yours, you have to give away.

So that's catch one.

There's another catch, which is you only have two options for who receives this.

Okay?

Option one, you can spend the afternoon with someone who has mistreated you, stolen from you,

lied about you, and lied to you.

So that's option one.

That's one person you can spend the afternoon with.

Second option, you can spend the afternoon with a friend who has sacrificed for you,

helped you,

and at one point, this friend even saved your life.

Now, who do you choose?

Tough question, right?

No, it's a stupid question.

Of course, you're going to spend it with a second person, right?

That's obvious.

Why would you even consider the first person?

First person doesn't make any sense.

Of course, your friend will receive all of this.

We might even say,

you owe that to them.

It would be scandalous, actually,

if you gave it to the person who mistreated you.

And that, my friends, is exactly what Paul is saying here in verse 12.

He starts with a so then,

which means in light of everything we've looked at in the previous verses.

And what have we looked at?

Life in the Holy Spirit.

So so then, because of Jesus' death and resurrection

that results in the gift of the Holy Spirit,

which gives you both new life now and in the future.

Because of that, we're debtors.

We owe someone something.

But we need to be clear who we don't owe anything to.

We don't owe anything to the flesh.

We don't owe anything to live according to the flesh.

And so once again, I'm going to remind you what the flesh is.

Same definition from the last two weeks on page seven of your worship guide.

The flesh is human nature as corrupted, directed, and controlled by sin.

Remember our question, why?

Why do you obey God?

Well, you obey God because you don't owe sin anything.

You obey God because you don't owe sin anything.

And because you do owe God everything.

You don't sin.

You obey God because you don't owe sin anything.

And because you do owe God everything.

And you owe God everything because of Jesus' resurrection

and the new life that he gives to you.

The new life from the Holy Spirit that gives you

something now, gives you something in the future.

Verse 12, we are debtors.

You're just not debtors to the flesh.

You're debtors to God.

Why do we say no to sin?

We say no to sin because we owe it to God.

We owe it to God because of everything that's come before in chapter 8.

Remember, that's why Paul says,

So then, we owe it to God because the gift of life given to us through the Holy Spirit.

Now, the word owe here can sound a little bit negative.

We could end up in a weird place if we take it too far

because God's gift of salvation is a gift.

We're not meant to think of it as we have to repay God somehow.

That's not what Paul's getting at.

I want you to go back to our opening illustration.

Why did you choose person two?

At least, I hope that's who you chose.

You chose person two because of the great love that they've shown you.

Right?

Spending the afternoon with them is not burdensome.

You don't think to yourself,

Wow, I really, you know, I really just wanted to take a nap.

I hate that I have to be with this person who's been so kind to me.

No, it's a delight.

I think that's an easy choice.

Of course, I want to spend the afternoon with them.

You're not resentful that you have to give them your $1,000.

No, you're thrilled.

You're thrilled that you're able to do that.

It's small compared with what they've done.

That's what Paul's telling us.

Obedience comes from hearts that have been melted by the gospel.

We're thrilled.

We're thrilled.

By God's grace.

It's a delight.

By the way,

God's mercy and grace and love to us

must capture our hearts.

If you're a Christian,

we've talked about this over and over,

that

is what drives you to the new life.

If you really understand what Paul's been saying,

verses 1 through 11 of chapter 8,

everything else in your life

pales in comparison.

If you really understand,

if you grasp what it means

that you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God

who is at work giving you

new love, affection, and power,

everything else is small in comparison.

So when sin comes calling,

and suggests to you,

commands you,

tries to coerce you

to disobey God,

you can talk back to it.

You can say,

you know what?

You're not in charge anymore.

In fact,

you can even say it out loud if it helps.

You can say,

you don't run this place anymore.

And I don't owe you anything.

In fact,

quite the opposite.

I'm going to give myself

to the one who loves me.

I'm going to give myself

to the one

who's given me new life

through the Spirit.

We are debtors.

Now,

we don't just say yes to righteousness

because we're debtors.

Paul goes on in the next verse

to give us his second reason.

We say yes

because it is a choice

between life and death.

verse 13.

For if you live

according to the flesh,

you will die.

We have to have some qualifications here,

remind you some basics.

This is going even back

to chapter 5.

You are not saved

by your works.

But,

God does produce works

in those he saves.

God does not save you

based on anything

you have done

or will do.

But,

and,

those God saves,

he sanctifies.

holiness

comes from

and after

salvation,

but holiness

does

come.

If you belong

to God,

if God has

chosen you,

he will

also

change you.

if God

has chosen you,

he

will

change you.

Put it in a

other way,

if you keep

living

exactly

the same way

as you were living

before,

you

will

die.

Heaven

is not

where you are

headed.

If you keep

living exactly

the same way

you're living

before,

heaven is not

your final

destination.

That is not

the metro line

that you

are on.

Is there

a battle

against sin

in your life?

Are you

fighting against

it?

I certainly

hope so.

sin.

That's the

life of the

Christian.

The life of the

Christian is what

Paul says here.

We're putting

sin to death.

If you are

not

fighting sin,

if you are

not battling

for holiness,

you should

question

whether you

truly belong

to God.

it does

it does

not matter

how much

theology

you know.

It does

not matter

how many

events for

the church

you have

planned.

It does

not matter

how many

Bible studies

you've

attended,

how many

churches

you've been

a part

of.

Fighting

against

sin,

concern

for holiness,

that is

what the

Holy Spirit

stirs up

in the

Christian.

Remember

verse 9

from last

week,

and every

Christian

has the

Holy Spirit.

all said

it already.

If the

Holy Spirit

is not

in you,

you are

not a

Christian.

Is there

a battle

against sin

in your

life?

Are you

fighting

against it?

For if you

live according

to the

flesh,

you will

die.

And if

you think

that's

too harsh,

hear the

words of

our Lord

Jesus in

Matthew

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7.

Not

everyone who

says to

me,

Lord,

Lord,

will enter

the kingdom

of heaven,

but the

one who

does the

will of

my Father

who is

in heaven.

Do

you

do the

will of

your

Father

who is

in

heaven?

We've

made it

through the

first half

of verse

13,

which tells

us holiness

is non-negotiable

in the

Christian life.

The second

part of

verse 13

tells us

holiness

takes work.

We play

a part.

So we're

going to

break it

down.

But if

by the

spirit

you put

to death

the deeds

of the

body,

you will

live.

And that

first phrase

is important.

If by

the spirit.

Remember,

this chapter

is answering

this question

Paul's been

getting at,

which is how

do we live

lives of

holiness?

And we've

already seen

it is not

by the

law.

That's

chapter 7.

It is not

by more

rules.

It is not

by gritting

your teeth

harder.

It is not

by pulling

ourselves up

by our

bootstraps.

Remember,

if God

has chosen

you,

he will

change you.

He

will change

you.

It is

by the

spirit.

Some of

you are

familiar with

the Navy

SEAL and

influencer

Jocko

Willink who

says,

only person

who can

fix your

problems

is you.

And that's

actually

false.

It's not

true.

And it's

not true

because your

problems are

too big

for you

to fix.

That's the

bad news

of the

gospel.

You must

change,

and you

cannot

change

yourself.

So what

do you

do?

You need

the new

life that

comes from

the Holy

Spirit.

The new

life that

gives you

new

desires,

new

motivations,

and new

power to

put sin

to death.

Without

the Holy

Spirit at

work in

you,

changing

your

heart

stone

into a

heart

of

flesh,

you have

no

hope.

By

the

Spirit.

Now those

new desires,

those new

motivations,

that new

power also

leads to

new action.

That's the

next part

of 13.

Put to

death

the deeds

of the

body.

And we've

talked about

this before.

this word

body does

not mean

that the

body is

bad.

What it

means is

this.

When you

sin,

whenever you

sin,

it happens

in your

body in

one way

or another.

Your sin

is an

embodied

act.

Sin is a

presence that

expresses itself

in your

embodied

existence.

And so you

must,

you must put

those sinful

acts to

death.

You must

end them.

You must

wage war

against the

presence of

sin.

Remember

chapter 6,

we talked

about the

war against

sin,

which tells

us obedience

requires specific

commitment to

change.

It is one

thing to

say,

yes,

I'm going

to follow

God.

It is

another thing

to say,

I am going

to stay

away from

people and

places that

cause me to

drink too

much.

it's another

thing to

say,

I am going

to put a

filter or

accountability

software on

my phone and

my computer.

It is another

thing to say,

I'm going to

work on a

budget so

that I can

be generous

consistently.

It is another

thing to say,

I'm going to

talk to a

friend and

say,

yes,

I'm tempted

to gossip.

Would you

help me?

It is another

thing to go

to bed on

Saturday night.

So you

can come

here on

Sunday morning

to worship

the living

God.

Putting sin

to death,

putting to

death the

deeds of

the body

means we

take action,

empowered by

the Holy

Spirit,

enabled by

our new

power,

love,

motivation,

and desire,

but action

nonetheless.

Action

towards holiness.

The person

who is fighting

this war

doesn't dismiss

their sin.

They don't

say things

like,

oh,

you know,

there's grace

for that.

God accepts

me as I

am.

No,

they're in a

fight.

They are

putting to

death the

deeds of

the body.

Paul doesn't

leave any room

for us to

wonder,

right?

I'm not sure

if there's

anything more

radical than

putting to

death.

He's saying

there needs

to be something

that is

aggressive and

determined.

You are

taking sin

by the

throat

and strangling

it.

Not cozying

up with

it,

killing it.

Remember,

Romans is

the fifth

gospel,

which means

that what

Paul teaches

Jesus

first.

Jesus teaches

this in

Matthew

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

If your

right eye

causes you

to sin,

tear it

out and

throw it

away.

For it

is better

that you

lose one

of your

members than

that your

whole body

be thrown

into hell.

And if

your right

hand causes

you to sin,

cut it off

and throw

it away.

For it

is better

that you

lose one

of your

members than

that your

whole body

go into

hell.

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.

Now there's

a million

things we

could say,

I could say

about the

fight against

sin,

a hundred

qualifications,

and my

goal.

this morning

as I

sometimes

tell you

when we're

up against

a massive

topic,

it's

to say

something

on

everything.

And so

as we

think about

our battle

against sin,

putting sin

to death,

the war

of obedience,

I want to

point out

two and

only two

things to

you.

Two pastoral

notes.

First,

if you want

progress in

your battle

against sin,

you cannot

do it

alone.

if you

want to

put sin

to death,

that is

not a

solo

journey.

I've said

before,

the opposite

of,

and this

doesn't come

from me,

the opposite

of addiction

is not

sobriety,

the opposite

of addiction

is connection.

God has

not designed

us to

kill sin

by ourselves.

you have

to tell

someone,

someone who

will help

you.

When someone

asks for help,

I say,

wow,

I'm so proud

of you.

You are

doing the

exact right

thing

to kill

sin,

bringing it

out into

the light.

The Bible

has something

to say about

this.

James

James 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5,

therefore,

confess your

sins to

one another

and pray

for one

another

that you

may be

healed.

Second,

in our

battle against

sin,

we must

remember

that God's

law

is life.

As we've

seen many

times in the

book of

Romans,

it is in

God's

glory

that we

discover our

good.

In other

words,

it is the

wrong way

to think

about this

when you're

tempted to

say,

you know,

I'll

obey,

I'll

miss out

now,

so I

can gain

in the

future.

I'll

forgo all

these

wonderful,

beautiful

things with

some kind

of hope

of heaven.

That's the

wrong view

because you

are not

missing out

now,

you are

gaining

now.

God's

law is

always the

path to

life.

God

has designed

the universe

in a

certain way

and his

commands tell

us how to

live within

the grain

of the

universe,

the way

it actually

brings us

joy and

hope and

peace.

Remember

verse 6,

to set the

mind on

the spirit

is life

and peace.

your heavenly

father has

given you

his commands

not as a

killjoy,

but as

one who

desires

your good.

Do you

want to be

protected from

the ravages of

this world?

Stay within

the fences

that God

has given.

And when

you see

someone who

you think is

better off

than you

are,

because

they're not

constrained by

Christian ethics,

you know,

they're experiencing,

enjoying all

these things that

you're not because

of their sin.

Remember

this,

that person

is neither

joyful nor

peaceful.

They do

not have

what only

the spirit

of God

can give.

God's

law is

the way

the life.

I remember

years and

years ago

I met

with a

Christian

counselor and

I was telling

him about,

you know,

this other

person in my

life who

had all

these things

and he

just looked

at me and

he said,

at what cost?

At what cost?

God,

your father

longs to

give you

life.

Longs to

give you

life now,

he longs to

give you life

in the future.

We'll end

with this,

you see this on

page eight

of your worship

guide.

A fish is

only free

when it is

bound to

the water.

A bird

is only free

when it is

bound to

the air.

And we

are only

truly free

when we

are bound

to God.

Walking

according to

his will

is not

an oppressive

burden.

It is a

liberating

blessing.

living in

obedience to

God

revives our

souls,

makes us

wise,

and fills

us

with joy.

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.

Let's pray.

Our

Father in

heaven,

we do

praise you

and thank

you that

you come

to give us

life and

give us

life abundantly.

We ask

that we

would see

your beauty,

your love,

that as we

meditate on

the great

blessings that

are ours in

the gospel,

it would warm

and soften

our hearts and

we would

respond with

joy and

obedience to

you.

We ask all

of these

things,

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

I invite

you to

stand for

our closing

hymn.