New life in the Spirit

Good morning. We're reading from Romans 8, starting from verse 5.

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.

I turned it off. Good morning.

As Simon has already introduced, we're continuing in our series on Romans 7 through 8 and looking at the issue or the matter of assurance,

the assurance that we can actually have in our faith, in our relationship to God.

And last week David looked at our foundation, that foundation being in Christ.

The key verse, which we used to put on t-shirts back in the day, bumper stickers, all that sort of things, is verse 1.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

No condemnation.

But gee, if we're going to actually even get through that verse, I think one of the things that we do as a culture at the moment is we kind of skirt around condemnation.

If we stay far enough away from it, it's okay.

We can read that verse through and then swallow it.

But if we get anywhere near the word condemnation, I think we really struggle.

See, I'm amazed.

I'll try not to slip into a rant here.

You know, I'm 50 now.

It's starting to come up in me.

But there was a time when truth used to come from outside of yourself.

There was a time when everyone agreed on what truth was and what right and wrong was.

I remember as a child, if I disobeyed, if I broke one of these rules, it didn't matter who caught me up, they would give me a clip around the ear.

If I complained to my parents, they would give me another one because they were pretty sure that that first person was right.

Now, in my case, maybe that was more often than perhaps it was for you.

But that's the reality of things.

There was this sense of what is right and what is wrong.

And it was understood to be out there, to be out there, to be objective, to be something we could refer to and that everyone in society could refer to as well.

Well, now we have a name for people who have that kind of view of the world.

We call them old.

But here's the problem.

You see, that old view is kind of the view that's actually represented by the Ancient of Days, our God.

That expectation that there is an objective truth in the world.

We've moved to this place where we've actually internalised where we find truth.

So we look inside ourselves when we were looking for truth.

What that looks like, for example, is that when I'm trying to work out what's right and wrong in my life, I look inside myself and I decide, well, what feels best for me?

What do I think will best serve my purposes?

What do I think will actually best give me a sense of enjoyment and fulfilment?

I want to tell you something up front.

Because this concept of pursuing wholeheartedly what I think, I feel or I desire is a really thorny one.

If we go down that path, it's a really thorny one on two counts.

First, in the direction that it can lead.

And second, I think if we go down this path, it's a very hard path to see that we're on.

When I judge the world and my own behaviour within it, how I interact within it, on the basis of what I find within, it is very hard for me to see when I'm going wrong.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say this, if you are sinning, if you are sinning and you're not enjoying it, you're doing it wrong.

So if I'm actually looking internally to find that compass that will actually help to direct me through life, I'm going to really struggle.

I'm going to really struggle with how I live.

This issue of condemnation, I've got to keep that way away from me.

Because it confronts me.

But the problem that we have is that we're left in this nebulous place of existence where, man, we don't want people to say that there's something to be condemned.

But we really, really want to have some kind of direction in life.

We want to know what it means for there now to be no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

What does that look like, lived out?

That sounds like a passing.

What does it look like, lived out?

And what happens as we go into verses 5 to 13 is we actually find out what it actually looks like to live it out.

Verses 1 to 4 go on to unpack this issue of no condemnation.

The removal of condemnation in Christ bit.

It unpacks what it, this passage that we're about to go into, unpacks what it means to be in Christ Jesus in an ongoing sense.

And as it does, it builds and strengthens the assurance available to us in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

Last week, new life in Christ Jesus.

This week, new life in the Holy Spirit.

Notice that salvation is a Trinitarian work and we'll see this as the Son, then the Father this week, and then the Spirit this week, and then the Father next week.

Father, Son, and Spirit are wholeheartedly involved in saving us.

Only in Christ are we set free from condemnation and only through the Spirit is this freedom applied to us.

In a real and tangible and meaningful sense.

So let's look at how Paul does this, because what he does is he actually presents us with a comparison.

It begins in verses 5 and 6.

Paul has already introduced the role of the Spirit in verse 2.

The Spirit applies the truth of the Gospel to us.

We'll unpack that a little bit more in a moment.

But here in verse 5, what Paul does is he compares flesh and Spirit to show how that role works.

He says these words,

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.

Now, to understand what Paul means here, we need to understand the terms Paul uses.

When he says to live according to, he doesn't mean the things that you do in life.

He means who you are.

The Greek word that Paul uses here for live means to be.

It means my life, who I am, what I live for, my foundation for existence.

And ultimately, it's a comparison here between life according to the flesh on the one hand, or not Christian,

and life according to the Spirit on the other hand, or Christian.

He takes life according to the flesh first.

Let's start there.

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.

Those who live according to the flesh are those who live for themselves.

It's when I define myself by who I am, and what I think, and what I feel, and what I desire.

It's life apart from God.

And living according to the flesh can look like one of two paths.

Rebellious, which I think is easy to see.

Or religious, which is really interesting because it actually looks very much like the Christian life that we should be living.

Let's start and have a look at these then.

So the rebellious life.

And think too, as Paul is actually speaking to the Roman church,

where he's trying to dovetail two different people groups, in the Jews and the Gentiles,

coming into one family, one church.

Think of how he's drawing these two groups in, and which group these particular groups might represent,

rebellious or religious.

But think also about ourselves.

Let's think about ourselves and how we actually fit into this too.

You see, when we talk about rebellious, I think we get what rebellious is.

And Paul describes his pathway in Romans 1, verse 18 and following.

Romans 1:18

So you can go and look back at that and get a sense of what it's like.

It's basically, in a nutshell, those who actively turn their backs on God.

Those who reject the truth.

Those who choose to pursue a life that conflicts with God's rule and plan and design.

But what it looks like in their minds is not actually a form of rebellion,

but a form of pursuit, of fullness of life.

A rebel pursues the life that they decide is fruitful.

And in terms of wondering, well, how does this actually work?

How do I know when this is the path I'm on?

Well, let me just suggest this.

That people on this path struggle with criticism.

Now, everyone struggles with criticism, but let's actually unpack why they struggle with criticism.

They struggle because they reject anyone else's right to judge them.

If that's the kind of thing that wells up in your heart, hang on a minute.

I'm me.

I get to choose who me is.

How dare you confront or challenge or rebuke me for being me?

The religious person, as I said, is slightly different and harder to see.

They also struggle with criticism, but we'll come up to that in a moment.

The religious person, in fact, it's even possible for us, for some of us here,

to think that we're Christians, but be in this camp of religious person.

Paul describes a religious pathway in Romans 2, verses 12 and following,

Romans 2:12

as he addresses the Jews.

There it's the Jews who obey the Mosaic law zealously,

but reject God's offer of salvation through his son when he comes.

A religious person pursues God by living the life that they think is worthy.

They try really hard to be a good person because it's this goodness,

this goodness in their life that determines how good their relationship with God is.

And as I've said, people on this path, they also struggle with criticism.

But they react badly for a different reason.

They react badly because their spiritual identity is defined by how they live.

They're chipping away at the very foundation that they're using to build on to move closer to God.

If we're going down the religious pathway, we'll also be prone to hiding our flaws

and judging others.

Not to help them, not to speak truth into their lives,

but to rank them on a scale of goodness.

Because the religious person builds a sense of spiritual superiority over others

on the basis of their goodness.

So as Paul speaks of those who are in the flesh,

we need to remember that he actually has both the rebellious on the one hand

and the religious on the other, both groups in his sights.

The rebel abandons God and pursues the life that they decide is fruitful.

The religious person pursues God by living a life that they think is worthy.

But both reject Christ

because both are building their foundation on the flesh.

Those who are in the flesh, on the one hand,

are not grounded in Christ.

But those who live according to the Spirit

are grounded in Christ.

Paul goes on to say,

those who live according to the Spirit

set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Now Paul isn't saying to switch your brains off here

just so you understand.

You know that old let go and let God type thing,

kind of get in touch with our spiritual side.

As far as I'm concerned,

that's not far off a Christianized version of the Ouija board.

What Paul is saying here is actually the opposite.

Focus on what the Spirit is doing

and get in step with it.

Cooperate.

Be a part of it.

Cheer the Spirit on.

My first trip to England,

I was about 15, I think I was,

when we went across to England.

And it was my brother and I who went to visit our relatives

who we'd not seen.

My parents are English.

They brought us out here.

Anyway, so I went back to visit my grandparents

and my cousins and all that sort of thing.

And I had a great opportunity to go and watch Sheffield Wednesday.

My family team,

the team that my family has supported for generations,

to go and watch Sheffield Wednesday play at Liverpool,

against Liverpool,

at Liverpool,

at Anfield Road.

Now the thing was,

Sheffield Wednesday back then was a decent team.

There were lots of people supporting it.

And you only get a little thin wedge of supporters

if you're playing away.

So you've got to get in early to get your tickets.

We didn't get a ticket in that area.

The only way we could get a ticket

was to buy one in the Liverpool area.

And so what that meant was,

we turned up wearing absolutely no team colours.

And when we walked in,

we discovered that that made us obvious.

That demonstrated exactly who we were supporting.

Because we turned up and we walked into the ground

and there was this thin wedge of blue and white,

surrounded by a sea of red.

And there we were in neutral clothes,

just jeans and a jumper.

Everyone knew what we'd done.

We were sitting amongst these guys.

The score was two all.

At one point,

I actually jumped to cheer one of the goals

and my brother grabbed the back of my jumper

and pulled me back into my seat.

Because he didn't want me to give away

who I was barracking for.

Man.

When we get a sense of what's going on here,

what Paul is saying is,

those who live according to the Spirit

set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

He's saying,

get on God's side,

get on with seeing what the Spirit is doing

and cheer Him on

as He transforms your life.

So what is the Spirit doing?

Well, as I said earlier,

just a few verses earlier in chapter 8, verse 2,

Paul tells us.

Here Paul speaks of the law of the Spirit of life

setting us free.

Now, law in the Bible,

even in Romans,

can refer to rules,

like the Old Testament law,

or it can refer to a binding power or authority.

And here, in this verse,

Paul is saying that the Spirit

has that binding power or authority

to set us free in Christ.

He doesn't introduce a new law that we have to obey,

a new rule we have to obey,

but he actually represents that power

that can liberate us.

The Spirit applies the gospel of Jesus Christ

to our lives.

The Spirit sets us free from condemnation in Christ.

That's the work of the Spirit

that Paul has in mind here.

And what does that look like?

Well, it looks like this.

The Spirit shows us ourselves

and how far we have fallen short

of God's righteousness.

That's a hard thing to hear

if we're defining right and wrong for ourselves.

But here's the thing that,

this is something that Spurgeon said,

which I think is really helpful.

He said this,

If any man thinks ill of you,

do not be angry with him,

for you are worse than he thinks you to be.

Those who live according to the Spirit

know the truth of this.

They know they are far worse

than anyone around them will ever realize.

They are far worse

than they themselves will realize.

This is part of the work of the Spirit,

but the Spirit doesn't stop there.

He rebuilds our foundation on Christ.

There is no condemnation for us.

It's not that we escape

or that we're let off.

It's that our sin has been punished already.

The law has been fulfilled,

we read in verse 4.

Now David described last week

how our sin can undermine

our assurance of salvation.

Big sins in the past,

he described,

that we still feel the shame of

as they come into our consciousness.

Persistent sins that we can't get rid of.

But nothing we have done

or are doing or will do

can condemn us

because the Spirit is bringing us to life.

Through the power of the Gospel,

he's applying that power to us.

So for those who live according to the Spirit,

life begins now.

Enjoying the reality of life and peace with God

begins now.

And it's a life we're called to participate in.

Now there's these two ways of living

that Paul's described here

that he's contrasted.

And then he goes on to look at the outcomes

of those ways.

And these are quite confronting again

for however we approach life.

These are challenging.

See, two different lives

build on two different foundations,

both with very different outcomes.

Because, as Paul goes on to say,

those in the flesh cannot please God.

And those in the Spirit

receive new life.

In the flesh,

Paul continues in 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.

Those who are in the flesh

cannot please God.

The mind set on the flesh

is hostile to God.

Please notice,

there is no Switzerland here.

In this age of tolerance,

I don't think we like to think of ourselves

as hostile to anyone,

but we are.

We're hostile to anyone

who takes away our freedom

to think and do what we want.

But think about it.

This is something that Abraham Kuyper

once said.

He describes the sovereignty of God

over us in this way.

There is not one square inch

in the whole domain

of our human existence

over which Christ,

who is sovereign over all,

does not cry,

mine.

Don't you find that

just a little bit jarring?

I cannot even keep

one part of me back from God.

I can't compartmentalise

just one little bit of me

and say that's mine,

that's how I'm going to live

in that part of my life,

but everything else God can have.

I can't do that

because it's all God's.

And when I try to hold back,

I'm actually stealing from him.

Now guys,

we know stealing is a crime.

You know,

we can acknowledge that.

But hostility,

I think that's something

entirely different

that we really struggle with.

It means being enemies,

like two countries fighting.

That's what the word,

the Greek word means here.

And even as we understand fighting,

when two countries fight,

we understand that

when enemy fighters are captured,

they're treated according

to the Geneva Convention.

They're locked up,

but they're cared for.

But that's enemy fighters.

When a member of a country

at war

chooses to fight

against their own country,

they're not called prisoners of war.

They're called traitors.

And what we do with traitors

is entirely different.

Traitors,

in the last great war,

were executed.

Now,

Kuyper says,

we are gods.

So if we go to war against God,

we aren't just rebels.

We are traitors.

We have betrayed

our rightful king.

Whether openly rebellious

or religiously zealous,

those who are in the flesh

cannot please God.

Because they've rejected

their rightful king.

They've switched sides.

Worse than enemies,

they are traitors.

But, says Paul,

in verse 9,

the ray of light shines in.

But, says Paul,

you are different.

Let's look at verse 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.

The language here

of not being in the flesh,

but in the spirit,

is about identity.

To be in the spirit

is to absolutely identify

with the spirit.

It's an all-in commitment.

And the mind-boggling thing here

is that it's mutual.

I love the way that

Sam told the kids' story

this morning

about the spirit

moving into the house.

It's mutual.

You and I

are in the spirit.

And,

the spirit of God

dwells in us.

Christ is in you.

And Paul goes on to say

in verse 10

that there's some implications

to that.

But if Christ is in you,

although the body is dead

because of sin,

the spirit is life

because of righteousness.

If the spirit is in you,

if Christ is in you,

then he's for you.

That first trip

back to England

that I got to go

and watch that football match,

I was on the sides,

you know,

wanting to barrack

with all my heart.

But the crazy thing is

the God whose power

is at work in my life

is barracking for me.

He loves me dearly.

He wants to promote

good in my life.

The Holy Spirit

is working zealously

for me.

All the time

applying the gospel

to me.

Now,

when I remember

that sin that I regret,

and you'll know this,

you'll know this experience,

I'm sure.

You know,

the memories

that you hide from people

that you don't tell

even your closest friends.

The ones that cause you

to well up with shame.

When I remember

that kind of sin,

and I wonder

if I can even

be a Christian,

it's the Spirit

who reminds me

that God

has already condemned

that sin on the cross.

It's real,

but it's paid for,

and I'm free.

And when I get caught up

in that same weakness

again,

and again,

and again,

and the last place

I feel I can go to,

the last person

I feel I can get

anywhere near to

is God.

The Spirit draws me

back to the gospel.

The Holy Spirit

is there in me

saying,

in Christ,

you're forgiven.

children,

child,

you are mine.

God already knows

who his precious children are.

It's us who have to realize

who he is as our Father.

The Spirit of God

is not idle.

He is constantly

applying the gospel

to my sinful soul.

But the Spirit

doesn't just

push back death

or push back

condemnation.

The Spirit

brings life.

Paul goes on

to say in verse 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.

The Spirit

gives life

to our mortal bodies.

Let's be clear,

we're going to continue

to age and die

this side of Christ's return.

Paul says in verse 10

that we will continue

to age and die

in the flesh.

And we do that

because our bodies

are dead because of sin.

Spoiler alert though,

there is a time coming

when even the dead

even that death

will be rolled back.

It's coming up

in a couple of weeks.

I think David's got that one,

that passage.

So,

we will continue

to age and die

but he also says

that the Spirit

will bring life now.

And I'm going to suggest

to you

that this means

we are being transformed

now.

That new life

that we will experience

in fullness

at some point

in the future

is breaking in

here and now.

This life

the Spirit

gives us now

is to put to death

the deeds

of the body

in verse 13.

Let's read those verses

out,

12 and 13.

So then,

brothers,

Paul concludes,

we are debtors

not to the flesh

to live according

to the flesh

for if you're living

according to the flesh

you will die.

But if by the Spirit

you put to death

the deeds of the body

you will live.

here's the partnership

that means

we participate

in this.

We are involved

in setting our minds

on the things

of the Spirit.

The Spirit is at work

in us.

He calls us

to actually get involved

in what he's doing.

We're also involved

in putting to death

the old ways

of the flesh.

But it's the Spirit

that leads this process.

It's in his power

that it's accomplished.

And how does he do this?

Well,

the Spirit exposes

our flaws to us.

He teaches us

how the Gospel

redeems us

from the guilt

and shame

of those flaws.

And he replaces

our old mindset

with a new mindset.

He transforms us

into something better

than we could ever

conceive

alone.

I've got to say

this here and now

that I don't fully

appreciate what the

Gospel is doing in me.

I can't see

what I'm to be

because I've never

seen it.

I need the Spirit

to do this work

in me.

Our families

are fans of

a TV show

called

Antiques Roadshow.

Perhaps more so

because we're flying

out to England

next week

and so

Joe and I

are getting

re-acclimatised

to the accents

in the countryside

and anticipating

our holiday

and we're kind of

in that point.

We're not counting

down,

although it's

eight days

and seven hours

before we fly out.

No, we're not

counting down the days

but certainly

as we approach

going back home

we start to think

about things of England

and there's this one

particular Antiques

Roadshow episode

that was really

interesting.

You see,

they introduced me

to this concept

or this craft

called

Kintsugi.

I don't know

if you've heard

of this

but it's a

centuries old

Japanese art

of fixing

broken pottery

with a special

lacquer

basically mixed

with gold powder.

Beautiful seams

of gold

glint

in the cracks

as you can see

up on the pictures

here

of ceramic

where once

they've been

broken

is how they

fixed them.

They give

a unique

appearance

to every

single piece.

This repair

method

actually

celebrates

each pot's

unique history

by emphasising

its fractures

and breaks

instead of

disguising them

as had been

the case

in the past.

Kintsugi

often makes

a repaired piece

even more

beautiful

than the original.

Revitalising

it with new

life

is what

they're aiming

for.

Friends

we

we boast

in our

strengths

so when I

talk about

the role

of the

spirit

and actually

showing us

our weaknesses

and

transforming

those things

towards God's

likeness

I don't think

that's a

particularly

welcome thing.

We boast

in our

strengths

whether it

be religiously

or because

we've chosen

those things

to be the

defining

characteristics

of our

lives

but the

spirit

works

on our

weaknesses

those cracks

those imperfections

the things

we hide

are showing

the gospel

far better

than our

best efforts

to be good

ever could.

We boast

in our

strengths

the spirit

will have

us

boasting

in what

God

can do

with our

weaknesses

breathing

new life

into us

turning

those

areas

that were

just such

a source

of guilt

and shame

to us

transforming

those areas

into pure

gold

in his

hands

our

brokenness

is turned

into

beauty

and

nothing

commends

the gospel

to me

more than

seeing that

at work

in my

life

and seeing

it at work

in your

lives

this is

the assurance

that Paul

offers us

the God

who so

identifies

with us

that he

not only

dies

in our

place

but dwells

in us

and as he

dwells in us

he transforms

us

into something

far more

beautiful

than we've

ever seen

before

and he

does this

the last

way

we would

want him

to

he exposes

our flaws

and cleanses

them

and transforms

them into his

beautiful

likeness

through the

power of

the gospel

friends

that spirit

is at work

in you

let's pray

father god we

don't know what

perfection looks

like because

none of us

have achieved

it so

none of us

have ever

seen it

but we

do know

through your

word

that you

are perfect

and you

have

demonstrated

it

not only

have you

demonstrated

but you've

invited us

into your

presence

cleansing us

from unrighteousness

not just

legally

so that we're

no longer

condemned

but day

by day

purifying

us

returning us

and restoring

us

to the way

we were

intended to be

to just

display your

likeness to

the world

but I

pray that

you would

help us

by your

spirit

to build

our lives

on the

truth of

the gospel

and not

in the

hope

that we

can in

any way

approach

you through

anything we

do

father god

show us

the goodness

in jesus

name

amen