Turn back with me now to Romans
chapter 8. I'll be using verses 1 and 2
of Romans 8 for my text. While you're turning, I want
to say a few things to you. And those, whoever they are who
are listening, on the internet or by recording. It's not my desire when I stand
up here to preach to say anything purposely to
offend anyone. I don't That's not my desire. That's not my prayer before God.
That's not the preparation of my messages is not intended to
offend you in any way. I dislike seeing people walk away
angry or feeling miserable because of something I said. My delight
is to see your faces light up. with that revelation of Christ,
to see joy in your faces when you come to an understanding
and to see men and women warmed up inside by that revelation
of Jesus Christ. And I like to see them leave
here in a better frame of mind than when you came. And to this
end, I've prepared this message this morning in Romans chapter
8, verses 1 and 2. And Romans 8 is a continuation,
kind of a summation, if you will, of Romans chapter 7. He's talking
about fixed principles, which he calls laws. Laws, the law
of his mind. the law of sin and death, and
the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. And there is
no application to these things of which he's talking about to
unbelievers. Unbelievers are not experiencing
a warfare in their heart. There is no warfare till another
government takes over. When another government takes
over, an alien government takes over, now we've got rebellion.
Now we've got war. Now we've got some contrary things
going on in our heart. Paul said there was a time when
he thought he was alive. There was a time when he didn't
have a struggle. He was righteous in his own eyes.
He had no problem. He was good. He looked at himself
compared to other men, and he was outstanding compared to other
men. He didn't have any problems, but then when the commandment
came, when this law came, and he understood it and saw it for
what it was, he said, it slew me. It slew me. I died. Believers have no spiritual warfare,
no struggling within. They've made lies their refuge. They don't all know it. They
don't all know it. I didn't know it, but I'd made
lies my refuge. I thought it was true. We've
hidden ourselves, as scripture said, in falsehood. They made
a covenant with death, and with hell they're at agreement. Oh,
they said when the overflowing scourge passes through, it won't
come down to us. It won't come down to us. Ignorance,
lies, worldly reasoning has kept more folks from the truth than
a thousand islands and jungles. Deception, lies, David said,
I was envious at the foolish. Why would he say that? Why would this man of God say
that? Well, he said there's no bands in their death. What's
he talking about? Well, when they go to die, they
didn't look on death as a penal thing. Death was not a penalty. It wasn't a curse to them. It
was just death. It was just natural. This is, everybody's gonna die.
That's how they, there was no bans, no bans. He said they're not in trouble
like other men. People he knew were in trouble.
Believers are always in trouble. They're in trouble, that's why
they seek the Lord. And they're not plagued, he said,
like other men. Paul said, there's no fear of
God before their eyes. There's no warfare, no struggle,
no clashing of the spirits. In Galatians, writing about believers,
he said, for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit
against the flesh, and these are contrary, the one to the
other, so that you cannot do the things that you would. Paul
said, I would do good, I would not do evil. What'd he do? and didn't do the good. Why? Because you cannot do the
things that you would. Worldly religionists are not
plagued, David said, like other men. There's no bans in their
death. They don't go shackled to the grave. Their death was
not penal. Go into any funeral home and
listen how they talk about their loved one's death. They don't
talk about it being a curse. They don't talk about them in
reality maybe being in hell. They're not gonna go in the funeral
home and talk about that. They're gonna start talking about
whatever it is that's on their heart that they believe makes
you acceptable to God. But go to the galley. Go to the
gallows. And there watch the man bound.
and a hood put down over his face and a rope around his neck
and sprung that trapdoor. Huh? They had bands. Bands in his death. His death,
penal. He's not dying of natural causes.
Then David said, I went to the sanctuary of God. Now, he said,
I understood their end. their end. And while the believer
struggles here, he'll be free in his death. And while there
is no struggle in the unbeliever, there'll be bands in his death. The last enemy the scripture
said that Christ shall put under his feet is death. And so when
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption in this mortal,
shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Then and only then shall the
warfare be over. Till then, between now and then,
we have a life to live, a life to live. And this is where the
problem comes in. How shall we live this life?
How shall I walk? If I'm a believer and I'm struggling
inside and I pull this way and pull that way, how in the world
can I walk before God? I can't pray a prayer that's
not tainted with sin. I can't preach a sermon that's
not tainted with sin. I can't do anything that's not
tainted with sin. There's a law, when I would do
good, evil is present in me, in me. and I can't get it out. So let's look at these two laws
and see if the Lord will create in us a proper attitude and conduct
to live out our days rejoicing in Christ. First of all, there
is in each of us a law of sin and death. There's a law of sin
and death, it's there. You may not understand it, you
may not see it, you may not even acknowledge it, but it's there.
It's there. How do I know it's there? God
tells me it is. With the flesh, Romans 7, 23,
I serve the law of sin. There be no reasoning with men
and women till God the Holy Ghost convinces them of sin. He must
convince them of sin. They have no use for Christ until
they see themselves as sinners, dead, hands bound, hood on your
head, headed for the gallows. That's the state of man. He don't
know that. He thinks he's saved. Satan's
preached to him, peace, peace, where there is no peace. He's
convinced him that he's a pretty good guy, pretty good guy. Can't reason with men and women
till God the Holy Ghost convinces them of sin. Well, what's a sinner? He's just a natural son of Adam,
that's what he is. He was born into this world with
a sinful nature, a fallen, depraved nature, and he compares himself
to other fallen men with depraved nature, and he might be a little
better or a little worse, it just depends. But he's not comparing
himself with the righteousness of God. He's just comparing. with others. And I guarantee
you ain't gonna pick the best one out of the lot to compare
himself with. He's gonna pick the worst. Boy, look at that. I look pretty good compared to
him. David cried in Psalm 50, verse
5, behold, he said I was shaping in iniquity and in sin did my
mother conceive me. You mean I was born a sinner?
That's what David said. And he told us why he said it,
because God desires truth in the inward parts. That's why
he said it. In Psalm 58.3, he said, the wicked
are strained. They're alienated from the womb.
They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Baby
wails and cries, and you think it's dying, or the plague, or
something. And you go there and pick it up, and it's not wet.
It hasn't messed its britches. It's fine. It ain't running a
fever. It ain't hurting. Just wanted
some attention. Here's another one, Psalm 39.5,
listen to this. Man at his best state, in his
prime, when he's reached the top of his intellectuality, here
he is, he's the top dog, he's president of the company, he's
man at his best state. Watch this, he's altogether vanity. Vanity. It's just a dream. All this stuff is just a vision. It's just a dream. There'll be no warfare till we're
diagnosed with the disease. Suppose we knew a person all
of our lives. As far back as your memory will
take you, you knew. And boy, we grew up with him. He was a good guy. He really was. He was a friend
to you. If you needed something, he gave
it to you. Never spoke a cross word about
you. Someone we can trust and have
confidence in, someone we believed to be fair and honest in his
dealings with others, someone we thought to be a friend, someone
we loved him like we loved ourselves. But then one day, he was caught
in the act. And by overwhelming evidence,
he was exposed as a fraud, a total fraud, a liar, a cheat, a swindler. And here he is now standing before
you with his head down, proven beyond all doubt, guilty. Guilty. Would you still seek
his company? Would you still put your armor
in him? Would you still trust in his judgments? Would you go
to him when you had doubts and say, could you help me out a
little bit here? Would you still go to him? Would
you still want to give him anything he asked for? Well, this is exactly
how the Holy Spirit convinces us of sin and turns us to Christ. He exposes us as the guilty one. This one we thought was all loving. He's a fraud. He's a fraud. He exposes us for what we are
and shows us then something of the glory of God in Christ. There's not going to be a rebellion
until a new government sets up its rules. Sin and death have
set up boundaries in you and limitations, and there are fixed
principles in us. Sin, it says, reigns unto death. It'll always get its way in that
individual. Our Lord talked about the sinner
and he said, when a strong man arm keepeth his palace, his goods
are at peace. He's not in trouble. He's not
in trouble. There's an armed king over his
palace and his goods are at peace. He's just fine. He's just fine. But it's a peace, peace where
there is no peace. A false hope, a false refuge.
And then one stronger than he comes upon him and takes that
armor wherein he trusted, he takes it away. He exposes him
for what he is and he spoils his goods. The sinner is a helpless, hopeless
creature. He doesn't know who to listen
to and who not to listen to. He don't know the difference
between truth and error. Now, out of ignorance, he leans
on his own reasoning. Out of ignorance, he turns to
worldly religion, worldly philosophy. The law of sin and death is in
every man. That which is flesh, our Lord
said, is flesh. Not gonna change. Not gonna change. Well, what about the Lord Savior?
It's not gonna change. That which is flesh is flesh.
That which is spirit is spirit. When this corruptible shall have
put on incorruption, a mortal shall have put on immortality.
That's when death is gonna be swallowed up in victory. The
flesh never quits lusting after ungodly things. All right, so
how is the sinner convinced to sin? When does he come to see
himself as the problem? When does he get on God's side
in this thing of condemnation toward himself? How does this
come about? How is the sinner convinced to
sin? John 16, verse eight. When he is come, who is come? The Comforter, the Holy Spirit
of God. When he is come, He will reprove
the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Now watch this,
John 16, nine. Of sin, because they believe
not on me. That's what Christ said. How's
he gonna convince you of sin? Your unbelief of Christ. What will make you hate yourself?
Your unbelief of Christ. If there's anything that can
take away the rejoicing and the hope, oh, when you see yourself,
your unbelief toward him that loved you and gave himself for
you, he'll destroy you. He'll destroy you. He said, this is the condemnation.
Lights come into the world. Men love darkness rather than
light. This is the condemnation. I'm sitting before you, the Son
of God, exalted, sitting on the throne, already accomplished
redemption, brought redemption to us by the grace of God, sent
you a preacher, drew you here, and the Holy Spirit in our midst,
blessing his gospel, and there you sit in total unbelief. Huh? If the Holy Spirit ever
convinces you of sin, that's what he's gonna show you. He's
gonna show you the obstinate rebellion of your heart in your
unbelief of Christ. Here he is by the free grace
of God. He's here just like he was with
those Samaritans in our Sunday school lesson. All they had to
do was make a bed and let him lie in it. Welcome him into their
home, receive him. They wouldn't do it. They wouldn't
do it. And neither will some of you.
You just won't do it. Why? Because of sin. Sin. It takes an act of God. It takes
an intervention of God. And nothing anywhere at any time
has been established more than the Son of God coming into this
world to die for sinners. Those religious men deceived
beyond imagination. They said, if thou be the Christ,
tell us plainly. He said, I did. I told you. I told you. But you believe not,
because you're not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. Never was there ever a truth
preached so plainly, so broadly, so universally, that it leaves
men without excuse before God. There's no excuse for your sin
of unbelief. It's a salvation already accomplished,
ordered in all things and sure. Yet folks walk away as though
the truth is preached with a bunch of unknown facts. Have I said
anything to you this morning that I haven't proved in the
word of God? I haven't said anything. I've given you a scripture for
everything I've said. There's a fixed principle in
each of our natures that's called the law of sin and death. So
much so that the apostle cries out, oh, wretched man that I
am. I know what I am. I see myself
for what I am. And I can't do anything for myself. Who's gonna deliver me? I can't
deliver myself. Oh, he said, I thank God through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. He said, so then, here's the
summation of what he'd been talking about. So then, with the mind,
the mind of Christ, My understanding of Christ, who he is, why he
came, what he did, where he's at. With the mind, I myself serve
the law of God. I see that law. Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Can I do that? I would, but I can't. I can't. But in Christ, I can. In Christ,
I can. With the mind of Christ, I serve
the law of God. Love your neighbor as yourself.
I've never been able to do it, but he did. He did. Oh, my soul. With the mind, the
mind of Christ, I serve the law of God perfectly. Perfectly. I see it, I embrace it, and I
rejoice in it. Christ fulfilled it to the letter. honored and exalted the law. He said, with the mind I serve
the law of God. What's he talking about serving
the law with his mind? Does that mean he memorized the
statutes and he goes over and over them in his mind? Does it
mean he only obeyed the law in thought? No. He's talking about
understanding how that law was honored and exalted in Christ.
He's talking about a mind that perceives the gospel. The gospel
is called in scripture the gospel of the grace of God. And there's
no good news apart from the grace of God. God saved us, Paul said. And then he called us with a
holy calling, not according to our works. but according to his
own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. The gospel is the gospel of the
grace of God, of the kindness, mercy, and love of God. And believers
perceive this in their minds and hearts and they serve God,
walk with God, and minister to others with this attitude. Believers
understand that Jesus Christ fulfilled the redemptive will
of God. offered himself up, sanctified
us once for all. We understand that when he died,
he died bearing our sins and his own body on the tree. Redemption
is paid. Everything that our sins required
have been paid with the blood of Christ. By his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. And believers know and understand
that Jesus Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.
I don't look to that law for righteousness. A man told me
several years ago, I was down hunting on a farm, and he's a
very religious man, and he told me, he said, we're saved by grace,
and then we walk by the law. You ain't been saved by grace
if you do that. Jesus Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. All our righteousnesses,
the scripture said, are filthy rags. None righteous, no not one. No potential in men, we're together
become unprofitable. Righteousness comes by imputation. Righteousness is brought to us
by eternal act of God putting us into a union with his son. Charging us with his righteousness. And charging him with our sin.
He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that
we might be holy, now listen, and without blame. Without blame. Righteousness comes by way of
the obedience of our representative in head, Jesus Christ. Paul said
in Romans 3.21, but now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness
of God, which is by faith of or faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And it's unto all and upon all
them that believe. Abraham believed God and it was
counted to him for righteousness. And the Jews in Paul's day and
nearly every religious organization on the earth today have a zeal
of God. Christian schools and sports
programs and missionaries and strict in discipline, keepers
of the law, keepers of days and years. And like the Jews of old, they
being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. Everything we think, say, and
do is tainted with sin. Every thought, every motive,
every deed tainted with sin. We have no righteousness but
His. But His is sufficient. Huh? That's what the believer sees.
His righteousness is sufficient. It's real. It honors God. Not this mess I call righteousness. But the righteousness of God
manifested in His Son. How can this be? 2 Corinthians
5.21. For He hath made Him to be sin
for us who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Wow. But that's not the end of it.
Believers understand that when Christ rose from the dead, God
declared all his elect justified. Justified, blameless, unreprovable
in his sight. Who shall lay anything, now listen,
to the charge of God's elect. Anybody doubt who that's talking
to? That's talking about God's elect. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justified. They already justified. Already
justified. Who is he that condemneth? It's
Christ that died. Died for who? All them that God
justified. Huh? Christ who died, yea rather,
he liveth, he's ascended, he's seated at the right hand of God
and he makes intercession for us. Paul said, I do not frustrate
the grace of God if righteousness come by the law, then Christ
is dead and blind. He died for nothing. But there's more. Jesus Christ
descended into heaven, sat down at the right hand of God, and
from that seat in glory, he orders and arranges all things for our
good and his glory. There are no chance encounters,
no accidental hearings. God draws men to hear and sends
preachers to preach and gives faith to believe. What about
that? Paul tells us in Ephesians 1.11
that in Christ we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will. And this is the law of the spirit
of life in Christ Jesus, a fixed principle of grace in the mind
and heart, and it's sufficient to free us from the law of sin
and death. When I see myself the sinner,
see myself for what I am, I'll quit trusting in myself, I'll
quit giving in to myself. How many times in our everyday
conversation we talk about, well, I just do that because I like
it. Huh? Woo, you need to get rid
of that. Throw that out the door. Throw
that out the door. That guy's a fraud. You don't
listen to him. That guy's your enemy. He'd sell
you out in a heartbeat. Already has. I want to see Christ. I want that law, the spirit of
life, and Christ Jesus. That's what I want to follow.
Follow that. Am I gonna doubt? You bet. You
bet. But I'm not without that law,
the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. And I'm gonna tell you
something, if you have it, you're free from the law of sin and
death. It doesn't reign anymore. It's there, but it don't reign.
It don't reign. And now you know the truth. You
know the truth. You can't be deceived, you know
the truth. Who's gonna deceive you? Huh? You shall know the truth, and
the truth shall set you free. We're free from the law of sin
and debt. Satan can't come along and deceive you now with works
religion. You know better. You know better. We have Christ. We have the grace
of God. We have the gospel. We know.
I know, Paul said, whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded that
he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. He said, this is a faithful saying
worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. He said, of whom I'm chief. I'm
chief. I'll tell you, when he establishes
that fixed principle in you of faith in Christ, glory in Christ,
grace in Christ, You're free from the law of sin and death.
You're free from it. It can't bring fear on you. It
can't touch you with a 10-foot pole. You're free from it. You're
free from it. May the Lord teach us all how
to walk and how to have the proper attitude in this world. Oh, God
help us. Thank you.