If Christ be in you. That's my title for my message
this morning. If Christ be in you. If Christ is in you, you're born
again. You are made partakers of the
divine nature, possessors of a good hope through grace. If Christ is in you, you are
God's elect. Redeemed justified and sanctified
heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ If Christ is
not in you if the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ is not
in you You're lost without God without Christ and without hope
unregenerate dead in trespasses and in sins under the wrath of
God It is my prayer that before you leave here today, Christ
will be in you. Oh, son of God, come and take
up residence in the hearts of your lost ones today. To have
Christ in you is to be saved, made whole by God's almighty
grace. Our Savior, as he walked on this
earth, performed great miracles of mercy, making wounded, weak,
sick, dead sinners whole by the touch of his hand, by the word
of his mouth, by the sinner coming in contact with him, him coming
into contact with the sinner. And those wonders of grace performed
on this earth physically by our master, were pictures of what
he does when he saves lost sinners. He takes poor, lost, sin-sick
sinners with the heart-plague of corruption, dead in trespasses
and in sins, and makes sinners whole by his grace. Twice in
the first four verses of Romans chapter 8, the Apostle Paul told
us that God's grace God's salvation belongs to those who walk not
after the flesh, but after the spirit. Those who walk not after
the flesh, but after the spirit. Those who walk after the spirit. All who live by faith in Christ. All who walk in the spirit. Justified
they've been made righteous the very righteousness of God in
Christ having the righteousness of the law Fulfilled in them. They are not now and they never
can be condemned They are not now and they never can be brought
into judgment. They are altogether free from
death and sin and judgment in Christ Jesus those who walk after
the flesh Those who walk in the flesh are condemned already and
shall be forever damned if they persist in their godlessness,
rebellion and unbelief. You who are without Christ. You who are without Christ. You who are without Christ. condemned already. The wrath of God is upon you
and you shall be condemned forever in hell if you persist in your
godlessness, your rebellion, and your unbelief. O come to
Christ, O come today, the Father, Son, and Spirit saying, Come
wash your sin and guilt away. Come bow to Christ, the son of
God, and trust his efficacious blood, his precious sin-atoning
blood. But what does it mean to live
by faith in Christ? What does it mean to walk not
after the flesh, but after the spirit? Let's look at Romans
chapter 8, verses 5 through 10 this morning. And God, the Holy
Ghost here, gives us the answer to that question. He shows us
the distinction between walking after the flesh and walking after
the spirit. Romans chapter 8 verse 5. For
they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh,
but they that are after the spirit the things of the spirit. For
to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. Now in this passage, the Apostle
Paul is not taking up a new subject. He's continuing right on with
what he said in chapter 7. He's discussing both the dual
nature of every regenerate person. Both flesh and spirit in us. The old man Adam and the new
man Christ. And he's discussing the distinction
between those who are without Christ and those who are in Christ. Those in whom Christ is and those
who do not have Christ living in them. Look at verse 8. Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are
in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh,
but in the spirit. If so, be that the spirit of
God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the
spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you,
if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the
spirit is life because of righteousness. And let me show you three things
in this portion of scripture. Number one, number one, this
is what our Lord Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter three. And this
is what the apostle Paul by divine inspiration is telling us in
verses five, six, and seven, that which is born of flesh is
flesh. And that which is born of spirit
is spirit. Flesh is never made spiritual. Flesh cannot be spiritual. That which is born of flesh,
that is everything about us naturally. Everything we got from our father
Adam. Everything we got from our mothers
and fathers is flesh. That which is born of the spirit.
That which we get from God. by his grace. That which we get
from Christ being put in us. That which we get from the new
birth is spirit. Romans chapter 8 verse 5. For
they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.
But they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. Lost,
unregenerate, unsaved people mind earthly things. And our
carnal, depraved, fallen nature minds earthly things They live
for and are concerned and anxious about earthly things They're
not taken up with spiritual things But they're taken up with and
consumed with the things of this world things of the flesh Hold
your hands in Romans 8 and turn back to Matthew chapter 6 Matthew
chapter 6 after teaching us to pray and
warning us to avoid pretense in religious activity. Our Lord
comes right down to where the rubber hits the road and where
we live in verse 24. He says, no man can serve two
masters. For either he will hate the one
and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, take
no thought. Now let me give you a very accurate
understanding of those words. Stop worrying. Stop worrying. Don't you wish
you could? Stop worrying. Take no thought
for your life. What? Don't worry about life. That's what he says. Take no
thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink,
nor yet for your body what you shall put on. Here's the reason. Is not life more than meat and
the body more than raiment? There's much more to this business
of life than whether you eat at the finest steakhouse or you
go to the cheapest hamburger joint. There's more to life than
whether you buy your clothes at the second-hand shop or go
to the Goodwill store and buy them, or you buy them at the
finest tailors in town. There's more to life than these
things. Stop worrying about such nonsense. Behold the fowls of
the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns, yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
If God feeds the birds, worthless sparrows, worthless blackbirds,
if God feeds the birds, don't you suppose he'll feed his children?
Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature? You think about it and you think
hard and you set your mind on it and you're determined. You
can't grow yourself an inch. You can't do it. You can't do
it. I continue to shrink in height the older I get, and I can't
do anything about it. You can't add one cubit to your
stature. So why fret about it? Why worry
about it? Why take your thought for raiment,
for your clothes? Why are you concerned about what
you wear? What difference does it make? Consider the lilies
of the field. How they grow, they toil not,
neither do they spit. And yet I say unto you, that
even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which
today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much
more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Now, our Lord is not saying
to us, you shouldn't pay any attention to how you dress or
how you eat. That's that's not what he's saying.
He's saying, don't let these things occupy your mind. Don't
let these things concern you. Don't don't let these things
bother you. God's going to feed you and God's
going to clothe you. Oh, ye of little faith. Therefore,
verse 31, take no thought. Stop worrying. Saying what shall
we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed
now? What's the reason he gives? Because
this is what everybody in the world lives for That's exactly what he said after
all these things do the heathen seek after all these things do
the Gentile seek you drive down the road and you happened into
a subdivision. I was driving in Nashville one
time and got turned around. I was looking for another place,
and I drove up into a place, and I thought, wow, where on
earth have I come? I never saw such houses anywhere,
and not one or two scads of them. Man, a lot of those folks got
some money. And you look at that. Boy, that's nice. That's nice.
And you drive out of there, and you drive home, Oh, this is nice. I don't have to hire anybody
to take care of that. I don't have to pay taxes to hold it. But we envy
such stuff. What foolishness. Why should
you envy that? That's all they've got. That's
all they've got. That's what they live for. They
live for what they can get and they can't hold it very long.
After all these things that the Gentiles seek. But your heavenly
father knoweth that you have need of all these things. He
knows you get hungry. He'll feed you He knows you have
to have some clothes to wear. He'll put clothes on your back
But seek ye first that is seek this with priority Seek this
with determination seek this above all things the kingdom
of god and his righteousness And god will feed you and clothe
you and house you and all these things shall be added unto you
Spirit of God teach me Give me grace to set my heart and my
mind upon eternity To live for eternity not for time for heaven
not for the world for Christ not for my flesh This is what
the Apostle says in Colossians chapter chapter 3. I'll get ahead
of myself just a little bit Colossians 3 if you then be risen with Christ
and That's what we said in our baptism, isn't it? That's what
we profess in the faith of the gospel. We've been risen with
Christ. If you've been risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of
God. Set your affection, not affections, plural, your affection. Set your heart on things above,
not on things on the earth, for you're dead. You're dead, and
your life is hid with Christ in God. happiness, health, and
honor, property, prosperity, and position, fame, fortune,
and favor. These are the things for which
many women spend their lives in this world. Shelby and I watched
a little bit of the election returns after I finished my work
last night. And she looked at somebody, I
forgot who it was, and I said, man, he looks tired. Don't you
know that's grueling? Don't you know that's just exhausting
at what they're doing? And I said, there's nothing any
man craves like he craves power. They'll die to get it. They'll
die to get it. Most people will sacrifice anything
for riches, revelry, and recognition. These are the things the flesh
craves. Yours? and mine too. But what
will a man give in exchange for his soul? The believer, that person who
is born of the spirit, that new man created in us by the grace
of God, lives for things higher and better. The heaven born soul
is concerned with his relationship, her relationship with Christ.
The heaven-born soul is concerned with knowing him who loved us
and gave himself for us The heaven-born soul is concerned with growing
in the grace and knowledge of our redeemer Philippians chapter
3 the apostle paul said I count all things but loss For the excellency
of the knowledge of christ jesus my lord. I count all things but
dogs Count all things but done both
my religious things and my material things both my learning and my
position both my intellect and my abilities both what I Have
done and attained and grasped and what I've given what I can
give in my hands. I counted all just done That I may know Christ
that I may when Christ that I may be found in Christ. Read on Romans
chapter eight, verse six. For to be carnally minded is
death. But to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. The person who swallowed up with
this world is dead. Spiritually dead. and everything
for which he lives is marked for destruction. The fashion
of this world passeth away. It's all marked for destruction. Rex, I don't know that we'll
ever learn what I'm trying to communicate. I don't know that I'll learn
it or you will until we leave this world, but everything Everything
that's important to us except our Redeemer and our souls and
the souls of others. Everything except that which
is spiritual and eternal is marked for destruction. You know what
that means? It's really worthless. It's really
not worth the bother. Now please don't misunderstand
what I'm saying. I was sitting there Getting ready
to preach and thinking about both Eric and Cody. They're both
out of college and went to work just recently. You fellas ought
to be, believers ought to have the best work ethic of anybody
around. Now, I mean this. We ought to
have the best work ethic of anybody around. Get there first and leave
last and work hardest while you're there. That's how you ought to
behave. You're not working for God, for man, you're working
for God. You're not working for the bank or for the Lowe's or
for this or that, you're working for Christ. So come early, stay
late and work hard. That's how believers ought to
live. But don't set your heart on these things. Don't set your
heart on these things. To be carnally minded is death. To live for things Perishing
is to live for death The fashion of this world passeth away Someone
once said don't build your tree your house in any of the trees
of this forest. They're all marked for burning
the believer That man that woman who is born of God that person
who trusts Christ Sets his mind on things above not on things
on the earth. Turn to first Timothy six. First
Timothy, Chapter six. Our Lord told us, take heed and
beware of covetousness. For a man's life consisteth not
in the abundance of the things which he possesses. First Timothy,
Chapter six, verse six. Godliness with contentment is
great gain. For we brought nothing into this
world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And
having food and raiment, food and clothing, let us be there
with content. But they that will be rich, they
that make it their purpose to be rich, fall into temptation
and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown
men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the
root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have
heard from the faith and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows. But thou, O man of God, Flee
these things. Flee these things and follow
after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. I hadn't been pastoring here
very long. We hadn't even poured concrete
downstairs back in my office one day and a fellow came by
I'd gone to school with, gone to high school with him. I hadn't
seen him since I graduated from high school. And it was obvious
he was doing well. And he came by to chat with me. I don't know how he found out
I was here, wanting me to get involved in business with him.
And I said, Steve, I'm not interested. I'm not interested. He said,
well, aren't you interested? This was a long time ago. Wouldn't
you like to make $50,000 more a year? I said, no, I'm not interested.
I'm not interested. Why? Why? I've got something
more important to do. I've got something more important
to do. And he went on, made a lot of
money, and died a long time ago. And left everything. And as far
as I know, lost his soul. Don't set your heart on this
world. Set your heart on the Redeemer. Set your affection on Christ. Turn away from earthly things. Set your mind on heavenly things. I said earlier, Paul has not
changed subjects. What I'm talking about here with
regard to the world, the distinction between the world and the believer,
the believer and the unbeliever applies to both our new nature
and our old nature. Children of God, don't set your
affection on earthly things. When you find yourself paying
too much attention to earthly things, put it away. I'll tell
you what it'll do to you. Minding the things of the flesh
is deadening. I ask you, is it not so? Minding
the things of the flesh is deadening. Doesn't matter what it is. I
don't care whether you're talking about sports, or politics, or
war, or riches, or bank accounts, or retirement, or health. Minding
the things of the flesh is deadening to your soul. I find myself getting
involved in stuff, just in discussion. All of a sudden, my mind is just
filled with it, just filled with it. I'm not talking about filthy
things, though that's certainly true. I'm talking about just
anything, anything of the flesh, of nature, of this world. Minding
the things of the spirits is enlivening. Do you not find it
so? Do you not find it good for your
soul to think on Christ and to talk about Christ and talk about
the grace of God? Think about the grace of God.
Talk about the providence of God. Think about the providence
of God. Don't you find that uplifting to your soul, enlivening to your
soul and everything else deadens you. Makes you hard, callous
and cold toward God. The disciples one time got to
thinking about all they had sacrificed, and all they had given up. They
gave up their nets, and gave up their fishing boats, and gave
up their jobs, and gave up their careers. And Peter said, we've
forsaken all and followed you. What are we going to have for
that? And the Lord Jesus turned and looked at him. He said, lacked
ye anything? Lacked ye anything? Look at verse 7. Here's the reason
for all this. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God. The natural man, that which is
born of the flesh, the old Adamic nature that's still in God's
saints, and the fallen, depraved nature of all human race hates
God and always reasons against God. But we're the children of
God. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God. Lost carnal men and women and
that old man that's in us don't hate their idols, their gods,
but they hate the living God and love the world. The same
is true of our old endemic nature, as is true of the man who lives
for nothing but the lust of his flesh. Turn to 1st John chapter
2. I want you to look at this. 1st
John chapter 2. Verse 15. Are you there? 1st John 2, verse
15. Love not the world, neither the things that are in
the world. But don't set your heart on the
people of this world, and don't set your heart on the things
in this world. If any man loved the world, the
love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of
life is not of the father, but is of the world. And the world
passeth away and the lust thereof. but he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever all right back to Romans chapter 8 Romans
8 verse 7 the carnal mind is enmity against
God for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed
can be the carnal mind will not be subject to, and will not submit
to the will of God, the way of God, the providence of God, or
the word of God. It will only attempt to use those
things for advantage. The carnal mind is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. One of the old writers
said, How can snow be made warm? Only by making it cease to be
snow. The natural mind, the carnal
mind, cannot be mended. It must be destroyed. Now, let's
look at the next passage, verses 8 and 9. Here's the second thing. First
thing, that which is born of flesh is flesh. That which is
born of spirit is spirit. Second, Those who are in the
flesh cannot please God. And those who are in the spirit
cannot but please God. Now, be sure you get it. Those
who are in the flesh cannot please God and those who are in the
spirit cannot but please God. Look at verse eight. So then
they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Outside Christ, outside Christ,
you can't think or say or do anything pleasing to God. Without
Christ, you cannot think or say or do anything acceptable to
God. We are accepted in the beloved. Because of his righteousness
because of his obedience because of his death We are accepted
in the beloved and what we offer to God with our polluted hands
God washes in the blood of his son and robes in the righteousness
of his son and accepts us only In his son and because of his
son we have no other acceptance without faith without faith in
Christ people everywhere Today, talk about having faith. He's
a man of faith. He's a woman. She's a woman of faith. They
have great faith. Faith is faith in Christ. It's not blind superstition.
And without faith in Christ, it's impossible to please God.
Look at verse nine, Romans chapter eight. But you, you, you who
are born of God, you are taught of God, you, you who have Christ
in you, you're not in the flesh. What? You're not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit. If so, be that the Spirit of
God dwell in you. Now, if any man had not the Spirit
of Christ, he's none of His. You're not in the flesh. That
doesn't mean that we're no longer human. It doesn't mean that we
don't have fleshly passions, appetites, lusts, and desires,
or that our old nature, when we're born again, is eradicated.
Everything we have experienced says otherwise. And Romans chapter
7 says otherwise. I'll talk more about this tonight.
In recent weeks, I've had calls from several pastor friends who've
asked me about the same passage of Scripture. And Romans chapter
6, sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under
law but under grace. And all who called said to me
said, I know that the believer no longer lives in sin like he
used to. In the tenor of his life, he
doesn't live under the dominion of sin. And I said to each of
them, now wait a minute. I've said that. I've said that,
but that's a lie. Merle Hart, in the tenor of your
life, you're just as evil as you ever were. You just don't
act it out as bad. Now you know that so and I know
it so. We've learned to behave outwardly a whole lot better.
It's much to our advantage to do so. But that's not what I'm
talking about. That's not what I'm talking about.
The believer still has the same lust he always had. The same
corrupt nature he always had. That's going to be so until you
go to the grave. The old man is never improved
but only gets worse as age goes on. What's this talking about
there? Paul is telling us here that
we have a new nature, a new nature, being indwelt by the Spirit of
Christ, who is our life. To be in the Spirit is to be
ruled over, influenced and governed by the Spirit of Christ, our
Lord, so that we bring everything to Him. And we hate our Father, and mother
and brother and sister and our own life also. And willingly,
deliberately take up our cross and follow our Redeemer. Walk
in the path of deliberate cost for the glory of God. This is
what it is to live in Christ. All who are in Christ have Christ
living in them. Christ is begotten in us in the
new birth. And being in Christ, we're justified,
sanctified, holy, righteous, perfect, accepted in Him. And
we are one with Him. This is what Paul's talking about
when he says that God's people walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit. Ours is a life in the Spirit. A life of faith. living with
an abiding understanding, an abiding sense. An abiding confidence
of complete, perfect justification in him. Having no confidence
in the flesh. We mingle no pharisaic personal
righteousness with his righteousness. Christ alone is our wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Ye are complete
in him is the language of scripture. The law of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus has made us free and continually makes us free.
from the law of sin and death, so that for all who believe Christ
is our righteousness, our holiness. He is the end of the law for
us. He's the fulfillment of the law, and he is our law. If so
be that the spirit of God dwell in you, if you're made partakers
of the divine nature. Now, if any man have not the
spirit of Christ, he's none of his. If Christ isn't in you,
you're not his. If the spirit of Christ isn't
in you, you're not his. If God's not giving you this
new nature, you're not his. This new nature that looks to
Christ for everything. You're not yet born of God. All
right, here's the third thing. Look at verse 10. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. That which is born of the spirit
is spirit. Secondly, Those who are in the flesh cannot please
God. Those who are in the spirit cannot
but please God. So that in Ecclesiastes, the
wise man says, Rejoice with your wife and sing and be merry for
God now accepteth thy works. He accepts our entire being in
Christ our Lord. Now, here's the third thing.
If Christ is in you, God put him in you. And if Christ be
in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life
because of righteousness. Turn to first Thessalonians chapter
five, and I'll wrap this up. If Christ is in you, God put
him in you by his grace. If Christ is in you, it's because
he stepped into you and took up residence in you by his almighty
grace. When Adam was created in the
garden, you'll remember he was created in the image and likeness
of God. And God breathed into his nostrils and man became a
living soul. And then Adam ate of the forbidden
fruit and he died spiritually. He died spiritually. But he's
still body and soul. He's still body and soul. So that he has both a physical
life and a immortal soul. But he's dead spiritually. In the new birth, God breathes
again. into man's nostrils, and he becomes
again a living soul. And now his body, soul and spirit. Oh, the body of flesh and all
that pertains to it is subject to death and sin. But the spirit
that's in us is life being vitally united to Christ. We have no
stain, no sin, and we cannot die. Eternal life is ours because
of his righteousness because Christ is ours now look here
in first Thessalonians 5 Paul is wrapping up his letter to
the Thessalonians in verse 16. He says Rejoice evermore Why
not if Christ be in you? Oh God teach me that Teach me
not to murmur not to complain not to gripe not to grumble Rejoice
evermore. Christ is in me. Pray without ceasing. What's
that talk about? Worship God all the time. Worship
God all the time. In everything give thanks. For
whatever it is you experience, whatever it is you go through,
whatever it is you have, this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit. Don't
mind earthly things, the spiritual things. Despise not prophecy. Despise not the preaching of
the word. Prove all things. You hear the
word preach, prove it. Hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of
evil. You hear the gospel, you hear
a man preach the word, hold fast that which is good. You hear
a man preach something contrary to the word of God, if it even
smells like works, run from it. Abstain from all appearance of
evil. Now watch verse 23. And the very God of peace sanctify
you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit
and soul and body. This is the only time in the
word of God All three parts of a man's being, a heaven-born
man, a heaven-born woman, are mentioned together. I pray God
your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless under
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that's a foolish prayer.
Not hardly. Read the next line. Faithful is he that calleth you,
who also will do it. I pray God, your whole spirit,
soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And I try to pray with confidence
because of what God has said in his word. And this I pray
for you with confidence because faithful is he that calleth you
who also will do it. Amen.