Brethren, let's turn in our Bibles
to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. Our text is going to be a repetition
for some. I preached on this on Sunday
and we even went through Romans 8 and looked at this in Romans
8. I've written on it all week in
the daily readings that I have mailed out to you. And here I
am preaching on it again tonight. But it's that vitally important.
This is the difference between works, religion and grace. This
is the difference between trying to come to God by the law and
coming to God in Christ only. And it will help us with our
message for Sunday when we see Sunday, Lord willing, what it
is that grieves the Holy Spirit. I've titled this, Life Because
of Righteousness. And this is what I want us to
get. Let me just give you this brief statement. True believers
do not live in the flesh or after the flesh. We're not living in
fear. We're not living with our minds
on the letter of the law, with our minds on our sinful flesh,
with our minds on others. The very fact that we have spiritual
life teaches us that before God we're now in the Spirit and we've
been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. That's true
if you have spiritual life. Now, our divisions will be three
things that the Holy Spirit declares here in Romans 8 that teach us
what I just stated. Here's the first thing we're
going to see. If the Spirit of God dwells in us, we're no longer
in the flesh, but in the Spirit. Look at Romans 8 and verse 7. He said there that the carnal
mind is enmity against God. And he said in verse 8, So then
they that are in the flesh cannot please God. And then he answers
that. He says, verse 9, But you are
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit
of God dwell in you. That's the first thing. Then
the second thing is this. He said there in Romans 7, he
said, The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God. Neither
indeed can be. But the good news is, if Christ
is in us, our body is dead to the law and the body of the law
is dead to us. Look at verse 10. And if Christ
be in you, the body is dead because of sin. That's exactly what he's
teaching there. He said the carnal mind is not
subject to the law of God and cannot be. He says, but if Christ
be in you, the body of the law is dead because of sin. Because
sin's been dealt with by Christ. And then the third thing is this,
the very reason we have spiritual life is because we are righteousness
in Christ. Look at verse 10. But the Spirit
is life because of righteousness. And then we'll hear God's application
to us when we get finished. Now, first of all, if the Spirit
of God dwells in us, we're no longer in the flesh but in the
Spirit. Verse 9, You are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, he's going to show us how
this came to be. Go back up to verse 1. He says,
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. for, because,
here's the first reason, because the law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is the gospel.
It's the gospel. It's the gospel blessed, spoken
by Christ our head and blessed by the Holy Spirit in our heart.
Now, turn to John 6. I'll show you that. John chapter
6. The law of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus makes us free from the law of sin and death.
That law is the gospel spoken by Christ through the Holy Spirit. John 6 verse 63. Christ said
here, this is Christ speaking, it is the spirit that quickeneth.
should be a capital S. It's the spirit that quickeneth.
The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit and they are life. And to show us this is
how we're given life, how we believe, how we continue walking
in the spirit, he says there verse 64, but there's some of
you that believe not. Those who believed not walked
after the flesh. They were still in the flesh.
They followed the flesh. They walked after the flesh.
They walked in the oldness of the letter of the law. They minded
the letter of the law. They had their minds set on things
of the flesh. They were married to the flesh
and to the law. And so whenever they heard the
gospel preached, you know what they did? They turned and walked
away from Christ. They walked away from Christ.
But Peter and the disciples, Christ had spoken this gospel
into their hearts. And through the Holy Spirit,
they had been regenerated. And they had been given life
by this spirit of life in Christ Jesus. And so when they heard
Christ speak, they didn't turn and walk away from Christ. They
said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. These words are the words we
need to live. Where we are sure we believe
and we're sure you're the Christ. You're the son of God. How did
they know that? Because he spoke this word in
their heart. That's how they knew it. And that's the reason
the other ones didn't know it because he hadn't spoken in their
heart. When this gospel is spoken in the heart by Christ, I can't
do this just speaking it like I'm doing here. But when he speaks
my words into your heart, and the spirit gives you life, there
will be a regenerated new man formed within you. A new creature
will be made within you. And in our inward man, it's called
the law of the spirit of life in Christ because when he does
this, he writes his law on our heart. You had the law of right
and wrong written on your conscience from the day you were born. You
can read that in Romans 2. The Gentiles who don't even have
the written law, he said they are a law unto themselves. They
show that they have the law written on their conscience because they
accuse or excuse one another. Where'd they get that? Where'd
they get the understanding that it's wrong to steal another man's
chicken? They got the law written on their
conscience. But what we don't have is we don't understand what
the law says. about us. And so when God, when
Christ regenerates you, He writes the law of sin, the law of death
on the heart. He shows in the inward man. He
doesn't write this in the old man, in the old nature, in the
fleshly nature. He writes it in the new heart.
And He shows us when He writes this in our heart, He shows us
what the law says about us. He shows us the law is spiritual.
He shows us that it condemns our thoughts, our nature, our
very nature. He shows us what we are. He shows
us that our flesh has nothing good in it, our old nature. He shows us that with the flesh
profits us nothing. And He shows us that it will
always be this way. Paul said up there at the end
of Romans 7, He's a regenerated believer and he says there at
the end, he said, with the mind I myself serve the law of God.
That's with this inward man. But with the flesh, the law of
sin. That's how it's always going
to be. It's always going to be that way for the believer. We
serve God in the inward man that he's made. Our old nature is
sin and it's always going to be sin. It's all it's ever going
to be. So he writes this on our heart
and teaches us this. He writes the law of righteousness
in our heart. He shows us that the law requires
absolute perfect righteousness and that He is that righteousness. He's the righteousness of the
law. He's the righteousness of God. He's the righteousness we
have to have. He's the righteousness which
exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees.
And He makes us to see that He is our righteousness. And He
writes on our hearts the law of faith. He reveals to us that
His righteousness is made our righteousness by trusting Him,
by believing Him, and casting all our care upon Him. And through
faith, His righteousness is made our righteousness. Scripture
says, where's boasting then? It's excluded. By what law? By
the law of faith? Or by the law of works? No, but
by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a
man's justified by faith without the deeds of the law. You get
this law written on your heart when the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has given you life. And Christ has written
this on our heart. And he writes the law of love
on our heart. He makes it so that he shows us what great things
he's done for us. And he constrains us by that
love. He shows us then what he's done
and makes us willing in the day of His power by the constraint
of His love, by showing us what great things He's done for us.
So we believe Him, and we trust Him, and we cast all our care
into His hands, and we do it willingly. And when we believe
on Him, there's no condemnation. He shows us, I've removed the
condemnation. I've made you the righteousness
of the law. And so then He also writes on
our hearts the law of liberty. And we're free from the law.
Freed from the law, O happy condition, Jesus hath bled and there is
remission. Cursed by the law and bruised
by the fall, grace hath redeemed us once for all. Now this is
what happens. This is how we're freed from
the law of sin and death. The law of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Christ said, if I shall make you free, if the Son shall make
you free, you shall be free indeed. And so we're freed from that
law. It's called a law not because there's works involved, not because
there's a curse involved if you don't obey. It's called a law
because it's the law of grace and life, the law of faith, the
law of righteousness, the law of liberty, that these things,
these are the laws He writes on our heart. And He says, and
it's all the substance of making in our hearts the everlasting
covenant of grace. That's what He writes in our
heart. And He says, I'll remember your
sin no more. And that's when you cease being in the flesh
and now you're in the Spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit shows us
a contrast. Look at verse 5. He says, 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. Now in the context,
I said this to you Sunday, both of these are religious folks.
He's not talking about folks that mind the things of the flesh
in immorality. He's talking about religious
folks. He's talking about religious folk. Those who are after the
flesh are religious, but spiritually dead. In this context that he's
speaking of here. And therefore, they mind the
things of the flesh. They're after the flesh, so they
mind the things of the flesh. What is that? We saw it Sunday. They glory in appearance, not
in heart. That's what Paul said in 2 Corinthians
5.12. They glory in appearance, not in heart. They have their
minds on carnal distinctions. This is all the flesh minds.
They have their minds on the distinction between Jew and Gentile. Between circumcision and uncircumcision. Those who are under the law,
those who are not under the law. Male and female. Educated, uneducated. Bond and free. They mind the
flesh using the law to curb themselves and using the law to curb others.
And when you do that, brethren, you're going to always mind the
letter of the law. You're going to always mind the
works of the flesh. You're going to mind the actions
of others and you're going to be minding yourself. You're not
going to be focused on Christ. I guarantee it. I guarantee it. Just listen to the messages they
preach and you'll see. You're not going to be focused
on Christ. Paul used himself as the example. Let's go to Philippians
3. Philippians 3. He said, when he was dead in
religion, this is what he did. He minded the things of the flesh.
Philippians 3, 4. He says, though I might also
have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that
he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. And he's
speaking about when he was a dead sinner. Philippians 3. Now look
here in verse 5. He said, I was circumcised the
eighth day. He had his mind on that. He said,
I was of the stock of Israel. He said, I was of the tribe of
Benjamin. I was a Hebrew of Hebrews. Would you think that counted
for anything if that was true of you? It counted for nothing. For nothing. Look at this. He
said, As touching the law, I was a Pharisee, the strictest of
the bunch. Concerning zeal, I persecuted
the church. Touching the righteousness which
is in the law, he said, I was blameless. As far as the outward
appearance was concerned, he said, you couldn't find a fault
in me. I was blameless before that law. He said, but what things
were gained to me, those I counted laws for Christ, all of them. He says, Yea, doubtless, and
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things. He says, But I don't even count
it a loss. I don't count them anything but dumb. that I might
win Christ and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faithfulness
of Christ Himself, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Romans
7. Let's go there for a moment.
Romans 7. You see, this had to be done
for us. We had to be brought out of the
flesh into the Spirit because When we were in the flesh, look
at Romans 7, 5. Paul includes himself in this
because this is what he was doing in all of that that we just read.
He said, when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, that's
what he calls them, which were by the law, did work in our members
to bring forth fruit unto death. What Paul thought was fruit when
he was dead in sin, what he thought, everything that he produced was
constrained by the law and produced by the law. It was all by the
law. And he says it was all the motions
of sin. Every bit of it was dead fruit. Look at verse 9. For I was alive
without the law once. He thought he was spiritually
alive, thought he was pleasing God, He had the law. He thought
he was blameless before it. But when he says without the
law, he means I didn't hear what the law said. I didn't have a
clue what this law meant. But when the commandment came,
when Christ, when he spoke the word, and the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus began to set him free from the law of sin
and death. When that commandment came, and the Lord wrote the
law of sin and death on his inward man, he said, sin revived, sin
became alive in my flesh, and I died. And he said, in the commandment
which was ordained to life, I fell to be unto death. what it was
to mine the things of the flesh. That's why we had to be saved
from that. But now go to 1 Corinthians 2.
What is it to mine the things of the spirit? When a man's been
born of God and he's been delivered from the law of sin and death,
now he's in the spirit and now he mines the things of the spirit.
Look at 1 Corinthians 2.12. Now we have received not the
spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God. that
we might know the things. You see that? That we might know
the things. He said those that are after
the Spirit mind the things of the Spirit. He says we have the
Spirit of God that we might know the things. that are freely given
to us of God, which things also we speak. This is what we preach
every time we stand here. We preach the things freely given
to us of God. Not in the words which man's
wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches. Comparing
spiritual things with spiritual. These things are Christ. You
want to sum them up? They're Christ. The law of the
gospel is called the spirit of life in Christ or by Christ because
it was worked by Christ. It comes from Christ and Christ
himself is the sum and substance and subject of the whole thing.
This is what he shows us when he speaks. He takes our mind
off of our doing, our flesh, our law keeping, off of others,
all of those things and he sets our minds on Christ alone. and
we start minding the things of the Spirit. We want to hear Christ
preach. Now, go back to our text in Romans 8. Now, this is why
it says in Romans 8, verse 6, to be carnally minded is death.
Those that mind the flesh, mind the law, mind their doing, that's
death. But to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God. All of that stuff Paul was doing,
all of the stuff men are doing in religion today, when they're
constrained by the law and constrained by the precepts of men, and they're
doing it for any other constraint other than the love of Christ
constrained in their heart. It might appear to be good to
men, but God says, it's hatred against me. Every bit of it.
Every bit of it. every bit of it. For it's not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that
are in the flesh cannot please God. Now, the lusts of the flesh,
Paul gives a long list of them over in Galatians, and if we
have time we're going to go look at them. They are indeed wrong,
brethren. No believer is going to live
after the lusts of the flesh. But let me tell you something.
To be turned from those lusts of the flesh by the constraint
of the law is to be just as lawless as the man that's guilty of those
things. In fact, Paul said the harlots and the publicans would
go in the kingdom of heaven before you will if you think that merits
you anything. But now watch this. Believer,
you don't have to worry about the carnal mind, because, verse
9, you're not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that
the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, a man that's not, he says
there, a man that doesn't have the Spirit of Christ is none
of his. He could be doing all these things in religion, he
can be doing all these mighty works, and they in themselves
could be nice works, but he's none of Christ. He's doing it
in his flesh. He's none of his. Not yet, anyway.
You might be a lech child, but it's not revealed yet that he's
Christ, because he's doing it in his flesh. So that's the first
thing. You're not in the flesh, but
in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. And that's
why we mind the things of the Spirit. Now, here's the second
thing. What about the believer being in subjection to the law?
Because he said, not only is the carnal mind enmity against
God, he said in verse 7, it's not subject to the law of God,
and neither indeed can be. So what about the law? The Holy
Spirit says in verse 10, And if Christ be in you, the body
is dead because of sin. If Christ be in you, our body
is dead to the law and the body of the law is dead to us because
our sin has been dealt with by Christ himself. That was the
second reason. The Holy Spirit gave the first
reason that we're not in the flesh. He said, the law of the
spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law
of sin and death. And now He gives a second reason, verse
3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh, because I was a sinner. God sent in His own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the
flesh. That's why it says because of
sin, because Christ has dealt with it. He's condemned sin in
the flesh. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Turn
back to Romans 7. We saw this Sunday and I want
to look at it again. When Christ took the sin of His
people on Himself and He died under the justice of the law
for all His people, right then, all His people were dead to the
law. Romans 7 verse 4 says, Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become
dead to the law by the body of Christ. When Christ's body became
dead, our body became dead to the law. We died to the law when
Christ died. That's the whole reason He died.
And then, when Christ died for His people, all the law died
to His people. Verse 6. He says, Now we are
delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held. That's what is meant in our text
when He says, If Christ be in you, the body is dead because
of sin. The believer's body is dead to
the law. and the body of the law is dead to the believer because
Christ has taken care of our sin. Turn to Colossians 2.10.
I'm going to show you this in another place. Colossians 2.10. He says in Colossians 2.10, he
says, you're complete in Christ. You're complete in Christ. Paul
is trying to convey to us just what he's conveying in Romans
8. You're complete in Christ. You're
not in the flesh, you're in the Spirit. The body of the law is
dead to you, and the Spirit's life because of righteousness.
You're complete in Christ. That's what he's saying. Now
look down at verse 13. He says at the end there, he
says, And you being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision
of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven
you all trespasses? That is, all trespasses that
the law had against us. He says, He blotted out the handwriting
of ordinances that were against us. The ceremonial law was not
against us, brethren. The ceremonial law pictured Christ
to come. It foreshadowed that good thing
to come. It was the moral law that was against us. He says
here, He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing
it to His cross. He gave the law everything the
law could require. He gave the law perfect righteousness,
He gave the law death, and He gave the law holiness of heart.
He gave the law everything it requires. Now look at verse 14,
verse 20, I'm sorry, verse 20. Wherefore, if you be dead with
Christ from the rudiments of the world, He's saying if you're
dead with Christ from the body of the law, Why, as though living
in the world, are you subject to ordinances? Touch not, taste
not, handle not, which all are to perish with the using. Now,
be sure you gather this. The Spirit of God is teaching
us this right here. The Spirit of God is saying, Believer, the
body of the law is dead to you and you're dead to the law. That's
what the Spirit of God is teaching through Paul. But men tell you
this. He says, after the commandments
and doctrines of men. Men tell you, no, you're still
under the law. You got to touch not, and taste
not, and handle not, you're still under the law. Listen to what
the Spirit of God says. Which things have indeed a show. If you want a glory in your flesh,
that's the way to do it. They have a show of wisdom in
will worship, and of false humility, and of neglect in the body, of
self-abasement. They appear to have a good show
in those things. But now, keep on reading. but
they're not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. That
means they don't do any of the things they claim to do. They
do not mortify the deeds of the flesh. You see, what the flesh
likes is give me some law. Give me some law, give me something
to do, and I'll do it. That's what the flesh likes.
And so, when a man has, oh, he's mortified the deeds of his flesh
using the law so that he's just the saddest, most sorriest looking,
most uncomfortable fellow there is on the face of the planet.
He wouldn't smile and have any joy for anything. It might mean
he reveals what's really in his heart. And yet in that state
he's in where he just has abased and abased and abased himself,
he's just so proud of himself and what he's done. God hates
it. It's not subjection to the law
of God. It's not mortification of the flesh. God hates it. Sinner, if you're constrained
by the law, If you're constrained by the letter of the law, constrained
by the precepts of men bringing you under the law, you're in
your flesh and you're not in subjection to the law of God.
That's just plain and simple. God hates it. God hates it. All
right, now let's go back to our text. Go back to our text. And he tells us there this was
because of sin. And he says there in Romans 8,
He says, because what the law could not do and that it was
weak through our flesh is because of our sin brethren. Now let
me repeat what I said on Sunday. Let me say this, what I just
said again. Because of the sin of His people, because of the
weakness of our flesh, God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh to condemn sin and to fulfill the righteousness of the law
for us, for His people. And as the representative head
of His people, Christ gave the law. As the one man God looks
to, the one man God looks to, the one man God looks to, Christ
gave the law, holiness of nature, which is the sanctification in
Him. He gave the law obedience of
life, which is the saint's righteousness in Him. And He gave the law sufferings
of death, which is the saint's justification in Him. That's
all the law could require. He said, I came to fulfill it,
and He fulfilled it. He fulfilled it. So if Christ
be in you, before God, you're not in the flesh, you're in the
Spirit. And if Christ be in you, the
body of the law is dead to us, and our body's dead to the law.
Well preacher, how do I know that's true? I've got one good
way to show you. This is the last point. If you're
spiritually alive, it's because everything I'm telling you is
true. Look there, look at Romans 8.10. But the spirit is life
because of righteousness. If you have the Spirit of life
in you, you've regenerated and you believe on Christ, it's because
you've been made the righteousness of the law, the righteousness
of God by the righteousness of Christ Himself. The very reason
God's elect are given spiritual life in this world is because
each one for whom Christ died has been made the righteousness
of God in Christ Jesus. So, if you're alive spiritually,
it's because Christ has fulfilled all righteousness for you. And
since Christ fulfilled all righteousness for His people, and since Christ
made us His righteousness before God, He made us righteousness
before God, therefore the law demands nothing else of Christ's
people. And the law demands that all
for whom Christ died, they must be given this spirit of life. They must be delivered from the
law of sin and death, because the law has no more claims on
them. Period. And that's the very reason Christ
The Holy Spirit says Christ laid down His life. Look at Galatians
3. Galatians 3. I'm going to read this whole
chapter to you. I want you to see this. And we're
going to mention this first part here again. Look at Galatians
3.5. Now, the problem in Galatia was It wasn't that they were
trying to begin in the Spirit by the law. It was that they
were trying now, once they had begun in the Spirit through faith,
now they were being told they had to go back to the law and
live under the law. Now listen to Paul here. Galatians
3.5, He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit and worketh
miracles among you. Who does that? Christ. I just
showed Christ does that. He's the one that speaks this
word in our heart. Doeth he it by the works of the law, or by
the hearing of faith? Does it come to you by telling
you what you should do, or by hearing of the faithfulness of
Christ Jesus? Even as Abraham believed God. It comes to us just like it did
Abraham, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know
ye therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the
children of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing
that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before
the gospel unto Abraham the hearing of faith. He preached the gospel
to Abraham saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. Now there's
the promise of God made to Abraham and made to Christ in the everlasting
covenant of grace. In thee shall all nations be
blessed. All the elect of God out of all nations. So then,
they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as
many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For
it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that
no man is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident.
For the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith.
But the man that doeth them shall live in them. Now this was their
problem. They were being told they got to live under the law.
He says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law.
You know what redemption is? It's to be bought out from under
the law, lock, stock and barrel. It's to be bought totally out
from under the law. He did it by being made a curse
for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree. And he did it, verse 14, that the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after
the matter of men. Though it be but a man's covenant,
yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth to it.
You can't take away from it or add to it. Now to Abraham and
his seed were the promises made. And he didn't say to seeds as
of many, but as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ. God
made this promise to Abraham and he made it to Christ. He
made it to Christ first before the foundation of the world,
that all his people would be given the faith through the Holy
Spirit because he redeemed them and made them the righteousness
of God. And this promise was given to Abraham, that he was
made the righteousness of God through faith by what Christ
did in redeeming him from the curse of the law. And that was
given to him before the law was given. That promise was made
to Abraham before the law at Sinai was given. Now watch. This
I say, that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in
Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after,
cannot disannul it, that it should make the promise of none effect.
For if the inheritance be of the law, it's no more of promise,
but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth
the law. It was added because of transgressions.
There's your reason for giving the law. Till the seed should
come to whom the promise was made. And it was ordained by
angels in the hand of a mediator. This is another reason showing
you it's not how we're going to be saved. Moses was a man.
He was a mediator. He was a man. But a mediator
is not a mediator of one. But there you got God is one
and Moses is one. Moses is a man and God is God.
Where's the mediator between them? Where's the mediator? So the law, we weren't going
to be saved by the law. Look here now, verse 21. Is the
law then against the promises of God? God forbid. For if there
had been a law given, which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded
all under sin, all of God's elect under sin, as well as all other
men, but this applies to His elect, that the promise by faith
of Jesus Christ, by the work of Jesus Christ Himself, by the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ fulfilling the law, it might
be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were
kept under the law, shut up under the faith which should afterwards
be revealed. But wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring
us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. The law was
that taskmaster. The law was not this sweet little
schoolmaster that's afraid to spank you about them because
they might get in trouble with the liberal law. This law right here
was a hard schoolmaster that whipped your butt all the way
to Christ. And he says that you might be justified by faith And
he says, but after that faith has come, we are no longer under
the schoolmaster anymore. We are not under the law. For
you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. That's what it is
to be in the Spirit. You've put on Christ. There's
neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither bond nor free, there's
neither male nor female, for you're all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ, then are
you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. That's
what our text shows us. Look back there, brethren. This
is what he says. This is the result of us being
now born of the Spirit. This is the result of us being
in the Spirit, not in the flesh. This is the result of the law
being dead to us, and us to the law, and us being made the righteousness
of God in Christ. Look, Romans 8, 14. As many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they're sons of God. You've not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear. You've not received
the spirit to bring you back into bondage to the law in fear
under the law. Christ came to save us from that,
and He had. But you received the spirit of
adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And
if children, then heirs of God, and join heirs with Christ. If
so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified
together. Now then, let's hear God's application. Let's hear
what God says to me and you now, having this understanding. How
then am I going to be led? How then am I going to walk?
How then is my flesh going to be mortified? Look at Romans
8, 11. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the
dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall
also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in
you. Now, it's true that this applies
to the resurrection. Our mortal bodies are going to
be raised in the resurrection. You can find that down in verse
23. But the context teaches us that our mortal bodies are going
to be made useful not by the constraint of law, not by the
precepts of men, but only by the Holy Spirit through the hearing
of the faithfulness of Christ. He says, verse 12, Therefore,
brethren, we're debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh.
Our flesh profits nothing. The flesh here is the old nature.
That's what I'm speaking about, the old nature. Of course we're
not to live after the flesh in immoral sin. Of course not. But
as I just told you, it's just as sinful, just as sinful to
take the law. and try to live by the constraint
of the law, to live by the letter of the law, or to attempt to
mortify the deeds of our flesh by the law. That's just as sinful.
Just as sinful. Both are living after the flesh.
Both are living after the flesh. Both shall result in eternal
death. It's the spirit that quickeneth,
the Lord said. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak
unto you, their spirit and their life, that's how we're going
to be mortified and our inner man grown. So then, When we're
born of the Holy Spirit, instead of minding our flesh and minding
the law, we walk after the Spirit, minding the things of the Spirit.
Look at verse 13. For if you live after the flesh,
you'll die, but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds
of the body, you shall live. Alright, now listen. I'm going
to give you three things. How are the deeds of the believer's
body going to be mortified? And how is the inner man going
to be strengthened to walk after the Spirit, to walk in obedience
to God and honor the Gospel and honor Christ of the Gospel? How
are we going to be made to do that? Is it going to be by law?
That's exactly what he said. It's not going to be made by
law. It's not going to be done by... The law never made anybody
obedient. It never did. Those that were
obedient in the old covenant had the Spirit of Christ in them.
And they were freed from the law of sin and death just like
we are today. It's always been saved one way. Look here now.
Here's number one. The flesh is mortified. We treat
our flesh and the flesh of our brethren as dead, as crucified
with Christ. That means when we do something
good or we do something sinful, We don't regard it. If you do
something good in your flesh, it don't count for anything.
If you do something sinful, it don't count against you. That's
what it is to regard your flesh as dead. Regard it as dead. It's
crucified. So, how is that flesh mortified
that way? How are we going to be made to
regard it that way through the Spirit? First of all, we just
read it in Galatians. Not through the hearing of works,
but through the hearing of the faithfulness of Christ Jesus.
What I'm trying to preach to you, what I preach to you every
time I stand here, the faithfulness of Christ, what He's accomplished
for us, that's how our flesh is mortified. That's how the
Spirit's grown and edified. And then number two, our first
husband, the law, is dead, that we might be married to a new
husband. That's what Paul meant in the
first part of Romans 7. He's saying it's lawful for you
to be married to Christ and not the law anymore. Men hear that
and some read it. I'll tell you why. He tells us
in Romans 8, they're dead. Men hear that and they want to
hang on to that law. Oh, I've got to be married to the law.
You're going to be a... What is it when you're married
to two women? Two spouses? Polygamous? Polygamous then. You can't be married to the law
and married to Christ. You can only be married to one
or the other. Married to one or the other. Romans 7 verse
4 says, We are delivered from the law that you should be married
to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we
should bring forth fruit unto God. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 15
says, We live not unto ourselves anymore, not trying to mortify
the deeds of our flesh ourselves by a lot. We live unto Christ
now. So there we call upon Christ. We ask grace for Christ. We get
all spiritual fruit from Christ. That's what it means to be married
to Him. When you're married to Christ, He says, now, I've done
everything for you that your first husband did not do for
you. All he did was command you, but he never did anything for
you. The Lord didn't. And He says, I've done it all
for you now, and that old husband's dead, and you're to be married
to Me now. You're to walk after Me. You're
to look to Me for fruit, for grace, and for power, and spirit,
and fruit. You don't look back to that old
husband. I gave that illustration Sunday. What if a woman's married
to you and you go and she had a husband before you who was
mean as a snake to her and didn't do a thing for her and now you've
done everything for her but she keeps looking back to that other
husband and trying to live by his rules rather than live by
your rules? This is what he's saying. You're free from that
law. So first of all, you're going to hear Christ in the preaching
of the gospel. And then secondly, you go to
Christ. You go to Him. He says in Hebrews
10, we got access to the throne of God because His blood's washed
us by what He's done for us and what He's done in us. So we've
got access. We're sons of God. We can cry,
I have a Father now. So He says, go to Him. And He
tells us that all of the fruit comes from Him anyway. Listen
to this in Philippians 1.9. Paul said, This I pray. Who does
he pray this to? To Christ? This I pray. That your love may abound yet
more and more in knowledge and all judgment. He said, I don't
go to the law for this. I go to Christ for this. That
you may approve things that are excellent. That you may be sincere
and without offense to the day of Christ. How so? Philippians
1.11 says, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which
are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. All
fruits by Him. So He says, you know, that's
what He said, we should be married to Him that we should bring forth
fruit. When you're married to a husband, ladies, you bring
forth children by the husband. That's the only way we're going
to bring forth fruit. We didn't bring any by our first husband. We're
going to bring it forth by our second husband, by Christ Himself.
And then thirdly, We've been delivered from the letter of
the law. Romans 7, 6 says that we should
serve in newness of spirit, not in the oldness of the letter.
Go back to Galatians. I'll show you what that is. Galatians
5. Here's what it is to serve in newness of spirit, not in
oldness of the letter. Galatians 5, 5. We, through the
Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in
Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything. Your law keeping
is not going to avail anything with you. Not even a little bit. Not even just a little law keeping.
Not any. Not any. It won't avail anything
for you. Not only that, nor uncircumcision. How do you... Listen to this.
I said this to you. Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham
They all attained unto the righteousness of God, and none of them had
the law. They all walked pleasing to God,
and none of them had what men say is the believer's rule of
life, the law. None of them had it. What did
they have? They had Christ, the Spirit of Christ, the Gospel
of Christ leading them, Himself. That's what we have, believer.
That's how we're constrained, by the love of Christ, by the
love of Christ. Look here now, they don't work
it, but faith which worketh by love. That's the rule we're under.
Faith which worketh constrained by Christ's love for us. Now
look at this, you did run well, who did hinder you that you should
not obey the truth? Anything else is not obeying
the truth. Look now, it says, this persuasion
cometh not of Christ that called you. That's not who's teaching
you this. A little leaven leavens a whole
lot. A little bit of this works and the whole outfit is going
to be turned into works, religion. Verse 10, I have confidence in
you through the Lord, He's the one that's going to do it, that
you'll be none otherwise minded, that you'll mind the things of
the Spirit. But he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment,
whosoever he be. He says, and if I preach circumcision,
if I was preaching this, if I was preaching law, He said I wouldn't
yet suffer persecution. And I can say that, brethren.
If I was preaching law, these folks around us, they would turn
their thumbs down on me. But they do. Why? Because I'm
preaching the offense of the cross. He said if I preach law,
then it's the offense of the cross ceased. I would they were
even cut off which trouble you. For brethren, you've been called
unto liberty. Now don't use your liberty for
an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the laws fulfilled in
one word, even this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be
not consumed one another. You want to live after the law?
This I say then, walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill
the lust of the flesh. That's the lust of the flesh,
to bite and devour one another with the law. That's the lust
of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against
the Spirit, and the Spirit is against the flesh, and these
are contrary the one to the other, so that you cannot do the things
you would. The Spirit's going to keep you
from walking after the lust of the flesh. But if you be led
of the Spirit, even if you see sin in you, remember this, you're
not under the law. You're not under the law. Now,
the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness. He goes all down this line and
he says there, and I tell you before, as I've also told you
in time past, they which do such things shall not inherit the
kingdom of God. But you're not going to stop yourself from doing
these things by the law. If you do, you're just as guilty
of these things as the person doing them. Look at this. The
fruit of the Spirit is this. This is what it is to walk in
the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance. These are things that you do.
Against such, there is no law. You've been delivered, see? And
they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections
and the lusts. That's what we saw in our first point, and in
our second point, and in our third point. The body of the
law is dead and our body is dead to the law. It's crucified. Look,
verse 25. If we live in the Spirit then,
if we're not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if we live in
the Spirit, let's walk in the Spirit. He said as opposed to
trying to walk by the law. If you're in the Spirit, walk
in the Spirit then. Let us not be desirous of vain glory. That's
what constraint by law is. Desiring vain glory. Provoking
one another. Envying one another. Brethren,
if a man be overtaken in a fault, don't take him to the law. You
which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness,
considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Bear ye one
another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Isn't that
different from taking them to the law and chopping their head
off with the law? If a man thinks himself to be something when
he's nothing, he deceives himself. But let every man prove his own
work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and
not in another. In other words, don't try to
make somebody else do this. You just worry about yourself. You go to Christ yourself. You
hear the hearing of faith yourself. You flee to Him for mercy and
grace yourself. You walk in the Spirit yourself. And you just
bear the burden of your brother when he's fallen in sin and he's
not doing it. But you do this to God yourself. That's what
he's saying. Now look at verse 7. Be not deceived, God is not
mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap. He that sows to his flesh shall
of the flesh reap corruption. You want to walk after the law?
You want to live by the sword? You die by it. You die by the
law. But he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap
life everlasting. Now he says, don't be weary in
well doing, in due season we'll reap if we faint not, and if
we are there for opportunity, do good unto all, especially
unto them of the household of faith. Amen. Alright brethren, let's stand
together. Our gracious Father, we thank
you for this word. Lord, we need you to deliver
us from the law of sin and death. We need you to teach us in our
hearts, because when we hear something that goes against the
law, we think we are the defenders of the law by nature. And all
we are is breakers of it. And even when we think we're
keeping it, all we're doing is just making a mockery of your
law. We need you to teach us, Lord,
that Christ has fulfilled it, that Christ is the end of it,
that believers walk by faith, constrained by His love alone,
by the Spirit of God's grace, not by anything else. Teach us
that in our heart, Lord, and make us to be true children of
God. Make us to be true followers
of Christ the Lord, in spirit and in truth, and no more in
this vain pretense of righteousness and this vain pretense of holiness
which will workers walk after. Thank you, Father, for those
you've taught. Thank you for those you've instructed. Keep
us in Him, looking to Him alone. We ask it in Christ's name, asking
for forgiveness for our fleshly sins. In His name we pray. Amen.