Alright, if you will, turn to
Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. Begin reading in verse 1. Romans
8, 1. no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Jesus Christ hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, 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. 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. 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, the
body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness." When I ask two questions, Before
we start this evening, when we start to look at this passage,
do you have a desire to be delivered from this body of death and to
have life in Christ? Do you desire to have that guilt
of sin, that curse of sin to be removed from you and have
the righteousness of Christ Jesus our Lord? You have the desire
to be removed from the power of sin, to be removed from the
performing sin, and to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. If we are united with Christ,
if we are made one with Him, given life in Him, we will walk
in the Spirit and have eternal life in our Savior. In verse
1, Paul does not say that we are not condemnable. He does
not say we have no more sin in these earthly bodies, that we're
outwardly perfect. He doesn't say that. But he says
that sin cannot bring us into condemnation because we are in
Christ. Let's look here at Romans 8 verse
1 again. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. Christ as the substitute of the
elect of God, He has borne the judgment and the wrath and condemnation
we deserved and made us reconciled to the Father. We turn over to
Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. Paul wrote
to us in Galatians and he said, Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law being made a curse for us. How did that
take place? Here in Colossians chapter 1
verse 20. What was the way that peace was
made that Paul was talking about? How is it that saints of God
are reconciled? Colossians 1.20. and having made
peace through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all
things unto Himself. By Him I say whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, things that you and I
see or things that you and I don't see. And you that were sometimes
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
hath He reconciled. While we were yet sinners, Christ
died for the ungodly. And through His death on the
cross, His sheep are reconciled to God. His atonement made the
elect of God unblameable and unreprovable. Both. There's no condemnation for those
that Christ died for. Let's look back at our text there
in Romans 8. The result of this work done
for us and in us, having Christ revealed in us from our new birth,
being made unblameable, being made unreprovable through His
blood sacrifice on our behalf. Because of that, we walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Walking after the Spirit
and not after the flesh is not the cause of our freedom from
sin and our freedom from eternal death. It's not the cause of
us being free from condemnation. It's the result. It's the result
of us being free. Look there in Romans 8 verse
2. 4, we walk not after the flesh but
after the Spirit because, 4, the law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. A true believer, the one that's
saved from sin and death, is not made alive in Christ because
we got rid of our sin. Not because we purged ourselves.
We cannot free ourselves from sin any more than we can free
ourselves from physical death. Can you imagine if somebody were
to stand up and say, the way you have to be saved eternally
is to not die. Just don't die. We saw it Sunday
evening. You can't make yourself die.
You can't just squeeze real hard and go home now. You can't do
that. We can't keep ourselves from
dying, can we? To tell spiritually dead men
and women they must stop sinning to enter heaven, to enter glory,
to enter eternal life is the same as telling them all you
have to do to live is not die. It's impossible for us, isn't
it? And Paul says here that we are freed from the law of sin
and death. He's referring to that covenant
of works. Those in Christ are freed from
that covenant of works and are saved and given life through
that covenant of grace that's in Christ. Turn back a few pages
to Romans chapter 3. The believer is freed from the
law through Christ. We do not gain life from the
law. We are shown we're dead. It shows
our inability and the Spirit uses it to show what death we
are by nature and to turn us to our Redeemer. Look there at
Romans 3 verse 19. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. Paul's words are a little different
there in Romans 7. He says, that law, it slew me. It didn't give me life. It condemned
me. It killed me. It showed me my
need of mercy. It showed me I couldn't do anything.
I needed one that had fulfilled the law. Where is that mercy
found? Where is our hope of life? It's
not in us. If your hope is in you, your
hope is misplaced. It's not in the law. If your
hope's in the law, it's misplaced. It won't do you any good. Paul
just told us there in Romans 6, we looked at it a few days
ago, "...knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed
from sin." Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that
we shall also live with Him. Every requirement we had in the
law is met by Christ fulfilling that law. He satisfied the law
fully and completely for those that he represented. Back to
our text in Romans 8. Look in verse 3. Romans 8, 3. For what the law
could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh." The weakness and inability to save is not
the law's fault. The law is not weak. It ain't
the law's fault, but it's our nature's fault. Our flesh is
weakness. That's the weakness. Us, not
the law. The law can't save us because
we cannot keep it. But thanks be to God, Christ
justified the ungodly as our representative. He was sent to
this earth by God the Father in our likeness. And He not only
obeyed the law perfectly in all points, but He was condemned
and punished for our sin, that spotless Lamb, without blemish. He was made sin that we might
be made His righteousness. He was made one with us that
we would be made one with Him. Peter told us In 1 Peter 2.24,
"...who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,
that we, being dead to sins, should live under righteousness
by whose stripes ye were healed." The law does not give men and
women life, and the law does not give men and women holiness.
Christ gives us life. He gives us holiness. Look here
in Romans 8. that the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh
but after the spirit. Christ came to this earth, was
made a man, he suffered and died in our place, in the elect's
place, that the righteousness of the law might be fully met
in us through his perfect obedience. His sheep were justified and
sanctified in Him. We were made accepted and holy
because Christ was accepted. Because Christ was holy. We were in Colossians a little
bit ago. Let's turn back there to Colossians chapter 2. I should
have told you to put a marker there. Colossians chapter 2. How fully is the law fulfilled
in us through Christ? Colossians 2 verse 9. For in Him, in Christ, dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in
Him. We're not 75%? You're not 99%. You're complete. Complete means all. Complete. You are complete in Him, which
is the head of all principality and power. If I'm complete in
Christ, do I still have to do something? How about being circumcised? Do I have to do that? Look in
verse 11. "...in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands, and the putting off of the body of sins of the
flesh by the circumcision of Christ." The children of God
must be circumcised in the heart, not in the flesh. That's walking
after the Spirit, not after the flesh. Look in verse 12, buried
with him in baptism wherein also you are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from
the dead. Cross sheep must be baptized
in the Spirit, not just the outward act. Getting in that baptismal
pool doesn't do you any good. It's not a sacrament. Grace doesn't
come to you because you get baptized. Let's be baptized in Christ.
Spirit has to baptize our hearts. And then outwardly, well, yeah,
that's fine. Be glad to. Be happy to. It has
to be a heart work first. In verse 13, Colossians 2 verse
13, And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of
your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven
you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, it's that law, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. We had a work
done in and for us in our new spirit, inwardly, inside. Not just this old flesh outwardly. It's not something on the outside
walking after the flesh. This is after the spirit. And
it's already accomplished for the elect. He took that thing
that was putting us to death, our death sentence, and He nailed
it to His cross. He bore it. He satisfied it for
us. Let's go to verse 15. And having
spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them in it. It's finished. He's triumphant. The child of God being made complete,
as He said, it's accomplished. It's done. There's nothing we
can add to it. Nothing we can take away from
it. Now back in our text here in Romans 8, Christ came as a
man, He lived under that law, was perfect in thought, He was
perfect in word, perfect in deed, perfect in attitude, on the behalf
of His people. Now verse 4 again, Romans 8.4,
that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. Don't I have to do something
so I can be more righteous? You can't fill righteousness
any fuller. That's not my job. Paul's not
saying it's our job to fulfill righteousness. That's not on
my hands. It's what was done in me, for
me. Not in the flesh. That's walking after the flesh.
What do I got to do? It's telling us to repeatedly
walk after the Spirit. If it's fully filled by Christ,
our propitiation, we can't add anything to it. So who's that
righteousness for? Who's it for? "...who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Paul says that again.
He told us that. He ended verse 1 with, "...who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." And he uses
those words again here for us. And for the next several verses,
the apostle is going to show us what that means. Who it's
referring to. People that walk after the flesh
and those that walk after the Spirit. So let's look here in
verse 5 and we're going to start with seeing walking after the
flesh. 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. What is it to mind the things of the flesh? I haven't heard people use that
word too much. in the last few years. But you
mind your manners. You mind chickens. You mind goats. You pay attention. You follow.
You're careful. Be concerned solely with the
things of this world. We mind the things of this world.
Health and wealth. Health and wealth religion is
so popular today because it stirs up that old man. It's fleshly.
things of this world. It feeds that desire of self-honor,
self-pride, power in our own selves. Pick yourself up by your
bootstraps. You can do it. Nonsense. Everyone's just saying, look
at me. Look at all that I have. Look at all these outward things
of this world I have. Look at what I've done. Look
at how good I've gotten. Look at me. That's what they're
saying. That pastor up in Rockland, I
don't remember his name, don't care to, he said they're meeting
no matter what. I've been watching closely to
see if he ends up in jail or not. He said he doesn't want
to have a big name for himself. He's not in it for the glory.
He's not in it for himself. And then at the end of that,
he announced he's running for governor. How pious. How self-giving. Walking after the flesh. Things of this world. Another
way people walk after the flesh, they walk after the flesh by
aligning with a person. But they do not know Christ.
Christ is not the one they align to. They align themselves after
someone in this flesh. Not after someone that's in the
Spirit. Paul told us in 1 Corinthians, For while one saith, I am of
Paul, and another, I am of Apollos. Are ye not carnal? He said, that
is after the flesh. That's not after the Spirit.
It's carnal. to say I'll stick behind this
one or that one. That happens in this earth. And
if the Lord keeps me here for 40 years and then He takes me
home or makes it where I can't preach anymore and we have a
congregation here, there'll be some leave when I step down.
That'll hurt me. But there's people that follow
after men. And He went on to say, Who then is Paul and who
is Apollos but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord
gave to every man? People don't understand that.
If you know Christ, a man preached Him to you. Believers are no different than
any other believer. If you came to the knowledge
of Christ in the last 2,000 years, God sent a preacher to you. Well,
does it matter which one's which? He said, I have planted, Apollos
watered. We each had a job to do, but
God gave the increase. Everybody's worried about the
ground the seed's going in, and everybody's worried about what
the temperature of the water is going on the seed, and no
one pays attention that God gives the increase. That's walking
after the flesh, things of this world, walking after the spirit.
Looking at the one who gives spirit, who is a spirit. Many
people walk after the flesh, minding doctrine, but they don't
know Christ. They stand on the doctrines of
grace. They quote TULIP. They know all
the verses that support it, thinking that a head knowledge is salvation. That they pick the doctrine that
aligns best with the scriptures. They think, I chose right. This
makes the most logical sense. Logical deduction has nothing
to do in salvation. Spirit has something to do in
salvation. The mind of this earth is flesh. You either walk after
it or you walk after the Spirit. The Lord has to give that. Let's
turn over to Philippians chapter 3. Many will mind how progressively
holy they're getting. Walking after the outward fleshly
actions of religion. Look at all the stuff I'm doing.
And they have a lot of zeal. They have a lot of conviction.
Let's see if it worked for them. Philippians 3.3. For we are the
circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in
Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Don't walk after
the flesh. You can't worship God in the
flesh. You have to worship Him in spirit. Verse 4, 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. Paul said, you think you're something?
Let me tell you what credentials I got. Circumcised the eighth
day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew
of Hebrews. Touching the law, a Pharisee. Concerning zeal, here's how motivated
he was to serve the gospel. Persecuting the church. Touching
righteousness, which is in the law, lameless. Nobody could hold
a candle to me. You couldn't tell me I did anything
wrong and you couldn't convince somebody else I did anything
wrong. He was the example. That would be easy to walk after
the flesh in those things. If that's how you were walking,
it'd be easy to stay in them. Prestige and honor of all those
religious communities. If they had TV back then, everybody
would know what Paul looked like. He'd have been on every show.
Verse 7. But what things were gained to
me, those I counted loss for Christ. 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 and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ."
He said, all those things. Pharisee of Pharisees, circumcised
the eighth day, Hebrew Hebrews, zeal I had, all those wonderful
religious community things. It's manure. I count it but done
that I may win Christ. Verse 9, and be found in Him,
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law. You've got
to do something to get that. But that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. That's
what righteousness he wants. That's not something of this
earth. That's not walking on this earth, on this flesh. That's
looking for righteousness in the Spirit from God. Alright,
back to our text. Romans chapter 8. What is it
to walk after the Spirit? Romans 8, 6. For to be carnally
minded is death. Walk after that flesh, it's deadly.
But to be spiritually minded is life. and it's peace. Believers live, they are alive,
and they are at peace. They're not at contention. They're
not warring with the world and trying to do better and fretting,
oh have I done enough? Did I pray enough? Did I give
enough? We're at peace. We know we're alive in Christ
and we have peace through His person and His work of who He
is. And we know. We know we're alive
and we know we have peace because our warfare is accomplished.
There's no condemnation. Brother Mahan used to say, God
lives His kingdom lives, His possessions live, and His people
live. They not only live, but they
live in a state of peace and a joy. Paul told Timothy, said,
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can
carry nothing out. The walk of a child of God is
not after things of this world. My pastor says, you get all you
can, can all you get, and then sit on the can. I ain't worried
about things this earth. But after our Master who redeemed
us, who saved us, the One that gave us the life, the One that
gave us the peace, He went on to tell Timothy, but thou, O
man of God, flee these things. Flee all this world, this walking
in the flesh, everything concerned with it. Flee it. Run away. And
follow after righteousness. Christ's righteousness. Follow
after godliness. Follow after faith. The faith
of Christ. His faith. Follow after love.
Love Him. Love your brethren. Follow after
patience. Wait on Him. Wait on the Lord.
And follow after meekness. People struggle with being humble
and meek. If the Lord makes you humble, you're humble. You're meek. He knows just how to do it. He
don't keep you guessing. But the natural unregenerate
man has no desire to follow after the Spirit. He has no desire
to follow after faith. He doesn't want to seek the love
of God or the love of the brethren. He has no desire to look after
that righteousness that's up-crossed only. Why? Look here in Romans
8 verse 7. Because the carnal mind walking
in this flesh is enmity against God. For it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. What's the result of
that carnal mind? Verse 8. So then they that are
in the flesh cannot please God. I've looked at a lot of scripture
to try to, well, let's turn here and see that. But the simplest
it can be put. Outside of Christ, there is nothing
we can do, nothing we can think, nothing we can say that's pleasing
to God. He said, this is my Son in whom
I'm well pleased. It has to be in Christ or God
the Father is not pleased. But in Christ, in Him, we are
accepted and well pleasing in the sight of God. In Ephesians
1, Paul tells the saints that we're chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love. If He shows you He's made you
holy, He's your holiness, and He shows you that you're before
the Father without blame, unreprovable, you're going to be in love. which
will make you love Him. Now look at verse 9, Romans 8,
9. 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. We walk after the Spirit if the
Spirit of God dwells in us. He has to dwell in us for us
to walk after Him. There's a new birth. A new man
is made alive in us. And that new man is ruled by,
he's influenced by, he's controlled by the Spirit. He walks after
the Spirit. He follows the Spirit. He's led
by the Spirit. When the Lord told us, He said,
you have to be like little children to enter the Kingdom. When my
little children follow me, when they're little bitty folks, y'all's
real short. You follow, you walked after
me, cuz I had a hold of your hand. Now you could wanna go
out in traffic, but you're gonna stay behind me. My hand will
make sure of it. His hand makes sure that we follow
him, we stay behind him. And those that do not have that
Spirit of Christ in them, they don't follow after the Spirit. They don't follow after Christ.
They don't have a desire for the righteousness of Christ.
They don't have a desire to be made like Him. They don't have
a desire to be in His presence. They have a desire to go to heaven.
They don't know what that is. They don't have a desire to be
with Christ, to worship Him without sin, be with Him in glory, for
Christ to receive all the glory in all things. That person, He
says, is none of His. One that walks after the flesh
is not one of Christ's own. Now verse 10, And if Christ be
in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life. because of Christ. The Spirit
is life because of righteousness. This body of flesh we live in
and everything that's connected to it, what I'm standing right
here, everything I've got on, every organ in me is going to
die and perish and go away because of sin. But our new Spirit in
us We walk after the Spirit that's in our heart, which is one with
Christ. It's without sin, spotless, and
it will enjoy eternal life because of the righteousness of Christ. Not in us. That new Spirit didn't
get strong legs from walking on the line because of His righteousness,
what He's accomplished. I tell you, Walk in the Spirit. If you're His, walk in the Spirit. Come to Christ and trust Him
for your health, trust Him for your wealth, for your keeping,
for your wisdom, for your righteousness, for everything. Trust Him and
you will not be let down. And if you're His, you will not
be let go. He'll hold on to you and you'll
continue walking after that Spirit. Amen. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, bless Your Word
to our hearts this evening. Lord, let us see just a glimpse
of what Christ has done for His people. Let us rejoice in Him,
Lord. Let us give Him all the glory
and all the praise. What a wonderful salvation we
have in Your Son. Lord, thank you for your word.
Thank you for our brethren. Thank you for the trials that
you've sent us. We know that you chasten your
children, the ones you love. Lord, teach us more of Christ
and these things. Allow us to be aware and see
your children being called out during this and be with their
new brothers and sisters we haven't met yet. Give them peace in Him
where there's only peace. Lord, thank You for the forgiveness
of sins. Be with us this week and keep us till we can hear
Your Word once more. It's in Christ's name that we
ask it. Amen.