All right, now this morning,
I have two passages of scripture right next to each other. If
you'll turn to Romans chapter 7, two passages that I want to deal
with, just two verses. And we're going to be talking
about, as we go through the rest of Romans 7, the first verse
is Romans 7, 14. Look at Romans 7, 14. And the next one is Romans 6,
14. And what I'm attempting to do is to bring you through the
last part of Romans 7. Romans 7, verses 14 through 25
on the warfare of the flesh and the spirit and conclude my messages
on that subject. But before I go through that
passage, what I want us to do is to hopefully, by God's grace
and by the power of His Spirit, gain some understanding in the
scriptures of how to prepare ourselves for the battle of the
flesh and the spirit. I've entitled this message, Arming
Ourselves for the Warfare. Arming Ourselves for the Warfare. You know, we often thank the
Lord for our young men and women in uniform. And we pray for them
that the Lord would keep them safe. that he'd be with them
as they enter into different areas of the world where there's
conflict and danger. The worst thing that I think
could ever happen to a soldier is to be put out in the battle
without being armed for the battle. And so as we look through passages
like Romans 7, especially the end of it here, verses 14 through
25. And as we go through that later
on, think of yourself as going through that battle. If you're
a believer, you're going through this warfare. You're going through
a battle within. And think of yourself going through
it without being armed. And that's what I want to do.
And look at Romans 7 and verse 14. I'll show you how we want
to approach this this morning. Verse 14 of Romans 7 says this. Paul writes, For we know that
the law, the law of God, is spiritual. It's good, it's truth, it reaches
the heart. It doesn't just forbid that which
I do or don't do, it forbids my evil thoughts, motives, attitudes. That's how far it reaches. And
that's why the Bible's very clear concerning the justification
of a sinner before God. It's impossible that a sinner
be justified by deeds of law. The law condemns us. The law
kills us. That's what it does. It's what
Paul had been talking about. And even as a believer, even
as a sinner born of God, chosen and born of God, redeemed by
the blood of Christ, even now I cannot be righteous based upon
my deeds of law. My righteousness is Christ. The
law is spiritual. And that's what Paul's talking
about. He says, but I'm carnal, sold under sin. Now carnal means
fleshly. And I'm sold under sin. Now what's
sold mean? It means I'm in bondage in that
sense. All right, now you hear that
verse. He says the law is spiritual. What's he talking about? Well,
it reaches the heart. I cannot be saved. I cannot be
blessed. I cannot be made righteous based
upon my deeds. even as a believer, I'm sold
under sin. Now look across the page at verse
14. He says, for sin shall not have dominion over you. This is Romans 6, 14, you see
that? Sin shall not have dominion over you. Now over here in Romans
7, 14, he says, I'm sold under sin. Here in Romans 6, 14, he
says, sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under
the law, but under grace. Now, if you don't know what these
verses are talking about, they seem contradictory, don't they?
Here he says, he says, sin shall not have dominion, rule over
me. And then over here he says, I'm
sold under sin. Back up in Romans six and verse
seven, look at that. He says, for he that is dead
is freed from sin. I'm free from sin. I stand before
you today as a man who is freed from sin. And yet Paul says,
well, I'm sold under sin. Now, you know what most commentators
or many commentators do with Romans 7, 14? They say, well,
Paul's talking about before he was saved. But you know what
happens here? You know, everything that he said in Romans 7 up to
verse 14, he said in past tense, but in verse 14, he starts in
the present tense. And what he says from Romans
7, 14 to the end of this chapter, I'm gonna tell you something.
could only be said from the heart by a sinner saved by the grace
of God. The struggle that he describes
in these last verses of Romans 7 is the struggle of a sinner
saved by the grace of God. Not a natural man. The natural
man receiving not the things of the Spirit of God, neither
can he know them. They're spiritually known, spiritually
discerned. The natural man doesn't have
this kind of struggle. He has struggles. All men and
women on earth have struggles. His life is a struggle. But this
is the spiritual struggle. This is the struggle, the warfare
of the flesh and the spirit. So let me start by just giving
you some things to think about. I wanna read you some scripture.
And you may not have time to turn to all these, but you might
wanna write them down, refer to them later. If you're quick
on the draw, you can get right with me here, but I don't wanna
waste time just turning, but you write them down if you can't.
But here's what I want you to understand. I wanna read 1 John
chapter three, beginning at verse one. And I want you to listen
to this now. And if you can't get there quick
enough, now don't stop listening to me turning. I want you to
hear what this says. But listen to this, 1 John chapter
three. He says, behold what manner of
love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God. Now, why is that such an amazing
thing? Because we don't deserve the
love of God. We haven't earned the love of
God. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation,
the sin-bearing sacrifice who brought satisfaction for our
sins. The redemptive love of God, the electing love of God.
He said, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. Jacob didn't
deserve God's love. Esau deserved God's hatred and
earned it, but so did Jacob. Somebody asked the question,
you know this is a question that's asked a lot. Why did God hate
Esau? Because he hates sin. Why did
God love Jacob? I don't know. The only answer
I can give you is what the Lord gave in Matthew chapter 11. For
so father it seemed good in thy sight. His sovereign love. But this is an amazing thing.
That we should be called sons of God. We're sons by election,
sons by adoption, sons by redemption, and sons by regeneration, the
new birth. And it's all of grace. Every
bit of it. Not one part of it is conditioned
on the sinner. If it were, it would be an abject
failure. Isn't that right? But listen
to what he says, he says, therefore, now listen to this, therefore
the world knoweth us not. The world cannot recognize us.
You know, the world thinks, now the world here is the unbelieving
world in opposition to Christ and his truth. And what he's
saying here is the unbelieving world cannot recognize what a
true Christian is and is not. Have you ever had anybody look
at you at a given time when you just weren't in one of your best
moments and say, and you call yourself a Christian? Now if they're not a child of
God, if they're not, if they haven't been born again by the
Spirit, they don't even know what a Christian is, but they've
got some idea of how they think what a Christian should do or
shouldn't do, how they should act and how they should not act.
But here it says plenty, the world will not know us. And listen
to this. The world will not knoweth us
not because it knew him not. It didn't know our Lord. The
world did not recognize Christ for who he is. That's why we
crucified him. That's why we esteemed him not. Our estimation, our natural estimation
of Christ is very low. Until God the Holy Spirit shows
us our sinfulness and his greatness and glory. And it says here in
verse two, beloved now are we the sons of God. That's not something
we have to wait for. He says, and it does not yet
appear what we shall be. Now, did you hear that? It does
not yet appear what we shall be. Now, what shall we be? Well,
he says, but we know that when he shall appear, when Christ
comes the second time, we shall be like him. perfectly conformed
to the image of Christ. That's the purpose of God in
salvation according to Romans chapter 8 and verse 29. Predestinated
to be conformed to the image of Christ. We shall be like Him. For we shall see Him as He is. Now we see Him now if we're believers
now. We see Christ now. Hebrews chapter
2 says that. We see Jesus. Salvation is looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Look unto me and
be you saved, all the ends of the earth. We sing that hymn,
look and live. We do look. But now we seem through
a glass darkly. Listen, John is saying here,
I can't even begin to describe for you because I don't know
what it's gonna be like. That when we're glorified together
with Christ, We'll be perfect in ourselves, we'll have perfect
eyes, we'll see him with unhindered eyes. Don't have to have these. And we'll see him as he is. We'll
see him in the effulgence of his glory. And we'll be perfectly
conformed to his image in ourselves. Now, much of the misunderstanding,
turn over to 2 Corinthians 12, if you get there fast enough.
2 Corinthians 12. Much of the misunderstanding
of Christianity, or what the world views as Christianity,
and what a true Christian really is, is due to the fact, now listen
to me very carefully, is due to the fact that a true Christian
is really a walking paradox to the world. Somebody that the
world cannot figure out. Let me show you what I mean.
Paul here is talking about a thorn in the flesh. He's got a problem. We don't know what it is. People
have speculated over it, but that's just wasted ink and paper. We don't really know what it
was, but it was something that Paul prayed three times for the
Lord to remove. I believe it was something physical,
but we don't know. Now, that in and of itself will
confuse much of what comes in the name of Christianity today
because we hear a lot on television that if you're a Christian and
you're in right with the Lord you'll be healthy wealthy and
all of that you know but you know that's not what the scripture
teaches but that's what that's what the world says and that's
what people like to hear and Paul prayed for this, and
here's what God's answer to him was in verse nine. Look at 2
Corinthians 12, verse nine. He said unto me, my grace is
sufficient for thee. That's all you need, Paul, my
grace. God's grace, that grace that reigns through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Grace and truth comes
by Jesus Christ. And so in essence, what he's
saying is Christ is enough for you, Paul. It's sufficient. For my strength... Now, Paul,
here's what he's saying. Now, here's the paradox. My strength
is made perfect, meaning complete, in weakness. In weakness? Well, there's no philosophy of
man or even theology of man. There's no self-improvement book
or program that you'll buy off the shelves or buy on TV. that'll tell you your strength
is made perfect in weakness. That just doesn't make sense
to the world. He goes on, he says, Most gladly, therefore,
will I rather glory in my infirmities. Glory in infirmities? I heard
a preacher the other day saying, If you're truly looking to Christ,
you won't have any infirmities. Paul said, I glory in my infirmities.
Now, that doesn't mean that Paul was some kind of masochist. or
that he enjoyed pain and problems, none of us do that. What's he
talking about? Look, he explains it. That the
power of Christ may rest upon me, that it be known that I depend
totally, totally upon Christ for my whole eternal well-being. Now, one of the things you see
right away, that whatever Paul's talking about, it's not based
on feeling. It's not based on feeling at
all. I guarantee you when Paul was going through this trouble
with this thorn in the flesh, he felt as bad as you would feel
or I would feel. But it's based on what? It's
based on his knowledge taught by God to him. And he says, therefore,
verse 10, therefore I take pleasure in infirmities. That's not physical
pleasure there, that's satisfaction. I'm satisfied that Christ is
enough. I'm satisfied that God's grace
is sufficient. In reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I'm
weak, then am I strong. That's a paradox to the world.
But if you know Christ, you understand something of that, don't you?
Over in the book of Matthew chapter five, listen to this, this sermon on
the mount, verse 10. starts off with the word blessed.
A lot of modern translations translate that word blessed as
happy. Now, listen, I'm all for happiness, but that's really
not the essence of blessedness. You know, Paul, in Romans chapter
seven there, when he talked about being slain by the law, it wasn't
happiness that he was going through. But I'll tell you what, it was
certainly blessedness. If God ever brings us down to
see our depravity, it won't feel good to you. But I'll tell you
what, you'll be blessed. It's like a fellow telling me,
listening to his preacher talking about total depravity, the total
depravity of man. That's sinful, that's the definition
of sin in the scripture. And apparently, I don't know
what the preacher said to him, but he said, would you tell my
pastor that I'm not as bad as he thinks I am? And I told him this, I said,
well, the thing that you have to understand is, are you as
bad as God says you are? He said, well, I just don't feel
that way. And I said, it has nothing to do with feeling, it
has to do with what does the Bible say? The Bible says there's
none righteous, no, not one. The Bible says there's none that
doeth good, no, not one. There's none that seeketh after
God, no, not one. The Bible says all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. All deserve death. All deserve
hell. That's what the Bible says. It
doesn't matter how you feel or how I feel. If it was based on
feeling, we'd all go nuts. I'm starting to think about it. It's based on knowledge. Well,
look here, blessed, verse 10, blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness sake. Now, it doesn't feel good to
get persecuted, does it? I hope you don't think it does.
If it feels good to you to be persecuted, get away from me.
No, it doesn't feel good, but it's a blessing for righteousness
sake now. That's for the gospel, for Christ.
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He says, blessed are
you when men shall revile you. It doesn't feel good to be reviled. And he said, persecute you and
shall say all manner of evil against you falsely. Have you
ever been accused falsely? I'm going to tell you something,
I have been and still am, and it doesn't feel good. Doesn't
make me smile. I'm laughing now, but it doesn't
make me smile when people do that. Makes me angry. Makes me
vengeful. That's wrong, but it doesn't
make me feel, but I'm gonna tell you something, when they do it,
I was talking to Brother Gary Shepherd about it. I said, you
know, I said, I get angry, but this verse comes into my mind,
blessed are you when they do that. And he says, for my sake. And then he says, rejoice and
be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for
so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Now you
see, Nowhere is this paradox, this paradox that I'm talking
about, nowhere is it seen more than in passages like Romans
7 here. Go back to Romans 7 again. Paul's saying to the world, I'm
like a walking contradiction. There's a song I used to sing,
he's a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction.
But there's no fiction here now. No fiction at all, this is all
truth. But to the world we seem like walking contradictions.
Here Paul says, I'm free from sin, I'm dead to sin over in
Romans chapter six. He said up in Romans chapter
seven, I'm dead to the law. And yet here in verse 14 of Romans
seven, I know the law is spiritual, I'm carnal, sold under sin. And
then he goes on, look at verse 15. For that which I do, I allow
not. That means I don't approve of
what I do. He says, for what I would, what
I want to do, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. Now we just don't normally naturally
think of ourselves doing things we hate, unless you hate your
job. But you know Paul's not talking
about occupation, he's talking about the warfare within. And
he's talking about the fact that he's still a sinner. That's what
he's talking about. Within myself, I'm a sinner.
Listen, only two types of people on this earth, right? Sinners
lost in their sins and sinners saved by the grace of God, but
all sinners. And Paul says, I cannot. When
he talks about being sold under sin, here's what he's simply
saying. He's saying, I cannot stop sinning. Well, wait a minute,
Paul, didn't you say you're freed from sin? Didn't you say you're
dead to the law? Yeah, but he's talking about
something else there. Up to this point, as I said in
Romans 7, Paul had been speaking in the past tense. Now he's speaking
in the present tense. He's talking about a true Christian's
warfare and struggle with inward sin, the flesh and the spirit.
But what about these passages? Look back at Romans six now.
He says what in verse one? He says, what shall we say then?
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Are we going
to promote sin because we believe salvation by grace? Where does
a, you know what, where does a question like that come from?
You ever thought about that? I mean, why would anybody really
ask that question? What shall we continue in sin
that grace may abound? Well, you know what Paul's been
doing up here all through Romans up to this point? He's been showing
that salvation, the fullness of salvation, the completeness
of salvation, the triumph of salvation, everything about salvation
is by the sovereign grace of God in Christ, not conditioned
on what sinners do for God, but conditioned totally upon what
God does for sinners in Christ. God has a people that he chose
in Christ before the foundation of this world. And he gave them
to Christ. That means he placed all the
responsibility of their salvation upon Christ. And Christ came
in time and fulfilled those conditions and responsibilities. He's our
salvation. It's not conditioned on me or
you. If it were, it would fail. And if you think it's conditioned
on you and it wouldn't fail, it's because you think you're
better than somebody else. That's exactly right. Now you
go home and think about that a little bit. Somebody says, well, it's conditioned
on my decision. No, no. Oh, no. Why would you decide and someone
else wouldn't? Are you better than they? No. Man by nature
will not choose Christ. It's all of grace. Righteousness
before God. How does a sinner become righteous
before a holy God? Is it by believing? No. It's
by what Christ did on the cross. Paul wrote in Galatians 6.14,
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I have no boast but Christ. Well,
if that's the case, if I'm saved and if I'm kept and I'm glorified
based totally upon what Christ did, then that means I can just
go out and sin as much as I want to. Now that's where that question
comes from. It comes from the natural man.
And you know why I ask that question? Because in preaching salvation
totally by the sovereign grace of God, you have just destroyed
and removed all his motivation for obedience. What is his motivation
for obedience? His motivation is either fear
of loss of reward, fear of hell, or fear of loss of reward. That's
right. It's like somebody last week
told me that his preacher told him, he said, well, the promise
of rewards in heaven, that's what motivates me to preach. Now think about that. Well, you
know what Paul said motivated him? He said, the love of Christ
constraineth me. There's a difference, isn't there?
Now, if you remove that motivation, then the preacher would have
to say, well, then why should I preach? Well, I'll tell you why you should
preach, for the glory of God. I'll tell you why you should
preach, because God commands you to. Because it's the right
thing to do. Out of love and grace and gratitude. That's why. Well, look at verse
two of Romans six. He said, God forbid. Now Paul
says, put that thought out of your mind. If you're a recipient
of the grace of God, you have the power of his grace in your
heart that gives you a desire to obey and brings continual
conviction of sin. But he says, how shall we that
are dead to sin live any longer then? You're dead to sin. Now
the same man who says, I'm dead to sin, says over in verse 14
of Romans seven, I'm carnal, sold under sin, and I can't stop
sinning. He says, in fact, that which
I do, I allow not. What I do, I don't approve of.
That's what he means by that. And that do I not, what I want
to do, I don't do. And what I hate, that I do. Same
man says, I'm dead to sin. Well, what's the issue here?
Well, before, listen, before I get to that, I want you to
turn to that verse that I opened up the service with, 2 Corinthians
chapter 10. Now here's where we have to be
armed for the warfare. We've got to be armed for the
battle, all right? Here's where our thoughts and
our minds and our understanding must be brought into subjection
to Christ so that we can fight this warfare properly and in
a way that glorifies God and exalts Christ. Look at verse
3. Now Paul writes here. of 2 Corinthians
10, he said, for though we walk in the flesh, in these physical
bodies, we do not war after the flesh. Our warfare is not physical.
And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, not fleshly,
physical. But mighty, they're powerful
now, just because they're not carnal don't think they're not
mighty, they're not powerful, they're not effective, they are.
He says they're mighty through God. And he says, to the pulling
down of strongholds. Now, what strongholds is he talking
about? Verse 5, casting down imaginations, reasonings. Now, here's what I think about
this. When you look at passages of
Scripture like Romans 7, 14, Romans 6, 14, or any past, you
start reasoning, don't you? You start thinking. Many of you
have told me as you're reading through the daily readings, you
know, you'll find things you just don't understand. And that's
okay now. And maybe you'll understand them
later. Maybe you'll recall something that's been taught. Or like I
said, the main thing is mainly you'll get a morsel of truth.
You know, you'll see Christ somewhere in there. But he says, casting
down imaginations, reasonings, and every high thing, that's
pride, that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. Now right
away you see this warfare and the weapons of our warfare, it
doesn't have anything to do with our feelings. and has to do with
the knowledge of God, what I know about God. And what I know about
God has been taught me by the Holy Spirit through the preaching
of the gospel and the teaching of his word. And then he says,
in bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Here's where we've got to be
taught of God. What is this issue over here in Romans chapter 7? Romans chapter 6. Well, in Romans chapter 6 the Apostle
Paul begins talking about our legal standing in Christ. Get that in your mind. It's our
legal standing in Christ. What I am before God in the court
of His law and justice in Christ. And in Christ, I can tell you
without fail and without blushing, based on His shed blood and His
righteousness imputed to me, charged to me, accounted to me,
I am totally dead to sin. That's what I, my sins, here's
what I'm saying, And there are different ways of expressing
this now, but you know, we just don't put them together. But
I'll tell you what, every time we sing that hymn, What can wash
away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace. nothing but the blood of Jesus
this is all my righteousness nothing but the blood of Jesus
when you sing that hymn if you know what it means you're saying
the same thing that Paul said when he says I'm dead to sin
he's saying this David said in Psalm 32 blessed is the man to
whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity that's right God doesn't charge
me with my sins In the court of God's law and justice, I have
no sin. You know why? Because my sins
were laid on Christ. They were imputed, charged, accounted
to him. He was made sin and he put them
away. He drank damnation dry. God has
nothing against me in Christ. That's what I meant. When the law books are opened
up and my name appears, There's not one spot or blemish there
that hasn't been washed away by the blood of my Savior. He atoned for my sins. He redeemed
me by His blood. He didn't try to redeem me. He
didn't redeem me upon condition of my accepting Him. He redeemed
me as He redeemed all His sheep. He laid down his, he said, all
that the father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out. He said, this is the will
of him that sent me that of all which he hath given me I should
lose nothing but raise it up again at the last day. It was
an effectual atonement. I'm righteous in God's sight,
not by my works, not by, listen, not even by what the Holy Spirit
has enabled me to do. When I was born again, the Holy
Spirit enabled me to do some marvelous things that I could
not do before. I'll tell you the main thing.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent of dead words. That doesn't
make me righteous. That's not my righteousness before
God. Christ is. Christ who died on that cross
was buried and rose again the third day. I'm dead to sin. Over
there in Romans 6 and verse 7, When he says, for he that is
dead is freed from sin, that word freed is justified. What
is it to be justified before God? It means I'm not guilty. Now I'm still a sinner and I
still commit sin. But I'm not guilty in God's court.
I'm declared not guilty because of what Christ did on Calvary. You see what I'm saying? I'm
righteous in God's sight. That's what Paul's been talking
about there in Romans chapter 6. But when he comes to Romans
7, 14, he says, I'm carnal, sold under sin. What's he talking
about? He's talking about something different. They're related now,
but they're different. He's talking about our present
state in this world, in ourselves. That's right, until we understand
this, we'll never understand what true Christianity is. We'll
never understand how to live the Christian life, and we certainly
will not understand how to fight the warfare of the flesh and
the spirit. Now, somebody asked me one time, well, where did
Paul change his subjects? Well, remember now, these are
related subjects. One is the ground of my salvation.
That's what Christ did for me on the cross. That's my legal
standing in Christ. And incidentally, don't let any
preacher tell you that that's not real. If they do, they're
either lying or they don't understand it. What Christ did on that cross
before any of you and me were ever born was just as real then
as it is today and in eternity. That's reality in God's sight.
That's the ground of my salvation. my new birth and what the Spirit
does in me and bringing and giving me life and bringing me to faith
in Christ and repentance and starting me on the walk of faith
and in the warfare of the flesh and the Spirit, that's the fruit
of what Christ did for me. One is the work of Christ for
us on the cross, the other is the work of Christ in us by His
Spirit. False gospels today say that
the work of Christ on the cross really means nothing. has no
power to save unless and until you put your stamp of approval
on it by your own will, and believe me. Well, my friend, let me tell
you, Christ is not their savior, their will is. Their faith is. Others say that the legal work
of Christ accomplished on Calvary is not real, even a legal fiction.
I heard a preacher say that. It's a legal fiction. And doesn't
become real until righteousness is imparted to you by the Holy
Spirit. The Bible says otherwise. Where did Paul change his subject?
Well, look at chapter six and look at verse 17. He said, I'm dead to sin, I'm
justified. He says, but God bethink that
you were the servants of sin, slaves to sin. That's an unbeliever. But you've obeyed from the heart
that form of doctrine which was delivered you. That's the heart
that God as prepared by his grace and power in the spirit to receive
Christ. That's the broken heart, the chondrite heart. Under the
preaching of the gospel, being then made free, the word free
there means liberated from sin, you became servants of righteousness,
that's a believer. And then he begins talking about
obedience, and then he talks about the struggle, the struggle
with sin. how we as sinners, saved by the
grace of God, we're to live in this world knowing that we're
in Christ. Knowing that we're still sinners,
saved by the grace of God, sure for heaven in Him, but in a struggle. And I'm dead to sin's power to
condemn me. Sin cannot condemn me. I'm not
guilty in Christ. And He has to bring in the law
because Without the law, there is no sin charged. But sin is
not charged to the people for whom Christ died. They were charged
to Him. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. That means the power of the law
to condemn me is because I'm a sinner. But if sin cannot be
charged to me, the law cannot condemn me, what did God do with
that sin? He charged it to Christ. He bore
our iniquities. He was made a curse for us. Now
God's law cannot save us. God's law cannot make us righteous.
But God cannot do away with his law. That's why Christ had to
come. And that's the reality of the
Christian life. I'm dead to sin's power to condemn me. There is
therefore now no condemnation in Christ. Romans 8, 1. I'm dead
to the law's power to curse me because Christ has been made
a curse for me. I'm not under the law. That means
I'm not condemned. I'm under grace. I'm under Christ. I'm in Him. Sin cannot be charged
to my account as it was charged to Him. And He paid my debt in
full. I'm righteous in Him. But listen,
I still have to deal with the remaining presence of sin in
my mind. in my affections and in my will. Why your mind? Do you ever have
sinful thoughts? Now if you were honest, and if
I were honest, you know how we'd answer that? Not just with a
yes. All the time. That's right. We still have to
deal with the remaining influence of sin. It influences everything
I do. If it didn't, I wouldn't be in
a warfare. If sin did not influence everything I think and say and
do, I wouldn't be in a warfare, there'd be no struggle. I still
have to deal with the remaining corruption of sin. Sin corrupts everything I do
and say. I think about that verse as we've been reading through
the Bible in Exodus and Leviticus says this too, how when God was
telling Moses to to anoint Aaron as the high priest and the other
priest and talking about the consecration of the priest for
the service. One of the things that he says
in the book of Exodus was that the blood, which represents the
blood of Christ, the blood of the Lamb, had to cleanse the
holy things. And I thought about cleanse holy
things? Those things which have been separated unto God for His
service still have to be cleansed by the blood of Christ. And you
know that's the way it is with us. Do you know your prayers
set aside, consecrated unto God, have to be cleansed by the blood
of Christ? You know how I know that? Because
when you pray, through whom do you pray? Your great high priest. Your worship that's consecrated,
you're here to worship God, isn't that right? Does anything get
in the way of that? Does anything enter your mind
that gets in the way? You see, your worship, my worship, has
to be cleansed by the blood of Christ. You say, well, I'm gonna do some
good today, I'm gonna help somebody. And you have every good intention.
But does any thought of sin enter your mind into that, any thought
of pride? When they don't thank you, you
get mad. You see, even your works have to be cleansed by the blood
of Christ. That's what Paul's saying. I'm
not free from sin's corruption. I'm not free from sin's influence
and presence. In Christ, I'm dead to sin, totally
dead, totally free. I have no sin in Christ. as righteous
and holy as God's Son. And listen to him, in Christ,
I'll never be any more righteous or holy than I already am. But
in myself, in myself, I'm still a sinner. And I look forward
to being like him. That's why I had brother Aaron
read Philippians chapter three there. Paul said, I've laid hold
of Christ because he's laid hold of me. And I count not myself
to have apprehended, as though I'm already perfect in myself. That's what he's talking about.
I'm already perfect in Christ. The Bible says, Colossians 2,
9 and 10, for in him, in Christ dwelleth all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily, and you are what? Complete in him. You see
that? Complete in him. 2 Corinthians
5, 21, for God made him to be sin, Christ who knew no sin,
for us that we might be made the righteousness of God, What
does it say after that? In him, in him. Not in myself,
in him. Now in myself, I'm a born again
person. I'm a spiritual man. That's right,
that's what happens to you when you're born again. You become
a spiritual person. A sinner saved by grace, looking
unto Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. A warrior in the
warfare of the flesh and the spirit. But you're gonna be changed. You know what I'm saying? I'm
gonna be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Because this corruptible
has to put on incorruption. And Paul's gonna be talking about
the journey between the new birth and that glorious change in Romans
7 there as we go through those verses. All right.