Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening and now
for today's program. Welcome to our program today.
I'm glad you could join us. And today I'm going to be preaching
the second part of a message that I began last week entitled,
Walking After the Spirit. And of course, we're talking
about the Holy Spirit there. Walking After the Spirit. This
is the second message. If you didn't hear last week's,
I urge you to go to our website and listen to it, or order it,
and listen to the message. I'm doing this from, in the Bible,
if you'd like to follow along in your Bibles, two passages
of scripture One in Galatians chapter five, Paul's epistle
to the churches of Galatia. And then we're going to go back
to Romans chapter eight, concerning walking after the spirit. And let me reread the passages
in Galatians five for you. Galatians five beginning at verse
16, where the apostle inspired by the Holy Spirit writes, this
I say then, walk in the spirit, Now walking in the spirit and
walking after the spirit are the same thing. Walk in the spirit
and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh
lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh.
And these are contrary. They are enemies. flesh and the
Spirit, contrary the one to the other, so that you cannot do
the things that you would. You cannot fulfill your desires.
Verse 18, but if you be led of the Spirit, to walk in the Spirit,
to walk after the Spirit, is the same as to be led by the
Spirit, you're not under the law, which means you're not condemned
for your sins. Now, this whole issue, the Spirit
here, speaking of the Holy Spirit, I dealt with that last week,
The flesh here is speaking of sin that indwells us as human
beings, as fleshly human beings. Sinful desires, sinful goals,
sinful motives, sinful thoughts, sinful imaginations, everything
that sin is, lust, covetous, we could go on and on. Even religious
sins, for example. When the Bible speaks of the
works of the flesh, for example, It's not only speaking of the
immorality that exists in humankind, it's speaking of the religious
efforts of people trying to save themselves by their works. That's
fleshly works. Did you know that? Understand
that. If you don't understand that,
you will not understand the Bible at all. I mean, you can look
at humankind in society, the history of man, and look at our
present day situation, and you see people out there who are
committing all kinds of sins, immoral, perversions, and it's
so rampant, and it's always been rampant, but now we've got television
that puts it right in our living rooms, and we can see it and
take the color, and then ourselves. We've engaged in practices and
sinful practices. But also, when we see religion,
human religion, human, listen, human works-based free will religion
is also the flesh. The Bible says that salvation
is by God's grace. It's undeserved, it's unearned.
And it's based upon the righteousness, the merits, the works, the obedience
unto death of another one named Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
That's how salvation comes about. It's mercy. It's not earned,
it's not deserved. We cannot work for it and gain
it. And man's efforts to keep the
law, to gain salvation, to make himself righteous or herself
righteous, to earn his or her way into God's favor is sinful,
not because it's immoral in the eyes of men, not because they're
insincere in doing it, but because it denies the glory of God. Where is the glory of God? The
Bible says the glory of God is in the face of Jesus Christ.
God is glorified in the salvation of sinners based upon the blood
of Christ, the righteousness of Christ. And they're sinful
because they deny the person and work of Christ. Who is Jesus
Christ? He's God manifest in the flesh. Sinless flesh. Now my flesh is
sinful, but His is not. And why did He become flesh?
Why was the Word made flesh to dwell among us? Why is God manifest
in the flesh in the person of Christ? In order for Him to keep
the law perfectly and die for the sins of His people to establish
the only righteousness based upon which God can forgive and
justify sinners. Now, if I seek salvation by my
works, I'm denying Christ. Galatians 2.21 says that, if
righteousness comes by the law, Christ died in vain. So you see,
man's efforts to work his way into righteousness, that's the
flesh. It's a denial of Christ and his work. It's an act of
unbelief. God says you cannot, for by grace
are you saved. Through faith, that not of yourselves,
not of works, lest any man should boast. Now that's what God says.
Now, if you seek salvation by your works, you're denying what
God says. You're believing what you want
to believe, and that comes under the category of heresy. You see,
these people who are preaching salvation conditioned on sinners,
they're denying God's Word. They're denying God. That's the
flesh. And so you see all of it, it
elevates the pride of man, it gives him something to boast
in. Paul wrote in Galatians 6 14, but God forbid that I should
glory, boast, except save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. So you see that? Now that's the
flesh. Now, every true believer who's
been born again by the Spirit, who truly believes in the Lord
Jesus Christ, is engaged in an inner warfare of the Holy Spirit
who indwells us in opposition to the flesh. And the Spirit
has given us spiritual life by which we fight the flesh in the
power of the Spirit. Now over in Romans chapter eight,
this is where I concluded last week. Look at verse one, Romans
eight. He says, there is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. If I'm in
Christ, I'm not condemned. If I'm in Christ, my sins are
forgiven. Washed away, the scripture says. How? Because I'm such a good
person or trying to be? No, it's because of the blood
of Christ. And I've quoted this hymn all
the time. What can wash away my sins? Nothing. but the blood
of Jesus. Now, if you really believe that,
you're not gonna look to yourself for the forgiveness, you're gonna
look to Christ. That's what walking in the Spirit, walking by the
Spirit, walking after the Spirit is, looking to Christ for His
blood as that which has washed away my sins, brought about forgiveness. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
us from all sin. You say, well, that verse says
you gotta confess Him. You do have to confess Him and
you will confess Him if the Spirit has empowered you to do so. That's
what the Spirit does. Our confession does not wash
away our sins. His blood washes away. And if
it's washed away my sins, the Spirit's gonna come and bring
about that confession, the gift of faith, the gift of repentance,
the gift of perseverance. That's what He does. And so,
I'm looking to Christ for salvation. I'm looking to Christ for righteousness.
I quoted this last week, Romans 10, four. For Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. If
you have the gift of faith, if the Holy Spirit indwells you,
and if you're walking after the Spirit, you're looking to and
resting in Christ for righteousness, not yourself. You say, well,
preacher, shouldn't I try to be righteous? Yes, but you're
not gonna find it in yourself. You're only gonna find it in
Christ. The best acts of the best believers still fall short
because of the remaining power and influence and contamination
of the flesh. That's what he meant over in
Galatians 5, and he says, so that you cannot do that which
you would. I wanna be like Christ. I wanna
love perfectly. I wanna obey perfectly. But I
can't. Now Paul spoke of that in Romans
chapter seven, when he said in verse 15, this is Romans 7 verse
15, for that which I do, I allow not, or I know not, or approve
not, for what I would, that do I not, and what I hate, that
do I. I'm in a quandary here, I'm in
a battle here. He comes down here and he says,
wretched man that I am. Now, this is a believer talking.
You know, some people go to that Romans 7 passage, and they say,
well, Paul has to be talking about himself there before he
was saved. No, he's not. What he's describing there is
a struggle, a warfare, a spiritual warfare that only believers go
through. Now, unbelievers, they'll go
through warfares of natural conscience, based upon legalities and fear
of punishment and promises of reward. But the spiritual warfare
has to do with the Holy Spirit coming against the flesh, sinful
flesh, and sinful flesh, sinful human nature coming against the
Holy Spirit. And this is why he says, again, look at Romans
8.1, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
in Christ Jesus. I'm not condemned, I'm justified. I'm forgiven of all my sins by
the blood of Christ. I'm righteous in God's sight.
Based upon Christ, righteousness imputed. And he's the only one
in which I find righteousness. And who can claim this? He says,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Now to
walk after the flesh is to walk in unbelief of God's gospel,
God's grace, unbelief of Christ. You see, you can be in the eyes
of men, the most moral and sincere and religious of people, but
if you don't know Christ, if you don't believe in Him, you're
walking after the flesh, not the spirit. He says, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the spirit. No matter who you
are. Christ spoke of the Pharisees.
He said, you do indeed appear righteous unto men. And what
he was talking about is their sincerity, their human morality,
but they did not measure up to righteousness in the eyes of
God because righteousness is the perfection of the law that
can only be found in Christ. And if you don't know Christ
and you reject Christ, see, it doesn't matter how good you try
to be, how sincere you try to be, you're walking after the
flesh. You mark it down, that's all there is to it. Not after
the Spirit, because if you're walking after the Spirit, you're
walking under the conviction of sin, you're walking in faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, repenting of all your works and efforts,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Now
look at verse two of Romans eight. He says, for the law of the Spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
sin and death. Now again, that's just another way of describing
a believer's justification before God. The law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus. The law without Christ works
death. Because the Bible says over in
the book of Romans chapter three, let me just read this to you.
You're probably familiar with it. But it says in Romans chapter
three, verse 19, now listen to this. Now we know that what thinks
whoever 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, subject to condemnation before God. Therefore, verse
20, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified
in God's sight. He said, for by the law is the
knowledge of sin. So that's why over here in Romans
8 too, he talks about the law as being free from the law of
sin and death. The law works death because it
condemns, it brings in guilty and condemns everyone who is
not found washed in the blood of Christ and robed in his righteousness
imputed. But if you're justified before
God, the law of the spirit of life gives life in Christ Jesus
and from Christ. Romans 5.21 says, as the law
brings, let me just read it to you so I won't misquote it. Romans
5.21, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life by your efforts? No, by Jesus Christ our Lord. You see that? Now look at Romans
8 and verse three. He says, for what the law could
not do. Now, what is it the law cannot
do? The law cannot pronounce a sinner justified based upon
that sinner's works. It cannot do that. The law must
bring that sinner in guilty. And if sin is imputed to that
person, charged to that person, the law must condemn. The law
cannot give life from the dead. The law cannot do that. Now,
why is it the law cannot do those things? Is it because the law
is weak or wrong or flawed? No. Look at it again, Romans
8, 3. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through
the flesh. We're the problem. That's what
he's saying. The law can only condemn the best of sinners based
upon their best works because they all fall short of righteousness.
All have sinned and come short of the righteousness of God.
Come short of the glory of God. And the wages of sin is death.
The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So without Christ, all the law can do is condemn us. Pronounce
us guilty. Pronounce the sentence of death.
Now, what's wrong? Us, we're the wrong. Because
it was weak through the flesh, we cannot keep the perfection
of the law. And somebody had told me one
time years ago, they said, well, it's unfair for God to expect
us to be perfect. No, it's not. First of all, God
is holy and perfect and he cannot require anything less. But it's
not unfair or unjust for him to require perfection, it's his
nature. But here's the point. God has provided the only way
of perfection and righteousness in Jesus Christ. Now if you're
walking after the Spirit, you'll see that and know that and believe
that and rest in that and that'll be your life. That'll be your
whole world as far as salvation and a right relationship with
God is concerned. So let's go back to Romans 8.3.
for what the law could not do, in that he was weak through the
flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh."
Remember last week I dealt with this, that Christ had a human
body. He was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh, Romans chapter 1 tells. But he wasn't
sinful. His flesh, his human body had
no sin, no sin principle, no power of sin. But now it was
in the likeness of sinful flesh. He looked like a human being.
That's what he's saying here. He looked like a sinful human
being, but he wasn't sinful. If you, in his adulthood, 30,
when he came upon John the Baptist, when he was about 30 years, 29,
30 years old, he looked just like one of the crowd. He didn't,
he's not like these Renaissance painters. He didn't have some
halo hovering around his head or anything like that. He just
looked like a man. Just like any man. And there was no difference,
unless God revealed him to you. That's why John said, God revealed
him to John. But it says, God sending his
own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, or by a sacrifice
for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. In his human body,
as God manifest in the flesh, he went to the cross and he was
condemned as a sacrifice, but in his condemnation, he actually
condemned sin. Now think about that. What does
that mean? That means, as Daniel said in
Daniel chapter nine, verse 24, he made an end of sin. He finished
the transgression. He brought in everlasting righteousness. By his death, he was condemned
based upon the sins of God's chosen people imputed, charged
to him. He was made sin, the scripture
says. And in his death for sin, he purged it away. and he made
an end of it and he condemned sin. He fought sin and he won. That's what he's saying, he won
the battle. Now if you and I fight it, we're not gonna win. Just
like God told Cain back in Genesis chapter four. If you don't do
well, if you don't look to Christ, believe in him and rest in him
for all salvation, forgiveness and righteousness in life, you've
got to deal with sin. It's like a crouching wild animal,
like a hungry lion outside your door and you have to deal with
it and you'll lose. The wages of sin is death. Now
look at verse four. He says, that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the
flesh, but after the spirit. Now there's those terms again.
How is the righteousness of the law fulfilled in us? Well, there's
two schools of thought on this phrase, fulfilled in us. One is that this is speaking
of when the Holy Spirit brings us within ourselves to look outside
ourselves to Christ for all righteousness. That's when righteousness is
fulfilled in us, when we see that Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. His righteousness
is fulfilled in us because within our hearts we believe that He
is our righteousness, our only righteousness. The second school
of thought is this, that it's speaking of Christ in us, that
is, in humanity, in a human body, as our substitute fulfilled all
righteousness. Now there is some faulty, heretical
schools of thought on that, those who claim that the Holy Spirit
makes them righteous within themselves. And that's not what it's teaching.
What it's saying here, and I think the next phrase clears it up,
Verse four, the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us. Christ is the end of the law. With the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, who walk not after the flesh, who walk
not in darkness, in unbelief, in ignorance, in false religion,
and in immorality, but after the Spirit. guided by, motivated
by, stirred up by the Spirit of God who brings us to look
outside of ourselves to Christ for all salvation, all forgiveness,
all righteousness. So verse 5 of Romans 8, For they
that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. In other
words, who's after the flesh? He's talking about people there
who are totally consumed by the fleshly sinful principles. They're
not born again. They're not believers. And they
mind, they set their minds on fleshly things. Now, it could
be immorality. perverted things, or in most
cases, it's religion, false religion, works-based religion, free will
religion. All of that is minding the things
of the flesh. My friend, what can wash away
your sins? If you think it's anything but
the blood of Jesus, you're minding the things of the flesh. And
he says, he says in verse five, he says, but they that are after
the Spirit, They mind the things of the Spirit. And what are the
things of the Spirit? What's the Spirit's work? The
Spirit's work is to bring us to look to Christ and glorify
Him and rest in Him and find our assurance in Him, follow
Him. That's what the Spirit does.
The Spirit's work is not, you know, I mean, there are works,
there were miracle works that were done back in the early days
of the, in the Old Testament, in the early days of the church,
but we have the Word of God now, and the Spirit brings us to the
Word, to believe in and walk by and live by the Word. And
he says in verse six, he says, for to be carnally minded. Now that's the same thing as
minding the things of the flesh. That word carnal means the flesh. for to be carnally minded is
death. Now again, let me emphasize,
that can be a person in religion, trying to be moral, trying to
be good, trying to keep the law, but without Christ, all it means
is death. He that believeth not shall be
damned, the scripture says. And so the carnal mind is death,
whether it's religious mind or not. And he says, but to be spiritually
minded is life and peace. That's to mind the things of
the Spirit. And that's life. Why is it life? Because Christ
is our life. Christ gave me life from the
dead in the new birth. And it's peace. Peace with God
by the cross. He made peace by the blood of
the cross. God's reconciled to his people. He's at peace with
his people, and his people are brought to be reconciled to him
because of the righteousness of God, because of Christ, his
righteousness imputed. And then he says in verse seven,
because the carnal mind is enmity against God. Do you realize that
word enmity? It's actually, you could say
enemy, but it means hatred. The carnal mind. The fleshly
mind, even that which stirs people up in false religion, works-based
religion, freewill religion, efforts to get right with God
by their works, that's actually a hatred of God. Now they claim
to love God, but they don't love the God of the Bible, because
the God of the Bible rejects any sinner who comes to Him except
in Christ, based upon his blood and righteousness." Think about
Cain. Cain brought the best works of his hands to the Lord, and
the Lord did not accept it. Cain thought he loved God, but
he really hated the God of the Bible. And he showed that through
his hatred of his brother, who was accepted because of the blood.
And he killed Abel. If he could have got his hands
on God and killed him, he would have, but he couldn't. But that's
what it is, you see. The Bible says in John chapter
three and verse 19 that the light has come into the world and men
love darkness rather than the light because their deeds were
evil. And then it goes on to say that those who are in darkness,
they hate the light because it exposes their deeds as being
evil, their best deeds, their religious deeds, their morality
as being evil. And so they hate the God of the
Bible because he will not accept what they have to offer what
they think so highly of. And so he says in verse seven,
the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. Now what is it to be
subject, submitted to the law of God? Well again, Romans 10
and verse 4, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. That's what it is to walk after
the Spirit. I hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1-1-0-2 Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
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today and may the Lord be with you.