Now, at the expense of being
thought a smart aleck, and I certainly don't feel like
I'm giving that appearance, but it may be someone will come to
that conclusion, but I'm going to say it anyway. I believe that
our forefathers, in dividing the Bible into chapters, erred
greatly in many places. I believe the Bible originally
was not written Romans 7, verses 24 and 25, and then Romans 8,
verses 1 and 2. That's not the way the Apostle
Paul wrote the Bible. And there are some places where
our forefathers had to divide it somewhere, I suppose, to help
us find scripture. How would you like to try to
find a verse of scripture or a portion of scripture if you
just had the manuscript in paragraphs? It would be more difficult. But
it's led to some errors. It's led people to build whole
denominations, like the Church of Christ, Acts 2.38. If they
didn't have that, they'd fold up. You know that, and I do,
too, Acts 2.38. repent and be baptized, every
one of you, for the remission of sins. Luke didn't write that
in the book of Acts, in Acts 2.38. That's not the way he wrote
it. It was in a context. Or the Arminians,
if he didn't have this, God is not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. The Apostle didn't write it that
way. Peter wrote it in a In a paragraph in which he addressed believers,
he said, God's long-suffering to us were not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And they're
not going to perish, they're coming to repentance. For the
elect's sake, those days will be shortened. But we build whole
denominations and we build systems of theology on verses of scripture. that had been taken out of context
that were not in the original scriptures verses at all. They
were half of a sentence. And we've lifted them right out
and put them over on the wall. This is one of the things that
I like verses of scripture around the home. Some of you ladies
have verses of scripture, but some of you have parts of verses.
And that's not being fair to the scripture, just to have a
part of a verse. You can't get the whole sentence at least,
or maybe the paragraph. You get in trouble. And here's
a chapter division that gets a lot of folks in trouble. I
actually heard a man say one time, I actually heard him say,
that believers ought to get out of Romans 7 into Romans 8. You
ever heard that? Believers ought to get out of
Romans 7 into Romans 8. Did you ever hear that? I've
heard that so many times. I've heard people boast of being
out of Romans 7 into Romans 8. There's no such thing as Romans
7 and Romans 8. There's no way you can get out
of Romans 7 into Romans 8 because they're one. Look at verse 1
of chapter 8. There is therefore. Therefore,
you start a new chapter with therefore. Somebody said one
time, when you see a therefore in the scripture, you see what
it's there for. It's talking about what's just
been said. That's what it's talking about. Paul says in Romans 8
verse 1, there's therefore now no condemnation because he said
in the preceding sentence, I've been delivered from my sin by
the grace of God through Christ Jesus. Therefore there's no condemnation. Romans 7 and 8, they're warrants. Not two different doctrines or
two different divisions, Romans 7 and 8. I tell you this, both
Romans 7 and Romans 8 has been, is now, and always will be your
experience until you enter glory. That's a fact. Romans 7 and Romans
8. Look back at chapter 7, verse
15, the things I don't approve of, that's what I do. And the
things I do approve of and the things I love and the things
I delight in and the things I desire, I don't find myself always doing
them. I'm talking about the perfection.
When I would do good, evil is present with me. I find a law
warring in my members that the will is present with me. How
to perform that which is perfect, how to pray a perfect prayer,
I haven't found it yet. How to walk a perfect path, I
haven't found it yet. How to think a perfect thought,
I haven't found it yet. How to love in perfection? I
hadn't found that yet. The will is present with me.
How to perform it? I hadn't found that yet. But
I thank God, he says, there's no condemnation to me in Christ.
In my flesh dwelleth no good thing, but there's no condemnation
in Christ. What I'm saying is this briefly.
I struggle against sin every day, don't you? I struggle with
it. I hope against it. Do you? And yet every day I rejoice in
complete justification. That's so. I struggle with and
against sin every day. But at the same time, I rejoice
and thank God for complete justification. I'm redeemed. I'm justified. I'm forgiven. There's no condemnation
to me in Christ. And yet I struggle every day
with sin. I'll tell you something else. Every true believer is
in a constant conflict with flesh. He's in a state of conflict,
but he's not in a state of condemnation. Turn to Galatians. Just hold
Romans 8 there and turn to Galatians 5. Let me show you this. Galatians 5, verse 17. What I'm saying is this. Every
believer is in conflict Now, if you're sitting there and you're
saying, I don't have any conflict, then you're in a gull of bitterness,
because you're in one of two states. The unregenerate doesn't
have any conflict, and the religionist won't admit it. That's right,
Charlie. You say, I don't have any conflict.
You're not talking about me when you say in daily struggle against
sin, in daily conflict with the flesh and sin, and yet rejoice
in regeneration and redemption. I don't have that conflict. I'm
saved and sanctified and set apart and the old nature eradicated.
You're in one of two states. You're either unregenerate or
you're a lying religionist. Because that just ain't so for
the believer. And I tell you what I think really
and truly. I think there's some religionists
who are going around boasting that they don't sin and are not
tempted to sin because they feel like that's what people expect
them to say. Their preacher expects them to say that, and their denomination
expects them to say that. When they get home, they know
they've been lying. They know it's not true. And the preacher
knows it's not true. But he's so afraid somebody's
going to think he's a sinner. He's so afraid somebody's going
to think that he's not as holy as he ought to be. God knows
how holy you are. God knows. And it ain't no use
fooling everybody else, or trying to. But look at Galatians 5,
17. The flesh, the flesh, and that's what you're made of, flesh,
lusted or warred against the Spirit. You're a man of two natures if
you're saved. You've got a nature that hates
sin, loves holiness. You've got a nature that hates
holiness and loves sin. And that flesh, when God saved
you, he left you in the body. He said, I don't pray that you
should take them out of the world, but keep them from the evil one,
keep them from Satan. You wonder how you can be saved
and have the thoughts you have and the feelings you have and
the temper and the passions and these things that you have? Because
you've still got eyes and you've still got flesh and you've still
got hands and a feet and an appetite. You've still got a nature. You've
still got a human. You're still human. You've still
got hair and flesh and teeth and you still feel pain and you
still get upset when you feel it, don't you, Jack? And you
still got feelings. You get in despair and despondency
because you got a natural mind. You got a spiritual mind and
a spiritual soul and a spiritual nature, but you got a fleshly
mind that hurts just like anybody else. But I tell you this, a
redeemed man can have a headache just like anybody else. And he
has feelings too. And somebody tells him to shut
his mouth, he gets mad just like anybody else gets mad. His flesh,
his fists double up just like that, just as quick as anybody
else's does. But he has a new nature. The
flesh lusted against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.
That holy nature, that righteous nature, it doesn't like the flesh
any more than the flesh likes the holy nature. That holy nature
will be glad when that flesh is buried. It'll be glad when
those thoughts are not entertained, and when those words are not
spoken, and when those feelings are gone, and when all of the
pride and envy and jealousy and all of these things are gone,
the new nature, the holy nature is vexed by those thoughts. In
other words, have you ever said something to someone on the job,
you know, and you snap back and you say, and in your heart you,
I wish I hadn't have said that. I wish I hadn't have felt that.
I wish I hadn't have done that. God help me, forgive me. That
new nature didn't like that. That new nature didn't like that.
It bothered that new nature, depressed that new nature. And
that new nature spoke against it. Read on. These are contrary,
the one to the other. You cannot do the things you
would. Because of the presence of that
holy nature, the flesh can't do what it would. That's right. It can't do what it would. Somebody
offends you and you say, I'm going to get even with him. Hey,
that mister is going to feel my wrath. No, he's not. You're
going to pray about it and seek God's will, and you're going
to get over that. Your new nature is not going
to let you get even. Your new nature is not going
to do it. Well, I tell you, when that young man comes home, he's
going to catch it from me. No, he's not. No, he's not either. By the time he comes home, you're
going to repent. All right? Neither can the flesh,
neither can the Spirit do what he will. I tell you this, I'm
going to read my Bible every day. I'm going to pray, I'm going
to witness to somebody, I'm going to walk with God, I'm not going
to think this thought anymore, I'm not going to do this anymore.
Yes, you are, too. Yes, you are. That's the reason
I don't care much for signing pledge cards. in making vows
and resolutions and stuff like that, because I tell you, just
share as you say, under God, I'll never again. Watch out now. Be careful. Be careful. Don't bow or bow unto God unless
you're prepared to pay it. And you're not prepared to walk
in perfect holiness yet. Not prepared. So that's what
he says there. Turn back to Romans 7. In other words, In other words,
what I'm saying is I struggle and you struggle with sin. We
struggle with the thoughts. Now, wait a minute. A lot of folks got this thing
of sin whittled down to getting drunk and living in adultery
and lying and cursing God. When I'm talking about sin, when
Paul's talking about sin here, he's talking about that sin as
a principle, as a nature. In other words, a lot of folks
don't look on pride as being sin. Pride is sin. These things
that I just mentioned are the products of sin and the results
of sin, and they're damaging, and they shouldn't be done. The
law of God is against them. But let me tell you something.
Envy is sin. Jealousy is sin. Malice is sin. Bigotry is sin. Prejudice is
sin. Anything that's not perfect is
sin. The thought of foolishness is
sin. There's not a person here. Our sins, you see, and our personalities
have a lot to do with it. Our makeup, our general makeup. You have weaknesses I don't have.
I possibly have weaknesses, directions you don't have. And a person
may be, it's like a fellow said to me when I was in school down
at Tennessee Temple College, I love baseball, always have
loved sports, basketball, baseball, football, and I cut class one
afternoon to go to a ball game. Anthony Trotto, the band leader
and I went to see the Chattanooga Lookouts open their season at
Engel Stadium. The score was 3 to 2, it was
Thursday afternoon. I don't remember too much of
that. But anyway, Anthony and I went to the ball game, and
we came back to school the next morning. And Lee Robinson's assistant,
director of missions, met us at the door. And you fellas weren't
in a certain class. You don't remember the class
I missed, but you fellas weren't there. No, we had a little mission
to take care of. Where'd you fellas go? He wouldn't
leave it alone. We went to the ball game. Oh, he was horrified,
just horrified, just smitten, his whole spiritual self just
wilted. No, surely not. Yes, we did,
we went to the ball game. Well, that's wrong, he said. I said, Durwood, you like baseball? He said, I despise it. Well,
I said, that accounts for it, you know. You see, here's the
thing, we're different. And what I'm trying to point
out is that what most people call sin, I don't think Paul
had any trouble getting drunk here, do you? I don't think that's
what he's talking about at all. I don't think Paul was talking
about taking anybody's life here. I don't think he's talking about
running off with somebody's wife here. I don't think he's talking
about these things at all. I think Paul is talking about
this inward nature, this conflict, this thing which we know to be
sin. I think the believer hates pride as much as he hates lying. I believe the true believer hates
envy as much as he hates adultery. I believe the true believer hates
jealousy. and despises malice and prejudice
just as much as he does thievery or covetousness, because it's
all imperfection. You might talk about great sins
and little sins, but I don't find that in this book, Bob.
See, it is sin. I don't find in the Word of God
where there's great sin and little sin, there's black sin and white
sin. I just find S-I-N, sin. And to offend in one point of
the law, you should be ill to the whole law. You know, men
of old wrestled with sin, and yet they rejoiced in forgiveness. David said, listen, my sin is
ever before me. I will take the cup of salvation
and rejoice in the Lord. Listen to Job, I have heard myself. I know my Redeemer living. Listen
to Isaiah, I'm a man of unclean lips. By his stripes we're healed. See that? Listen to Paul. I'm the chief of sinners, therefore
being justified by faith, I have peace with God. So this is what
I'm saying in these two chapters. And notice the text is written
in the present tense. There is therefore now no condemnation. If you miss this, you'll miss
the whole blessing. This thing is written in the
present tense. You'll miss the truth of it, the beauty of it,
the blessing of it, if you don't see the now. My heart is heavy
because of my shortcomings. Isn't yours? Isn't your heart
heavy right now? Don't you feel a heaviness with
a sense of your inadequacy? You take right here, since we've
been here this morning, has your affection been set on things
above? Has your heart been on the things
of God? Has no thought gone through your
mind that is displeasing to the Lord? Is your mind really on
this message right now, or are you doing a business deal that
you're going to take care of? No, you're in the house of the
Lord, the presence of angels. Christ said he was here. Is your
mind concentrated on him? You say, I'm afraid not, Preacher.
Don't you wish it were? Don't you wish you could worship
That's what I'm talking about. I'm talking about my heart's
heavy with a sense of my inability. My heart is heavy with a sense
of my guilt. My heart is heavy with some of
the things that I've thought. But now wait a minute. My heart
rejoices in mercy. My heart rejoices. Jay and Shirley
sing about it. Though your sins be as scarlet,
I'll make them as white as snow. That's right. That's the way
I feel right now. I'm a paradox. I'm as empty as
I can be, but I'm full of his grace. That's right. I'm as burdened and heavy and
tired and sick of my lack of growth and progress, aren't you?
But I'm just as satisfied as I can be with Christ in the fact
that I don't have a sin to my name. Nary a one. That's right. He said, I don't
understand that kind of preaching. You will when God saves you.
Now, that wasn't nice, but that's so, Danny. You will when God
saves you. That's the only man that can
understand it, is the man that's experienced it. You say, I don't
understand the new birth. You will when you're born again.
I don't understand faith. You will when you have it. It's
just like folks don't understand children. You will when you have
some. That's it. You will when you experience
it. I understand married people. You're not married. And I understand this. Now, when
Paul speaks of inward conflict, he speaks in the first person. He says, I. Look back at chapter
7. I, the things I would do, the
things I would not do. I, in my flesh. I, when he speaks
of what's going on, because he knows himself. He knows himself. But when he speaks of the privileges
of a child of God, he speaks in general terms, them. There
is no condemnation to them, to them who are in Christ, to them. Now, I want you to see four things,
and I'll be brief. Number one, the believer's conflict. The believer's conflict Let's
just go over a few of these. Look at verse 14. Let me just
go verse by verse, see if I can help you just a little bit. I'm
not going to tarry too long on each one, but just a running
commentary. He says in verse 14 of Romans 7, the law is spiritual. I know the law is spiritual.
That is, it comes from the Spirit of God, and it goes to the Spirit
of man, and it requires a spiritual inward holiness. The law is spiritual. The law of God is spiritual.
The commandments of God are spiritual. It demands inward holiness. It
has to do with attitude and spirit. Now, I'm convinced that the average
preacher in church doesn't know what sin is. I really do. I'm
convinced of that. We've got sin conformed to physical,
material things. That's sin. Sin is in a bottle. Sin is in a cinema. Sin is in
a television. Sin is in a deck of cards. These
are all material things. Sin was here before, Jay, any
of those things came. So sin is not a material substance. Sin is an attitude. The law of
God is spiritual. Spiritual. That's the reason
Christ said to these Pharisees, you clean the outside of the
cup. And you neglect the inside. This is where it is, the inside. Cleanse first the inside. Get
the right spirit toward God, the right attitude toward God
and toward his word, the right attitude toward other people.
Love God with all your heart. Love your neighbor as yourself,
and your deeds will be straightened out. He said to the Pharisees, they
were so careful to wash their hands before they ate, materialistic.
They were so careful not to eat pork or certain meat or drink
certain beverages. Christ said, nothing you put
in your mouth is going to defile you. It may upset your stomach.
It may upset your stomach. It may give your head Montezuma's
revenge or something like that, but it ain't going to touch your
heart, I guarantee you. That's when you can't save a
man by feeding him a wafer and wine. It's not what goes in his
mouth that defiles him or spiritualizes him. And that's the reason you
can't save a man in that pool. It's what comes out of his heart
that defiles him. That's where the whole thing
is. The law is spiritual. But I'm carnal. I'm natural. And you are too, compared to
that law. That's what I'm talking about. Now, we're not advocating what
they call the carnal and spiritual Christian theory. But I'm saying
that every man, every son of Adam, every woman here, compared
to the Holy, spiritual, inward, perfect, immutable, infinite
law of God, is carnal! I don't care who you are, compared
to God's law, you're carnal. And you're sold unto sin. That
is, you're an even, even this, watch, you're even an involuntary
servant to your flesh. Yes, you are. You don't have any control, I
don't want to say any, you don't have much control over that flesh. You're an involuntary servant
to it. There are thoughts that come into your mind you didn't
even prepare for, right? You're an involuntary servant
to that flesh. There are things that happen
that you didn't sit down and draw the blueprints and say,
now, Hart, think this, it thought it first. It said it first. The law is holy and spiritual.
I'm carnal compared to that law, and I'm sold in slavery to that
flesh. Adam sold me out in the garden.
And I became a servant of this flesh. That's right, of this
fleshy nature. Look at verse 15. He says, the
Word is approved here. I know it's no in the margin,
but it's approved. For that which I do, I approve
not. I don't approve. There's not
a believer on earth who does not think and say and do things
he doesn't approve of. I don't approve of it in me,
and I don't approve of it in you. The things that I do, I
don't approve of. And that I would, that I do not. That which I do approve of. What
I hate, I do. You have any problem with that?
Why, sure you do. Job said, If I justify myself, my own mouth
will condemn me. Look at verse 16. If then I do
that, involuntarily even, spontaneously, from the flesh, which I don't
approve of, The very fact I don't approve of signifies that I consent
to the law that's good. I'm glad that that conviction's
there. I'd worry if it wasn't. If I could have a wrong attitude
towards someone, a wrong spirit, and this sort of thing, and thrive
and live upon it and feast upon it, then I'd worry about this
thing. I'm glad I have conviction because
it shows I love God's law. It shows our consent to the law,
that it's good. I'm wrong and the law is right.
David said, Lord, you're justified when you condemn me. You're righteous
when you speak. Now, verse 17. It's no more I
that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. Paul's not denying his
responsibility. Sin can't act. The man must act.
The man must act. But it's the nature of sin that
motivates the act. It's that flesh that's still
in me. For he says in verse 18, I know that in me, that is, in
my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." Let me tell you something. When
God saved you, he didn't take your flesh and make it over again. It's still flesh. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. What he did was put a new man in you. He put a new
nature in you. And that new nature subdues the
flesh and conquers the flesh and reigns over the flesh and
restrains the flesh. That new nature does. You see
that? But the flesh is still there.
And it's still battling, still scratching and clawing. It's
still, you see, a man before he's saved, he curses. Oh, how
he just swears and blasphemes God. And he gets angry and he
curses God. Well, when he's saved, God gives
him a new nature. And that new nature loves God,
Bob. It loves him. And he doesn't want to curse.
So he subdues that old nature. He still gets upset. But now
he doesn't curse God because that new nature won't let him
curse God. It's still there. The old nature
is there. It's to be contended with. I know, verse 18, that
in me and my flesh dwelleth no good thing. To will is present
with me. How to perform that which is
perfect? Have you found it yet? I have,
what Paul said. I haven't arrived. I'm not perfect.
I haven't laid hold upon that for which Christ has laid hold
upon me. For the good that I would, the perfection that I would,
I don't do. But the evil which I would not,
that's what I do. And it's not I that do it, it's
no more I that do it. It's sin, that nature of sin,
the flesh that dwells, not reigns, but dwells. Not controls, but
dwells. Yet it's still there, still remains,
and it's going to remain until God takes you home. I find then
a rule. that when I would do perfect,
when I would do good. I tell you this, sometimes you
can get on your knees in prayer. I mean, you're going to have
a sacred, holy time of communion with God. And you open your Bible,
and you're going to pray, and the flesh gets so sleepy. You get your good book. Here
is Horatio Bonar, The Way of Peace. Oh, that's good. Preacher
said, read it. He bought it, and he lay down
and popped his head up good for a good old time of fellowship
with the Lord, and he read three lines. And he walked in and found there
was that good old book laying on his chest there, you know.
And, well, he wants to, but he's tired. I understand that. I understand that. And thank God he understands
it. I'm still a human being, and
let's don't look down our noses. You know, love covers a multitude
of afflictions and infirmities. Let's grow in grace. Let's grow
in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. And while some of
you fellows have been around a long time, you've got the world
by the tail on a downhill pull. That's okay, but there's some
new Christians here, some new believers that are battling.
Oh, how they're battling. That old nature, that old man
is 70 years old and that new man is about two months old.
And that's something. That old man, he's old, he's
wise in the ways of the world. Those eyes have looked upon sin
in the world for all these years, and here this new young whippersnapper
born of the Spirit, you know, comes around to take over. And
that old man is wise in the ways of the world. And that young
new nature has a time, doesn't he? Until he grows. But you get
to feed that new nature on the Word of God, he's going to get
some muscle. He's going to get some power.
You feed that new nature on prayer and God's Word and Bible study
and preaching and rejoicing and communicating with one another,
edification, exhort one another while it's called today. And
after a while, that new man gets stronger and stronger. That old
man is still there. He's still hanging around. He
still has to get his licks in, and he's going to do it. In other
words, Paul says here, verse 23-22, look at it, "...I delight
in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another law, warring
against the law of man, and bringing me into captivity." to the law
of sin which is in my flesh." Now, here's what Paul is saying.
I'm a man of two natures. I have a nature that's holy and
righteous and loves God. I do. Peter said, Lord, you know
I love you. Well, now, wait a minute, Peter.
Just about two or three days ago, you're saying you didn't
know me. Lord, you know all that. You know I love you. You know
I love you. But I tell you, Lord, when I
was sitting by that fire and I saw those fellows with those
swords, They're sharp, razor sharp. Lord, I saw him sharpening
that thing, and he put an edge on that thing and cut a hair.
And Lord, I just chickened out. That's all there was to it. I
was just sitting there, and I saw that sword, and I saw that great
big old gruff Roman soldier, and I saw that and that hell
of nails and that hammer. And I felt my hands, and they
broke out in a cold sweat. And that little girl said, Do
you know him? And I said, No, I don't know him. I'm not with this outfit. That's right, isn't it? What
would you have done? The same thing, I bet you, a
dollar and a half to a cow and a calf. That's what Rob used
to say. And I'd come out the winner. I tell you, it's one
thing to boast about what you do. It's another thing to do
it. Paul said, I'm a man with two
natures. I readily admit it. But look at verse 1 of chapter
8. I've got to wind this thing down. But he says, I tell you
this, there's therefore now, right now, in this present condition,
right now, no judgment, no condemnation. No condemnation. Right now. No guilt, no charge, no condemnation. Years ago, when I was a song
leader at Pollard Baptist Church, 1947, that's 34 years ago, I was just a young fellow, and
I asked a lady to sing a solo one Sunday morning. Not many
folks know about this, but me and the pastor. I was going to
have her sing a solo, and she hadn't been the nicest lady in
the world, according to some people, but the Lord had saved
her, she said. So I asked her to sing, and one
of the deacons came to her and said she couldn't sing. I said,
Why? He said, She ain't had long enough to live down her past.
You know how long it's going to take you to live yours down,
eternity, and you're not going to make it then. I'd rather the
Lord take care of that past. Hadn't you? His blood can take
care of it just like that. I don't have any past. I don't
have any condemnation. That's what they say. You know
what they say out there? No condemnation. Now! I like that now. No condemnation. But people here in this congregation,
it's got a messed up past. Brother, in Christ, if you come
to Christ, if you rest in him, look to him, believe on him,
you don't have any past. I sat in my office, some of you
remember this, about the fellow that shot his wife who was expecting
by another man when he came in. He was an Ashland oil man years
ago, picked up a shotgun and killed her and the baby. Went
to jail and served three years and got out. He sat in my study. And he asked me this, he said,
I didn't know who he was when he walked in, I didn't have any
idea who he was. I walked in, sat down, and he
said, Richard, you believe what you preach, something like that.
I said, well, yes, I do. He said, will God forgive any
sin? Any sin? I said, yes, sir. He said, any sin? I said, yes,
sir. He said, You know who you're
talking to? I said, No, sir. He said, I'm the fellow you read
about some time ago that killed his wife with a shotgun. Will
God forgive that? I said, The blood of Jesus Christ
cleanseth us from all sin. I know churches that won't let
people be deacons who've been married before. That's a bunch
of tommyrot. As far as I'm concerned, the past is done. It is for Christ. I want you to turn to this scripture.
Let's turn over here to see if I can find where that,
he says in Hebrews. Let's turn to Hebrews. That's
where it is, chapter 11. I want you to look at Hebrews chapter
11. And I'm talking about brethren, I know there's some folks that
feel guilty. They just carry a load of guilt.
They carry a guilty look. They carry, when they're around
somebody, there's a There's a black girl that came to hear me preach
last year down in Franklin, Tennessee, and baked me a pecan pie, a nice-looking
young girl in her early 20s, 23 or 24. I know she wasn't there the first
day I preached down there last week. She wasn't there. I asked
the pastor where she was, and he said, She's kind of ashamed and embarrassed. She's pregnant. I said, well,
I wish she'd get in touch with her until I just left to see
her. I wish she'd come here and be preached. You know, I wish
folks, when they got problems, wouldn't run from God. I wish
they wouldn't. I don't want to be embarrassed.
I'm not doctors. The world don't need a physician.
Sinners need Christ. Sick people need Christ. Do you
believe that? She's there the next night, and
I went over to her and hugged her and told her how glad I was.
I meant it from my soul, Jay, meant it from my soul. And we
walk around and carrying this, if anybody's had any past at
all, they feel kind of embarrassed around these holy people. Lord,
deliver me from these holy people. I don't want to live with them.
I want to live with sinners saved by grace. Don't you think we
ought to be holy? I am in Christ, and I want to be outwardly and
inwardly and all about me. But let's be honest, people. He says here in Hebrews chapter
10, he says in chapter 10 verse 16, this is the covenant I will
make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I'll put my law
into their hearts and in their minds while I write them, and
their sins and iniquities will I remember no more, no more,
no more. I like that. No more. No more. There is therefore now
no condemnation. Lift up your heads. Rejoice in
your hearts. Find joy and peace in your soul.
The blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin. But I have such
a struggle. Well, join the gang. Paul says,
I'm with you a hundred percent. But I have so many conflicts.
That's right, all of us do when we tell the truth. But I tell
you this, I have conflicts, but I don't have any condemnation.
And I'm not justifying our sins. You know better than that. I'm
not giving us an excuse for sin, an excuse for justifying ourselves
at all. My sins grieve me, and so do
yours. But I tell you this, my Lord
cleansed them. And I have greater rejoicing
in him than I do sadness over me. All right, watch this. There's
no condemnation to them who are where? In the Church. No, sir,
in Christ. They're in Christ. They're in
Christ by God's elective grace. They're in Christ by saving faith.
They're in Christ by the Holy Spirit's regenerating work. They're
in Christ! And that's the reason there's
no condemnation, because they're in Him. Now, brother, out of
Him there's plenty of condemnation. You'd better think about your
past, present, and future out of Christ. But in Christ I have
no past, and I've got a glorious future, and I'm enjoying the
present. Here it gives another word about
them. They walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The word walk is our progress,
our direction, the tenor of our lives, the bend of our will.
That's our walk. The child of light occasionally
can step in darkness. And the child of darkness can
occasionally step in light. But the general walk of the believer
is in the light, and the general walk of the unbeliever is in
darkness. The direction of the believer
is holiness to the Lord, the tenor of his life, the bent of
his will. That's his walk, that's his progress,
that's his direction. Sometimes he may move a lot slower
than other times, Jack. Sometimes he's moving right along.
Sometimes he's setting. Sometimes he's backing up, but
he's headed that way. He's facing God, living for God. The unbeliever walks in the opposite
direction. That's the walk. They don't walk
after the flesh, they walk after the Spirit. He says that two
or three times. They mind the things of God.
They mind. Look down here in verse 4 and
5. They that are after the flesh,
that's their mind. They mind the things of the flesh.
The things of the world, that's their concern, their care, their
thoughts, their plans, their ambition, the world. They mind
those things. The child of God, yeah, he thinks
about the world. He thinks about those things.
He can't say that it never enters my mind. That never enters my
mind, baloney. But I tell you, his mind is set
on Christ, Bill. You see, he minds the things
of Christ. He's spiritual-minded. Now, I
know you fellows have got to go to work five days a week,
you've got to survive in a tough world, you've got bills to pay,
taxes to pay, you've got children to educate on, and you've got
to give some thought to these things. But it's not an anxious
thought. It's not a thought that's controlled
by the things of the flesh. Your main thought and affection
and concern is for your spirit. Isn't that right? Your spirit,
the spiritual thing, the kingdom of God. What about the believer's
future? He says down here in verse 16,
the Spirit beareth witness with our spirits that we are children
of God. And if we are children of God,
then we are heirs of God. And we are joint heirs with the
Lord Jesus Christ. Joint heirs. If so be that we
suffer with him, that we may be glorified together. My message
to you, and I think I've rung true on it this morning, I've
been through the scripture, there's no condemnation in Christ. And that's encouraging, that's
assuring, that gives me comfort, it gives me joy in my heart.
I'll tell you this, you here who are without Christ, that
ought to give you some interest. Boy, I'll tell you, you're going
to fight the battle yourself? Somebody says, well, when I make
up my mind, I'm going to straighten out my life, and no, That's not the way God saves
people. You don't help him save you.
You look to Christ and trust in Christ just as you are without
one plea. But that thy blood was shed for
me. Well, when I'm ready to live the Christian life, well, what
are you talking about? Perfect without sin? Or you'll
be by yourself because there ain't nobody else making it?
Christ is our righteousness, and we grow together, we're babies.
If we never have a child in our home until we have a full-grown
child, we'll never have one. But every baby that was born
into our family has got to go through that diaper-wetting stage,
and spilling milk stage, and crying, and all of these things,
and now we've got some fine, grown young people. I knew some
of you young people when you were brats. And we had to take
you like that, didn't we? We didn't have no choice. And
that's the way the Lord takes his people when they're brats.
And he gives them a preacher to feed them the milk of the
word. And he gives them some friends to encourage them and
pat them on the back, you know, sometimes pretty hard and firm. But that's what you need. That's
the way you come to Christ. You don't get theologically wise
and have it all figured out and then come to the Lord and bring
him something that you've already worked out. No, sir, you come
just like that woman who washed his feet.