The Power to Live Free of Sin

Transcript

GR 1437
06/27/10
The Power to Live Free of Sin
Romans 8:1-4
Gil Rugh

We come to the book of Romans 8 in our study together. When we start a new chapter of a book we are reminded we are moving through the book and the book of Romans, outstanding unfolding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And many writers, commentators believe that the book of Romans is the highlight of New Testament revelation, and in many ways it is. And there are quite a number of those who would say that Romans 8 is the highlight of the book of Romans. And it certainly is an outstanding chapter. We've moved through the subject of condemnation, we are guilty sinners under the condemnation of a holy God; moved to justification, that God, a holy God, has provided righteousness in His Son; in talking about the matter of sanctification, God's provision for living a life that is pleasing to Him. Now as we break down the book of Romans like condemnation, justification, sanctification, we want to be clear we are not making hard, fast distinctions between these sections of the book of Romans, but they are interwoven. And yet there are distinct emphases that come out in each of these sections.

As we've looked at chapters 6-7 to prepare for chapter 8, they tie together and there is clarity on the life that is to be lived as one who has been justified by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In chapter 6 there was a key emphasis, a strong emphasis on the word sin and the word death. If we're going to say what dominated chapter 6, it was an emphasis on sin and death as the result of sin. And the word sin appeared 17 times in chapter 6, if you'll remember. I don't remember offhand how many times the word death appeared, but death goes with sin. “For the wages of sin is death,” as verse 23 of chapter 6 reminded us. When you came to chapter 7 the key word is law, and the word law was used 18 times in chapter 7. We talked about the law, primarily the Mosaic Law, but then other laws as well. When we come to chapter 8 of Romans the key words are spirit and life. The word spirit is used in Romans 8 twenty-one times. That is far more than any other single chapter in the Bible. Now not all those references are to the Holy Spirit, we'll look at them individually as we move through chapter 8, but most of them are. In fact in the first 17 verses the word spirit is used 15 times in 17 verses. And that stands out because the word spirit has only been used 5 times through the first 7 chapters of the book of Romans. And only two of those clearly referred to the Holy Spirit.

So we come now to an emphasis that will be developed that has not been developed as yet, and that is primarily the role of the Holy Spirit. What He does is bring security to the believer and a guarantee of the completion of our salvation in glorification.

Chapter 6 was about sin and death, chapter 7 about the law. You'll note how chapter 8 begins. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And that word therefore connects it to something preceding. But it's not primarily to the last part of chapter 7. If you remember when we were moving through chapter 7 we said that verses 7-25 may be considered somewhat parenthetical. Not that they are not important and don't provide material that helps us understand what he is talking about, but they don't really move the argument along in its development. Really what verses 7-25 of chapter 7 did were explain more fully verse 5 of chapter 7, “for while we were in the flesh the sinful passions which were aroused by the Law were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.” How did that happen? How could the Law which is verse 12 of chapter 7, “holy, righteous and good,” bring about sin in my life? And sinful conduct, fruit for death, was the result of sin controlling the individual. And if sin controlled an individual when the holy, righteous, good Law of God was given, it just promoted further rebellion. There was nothing wrong with the Law but the Jews who received the Law were sinful. And so that explanation is given in the last part of chapter 7.

When you read verse 6 of chapter 7, “but now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound so that we might serve in newness of the spirit and not in oldness of the letter,” you could really move right over to chapter 8 verse 1. And we come into chapter 8, that will be an unfolding of the truth that was declared in verse 6, having been released from the Law, serving in the new life of the Spirit. There is one of the uses of Spirit for the Holy Spirit before chapter 8. And chapter 8 verse 1 picks up and is going to unfold life now for those having been released from the Law and who serve in the new life that the Spirit has given, not by obedience to the Mosaic Law.

When you pick up chapter 8 verse 1, “therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It connects not only back to verse 6 in what he has said, but really everything he has been saying from chapter 5. The indication of that is the word condemnation here. This particular word we have translated condemnation only appears two other times in the New Testament. Both times in the book of Romans, both times in the latter part of Romans 5.

Come back to Romans 5. Remember you pick up with verse 12 of chapter 5 and he drew a comparison and a contrast between Adam and Christ. And the act of Adam in his sin brought sin and death upon all of his descendants. Then you have Jesus Christ a second head of the race, and by His one act of obedience and righteousness He brought life for the race. So that contrast was drawn in these closing verses of Romans 5. Pick up with verse 14, “nevertheless dead reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.” So you see the comparison there. The reign of death beginning with Adam, even before the Mosaic Law, sin is inherent in the race as a result of the sin of Adam, and he was a type of the One who was to come. And then the contrast between the two in verse 15, and the contrast there, the one act of transgression brought death to the many; the one act of obedience brought life to the many, God's grace. So verse 16, “the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned, for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation.” That's the same word we have in chapter 8 verse 1. Adam's one act of sin brought condemnation in contrast to the act of obedience in Christ brought justification. Verse 18, “so then through the one transgression there resulted,” here is our word again, “condemnation.” Same word as verse 16, same word as chapter 8 verse 1. Those are the three uses of this particular word. And so there is a connection when Paul starts chapter 8 verse 1,
therefore there is no condemnation” and uses this word. It takes us back to chapter 5 verse 16, condemnation arose out of the disobedience by Adam and was passed on to all men; verse 18, “one transgression resulted in condemnation to all men, even so one act of righteousness resulted in justification for all men.”

So you pick up going back to the whole issue of being under the condemnation of God because of sin. And we're going to pick up that concept that is tied to our justification and the freedom we have through faith in Christ and being identified with Him in His death and resurrection, and so set free that enables us to live a new life which is the biblical teaching on sanctification.

Come back to Romans 8:1, therefore in light of what he has said going back to chapter 7 verse 6, going back to chapter 5 and the condemnation that has come upon us because of our sin. That could take us all the way back to chapter 1 verse 18 about the rebellion of the race against God. And unfolded more clearly with the sin of Adam. “Therefore there is now no condemnation.” That word now is a special word, it means none of any kind. There is no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. All the condemnation of a holy God that comes upon sinful people is dealt with, it's not well He dealt with most of the condemnation. He dealt with the condemnation that comes upon a sinful being. So “there is no condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And this complete separation and distinction between one who is in Christ Jesus and one who is not is crucial. It will be unfolded through chapter 8 and the coming verses. There is no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus, for those who are not in Christ Jesus there is nothing but condemnation. This is crucial. You'll note where the emphasis in the gospel is. Here we have the fullest, most complete unfolding of the gospel of Jesus Christ that we have anywhere—the book of Romans. And it has such a strong emphasis on what? We started out with sin, judgment and the provision of righteousness by the Son of God bearing the judgment, the consequences of our sin in His own body on the cross, so that we could be set free from the guilt and condemnation of our sin. And now live a new life. And that's what he is unfolding here. “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

We want to truly present the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have to be careful we are presenting the biblical gospel. We like to present the gospel, if you believe in Christ you'll have a better life, a happier life, a more satisfying marriage. You will enjoy life more. That's not where the Bible picks it up. It's true, some of those things may be a consequence. Truly there is joy in Christ and so on. You know where the Bible focuses the attention—we are sinners under condemnation. Jesus Christ came and died, not so you can have a happier marriage, not so you can do better at your job, not so your relationships with people are improved. He came to deliver you from condemnation. That's the gospel. We are sinners under the judgment of a holy God, which involves condemnation.

We did a study recently, the book of Revelation, we see the wrath of God poured out on an unbelieving world culminating with people being cast into an eternal hell where the smoke of their torment goes up into the ages of the ages. That's what we're talking about. Jesus Christ came to deliver those who are condemned from condemnation. So there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That becomes the key. Are you in Christ Jesus?

Back up to chapter 6 verse 3. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus,” we're going to talk more about the Holy Spirit in a moment. That's the baptism of the Spirit, but the Spirit is not mentioned directly, but when you talk about being baptized into Christ Jesus, I Corinthians 12:13 told us, by one Spirit, the Holy Spirit, we were baptized into one body, the body of Christ. Therefore we have been baptized into His death, we've been buried with Him into death so that as Christ was raised from the dead so we, too, might walk in newness of life. For if we become united with Him in the likeness of His death we shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this that our old man was crucified with Him. This whole action and work that was done that provides deliverance and freedom in Christ places us in Christ. This is a new sphere of our existence, totally different from the old one. Talk about those who are in the flesh more fully down in chapter 7 verse 5. “For while we were in the flesh the sinful passions” and so on. That's the realm in which we lived, now we live in Christ Jesus. That's a whole new sphere of existence. You might draw a circle and label it the flesh and put your name in there. That's where you live before salvation. Another circle, Christ Jesus, put your name in there. That's the sphere in which you now live. It's a whole new realm of existence and it's tied to our dying with Christ and being raised with Christ in newness of life, from a realm of condemnation to a realm of life. That's the contrast being in Christ Jesus.

Come back to John 3. We are all familiar with John 3:16, “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son in order that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Verse 18, “he who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” And that judgment is to declare God's condemnation and eternal wrath on him. The only deliverance from the judgment is believing in Christ. Verse 36, “he who believes in the Son has eternal life but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” That's the eternal condemnation. It comes to those who are not in Christ Jesus. So we're talking about two different realms, two different conditions of existence, if you will.

Come back to Romans 8. Unfolding of this, verse 2, “for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Why is there no condemnation to you now in Christ Jesus? For the law, he has spent all of chapter 7 talking about the law, often the Mosaic Law but sometimes using the word law to draw attention to the contrasts. Here he is talking about not the Mosaic Law, for he says “the law of the spirit of life.” He's talking about law as a governing authority, as a power, as a controlling factor. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. That is a law, the power and authority that provides for the spirit to give life to those in Christ Jesus. It's what he means when he says the spirit of life, it's the spirit who gives life in Christ Jesus.

Back up again to Romans 6. Our baptism into Christ by the Spirit of God, verse 3. Come to verse 4, “therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father so we, too, might walk in newness of life,” in a new life. The new life the Spirit of God has given us in Christ Jesus. To verse 8, “if we have died with Christ we believe we shall also live with Him.” So that's the work of the Spirit. He gives life to those who believe in Christ. How? By identifying them with Christ in His death so that the wrath of God poured out on the Son of God now pays my penalty. I am removed from condemnation to life in Christ Jesus.

Back to Romans 8. That's the law, the power the authority of the Spirit of God giving life in Christ Jesus. That's a law, that's a power and authority, just like the Mosaic Law which he is going to talk about shortly, the next verse, verse 3. But he continues to develop the work. “The law, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Now again the first part of verse 2 he was clearly talking about a law, but not the Mosaic Law. But since the Mosaic Law was a subject of verse 7 he uses that word law to drive home the point, the authority, the power. The law, the power, the authority of the Spirit in giving life in Christ has set you free from the Law of sin and death. Some think maybe he's talking about the Mosaic Law, and that could be a possibility. But I think in the context he is not talking about the Mosaic Law here, he's talking about the authority and power and control of sin that brings death.

Look in chapter 7 verse 23, “I see a different law in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind,” now note this statement, “making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.” And if you were here for our study of that passage, that law of sin there refers to the power, authority and control of sin in the life of an unbeliever. Going back to chapter 6, sin controls, enslaves and rules the life of a person who has not come to salvation in Jesus Christ. There are no exceptions, remember. You are either a slave of sin or you have been set free from the power and control of sin and enslaved to God and righteousness, as Romans 6 developed in some detail.

So here in Romans 8:2, “the law of the spirit of life in Christ.” This authority, this power, the Spirit of God to give you life in Christ, sets you free, has set you free from the law of sin and death. The law of sin and death is the power and authority, control of sin that results in death. Every unbeliever lives controlled by sin, enslaved to sin. That's the tragedy of trying to present the gospel as a moral reformation. We're not here to try to clean up people. Believers get involved in these crusades—if people didn't practice immorality, if they didn't do this, if they did this they would be pleasing to God. It's a lie. I may never have murdered anyone, I may never have been drunk, I may never has taken drugs, I may never have embezzled money. Does that make me any less a sinner, any less controlled by sin than another person? That's the problem of the Pharisees, remember, Luke 18. We looked at that a number of times. The Pharisee comes to the temple to pray and says, “I thank you, Lord, that I am not a sinner like other men, like this tax gatherer.” He didn't do these awful things, he did all the good things. But he went down to his house unjustified. We're not on a crusade of moral reformation. A person says I want to quit practicing immorality. I want to be clear and tell them, that would probably be a good idea but it won't make you any more acceptable to God. You will still be under the condemnation of a holy God. I'm going to give up drinking, I know it will be better for my family. I think it would be better for your family if you didn't come home drunk three nights a week, but that won't make you anymore acceptable to God, you understand. You see we cannot clean up our lives, we are enslaved to sin, we are controlled and dominated by sin. The goal is not to get people to lead a more upright life, to get them out of the sewer of sin, but cause them to realize the only deliverance is in Christ Jesus. Everyone outside of Christ Jesus is enslaved to the law of sin and death. And death goes with sin as Romans 6:23 says, “for the wages of sin is death.” And when you are enslaved to sin, you are condemned to death—physical, spiritual and eternal death.

“The law of the spirit of life in Christ has set you free,” aorist tense, we talk about the aorist tense. That's simply the tense that is usually used in the Greek for past events. So what he is saying here is this is something that has happened for these believers. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free, that happens when you believe in Jesus Christ and are identified with Him in His death, and in His burial and resurrection to new life. You are set free.

Come back to Romans 6:6-7. We've looked at these already but let’s look at them again. “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with,” the control of sin over our body might be ended. “So that we would no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin.” If we are not clear on this nothing else will make sense. You have to die with Christ to be set free from the control of sin. That's the only answer to sin. People are proud, they have given up drinking, they have cleaned up their lives. They are no closer to God than the drunk in the gutter, than the immoral person and so on. We cannot clean up our lives, it takes death to be freed from sin.

Verse 18 of chapter 6, “having been freed from sin you became slaves of righteousness.” Verse 22, “having been freed from sin and enslaved to God.” That's what happens when the Spirit of God identifies you with Christ in His death, in His burial. The power of sin is broken, you are free from the control of sin. Now you have been made new in Christ, enslaved to God which is true freedom because now you can function as God created you to function.

Come back to Romans 8:3. Now we're going to mention the law, so now we're going to have the third law brought in. We have the law of the spirit of life in verse 2, that's the authority and power related to the Spirit's work to give life in Christ; and we have the law of sin which results in death, which is the power and authority and control of sin over a life that results in death. Now verse 3, what the Law could not do. Now he's talking about the Mosaic Law which was the subject of chapter 7 particularly. And these Judaizers who are trying to tell people they have to keep the Law for justification and sanctification. But what the Law could not do, the Mosaic Law, weak as it was through the flesh. Again we noted in chapter 7 there was no problem with the Mosaic Law. Verse 12 told us the Law was holy and righteous and good. The problem was people were controlled by sin, enslaved to sin. So when a righteous law was given to a sinful people, instead of obeying it they disobeyed it. And it just magnified their guilt. So what the Law could not do, not because there is a problem with the Law, it was weak through the flesh. People were enslaved by sin, the body is controlled by sin. What the Law could not do, God did. You see the contrast. So the Mosaic Law was never given as a way of salvation, never given for justification or sanctification. Those people had to be saved by grace through faith. Back to chapter 4 and Abraham, salvation has always been by grace through faith. The Mosaic Law was simply a way for the nation Israel to manifest their faith in God, their reliance upon His grace and manifest that in their lives. But the Law never was intended as a way of bringing about the salvation, the freedom of God's people. What the Law could not do, God did. So you see the Law wasn't God's instrument to bring about the salvation of Israel because what the Law could not do, God did. It wasn't God trying to save people through keeping the Mosaic Law, God had to do something apart from the Mosaic Law because the Mosaic Law never could save anyone.

What did He do? “Sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin He condemned sin in the flesh.” Salvation is God's work, He intervened on man's behalf by sending His own Son. There is a stress here, a uniqueness—He sent His own Son. John 3:16 says “He sent His only begotten Son.” Here He takes “His own Son and sends Him in the likeness of sinful flesh.” Very clear theological points here. He sent Him in the likeness of sinful flesh, doesn't say He sent Him in the likeness of flesh because He was flesh, truly human. He doesn't say He sent Him in sinful flesh because while He was flesh He was not sinful. So He sent Him in the likeness of sinful flesh in that He came as a completely human being and every other human being is sinful. Jesus Christ was in the likeness of sinful flesh. He came as truly human but without sin and sin is not a necessary part of our humanity, evidenced by the fact that God created Adam and Eve in the garden and they were sinless human beings until they rebelled against God and sinned. And sin became part and parcel of the fallen being and all the descendants of Adam and Eve. But Jesus Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh.

Turn to Hebrews 2, a passage we come to often. It fits with what Paul is saying here. Verse 14, “therefore since the children share in flesh and blood,” those that Jesus Christ would be redeeming were human beings, flesh and blood; “He Himself also partook of the same,” became flesh and blood, “that through death.” We sang about the blood of Christ. What does the blood of Christ refer to? His death. Just like we use the expression bloodshed. We're not talking about the amount of blood that flowed out of veins, we're talking about death. There was a lot of bloodshed, there was a lot of death. That through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. The fear of death, why? Because the wages of sin is death and everyone knows it is coming and fears it is coming. He does not give help to angels but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore He had to be made like His brethren in all things. The point is there was no salvation provided for angels, Jesus Christ did not become an angel and die for angels. He became flesh and blood, a human being to die to provide salvation for human beings. That's the point. He became flesh and blood.

Come back to II Corinthians 5:21, “He,” referring to God, “made Him,” referring to Christ, “who knew no sin.” So you see sinful. He was in the likeness of sinful flesh but He was without sin. He's the spotless Lamb of God. “He made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf.” He didn't become sinful, but our sin was placed upon Him. As Peter wrote, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.” He was dying for our sins, bearing our penalty, enduring the wrath of God that was due to us. “He made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” So we become the recipients of God's righteousness. Where? In Him. You have to be in Christ, be in Him. That's the point.

So when we come back to Romans 8. This is what “God did sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin,” literally and for sin. But that expression in the Greek translation of the Old Testament is used a number of times to refer to the sin offerings that were given that our translators here have inserted it and the idea would be the same whether you have it or not—paying for sin. He gave His life for sin, an offering for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh, He exercised judgment over it by dealing with its power and control over us. So by His dying and bearing the penalty all who believe in Him and thus are identified, placed into Christ by the Spirit through faith are set free from the control of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh, He judged it so now we are no longer under its control. We read in Romans 6:6, “our old man was crucified with Him in order that our body of sin,” our body controlled by sin, “might be done away with.” The power of sin in controlling our body might be dealt with. In Romans 8:3 “He condemned sin in the flesh,” He judged sin which was controlling our bodies, broke its power.

Verse 4, “so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us.” So that, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us. You say, now we're supposed to live trying to keep the Law? No, that's not what he is saying. He made clear in the first part of chapter 7 that even Jews died to the Law when they believed in Christ, so the Law had no power over them, they had no responsibility to the Law, to the former mate, the former master. Used the marriage analogy there. What is he talking about when he says so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us? What was the basic requirement of the Law? Righteousness, that has always been God's requirement. What did He require before the Mosaic Law had been given? What did Abraham need 500 years before the Mosaic Law was given? Genesis 15:6, “Abraham believed God and God credited it to him as righteousness.” The requirement of the Law is righteousness, that's always God's requirement. What is our problem? God is perfectly righteous and we are not, we are under condemnation. What do we need? We need the righteousness of God. We read II Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Even if I could start today and keep the Mosaic Law perfectly the rest of my life, I am doomed. Why? I am already a sinner, I am already under condemnation. That's why a person who has committed a whole series of crimes and murdered a number of people and he says, from this day on I'm going to lead a good life. But you can't undo what you have done. You are guilty. But I won't kill anybody tomorrow, I won't kill anybody for the next twenty years. That ought to do it. No, you're guilty, you're condemned. That's where we are. We need the righteousness of God, the penalty to be paid so we can be absolved of guilt and receive from Him His righteousness. That's the point. So that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, the righteous requirement. That word translated requirement, so that the requirement of the Law, comes from the word righteousness, a form of the word righteousness, we have translated righteousness in many placed. So that the righteous requirement of the Law, many would have it translated, might be fulfilled in us.

Who are the “us”? Who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. That's a description of the “us”. The requirement of the Law is fulfilled, righteousness is fulfilled in us because I have the righteousness of God. Who are those who have the righteousness of God? Those who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. It's descriptive. You see we're into the realm of sanctification, when you have died with Christ, and we go back to chapter 6, been buried with Christ, you are raised with Christ to new life. The power and authority and control of sin over you and your body has been ended and broken. You have entered into a new relationship, you are now in Christ, enslaved to God and righteousness. You are one who walks. That's descriptive word of the conduct of our lives, now, as God's people. You walk according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh.

Back in chapter 7 verse 5, “while we were in the flesh the sinful passions were aroused,” and so on. It's a total contrast. Christians do not live in the flesh, unregenerate people live in the flesh. We get to this in verse 9, “you were not in the flesh but in the Spirit if the Spirit of God dwells in you.” And the Spirit of Christ doesn't dwell in you, you don't belong to Him. You see there are two totally different categories here, two different spheres of existence—the flesh controlled and dominated by sin and the realm of the Spirit in Christ. Those controlled by the flesh, its desires, its sinful passions are under condemnation. They don't belong to God. Those who are in Christ have the righteousness of God required by God and that's evident because they don't walk according to the flesh, they walk according to the Spirit. That's why we say justification and sanctification are distinct but they are not separate. Through faith in Christ you are justified, declared righteous. But that results in your death to sin, freedom from its control and your being enslaved to God now living in a new realm in Christ under the control of the Spirit of God. That results in living a new life. You walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

I mean, we have to understand this. Well meaning Christians go around telling people, I'm a Christian, I just don't live for the Lord. Where do you get that is a Christian? I know I've been saved, I'm just not living for the Lord. Or when we're parents we say, I know my child is saved, they're just not living for Him. Where do we get this from the scripture? The evidence that a person has received the righteousness required by God is they are not walking according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. That's the one in whom God's requirement of righteousness has been met. They walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. This is serious business, we're talking about the eternal destiny of people. What is a Christian? It's one who walks not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Oh, you are saved by works? No, that's a result of your salvation. I mean, we've come through seven chapters of Romans by now, now we're just zeroing in on how God has accomplished this through the work of His Son and the action of the Holy Spirit in coming to appreciate more fully the provision of the Spirit that now enables us, the One who identified us with Christ in His death, identified us with Christ in His resurrection. Placed us into Christ, for by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, placed into Christ and identified with Him in His death and His resurrection.

So that same action that freed us from the power and slavery to sin, placed in Christ and under the power and control of the Spirit of God. Back in Romans 6:18, “having been freed from sin you became slaves of righteousness.” You say we're picking up that same point. That's justification and that results in sanctification, how I live my life, how I walk day by day. This is not said to be mean like we want to say, you're not saved. Ultimately I can't see a heart but I want you to understand. Maybe you are struggling with sin day after day after day, sin controls you, has its grip around you. You need to stop. Not just say I know I'm a Christian, I just have struggles. But rather wait a minute, Lord, I have no freedom, I don't know what it is to be free from the control of sin. I don't know what it is to have a life lived for you. I need your righteousness, I need the power of the gospel to set me free and make me new. Instead of struggling and trying to live a life that I don't have, trying to live in the flesh the life of the Spirit cannot be done. It's misery. But God in grace want to set us free, we just have to stop and say, I can't do it.

But what the Law could not do, the Mosaic Law couldn't do it for Israel and your best efforts can't accomplish it for you. God did it. He sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh so He could take our place, hang on the cross and bear our sins in His body on the tree so that we through faith in Him could die to sin and live to righteousness. What a plan. True life, true freedom. Does that mean a Christian never stumbles? He may stumble but he walks the walk because he lives in Christ, he walks according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. That's the beautiful transformation that God has brought about for us in Jesus Christ.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the wonder of our salvation. Lord, a salvation that is complete. How glorious it is for us to be able to take hold of the beauty of your declaration, there is no condemnation of any kind for those who are in Christ Jesus. Our Savior has paid the penalty in full and completely. We have not been left ensnared, enslaved, enmeshed in sin. We have been set free, free to walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit who now dwells in us. Thank you for the glorious liberty that is found and provided in Jesus Christ. Thank you for your righteousness that is credited to every believer in Jesus Christ, which is the foundation for us living lives of righteousness. We praise you in Christ's name, amen.