Putting Sin to Death
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Romans 8:1-4
For those who have been redeemed, there is no longer any condemnation, meaning that the penalty of sin and death has been removed, what we could never do in the weakened state of our Flesh Christ has done for us.
Romans 8:5-6
We discussed where our mind is set on the flesh or the Spirit. Where does your mind go when you are struggling with Sin? Do we submit to God’s rulership? Where do we set our minds on the things of the Spirit or the things of the Flesh?
Romans 8:7-11
We looked at what it looks like to live in the Spirit. if we are living in the spirit we are walking in step with the spirit, even though the body is dead because of sin, the spirit that lives inside of us has brought us to life. Just as the spirit resurrected Jesus on the third day, the same spirit will resurrect our mortal bodies to new life when Christ returns for His own.
What position are you in today, alive to Christ, dead to sin, or just dead?
Even after being clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ, we continue to wrestle with sin.
Although our sinful record has been removed, our sinful nature remains.
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Note: We must now get ready for the knife. The Spirit is now going to do spiritual surgery on our lives.
We work out our sanctification in the mortal bodies that we exist in during our time here on this earth.
“Put to death the deeds of the Body” (KJV) Mortify deeds of the Body.
John Owens - Vice Chancellor at Oxford wrote a treatise on Mortification of the body. It is not pleasure reading, it is about putting sin to death. Mortification has to do with the mindset, and the method that we put sin to death. We wrestle daily with the continued presence of sin in our lives. You are not as sinful as you could possibly be apart from Christ.
>We Need to deal with sin.
>We Need to deal with sin.
Note: The longer we allow sin to hang around unchecked, the deeper down the rabbit hole we go.
What do the ways that we commonly minimize sin in our lives reveal about us:
(write the way’s we Minimize Sin)
We downplay our sins. We downplay when we assume that our sin is not that bad. We treat our life and circumstances in life as "If they"are "normal” or “not that bad.” As a result, they often do not get the attention they deserve. The sins have a way of mounting until they become overwhelming.
We Hide our sin: by concealing it as much as possible, especially"the really"“bad stuff.” At the root of hiding" is our shame. “I do not think people will accept or love the real me.
We Defend: Our tendency is to explain things away, talk about our successes, or justify our decisions. As a result, people are hesitant to approach us and rarely have conversations with us, especially about anything that is difficult or of substance in our lives.
We Fake: We fake it till we make it. We strive to keep up appearances and maintain a respectable image. To some degree, our behavior is driven by what others think of us. We also do not like to think reflectively about our lives. As a result, not many people know the real us; we hide behind the shadow of superficiality. (We may not even recognize or know the real us.)
We Exaggerate: We tend to think (and talk) more highly of ourselves than we should. We make things (good and bad) out to be much bigger than they really are( usually to get attention). Things often get more attention than they deserve and have a way of making us stressed or anxious all the time.
We Blame: We are quick to blame others for our sins or circumstances. We have a difficult "time “owning” our contribution to sin or conflict. There is an element of pride present here that assumes it is not our fault and/or an element of fear of rejection if it is our fault.
>We Want to deal with sin.
>We Want to deal with sin.
Cultural Problem: Perhaps the bigger issue is that we do not want to deal with our sins. We have been using one or more of the excuses above to avoid dealing with our sins. Or maybe we are like the person whom Jesus referenced to in:
Matthew 7:5
5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Jesus warns us against the hypocrisy of seeing the flaw (sin) in another person while ignoring the obvious sin in our own lives. (Note this is not referring to sin that you have already repented of and dealt with before the throne of God.)
One of the best examples of this was the woman caught in adultery. When she was brought before Jesus she was not concealing her sin, it was present for all to see. Jesus was calling the scribes and the Pharisees out on their perceived self-righteousness when in fact the pride of their heart condemned each of them. God calls all believers to live holy, and godly lives. To do that, we must never forget our propensity to gloss or look over our own faults while arrogantly locking on to those same faults in others.
>We are Able to deal with sin.
>We are Able to deal with sin.
We are either a slave to sin or we are a slave to righteousness.
You cannot have two masters. We either live under the world as our master, or we live under the master-ship of Jesus Christ.
Remember that last week we talked about the new ownership of your life. This body is not your own but is now the temple of the Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus that now dwells inside of us prompting us towards Sanctification - Holiness.
THE METHOD OF MORTIFICATION
1. We must be ready to Say No to Sin
1. We must be ready to Say No to Sin
Reverse Positive Thinking
Our youngest Granddaughter Sarah does not like to be told no. When she even hears the word no, she curls up her lip and gives out the biggest whale and tears fill her eyes. This is a direct result of the fall of humanity. Yes, my granddaughter as beautiful and lovely as she is fall’s under the curse of sin. The word no for Children is possibly the first word many children understand and know.
Why? Well, it is a negative word in our culture, to be told no is to say that something is being withheld from your life. The first sin in the garden was all about what God had said no to for Adam and Eve.
There were way more things that He said yes to in the garden, eat of all the other tree’s of the field, be fruitful and multiply, have a blessed union in marriage together. However, this one nagging command not to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil was what Satan used to draw humanity into sin. Is this not the same lie that is perpetuated over and over again in our culture today. Being told no to homosexuality, or transgender-ism, or abusing our bodies, or controlling what we put into our minds..... You fill in the blank....
Self-control can sound appealing until it comes to actually taking action and saying no!
Temptation comes knocking at our door like an old lover - we crack the door just a tiny crack to see what will happen, and there she is: lust, bitterness, a cutting word - any one of our former vices come back to haunt our lives. Her appeals sound so reasonable - just one more taste, just a little more time? I promise I will not come back again if I can just do this one more time.
Just Say no Drugs Campaign
Do you remember the just say no drug campaigns years ago. (“just say no continues to be used in schools across the country today.)The assumption of the commercial was that kids could actually just say “no” whenever and wherever they were faced with the temptation. Is that true? I wonder how successful it has really been on the war on drugs. You can look at the drug epidemic and assume it did not actually work. There is a vast difference between a believer and an unbeliever who is asked the question, “does just saying “No” actually work?
The unbelievers Attempt to just say no! The unbelievers attempt to just say know is much like a child with an arcade game where you have to hit with a huge mallet whatever blue furry head pops up. The problem with trying to deal with temptation simply by hitting it down is that the moment an unbeliever hits one popping-head, another pops up in its place or in front of him.
The unbeliever simply does not have the means by which to consistently overcome sin because he or she has not been indwelt by the spirit. But the one who has come into a relationship with God has the gift of the Holy Spirit of God and has been given whatever is needed to overcome a given temptation. Whatever is needed is no loess than the power of God’s own Spirit!
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
He provides all that you need to be successful against the sin in your life. Taking the Air out of a Cup:
Simply saying no to sin in your own power is like trying to remove all of the air from a cup by covering it with a plastic lid and trying to suck out the air with a straw. You can’t get it out even if the lid is sealed air tight which isn’t if you are an unbeliever. But if our goal really is to remove all the air from a cup, fill it up with water and you can be certain that all the air will be expelled. Consider how many verses there are that equate the biblical metaphor for the spirit is water.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
Note: We sin because we want to sin.
We want to sin because, by nature, sin resides in our hearts.
Sin is not just near us, it is in us. You can see why this is such a sensitive subject. It goes to the core of who we are and what it is that we need to be saved from.
Most people like to think of sin as a dark force outside of us and that we have the abi"it" to say “no” to it on our own. We understand that we are fallen beings, so sometimes we will get it wrong, but we want to believe that when we come to our senses, we can get it right.
*When we say no to sin, we go against our human nature.
*When we say no to sin, we go against our human nature.
“Our human nature is prone to all kinds of sinful behavior, without a battle plan the mission is doomed to failure.”
2. We must not be Satisfied with Sin
2. We must not be Satisfied with Sin
*Do not be Satisfied with Partial Holiness
What is the Evidence that you are a Christian?
Being Satisfied with our Sin should never be an option for the follower of Christ. Putting to death our sin is a lifelong process that takes lots of work and purposeful dedication to mortifying the flesh.
Mortification of Sin (John Owens)vs. 13 “if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” 1. A Duty is assigned - “Put to death the deeds of the body...” 2. A person is assigned to this duty, namely you: “You put to death...”3. A promise is given that will be received if you perform this duty: “You will live.” 4. The cause or means for carrying out the duty is provided: the Holy Spirit.” “By the Spirit...” 5. Everything about this is Conditional: “If...”
So You Have…(write Body, Deeds, and Death).
The Body
The deeds of the Fleshly Body
Putting them to death
The Situation of Our Sin, Being in a Sinful State
“The work of this sin-opposing power is not complete at the time of our conversion because of the indwelling sin that remains in us. It needs to be carried on towards perfection in our entire lives.”
Note: Some of you have only been Christians a short time, possibly a few years or even several months.....
Our battle has just begun, and we have lots of sweat equity to reach its final conclusion in Christ Jesus our Lord. Some of you have been in the heat of battle for a long time. Perhaps you have even given up fighting or raised the surrender flag of your life to this world instead of the Spirit that lives inside you.
1) The Person in You
“Putting to death the deeds of the body is the ongoing work of true believers in Christ alone.”
Romans 8:1
“There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ,” those who are true believers. Paul reminds us that we are no longer in the flesh but in Christ Jesus our Lord. The spirit of God that raised Christ from the dead will bring life to your mortal bodies. 2) For those who are not believers in Christ, trying to carry out this task is an example of false belief that we can save ourselves and that we can be righteous enough to get to heaven through our own efforts. Sadly the world is full of this kind of thinking. This self-Salvation through personal effort is what people try to do when they are ignorant of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2). The Promise of Life
“This is both eternal life and the strength, power, and comfort of our spiritual life right now depend on us putting to death the deeds of the body.”
This is the promise for those carrying out this sin killing lifestyle. Look at what Paul say’s in
Galatians 6:8
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
The word “LIFE” means eternal life, however, it also means spiritual life for today, or as Paul reminds us in:
1 Thessalonians 3:8 “for now we live if we are standing fast in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
How do we do Battle against Sin?
We do battle against sin by trusting in the Son of God and His plan.
We give up the fight when we follow Satan’s lies and treachery like this?
“You will be happier if you just give in and trust your own ideas about how to be happy instead of trusting the counsel and the promises of Christ.
“The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make you happier. But sin will never make you happier.”
Romans 8:13 does not mean that we fight with an anxious sense of uncertainty about winning. Even as we fight, we have confidence that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of "Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).
Nor does Romans 8:13 assume that we have already been perfected in our victory over sin. Paul renounces any claim to "erfection: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (Philippians 3:12).
*You Do Not become Sinless, but you Sin Less
*You Do Not become Sinless, but you Sin Less
The combat of Romans 8:13 is not sinlessness, but mortal combat with sin which will lead to less sinning.
How then do dead people “put to death the (sinful) deeds of the body”? We have answered, “By faith!” But just what does this mean? How do you fight sin with faith?Suppose I am tempted to lust. Some sexual image pops into my brain and beckons me to pursue it. The way this temptation gets its power is by persuading me to believe that I will be happier if I follow it. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier. No one sins out of a sense of duty when what he really wants is to do right.
3. We must Kill the Root of Sin.
3. We must Kill the Root of Sin.
*The Cause and Means of Our Sin
What is the deepest Root of Sin?
Apart from the grace of God in Christ we cannot do any good works at all.
It is a pressing question, because you know that you call much of what unbelievers do “good” - apart from Christ, build hospitals, keep the speed limit, negotiate peace, heal diseases, feed the poor, pay a fair wage, and on and on. Paul reminds us in Romans chapter 1-3 that all are sinners, all have turned to their own willful way; even thought they knew God they did not honor God; Even though they have seen God’s creation they are without excuse.
Romans 3:12 tells us that all are worthless and do not good apart from Christ. Why do we not just go to what you do instead of going to the root or condition or so-called depravity of humanity. The reason we go beneath our doings to a root of depravity is because Paul does. It is not just a footnote in Paul’s writing but a forceful statement. Paul see’s all sinning is a presence, a force, in us, part of who we are, called sinner. Look what
Romans 1:18
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
The Cause or Root of All sin is the desire to suppress the knowledge of the Truth about God.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
You have become a TRUTH Suppressor, sin loves the darkness, not the light.
Note: Sin exchanges the glory of God for the created image of this world.
Notice that they do not just bury the truth; they embrace alternatives. There’s no vacuum. When the real God is rejected, images are embraced. They “exchange the glory of God" for images.” Sin hates the real God and loves his God-substituting image.
John Piper's definition of Sin. “Sinning is any feeling or thought or speech or action that comes from a heart that does not treasure God above all other things.”
John Piper's definition of Sin. “Sinning is any feeling or thought or speech or action that comes from a heart that does not treasure God above all other things.”
Sin is not just something you do, it is who you are as a SINNER!
You are a Truth suppressor, A Lover of this World.
Means of Killing Sin is the work of the Holy Spirit.
By Him alone is it to be done, and by no other power will it ever be completely eradicated in your life.
Trying to kill sin and behave morally through personal power, strength, and effort using personal tools and techniques is the foundation of all false religions in the world.
Any so-called religion or church that gives you Christ plus something is not centered on the Holy Spirit, which battles for us in the unseen heavenly places.
*Change Your Mindset toward Sin
*Change Your Mindset toward Sin
Where does sin begin? In the Mind! The thought that pops into our mind that leads to willful disobedience leading to sin. When we kill sin at it’s source we must change our thought patters and habits. What do we fill our minds with? We live in a cultural time where media consumes our life, our mind is constantly consumed by images of the body, images of anger, images of death, images of self-gratification. The more we fill our minds with the things of the world, the more it will affect how we see the world and God in the world.
*Be accountable to Others when we do sin
*Be accountable to Others when we do sin
It is impossible for you and me to walk for a lifetime with God on our own.
Show me someone who has no accountability in their life, and I will show you someone who will ultimately fail in the battle against Sin.
*Don’t Fall into Legalism to be forgiven for sins.
*Don’t Fall into Legalism to be forgiven for sins.
We leave the Church on Sunday, go into our houses, close the blinds, and assume we are isolated where no one can see us. In Corinth, Paul was dealing with people who were going into the Brothel, and Paul had to address this issue.
In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul is very explicit that you cannot leave Jesus at the door; He goes with you.
In our text today, Paul gives you something you must do or implement into your life. However, you do not do this to be saved or to be accepted. Paul is hammering home that your life is changed; you find that when your mind goes into neutral, it gravitates towards sin.
When we give our children rules and boundaries to follow and have consequences when they cross the boundary: It is not so that we will accept them. It is not so that they can somehow gain our love and affection. It is because as our children we love them and only want whats best for them.
Show me a parent who sets no boundaries for their children and allows them to do whatever they want to do and I will show you a parent who say’s they love their children but rarely show that love in how they discipline their Children. Dietrich Bonhoeffer would call this cheap grace. This is grace without consequences, grace without accountability.
The Bobble Head Jesus You pull out the dashboard Jesus when it suites or fits your lifestyle, you can always take Him down and put Him away when you don’t need Him anymore. This is at the heart of legalism, that you would continue living in sin while grace abounds.
It’s like Marti gras for the Catholics, 45 days before Easter and one day prior to Ash Wednesday which is the beginning of Lent. The idea is to be as wild and crazy as you want to be, then just pull out that dashboard Jesus on Ash Wednesday and start doing your fasting to make up for all the wilds stuff you did the week before. This is Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 6 is that when you sin, you take Jesus with you.
So, what should I do? Some people would say, “Remember God’s command to be holy (1 Peter 1:16) and exercise your will to obey because he is God!”
But something crucial is missing from this advice: faith. A lot of people strive for moral improvement who cannot say, “The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith” (Galatians 2:20).
People try to love who don’t realize that what counts is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). The fight against lust (or greed or fear or any other temptation) is a fight of faith.
Otherwise, the result is legalism.The same faith that saves us as noted in
Ephesians 2:8-9 is the same faith that is Sanctifying us, and will be the same faith that will triumph over sin and death.
Faith is not only believing Christ died for our sins; it is a confidence that His way is better than our way.
Faith is not only believing Christ died for our sins; it is a confidence that His way is better than our way.
Isaiah 55:8-10 “His thoughts are not my thoughts, His ways are not my ways....”
When God’s way is more appealing than the world's way, we are on our way to being complete in Him. The reality is that the sins or vices that once appealed to our hearts have not been replaced by the Holy Spirit, making His way more appealing and of greater value.
This is what happens when we start to do battle against our sinful nature. We fight against the lie of our flesh, which continues to tell us that sin will make our future happier. Faith is the victory that overcomes such a monumental lie because faith is satisfied with God.
Cultural Problem: The world is never satisfied, no matter how much sin it turns out it will never be enough to meet its insatiable appetite. It is like a ravenous dog who can never get enough to eat. Look at the end result of the faith we deploy in the battle:
4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
We are now becoming partakers of His divine nature through the great promises He has given us in His word.
CONCLUSION
There is a kind of life that leads to death and a kind of life that leads to life; which path are you on?
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Note: notice that the gate that leads to life is narrow and the way is hard.
Several years ago for our anniversary, Diana and I went to Big Bend national park in South Texas. We found out why people go to the park earlier in the year, it was crazy hot.
We began hiking through the rock formations. The further we got into the rocks the narrower the path began to become, and the more difficult the hike. We finally came to a place that became so difficult and narrow that we had to stop before the park rangers found our bodies trapped in the rocks. Notice that Jesus gives the reason that few enter the narrow way that leads to life, because the gate is narrow and the way is hard. It is no secret that it is far easier to stay on the path to destruction. This is much like the illustration of the sower and the seed, the good soil will produce the kind of life that can endure and persevere till the end, however there are other soils that do not produce life, but, when troubles come they are choked out and die.
Finally, Paul calls this crucifixion:
Galatians 5:24 “A crucifixion of our fallen nature, with all its passions and desires. Jesus tells us that if anyone would come after Him, he must take up his cross and follow Jesus daily.”
Romans compelled the condemned to carry their cross to the site of their crucifixion, to carry our cross is symbolic of following Jesus to the place of His death. And what we are to put to death there, Paul explains, is the death of the sinful flesh. That is every use of our body, our eyes, our mouth, our hands and feet, which serves our selfish motives rather that God’s glory and Honor.
What will it be for you today? What are you waiting for in the Flesh? Christ has already done all that is required to free you from the consequences of sin and Death. Now it is up to you to crucify the flesh and Live as His new creation daily to the glory and Honor of God and His Kingdom alone.
It is time to get of Death Row!
" Just Do It” (to coin the Nike Slogan)