The Law of the Spirit
Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25)
These were Paul’s words at the close of Romans 7… words of desperation… words that speak of a terrible reality that every soul faces outside of a relationship with Jesus.
Paul was speaking of the inward battle of knowing the right things to do an not do… but constantly struggling with doing what he knew he was not supposed to do.
What is the answer or where is the hope? Does Paul really not understand the answer here?
Paul knows full well who the answer is… and he is about to walk his reader through that answer in chapter 8. But he is working to help identify with the reader. Paul wants the reader to know that what they are feeling and struggling with… is a common spiritual struggle.
One, we have a very real enemy who will do all he can to make our walk with the Lord as difficult as he can.
Two, we live in a world that is distancing itself from God more on a daily basis.
So what Paul has done is set us about for the big reveal - he is about to highlight the deliverance God has provided for us through His Son, Jesus!
This deliverance… is truly amazing!
What does that word, deliverance, mean to you?
Deliverance defined:
The act of being delivered. To be delivered simply put… is to be set free.
Spiritually speaking, what is it the Christ came to deliver us from? From sin AND it’s consequences.
Christ has come to deliver us from the very things we cannot deliver ourselves from. He does this in His love, mercy, and grace. He does this in supernatural ways.
If the answer were natural by nature, then no Savior would be needed. Yes, sometimes what we need is of natural material, but the means by which it comes is supernatural.
Christina Anderson recently experienced this in her fabric printing business. She was in the middle of a large order when her yellow began to run low. She was down to roughly 12%. Each day of printing reduced her ink by about 3-4%. Her new ink had not arrived, she was getting close to her deadline, and there was 2% left in the machine.
She prayed to God and the 2% lasted __________ days! God supernaturally supplied the natural resource Christina needed to complete the job on time!
And sometimes, God uses something natural… to accomplish something… supernatural.
God utilized the blood of His Son, Jesus, to wash away the filth of our sin. Jesus’ blood was the same as ours minus one thing - His blood was without sin, blameless, faultless, and pure.
Jesus did what n other man had ever done - lived life without sin. Therefore His blood was worthy to pay the price no other person could pay.
When His blood was shed, our spiritual deliverance became a possibility.
As Paul said at the close of chapter 7, we need to thank God for the deliverance that comes through Jesus Christ His Son!
Chapter 8 goes into detail regarding what that deliverance includes. Right out of the box, we see the mention of something truly important. In our deliverance, we experience...
A Great Liberation
A Great Liberation
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Pastor, I don’t a mention of or the word liberation used in this text? Look again at verse 1.
THEREFORE is a word we need to pay special attention. Remember in Chapter 7, Paul declared the deliverance we have in Christ Jesus. SINCE deliverance has come or THEREFOR because of what deliverance offers… there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ!
What is condemnation?
Defined, it is to declare to be reprehensible, wrong, or evil usually after weighing evidence and without reservation.
Paul is stating conclusively that condemnation of our sins is no longer a factor for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Instead of condemnation, we have been forgiven through our faith in the One that gave His life for us.
Look at how John 3:18 says it:
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
This liberation… this change of reality - from condemned to forgiven… truly has eternal results.
Those who remain outside of Jesus remain a slave to sin. They remain as those condemned. These are those who are dead IN sin.
Remember, we’ve all been there. Today we are living for Jesus, but at one time, we stood condemned. Not because that’s what Jesus came to do - condemn the lost - but because we had not yet received His message of love and believed in His name.
UNLESS a person makes the decision to believe in and call on Jesus’ name, they will forever remain condemned of their sins.
This condemnation leads to certain death. That person will perish in the fires of hell… for all eternity. Not because God wants them to, but because they rejected the redemption God offered through Jesus.
Those who are in Christ Jesus have been set free from sin. Christ has forgiven their sin because of their faith in Him. These are those who are dead TO sin.
The moment we call on the name of the Lord for salvation is the moment our sins are forgiven. It is the moment that our name is taken off the tomb (if you will) of eternal death, and written down in the Lambs Book of Life!
Our reality is changed… forever! Our reality is changed for ALL eternity! The promise is given in John 3:16 that those who believe WILL NOT PERISH.
Eternal life in the presence of God the Father awaits those who believe. The separation once caused by sin no longer exists because of what Christ has done.
The difference is… one group is dead IN sin. The other group is dead TO sin. And Paul highlights the difference the verse 2.
Paul speaks of two laws and he gives a contrast between them.
He first mentions the law of the Spirit. What does the law of the Spirit give and do?
It gives life.
it sets free.
The law of the Spirit… is the law of the Spirit of life. This law is the law of life-regulating and life-motivating power of God’s Holy Spirit at work within the lives of believers.
We know the Spirit comes into the lives of all believers at salvation - we will be talking more about that this Sunday.
The law of the Spirit comes into full operation as believers commit to obeying the direction and leading of the Spirit. They find new power from God that helps to overcome temptation and sin. The Spirit also helps believers to live and fulfill God’s purpose for their lives.
Those who are living in the law of the Spirit… are those who are dead TO sin in their walk with the Lord. Let’s remember and rewind back to Romans 6:1-2
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
The law of the Spirit leads us to all things Jesus. It leads us AWAY from that which brings death. So Paul concludes in Romans 6:11
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Those who live according to the law of the Spirit… are those who have been liberated from sin and its consequences.
Paul then mentions another law… what does that law do?
It is sin.
It brings death.
The law of sin and death is NOT God’s law, but is the life-controlling, life-destroying, and spiritually condemning power of sin that enslaves people and brings destruction to their lives.
What do we know of sin?
It is direct rebellion against or toward God.
It comes with the guaranteed earned wage of death. Where there is sin… with no Savior, there IS death.
All of us have sin in our lives… but serving our Savior is what has made all the difference!
In Christ, the old sinful life is gone, and new life in Him has come.
But where there has been no acceptance of the Savior, sin WILL bring death to that soul.
Paul speaks of this reality in Ephesians 2:1-5
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Those who remain outside of the grace of God, are those who are dead… or dying IN sin.
The way from moving from one reality to another… is Jesus. He is our deliverer… our liberator… from sin and its consequence.
And as Jesus brought deliverance for our sin… He turned the tie on the sin-situation at hand.
A Great Turn Around
A Great Turn Around
Before Christ died on the cross… we all stood condemned BECAUSE of our sin. But I want you to see what Romans 8:3-4 says about the great turn around that only Christ could have done.
3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Did you catch the end of verse 3? God condemned sin in the flesh…
What does that mean?
Previously, sin brought condemnation to all people. As stated, the law was powerless, not because it was flawed, but because our flesh is weak. The requirements of the law remained unfulfilled. We simply did not have the means to fulfill it… and live.
So God unleashed His plan not to condemn sinners… but to condemn sin itself. He sent Jesus to the world to do what no one else could have done. This was accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
In His death, the requirements of the law were COMPLETED!
In His resurrection, sin, death, and the grave were DEFEATED! They were ALL left in the tomb as Jesus walked out made alive by God’s Spirit!
What this means is… where sin once had the freedom to bring condemnation and death, God brought condemnation and death to sin itself!!!
God turned the table on sin! That which was destined to destroy us was itself destroyed by the ultimate gift of our God!
And now… those who have been liberated or delivered… no longer live by the flesh, are no longer slaves to sin, but are those who are forgiven and who now live according to the power and leading of the Spirit.
Next week we will begin to talk about what life in the Spirit looks like.
But tonight, I want to close by giving God praise for the turn around and the freedom He has brought to our lives!
And… if you are struggling to know or live in that freedom, we want to pray with you. Maybe you’re caught up in the law of sin and death instead of the life of the Spirit. If you would like prayer, we want to pray with you now.
PRAYER
Church, can we close by standing to our feet and thanking God for our deliverance?