Sin Has No Real Power
Walk Through Romans • Sermon • Submitted
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· 55 viewsThe only power that sin has is the power that we give it. Christ has freed us from the grip of sin, we just need to take hold of what He has already given us.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good Evening and Welcome Back!
Tonight we are going to be picking up where we left off all the way back in September with our Walk Through Romans!
And tonight we are going to be focusing in on and trying to hopefully gain an understanding that Sin has no real power over us.
Do we realize that tonight?
Do we really understand that Sin has absolutely no power over us, except the power that we actually give it.
I know that for the past several weeks we have been talking a great deal about sin and righteousness as well as our responsibility to actually take responsibility for our own actions.
No longer is the “the devil made me do it” or the “I’m not strong enough” excuse going to cut it.
We have to be active in our relationship with God and not just passive bystanders and the world goes right on by us.
If we desire any kind of victory or any kind meaningful and fruitful relationship with God we have got to start taking things seriously.
It all goes back to what we discussed this morning when we were talking about the different things that hinder God’s ability to bestow His grace on us.
The #1 thing that stands in our way, is frankly, us.
We fail to take responsibility for ourselves which hinders the Holy Spirit’s ability to work in us and ultimately stunts our growth, development, and maturity when it comes to our relationship with God.
However, the one thing that completely stands in the way and completely blocks our access to God is SIN.
Our Bible tells us in many places that God cannot accept sin, that God cannot be in the presence of sin, that God cannot even look upon sin.
But yet we continue to think that God will just turn a blind eye and forget about sin.
After all “we don’t mean to,” we are just unable to avoid it and too weak to do anything about it.
However, we know that this is not true and we can.
And again, we have covered this many times, but here we are again.
And knowing what little I do know about God and how God works, we will most likely continue to be brought back to this topic until every single one of us at least understands it, even though we should all be dealing with it.
And before we get into our passage for tonight, one thing about dealing with it.
We don’t just deal with sin one time and forget about it, taking the attitude, “well Jesus already took care of that.”
Remember to repent is to have remorse for what we have done, ask forgiveness, and then turn around and not do it again.
We are good about feeling bad and asking forgiveness, but we don’t turn around very well.
Which means as sin comes up and God reveals things, we must be diligent about dealing with it constantly.
And how do we deal with it?
We tap into the power of the Holy Spirit that God has given us.
Which is where we will be going tonight.
So, if you are able, I’d ask you stand with me as I read, starting in verse 9.
Paul writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.
Romans 8:
Christ Took On Sin For Us (vs 1-4)
Christ Took On Sin For Us (vs 1-4)
Alright, so right off we can see where Paul is going with this passage.
He is really going to be convicting them of their sin and their excuses to continue in sin.
But he starts out really on a positive note.
If we back up to verse one we find Paul saying . . .
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
And these are words we need to hear.
The world tries to condemn us all at every turn.
Every time you turn around there is someone saying, “your not good enough” or “you will never measure up.”
But Paul reminds us that . ..
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
And where there is no condemnation, then there is freedom.
Complete freedom.
I think that we get so bogged down in the world that we often forget how free we really are.
The ultimate prison is sin because sin condemns us to eternal death.
But .. .
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
Meaning that we do not have to fear death or judgement.
Christ has taken care of it all.
We have already discussed how God cannot be in the presence of sin, which means that God’s law and God’s way is perfect and righteous.
And we must realize that there is nothing we can do to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law of God.
We cannot save ourselves.
We cannot make ourselves righteous.
And because of that we are powerless, but
3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
And the key phrase here is in verse 4 . ..
4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
In order to have access to this righteousness and condemnation free life of God we must not live according to the sinful nature (or the flesh) but according to the Spirit.
Contrast Between the Sinful and Spiritual (vs 5-8)
Contrast Between the Sinful and Spiritual (vs 5-8)
The problem though is that some people do not even know what it looks like to live by the Spirit.
They think that just because they are not out here killing and stealing that they are okay and have no issues.
But Paul is going to tell us something slightly different.
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
Romans 8:5
Do you see the contrast here?
Those who live according to the sinful nature (or the flesh) are only interested in what their flesh desires or what they think is right in their own mind.
This is why we have so many messed up beliefs and all of these different religions in the world.
This is why Atheism even exists.
It is because people are ignoring the Holy Spirit and focusing only on what they want and what they desire.
Many times they truly don’t even know right from wrong as far as what to believe about God.
But, when we give ourselves over to God, then the Spirit will join with our spirit and we become awake and aware of things.
And we also begin to seek out God and seek out God’s way of living for us.
Some other characteristics that Paul points out . ..
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
Romans 8:6-
This whole idea that you can do whatever you want, live however you want, and everybody goes to heaven…well Paul shoots it right out of the water here.
If we are not under the control of the Holy Spirit.
If we are not given over to God, then we are under the control of the flesh—the sinful nature.
Meaning that . . .
7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
Have you ever thought about being hostile toward God?
Think about that…There are actually people out there who hate God.
The One who created us all, gave us everything. They hate Him.
Those obviously will have no place in God’s kingdom.
However, there are also many out there who are “good people” who “do good things” but they have never given their heart to God.
Surely there is a place for them, right? They’ve never bothered anyone.
Well, if they have never given their heart to God, then they are controlled by their flesh—their sinful nature.
And Paul reminds us that . . .
8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
Christ Has Freed Us From Sin (vs 9-11)
Christ Has Freed Us From Sin (vs 9-11)
There is good news though.
Remember, Paul is addressing a body of Christian believers.
So he reminds them that . . .
9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Romans 8:9
The same Holy Spirit that played a part in raising Jesus Christ from the dead, well guess what?
That same Holy Spirit desires to live in all of us and one day will raise us up as well.
But we have to relinquish control of ourselves to the Holy Spirit, in order to enjoy this benefit.
We have to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and follow Jesus.
We have to submit ourselves fully to God and allow God to be in control.
We have to be willing to give all of our problems, all of our issues over to God.
And if we cannot do that then we are in trouble.
One of the things we often talk about in regards to salvation is our decision to follow Jesus Christ.
Many times, some will use verse 9 as a way of saying people who are not “entirely sanctified” as the Nazarene’s put it or “filled with the Holy Spirit” as other denominations may put it are not saved.
But this act of giving ourselves over fully to the Spirit comes after salvation.
Paul is actually talking here about something we forget.
And that something is that we cannot even be saved unless the Holy Spirit draws us to God.
And when we respond, we are actually responding to what the Holy Spirit is telling us is true and right.
That is when the Holy Spirit first joins with us and becomes part of our lives.
And if you came to salvation any other way than that way, then you did not do it through the Holy Spirit and you do not belong to Christ.
And what is tricky about it is, the process is different for everyone.
Some may come to the altar, some may do it at home, some may do it while driving down the road.
The place doesn’t really matter, what matters is that you are responding out of a prompting of the Holy Spirit and not because someone has pressured you into doing anything or that you want to “just to fit in” with the “church crowd.”
We Are Obliged to Live By The Spirit (vs 12-17)
We Are Obliged to Live By The Spirit (vs 12-17)
But, finishing up quickly, if we have come to Jesus then we now are responsible.
Paul actually puts it this way . ..
12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Romans 8:12
We have to practice what we preach and live up to the high calling we have received.
And if we have accepted Christ we will desire to this and will do our best to get it done.
And one last word of encouragement from Brother Paul . .
15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Romans 8:15-
15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Altar Call
Altar Call
In other words no excuses.
God has saved us and God is with us.
God has freed us and we need to be living as free people.
And we need to be helping others find their freedom.
Can we do that?
Are we willing to do that?
The altar service tonight is this.
What are we doing?
What can we do?
What are we willing to do?
Take a moment and work it out with the Lord.