#Romans #overview #Chapter #seven #eight #salvation #Jesus #Evangelism #bibleteaching #history #christianity #christian #PastorKennethClaassen #God #doctrine #ChartridgeMissionChurch #chesham #MarlowBaptistChurch #thefriendliestfellowship #LearningTheBibleTogether
Due to our Videographer being ill, this is another audio recording from our Organist, Jeff.
The Book of Romans is so rich in information that some Churches take a whole year to preach through it. This video is part four of our seven-part simplified overview, with our esteemed Pastor Kenneth Claassen, a seasoned biblical scholar and a beloved figure in our church community, returning to preach from chapters 7 and 8. Enjoy listening to another of the greatest sermons ever preached at Chartridge Mission Church. Let's learn The Bible together.
Romans is a solid attack on anti-Semitism! And this message is needed today more than ever. Many teachers dig into the minute verses and miss the reason why Paul composed the letter! The clues are in Acts. Acts 18:1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Claudius reigned from AD 41 to 54. This was about AD 54. If all the Jews left Rome, then the church in Rome must have become entirely Gentile. Nero, who succeeded Claudius in AD 54, invited the Jews back because they were good for business. And Romans 16 tells us that when Paul wrote (dictated) this letter, in about AD 57, many of his friends were back in Rome. The first friends he names are Priscilla and Aquila. Romans 16: 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house. It seems probable that Paul has heard that the Messianic Jews are being treated badly in Rome by the Gentile Christians. So, he composed this letter very skillfully to help his Messianic Jewish friends. The first 8 chapters are solid stuff, for Jew and Gentile equally. Jesus is for all. All sinned, all fall short, all have hope of eternal life in Jesus. And in Romans 8 it is clear that anyone who is not led by the Spirit of Christ is not a Christian. All cry Abba, Father, by the one Spirit. All are one in Christ Jesus, whether Jew of Gentile. THEN we come to the whole point of the letter in chapters 9, 10 and 11. Romans 11: 1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! Romans 11: 11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fulness bring! 13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Romans 11: 20 Do not be arrogant, but be a
Due to our Videographer being ill, this is another audio recording from our Organist, Jeff.
The Book of Romans is so rich in information that some Churches take a whole year to preach through it. This video is part four of our seven-part simplified overview, with our esteemed Pastor Kenneth Claassen, a seasoned biblical scholar and a beloved figure in our church community, returning to preach from chapters 7 and 8. Enjoy listening to another of the greatest sermons ever preached at Chartridge Mission Church. Let's learn The Bible together.
Romans is a solid attack on anti-Semitism! And this message is needed today more than ever. Many teachers dig into the minute verses and miss the reason why Paul composed the letter! The clues are in Acts. Acts 18:1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Claudius reigned from AD 41 to 54. This was about AD 54. If all the Jews left Rome, then the church in Rome must have become entirely Gentile. Nero, who succeeded Claudius in AD 54, invited the Jews back because they were good for business. And Romans 16 tells us that when Paul wrote (dictated) this letter, in about AD 57, many of his friends were back in Rome. The first friends he names are Priscilla and Aquila. Romans 16: 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house. It seems probable that Paul has heard that the Messianic Jews are being treated badly in Rome by the Gentile Christians. So, he composed this letter very skillfully to help his Messianic Jewish friends. The first 8 chapters are solid stuff, for Jew and Gentile equally. Jesus is for all. All sinned, all fall short, all have hope of eternal life in Jesus. And in Romans 8 it is clear that anyone who is not led by the Spirit of Christ is not a Christian. All cry Abba, Father, by the one Spirit. All are one in Christ Jesus, whether Jew of Gentile. THEN we come to the whole point of the letter in chapters 9, 10 and 11. Romans 11: 1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! Romans 11: 11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fulness bring! 13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Romans 11: 20 Do not be arrogant, but be a
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TVTranscript
00:00When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
00:14we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun.
00:30So this evening we continue with the series on the book of Romans,
00:34which is basically an overview of the chapters.
00:37And tonight I share with you Romans chapter seven and eight.
00:43And the privilege I had is to have shared last week as well,
00:46dealing with, of course, Romans chapter five and six and then seven and eight,
00:50which gives a bit of continuity to these very important chapters.
00:54So I just want to give a slight overview, a little bit of what we discussed last week
00:59and what we considered because it flows into the very next chapters.
01:03And I think what is so important about what we're going to read tonight is,
01:07I remember coming to faith in 2001, on the 17th of March, 2001.
01:15So I've been a Christian, it would take 24 years and it's more than half my life, by the way.
01:21So it is more than half my life. I was 18 years old when I came to faith.
01:23I was out of school for three months and it was one Saturday morning and I confessed Christ as my Lord and Savior next to my parents' dining room table.
01:33But what was so wonderful was, it was exciting. It was fantastic.
01:38I remember that the grass looked greener, the sky looked bluer, and I was very excited about this new life.
01:45I knew that something had changed. I had been converted, but no one told me what the Christian life would be.
01:51Everyone tells you that you're going to go out now, be passionate, enthused, I want to share Jesus Christ, which is what it was.
01:59100% as a young man, I was keen to talk. I didn't know anything about the Bible.
02:03I knew some verses and I could throw a few things together.
02:06But then once I met a theologian and he put me in my place, that changed the perspective.
02:11I said, I must study God's Word. That's important.
02:14But then also no one tells us about the journey of faith.
02:16Because what do you think? What we think often is that spiritual growth is an exponential curve.
02:22You start here and you keep going up and up and up.
02:26And the more devoted you are, the more you love Jesus, the more you pray, the more you turn your back on sin,
02:33the more you turn your back on this world, the more you will just keep going up and up and up on the spiritual journey.
02:40That's what I thought.
02:43And then what you realize is you walk the Christian road.
02:45Satan gives you a few years for you to be enthused about life, and then he punches you on the nose.
02:53Because what they don't tell you is that sanctification, which is the Christian walk, is a journey.
03:02If you ever want to have a really fantastic read, there's a book called The Green Letters, written by Miles Stanford.
03:10And he speaks about spiritual growth, and he says it's at least a 20-year process, minimum.
03:16We don't talk about that in church, do we?
03:19Basically, we've got altar call, people come to faith, and you send them out as missionaries.
03:24And no wonder people struggle, because the Christian walk takes time.
03:27And these chapters are so important.
03:31Romans chapter 5 deals with justification.
03:34We've been justified by faith.
03:36That's the starting point.
03:39Then Romans chapter 6 deals with the fact that we are now dead to the old life and we must live in the new.
03:45But then Romans 7 and 8 comes into the picture of telling us a bit more about what that looks like.
03:51So there are important aspects to what we're going to discuss tonight.
03:55I'm just going to go back to what we shared last week, just so you're with us on these chapters.
04:00Because I believe salvation has three tenses.
04:05The term salvation has three tenses.
04:08It has a past tense, a present tense, and a future tense.
04:12All built and based on the finished work of the cross.
04:18John 19 verse 30.
04:19It is finished.
04:20So the work is done.
04:21We're saved.
04:22But we are saved in the past, which means we are saved and justified when we confess Christ.
04:29But we're also being saved daily because God is working in us to save us from this world,
04:34and to save us from the pollution, sinfully, of this world.
04:38I don't want to sound like a Greenpeace person, do you understand?
04:40From the sin of this world, we are being sanctified from that.
04:44The things that we thought we loved in the past, we realize it's not really worth anything anymore
04:50because we've grown.
04:51And then we are moving to what is called glorification, which is when Christ returns
04:56and he sets us free from this physical body to be with him forever.
05:02Then we are fully saved, saved from this world, saved from corruption and with Christ.
05:09So we have justification, sanctification, and then we look forward to glorification.
05:14Now, there's a very important truth that the old theologians who I trust spoke of.
05:20People like Clarence Larkin and C.I. Schofield, they write about this in the book called Rightly
05:26Dividing the Word of Truth, and it's called Standing and State.
05:31Your standing is secure in Christ because you've placed your faith in Jesus Christ.
05:36You are now taken from being blind and being an unbeliever to being a believer to be
05:42regenerated, being made new, and you are in Christ.
05:45That's your standing, your best spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
05:49Your place in heaven is secure.
05:50That's your standing.
05:52But then your state may vary.
05:55Your state is your daily life.
05:57Sometimes we do well and we are in a good place spiritually, and sometimes we struggle spiritually.
06:02It doesn't change your standing, but your state may vary.
06:08David speaks about this often in the Psalms.
06:10There are times when he's in a good place for the Lord and other times when he struggles, Psalm 51.
06:15And so from a Christian perspective, we need to understand when the Bible speaks, what is God
06:22speaking about?
06:22Is he speaking about your standing, which you always will bring security in?
06:26You are children of God.
06:28You are in the Beloved.
06:31And then other times when we are encouraged, live like children of God.
06:37Don't just be children of God, because that's a fact, but live like children of God.
06:42Let your actions and your life reflect godliness.
06:47It's important, but that's part of your state.
06:49So when we speak to each other, sometimes we go through a difficult time.
06:54And you can speak to someone saying, how are things going?
06:55How are you with the Lord?
06:57I love the Lord, but I'm struggling with this and that.
06:59That's your state.
07:01And sometimes there are some sins that we might struggle with.
07:03And again, I emphasize this so much because it seems every time in church, wherever I go,
07:10I always have to talk about morality.
07:12There's something wrong.
07:12It's a good thing.
07:14But we get so distracted with the world that we are living in that we think that the only sin
07:19that's out there is perversion, homosexuality, promiscuity.
07:25That's the only thing we think about.
07:26And that is sinful, 100 percent.
07:28But it's not the only sin the Bible deals with.
07:31What about pride?
07:32What is the first sin in the Bible?
07:34It is pride.
07:35Isaiah 14, I will ascend above the clouds.
07:39I will be like the most high.
07:43And what about hatred?
07:45What about divisions?
07:48What's in the middle of sin?
07:49S-I-N.
07:51And we never talk about those things.
07:53It's always why these people are living ungodly lives and they're doing these things.
07:57They're doing those things.
07:58And those things are symptoms of something much deeper.
08:03And therefore, from a biblical perspective, we have to recognize that the potential,
08:09even for the believer, is to be in the flesh.
08:13The potential for a pastor to preach wonderful sermons, but do so in the flesh.
08:17Because they're doing it for their own motives, not because they, it doesn't say they're insincere,
08:23but sometimes it's about ego, it's about self.
08:25How do I know this?
08:26Have you seen how many pastors have fallen over the past years?
08:29Why?
08:30Not because they're unsaved or they're bad people.
08:33It just becomes, you become too full with self.
08:37They started off well and then became bigger and too big for their boots, shall we say.
08:43And that can happen to all of us because we are in the flesh.
08:46So therefore, it's so important for us to encourage young believers and to encourage
08:51others to recognize the fact that you can be spiritually mature for a while and then fall
08:56back into spiritual immaturity.
08:59Because spiritual maturity is not knowledge.
09:02Just because we can quote Bible verses or know Greek and Hebrew or can say all of the
09:06things about the Bible doesn't mean you're spiritually mature.
09:08It just means you're knowledgeable.
09:09Two different things.
09:11Spiritual maturity is when the fruits of the Spirit are manifested in how we live.
09:18And when you look at someone, you see that's the character of Christ.
09:23Spiritual maturity is to love people, but also to be discerning.
09:28That's spiritual maturity.
09:30People think spiritual maturity is just loving everyone, wearing tie-dye and looking like a hippie.
09:34That's not spiritual maturity.
09:36Love is important, but discernment is also important.
09:39So if we spiritually mature, we discern truth from error.
09:43So there's so many factors to what makes someone spiritually mature.
09:46It doesn't just mean because they can quote the whole of Psalm 119,
09:51that suddenly now we look at them as being spiritual.
09:54Some pastors are not always spiritual.
09:57Some elders are not always spiritual.
09:59Some deacons are not always spiritual.
10:01Most organists are spiritual.
10:03So what happens is spirituality is far more than just knowing the Bible.
10:09But as I said, you can be spiritual for a while and do well, but certain things creep in,
10:14and we go back to being carnal again, being fleshly.
10:17And I think that's important here in Romans chapter seven, because Romans chapter five,
10:24you save, secure, put away the old you, the old self and live in the new.
10:29But now what happens is Paul takes us into Romans seven and gives us a warning.
10:34And it's a warning for every single Christian.
10:40And I'm strong about this and I'm vociferous about this because I've met these people.
10:47I've worked with these people.
10:50I've ministered with these people.
10:52They can talk a good game, but when the rubber hits the road spiritually,
10:57it's about self and not because people aren't loving and caring and good people,
11:03but it's because ego and self and the flesh takes over.
11:10Building churches.
11:11Why are we building churches?
11:12For what purpose?
11:15How many pastors say, this is my church?
11:17Really?
11:18Your church?
11:21This is my vision.
11:22I love that because everyone comes to me, what's your vision?
11:25Vision?
11:26I'm just going to do what's in here.
11:28That's what I'm going to do.
11:29Vision.
11:30Because everyone wants these big visions, don't they?
11:33They want these big things.
11:34What big things?
11:35Preach the word.
11:36In season, out of season.
11:38Leave the rest to the Lord.
11:40The pressure is always there.
11:42So we have to be very, very careful that the flesh doesn't creep in.
11:45And that's why Paul warns of this.
11:47So let's look at, I'm just going to take excerpts.
11:49We cannot do exposition on this.
11:51But let's look at verse 1 to 4 of Romans chapter 7.
11:57Now, Paul picks up, because in Romans chapter 6, he's dealing with death.
12:01He says, mortify the flesh.
12:04Put it to death.
12:05And he picks up on this, dealing with the law now.
12:08You'll find the same dynamics, even in the book of Galatians.
12:11A little bit as well, where he deals with the law and dying to the law.
12:15He picks this up here in verse 1.
12:17So he says,
12:18Know ye not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law,
12:23how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he lives.
12:29For the woman which hath a husband is bound by the law to a husband so long as he liveth.
12:35If the husband be dead, she is loose from the law of her husband.
12:43So then, if while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress.
12:50But if her husband be dead, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress, though she be married to another man.
12:59Okay, so before we get to verse 4, so he's using this important picture and this important analogy,
13:05which deals with the law, and saying that I think it could be dealing with both laws here.
13:12Because as we know, the Romans loved law, didn't they?
13:15It wasn't just the Hebrew law, but the Roman law as well had certain restrictions when it came to marriage.
13:22Because if you're legally married to someone, you're legally married to them.
13:25You have to either go through the formal process of divorce, because he's not saying divorce.
13:31He's saying, basically, while you're still married to someone, you can't marry another legally.
13:37So they must die for you to be able to marry someone legally.
13:41But it doesn't say, basically, in Roman law, you could go through the divorce process, but that would annul the marriage.
13:47But here, specifically, he's dealing with death. Why?
13:51Because of what verse 4 is going to say.
13:52So he's using this picture of marriage, and only you married to one person, only when they die,
13:58are you then free to marry another.
14:01Look at what verse 4 says.
14:03Wherefore, my brethren, you also have been dead to the law,
14:09by the body of Christ, that you should be married to another,
14:13even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
14:18Why is he saying this? He's saying this so that Christians are not legalistic.
14:25He's saying that we were married to the law.
14:29Jesus came and died to set us free from the law, to set us free from condemnation, because the law brought condemnation.
14:39And so Christians who want to bring other Christians constantly into subjection to the law,
14:47and I'm not dealing with the Ten Commandments, if someone wants to get emotional about it.
14:50The Ten Commandments are moral frameworks. I'm not talking about the Ten Commandments.
14:53I'm talking about 613 laws that no one talks about. What you eat, what you dress. If you're wearing
15:01linen and wool together, you're in trouble. If you're eating certain seafood, you're not allowed to eat.
15:07You're not allowed to eat pork, as we know, but not with that. You can't eat ostrich and certain other things.
15:12You can't eat certain things. You can't do certain things. You can't collect sticks on the Sabbath,
15:16or you'll be stoned. So when it speaks about the law, the law brought condemnation.
15:24The moral law is fine, but the law brought condemnation. What Paul is saying is the reality
15:30is you've been justified, you've been set free, you've been declared innocent. How can he say that?
15:35Because Christ, who is the law at its core, because Christ gave it, he has set us free. How are we set free?
15:44Because he has died, and he died and gave his life, and he satisfied the demands the law had. So we are
15:51then free to be married to him. We are free then to be united with him, and we are not bound to the law
16:01anymore. Now it gets a bit complicated as well, because Jesus, when he died, he died a covenantal death.
16:09Israel broke the old covenant. It demanded death. God in his grace said to Israel,
16:18I'm not going to wipe you out. I will give my life as that covenantal death. That's why Jesus said at the
16:25Last Supper, this is the blood of the new covenant. This is the new covenant in my blood. Jesus Christ made
16:33the new covenant possible by giving his life. So I find it very limiting and strange and untheological,
16:42really, if I can use that term, for Christians to push the law when Paul the apostle is telling us
16:49that we are set free from those demands. And as I said previously, last week, he's a Jew of Jews. This
16:58is not someone that wants to be free from the law. He's just saying that the Gentiles,
17:04non-Jewish people, are not brought under the law. Because in Christ we are set free from it.
17:11So Paul uses this analogy, which is very, very important. And he's going to build on this.
17:15Because now the question is, how are we going to deal with sin in our lives?
17:20How are we going to deal with sin in the congregation? Because that's always what happens
17:23from the church side. How do we deal with sin in the congregation? How do we deal with people
17:28not living as godly as we think they should? Are we going to deal with that by bringing them into
17:33subjection to the law? No purpose. We're going to deal with this by looking at what the true purpose
17:44is of God's work in people's lives. And it's not to make them legalistic. So firstly, we've been set
17:51free from the law. So we put that to the side. We are in Christ. We are joined to Christ, immersed into
17:59Christ, and therefore we live out the principles of the law in Christ, not because we are bound to it.
18:07That's important. We move to verse 18. For I know that in me — now this is what he shares. So basically,
18:15he says, okay, we set free from the law. But now he's recognising that there's something in him.
18:23For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing.
18:33For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.
18:42For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do.
18:47Now if I do, so he goes on saying, now if I do, that I would not. It is no more I that do it,
18:59but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me.
19:09And so Paul is saying that I am set free from the law, but what I found is I found something else in
19:16me because, of course, Paul speaks as a Jew. He lived under the law. He understood what to do.
19:23He speaks of himself in the book of Colossians as law-abiding. And now he says, yes, so people are
19:30set free, but what I find suddenly is there's something in me. There's something in me that's
19:37happening. And this is where we go back to the three tenses of salvation. We are saved.
19:44We are justified and saved from the penalty of sin. Yes. But we still have to live daily lives.
19:51And in that daily life we live, God is sanctifying us and saving us from the power of sin in our lives.
19:58Because the reality is, as Christians, we live in a physical body.
20:01We live in a physical body. And what was the purpose of the Old Testament law?
20:09The purpose of the Old Testament law was to show you that you need a Savior. That's the purpose.
20:17So now that that has happened and we are joined to the Savior, what happens to the physical body?
20:21And Paul is trying to encourage us and warning us that within you is still this old you.
20:28Yes, you've been made new in Christ. You've been given a brand new spirit and the Holy Spirit lives
20:33within us. Yes. But it doesn't change your flesh.
20:40And we think it's possible for us to not be contaminated by the world. How can't we be?
20:45And there have been many Christian groups throughout history have tried to isolate themselves from the world for very good reasons.
20:56We're not sort of judging them on it because there were purposes to it. But could they get away from sin?
21:03How many of those men would look at other women and think lustful thoughts in their minds but not say it?
21:10How many would hate their brother because, I don't know, his garden looks better. I'm not sure what it could be. But
21:21even in those communities where people have separated from the world, you can't pluck out your eyes. You can't close your ears. We are still
21:30surrounded by sin. And Paul is saying in these verses that what he finds in his body suddenly is the things that he
21:37doesn't want to do that he seems to do and the things that he hates that he's drawn to.
21:45And he's finding it very difficult to do what he's right. Now, if Paul is saying this,
21:49he's saying this to all believers because he's speaking of himself. But it's important. This is God's word to us.
21:54And this is the challenge. If you turn with me to 1 John 2, verse 16.
22:03So 1 John 2, verse 16. Well-known passage.
22:11For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not
22:18of the Father, but is of the world. And while we are still in this physical body, we will be
22:26subject to sin. There's the struggle raging within us between the flesh and the spirit. But the reason
22:33why the first four verses are so important is because Paul establishes within this, you are set free from
22:38the law, but it doesn't mean that you're not going to struggle with this flesh still. And are we warning
22:45other Christians of this reality? Do we speak of this? All we speak about is you must work harder,
22:50you must really fight, and you must pray more, and that's how we're going to overcome the flesh.
22:55Are we going to overcome the flesh with our own strength? Are we going to overcome the flesh by
23:01willing it? Gone? No. That's where he's leading us here in the conversation. Why? Because he's saying
23:10even in his own life, he's struggling with the flesh. But he goes on here in verse 21, where he says,
23:23look there in verse 21 of Romans, I find in a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me.
23:30And then he goes on to verse 22, for I delight in the law of God after the inward man,
23:36because the believer delights in God, but the flesh is weak.
23:45Now there are some who believe that sin is somehow eradicated at salvation. I don't know how they get
23:51that. I really would love to understand that. And especially within your holiness movements, where if
23:58you have more meetings and more prayer time, more fasting, then somehow you can burn the sin out of
24:05your life, somehow, I don't know, with holiness. Has it ever been realistic really for us to function?
24:13And there are many people who just are more obsessed with doing more and so get rid of it. No,
24:19no, no. It's not going to work. We have to acknowledge that sin is there,
24:22and we have to mortify the flesh daily. It's not something you can do once. It is a daily process
24:28of saying, Lord, I'm focusing on you, and I'm putting the flesh to death. It's a daily focus.
24:35You can have prayer meetings for a week. It's fine, but what's going to happen the next week?
24:39And the week after that? I spoke to my old pastor who used to be a Pentecostal pastor,
24:46and he used to tell me about the fasting meetings they used to have. So it was about four or five young
24:51ministers, and they would pray and fast. And he says they would go for 24 hours and just keep
24:56praying. But they said late at night, then they would hear someone in the covenants and finding a
25:00piece of bread and putting some butter on it because he couldn't do it anymore. And he says, and sort of
25:06after 10 hours, they're all sitting eating peanut butter and jam toast, because it's not always possible.
25:15And that picture we sometimes create, and what's so important to what Paul is saying is that the
25:19struggle is real. I don't know about you, but I often do things I don't like. I often do things that
25:29I think to myself, oh, I shouldn't have done that, or shouldn't have spoken like this. Sometimes I don't
25:35act like a Christian. I get frustrated. My son, you know, doesn't think always. He always, you know,
25:45tries to be kamikaze with things, and he's going to break something, or something's going to happen.
25:49My two-year-old daughter is always up at five o'clock in the morning. I can't cope.
25:56And we struggle because it's the flesh. The flesh is subject to being tired. Jesus himself
26:01in the temptation in Matthew 4. Jesus was hungry. He was tired, but he is the perfect
26:08one who could overcome. But we're not going to be able to overcome every time.
26:14And we have to be very careful when we're hungry, when we're angry, when we're lonely, when we're tired.
26:21The flesh is weak. And Paul is encouraging us to recognize that fact. Don't try and suppress it and
26:29make like the flesh isn't there. Because when we do that, the flesh will come and it will overtake
26:35you. Recognize it. Know the signs of being overtaken by it. We read on here from verse 22 to 25,
26:43For I delight in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members. That's not
26:48the members of the church. It's his hands and his feet and his eyes and his ears. I see another law in
26:54my members warring against the law of my mind. There's a war taking place, Paul warns us of.
27:02Now, I don't know, these very spiritual people, maybe they don't have that war. You see those
27:07people as very spiritual Christians. They never struggle with the flesh. That was fine.
27:13If Paul the Apostle is saying, there's a war inside of me, then who? It's important.
27:19But again, it might not be a war for adultery. It might not be a war for gambling
27:31or drinking. Those are the things we always see, don't we? Those are the things everyone
27:36focuses on. The war might be, as I said, ego and self. Churches. Why do churches split? Why do
27:45churches pick up problems? Because of doctrine? No. Because of ego. Put some men together in a room
27:52and you can very quickly see a church split coming. Because men always have the best ideas. And they
27:59always think that their idea is the best idea. Churches split because of ego, because of self,
28:04not because of doctrine. It's very rarely it happens because of doctrine. Mostly it's because we all want
28:10to do our own thing. Why do Christians not serve each other? Because we are so full of self. What
28:15does the Bible say in Philippians 2? Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus,
28:20who humbled himself and served us. And we don't even want to serve each other.
28:27So Paul is warning us that he sees this war raging in his flesh, and it brings him into captivity,
28:37to the law of sin, which is in my members. Because every time we don't want to do what is right.
28:46And I know it's difficult. I mean, these verses, Paul speaks here as a very religious man in Israel,
28:52a man who speaks from experience of killing someone. Paul was there when Stephen was stoned.
28:59They laid their coats at the feet of Saul. And see, what's happened is, especially in England,
29:07I think America maybe as well, sort of mostly Christian countries, we've had generations now
29:13of people doing the right thing. So when we speak about sin, when Paul speaks of his words,
29:19he recognizes that under the law, under the Jewish law, it awakened and inflamed sinful thoughts.
29:26What was Israel's biggest problem? Was self and ego. When Jesus drove out the money changes out of
29:33the temple, it was because they were selling things to traveling Jews and not using the space to preach
29:40to the Gentiles. It was the court of the Gentiles. And Jesus said, My Father's house should be a house of
29:45prayer for all nations, and you've made it a den of feet. Because Israel became so focused on themselves,
29:52they didn't reach out. That's a problem. And I think so often from a Christian perspective that
29:59we've come from generations of everyone doing the right thing, of dressing rightly, we come to church,
30:03we do the right thing. As a country as well, England, we generally do the right thing, we drive a certain
30:09way. It's only when people go to Spain that they sort of lose a bit of their minds, and they come back
30:15again, and they do the right thing. My son, of course, growing up, I didn't grow up here, but my son at school,
30:20he's so afraid of being told off. His friend was hungry the one day, and he couldn't get, and he didn't
30:29have, so his friend forgot some of his snacks for school. My son couldn't give him some of his snacks,
30:36wasn't allowed to because of maybe allergies, but he knows him, so he knows what his allergies are,
30:41but he wasn't allowed to give him something because it's against the rules. Against the rules to give
30:47someone food. And the sad part in our country is this, that many people in our country will rather
30:57break moral rules than break the government's rules. Not so?
31:03So we'll kill the unborn, and we'll kill the elderly because we're allowed to, but heaven forbid,
31:15put the wrong recycling in a bin or something, and people will lose their minds.
31:18We'll be quick to slaughter children. He's saying it doesn't make sense. So that's why when Paul speaks
31:26here, I think he's speaking to us who have come from a religious background. I grew up in a Christian
31:31home. I only got saved later, but I grew up in a Christian home. We were doing the right thing.
31:35I'm saying to us, I'm speaking to the church, and I'm saying there are things within us, there is sin
31:40within us that is not the things that the world maybe does, but we are suffering with the same
31:45thing in our flesh. And we need to be honest with ourselves. Yes, we might not have been those who
31:51were at Glastonbury, but we live in a country where people bought pews for the rich so they can sit in
32:02certain places. So rich people could buy the pews and the poor people had to sit elsewhere.
32:11And they would call that spiritual. So we have to look deep inside, and what Paul is saying here
32:21is that he sees this war taking place. Look at verse 24, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver
32:28me from this body of this death? That's the key point. You're getting at the physicality here.
32:34He's saying that his soul and his spirit loves the Lord, wants to serve the Lord, but it's the body that's weak.
32:39And when the body is subject to many things, and it's not just talking about physically being tired,
32:47we can all be hurt. Have we not been in a conversation? I don't know if you've been in
32:53meetings or been with people and they say something hurtful. It hurts. It's a physical thing. It might be a
33:01word, but it still hurts. And therefore your response to the person then becomes odd. The next time you see
33:08them at church is a bit of a barrier because you were offended by what they said, but you don't have
33:12the relationship with them to speak to them about. So you start withdrawing.
33:18And the barrier gets bigger and bigger and bigger because it was a physical hurt.
33:22And it's in the flesh. But look at verse 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then
33:35with my mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. This is Paul the apostle
33:43speaking. And we become so judgmental because people might struggle with certain things in their lives.
33:51We all struggle with something. I've been part of church for a long time where someone says,
33:57Oh, you're struggling with that sin. That's easy. Yes, it's easy for you, but it's difficult for them.
34:04And there are things that you and I struggle with maybe. The things I struggle with that to you might be
34:09easy things to overcome, but there are things that you might struggle with that I find difficult.
34:14Some people are very scared to speak to someone about the gospel in certain ways because of what
34:19that looks like to me. That's what I do every single Sunday. Not fearful for me. But you know,
34:23what is fearful is if I step out of this pulpit and have to go talk in the world. Pastors have it easy.
34:30Why? Because you're an easy crowd. You agree with me. It's a different thing going to stand up in front of
34:36atheists. And now having to debate there, that's a completely different conversation.
34:40Oh, that pastor. He's so strong in the Lord and so convicted. He says it like it is. Yes,
34:45because everyone agrees with them. It's easy. It's easy to get those nods.
34:52Fearless warrior behind a picket fence. So all of us will have our struggles. And Paul is saying,
34:59I thank the Lord for releasing me from these things and delivering me from these things.
35:04But I recognize the fact that in my heart and my soul I'm drawn to Christ. But in my flesh at times
35:11I'm drawn away from Him. And that's why chapter 7 is important. Because what we have is chapter 5,
35:18you've been justified. Chapter 6, you have to daily mortify the flesh, put it away. Because the struggle
35:26is real. And now we move to chapter 8. What is the hope? That's why verse 1 is so important of chapter 8.
35:34Because what does Paul say? There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
35:46Now what's interesting is, I love the King James like the next person, of course. If you know what my
35:51email is, my email has the King James number in it. So I always sort of make some people very awkward.
35:58But the King James here has done something that it's allowed to do. The New King James has done the same.
36:07But it's a bit strange. Why? Because the original reads,
36:12There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. That's what it says.
36:18The second part of the sentence, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, is not in the
36:25originals. It's picked up from verse 4, which is sometimes what happens. You can take a verb
36:30or a statement from a different verse within context and add it because it's still technically you can do
36:36that. But how the verse actually should read is just plainly, there is now no condemnation to those
36:42who are in Christ. That's it. That's the fact. We're going to pick up in verse 4 where the walking in the
36:50Spirit is. Because now what's happened is, if you read verse 1 with the second part, it might seem
36:56conditional, doesn't it? There is no condemnation, but you must make sure you walk in the Spirit.
37:02Paul has just told us in chapter 7, I'm struggling at times to walk in the Spirit. So is Paul condemned?
37:08See, if you look in verse 4, it says that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us
37:17who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. So it picks up the condemnation and righteousness.
37:22So the translators are stuck in there, which they do elsewhere as well. They do in Ephesians chapter 2
37:27as well. So it's not wrong. It's only wrong in the hands of those who want to make verse 1 conditional.
37:34Because Paul will later on say, you are in the Spirit. It's a fact. But that's just a side picture there.
37:42But when we look at verse 1 to 2 here, it says there's no condemnation to those who are in Christ.
37:47Look at verse 2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
37:53That picks up here from chapter 5, that we have been justified. We have been sanctified in Christ.
38:04And what the Christian hope is or what the Christian life should rest on is chapter 8.
38:09Paul is telling us, you are justified. Paul is telling us that you're busy being sanctified.
38:14He's telling us that the struggle is real in the sanctification process, which is Romans 7.
38:19But what we hold on to is where chapter 8 starts, that there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
38:28And that's a comfort. Yes, there might be chastisement. Yes, there might be judgment.
38:35Yes, there might be loss of rewards. But there's no condemnation. Look at Romans 6.7 on that.
38:50For he that is dead is freed from sin. What is he talking about? How can we – I mean,
38:561 John is clear that he that says he doesn't sin is a liar. But the freed there means that we have been
39:04bought and paid for and we are free then from the condemnation of all grain.
39:11That's what the sin is in that context. And we have been set free from the burden of sin,
39:16from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin. We are set free from these things in Christ.
39:21And therefore we are not under condemnation anymore. We're not under sin anymore. We're not under the
39:27weight of what the law evoked and sort of awakened it in our hearts and soul. That the Christian can live
39:35free in Christ, loving the law, holding on to the law, but not having to be subject to it and its condemnation.
39:45That's the difference. When Paul writes about using the law correctly, we're allowed to use the law.
39:51There's nothing wrong with it. But why do we do it? If someone uses the law to produce spirituality in
39:59someone, if someone uses the law to produce holiness, you're not doing it for the right reasons,
40:04because the law doesn't produce anything but death. It's only Christ that produces life.
40:10The law brings death. So if we want people to live spiritual,
40:15godly lives, you don't use the law to produce that.
40:20You bring them to Christ. He brings life. And therefore there is no condemnation to those
40:27who are in Christ because we have been set free. Look at verse 6.
40:33For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. So when
40:40God said to Adam and Eve, if you eat of this fruit, you will surely die. What was that death?
40:49Because when she ate of the fruit, did she die?
40:54It's a bit debatable, isn't it? She was going to die. She was separated from God,
40:58but did she immediately die? Was it poisonous? Was it arsenic? No. Because death means many things,
41:04doesn't it? Death means, in its absolute core, separation. That's what it means. When you die,
41:11you are separated from the living. Adam and Eve died that moment they ate of that fruit and disobeyed
41:17God because they were separated from God. How do we know that? Because Adam and Eve went and hid away
41:22from God because they were separated from him. And they were even separated in the judgment of being cast
41:28out of the garden. So here in verse 6, carnal-minded people and believers that are living for the flesh,
41:37where the flesh is dominating, the flesh is in control, what happens is that carnally-minded person
41:43is separated from God. They are not in fellowship with God. Carnality brings death, and we have to be
41:50serious about this in our lives. Separation from fellowship. That's why 1 John 1.9 says,
41:56If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. What does that mean? It means that when we are
42:01repentant and we confess our sins, we are in fellowship with God. And fellowship is very,
42:09very important. Some people are married and not in fellowship with their husband or their wife.
42:20Is it possible? Of course it's possible. Some people live as strangers in the same house.
42:26There's death in that house. But they're not divorced. They're just not in fellowship.
42:35And some people can be Christians and not in fellowship with God because they are living
42:39carnally. And we have to encourage them to get back to the Lord. And that starts with repentance.
42:47We move on to verse 7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God. Is that what Paul says in chapter 7?
42:54Of course it is. The carnal mind is enmity against God. For he is not subject to the law of God,
43:01neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
43:09But look at what he says in verse 9. But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. So it's a positive affirmation.
43:20But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If so, be that the spirit of God dwells in you.
43:26Now, if any man has not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Now, I find that verse fascinating.
43:31The reason why is, how can some Christians say that you need to wait for the Holy Spirit?
43:42The verse says to me that if you don't have the Holy Spirit, then you're not Christ.
43:49If I go to 1 Corinthians 12 verse 13, it says that every single believer is baptized by the Spirit into
43:55Christ. So this theology, which is called the second work of grace, where you are saved,
44:04but you must then wait for a subsequent experience to receive the Holy Spirit, it's not scriptural,
44:08because that one says, the verse there says clearly, that unless you have the Spirit of God, you're not
44:13His, which happens at conversion. So what Paul builds on here, saying to be kindly minded brings death,
44:20it brings lack of fellowship. Also, the world is kindly minded, so you can use it in two ways.
44:26But he's saying that you are not in the flesh. Did he know every single believer in the Roman church?
44:32Did he know everyone?
44:36Did he know them? Every single one of them? How can he say that you're not in the flesh? He says that
44:40because he's using it in the sense of the general. You're a believer. That's why he says that.
44:46Let's look at 1 Corinthians 6 verse 10. Same concept, really.
45:02So we look at verse 9 and 10. No, we're not going to look at 9. Look at 11. Sorry, 11. Let's just look at 11,
45:08because I'm not going to be able to deal with that dynamic. But let's look at verse 10. It says,
45:11he lists all these things. So look at verse 9. It lists all these idolaters and adulterers and goes to
45:15those 10 thieves and covetous and drunkards and the violence. They will not inherit the kingdom of God.
45:21Look at verse 11. It says, and such were some of you, but you are washed, you are sanctified,
45:30you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. He's making a positive
45:38affirmation there that you are this. And this is what Romans 8 is trying to tell us. It's trying to
45:45tell us that we are in Christ. There are beautiful truths that we know now. Yes, the struggle is real.
45:51Yes, we have a responsibility, but we are secure in Christ. Let's move on to verse 14 to 17.
45:58Builds on to the same thought when he says here in verse 14,
46:02For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the
46:09spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry,
46:17Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
46:22God. And if children and heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer
46:33with him, that we may also be glorified together. What's important about these verses, you can look
46:40at 1 John 3, where he speaks about the fact that you are children of God. What Paul is saying here is
46:46that there is the spiritual reality, but he's also drawing attention to character here. Because the
46:53way that son is used is either used for your position or for your character. So, in the Bible,
46:59does anyone know what James and John were called? They were called the sons of
47:04thunder. Now, I'm pretty sure that their father's name wasn't thunder. The reason why they called the
47:10sons of thunder, because their character reflected thunder. Also, in the Bible, people are called the
47:17sons of disobedience, the sons of the devil. You are of your father, the devil. It doesn't mean the
47:22devil is literally their father. It just means their character reveals it. So, what Paul is speaking
47:26about here in Romans 8 is that as we walk in the spirit, as we fulfill the calling of God, as we walk
47:34close to him, our character will reveal sonship. Because that's why he says here in verse 14,
47:42for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. Now, that's a non-gender term,
47:47which I love. No one talks about that, do they? It doesn't say sons and daughters here, because it's
47:51nothing to do with children. It has to do with firstborn. So, whether you're male or female,
47:56you are firstborn in Christ. That's why it's used the term sons. For you have not received the spirit
48:02of bondage, again, to fear, but you've received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, have a father,
48:07because we are firstborn. And then the Spirit itself bears witness to us whether we are the
48:14children of God. Again, it's got to do with his godly character. It's his inner witness.
48:20And so, what Paul is taking us from is all the struggles, and he's now sharing this important truth
48:25with you. There's no condemnation. You are led by the Spirit. You are in the Spirit. Live like that.
48:35And that's why verse 17 is so important. If children and heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs
48:40with Christ, if so be that we suffer with them, that we may also be glorified together. Now,
48:46every true believer will be willing to suffer. That's not talking about being martyred, please.
48:50Because not everyone has the privilege of being martyred. Not all of us can be Thomas Cranley.
48:58But what comes with the Christian life will always be suffering. Why? Because it's death to the old
49:02life, and it's death to the things of this world. It will bring suffering.
49:08And so we will mimic the life of Christ of servitude and suffering. It comes with the territory.
49:13Now, let's look at verse 28 and 39, and then 37 to 39. Then we conclude. Let's look at verse 28 to 39.
49:21Very misread passage as well. So it says, and we know that all things work together for the good to
49:27them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose. Now, most people love that verse.
49:33All things work together for the good to those who love God. Yes, that always happens, doesn't it? All
49:39things work together for the good. But no one reads verse 29. It says, for whom he did foreknow,
49:49he also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn
49:56among many brethren. Firstborn again connected to sons, but that's a different conversation. The key here
50:02is, what is verse 28 saying? All things work together for your good. What is your good? Houses, cars,
50:11good jobs, holidays, financial security, is that your good? That's not God's interest. God doesn't care.
50:20God doesn't care about us being financially comfortable. If that happens, it's fine. It's
50:26a byproduct of hard work or whatever. Please let us not think that God is concerned about your comforts.
50:33What is his greatest concern? Your character, not your comforts. So verse 28 is telling us that all
50:40things work together for the good. That's a blessing. But what will happen is,
50:47what will happen, it will be for your character. Because look what it says, for whom he did foreknow,
50:52he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. Of course, certain people love the term
50:57predestinate and then they start getting all unbiblical. What this verse is saying is, God in
51:03his foreknowledge predestined the believer and predestined the church to be conformed to the image
51:09of Christ. It's not talking about being predestined for salvation before the world was created.
51:13It's saying that in the plan of God, he has ordained that the Christian will be molded and
51:21shaped in life to be conformed to the image of his son. What is the purpose of why we're still here?
51:26The purpose of why the body of Christ is still on earth is because God is at work in his body,
51:33that we might glorify him. And therefore, God's sole focus in my life is that all things that he does
51:42will be for my good. And that might mean taking away things from me. It might mean allowing suffering
51:52in my life to mold and shape my character to become more Christ-like. So let me quote Romans 8, 28,
52:01all things work together for the good. It is, yes, but for the good of what's in here,
52:08not for the good of the external. It's for the character. Look what it says there. It goes on,
52:15that we might be conformed to the image of his son, so that we could be the firstborn among many
52:21brethren, that we could be the privileged ones that God is working in to conform us to the image of
52:27his son. And we don't like that. We don't like that. We're saying, Lord, please never pray.
52:38We should, but we don't. Lord, please develop my character. We're barely going to say,
52:43Amen, and something's going to happen. Because the prayer God will always answer will be to allow
52:49your character to develop. How will our character develop? Through good times or difficult times?
52:55Through comforting times or challenging times? Through challenges. And therefore, I know in my life,
53:02whatever is happening, God is using that for a purpose. I have to ask the question in prayer,
53:08Lord, please reveal your will to me and reveal your purpose to me in this situation so that I can be
53:14conformed. Because I need to be molded and shaped. And all of these things, why is Paul speaking about
53:23this? Because Romans chapter 8 is a comforting chapter. No condemnation. You are in the Spirit.
53:30I'm at work in your heart because you are sons of God. Whatever is happening, I'm molding and
53:37shaping you. And it brings us then to the concluding verses, which we know well generally at a funeral.
53:42But if you put them all together, it's beautiful. Verse 37 of chapter 8 to 39, it says what?
53:49We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
53:59Once again, a positive statement. You are more than a conqueror. Not because you're a conqueror,
54:04please don't think that. But what makes you more than a conqueror is that Christ is the conqueror,
54:09and you in him. For I'm persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
54:17nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
54:24shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So explain to me,
54:31there's nothing in this world that can separate us from God's love. How does a Christian lose their
54:38salvation? If there's nothing in this world that can ever separate me from God's love,
54:46how do we lose our salvation? That's what he concludes with in chapter 8, before we get to the
54:55beautiful passage of 9, 10, 11, which deals with Israel. The point is that what he's saying to us
55:00is you have been justified. You have to be aware of this Christian life and this walk, which means
55:06you've got to mortify the old life and the flesh. Why? Because when we get to chapter 7, the struggle
55:12is real, and I'm struggling as well. But remember that God is with you in the struggle. And then we
55:17get to chapter 8 where he says, okay, now you recognize and realize these things, rest on no condemnation.
55:24You are in him. Nothing can separate you from his love. Whatever happens to you happens for the
55:30purpose of conforming you to the image of God's Son. So we as Christians can stand in security and in
55:37this loving relationship with God that inspires us to live Godly lives, not because we are under
55:43bondage or fear, but because of appreciation and love and this wonderful relationship with the Lord
55:50inspires us to live Godly and understand it. That's where Paul takes us. So I trust that you are
55:57encouraged by these important verses. Let us pray.
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