How Do We Live Holy Lives

HOW DO WE LIVE HOLY LIVES

ROMANS 8:11-17

INTRO

I. LAST WEEK WE TALKED ABOUT BEING DEAD TO SIN AND ALIVE IN CHRIST JESUS.

A. We (I think) were reminded that SIN does not HAVE to reign in our mortal bodies…But it can!!!

B. This morning I would like to ask three questions…

1. How is it possible to carry out?

2. Why is this principle so vital for God’s Children to Carry out?

3. What are the results of both obedience and disobedience to this command to live holy lives?

Romans 8:11 - 17 (NKJV) 11But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For 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. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Question #1…How is it possible for us to carry out the command to “be ye holy”?

Answer: We must first of all be Born Again!!!

I. What Is the Test of a Born-Again Believer?

A. One is not marked as a believer by a mere profession of faith, but rather by being indwelt and led by God’s Spirit.

1. We are told that the Holy Spirit dwells in us as believers in Christ (Rom. 8:9-11).

2. Paul uses this same idea when he speaks of our being “sealed” by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).

3. We are consequently led by Him (Rom. 8:14).

4. What does led by mean??? It means all our actions, thoughts, and ideas should be directed by God’s Spirit living in us!

5. Why is that so hard???

6. Because just like Paul, there is another Spirit that dwells in us…and that is the Spirit of sin and disobedience.

B. In Romans 7:17, Paul uses the same words (“dwell in”) to refer to sin dwelling in him as when he speaks of the Spirit dwelling in him.

1. Therefore, Paul is saying that his sinful nature has not been eradicated by the entrance of the Holy Spirit into his life.

2. But…its ability to control his life had ended on the road to Damascus.

C. Paul desired to serve the indwelling Spirit instead of the sinful flesh which struggled against this.

1. A true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will want to be led of the Spirit of God!

2. He or she will not want to be led by the spirit of disobedience.

D. If he had been led ( remembering what led by means…What determines our thoughts, ideas, and actions) by his old nature, one could question whether he were truly saved.

E. This is confirmed by Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

F. The verb for “quicken means shall make alive.” Once we have come to possess spiritual life by means of the implanted Spirit, or after having been “born again” it is impossible for the dead flesh to rule over the live Spirit on a permanent basis.

1 John 3:7 - 9 (NKJV) 7Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Question # 2. Why is this principle so vital for God’s Children to Carry out?

II. The Born-Again Believer Has a Responsibility to Follow the Spirit

A. The Lord does not produce in us a static, dormant stupor when the Spirit enters.

1. In fact, just the opposite occurs;

2. He immediately brings to us a Spiritual consciousness that has been dead and dormant in our hearts since the day we were born.