Inside Our Faith #2 Series

Sermon Series “Toolbox of Faith” #2

Inside our Faith #2

Romans chapter 8:1-11

Prayer-

Father, Have your way Lord! I thank you this morning for Stephon’s testimony. I pray you continue to use him and allow him each day to get into your presence and your presence will matter in his life and to those around him. I pray now as we continue looking at faith in our life that you would anoint and bless our time together and that you would speak to each one of us clearly and powerfully. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Introduction-

Last week we began looking at faith and this morning again peaking into the toolbox and see what else we can learn about faith and the importance of faith.

We saw that we need as Christians to allow the Lord to convict us in certain areas of our life

To be able to be open and honest with the Lord so that He can accomplish much in our lives.

We saw that faith is both internal and external and that you need both operating in our lives.

Internal because we need to know that we know that what God has said is true and that everyday, we are not making a decision wither we will serve the Lord.

We have to settle that issue once and for all and work that out everyday in our lives.

That His Spirit bears witness to our spirit.

External, in that it must be expressed not only through our lives but verbally we need to be sharing our faith with those God has brought in our path.

Today pulling the tool of faith again out of the toolbox and looking at what we believe-

What are you putting your faith in?

Is it faith just to have faith? Abstract Faith

Is it the faith of others… mom, grandmother, or is it yours?

Our must our faith be securely in someone named Jesus?

I know people who say that have faith, but when they are asked about it, they cannot define what they believe.

If I was to call you out this morning and I won’t- could you tell me what you believe and why you believe it-

Could your faith be backed up by the Word of God?

What you believe, as you know it, are you living it out everyday for people to see?

Romans 8:1-11

Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes to the church in Rome about two different lifestyles.

One is about life in the Spirit of God and one is a life in our own flesh. I’ll explain that in a moment.

It is a difficult passage because there is a lot of meat in a few verses.

In the sense if we do not understand the difference, we may be putting our faith in the wrong things.

One lifestyle is pleasing to God and one is not- The Bible tells us that to live right before God that we must live our life in the Spirit of God.

Meaning that the Spirit of the living God dwells within us and He is directing our lives.

That we live our lives according to the Word of God recorded in His Word and that we have surrendered our old lives and taken on the new life in Christ.

The life that is not pleasing to God is the life that operates in the flesh.

There are some terms that you must understand in this passage.

“In the Spirit” is that Christ dwells within and you operate in His Holy Spirit guiding our lives- not perfect.

We will not be perfect until the perfect one takes us home, but we allow God to operate in our lives. He is first. To please Him is important in our lives. When we fail, we quickly come back to Him.

“In the flesh”- means that we operate by our own standards and by our own pleasures. Because of the fall of man, this is where mankind is without Jesus changing our lives and making us New Creations. We operate with a selfish attitude of it is all about us.

Because of the fall of mankind, because God cannot tolerate sin, our sin was condemned in the flesh (3) and we cannot have fellowship with God as long as we are in sin.

Jesus became the answer to the sin problem because He had no sin, He became the sin offering. The only sin offering accepted by a Holy and righteous God.

That is the main reason that being a good person is not enough- you may not be as bad as someone else but the measure of sin is not between each other but a righteous and holy God that does not allow sin and sin that is in each one of us. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23)