Life In The Spirit Series

Life In The Spirit: Rom 8:1-17

Mar 30, 2008

Intro:

We stand today in the light of the empty tomb of the Lord Jesus. The stone has been rolled away, the body of Jesus raised to new life, the angels have asked ““Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” (Luke 24:5), the disciples have met Him in the upper room, and now everything is different. The resurrection of Jesus changes everything.

Last Sunday as we worshiped I called us to decision, and many of you responded by making a choice for Jesus and publicly walking across the bridge from one side to another. How has it gone this week? What has been different, what has changed, what have we done with what God began anew in us last week?

Over the next several weeks, we are going to study Scripture together to see what it means to live differently because of the resurrection of Jesus. What does it mean to “live in the Spirit”? How do we do that?? What is our part, what is God’s part? To take us on that journey we are going to study a section right in the middle of 1 Corinthians, chaps 12-14. But to lead us into that study I want to look at Romans 8 this morning.

Rom 8:1-17 (NLT)

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Breaking it Down:

That is a long passage of Scripture, full of richness and depth. And there is no way to adequately deal with it all, unless you’d like me to preach for 2 or 3 hours…

So let me over-simplify it: the passage is about living in the Spirit. If your Bible has a little section title, that is essentially what it will say.

Here is a really simple outline:

Life In The Spirit: Rom 8:1-17