The Freedom of the Glory
Romans 8 Part I
Introduction:
A We celebrate this holiday because of what happened in 1776. 13 colonies and 56 representatives met with congress and declared that no longer was America adjoined to Mother Europe, and no longer did we need to answer to her.
1 Thus the Declaration of Independence was drafted; the document from which the Bill of Rights and the Constitution was taken.
a The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence says:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable (unchangeable) Rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
b 225 years later we still enjoy the freedom that the Declaration of Independence created for us: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
2 Everybody wants freedom! (Watch fish swim/ Birds fly . . . free)
a A fish is free in the water, put it on land. Bird free here in Chester, over ocean . . . had a bad day. THEY ARE OUT OF THEIR RELM!
b Christian, if we are in the Will of God, We’re free! (Our relm!)
3 Freedom as an American is different than freedom/liberty Christians find in Christ.
a Americans do as you want, become what you want, conduct myself as I wish.
b Christian I do as, become what, and conduct myself as God wants.
c Out of His will . . . fish out of water, bird over the ocean.
B Romans 8.1-7
1 Spurgeon over a hundred years ago wrote about the depth and richness of the chapter we’ll look at today.
a Read text as responsive reading w/ me reading odd verses and congregation reading even.
b "If one were to shut up to preach only from the eighth of Romans he would have a subject which last a lifetime. Paul sets before us a golden ladder, and from every step he climbs to something yet higher. . ." Heirs of God sermon, by C.H. Spurgeon
c We’ll spend two weeks on this passage.
aa Countless sermons, you’ll hear two.
bb Freedom is what I want to teach you about for the next two weeks.
aa Free from Judgement-Condemnation
bb Free from Defeat-Obligation
2 Let’s look at two freedoms that the believer receives in Christ.
3 Pray
I Freedom from Judgement (Condemnation) (vs. 1-4)
A Condemnation (gk. Katakrima) means that sentence has been given and punishment follows.
1 What brought us to this sorry state.
a Law was broken, crime committed, charges have been brought, court has been convened, the judge is sitting on the bench.
b We are found guilty (no loop holes, lost evidence, appeals) and the sentence is given.
aa Sin always, 100% of the time brings death with it.
bb That’s the law of sin & death in vs. 2
cc God’s law is not sin/death (Rom. 7.12,25)
2 We can’t beat the rap. (We tried to do good, and failed)
a We gave in, surrendered in the flesh, . . . but something hapened.
b At 11.59 PM, the Governor called and said, "Not so fast. I’m sending my Son to take the place of the one up for execution."
aa My place was imputed to Jesus. (conviction, sentence, punishment)
bb What holiness, righteousness, good I surrendered in the flesh, Jesus secured in the flesh (vs. 3)
c Why? To fulfill the requirements of the law in us (vs. 4)
aa It couldn’t be done by us, so He did it in us.
bb What the law couldn’t do (make us holy, righteous, good) God did through His Son. (Jesus did w/ both hands nailed to a tree.)
B There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are IN Christ Jesus. (Why? He’s already been charged with my offense, done my time.)
1 Can you imagine the tears Paul wrote as he wrote that line? (Killed Christians, Gospel, church, WOW!)
2 So when the devil comes to accuse you , point to the forgiveness of God you’ve secured in Christ.
a Cleared of all charges! Records clean!
b Stood before the Supreme Court/ Chief Justice
3 Double Jeopardy (Can’t try the same person 2x’s for the same crime)
a Jesus has already been charged w/ yours/my sin.
b 1 Peter 3.18
aa Since we are in Christ, God will not condemn you.
bb If God asked me today, "Why should I let . . ." I’m going to point to His Son Jesus and say "I’m with Him."
II Freedom from Defeat - Obligation (vs. 5-17)
A Paul makes it clear that the "flesh" has cleaned the clock (poisoned) of his readers, defeated them.
1 The flesh had brought some tell-tale signs/symptoms of defeat.
a No Spirit (Lost),
aa the flesh (unregenerate inner man),
bb according to the flesh (principle of life),
cc walking in the flesh (giving in to it)
b vs.6 Death (Physical/Spiritual)
c vs. 7 Hostile to God (by opposing/rejecting His rules/will/law)
aa 1 John 2.16 (The flesh is not of God)
bb Anytime (anyone) opposes God, they lose (defeat.)
d vs. 8 unpleasing to God (God has/had every key, blessing, power, He’s the one to please.)
2 The antidote for the flesh is the Spirit.
a The moment we surrender to the H.S., we gain victory over the enemy. (We’re not fighting for freedom/victory.
b We no longer have to feed, obey, pamper flesh.
aa When we were possessed/in-debt to the flesh, we we’re controlled by it.
bb When we become possessed by the Spirit we are controlled by the Spirit.
cc H.S. will always led us to love, serve, & do the will of God
c He changes everything about us. (Children, sons, heirs of God, fellow heirs)
aa Adoption: Adopted kids do not have a sliver of DNA/Genes of parents.
bb God adopts us He transfuses Christ into us, souls DNA/GENES changed forever.
d Jesus loved me enough to die for me; the H.S. loves me enough to live in me.
aa Bad news: Daily endures my carnality, selfishness, grieve Him.
bb Good News: Daily seals/guarantees my salvation
cc He speaks to the enemy and says, "He doesn’t owe you anything!" He tells me, I don’t owe the flesh anything.
B D.L. Moody described how his life took on a new dimension when the Spirit takes over by describing his conversion.
1 "I was in a new world. The next morning the sun shone brighter and the birds sang sweeter .. . the old elms waved their branches for joy and all nature was at peace."
a We go from no Spirit, to having the Spirit (v.11), to the Spirit having us (v.14)
b Many get enough of the Spirit to get out defeat of damnation.
aa Sun to shine brighter, food tastes better, marriages more loveing, jobs easier, etc.
bb If I’m holding on to him I’m limited to my hands. If He’s holding on to me His hands are bigger than mine.
c IL. Candy Jar (Daddy, you’re hands are bigger.)
Conclusion:
A We’ve looked at two freedoms that God gives us.
1 Freedom from Judgement (Condemnation)
2 Freedom from Defeat (Obligation)
B When the Spirit is leading you into the Will of God you’ll know true freedom.
1 Perhaps you’ve been fighting for victory, not from it. (Beating yourself up over past sin.)
2 Maybe you’ve got just enough of the Holy Spirit to get to Heaven, struggling in the space in-between. (His Blood flows in you. POWER, WEALTH of the Kingdom!)
C In the closing days of World War II, Allied bombings of the munitions factories around Essen, Germany, became more and more frequent and fierce. When the air raid sirens sounded, armed guards would rush to bomb shelters, leaving the slave laborers (often Jewish and female) to huddle in the rubble and take their own chances. On March 11, 1945, at the height of an endless bombardment, Elizabeth Roth and five companions decided to make their escape. They crept to the barbed wire surrounding the factory where they worked, crawled through a gap, and made their way across an empty field to a hill overlooking the town where they hoped to find a hiding place. There, on the verge of freedom, one of the girls lost her nerve. Quietly, she turned back, recrossed the field, crawled back through the wire, and returned to the wreckage of the factory. The next day, along with five hundred other female workers, she was loaded onto a train and sent to Buchenwald and the gas chambers. In recounting this story, William Manchester remarks, "It is a common phenomenon among escapees; the known, however ghastly, seems preferable to the unknown." Who would do such a thing?" you might ask. "What sane person would make such a tragic decision?" The answer is, "We would." Like Elizabeth and her friends, we know what it’s like to be imprisoned in a broken world. We’ve been there, living amid the wreckage, cowering under the consequences of our own failure and surrounded by our shattered lives, ruined relationships, and failed hopes. Then, one day, Jesus comes and offers a means of escape. He takes us by the hand and leads us away from our old lives and habits. Over the wreckage and through the barriers and across the barren fields that separate us from God, Jesus guides us to a place
D Altar Call
