Life-Line For Jesus Community Church 11/04/01
Lorenzo Nicholson Sr. Romans 8:1-4 A New Kind of Walk
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them, which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
In consideration of our weaknesses and inability to live a godly life on our own, God now shows us that we can live a life free from condemnation if we are in Christ. The criteria is set forth in the first verse. We must not walk after the flesh but after the Spirit. This sounds simple enough but how is it possible to walk after the Spirit? The reference is not to our own personal spirits but rather God’s Holy Spirit. Lets consider:
I. The beginning of a spiritual walk can only be a reality in the life of the person who understands what it means to walk after the Spirit. It begins with a renewed mind. One must consider that he/she is dead as far as sin and the flesh is concerned and alive in the Spirit.
A. Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1. “Reckon” means to think. You must begin a new way of thinking. As far as you are concerned you died in Christ at the cross.
2. You have become alive in “another kind of life” unto God. Your old life was and is subject to sin and death. This is why it is important that you learn to walk all over again in a new kind of walk, which is not subject to sin and death.
3. You have become a “new creature “. You are a new creation, fashioned to function under a new kind of circumstances. (Declared righteous yet unrighteous, weak but yet strong having nothing yet possessing all things)
II. There is a new establishment that must be recognized by those who intend to live a godly life. Note the next verse, Rom 8:2
A. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
1. The law of the Spirit means, “that which has been established by the Spirit.” It has been established by the Spirit that the law, which governed the flesh, no longer binds us. That flesh, which has been condemned to death, no longer holds us in captivity.
2. This new establishment, which the Spirit has provided, “has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
III. The old establishment, which is the law, became unable to provide deliverance for us in that it was dependent upon our ability to keep it.
A. Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
1. The flesh lost its power, its dominion and status when it became sinful and was unable to deliver itself from the bondage of corruption. It had fallen and couldn’t get up. Therefore Rom 8:3b;
2. “…God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
a. God, through the flesh of Jesus in his death, condemned sin in the flesh, the very thing that rendered us helpless, delivered those who would no longer walk after the flesh but after the Spirit.
IV. The believer must learn to differentiate between the old establish-ment and the new, the law and the law of the Spirit. It must be all new or all old. The two cannot mix just as oil and water cannot mix.
A. Why did God send Jesus in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh?
1. Romans 8:4 That the righteousness of the law (the old establishment) might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
