Let’s review the first two principles.

The first principle is that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. It is worth repeating that you have to accept the truth and believe by faith that you are loved by God, totally forgiven, and the Holy Spirit lives in you. The Holy Spirit is your helper to overcome temptation and break old unrighteous habits. You can’t do it without Him; He is your helper and comforter. When you stumble and fall into sinful behavior, the Holy Spirit will not abandon you because He is in you. The Holy Spirit will convict you, strengthen you and urge you to repent and turn away from that behavior that displeases the Lord. You can’t do it alone!

The second principle is that we need to recognize that we have a new position in our relationships with the Lord, “we are sons!” The story of the “prodigal son” found in Luke 15 demonstrates how it is impossible to lose our position as a son even we stray from God’s plan for our lives. Once a son, always a son. You may recall the prodigal son who took his share of his inheritance, left home, and lived a wild ungodly life. It didn’t take long for him to lose all his inheritance, all his friends, and end up feeding the pigs for employment. He eventually came to his senses and decided to go back to his home, repent before God and his father and beg for a position as a hired servant. On his return, the father patiently waiting for the son’s return saw him afar off. The father ran to the son, hugged, kissed the son, had his robe, ring, and sandals brought to the son, and finally called for a party. Even though the son tried to convince the father that he was only worthy of being a servant, the father insisted, “rejoice for my son who was dead is now alive and returned to me. You see, a son is a son forever in the eyes of a father. Your heavenly Father sees you as a son— forever. So, walk and live as a son the Father would be proud of!

Today’s message is about the third principle in Romans; life is a struggle, and the Lord calls us to persevere! 

Life is sometimes hard and often unfair; however, you are never alone. We prefer that the Lord deliver us from trouble, but the Lord doesn’t always do that. There are times when you must go through the storm, but always remember when you are going through the storm, Jesus is with you. You are never alone; Jesus promised that He would never leave you nor forsake you. He is present in and with you through the Holy Spirit. So, no matter what you are going through, there is always hope in the knowledge that the Lord loves you, and nothing is impossible with Him!

Why do I have to suffer troubles?

Remember what Jesus said in John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Life is filled with challenges, and there are many reasons for life’s difficulties. We live in a fallen world. Some troubles are caused by others, and some we cause ourselves. Every decision anyone makes has consequences. It is like throwing a stone into a pond; the stone “plops in,” then it causes ripples to flow out from it. Good choices produce blessings, and obviously, bad choices have harmful consequences. Our choices, in a sense, are like seeds planted in our lives they are supposed to bear fruit. When it comes to the bad choices in our lives, we sometimes need to pray for “crop failure.”

Now before we look at some consequences, I want to make clear that in Christ, your past decisions don’t define you. You are a new creation in Jesus Christ, the old has passed away, and all things have become new. The Blood of Jesus can wipe away every and all sin; we should never take on guilt and shame because of the past, but the past can produce consequences to work through. Remember, you are loved, forgiven, and accepted!

Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). This means that the Lord can take that “which is meant for evil and turn it to good,” as it says in Genesis 50:20.

Let’s look at some examples of areas where we may have to deal with troubles.

1. Dealing with the consequences of choices by others such as spouses, parents, teachers, friends, and employers. None of us live in a vacuum; we are all influenced by the decisions of others.
2. Dealing with the consequences of our own past behavior such as lying, stealing, sexual behavior, abortion, drugs, and alcohol. All of these unrighteous behaviors can produce consequences long after the events took place.
3. The struggle of living under the control of corrupt governments, cultures, and societies who embrace a secular world view vs. a Biblical world view and dealing with laws and policies contrary to the Word of God. If we are not careful, we can accept the world’s standards as normal when in fact they are against God’s best for us.
4. Struggle with the temptations of the Devil. As Believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to obey the teachings of Jesus. The Devil’s objective is to get us to disbelieve His teachings and disobey. When we do what the Devil tempts us to do, he will immediately heap guilt and shame upon us. All of this to try and separate us from the love and grace of God that brings healing and wholeness. The temptations can be summed up in the following three areas: The lust of the eyes (material things), the lust of the flesh (improper sexual desires), and the pride of life (pride of position, authority, or control).

When the Holy Spirit brings to our attention some of these areas in our lives we need to repent to the Lord, learn to forgive others for their bad judgment; ask for forgiveness when we were the guilty party, make restitution wherever possible; and finally, to forgive ourselves.

You need endurance.

My wife, Dee, recently made the following statement, “We are redeemed in a moment, but we are renewed over time!” Christianity is about being born-again through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ; this takes place in an instant of time. What follows is a gradual renewing of the mind to conform to the teachings of Christ. Because renewal of the mind is a process that takes time, we must be willing to persevere and not give up when we stumble and fall. Pick yourself up and press into your relationship with the Lord. Like the Father of the prodigal son, He is waiting for you to return to Him.

Pass the test.

Some of the challenges we face are put there by God. These struggles are called tests. They are opportunities for our faith to be tested. Not that the Lord needs to know what we would do when we face trials, but so that we would know what we would do in the face of a test. Listen to what the Lord said to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 8:2, “And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Here is a question, did God need to know what was in their heart? Of course not! The Lord knows all things, even the secret things of the heart, but the people of Israel need to see what was in their own hearts!

Some might argue that God does not test, but then I refer you to John 6:4, “Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.” Jesus wanted Philip to see that he was trusting in the availability to buy food instead of trusting in Jesus to make a way.

It’s easy to say that we will obey the Lord- words are easy, but the truth comes out in the test. As I heard someone say, “we are legends in our own minds.” It is only by testing that we can determine if we are legends or committed followers of Christ.

As a final note on the testing of God, remember the example in school, when you fail the test, there will be a retest! The Lord cares too much about you to allow you to be defeated.

Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

My peace I give you…

John 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Finding peace through Jesus means putting your faith in Him and trusting that He will make a way for you.

One of my favorite chapters in the book of Romans is chapter 8. Remember, the entire book of Romans is doctrinal. The word doctrine means truth or truths. Jesus proclaimed the truths of the Kingdom; the Apostle Paul explained how to apply the truths, how to live in the Kingdom while on earth.

Four Principles of Romans 8

There are four important principles that we can learn from Romans 8 that will help us to understand how we are to become victorious in this life:

1. The only way we can successfully overcome temptation and sin is to recognize that as a believer in Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit lives in. The Holy Spirit is available to teach us, lead and guide us, and most importantly, empower us to do what is right in God’s eyes which brings the blessing!
2. The presence of the Holy Spirit (seal, and awareness) confers upon us a new relationship with the Lord, and that is sonship. We are, in reality, sons and daughters of God through adoption and therefore brothers with Christ and heirs of all that the Father has. In other words, we get to inherit.
3. The Holy Spirit encourages and gives us the confidence that we will overcome and see the victory no matter what we are going through now. In the end, we win!
4. As Believers, we can be sure that God’s love for us will never fail. Never think that your behavior can cause God to love you less. We live in a “fallen” world consumed by sin. (Isa 5:20, Rom 1:18-23) and the enemy of your soul, the devil wants you to reject the Love of the Father, the sacrifice of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Today we only have time to cover the first principle; we will continue with the others next time. 

Romans Chapter 8:1-13

Free from Indwelling Sin

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

If you are in Christ, you are not condemned. Condemnation is a sentence to punishment in the same manner as an earthly Judge sentences a criminal to prison or death. Condemnation means guilt, shame, separation, and does not come from God. Satan is called the “accuser of the brethren,” and he tries to condemn us before God, but Jesus is our intercessor who sits at the right hand of the Father, and Jesus claims us as His own. Furthermore, Jesus says that no one can “snatch us out of His hand”, John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”

Now, the evidence that you are in Christ is that you behave in a manner that reflects God in you. That means to walk in the Spirit, notice that the Spirit has a capital “S,” which refers to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God. Christianity is not about belonging to a Christian organization or institution; it is about a relationship with the living God! Remember, when Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection, He went to sit at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us. When Jesus went up, the Holy Spirit came down to dwell in the believer just as Jesus promised in the Gospel of John.

• John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
• John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

As a side note, don’t fall into the trap of “self-condemnation” or let others heap condemnation on you! Feeling condemnation will only cause you to separate yourself from God. Instead, pick yourself up, run to Him and repent. Be assured that the Holy Spirit lives in, and you are loved, forgiven, and accepted. 

Romans 8:3 “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

The Law, or the Law of Moses, was given so that we would know what sin is. It also was given so that we would know what God expects from us; the law is like a set of train tracks to keep us going in the right direction. God’s desire is to bless His creation, and when we live to please Him, we have access to the abundant life. The problem is that we don’t want to stay on the “tracks”; we want to go to the left or the right, and when we do, we sin. So, the temptation to sin is powerful because we all want our own way; we want what we want! All of this is because of what Paul calls the “Sin Nature” that all of mankind acquired due to the “Fall” in the Garden of Eden. Paul makes the case in Romans 7 that we wind up doing what we don’t want to do or unable to do what we want to do. The problem is that we operate in the flesh, that is, doing what we think is right in our own eyes or opinion.

What Jesus did was to fulfill the Law through His final sacrifice once and for all on the Cross; now who ever accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior has been delivered from condemnation and receives the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows the mind of the Father and is able to lead us into righteousness!

Romans 8:5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

What you set your mind on, you will follow. The Scriptures say that who you obey is master over you. Obey the carnal desires, and the flesh is your master and death will be your outcome; obey the Holy Spirit’s promptings, and God is your master resulting in life and peace. Something I’ve learned in life is that if your focus is on sin, it will lead you to sin, but if you focus on righteousness and grace, it will lead you to righteousness. So, instead of concentrating on avoiding sin, focus on doing right, and temptation will fall away!

Romans 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, it should be obvious that without the Spirit of God working in us, it is impossible to avoid sin and do the right thing. It is so difficult to rely on your own self-control to please God. That’s what “those who are in the flesh cannot please God” means. You need the Helper; the Holy Spirit helps you overcome temptation and sin!

Romans 8:9 “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But 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”.

When you allow the Spirit of Christ to empower your life, you won’t be controlled by the flesh. By the way, if the Holy Spirit doesn’t live in you, you can’t belong to Jesus! You cannot pick and choose your doctrine! On a positive note, now that Christ lives his life in you even though your body may be dead because of the effects of sin, his life-giving Spirit imparts life to you because God fully accepts you. Yes, the Father raised Jesus to life! And since God’s resurrection spirit lives in you, He will also raise your mortal body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you!

Romans 8:12 “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For 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”. 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, the flesh has no claims on us, and we have no further obligation to live in obedience to it. For when you live controlled by the flesh, you are about to die. But if the life of the Spirit puts to death the corrupt ways of the flesh, we then taste His abundant life.

Let me close this section with the words of Paul in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

The Purpose of the Law.

The purpose of the Law is to show us the character of the Lord and what He expects from us. His expectation of us is to obey Him so that He can bless us and fulfill His purpose.

Galatians 3:19-25 “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions (Adam and Eve), till the Seed (Jesus) should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now, a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.”

The Law was given because of the transgressions of Adam and Eve. As a result of the Fall, mankind had a conscience, discerning good from evil. In the Garden of Eden, after the Fall, the Lord made a promise to provide a Seed or Messiah. A Savior to deliver mankind from sin and the transgression that released the sin-nature. The beauty of Jesus is that He mediates for us; a mediator intercedes between two parties. Because Jesus is God, He is also one with the Father. When we come to Jesus, there is no better mediator because when we come to Jesus, we come to the Father as well.

Galatians 3:21 “Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” 

The Law is not against the promises of God, but the Law cannot give life. Therefore true righteousness cannot be through the Law. The scriptures clearly state that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” However, faith in Jesus Christ releases the work of the Messiah or Savior to deliver from the hold of the sin-nature.

Galatians 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor (the Law).

Before faith came the Law showed us what was expected of us and the knowledge that by our own strength or efforts, we could not keep the Law. The Law was a tutor or teacher showing us what was expected of us until the message of Faith came in the New Covenant. Now that the Gospel has been revealed and the gift of Grace is released by Faith in Jesus alone, His righteousness is transferred or imputed to us by faith. “For by Grace we have been saved through Faith, it is a gift of God not of works (of the Law), lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Romans 7

In Romans 7 1-6, Paul puts forth the argument that the only way to be free from the Law is to be dead to the Law. He uses the illustration of a married woman. As long as her husband is alive, she is bound to her husband for as long as he lives. However, if the husband dies, she is free to marry another and not be called an adulteress. In verse 4, Paul says, “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.” In other words, we need to be spiritually Born-again! To be Born-again means that the old has died and all things are new (2 Corinthians 5:17). You have died to sin and now re-born to live for God.

Romans 7:7-12 points out that the Law actually creates a desire for what is forbidden but not the power to resist temptation. As Believers, we know that it is foolishness to resist God, but Proverbs 9:17 states a truth: “17 “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” 18 But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.” The very temptation that seems so sweet and pleasurable turns around and causes guilt, shame, and condemnation!

Romans 7:13-25, Righteousness in a sin filled world.

The realization that although I want to do the right thing very often, something comes over me, and I wind up doing the very thing I don’t want to do. Has that ever happened to you? It certainly has happened to me, and the Apostle Paul acknowledges that he had to deal with that as well.

The way Paul puts it, there seems to be a battle between my will or mind and my flesh. This is a real problem for the Christian even today. The conflict between what I know is right to do and the ability to do what is right often escapes me.

I think if we are honest with each other, we would all admit that we all face times when we know what is right and yet we do the opposite, then afterwards we wonder why we did it? The Apostle Paul calls this the sin nature of man, which is opposed to the Spirit of God.

Remember, the Devil is the author of lies, half-truths, and temptations. He makes the temptation so attractive and pleasant-looking, then once you have fallen into his trap, he accuses you and heaps guilt, shame, and condemnation! Satan or the Devil is called the accuser of the brethren in the Bible (Revelation 12:10), and he does his evil work very effectively.

Conclusion

In Romans 7:24 Paul cries out,” O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Perhaps you have felt this way too, the good news is found in the beginning of Romans 8, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” 

Paul is saying that because of what Jesus accomplished at the Cross of Calvary, I am not condemned. I’ve been set free of the control of the sin nature, and I am empowered by the Holy Spirit to resist sin and temptation. My attitude is gratitude for the Lord in that He took all of my sins and “remembers them no more.” I now choose to be guided by the Holy Spirit because I am loved, forgiven, and accepted. Choosing to follow Jesus is a journey, but in time I will be able to submit to God and resist the Devil (James 4:7) in all areas of my life. 

When I stumble and fall, I know that I can come to the Lord repent, and He will pick me up. He will never reject me! 1 John 1:5 says the following: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Finally, remember that the Lord is much more interested in the attitude of the heart than outward appearances. His grace is sufficient; in 2 Corinthians 12:9 Jesus said to the Apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” What is true for Paul is true for each one of us who desires to follow Jesus! In your weakness, be quick to repent. You are His, and He is yours. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

More on the glorious promises of victory found by walking in the Spirit in Chapter 8 of Romans, the next time we meet.