August 27, 2023
SERMON SERIES: GOD’S WORLDWIDE PLAN FOR EVERY PERSON
BOOK OF ROMANS
Sermon # 9: Living the Victorious Christian Life
Romans 8:1-4
The secret of living the victorious life is letting Jesus live through us in the person of the Holy Spirit and not living life on our own. The person of Christ has the power of the holy Spirit.
What has been the greatest display of power on earth? You might remember when:
Ø Atomic bombs were used and how they annihilated both life and property
Ø Killer earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, floods, blizzards, or fires hit various continents, leveling buildings, and bridges, burying people under debris, destroying the land and devastating hundreds of thousands of people
Ø Giant rockets lifted men into space, projecting them to land on the moon and walk in space
Ø Bombs made out of crude or sophisticated materials were used to blow up buildings, subways, and buses, killing thousands of innocent victims
It seems that every generation exposes man to more and more technological power. As weighty as these examples, their power combined is no match for what occurred on earth over 2,000 years ago. In a far-away land, the greatest display of power on earth occurred in a time when it seemed that such power was non-existent. Jesus Christ was born, and He lived and died in a land called Palestine. His death came at the hands of a government whose power was the greatest on earth. But as history records, Jesus Christ became the first man to defy death and win over its power. The power of death and sin was defeated when God raised His Son from the tomb. Just imagine: the same power that resurrected Jesus Christ is at your disposal---if you just believe.
We have three requirements for living the victorious Christian Life.
I. WE ARE DELIVERED FROM THE SENTENCE OF SIN v. 1
A. A promise – Since Christ has come, a most wonderful thing has happened. The people who believe in Christ are not condemned. “No condemnation” means that the believer is not doomed and damned but is freed from the penalty and condemnation of sin; he or she is not judged as a sinner; but is delivered from the condemnation of death and hell. When we come to Jesus by faith, we are delivered from the threat of divine retribution and are delivered from the specter of hell, John 5:25.
B. A place – Note the words “In Christ” Jesus is the One Who makes all the difference. In the simplest terms, being in Christ means placing your faith in Christ, in all that Christ is. You can be in church and die lost. But, when you are in Jesus, you are saved to the uttermost and fully secured from an eternity in Hell. The believer’s faith actually causes God to identify the believer with Christ, to count the believer as righteous.
Living the victorious Christian Life.
1. We are delivered from the sentence of sin v. 1
II. WE ARE DELIVERED FROM THE SLAVERY OF SIN v. 2
A. The Law of the sin life – A lost sinner is under the control of three masters. They are the flesh, the world, and the devil, Eph. 2:1-3. Any person who has never trusted Jeus as his Savior is not in control of his own life but is being controlled by these three evil influences.
B. The Law of the Spirit life – When Jesus comes into a life, He changes everything! Now, in Jesus, and by the power of His Spirit, we are given the ability to stand against those three terrible enemies of the soul! The Holy Spirit doesn’t condemn us; He convicts us so we will repent, and He empowers us so we can get back on track.
Living the victorious Christian Life.
1. We are delivered from the sentence of sin v.1
2. We are delivered from the slavery of sin v. 2
III. WE ARE DELIVERED FROM THE SICKNESS OF SIN v. 3-4
A. The weakness of the Law – The Law was really just a “Band -Aid” because it had no power to change our sinful flesh. The Bible makes it clear that every person who has not trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior is sick, in fact they are terminally ill! When a person is sick, they will often try any remedy they think will work to make themselves better. Sometimes those remedies work with the physical body. However, for those who are afflicted with spiritual illness, only one remedy will effect a cure. What the Law could not do, God accomplished when He sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin v. 3b. Christ came in our sinful likeness with a totally human body, and God condemned sin in the flesh v. 3c. The phrase condemned sin means Jesus destroyed sin’s power over us.
Now, we who have faith in Jesus are forever delivered from our spiritual sickness and are made whole.
B. The work of the Lord – Jesus died on the cross so the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us v. 4a. The Law requires a perfectly holy, righteous life, and Jesus met that requirement. Not only did Jesus die on the cross, but also that we would walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit v. 4b.
A person is driven to live according to the spirit that is within him. The Holy Spirit has the power to drive the believer to live as Christ lived. We can look at the spirit of a person and tell if he or she has the Spirit of Christ. If he or she does, then he or she bears the fruit of Christ’s Spirit. The true believer proves that he or she is in Christ by the life he or she lives.
ILLUSTRATION:
For anyone who is not handy around the house, or “mechanically challenged,” it is a blessing to have a friend who will help when things break down, things like…
· The car that quits running.
· The washer that will not wash.
· The lawnmower that runs over, but does not cut, the grass.
· The leaky pipe that will not stop dripping.
Some of us will jump in there, trying our best to fix it. Others go into denial, hoping the problem will fix itself. The smart ones have learned to call professional help.
The leak behind the refrigerator started out to be small. Dan saw the problem and not wanting to pay for a service call, took immediate action himself. He turned off the water supply to the ice maker, replaced the bad washer, and turned the water back on. But the leak was worse than before. He tried a variety of washers and plumber’s tapes, but to no avail. After very attempt to fix the problem, his frustration grew worse, and the leak did too!
“Honey, why don’t you just make things easy on yourself and call someone to help you?” his wife asked. Finally, Dan listened to her pleas and called a plumber. But not until they were both fed up and a steady trickle of water ran across the kitchen floor!
Believers are much the same: we try to do things on our own until we realize that only God’s presence, the Holy Spirit, can get us through the trial. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is available to believers---if we can get beyond our pride and desire to do things without His help.
Living the victorious Christian Life.
1. We are delivered from the sentence of sin v. 1
2. We are delivered from the slavery of sin v. 2
3. We are delivered from the sickness of sin v. 3-4
Responsive Reading: Romans 8:1-10
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