Two Ways of Living

Here are my notes from a recent sermon out of Romans chapter 8.  

Romans 8:1-4 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

1.  No longer under condemnation, but are justified, sanctified and will be glorified.

2.  That’s good news!

A. What Controls You?

1.  Romans 8:5-8

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

2.  Story/Example- I Love food...word picture of a steak grilling, the smells the anticipation, the sight...set my mind on it...nothing else will satisfy

3.  Controlled by Sinful Nature: Galatians 5:19-21,

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

- Life Controlled by Sinful Nature: Most of us don't go out with the intention of sinning...

B. Controlled by the Spirit? 

- However if we are not setting our affections on being in communion with or abiding in the Spirit then we find ourselves going toward sin because of our fleshly desires.

    1.  We must recognize Power in weakness: 2 Corinthians 12:9,10

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 NIV)

-Until we recognize that we can't do it on or own. That we can't face our sin and succeed. That we can't stand up as we want. That we can't earn our own way...

   2. Controlled by the Spirit: vs 5  Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5 NIV)

-Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 NIV)

So what does this life look like? How do we live in the mind of Christ, allowing the our Bodies to be a Temple of the Holy Spirit? 

C.  Live by/in the Spirit

1.  Romans 8:9-11

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

2.  Food for the body example continued: Rocky Road vs Veg. & protein -Coming off the mountain on Trek all we wanted was a burger: meat because of our diet of trail food

      3. "blue elephant"- I can't tell you don't think about a blue elephant with out you thinking about a blue elephant. You have to replace the vision of a blue elephant with something else...otherwise all you think of or see is a blue elephant.  
  -Our must be Desire found in him. We can't just stop desiring what our flesh wants; we have to replace it with the desire for the Spirit and the things of the Spirit.

4. Abiding in Him: John 15:5-12 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:5-8, 10-12 NIV)

       - instead trying "not to do the wrong thing" or not thinking of a "blue elephant," one must remain in him and remain in his love. Then our heart and mind are set on Him.

        a. How do we know that one is abiding in Him? He says that you will have JOY & you will show LOVE. Simple right!

    b. Paul puts it a different way when speaking of the Fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-25 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25 NIV)
      -Do you wonder why you worry, or don't have peace. Do you ask where joy comes from? and wonder why some people never seem down?

    c. Small note on Discernment 1 Corinthians 2:14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV)

There is a cost to listening to the Spirit and allowing grace to be a gift.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer argues that a central part of understanding discipleship is distinguishing "cheap grace" from "costly grace." Cheap grace does not "cost" us anything personally, does not force us to change what we hold dear. To attain cheap grace, we merely make our faith accommodate whatever we want; we suffer no discomfort in the process. In contrast, costly grace means making a sacrifice for faith. It is "costly because it costs someone their life, and it is grace because it gives a person the only true life" (Bonhoeffer 1995, p. 45 Cost of Discipleship as quoted in Virtual Faith by Tom Beaudoin p. 119)

D. Close: Life in the Spirit is costly- Luke 9:23-24 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. (Luke 9:23, 24 NIV)

Are you choosing to be "controlled by the Spirit?" Or are you allowing yourself to be controlled by the flesh? Have you cheapened grace by accommodating your faith to your desires? Or are you allowing yourself to realize the great cost of grace and aligning your desires with His?