Now, there are as many things, just a little, in our lives that we cannot live without. And I'm not talking about things like Wi-Fi, or our phones, or if I even may say, Chick-fil-A, or even toilet paper for that matter, even though COVID said otherwise. I'm talking about things we need to stay alive, things we need on earth to live. For instance, things like drinking water. About 60% of our body is water. We need it to survive because without it, we wouldn't be able to regulate our body temperature. Our organs wouldn't function properly. We wouldn't be able to digest our food. Our joints wouldn't function. And after a day or two without water, a person can get dizzy, confused, or seriously ill. In three to five days, the body can shut down completely due to dehydration. Now, what about shelter? If you are a fan like me that like to watch these Discovery Channel shows that see how long you can survive out in the wilderness, and the very first thing that they will do is make themselves a shelter. Well, for one, A shelter will protect us from weather, like extreme heat or cold. Without it, we're exposed to the elements, which can lead to illness or even death. It also keeps us safe. A shelter provides protection from animals, theft, or violence. It gives us a sense of control over our surroundings. Without it, life becomes a constant struggle for survival. What about trees? We wouldn't be able to live long without trees. Trees play a critical role in keeping life on earth livable. They provide oxygen. A single mature tree can provide enough oxygen for two people per year. They remove carbon dioxide. They absorb carbon dioxide. Without trees, humans would not be able to survive because the air would be unsuitable for breathing. What about the sun? We couldn't live very long without the sun. Life on earth would begin to collapse immediately. And within a week to a month, most life would disappear. The first minutes to days, the sunlight would stop reaching Earth, so total darkness everywhere. Within a week, the average surface temperature on Earth would fall below freezings. Plants would start dying, followed by animals, followed by us that depend on both. Oceans would start to freeze. Without the sun, most life on earth would be gone and the planet would turn into a frozen lifeless rock over time. And all this is a picture of the believer without the Holy Spirit. Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a person may be physically alive. But spiritually, they are on a frozen lifeless planet with no shelter of God's peace, no water of life, no fruit of His Spirit, no light of Christ's truth. And in that, can you imagine human existence without the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity? I wonder how it would be if we had no Holy Spirit indwelling us. It would resemble all the situations that I just stated. A tragic death without the indwelling of the Spirit. And it wouldn't take minutes or days, no, it would be instant. We would be instantly uncreated, instantly unborn again, spiritually speaking. I begin to wonder how much would be impacted by this reality. No Holy Spirit. I would be totally operating on my own, on my own resources, trying to take a breath without any oxygen. I would have to transform myself in the image of Christ, and what a fleeting thought that would be. I could not understand Scripture without the Spirit. No sunlight to guide me into all truth, being in total darkness. I would have no comforter, nor intercessor, nor counselor. completely bankrupt, trying to make my life work and survive on my own. You see, the Holy Spirit is not optional in the Christian life. He is essential. We cannot live without Him. no spirit, no resurrection, no spirit, no new birth, no confession of our sins, no confession of the Lordship of Christ, no progress in our sanctification, no spiritual wisdom, no spiritual gifts, no resurrection of the dead. The Holy Spirit is the very agent for which we were given life and the very agent through whom that life is sustained. And Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, 17, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins. If Christ did not come down to atone for sins, we might as well be on a frozen lifeless planet. The same can be true without the Holy Spirit. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3, 5, "'Truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'" Meaning just as the resurrection is essential, being born of the Spirit is essential for entering God's kingdom. No spirit, no salvation. So with that said, Paul in the eighth chapter of Romans is giving more insight on the essential work of the Holy Spirit. So this morning we're going to see four essential realities of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life in a message I've entitled, The Holy Spirit is Essential. Now, if you're not there already, please turn to Romans chapter 8. we will be reading the first four verses. If you can, please stand for the reading of God's Word, starting in verse 1 of Romans chapter 8. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh. so 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. Thanks be to His Word, you may be seated." Now, imagine standing on a vast spiritual landscape full of grace, freedom, power, and promise, and that is what Romans 8 is. It's the Mount Everest of Paul's theology. towering over the previous seven chapters with breathtaking hope and spirit-filled living. After Paul describes to his readers the first seven chapters, to his audience in Rome made up of Jews and Gentile believers, things like humanity's deep need for a savior, the miracle of justification, and the believer being freed from the law and our ongoing struggle with sin, Paul now leads us into a new reality, life empowered by the Holy Spirit. Our Lord uses the gospel to save us from sin eternally, but also to save us from sin currently. This is why Paul had said in verse 25 of chapter 7, we looked at that a couple months ago, when Paul said, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through Jesus, Paul saw a way to victory, a way to overcome. We are not destined to always have a Roman seven life. Don't get me wrong, it's part of our sanctification to continue to be aware of the presence of sin in our lives, but praise be to God that a Roman's eighth life exists, amen? But what does this life look like? How does it operate? This is what we will discover in this chapter. Roman 8 brings the mystery of the Holy Spirit to believers into clear focus for us. Romans 8 doesn't just mention the Holy Spirit more than any chapter in the entire Bible. To be exact, he's referred to nearly 20 times. but it reveals His vital role in the daily life of the believer. He is not an optional add-on to the Christian life. He is the source of our spiritual life, the source of power, peace, identity, and transformation. Romans 8 begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation. And in between is the Holy Spirit making both of these realities absolutely certain for the Christian. So, let's start climbing this Mount Everest of chapters, starting in verse 1, and here we will see our first essential reality. The Holy Spirit unites us to Christ. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now, every time we see the word, therefore, we need to ask ourselves, what is it there for? And what it does is signals a logical conclusion or result of what has come before. So Paul is saying, because of everything I just said, based on all the truth I've just unfolded, the result is there is no condemnation. It reaches all the way back to Paul's entire argument beginning in Romans chapter 1 through chapter 3, that all are under sin and deserve judgment. It continues on in Romans chapter 3 through 5, that justification comes by faith in Jesus and not by works. Romans 6 says that in Christ we died to sin and now walk in newness of life. And in Romans 7, the law is good. It exposes our sin, but it doesn't save us. Therefore, in light of all this gospel truth, those who are in Christ are no longer condemned. Therefore, is Paul's way of saying, because Christ has justified you, because you are no longer under sin's dominion, because even though we struggle with sin, you have been delivered from it, you are now free from all condemnation. But do we truly grasp that? Or do we just read it quickly and say, well, that's very nice, and we move on to verse two? Are we forgetting too easily what that truly means, that there is now no condemnation? When me and my wife first moved into our very first home, we just couldn't believe it. Finally, we had our own home. and everything seemed so exciting and new. I remember, and we even filmed it, our dog seeing our huge backyard for the very first time, running around, sniffing on everything, peeing on everything. I remember when I mowed the lawn for the very first time. What a glorious moment in time that was. I think back on all that. Me and wife being able to decorate it however she wanted, being able to upgrade it however we wanted. But over time, the upgrades will stop. The hundredth time mowing the lawn will kind of lose its allure. And that's exactly what, and all that will eventually just kind of fade away. all that excitement will kind of just fade away. And as we get caught up in our own lives, we take for granted what once was amazing blessing. And whether this plays out in our marriage, our jobs, or possessions like a home, we can all think of examples of that. But what happens when you find yourself feeling this way about the gospel? It sounds like a terrible thing to say, doesn't it? Taking the gospel for granted. Well, let's be honest, we've all done it at times. We heard the beautiful news so often that we tend to lose the sense of awe at the incredible message. I know I've been there, and I'm sure you have as well. But stop to think of the amazing message of the gospel that is in this very verse. Therefore there is no condemnation, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. And I think it's healthy for us to see the full scope of that reality that there is no condemnation. But I also think it's healthy for us to see that at one time we were under God's condemnation. That's why it says, therefore there is now no condemnation. So at one time, before Christ, we were under God's condemnation. I don't think we should ever forget that. And yes, it's a dreadful thing to think about, to fall in the hands of an angry God. Go read or listen to a sermon called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards. I don't think I blinked once when I read it. And I'm not talking about you to remain in guilt of past sins or for you to forever look over your shoulder wondering if God is going to put you back in that condemnation. No, no, no, dear Christian. It is because it reminds us how great, how amazing God's grace is, how amazing it is that He should save a wretch like us. So the question is, when did this condemnation happen? At what point in our lives did we become condemned by God? Well, please turn to the gospel of John. John chapter 3, starting in verse 16, very well-known chapter. John chapter 3, starting in verse 16. I'll be reading from the ESV. Just to give you a real perspective on the word condemnation. Now, some translations say judged, but they are conveying the same thought as this verse is saying, as the verse that we're in in Romans 8. So starting in verse 16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Now stop right there for a moment. God did not send His Son, His only Son, against humanity and wrath. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world. Jesus did not have to come to His creation to condemn it. Well, look at verse 18. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. You see, the world was already condemned. John is not saying if you don't believe, that's when the condemnation begins. Not to believe in the Son is to leave yourself in your condemnation. Doing nothing maintains your condemnation. If nothing else happens, then all of us remain in this condemnation. Jesus came to a world of darkness already condemned. And John reveals the judgment in verse 19. Verse 19 says, and this is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and people love the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. So according to Jesus himself, all men are already condemned. The verdict has been handed down, that men are guilty of loving darkness rather than light. Sometimes people want to argue over the original sin or the doctrine of total depravity and try to explain it away. But after you have done that, which I don't see how you can, it's all over Scripture, but after you have done that, you have another wall to contend with, and that is the unavoidable reality of original condemnation. Every person is born into this and total, complete condemnation, until that condemnation becomes no condemnation. God sent Jesus not to get condemned. That was already a reality after the fall of Adam. But God sent Jesus to redeem His people. Jesus is the only way out of this condemnation mess. Jesus is the only way to be set free from this condemnation. Go back to Romans 8, verse 1. It says, for those who are in Christ Jesus. The phrase, in Christ, is key to this verse. And according to 1 Corinthians 12, 13, it is the Holy Spirit who baptizes us into Christ. Without the Spirit, no one could be united to Christ. The Spirit unites us to Christ, and in Him we are no longer under condemnation. And in this, the Spirit brings assurance. He brings assurance of this no condemnation, because later in Romans 8, verse 16, it says, the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. The Spirit brings comfort, He brings assurance, He brings boldness in reminding us that we belong to God. And He seals that verdict, dear Christian, forever, forever. But how can we say that now? How can we say that with all confidence? Well, look at verse 2 of Romans 8. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. And here we will see the second central reality. The Spirit gives life and sets us free. As we just read, Paul is giving the reason why there is no condemnation. Because something powerful has happened. We are now set free through the Holy Spirit. Now where it says, for the law of the spirit of life, the word law in that sentence doesn't refer to the Mosaic law, but to a spiritual principle or power, much like the laws of nature. And when I first heard of that, as I was doing my study, I thought of the nature of wind. And when I searched a little bit about it, wind's nature, some words popped out at me, words like invisible but powerful, uncontrollable, can be gentle or strong. Now, what comes to mind when we think of those things? We were just in it. John 3, especially verse 8. Look back there with me. Look back there with me in John, the gospel of John, chapter 3 in verse 8. where it says, the wind blows where it wishes. And you hear it sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. What Jesus is saying to Nicodemus is this ain't no ordinary wind here. This wind carries life. It's like being a quiet graveyard. Nothing moves in the graveyard, especially nothing lives in that graveyard. Then suddenly, without warning, the wind begins to stir. It doesn't come from any one direction, and no one called for it, it just moves as it wills. And as it moves through this lifeless graveyard, bones begin to rattle. flesh returns, hearts begin to beat. One by one, the graveyard begins to come alive. Not by their own strength or decision, because the wind breathed life into them. This is how the Holy Spirit works in the new birth. He moves where He wills, giving life to the spiritually dead. We don't initiate Him. We don't control Him. We don't even fully understand Him. But when He comes, the dead are alive. A rebel, a rebel's heart becomes alive. The rebel becomes a worshiper. This is the doctrine of irresistible grace, not because God forces the will, but because He renews the will. John Owen said, The Spirit does not merely persuade the soul to come to Christ. He gives it life and power to do so. And the Spirit often works quietly, drawing, convicting, illuminating. When I heard the gospel message from a YouTube video from Justin Peters Ministries. I fully understood it because the Spirit gave me life to understand it. I got on my knees and I asked God for mercy. Nothing crazy happened. I didn't get knocked over and start rolling around uncontrollably like so many charismatics like to think how the Holy Spirit works. No, He was gentle like the summer breeze. that that first gust of sanctification, turning a sinner from walking towards the world to a 180 towards holiness, that at times can be gentle, don't get me wrong, but at times it can be strong. It can be powerful. It can be like hurricane winds. And even though you can't see the wind, you see the effects of it. You see the effects of the Spirit, right? You see the conversion, you see the faith, you see the repentance, you see the transformed life. The fruit of it is undeniable. The Holy Spirit has given us life and has set us free in Christ Jesus. That is why there is no condemnation. Not only that He has given us life, He has set us free from what? Well, look at the end of verse two, from the law of sin and death. The law here does not refer to the Mosaic law directly, but rather to a principle or power that rules over fallen humanity. The law of sin refers to sin's dominion. It's a controlling power. It's like imagining a wooden puppet hanging on a wall. It looks free. It can move its arms, legs, and even walks across the stage. We see that with people from the outside. People may look free. They make choices. They pursue goals, even do good things at times. But in truth, every move they make is controlled by strings held by a hidden puppeteer. Whether the strings are being pulled by Satan himself, your sin nature, or the lust of the world and all that it offers, but beneath it all is sins pulling the strings, shaping their desires, twisting their thinking, and keeping them in sin's entanglement. Even when they try to stop sinning, they can't. The strings are too tight. And the outcome is death under its rule. They need someone to cut the strings and give them a new heart. And that's exactly what the Holy Spirit does in regeneration. He doesn't just coach the puppet and give it a motivational speech. No. He makes it alive. He cuts the strings of sin's dominion and gives it the ability and the desire to walk in righteousness. Understand something, verse 2 isn't just speaking of regeneration, but sanctification as well. Romans 6, 17 through 18 says, you were once slaves of sin, but having been set free from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness. We are able to be slaves of righteousness because one, the Holy Spirit has set us free in Christ Jesus, that would be in regeneration, but also he has set us free from sin to walk in newness in the Spirit, which is our sanctification. Now look at verse three. And here we'll see the third essential work of the Holy Spirit, the cause of our freedom in the Holy Spirit. Verse 3 reads, for what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh. Now how does verse 2 relate to verse 3? What Paul is doing is showing a progression from the result of our freedom in verse 2 to the cause of that freedom in verse 3. And verse 3 begins with 4, and this signaling the explanation of this. It says, for what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did. And what we see first in this is we see the law's inability. God's law was never given as a means of salvation. The problem isn't with the law itself. The problem is with us, our sin for nature. We've seen that when we were in Romans 7. The flesh makes us unable to obey it. And it says weak, weak as it was through the flesh. Our sinful flesh makes us weak, unable to keep the law perfectly. It's like if you imagine Israel, okay? Imagine Israel as a strong temple resting on four strong pillars. At one corner is the prophets. On another corner is the priests. At another corner is the kings, and lastly at the last corner is the judges. Each pillar was meant to uphold God's covenant people, guiding them in truth as a prophet does, in worship as a priest does, justice as a king does, and obedience as a judge does. But over time, each of these pillars cracked. not because God's design failed, but because the men holding these offices were still sinners, unable to fully keep God's law. We see this in Scripture. The prophet Jonah called to speak God's Word, yet when commanded to preach in Nevah, he ran the opposite direction, disobeyed God, judged the people he went to warn, and even grew angry when they repented. The priest Eli was the high priest responsible for teaching and leading Israel in worship, but he failed to strain his wicked sons who defiled the tabernacle with immorality and corruption. What he did is he honored his sons more than God, it says it. King David, David was a man after God's own heart, yet he committed adultery with Bathsheba. and murdered her husband. As king, he broke both the civil and divine law. The Judge Samson, Samson was chosen to deliver Israel, but Samson was spontaneous, reckless, and driven by lust. Though He was used by God, He was often ruled by the flesh. You see, all failed in keeping the law perfectly. Every rule failed under the weight of sin. None could uphold the law, not even the best among them. But God sent His Son. the strong pillar that would never crack. He is the perfect prophet. He is the perfect priest. He is the perfect king. He is the perfect judge, the perfect Savior who fulfilled the law completely and perfectly. It says, for what the law could not do, weak as it were through the flesh, God did. You can't, but God can, right? And their failures don't disprove the law. They prove our need for a Savior who could fulfill it on not just their behalves, but ours as well, right? That's why the Father sent His Son. Look at the second half of verse 3. It says, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. Jesus is God's own Son. Paul doesn't say a son, but his own son. And this emphasizes Jesus's eternal divine relationship with the Father. It applies pre-existence. The Son existed before he was sent. It shows his deity. Jesus is eternal Son of God. Before time began, before the angels sang, before the star lit up the night sky, He existed in glory with the Father. He was not created in the womb of Mary. He entered the world He made. The manger was not His beginning, it was His coming down. Now imagine the most powerful and glorious king in the world. He lives in a palace of light. He wears robes of gold. His throne is surrounded by thousands of servants who bow down before him night and day. He has never known pain, hunger, or rejection, only honor, glory, and perfect peace. Now imagine this king looks out across his kingdom and sees a village in ruin, filled with rebels that disobeyed his law, burned his banners, and lived for themselves. These people are dying, suffering under the curse of their own rebellion. And the king has every right to destroy them. But instead, he does something unthinkable. He takes off his crown, he steps down from his throne, he puts on the clothes of a poor villager, and he walks in the filth of that ruined village. There he is mocked, there he is beaten, there he is rejected by the very people he came to save. They treated him like a criminal. In the end, they even nailed him to a cross between two criminals. But what they didn't know is this was his plan all along. He came not to punish, but to rescue. He took their shame to give them honor. He bore their punishment to give them peace. He died so they could have life. And after raising from the dead, he returned to his palace. Not a shamed servant, a shamed servant, but a victorious king. And one day, every knee will bow to this king. Some not out of fear, but because they recognize his great love and sacrifice. The villagers, once lost and broken, will stand before him clothed in his righteousness. Jesus is this king. Before He was born, He wore eternal majesty, surrounded by angels' praise day and night. But can you fully understand that He took off the royal crown of heaven and picked up the crown of thorns? He who deserved worship bore mockery. He who gave life tasted death. He who did… He did all of this. willingly for us, so that we who were far from God might be brought near." This is the humility of Christ. The highest came down to the lowest so that the lowest could be lifted up the highest. 1 Corinthians 8, 9 says, though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. Philippians 2, 8-9 says He humbled Himself even to the point of death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him. That's why He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. Just make something clear. Paul does not say Jesus came in sinful flesh, but in the likeness of sinful flesh. Why? Because Jesus really became human, but he was not in any way sinful. Jesus had become in the likeness of sinful flesh in order, and look at the text, as an offering for sin. And this phrase is used regularly in the Old Testament to a sin offering, especially it required the sacrifice of a spotless animal without blemish. And this animal bore the penalty in the sinner's place for atonement. And Paul uses this exact phrase from Leviticus 4.24. He shall lay his hand on the head of a goat and kill it as a sin offering." And Paul is using this sacrificial language from the Old Testament to describe Christ's death. However, these animal sacrifices, similar with what we just talked about with great men of the Bible that were unable to fill God's law perfectly. These animals, no matter how spotless they were, were never meant to fully pay for our sins. It's like if someone had a serious deep wound, one that is bleeding and life-threatening, But instead of going to a surgeon to fix the root cause, they just keep putting bandages on for it. Every day, more blood leaks out. So they change it, the bandage, and they put more and more again and again. And for a while, it gives the appearance like it's helping, but the wound never heals. All it does is just cover it. and the person is still dying on the inside. The Old Testament sacrifice was like that bandage. They gave external relief, they served a temporary purpose, but they couldn't remove the disease of sin. Hebrews 10, 4 says, it is impossible for the bloods of bulls and goats to take away sins. The real healer could only come when the great physician, Jesus Christ Himself, came not to apply another bandage, but to go to the root cause and heal the disease by taking upon Himself. The animals couldn't bleed enough. Priests couldn't offer enough. The people couldn't repent enough, only the Lamb of God who takes the sins. takes away the sins of the world, could do what all bandages never could. And Christ is the fulfillment, just like He is the fulfillment of the law, He is the fulfillment of the entire sin offering system. Not to just cover it, He is the once and for all sacrifice that truly satisfies God's judgment. And that is what we see in the last part of verse 3. He condemned sin in the flesh. He condemned, God condemned sin. He executed judgment on sin itself by placing it upon Himself, who bore it in His body on the cross. That's why it says, in the flesh. Sin was condemned, not just…sin was condemned, don't get me wrong, definitely He condemned sin of acts of wrongdoing here, but sin as a ruling power, an enslaving force that brings death and separation from God. Paul is treating sin as something that needs to be broken, dethroned, and judged. And the only one that can defeat sin and death is God Himself, Jesus, the perfect God-man, who bore sin of His people and received God's judgment. And this substitutionary atonement secures both our justification and our ongoing sanctification through union with Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. Verse 4 explains why. And here we'll see the fourth essential work of the Holy Spirit, or the last one. The Holy Spirit enables a new walk. The Holy Spirit enables a new walk. Verse four says, so 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. No, the only way that the law might be fulfilled in us is because Christ's righteousness was imputed to us. It's called the great exchange by theologians because two things are transferred here between two parties. Our sin is imputed to Christ. Christ's righteousness is imputed to us. 1 Corinthians 5.21 explains this by saying, for our sake He made Him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. So what did Christ take from us? Our guilt, our sin, our punishment, the wrath of God that we deserve? What did we receive from Christ? His perfect obedience, His moral purity, His acceptance before the Father, His righteousness. The great exchange makes these verses possible. Justification, Christ's obedience, is imputed to us so that the law's requirement is fulfilled in us, so that is Christ fulfilled the law on our behalf. Christ fulfilled the law on our behalf. Sanctification, the Spirit causes us to walk in newness of life. The law is fulfilled in us. Now look at verse 4, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. And what this is, this is the fruit of this exchange. It describes the ongoing effect of the great exchange. We now live new lives led by the Spirit, not controlled by sinful flesh, out of love for the One who saved us. Let me give you an illustration of this. A father and his young son go out early one morning to fish on a small boat on a quiet river. As they drift along, the father points to the water and says, son, never go into this part of the river. It is filled with piranhas, dangerous creatures that will tear you apart. Stay in the boat where it's safe. The son nods. But as the hours pass, curiosity begins to take hold. The water looks calm. The sun is shining. He wonders, is it really that dangerous? Before long, temptations win, and he jumps right in. Instantly, chaos erupts. The boy is pulled under, screaming, piranhas swarm. Without hesitation, the father dives in. With strength and fury, he fights off the creatures, grabs his son, and throws him into the shore. And the son blacks out from the exhaustion. Hours later, the boy awakes up on the riverbank, sore but alive. He turns and sees his father still lying in the water, bleeding, torn, gasping. The prana bites cover his body. He had taken the attack meant for his son. Tears fill the boy's eyes. My dad saved me. He took what I deserved. But then, shockingly, the boy turns, walks back to the river, and jumps back in again. That is what it looks like when someone claims to be walking in the Spirit but keeps choosing sin. It's that foolish. It's laughable. It's foolish. It's not just dangerous. It's a denial of the love and sacrifice of the One that rescued him. But the one who truly understands what the Father did, he stays out of the water. He lives differently, not to earn the rescue, but because he knows he was rescued at such a great cost. That's why the gospel message that is in these very four verses that we saw today is so important for us to continue to have it in our minds as we walk in the Spirit in our daily lives. So, what is the takeaway? Well, one, the Holy Spirit is not an add-on. He is essential for Christian life. He is the Christian life. And through Him, He unites us to Christ, and in that we experience no condemnation. He gives us new life, and we are set free from sin and death. The Spirit applies Christ's work by us receiving the benefit of Christ's sacrifice, and we are empowered by Him to live righteously, empowered to walk a new way, no longer being ruled by sinful desire. So the question to ask yourself, what pattern of sin am I still tolerating as if Christ did not die to free me from them? Am I making room for the Spirit daily in my habits, in my thoughts, in my relationship? Also, this verse refutes this idea that salvation is just a get-out-of-hell card. Grace doesn't just cover sin. It breaks sin's power. If I claim to be saved, but I continue walking in the flesh without repentance or change? I must ask, has my heart really been made anew? Am I still lying in that lifeless graveyard? If you ask, has my heart really been made anew, and your honest answer is, I'm not sure, then the gospel calls you. today to repent and believe, not in your own goodness, but in Christ's perfect righteousness. Come to Him, confess your sin, believe in His death and His resurrection, and ask Him to give you a new heart. And He will. Jesus said, you must be born again. And He also promised, whoever comes to Me, I will never cast out. And if you do that, you will see the effects of the Holy Spirit working in your life. Amen? Let us pray. Gracious Father, We thank You for the unshakable promise that is in Christ that there is now no condemnation, not less condemnation, not delayed condemnation, but none, because Jesus, Your Son, bore it all on our behalf. Lord, we confess we were once bound by the flesh, unable and unwilling to keep Your law. We were hostile to You, deserving wrath, but You, in Your sovereign mercy, rescued us. Not because of anything in us, but because of everything in you. And now by the Spirit, you have given us a longing to walk according to the flesh. Not perfectly, but genuinely. Not yet fully, but truly. We long to walk in great holiness. Not to earn your love, but because we have been forever loved. Lord, seal this word in our hearts today. Let us leave not only informed but transformed. May our lives be a living testimony that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. In His precious name we pray. Amen.