If you would please open your Bibles to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. This is God's Word. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires. But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, Your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive 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 through his spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the sinful nature to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Because those who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings, in order that we may also share in His glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope, we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called. Those He called, He also justified. Those He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also along with Him graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died, more than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels, nor demons, neither the present, nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. May God add his blessing to this reading from his holy and inspired word. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Isn't that a good word? What a wonderful, blessed promise. What a great declaration for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now please notice It's for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you're not in Christ Jesus, you're still under condemnation. Read the last verse of John 3. The one who obeys the Son has life. The one who does not believe in Him, believe and obey are used interchangeably there. The one who believes in the Son has life. The one who does not obey the Son does not have life, and the wrath of God abides on him. So, for those who are in Christ, there is therefore now no condemnation. But I hope you know, as we've talked about in other settings, that there is a difference between conviction and condemnation. Some people overlook the fact that there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And they go around feeling horribly condemned every time they mess up. But other folks camp on this phrase that there's no condemnation, and they fail to realize that the purpose of the Holy Spirit's convicting work in our lives is to call us to repentance. The grace of God should lead us to repentance so that we turn away from sin, so that we don't continue in sin that grace may abound. So God's convicting work calling us to turn from sin must never be confused with Satan's attempt to make us feel condemnation. If you fall into the error of saying, no condemnation, no condemnation, every time the Holy Spirit calls you to repentance, you're going to grieve the Spirit and you're going to continue in a life of carnality that brings reproach on the name of Christ. If, on the other hand, You want to be so tender and sensitive toward the convicting work of the Holy Spirit that you don't recognize the Holy Spirit always, with conviction, offers hope. Satan is the one who condemns and says, there's no hope for you. There's no point in trying. You might as well give up. You're not really a Christian. You might as well just hang it up. You're no good. God could never love you. You're just such a blemish. You're just such a mess. You are a disaster. There is no point in keeping on going. That is a voice straight out of hell. And you need to know where it's coming from. And you need to stand against it with the truth of God's Word. Is that clear? So, therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. What was the law of sin and death? You sin, you die. That's a perfectly legitimate law. And we've all sinned. And therefore we all deserve to die. But I've been set free from that because someone else died in my place. The reason that Jesus died on the cross was to bear the wrath of God so that the punishment that God's children deserve has already been paid. It's already been taken care of. Paid in full. Through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do and that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did. The law could not save us. It could only show us that we needed a savior. But God did what the law couldn't do by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man. Now, did Jesus ever sin? Never, ever, ever. If Jesus had sinned, he wouldn't have been able to pay for our sins because he would have owed his life. But because he came like one of us and yet without sin, he was able to be the sin offering. And so God condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us. in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us." Who's us? Those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit. Paul is still building in line with what he started back at the beginning of chapter 6. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. Don't you know that so many of us as we're baptized into Christ Jesus, we're baptized into His death. We are joined with Him in what He did for us. He not only paid for our sin, but now He's given us His life so that we can walk in righteousness. We're not to continue in sin saying, well, there's no condemnation. There's no condemnation. There's no condemnation. I told you the other day, that would be like my chopping off the ends of my fingers over and over and over again, because I know that blunt memorial can put them back on. Just crazy. Why would you do such a thing? But you see, Those who are in Christ Jesus are those who do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit. And there's a big contrast. Verse 5 and following. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires. But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Okay. Quick diagnostic test here. What's your mindset on? What are you focused on? What really excites you? What do you really desire? Is your mind set on that which the Holy Spirit desires so that you're desiring the things of God? Or is your mind set on that which the sinful flesh desires? So that you're, oh boy, I wish I could do that, but I know I mustn't, I really can't because I'm a Christian, but I really wish I could. Oh, that looks so good. Oh, but I really shouldn't. Oh, but oh, I wish I could. What are you desiring? What are you longing for? Are you longing for godliness? Are you longing to know Him better? Are you longing to please Him and serve Him and honor Him? Is your prayer, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven? Or are you saying, oh God, please give me what I want. Please give me what I want. I know it might not be the best thing, but I really want it so badly. I used to have friends who would say when we were teenagers that they hoped Jesus would wait to come. until after they got married. Why? Well, because I just, I really want to be able to do what married people do. Listen, sex is wonderful, but it's not as good as heaven. Okay? Just so you know. I mean, it's great, but not as good as heaven. It's not as good as heaven. That would be like really, really, really wishing that you could have a Tootsie Roll. And instead they're calling me to go in there and eat the, the big buffet meal. Well, listen, folks, if you've ever had a choice between a Tootsie Roll and a big buffet meal, go for the buffet meal. Got it? There is nothing in this world that compares with the glories that God has prepared for those who love Him. So if you're thinking, gee, I hope Jesus doesn't come because there's so much more stuff I want to do. I've never seen the Grand Canyon. I've never been to Europe. I really hope Jesus waits. There is only one reason. There is only one reason that God is waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ. You know what it is? Second Peter chapter three says he's giving time for more people to repent. So if you're saying, Oh Lord, please don't come until my cousin gets saved. Lord, please don't come until my neighbor gets saved. Please don't come until my brother or my mother or my father or my granddad gets saved. God bless you. You're desiring the things of God. But if you would rather get married than see Jesus, you need to get saved. Is that clear? If you would rather enjoy some earthly thing, then go and be with Him forever? You need to repent. You need to repent. Listen. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death. But the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. The sinful mind is hostile to God. It doesn't submit to His law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. I want to ask you again, what are you controlled by? What are you controlled by? Are you controlled by the sinful nature or are you controlled by the Spirit of God? Because there are a whole lot of folks who claim the name of Jesus, but they live in submission to their own sinful desires. And this doesn't describe Christians in that way. It describes lost people that way. Verse 9, in case you think, wow, that seems a little harsh. I think you're putting the bar too high. Verse 9, listen. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Did you hear that? You are not controlled by the sinful nature, if the Spirit of Christ lives in you. Well, I'm a Christian, but I don't know that the Spirit of Christ lives in me. If the Spirit of Christ doesn't live in you, you're not a Christian. Please hear that. Please understand that. If the Spirit of Christ does live in you, then you're not controlled by the sinful nature. That's what it says. So are you saying that if the Spirit of Christ lives in you, you will never sin? No. He doesn't say that. So I won't either. Because it wouldn't be true. What he says is you're not controlled by it. That means when you mess up, it's not because you couldn't help it. I'm just a sinner saved by grace. If you mess up and do the wrong thing, it's because you chose to do what you shouldn't have done. And the Holy Spirit convicts us when we do that and calls us to repentance. calls us to change, not just to be forgiven, but to turn from sin. Don't continue in it. You are no longer controlled by that. You no longer have to do that. A lot of people are in bondage. Let's just see if we can get some examples here. Everybody know what an invisible fence looks like? It's invisible. But you bury this electrical thing around your yard, and you put a collar on your dog, and you teach the dog that if he gets up to this boundary line, he's going to get shocked. And that doesn't feel good, because it hurts right there in the neck. And so he discovers, all right, I don't want to go there, and I don't want to go over there, and I don't want to go over there, and I don't want to go over there, and I really don't even want to go over there. I'm going to stay right here, right here in the yard. That's the whole purpose of an invisible fence. Got it? Did you know that I've known folks who, after their dog was trained with the invisible fence, the invisible fence broke and the dog didn't know it? As long as he had that collar on, boy, he's not going over there. And I also know of a guy who had a dog that wanted to get out of the yard And he looked longingly, sniffing the air, and he finally decided he was going to take the pain. And he started running, and as he ran into the field where the shock was, he began going, warp, warp, warp, warp, and kept right on going, ran out of the invisible fence. When he came back, however, he would not go through and take the pain to get home. He sat outside the invisible fence area and barked until his owner turned the power off and let him in. Smart dog. Dumb owner. But it's possible once the dog has decided that's the boundary and I don't want to get hurt, it's possible to actually keep the animal inside that boundary just because now they've learned the parameters. They've learned I'm not supposed to go outside there. I don't want to get hurt, so I'm not going to do it. Did you know there are a lot of people who continue in sin when they don't have to? Because they think they have to. The power's been broken. It's turned off. They're now free. But, no, I think I'll stay right here. I'm going to keep doing what I've been doing. Because this is what I know. This is the way my daddy lived. This is the way my granddaddy lived. This is the way I'm going to live. You don't have to. You do not have to continue in sin. Oh yeah, I do. I can't help it. It runs in my family. Why would you do that? You can have a new identity. You can have a new life in Christ Jesus. Well, yeah, but you know, God forgives and I'm just going to keep doing this stuff. Why? Why? You are no longer controlled by the sinful nature. So stop doing those things. If Christ lives in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive 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 through his spirit who lives in you. One day, this body is going to be in the ground, unless Jesus comes before that. If Jesus comes before that, this body is going to be transformed instantly. If I die before Jesus comes, which is something I need to be prepared for, then this body's gonna go in the ground because it's still subject to decay. But the reason we have a burial, and don't just throw people out by the curb, the reason we have a burial is because it's like planting a seed in the garden. We're expecting to get something good back, something better than what we planted. 1 Corinthians 15 describes it. What is planted is planted in dishonor. It's gonna be raised in glory. You and I have a perishable body right now, but we are longing to be clothed with the imperishable. One day, this body is gonna be replaced with a glorious body like that of our resurrected Lord Jesus. And so we live this life in this body in anticipation of the body that is to come. You and I are not going to spend eternity as little airy, fairy souls floating around. You know, ooh, look, you can see right through him. Okay? Isn't that, oh, that's nice. Kind of a translucent thing. No. We're going to have bodies. and they're going to be glorious. They will not be subject to decay. We will not be sick anymore. I will not chop off the ends of my fingers ever again. I will be like Jesus. And I look forward to that. That's better than being married. Therefore, brothers, verse 12, we have an obligation But it's not to the sinful nature to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. I'd like for everybody to say that line with me. If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. Let's say that again. If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. Okay, now, here's a question. I heard what that lady said about nutrition. And if I understood correctly, a certain amount of, uh, of, uh, fat is okay in the diet. Like, um, like even if I got it right, you can even have, have some bacon. And I, and I, I heard that and I liked that because I like bacon, but how much bacon can you have? I mean, there's like three strips of bacon. Okay. Yeah. I think three strips of bacon would be okay. per bite? No, no, no, no. Per breakfast. Okay. How about four strips? Could you do four strips? You could probably do four strips. I mean, you know, you shouldn't do it three meals a day, but you could probably do four strips of bacon. I think that'd be okay. I mean, I'm not a doctor, not a nutritionist, not trying to pretend, but I think you could have four strips of bacon. How about five? Where are we going with this? I was trying to work my way up to about four pounds of bacon. Could I have four pounds of bacon? Would that be all right? I don't think so. I don't think four pounds of bacon at a breakfast is a good thing. I really like bacon. I think bacon's good on everything. I've been trying to get Mr. Lamar to make bacon ice cream. I don't think so. He's fun, but he wouldn't do that. Or maybe he would. Folks, here's the thing. When we talk about sin, we're not talking about bacon. As a matter of fact, when we talk about bacon, we're not talking about sin. We need to be clear. But what if you knew that there was something And the results of eating it? Guaranteed death. Do you know the result of sin? Guaranteed death. Guaranteed death. If you sin, it brings destruction. You and I have been trained to take sin lightly. To think that it's no big deal. It's just not that serious. And tragically, some of the folks who are the worst about that are those who say we believe the gospel. Because, hey, we know Jesus already paid for it. So since Jesus already paid for it, it really isn't that big a deal, is it? Yes! If you want to know how serious sin is, look at what happened to Jesus. When He paid for our sins, what did it cost? He died on the cross. He cries out, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Sin brings death. If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. So I don't want to go there. Does that make sense? I don't want to go there. But if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Say that phrase with me if you will. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Say that again. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. So what if you're not led by the Spirit of God? The one who follows his sinful nature is not God's child. The one who's controlled by his sinful nature doesn't have the Holy Spirit. But the one who is the child of God is indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit and is not any longer a slave to sin. So don't live as if you were. Don't be like the dumb dog inside a non-existent invisible fence. It's afraid to enjoy the freedom that is ours in Christ Jesus. Some people think that because of Jesus, we now have the freedom to sin. It's okay. He paid for it. Not at all. He paid for our sins that we might now, through His Spirit, have the freedom to live a godly life. That's what we couldn't do before. We already were engaged in sin. Jesus came to set us free, not for sin, but for righteousness.