So we are continuing where we left off last week. We are in Romans chapter 7 and verse 6, the second half, as we said last week, of his two-part statement. First half was in verse 5, and then he says, he follows that up by saying, But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. So why is it that Paul rejoices so in all of this? More importantly, why is it that we far too often do not? We, the people of the but now, remember that's what we talked about last week. We are the people of the but now. We should be the most joyful people on the planet. We are the only ones with reason to rejoice. Why is that? Well, the answer is found in the next phrase. He says, so that we serve in the new way of the spirit correct translation yes we do serve but what paul is emphasizing here is the object in the intent and the purpose of that serving we have been set free he says in order that we might serve that was the reason that we were set free this is what he's really concerned about the object of our salvation is our sanctification are being made holy coming of the Son of God into this world and all that He did while He was here, His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, ascending of the Holy Spirit, has one grand end and objective, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. This is the ultimate purpose of salvation. It is not just forgiveness only. That is a byproduct. Not just sanctification only. That is a byproduct. urge up dot I'll just forget it's not just justification sorry it's been a week in Greensboro and I'm like at all today a must never stop at what we are going to get out of this relationship in fact we cannot stop at that point it's not an option parachute head a some of you may have heard of him a if you ever get a chance to listen to his sermons called in shekels in a shirt Most amazing thing you ever listen to. In that he says that modern American evangelicalism sounds like nothing more than a group of people sitting around trying to figure out how we are going to get something for nothing. God has done everything he has done in order to bring us to holiness. So if you'll turn with me, there's a whole bunch of books written on what is the will of God. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 3 Now, we're going to summarize all of those books in one sentence. What is the will of God for you and your life? 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 3, For this is the will of God. Is that clear enough? What does it say? Your sanctification. There we go. Which if we understand the ultimate purpose, then there would be nothing as absurd as what Paul was being accused of by his critics both then and now. Oh my, they say. This is dangerous preaching, telling people that all they have to do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That is just telling people that we should continue in sin so that grace may abound. And so they then ask, what then? Should we just sin at will because we are not under law but under grace? What a terrible teaching. This is going to lead to chaos and a complete breakdown of morality. Paul's answer is this. Salvation is from sin to holiness. It is one continuous process. And so it is completely wrong to even suggest that the preaching of the doctrine of grace leads to sin. because the whole point of this doctrine is to show us that God's end goal and objective in doing all that he has done for us through his Son and by the Holy Spirit, the ultimate goal of all of that is to sanctify us and to make us holy and blameless in his sight. At the same time, it is also true to say that there is nothing which is so wrong and such a denial of the truth as antinomianism. which is where those stand that are so concerned about doctrine that they don't bother with their style of life in practice. These are the people who make no effort to discipline themselves in their daily walk. Such antinomianism is the greatest enemy of the doctrines of grace. It is the denial of the doctrine because its whole objective, the whole objective of the doctrine of grace is to deliver us from sin, as Paul is going to go on to show. Practical definition of repentance being that we must turn from sin and turn to God. There's no option to go halfway. One cannot turn from sin without turning to God. It is not possible. And one cannot turn to God without turning from sin. It is not possible. So consider Paul's argument like this. He says that nothing can enable us to bear fruit for God except our being delivered from the law and being joined to Christ. Those who advocate for morality alone are really contradicting themselves, and they defeat their own stated goals, as Paul proves. His argument is that if you are really concerned about morality and right behavior, then the sooner you believe the gospel, the better. Because as long as a man is captive under the law, not only can he not resist the temptation to sin, but his very knowledge will even inflame that position. While he is under the law and the dominion of the law, he will sin more and more. The law, or his moral teaching, will arouse his sinful passions, as we talked about last week, and it will work in his members, and he will get worse and worse. The very law that tells him not to do a thing actually makes him do it. So, if you're interested in morality and conduct and behavior, then Paul is saying here that the sooner you are released from the law, the better off you're going to be. That is the glory of the Christian way of salvation. But now, he says, a righteousness from God has come in. A way of salvation has appeared that can really deliver us. We're no longer joined to that which arouses our sinful passions. We are released from it. And we are joined to another and a greater power. Remember, he says, greater is he that is in me than what? There you go. Remember we said that sin's power is second only to the power of God. Sin's power is second only to the power of God. Key there being second. Sin has no power over those who belong to God. So look again at the words. He says, so that, so that what? He says, so that we serve in the new way of the spirit and not in the old way of the written code. That word serve, which we met with in chapter six is our reminder. that the term servants always means slave so if you back up one chapter with me chapters are verse sixteen of chapter six he says do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves you are slaves of the one whom you obey either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed. And then in verse 20, he says, for when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. And then in verse 22, but now that you have been set free from sin you have become slaves of god so here paul brings in that term again this has happened to us he says so that we may slave in the new way of the spirit serve means the slave paul rejoiced in calling himself the bond slave of jesus christ in whose service is found perfect freedom There's nothing more wonderful and freeing than to be the slave of such a master. Bode Bauckham says that a slave is the freest of all human beings. Y'all imagine that? A slave is the freest of all human beings. Well, how can that even be possible? Well, the fact is that the one and only thing that a slave has to worry about is doing what the master tells him to do. That's the only thing. While on the other hand, it is on the master to make certain that the slave is fed and clothed and housed and protected and provided for in every way. Can you imagine how free we would be if we would stop worrying about feeding and clothing and housing and protecting ourselves? The object of our being released from the law is so that we slave in the new way of the spirit and not in the old way of the written code. Just restating what he already said in verse four, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we might bear fruit for God. Take careful note of the extra step further that Paul takes this. So we arrive at the point where Paul is going to show us the character of our service. the entirely new and different character of our service, the new slavery in which the Christian lives. He contrasts it with the old way of living. We need to see that what he is contrasting here is the life of the Christian versus the life of the best possible example of a moral man who is under the law. Okay, you get that? Life of a Christian versus the best possible example of a non-Christian who is still under the law. We have to keep that contrast in our minds in order to understand. There were men then and there are men now, and I was one of them, who read the moral law. They read this moral law and they say, well, that is right. That is good, and I am going to live in that way. I'm going to live out that very code. And they do their best in the energy of their own flesh to live out that very code. Paul is contrasting that man with the man who has become a Christian, because the two are not the same. He is concerned, of course, that we see the striking contrasts. He shows us first the general differences between the two, and then he's going to hone in and get a little closer in detail in particular. So the first contrast is between the old and the new. The new way of the Spirit versus the old way of the written code. Old and new. Those are the life-giving words that are found throughout the whole of the New Testament. Once again, emphasizing the contrast. Completely different lives between the Christian life and the non-Christian life. We talked last week about Nicodemus. Nicodemus thought that Christianity was something that you added on to what you already had. That was the reason that he sought out the interview with Jesus. It goes something like this. We're in John chapter 3 and verse 2. We're going to be paraphrasing a little so you don't have to turn there if you don't want to. You all know the story. He says, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher coming from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. And he's going to finish his statement, but Jesus cut him off right there. he was not allowed to finish what he was obviously about the ad and we'll take a little last year is that now jesus i am a master of israel and i know much more than the people know but you clearly no more than i do and you have this great power what do i need to do to get to where you are how can i get this something extra that you have Jesus cut him off reading his mind because we already were already told that Jesus didn't need for anyone to tell him what was in man because he already knew what was in man and he read Nicodemus like an open book and so he cuts him off and he says to him truly truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Not even a fleeting glimpse of it. He must be born again. This is not a question of addition. Not some accessory that you add on to your already fabulous wardrobe. This is regeneration. This is the new birth. This is literally the old deadness versus the new life. Jesus puts it another way, and you can turn to this one, Matthew chapter 9, starting with verse 14. This is how Jesus put the difference between the old deadness versus the new life. And the disciples of John came to him saying, why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast. And Jesus said to them, can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them and then they will fast. So here's the difference. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved. This is absolutely new. This is not just a better brand of what you used to have. This is not just a whitewashing of what you used to have. Not just an improved version of the old life. Most importantly, it is not a matter of gradually passing from then to now. It is old to new instantaneously. 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 starting with verse 16 from now on therefore We regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Here's the one you know. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. And again we say, how can we not rejoice in this? If this is not thrilling, then it is likely that it has not happened to us. This is exactly what Paul is saying here in this seventh verse. If the old has not become new, then one cannot be considered to be a Christian. No longer the old, but the new. the new way of the spirit and not in the old way of the written code. Now, there's another contrast that he makes here. Contrast between the law and the spirit. That we should slave in the new way of the spirit and not in the old way of the written code. He's referring, of course, to the written moral law that was given through Moses to the children of Israel. They referred to it as the written code or as the writing. because it was written by God on the stone tablets which he gave to Moses. That was the explicit statement in writing of the law which God had originally given to man. As Paul reminded us in chapter 2, that same law is written in the hearts of all men, even the Gentiles who had never known the law of Moses. In that law of Moses that was made explicit, it was reduced to writing. God wrote it so that it would be plain and clear. But now we are told to serve, says Paul, not in the old way which demanded conforming ourselves to that which was written. That was our position under the law. We are no longer in that position of conforming ourselves to that which is written. That was the old. The old has passed away. What is the new? He says it's the new way of the spirit. New creatures live new lives in the spirit, not under the law. So we arrive at another translation argument here. The text does not simply mean that we are now trying to keep the law in a new spirit, as some might argue. You read some of the commentaries, that's what they're saying. that does not bring out the true contrast that paul is after here paul means that we are now living in the realm of the holy spirit of god and not living under the law it means living in and under the power of the holy spirit no longer in the old way of the written code this is paul's way of introducing us to the holy spirit that's why that s there is capitalized uh... there are a whole lot of translations where it is not capitalized and that leads to a lot of errors when you get the commentaries because they do not recognize this is referring to the holy spirit uh... again we're reminded that chapter eight is just an exposition of verse six here entirety of chapter eight is just an exposition of this one verse chapter eight is a description of this life in the spirit and it starts in verse two if you turn over one chapter to the right starts in verse 2 of chapter 8 for the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death so that is him continuing what he began in this sixth verse so from this sixth verse he goes to verse 2 of chapter 8 continuing the whole thought process uh... so that he can work it out and elaborate on it from verse seven to the end of our chapter here he is only dealing with some objections and difficulties as we shall see and then having accomplished that he takes up again in chapter eight the same thing that he is saying here in other words the christian life is an entirely new life which is made possible because of our union and marriage to the lord jesus christ and the resulting indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God that is within us. This new life, therefore, is entirely different from the old life that was lived in the flesh and under the law. It's an entirely different life. So we already looked at chapter 8, verse 2, for the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. This is the truth about every Christian. Everything he does is in the Spirit. drop down a couple of verses we're going to look at verse five and six as well what is that living in the spirit look like he says 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 set their minds on the things of the spirit for to set the mind on the flesh is what? But to set the mind on the Spirit is what? Life and peace. The Christian has a new mind and is interested in new things. Not in the old, but in the new. And these new things are spiritual things. The difference between the Christian and the non-Christian is an absolute difference. Paul says here that they don't even think in the same way. They don't even think in the same way, much less live in the same way. Why? Because being fleshly minded is death. But to be spiritually minded is life in peace. The Christian thinks in the Spirit, lives in the Spirit, worships in the Spirit. We don't need temples or buildings or altars or sacrifices or crucifixes or signs and wonders or burn offerings. All of that stuff is in the past. All of that stuff is of the flesh. We worship God in the spirit. We rejoice in Jesus Christ and we have no confidence in the flesh. He gives us another exhortation in Galatians 5 16. This is an exhortation, but you don't have to turn there. Just one little line. But I say, so there's our exhortation. Paul's saying, but I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. How do you overcome the desires of your flesh? Walk by the Spirit. There you go. The Christian life is a complete contrast to the old unregenerate life at its very best. It is the difference between new and old. It is the difference between life and death. It is by the grace of God alone that we can say, but now. We are no longer what we were. But now we are no longer what we were. This is our key to our self-examination. Is it obvious? Is it obvious to you that you are a new creature? Is it obvious to you that the old things are passed away? That all things are become new? Thank God for this new life in the Spirit. Thank God for this control of the Spirit over our minds, over our affections, over our will, over our whole being. I wonder why it says to quench not the Spirit. That's what that means. The Spirit has control over all of these things, unless what? Unless you assume His position and try to take control of it yourself. The Christian life is a life in the Holy Spirit. So we've now arrived at the point which we might consider as Paul's final answer to the criticisms that were so constantly brought against his preaching. And that being that it discounted the law and therefore could lead to nothing but immorality and antinomianism, which we looked at briefly in chapter six. And here he specifically addresses the relationship of the Christian to the law. We already established that any attempt to base our life on the law alone, not only is of no help but in fact it is a hindrance to our living a godly life but now he says we can actually live that godly life which we desire to live because we have been released from that which kept us from doing so we have entered into an entirely new life what he's doing here is contrasting the new life in the old life and looking at some of the general differences and now we come to the practical differences. What does this look like in practice? What are the differences between life lived in the spirit and the old way of living according to the written code? First there is the difference between an external and an internal relationship to the law of God or in other words to morality 2nd Corinthians if you want to turn there 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 3 and you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts the old law was outside of a man outside of us it was written on stones or written in ink something that you looked at with your physical eyes something that was subject to interpretation and manipulation any of you that follow well I've discussed this many times look at all the commentaries in this chapter that we're in specifically there's a whole lot of different interpretations okay that is subject to interpretation it is subject to manipulation you can take this book right here And you can justify just about anything that you want to justify. It's not hard. That is no longer the position. This law is now engraved and written and implanted in the fleshly tables of the heart. In the very center of our personality. in the deepest recesses of our being. You could say that it is who we are now. We are no longer looking at something outside of ourselves. We are looking at something that is already within us and working within us as a principle. We've used this one before and will again before we get through the book of Romans. Hebrews 8 and Jeremiah 31, y'all know what this says. God says, I'm going to make a new covenant with my people. Not the old covenant, but a new one. What are the keys to this new covenant? He says, I will put my laws into their mind and write them on their hearts. They will become part of you. brings us to this fundamental distinction between the two covenants which are in fact two totally different ways of life this is the key part to the whole idea of christianity so if you hear anything nothing else here this before you become truly christian you try to conform to a standard and a pattern and to rules and regulations you try to conform to all of that stuff that is outside of yourself that are in fact foreign to you. But to be a Christian means that the standard is now inside of you. Of course it is, and in a sense still outside, but now it is inside as well. So you read it in the Word, you hear it preached, you hear it taught, but it is also in your mind and in your heart. You are not looking at something external. You're also aware of that which is in you at the same time. There is now a power within you calling your attention to it. A principle operating in the center of your personality. It used to be something that you just knew. Now it is something that you are. It is no longer you forcing yourself to do God's bidding. It is now God working in you, God inside of you performing His work, changing your will and thus your actions of and for His good pleasure. That's the key. This new way of the Spirit is within our minds and it is in our hearts. Secondly, which is a direct result of the first one, is this new life in the Spirit means that we have an understanding now that we did not have before. When we were under the law, when we were in the flesh, we could read these words written in the book, but we could not understand it. We could not understand the real meaning, the real purpose, not the why nor the how. Words seem so plain now to us. We think, well, how could anyone not understand? People under the law and in the flesh cannot and will never understand. In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, if you're still there, he says, not like Moses who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened for to this day When they read the Old Covenant, that same veil remains unlifted because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, what happens? The veil is removed. You see, lost people can read the Law of Moses. Lost people can read God's Word. They can study it. They can argue over it. They can expound on it. They can write books about it. They can write commentaries about it. They can regard it as ultimately important. And they can form their traditions around it. But they can't understand it. They will always be ignorant of the real meaning of the law. But, says Paul, when they turn to the Lord, that veil will be taken away and they will begin to understand. Trouble with a man who is not a Christian is that he lacks a fundamental understanding of this new life that God would have us to live. He doesn't see any reason why anybody should live it. does not see what the purpose might be for doing so. There's no concept of God's purpose for man, no idea of God's great scheme and plan and purpose of salvation. That's why, unfortunately, American Christianity is so popular. See, in American Christianity, one doesn't need to know any of these things, much less live them out. All the commands of Jesus don't really mean that you actually have to give up everything you own. You don't have to deny yourself daily. Take up your cross and follow Him. He didn't really mean that. That's just for those super-Christians. Sure, that would be a totally new life. But do you really want to go completely new? Just maybe just a little different. You, all you have to do is come to church once in a while, put a little money in the plate, and then go on about your business. That is American Christianity in a nutshell, right there. Come to church once in a while, put a little money in the plate, and then go on about your business. American Christianity is no more and no less of a misinterpretation of the law than that of the Jews that were causing Paul such problems. They were reading and studying and memorizing the Old Testament and yet they neither saw nor understood any of the truths that were held therein. They just thought that if they carried out certain commands, the ones they liked, you don't want to carry out the ones you don't like, just the ones you like, as they understood them, that they could in so doing satisfy God, as it were, They never saw the real meaning and purpose of the law. They never realized that it was to be our tutor in order to lead us to Christ. They actually thought that they were capable of keeping the law and thus justified it in the eyes of God because of their efforts. They actually thought that they were capable of keeping the law. There was a veil over their hearts. Their minds could not function properly. That was their condition under what Paul refers to here as the old way of the written code. But once a man turns to the Lord, at that very moment, that veil is removed and he sees and understands and his whole position is changed. Third thing is that we begin to see how vital the distinction is between just observing the letter of the law and instead being concerned about the spirit of the law. This is a great distinction for sure, which explains the whole problem of these scribes and Pharisees and doctors and teachers of the law that we read about. These were only interested in the letter of the law. They never understood that what matters more than anything in the law is the spirit that is involved. Jesus gives us his commentary on this idea in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 17 and following. I won't read for time's sake, but y'all know what it says anyway. These teachers of the law of God taught and believed that if you do not actually murder a man physically, then you are not guilty of murder. That's what they taught. Same thing goes for adultery. Same thing goes for other things, just as like he talked about going the second mile or giving up your cloak. Christ takes us all the way back to the second commandment, which is like unto the first. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Any act that brings harm to your brother or sister is the same as killing him literally and physically. That is the spirit that is contained in that law. And the spirit that only comes when the veil is removed at our union with Christ. We only see that when that veil is removed. It is a question of love. Love even your enemies. These Jewish teachers never saw, never understood the principle. They regarded these matters in terms of the external letter only. which could be twisted and interpreted in accordance with the given situation. Jesus called them out on it. You've twisted this one, you've turned it upside down to make it suit your needs. The important thing about the law is the principle, the spirit that belongs to true obedience. The spirit behind the law cannot be twisted or manipulated. The spirit is what it is. Paul will use himself as an example as we go on in the next week of this spirit, verses 8 and 9, but we'll forgo that until then. But suffice to say that God is concerned with the heart because God sees the heart. In Luke 16, 15, Jesus said to the Pharisees, you are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. These same people came to Jesus one day and they asked, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Thinking that they would trap him concerning their 613 rules and regulations. So God gave 10 commandments, right? Scribes and Pharisees and Jewish leaders and teachers, they took that and they expanded it into 613, okay? Jesus comes and he narrows it down to two. because it's the spirit so they were going to trap him but he exposed their ignorance and blindness by answering and y'all know this one too what those two are you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul all your mind and all your strength that is the first one this is the first and great commandment anybody here ever done that for one full minute of your life much less your entire life, all day, every day. The only person to ever do that was Jesus Christ. And the second is likened to the first. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Why? Because love is the fulfilling of the law. The law is not merely a collection of rules and regulations. It is not a mere matter of words written on paper or a stone tablet. It is the Spirit of the Law that counts most of all, and the Spirit of the Law is love. The Jews have not seen that. Most still have not. Most who call themselves Christians have not seen this. The moment a man comes into the realm of the Spirit, he sees it instantaneously. And it is at that point that he sees that all of his old, former morality is only filthy rags in the eyes of a holy God. His own righteousness, of which he used to boast, is of no value at all. It is only the man who is in the Spirit that sees this. The great tragedy of the moralist, of the man who is a good man, you know, we all know those good men. Oh, he's a good fellow. She's a good lady. We all know them people, right? The great tragedy of those people is Without Christ, good, honest, decent, moral people without Christ have no idea how lost they really are, or even that they are lost at all and thus will never seek to be saved. That is why Jesus said that he came not to call the righteous, but who? Sinners to repentance. I have to play on words because there were and are no righteous people, okay? Just those that think they are. When Jesus comes to call sinners, if you don't think you're a sinner, you're not going to answer. See how that works? Once a man is in the realm of the Spirit, he sees that he is utterly condemned and is forced to seek his salvation in Jesus Christ alone. Fourth point of difference between man living in this new life of the Spirit and the man formerly living his life in the flesh and under the law is that the man in the Spirit has an entirely new motive for good and righteous living. The old motive was fear of God. Always afraid that God is going to smite thee. I had to put that word. That's my favorite word. I had to put that in there. Always afraid that God is going to smite thee. He tried to keep the law because he was afraid of God. Now it is the essence of wisdom. That's a smart thing to be. It's very intelligent to be afraid of God and afraid that He's going to smite you because He can do it. That's the essence of wisdom. Try and please the one that can smite you. That is nothing but self-preservation and self-interest taking their proper place. The majority of American Christianity exists only because of the fear of hell, the fear of God, and the fear of the coming judgment. Go to any evangelical meetings. That's the only thing I'm going to tell you. Why would you want to go to that old nasty burning hell when there's a beautiful heaven waiting on you? If only we could take God and hell out of the picture. If only someone could prove that when a man dies, that is the end. What kind of difference would you see in people's behavior? It's only the fear of God that's keeping people in check at all. They're living a life of fear, of self-preservation, and self-interest. Even at its best and highest. Even when fear is not the ultimate motive. And the only motivation is morality for morality's sake. What is the real motivation? It's still self-centered. It is self-satisfaction. It is self-promotion. The desire to keep their own standard and divorce that standard on everybody else. The desire to satisfy their own conception of the moral code in order to remain on good terms with themselves. Their mantra is that morality is a man's responsibility for himself. A man should be moral. That is self-satisfaction, and that was the main trouble with the Jews. Morality above all, they would say, but I will be the one that gets to define that morality. A zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. I heard that phrase before. It's not talking about knowledge of the Word. They had the knowledge of the Word. It's talking about knowledge of God. They didn't know the one true God, okay? They had no knowledge of the one true God, just the knowledge of the God they had created for themselves. Just like the Jews, if we do not serve God in the way that He says to serve Him, if we do not worship Him in the way that He says to worship Him, Then it is no longer God that we are serving and worshiping, but a God of our own construct. I looked at a picture of such a construct before given to us by Christ. It's found in Luke 18. I'm paraphrasing again. Two men went up to the temple to pray. You all know this one. One a publican and one a Pharisee. The Pharisee walked right up to the front and said in effect, God, I thank you that I am better than all other men and that I am not guilty of all the things that all these other men are guilty of, including this jerk behind me. I fast, I tithe, I do this, I yada yada yada. I do all of this stuff. There is no request for pardon, there's no request for forgiveness, no request for help or strength. He needs nothing. He's already arrived, self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied. His whole motive is to please himself. He's certainly not speaking to the one true God because God is not listening to him. He's speaking to a God of his own imagination. That is what life under the law and in the flesh looks like. Even if an action appears to be good, It is still done for oneself and one's own glory rather than God. What a difference there is when you come to this new life in the Spirit. As Christians, we are anxious to live this godly, holy life because there is within us a desire to please God and to please the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, because we are anxious to express our thanksgiving and to express our praise to Him. We live the Christian life not because we are afraid of hell any longer, not to please ourselves, not to hold ourselves up as better than those other people out there somewhere. No longer concerned with self-preservation because we know that we have been saved to the uttermost and we will be kept until the day of Jesus Christ. We live it. We live this Christian life because we know that such a life is the way to show our love to God, our gratitude, our thanksgiving for all that He has done for us. We live it because it is now who and what we are in the Spirit. I'm going to close with this verse, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 14 and 15. It says, For the love of Christ controls us. Because we have concluded this, that one has died for all, therefore all have died. And he died for all that those who live, now get this, he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised. He died for all. for that purpose. Let's pray. Father God, thank you so much for your love, your mercy and your grace. Lord, I just humbly ask this morning that you give us strength that we no longer live for ourselves, but for him who for our sake died and was raised. Him being Jesus Christ, your son and our Lord. man.