In chapter 8, verses 12 and 13, Romans chapter 8 in verse 12, he says, So then, brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. So we've reached the point of Paul's application of what he has been telling us from verses 5 through 11. And so what we have here is an exhortation and an appeal on the basis of what has gone before. That's why we have that word, so then. So he says, because of all this, so then. This is critical firstly to our understanding of Paul's teaching and it helps us to follow his argument as he works it out in this whole section. Failure to follow when he comes to application, and he always does, A failure to follow when he comes to that application almost always leads to what we have called antinomianism, being the failure to put into practice what it is that you claim to believe. Secondly, this statement made here is crucial regarding the New Testament doctrine of sanctification, especially in light of some current theories about that doctrine. What we have here is possibly the most important statement with regards to the practical aspect of the New Testament doctrine of sanctification to be found anywhere in Scripture. And so here for the first time in this chapter we come to the point of practical application. All we have seen up to this point has been a general description of a Christian with regards to his character and his position. But now Paul comes explicitly to sanctification. Here we are told exactly how, in practice, the Christian becomes sanctified. We're told in detail and in practice how the Christian is to wage war against sin and especially in the manner that it tends to come to him and to defeat him through his body, which is one of the chief problems of the Christian life. So how then shall we live, as Francis Schaeffer so aptly put it? uh... how is the christian to me this problem of sin while he is still in this life and in this world it's right here in two verses uh... now martin louis jones been four chapters on these two verses just so you know uh... we're not going to we won't go that far but we will touch on a couple of those uh... he he spends most of that in denial of some false teachings regarding sanctification But we're just going to touch on a couple of them simply because they are the prominent view in what calls itself American Christianity today. So we will look at two of those briefly. The first is what he would describe as the perfectionist teaching, that being that through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, y'all may be familiar with this, through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, sin can be entirely eradicated out of us. uh... out of our whole nature and we become entirely free from sin. Okay? There are people out there who believe that. Now think for just a moment, if you will, the state of mind of any human being that believes themselves to be entirely free from sin. Can you imagine that? And that thought is all you need to renounce that teaching so we can move on from there. Okay? The second one is much more popular, but is just as anti-biblical. It is known as the principle of counteraction. You may know it by another phrase, and that phrase being, just let go and let God. Okay? Just believe the correct message, learn to rely on the Lord Jesus, and abide in Him, and He will obtain the victory for us. Then all we have to do is receive His victory. uh... this victory only comes when in the moment that we are confronted with sin in our lives all we need to do is give up the struggle confess that we are absolutely helpless and handed all over to the risen lord that sin then goes away not gradually it goes away immediately and we are set free that is the fundamental teaching behind this let go and let god ok uh... sounds awful good unless you read your Bible. And again, it is the most popular belief system going in America, especially today. That is the most popular belief system. But what we are set to prove this morning is that both of these are a total contradiction of what Paul says here in these two verses. The important thing to remember is that we are in a war. There is no surrender to the enemy. There is no immediate victory. There is also no immediate victory. We will be involved in this war for as long as we live here on this earth. Paul has already told us our body is dead because of sin. Our spirit is life because of righteousness. That is our position. We also know that our soul is already saved and that our body will one day also be saved. But what are we to do in the meantime? Are we to just come out into the open, confess that there is nothing in us at all, that we are completely and absolutely hopeless, and hand everything over to the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, that used to be our position, okay? That was our solution prior to justification. That was the thing that helped to bring us to justification, okay? That is not our position nor our solution now. So what is our exhortation here? He says again, So then, brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Which is the exact same thing he has already told us in chapter 6, when he says, Consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God. And more especially, do not let sin reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God and your members to God as instruments for righteousness." Paul addresses his argument here to our understanding and our reason. This is not an emotional plea. uh... it is a logical plea if you see he says what i have been saying previously then therefore you need to put it into practice having seen it you need to act upon it therefore in light of all this that we have that he has told us brothers and sisters we are in debt yes we are in debt we owe something but we do not owe the flesh so that we have to continue to live according to the flesh. Because if we do that, then we will die. Reason followed by deduction, directed by our understanding. This is critical to our view of a New Testament view of sanctification. Secondly, there is a call for action on our part, on the basis of this understanding. He says, if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. This is not done for us. Okay, we have positional sanctification. Everybody's aware of that. We had nothing to do with that positional sanctification. This is our practical sanctification. This is not done for us. It has been taken out of our hands. It has not been taken out of our hands. He is telling us to do something. It is the exact opposite of the other false teaching, and it does not happen immediately. This is something that we have to do repeatedly, habitually, something that we have to keep on doing. Just like we continue believing, it's not a one-time thing, okay? Just like we continue repenting, it's not a one-time thing. We also continue putting to death the deeds of the body. It's a lifelong process. The trouble with us most times is that we fail to realize that we are alive in the realm of the Spirit, that we are dead to sin, we are dead to the realm of the law and the flesh, that we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit of God lives in us. This is now our position. We have to realize our position. This is Paul's way of teaching sanctification, not of some Christians only. This is every Christian, okay? We are under no obligation to the flesh. We have no obligation to do what our sinful nature urges us to do. The flesh is the cause of all of our troubles, brings only sin and misery and death. We're all born in the flesh and prior to regeneration, we had no choice but to live for the flesh because that is who we were. But now, but now, love that phrase, don't you? But now we are under no obligation to live like that any longer. Realize, he says, what the flesh did for you in the past. But now you no longer owe it anything, have nothing to do with it at all. It is entirely against you. Our obligation is now to someone else. This is how Paul introduces his argument. Realize the truth about yourself. What you are as a Christian, no longer debtors to the flesh, but rather indebted to mercy and to grace. So, let's work this out in detail. In light of what is true of us, we are not debtors to the flesh, and so we must not live according to the flesh. To do so is ridiculous. It is illogical. It is inconsistent. This is a reasoned argument, which in essence says, don't be a fool. If you are rejoicing in the fact that you are a Christian, why then would you go on living as if you were not a Christian? So, why is it ridiculous? Well, it's by its very definition. The Christian is one who has been taken out of the realm of the flesh and been placed into the realm of the Spirit. Well, if that is so, then live accordingly. Our new position places us into an entirely new jurisdiction. Every person born into this world is born under the power of sin and the flesh and the law, born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Scripture says, in sin did my mother conceive me. We have never been free. We are born slaves of sin. That is why a child, as soon as it can exercise its will, will undoubtedly do something that it is told not to do. Anybody here ever had children that did something they were told not to do? On a daily basis, an hourly basis, a minutely basis, maybe? Bodie Botham calls them vipers and diapers. Born sinners under the power and the dominion of sin. This shows itself in the form of the flesh which is only aggravated all the more by the coming in of the law. But we have been moved out of that position, no longer under the law, no longer under sin, no longer in the flesh. We are under grace, under the reign and the rule of grace. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved sons, that's Paul to the Colossians. So Paul's argument amounts to this. Why do you go on living after the flesh? You do not belong there. Can't you see what a fool that makes you out to be? You are now in this other kingdom, the kingdom of grace. Live accordingly. That is how Paul teaches the doctrine of sanctification. That the problem of sin in our life is only a residual problem. There was a time when you were completely under sin, body, mind, and spirit. The very breath that you drew, Scripture says the very breath that you drew was sinful, because it wasn't done for God, okay? That is no longer true, because if Christ is in you, even though your body is dead because of sin, you are alive in the Spirit because of righteousness. Realize your position. Realize who you are, what you are. You are as free now as you will ever be. You are in Christ. This is your position now. Sin is still left only in your body, your mortal body. Do not live for the body, which is death. Live for the spirit, which is life and freedom and peace. Do not be inconsistent with yourselves. Realize that the fight that remains against sin, bitter though it may sometimes be, is only a temporary and passing battle. Only while you are still in this world. Therefore, do not live for the flesh. Live as the man you are in Jesus Christ. Live as the man who is in the realm of the Spirit. Further, to live according to the flesh is to grieve the Spirit who lives in us. If we go on living according to the flesh, we are grieving the Spirit. The Spirit and the flesh are opposed to one another. They loathe one another. Galatians 5.17 says, For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other. to keep you from doing the things that you want to do. The Spirit is in us with the motive and the power, okay? He is in us, He has a motive and He has the power to help us win our war with the flesh. When we cease to fight the battles and instead choose to fraternize with the enemy, that is indeed grievous to the Holy Spirit of God that dwells in us. Realize this. Reason it out. Be logical. Be consistent. There is not a word here about surrender or letting go and letting God. Okay? This is an argument addressed to the mind and its ability to reason and an exhortation based on that argument. You are this. You are this. You know this. Now live accordingly. So, now here's the flip side. Because there's always two sides. Two sides of repentance is what it is. Turn from sin and turn to God. So, not only are we not to live according to the flesh, we are to actively put to death the deeds of the body. Mortify them. I think that's John Owen, right? Mortify? Okay. Mortify them. Kill them. Which we will look at later. But why are we to engage ourselves in this work of putting to death the deeds of the body? Same argument, same therefore, because of what is already true of us. This is the only consistent thing to do. Our basic truth is that the Christian has come to this point of realization that he was a sinner, might have thought that he was a fine fellow and that all was well, living a good, clean, moral life, doing much good and there was no trouble. Then comes the conviction of sin and the realization that he is in a desperate condition, that all his righteousness is only filthy rags in God's eyes. He sees that he is outside the life of God and that he was in a terrible danger of going to hell if he dies in that condition. The Christian believes and realizes these things And no one can be a Christian without knowing, as we have stated often enough, you cannot be saved without knowing what you have been saved from. So we know all of this. Then this man realizes what God has done for him in spite of his sin. This is the gospel, what God has done for you in spite of your sin. This is the power of God in Christ unto salvation to everyone that believes. Though he sinned against God, though he rebelled, and deserve nothing but the fires of hell, God in his infinite love sent his only son to the cross as a propitiation for our sins. The Christian believes all of this, else he is not a Christian. That he has been given new life, he's been born again, given a new nature and has become a child of God. He's been adopted into God's family and transferred into a new kingdom of grace. he has proof of this because god has put his spirit within him given to him in order that he may be made ready for his eternal home in the presence of god he knows that his body and everything else will be purged and delivered from sin and that he will one day stand holy and blameless righteous and glorified in the presence of god that is what a christian believes very well says paul If you believe these things, how can you possibly go on living according to the flesh? That is what brought you all the trouble and the pain and the eternal danger in your former life. How and why would you ever think of continuing to live in that way? You say that it was your sin that caused the Lord to endure such suffering in the garden and on the cross. You say you believe that. then how can you possibly continue to do the things that led to that suffering? If you're honest, and if you really believe and mean what you say, then your response can be nothing less than to pronounce that you want to have nothing more to do with that old life. And so you will put to death the deeds of the body which still tempt you to live according to the flesh. You will do that. You are going to kill the sin that remains in you. That is your number one goal in life now, is to kill the sin that remains in you. Actively and intentionally seek out and put to death any hint of sin that remains in you. This is the inevitable conclusion if you really mean and believe what you say. This is our call to action. This is our battle plan. This is Paul's teaching of how a man becomes sanctified. Now, before we go any further, we must need to clear up a small difficulty that some have taken and run with into gross legalism. Those two ifs, I saw those, right? If, two times, for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. This if, some say, surely means that Paul is teaching here that our possession of eternal life is reliant on what I do. Now, we know from the past almost three years study, that he is not saying that at all, else he would be in denial of everything he has taught us thus far. He is not referring here to cause and effect as it were, but rather of means to an end. He is not saying if you do this, then that will happen. That would be cause and effect. If you do this, then that will happen. That's cause and effect. What he is saying is the means to that end is this. The way we get there is this, okay? Again, after all our studies. We have to know by now that our possession of eternal life is not dependent upon our putting to death the deeds of the body. That would be a contradiction of the entire New Testament. That would be teaching justification by works. The whole point of this entire letter, especially the first five chapters, is that justification is by faith alone and not by deeds of the law. Salvation is by grace. It is the free gift of God given to men who would not and could not do anything to attain it. Secondly, there is the pronoun you found in both of those sentences as well. Who is you? The you are the people that have already been made alive by the Spirit. He's talking to Christian people here. The you is Christians who have been made so as the result of the operation of the Holy Spirit in them in regeneration and all that results from that regeneration. In the same way, to take it as cause and effect would be to remove any possibility whatsoever of the doctrine of assurance. So if it's cause and effect, if it depends on me, there is no assurance. You might be proud enough to think that you have some assurance in yourself. I don't. If my future and my eternal life in any way depend on what I do, then I am certainly lost. If you could lose your salvation, you would, says John MacArthur. If you could lose your salvation, you would. So it can't depend on you. No man has the ability to keep himself. There is no teaching in the New Testament that even hints that he can do so. Our assurance comes from our position of being in Christ and under grace. That alone makes our position secure. So what is he saying? Well, it's just a form of speech, much like saying, if you touch that stove, you will get burned. Not that you are likely to. He says you will. If you live according to the flesh, you will die. Why is that true? Because that is the proof that you are not a Christian. If your style of life is according to the flesh, that is the proof that you are not a Christian and you will die. Simple as that. Anyone who lives according to the flesh as a style of life is not alive. They are still in the realm of death. We are told to realize that such is not true of us and therefore there is no possible way that we can go on living that kind of life. But on the other hand, If you do the right thing, certain results will follow. If you eat right, get lots of exercise, you will be a healthy person. It's a means to an end. It's not cause and effect. If you put to death the deeds of the body, which you can only do through the Spirit, such is proof that you are alive and you are in Christ and that you have eternal life. If you were not in Christ, then there would be no way that you could put to death the deeds of the body. It would not be possible. So we arrive at this general conclusion. Paul teaches quite clearly that the way of sanctification is to realize the truth about ourselves, and then to put that truth into practice, an action of the will on our part, which continues for the rest of our lives. put to death the deeds of the body by the power of the spirit living in you and you will live forever. Okay? It's the same in every letter that Paul wrote. First he gives the doctrine, he states the position of all who are born again, the position of all those in Christ, and then he comes in with a therefore, and he goes on to reason and appeal and exhort those Christians to work out in practice what he has been telling them every every letter every time going on in detail to tell them how to live the things they must do and the things they must not do realize the truth about yourself certainly not that you are absolutely helpless and hopeless you have been born again the life of god is in you the holy spirit of god lives in you and he is omnipotent all powerful, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. You are not helpless and hopeless. Get on with your work. Get on with putting to death the deeds of the body. And then some will undoubtedly say, well, how can I? This sin in me is so strong. That is what the man with the withered arm said to Jesus upon Jesus telling him to stretch forth his hand in Mark chapter 3. Now, logically, Jesus, seriously, this man has a withered hand, and you're telling him to stretch it forth. What is the use of saying to a man whose biggest problem is that his arm is withered and helpless, to stretch it forth? But that is what Jesus said, stretch forth your hand. And the man did so, finding that he now had the power to do so because he was healed. In the same way, we are told to put to death the deeds of the body. How can we? Our biggest problem is the deeds of sin in our bodies. You will never know that you can do it until you do it. The power is given along with the command, else the command would never be given. Y'all understand that, right? Jesus tells us to do something, he gives us the power to do it. The power comes to us through the Spirit. Never, never say that a Christian, never, never say that you are absolutely hopeless, that you cannot defeat the sin in your life. Any person who is born again is not in that condition. A Christian has life, has power and has ability to do what the Lord has commanded him to do. Because of your position as a Christian you have all the power that you desire to have. The only way that sin can control you is if you allow it to do so. So that is our general exposition of these two verses. So we now come to their practical application. We've seen that sanctification is a process in which the Christian himself must play a part. That part being to do what he has been called to do through the spirit that is in him. What is it exactly that he has to do? But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, the Christian is called to put to death the deeds of the body. Again, we refer to the body as opposed to the flesh. They are not the same thing. the physical body in which sin still remains, but which one day is going to be raised incorruptible to become like the glorified body of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Now, to be clear, we are not teaching that the human body is inherently sinful. The New Testament teaches that man was made perfect in body, soul, and spirit. But when man fell into sin, all of him fell, and he became sinful in his body. and soul and spirit. Now, we have seen most clearly through our study that in our new birth man's spirit is already delivered, already saved, already seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places. Our spirit is alive because of the righteousness imputed and imparted to us from Jesus Christ. But our body is still dead. corrupted or corruptible, as it were. In other words, even though the Christian is regenerated, sin still remains in our mortal, dying body. Enter the problem of living the Christian life and the fight and the struggle against sin as long as we are in this world, because the body is still the instrument of sin and corruption. Our bodies have not yet been delivered. They will be. But for now, sin still remains in them. Paul makes this quite clear in 1 Corinthians 9, 27. He says, but I discipline my body and keep it under control. Why? Because the body is what prompts us to do evil deeds. Not that the instincts of the body are sinful. The instincts are natural and normal. They're given to us by God. They're not inherently evil. But the sin that remains in our bodies, Turn the natural instincts in evil directions. Turns them to inordinate affections, as scripture says. Pervert what is natural. Eat too much, drink too much, or to make us indulge in all of our instincts too much, so that they become inordinate or excessive. Those things that we know as sins of commission. We can also see from the other side that this sin in our bodies leads us to sins of omission as well. So, things that you do for mission, things that you do that you shouldn't do, omission, the things that you should do that you don't do. So this same sin leads us to sins of omission as well, hindering our efforts and keeps us from giving attention to the process of discipline and self-control that we are constantly called to over and over in scripture. We are called to self-discipline and self-control over and over and over throughout scripture. This is how sin in the body acts out. Thus the reason that Paul calls it the deeds of the body. Always trying to turn the natural and the normal into something sinful and evil. We must put that sin to death. Mortify it. Render it void of any power over us. And so comes the exhortation to put an end to the deeds of the body. Put them to death. This is the practical outworking of all the New Testament exhortation to sanctification. And it is addressed to all who claim the name of Christ. To all that are alive in Christ. How do we do this? As we know, there are always false ways from the enemy, as he always seeks to mimic the things of God. First would be the monastic method, which you all are familiar with, I'm sure, which says if you desire to be what they call spiritual, then you must go out of the world and enter a monastery, right, and take certain vows and renounce the world completely And there you will be protected from sin and able to devote yourself entirely to Christian living. Giving up comforts and money and live a life of abstinence with regards to food and drink, with frequent fasting. And in this way, or so says the Roman Catholic Church, you will be able to mortify the body. Okay? That's what they teach is how you need to do that. That's the only people who become actually spiritual. They have two groups of people. It's called the spiritual and the laity. Only the spiritual people are good people. Everybody else is like me. Martin Luther. Y'all are familiar with Martin Luther? He was one of those. And he discovered and exposed this life for what it was. And that exposure became one of the prominent features of the Reformation. Luther knew from personal experience, because he tried this, okay? He knew from personal experience that no matter how faithfully one follows this rigor, the fight is still as powerful as ever. You cannot escape the problem of sin by going out of this world. Reason being, because you take it with you. Wherever you go, you take it with you. Because the sin is in your body. All sorts of flagellations and mutilations and deprivations have been tried and all have failed. So that is not at all what Paul is referring to here. The second one is the one that we can describe as legalism. The other was legalistic as well, but this one is attempted by those who are not Roman Catholics. It can also be described as false Puritanism. False because it denies the teachings of Puritanism. Teaching a kind of Puritan practice without teaching the doctrines of the Puritans. A life of rigor and hardship, but with no purpose. Scorning anything that might be considered joyful. No happiness, no exultation, but rather a religion of fear and despair that was prevalent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was all over the place. Nothing but pure legalism, a system of living and a code of ethics that was imposed on people in the wrong way. So what then is the true way of putting to death the deeds of the body? It is through the Spirit. Can't do it any other way. The Spirit whose presence and work in us are the particular and peculiar marks of true Christianity. This is what differentiates Christianity from morality or from legalism or from false puritanism. Ours is through the Spirit. All the others are the vain attempts of man. The Holy Spirit is in us as Christians. One cannot be a Christian without Him. He is in you and He is working in you. He enables us, He gives us strength, and He gives us power. He mediates to us this great salvation that Christ has worked out for us and he enables us to work it out as well. We must never complain of lack or want of ability and power. Never whine about inability. I can't. I can't is a denial. That phrase is a denial of scripture because through the Spirit you most certainly can. We are branches in the true vine. Our power does not come from ourselves. If my power came from me, it would already be too late. Our power does not come from ourselves. It comes from the vine. So we must never say that we have no power. The devil is alive and active in this world, and he has mighty power. But greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. John tells us in his first epistle, chapter 5, verse 18. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning. Again, he didn't say that you don't sin. He says you don't keep on sinning. But he who was born of God, Jesus, protects him. And the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. Everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning. Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, protects us. The evil one does not touch us. He can't touch us. We know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. This is the truth about every Christian, everyone. Christian does not go on living in sin because Christ is living in him and that evil one cannot touch him. This whole world, all of it, including the United States of America, including all who love this world, including all those who claim to rule in this world, all of them are in the power of the evil one. They are under his control and they only seek to further his kingdom. Simple as that. And there is no purpose in telling such people to put to death the deeds of the body. They can't do so. Even if they wanted to, which they don't, they can't do so because they are of the world and they are in the grip of its master. They cannot put to death the deeds of the body. Not possible. The Christian, however, is in no such position. The Christian is of God and the evil one cannot even touch him. Now, as we studied a long time ago, He can shout at us, He can even frighten us occasionally, but He cannot touch us, much less control us. The exhortation here is to exercise the power that is in you through the Spirit. The Spirit is power and He is living in us and so Paul urges us to exercise the power that is in us. One last exhortation, although we could go on for days, because like I said, it's in every epistle. We could go for days and days and days. Because the same message, the exact same message is in every epistle in the New Testament. 1 Peter 2.11, Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. So, sojourners and exiles, strangers and pilgrims, depending on your translation, it's the same message. What does that mean? It means you are no longer of this world. You might be in it for a little while, but you are not of it. There is no suggestion here of our being absolutely hopeless. No message of surrender. Give it all to God. Peter says, Beloved, all of you whom I love. I urge you as people who are not of this world to abstain from the passions of the flesh. Abstain from. Stop doing it. Stop it once. Never do it again. That's what that means. You have to be a total abstainer from these sins, these passions of the flesh that are waging war against your soul. They are from the enemy. and therefore they are the enemy. Why are you fraternizing with the enemy which would like nothing more than to see you destroyed and or dead? You have no right to say, but I am weak. I cannot. Temptation is too powerful. The answer of the entire New Testament is stop doing it. You do not need a hospital. You do not need to let go and let God. You need to pull yourself together and realize who and what you are in Christ. You have no business to touch these things. Abstain. It is as simple as that and as practical as that. Just stop it. Ephesians 5, 11, and 12. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. Not only abstain from the passions of the flesh, but take no part, have no fellowship with those that do them. Ninety-nine percent of what we call entertainment in America is nothing more than the unfruitful works of darkness, if you've paid any attention to what's on your idiot box. It is 99% the unfruitful works of darkness. The TV, the music, the internet. Right now Taylor Swift is the next thing to Jesus Christ according to half of this country. That is as wicked, the words that come out of her mouth are as wicked as anything you will ever see or hear. TV, the music, the internet, it is for the most part the glorification of sexual immorality, inebriation, and a denial of God's created order. Take no part in it. Just stop it. It really is that simple. There is nobody holding a gun to your head and forcing you to watch or listen to the garbage. Just stop it. Verse 12, put on the Lord Jesus Christ. make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust. That is the definition of repentance. It is not a one-time thing. It is a lifelong endeavor. Put on Jesus Christ and then what? From that point forward, make no provision for the flesh. That's justification leading to sanctification. If you want to put to death the deeds of the body, Stop participating in things that are making provision for the flesh. Do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Do not hang out with sinners. Do not sit in the seat of the scornful. If you choose to do so, then do not be surprised if you and when you fall. Don't be surprised about it. Because if that's where you live, that's what's eventually going to happen. If that's what you do, that's what's eventually going to happen. as the wise man says in Job I made a covenant with my eyes. What did he say? Look straight ahead. Look straight ahead. Do not look to the right or to the left. Where are you headed? Heaven. Don't be looking over here and looking over here because what's going to happen? Y'all read Pilgrim's Progress, right? Next to the Bible, probably the greatest book ever, okay? Without a doubt. Don't look to the right or the left because bad things are going to happen if you do. Focus on who you are and what you are and thereby where you are going. Do not be distracted or enticed by anything or anyone that exists only to cause you to stray. Christianity is not some fairy tale wherein there is nothing to do but wait for your prince to come. Yes, we are waiting for our King to come. But in the meantime, there is a war to be fought. Kill the deeds of the body. Make no provision for the flesh. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Flee from every appearance of sin. Just do it. And remember, there is no command from God to His children that is not always accompanied by the power to obey that command. Then when you fail and you fall into sin, and you will, do not be overly quick to forgive yourself. Bring out the things that you have done. Look at it, analyze it, determine the cause, and expose it for what it is. Then denounce it, hate it, and condemn both the deed and yourself for being so foolish as to have fallen for a trap so obviously from the enemy. Then, realize once again that because of your position in Christ, as you confess your sin to God, without any excuses whatsoever, okay? He doesn't really listen to confessions that are accompanied by excuses. When you confess your sin to God, that God is faithful and just to forgive that sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Okay, so let's close with this. You and I have a part to play, salvation to work out with fear and trembling. God our justification, okay, that is a gift lest any man should boast, but we can be so much more than we are. We can bring so much more glory to God than we do. How then should we live? For bread and circuses? That was a tool that the Romans used to keep the masses distracted from the fact that they were being day by day crushed and destroyed. The American dream. Spend your life chasing money and spend that money on food and entertainment. Now they're making everything, they're depicting everything so that pretty soon the only way you're going to get the food and entertainment is through them. Okay? It's all, it's just a cycle. Nothing new under the sun, as Solomon says. Bread and circuses. Is that what you're living for, is bread and circuses? How should we be living? 2 Peter, if you'll turn with me, 2 Peter chapter 1. This is paraphrased in a way. Well, it is paraphrased, yes. Verses 5 through 7. Y'all are familiar with it. You may even have it memorized. We're going to see how then should we live. Because of who you are in Christ, make every effort Now, I don't know how many efforts you have, how many efforts you give. How many of them are you supposed to be giving to this? Every? How many is every? That's all of them, right? Make every effort, all of your effort, to supplement the faith that you already have with virtue. Virtue here means strength. That's that word there. And add to that strength knowledge. Knowledge means read your Bible, study your Bible, read books that help you understand your Bible. Always increasing your knowledge. And add to your knowledge self-control. Control yourself and your desires and your passions. And add to self-control steadfastness, meaning patience. Don't give up and don't give in. Be patient with yourself in failure. as well as being patient with your brother in his failure. To that patience you need to add godliness. What is godliness? That means to live as Christ lived when he was in this world. That is godliness. Add brotherly affection to godliness. There is no one on this earth that you should care for more than your brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. since we are all part of the body of Jesus Christ. Finally, add love to your brotherly affection. Love is an awful easy word. I love Chinese buffets. That's not the kind of love he's talking about here. Such an easy word to say is such a difficult verb to understand and to live God is love. Apart from God, love does not exist. And greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friend. What a friend we have in Jesus. Jesus said himself, I no longer call you servants, I call you what? Friends. Friends. The Lord Jesus Christ calls us his friends. Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life, surrender his life, deny himself daily, and take up his cross and follow his friend. Let's pray. Father God, we love you. Lord, we seek your grace to help us to live for your glory. for your kingdom, which is also now our kingdom. Help us, Lord, to forsake this earthly kingdom and live to the praise of your dear son. For it's in his name we pray. Amen.