Turn in your Bibles along with me, if you would, please, to Romans chapter eight. Romans chapter eight. Be looking at verses 12 through 14 this morning. Talking about how we fight sin by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Romans chapter eight through, one through 11, Paul has been laying out for us the fact that there are only two real possible spiritual realities that we can be living in and be a part of. You're either a part of the flesh or you're part of the spirit. You're either living according to the flesh or you're living according to the spirit. Those who live according to the flesh are unbelievers, non-Christians. On the other hand, those who live according to the spirit are believers, Christians. Christians live according to the Spirit because of the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence and power in their lives. Now in verses 12 through 14, Paul is going to lay out for us some of the practical implications of the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence and power in our lives. The Holy Spirit enables us to say no to the flesh. and to temptation and to sin and to say yes to righteousness and obedience. The Holy Spirit gives us power then to fight sin and temptation. In verses 12 through 14, we see the results of the Spirit's indwelling presence and power. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones said of these verses, I maintain that in many ways, these verses are perhaps the most important statement with regard to the practical aspect of sanctification in the whole of Scripture. That's pretty high praise for these verses, and rightly so. So look with me at Romans chapter eight, verses 12 through 14. Let me read it for us. And then I'll pray. Romans chapter eight and verse 12. So then brethren, we are under obligation not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die. But if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the spirit of God, these are the sons of God. hear the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let's pray together and ask for God's help in understanding these things. Lord, we confess before you this morning that we are a needy people, that we are weak in and of ourselves, that we don't have the power we need to fight the flesh. And so we believe your word, we trust your word, and we ask, Lord, that we would be instructed this morning by your word. We place ourselves under your authoritative instruction. Teach us, Lord, that we might grow in godliness, grow in holiness, grow in Christlikeness. We ask it in Jesus' name, amen. Well, as Paul applies the truth of the Spirit's indwelling presence and power in our lives, we're gonna see this morning from this text, four keys for winning the battle against the flesh. Four keys for winning the battle against the flesh. We all are engaged in a battle against the flesh as Christians. The flesh remains, the flesh dogs us, and hounds us, and we have a battle to engage in with it. Just how are we to wage this war? How are we to go into battle against the flesh? Paul shares these four keys for us, I believe, in this text. First of all, the first key, remember, you have no obligation to obey the flesh. You have no obligation to obey the flesh. Romans 8, 12 and 13. So then brethren, we are under obligation not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die. Verse 12 begins with a so then statement. So then, indicating that Paul is going to draw an inference from something he has just stated. These words, so then, signal the decisive conclusion of what Paul has just said in verses 10 and 11, about the Spirit's indwelling, life-giving presence, and about the Spirit's resurrection power operative within us. Paul is gonna share with us the practical consequences of the Spirit's presence and power in our lives here. Paul refers to his readers as brethren, A family reference. Brothers and sisters, fellow Christians who by their spiritual union with Jesus have become a part of the family of God. And brothers and sisters to Paul in Christ. Paul assumes his readers are believers. And he has good reason for assuming that. He's assumed it since the first opening lines of this letter. If you go back to Romans 1, in verses 6, 7, and 8, he says, describing his readers there in Rome, the Christians there in Rome, he says, you are the called of Jesus Christ. spiritually called unto salvation. They're Christians. Verse seven, to all of you who are beloved of God, they are beloved of God. They're Christians. Next, he calls them as those who are called as saints, holy ones, righteous ones in God's sight. And then in verse eight, he says, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. In many ways, these were model Christians, and this was a model church in Rome. Paul said, the testimony about you is going forth into all the world about what God has done in your lives and how he's transformed you. So Paul, it's clear knows and understands that his readers, by and large, are believers. Now, having made that connection with what has just gone before in verses 10 and 11, and having referred to them affectionately and pastorally as brethren, he says this, we are under no obligation to the flesh to live according to the flesh. Paul says that as Christians, we are under no obligation to the flesh. Now it's probably wise at this point to remind ourselves of what the flesh is. In verses five through 11, Paul described unbelievers as living a life in the flesh, or living according to the flesh. There, flesh referred to life lived in rebellion to God. It's life lived in Adam. from Romans 5. A life of sin and rebellion and hostility toward God. Now in verse 12, when Paul uses the word flesh, he's talking about that part of us as Christians that has yet to be fully and finally spiritually renewed. He's talking about our old, corrupt, fallen propensities that were inherited from Adam and still exist in us today. Even though we've been born again, even though we are new creations in Christ Jesus, there still remains a part of us that has yet to be spiritually renewed and transformed. And somehow that is connected inherently with our bodies. Our physical bodies. And that's our flesh. When we become Christians, we're given new spiritual life. We are made participants in a new spiritual era with new spiritual realities and new spiritual powers. And yet we inhabit still physical bodies that are still subject to the old era of sin and the curse. Our bodies are not perfected yet, right? That might surprise you when looking up here. Not really. Our bodies aren't perfected yet. We get aches and pains. I was digging a hole yesterday with my son. My back hurts. We get sick. We get injured. We are susceptible to the same diseases. as unbelievers. And just like unbelievers, we will also have to face our physical death one day if the Lord doesn't come back first. So even though we as Christians are part of this new spiritual era of Christ, even though we are still new creations in Christ, we are also still in a certain limited way a part of the old era in Adam. We are already saved, we're already part of being in Christ, and yet we are still dealing with the ravages of sin and the fall, even in our own bodies, even in our struggle with the flesh. We are not yet glorified, we are not yet perfectly like Christ, and so we still struggle with sin. Temptation still pulls at us. And that part of us that feels that seductive pull of temptation is our flesh. Our flesh is a holdover from the old era of Adam. Though we are spiritually, positionally, and irreversibly in Christ, Our bodies, our wills, and our desires still have certain holdovers from the old era of Adam. And Paul refers to this area of holdover as our flesh, remaining sin. Dr. Lloyd-Jones has rightly observed that the flesh is the cause of all our troubles. Isn't that the truth? That old flesh is the cause of all our troubles. Now concerning the flesh, Paul says, we are under no obligation to it. No obligation to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. Now, beloved, this is vital for us to know. The word obligation means to be a debtor to someone, to owe someone. And Paul makes it clear here that we are not debtors to the flesh. We don't owe the flesh anything. The flesh has no claim on us. The flesh can make no demands of us. The flesh cannot command us. And we are not obligated to obey. We can say to our flesh, I owe you nothing. You have no claims on me. I need not obey your commands or meet your demands. As Christians, the flesh's mastery over us was broken at the moment of our conversion. We are no longer the slaves of sin. We no longer live according to the flesh. We no longer live according to the pattern of life established by our flesh. The flesh's rule over us has been broken. I wanna take you back to Romans chapter six. Paul's already covered this. He's passing back around, okay? He's driving by once more some familiar territory for us. Romans chapter six, look at verse six. Probably just have to turn a page or two. Romans 6.6. Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him, that is with Christ, in order that our body of sin might be done away with so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. We are no longer slaves to sin. At the moment of faith, we're spiritually united to Jesus Christ, and we share spiritually in his death, burial, and resurrection. That's what Romans 6 verses 3 through 5 have taught us. And our old self, our old self in Adam, was crucified with Christ, and the result of this is that we are no longer the slaves of sin. Paul then explains some of the implications of this in verses 11 through 13 of chapter six. Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin. Even so, reckon yourselves as dead to sin. Put that in the calculus, put that in your formula. You are dead to sin. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lust and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. Paul says here, in chapter 6, we're to consider or reckon ourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God. Reckon it to be so. Believe it. Count on it. Bank on it. Build your life on this truth. And then Paul gives the upshot of this reckoning, because We are dead to sin. We do not let sin reign in our mortal bodies so that we obey its lust. We don't step and fetch for sin and the flesh. Because it doesn't rule us anymore. It's not our master anymore. and we don't go on presenting the members of our body to sin as instruments of righteousness, we don't present our bodies and say, reporting for duty, sin, reporting for duty, flesh, use me as you will, I'm yours. We don't do that anymore because sin's mastery over us has been broken. But instead, we present ourselves to God as those alive from the dead and as instruments of righteousness to God. Now I want you to notice the important progression here. From knowing in chapter six and verse six, to reckoning in chapter six and verse 11. From know to reckon to action. Know, reckon, action. Paul says we're to know that we've been united with Jesus in his death and resurrection. Then we are to reckon ourselves because of what we know to be dead to sin, but alive to God. Then we are to act by not letting sin reign in us, by presenting our members as instruments of unrighteousness, but instead we're to present ourselves to God as those alive from the dead and our members as instruments of righteousness to God. Know, reckon, act. know what is true, reckon it to be true, and then act in accord with the truth. In the midst of the many difficulties and setbacks of World War II, Winston Churchill was famous for saying KBO. He would often end meetings or personal conversations with those three letters, K-B-O. which stood for keep buggering on. Keep buggering on, keep going, don't give up. Just put your head down and go into the wind as hard as it may be. Keep going, KBO. Well, in the Christian's fight against the flesh, we've got to KRA. K-R-A, know, reckon, and act. Our actions flow from our convictions, what we reckon to be true. And our convictions flow from what we know that God has revealed to us. This is in line with what we've said before. The indicative always precedes the imperative. Being precedes doing. Know what God has said about your obligation to the flesh, that you aren't under obligation, that you have no obligation. Reckon it to be so, believe it to be the case, and then act accordingly. Don't obey its demands. Don't live in slavish obedience to your flesh. K-R-A, know reckon, and act. So here in Romans 8, 12, back to Romans 8, Paul reminds us that we are under no obligation to the flesh. The flesh's spell over us has been broken. Its mastery and rule over us have been overthrown. Notice he says then in verse 13 that if you are living according to the flesh, you must die. Living here is in the present tense, and it means that this is someone's continual, persistent pattern of life. A life lived according to the flesh. And to die here means that ultimate experience of death. Spiritual death, eschatological death, separation from God in hell as a penalty for sin. Paul is saying, look, if you are living according to the flesh, a life controlled by the flesh, and in slavery to the flesh, a life patterned after the flesh, then you aren't truly a Christian. You will die. The result, the outcome will be death in hell. Now Paul has just established all of this in verses five through eight, where he was contrasting the lives of believers with unbelievers, with believers who live according to the spirit and unbelievers who live according to the flesh. Now he says, look, if you're living according to the flesh, you're not in the category of a believer. You're in the category of an unbeliever. And that's a serious warning to us all. If we as a habit of life are living according to the flesh, as an unbroken pattern, unconcerned about our sin, not fighting our flesh, not grieving over our failures and sins and so on, then it's likely we've never been truly converted. It's likely we're not truly Christians. If your life has never been changed, then it's likely you've never been changed. And the result of such a life, lived in service to the flesh, is spiritual death. It's a warning we all need to hear. Paul understands that even though he's addressing Christians and he's just affirmed them in their faith, no doubt there would be some who would hear this letter read or read it themselves who might have deceived themselves into thinking they were Christians, but in fact they're not. That just because they're in a church makes them a Christian. Well, if you came over to my house and you stood in my garage, that doesn't make you a car. It's a sober warning for us to examine ourselves and see if we're in the faith. And if at the end of the day, we're not sure we are, we ought to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, which he will readily grant us. So as I hope you've seen, Romans 6, 11 through 13 is very similar in Romans 8, 12 through 13, but here in Romans 8, Paul is simply expanding on what he talked about back in Romans 6, and now is including the all-important role of the Holy Spirit in our ongoing fight against the flesh. So with the role of the Spirit in mind, let's go to the second key here, and verse 13. Second key in winning the fight against the flesh, rely upon the Spirit's mighty power at work in you. Not only are we under no obligation to obey the flesh and its demands, but we are also equipped with divine power in the face of temptation and sin. Divine power to say no, Romans 8.13, if you are living according to the flesh, you must die. But if by the spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Paul is contrasting here the unbeliever who lives according to the flesh and the believer who by the spirit is putting to death the deeds of the body. And notice he contrasts the very different result of such a life. It's eternal life. You will live. You will be the possessor of Holy Spirit produced life. You will know the joys of no condemnation in chapter eight and verse one. You will know the assurance of no separation from chapter eight and verse 39. Spiritual life is the very opposite of spiritual death, whereas spiritual death is separation from God. Spiritual life is union with God, fellowship with God, joy in God's presence. Now, who's the one here who has life? Well, it's the Christian, obviously. It's the one who is, by the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the body. Notice that the action here, of putting to death the deeds of the body is completed by the Spirit, that is through the agency of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the active one here. The Holy Spirit provides the power by which the believer puts to death the deeds of the body. I like what Dr. Tom Schreiner says. in his commentary about this, he says, victory is by means of the spirit, which means that the believer conquers sinful passions by relying on and trusting in the spirit to provide the strength to resist the passions that wage war within us. That's it. That's what Paul's saying. The spirit is the one who provides the power. and we rely on the Spirit to do so. You see, it's not by our sheer willpower that we will put to death the deeds of the body. Some of you have a lot of willpower. Some of you were in the military. Some of you were athletes. And you know what it means to grit it out. You know what it is to set a goal and to make a plan and put all the steps in place. You know what it is to have a checkbox of all the things you need to do to accomplish what you want to accomplish. This is not that. In the war against our flesh, it begins not with us and our plans and our power and our checkboxes and our rules. It begins with dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit. It begins with an acknowledgement that I can't do it. In fighting the flesh, we have to get to the point where we say, I don't have what it takes. My willpower is not enough. My discipline is not enough. My want to is not enough. We have to come to the end of ourselves and say, I can't do it. I need greater power than what is available to me just by myself. It's an acknowledgement. It's in humility. placing ourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may lift us up in due time. So it begins with a humble acknowledgement that we need the Spirit's help, the Spirit's power. You see, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer. We saw that last week in verse nine. The Spirit of God dwells in you. Amazing. The God of the universe. The God who spoke all things into existence. The God who keeps everything running. The God who rules over all is the same God who indwells us, lives inside of us, goes wherever we go. The Spirit of God dwells in you. And because the Holy Spirit indwells us, we learn from verse 10 that Christ indwells us too. Not only do we have the Holy Spirit, but we've got the Son of God indwelling us. But as if that weren't enough, of course, God the Father makes his abode within us too in verse 11. So we have all three persons of the Trinity indwelling us and at work in us, and their power operative in us. The same Holy Spirit who powerfully raised Jesus Christ from the dead indwells us and empowers us with that same life-giving, sin-defeating, grave-conquering power. Christian, do you realize that that power resides within you? Have you reckoned it to be so? having learned that it is so, then act accordingly. Know, reckon, act. God has not left us defenseless in the face of temptation. He has not left us powerless. He has not left us on our own. We have the Holy Spirit who empowers us to fight the flesh. You say, well, how do I know if I'm relying on the power of the Holy Spirit? How do I know that I'm really trusting the Spirit to provide the resources and the power necessary to say no to the flesh? Well, look with me at verse 14. Romans 8, 14. There Paul says, for all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. This is another description of a Christian, right? If you're a Christian, you're being led by the Spirit of God. But what does that mean? What does it mean to be led by the Spirit of God? To be led by the Spirit of God is to be controlled by the Spirit of God. It is to have one's life governed by the Spirit of God. And so it means yielding our life to the Spirit's influence and control. Not in some mystical way, but in humility, recognizing that our life is not our own, we've been bought with a price, We can't face the spiritual battle in our own strength and we yield ourselves, we humble ourselves, we submit ourselves to God and his rule over us each and every day. I want you to see another passage. Turn with me, it's a good parallel passage. Galatians 5.16. Galatians 5.16. I love this. You could put this on a fortune cookie. It's so short and so key. Galatians 5.16, But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Oh, that's good. If you don't want to do the latter, then do the former. Right? If you don't want to fulfill and carry out the desire of the flesh, then walk by the Spirit. That's pretty simple, at least simply stated. If you want this outcome, then do this. Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. This command in Galatians 5.16 is given in the present tense, which means that this walk is to be a continual walk, not sometimes walk, not an occasional walk, but our regular walk as believers. What does it mean to walk by the Spirit? Literally, it means to walk around. The term walk is often used in Scripture to signify our day-to-day living. our regular practice, speaking of a lifestyle, the way in which we conduct ourselves. It's a way of life. So each step of our day-to-day lives is to be taken by the Spirit, as it were. Our lives are to be controlled, governed by, under the authority of the Holy Spirit. Paul uses similar language later on in Galatians. In chapter five, in verse 18, just two verses later, he says we're to be led by the Spirit. Same as Romans 8, 14. In chapter five, verse 25, the first part, he says we're to live by the Spirit. In the last part of verse 25, he says we are to keep in step with the Spirit. And then in Galatians 6, 8, he says we're to sow to the Spirit. All these are slightly different ways of saying essentially the same thing. It is living a life in conscious reliance upon and obedience to the Spirit of God who indwells us. It's the same thing that Paul told the Ephesians to do in Ephesians 5.18. He says, don't get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. Drunk with wine and filled with the spirit are corollary. Don't be controlled by wine. Don't let these spirits, these alcoholic spirits control you, rather be controlled by the Holy Spirit. governed by the Spirit, influenced by the Spirit, led by the Spirit. The Spirit of God indwelling us means that we have the power of God operating inside of us, divine power, the very power that raised Christ from the dead, power that is greater than any temptation, greater than any habit, any character trait, any inclination, any proclivity, any tendency, power to change our lives and transform us into Christ-likeness. And Paul says here, back in Romans chapter 8, simple and straightforward way, that if we're being led by the Spirit, we are Christians. We're living the way a Christian should live. And if I'm walking by the Spirit, I won't carry out the desire of the flesh. If I'm walking by the Spirit, I'm controlled by the Spirit. But the reverse is also true. If I'm walking, if I'm not rather walking by the Spirit, if I grieve the Spirit, Ephesians 4.30, or if I quench the Spirit, 1 Thessalonians 5.19, then I can expect that in those moments, I'll be seeking to fulfill the desires of my flesh instead. See, the primary way we fail to walk by the Spirit is by putting ourselves first. rather than honoring God, rather than submitting to God, rather than acknowledging our place in the universe. We place ourselves as a center of the universe and that everything should cater to us. Everything should take care of us. Everything should meet our needs. Everything should serve us. That's the flesh talking right there. And so we say, I deserve this. I want this. I need this. And we make an idol out of whatever it is that we want, or desire, or need. Whether it's pleasure, or wealth, or health, or power, or popularity, or acceptance, or whatever. We want what we want more than what God wants for us. And so we give in to the desires of the flesh. We can be sure that when my desires and my thinking start with me and what I want and not what the Spirit wants for me, then I know I'm probably not walking by the Spirit. I'm not being governed by the Spirit. I'm not being led by the Spirit. I'm being led by my flesh. I'm being led by that internal me monster that wants to serve self instead of serving God. So the Spirit's been given to us to empower us to fight the flesh. And the Spirit's power in us is far greater, far superior to any power that our sinful flesh may have. Third key, realize you have an active role to play in fighting your flesh. As important as the Spirit's power is in our lives and in our fight against the flesh, this does not mean that we are to be passive. This does not mean that we say, Jesus, take the wheel. This temptation is too great, I can't handle it. Jesus, you do all the work. No. Far from it. We have an active role to play in fighting the flesh. Romans 8.13, For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die. But if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. To be sure, the Spirit is the agent through whose power we fight the fight. But rest assured, Paul says here, we are putting to death the deeds of the body. We're doing it through the Spirit, by the Spirit's power. But we're involved, we're engaged, we're active in this role. So how do we do that? What is our part in this spiritual battle against the flesh? It says, putting to death the deeds of the body. What does that mean? It means giving your flesh no aid and comfort. The flesh is your enemy. The flesh still wants to destroy you. So we give it no aid and comfort. We give it no quarter. We recognize it for what it is. That part of us that has not yet been transformed. That part of us that is a holdover from the old age, the age of rebellion, the age of sin. And we've refused to give it comfort and aid. We give it no oxygen. A fire is raging. If you can somehow rob that fire of oxygen, it will go out. But too often with our sin, we stand by with a bellows and we're fanning the flames, giving it some air, playing around with it. That is not to be our response to sin and temptation. Sparked by the flesh. Certainly we are to, a part of our role is to acknowledge the Spirit's role, the Spirit's power that we are desperately in need of. So that's certainly something that we need to acknowledge and be a part of actively. Submitting ourselves, being led by the Spirit, walking in the Spirit so that we don't fulfill the lust of the flesh. But that's not all. In scripture, we're called to take action in the fight against our enemies of the world, the flesh, and the devil. So what does this look like? Let me give you some examples. First of all, our part involves reading and relying on God's word. Bible intake. Psalm 119.11, your word have I treasured in my heart that I might not sin against you. Identify the sins in your life. What are the perpetual struggles? What are those areas of your life? We don't all struggle with the same things. Identify what you struggle with. Identify those weaknesses in your flesh that seem to haunt you and dog you. Identify what they are. And then identify places in scripture that speak to that. Commit those things to memory. Study those passages. Meditate on them. In Ephesians 6.17, Paul mentions the sword of the Spirit as the only offensive weapon with the spiritual armor that God has provided us with. The sword of the Spirit. Reading and relying on God's Word, that's our part. Yes, independence on the Spirit. But the Spirit has given us His sword. Spirit has given us His Word. let's use it another action we can take is to resist evil James 4 7 submit therefore to God resist the devil and he will flee from you submit to God like we've been talking about be led by the Spirit walk with the Spirit acknowledge his power and your need of him, and then resist the devil, he'll flee from you. Jesus, in his three temptations in the wilderness, each time, what did he do? Quoted scripture, right? So now we're back to reading and relying on God's word, using God's truth to confront the devil's lie and the flesh's lie. Resist the devil, he'll flee from you. Jesus refuted the devil three times, and the devil left him. Another thing we can do in the face of the flesh is to run. Run from evil. 2 Timothy 2.22, Paul writes to Timothy and says, flee from youthful lusts and instead pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace on those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Run away. That's what Joseph did, right? With Potiphar's wife. who was luring him and trying to seduce him and finally he just ran out of the room, left his coat behind. Sometimes that's the best course of action. We don't wanna test ourselves and just see what we're made of. I'm gonna go to this place, I'm gonna just see how I'm doing. That's foolish. Run in the other direction. Another thing we can do is to radically deal with sin and temptation in our lives. Matthew 5, 29 and 30, Jesus said, if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. Whoa. For it's better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you. For it's better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. What is Jesus saying here? He's trying to make pirates out of all of us. One-armed pirates. No. He's calling for us to take radical steps against our sin. Of course, he's not telling us to literally gouge out our eye or cut our hand off, but in vivid imagery, he's telling us to treat our sin seriously and to go to great lengths in fighting it. You see, in the battle against our flesh, we are to rely on the Spirit's power and we are to engage in the fight ourselves. It's not one or the other, it's both and. Depend on the Spirit's power and take the steps necessary. We know that are our responsibility in the fight. This cooperation between the Spirit's work and our work is what Paul was getting at in Philippians chapter two, when he says this, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, that's our part, for it is God who is at work in you, both the will and the work of his good pleasure. God's at work. Now you go to work. God's supplying the power. Now you put the shoe leather into practice. Beloved, we must not forget that we have a responsibility in the work of fighting our flesh. Fourthly and finally, fourth key, rest and rejoice in your unchangeable status as a child of God. Know your position and rest in it. Romans 8, 14, for all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. See, in our fight against sin and temptation, we are going to experience victories, yes, but we're also going to experience defeats. And we'll find ourselves, more often than we like, back in the end of Romans 7, with Paul exclaiming, wretched man that I am! Who'll set me free from the body of this death? And it's in those moments of discouragement and defeat that we need to go on to the next verse and remember the truth that followed Paul's question, who will deliver me? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus and his power and his resurrection power will one day deliver me fully and finally from the wretched body of this death and the flesh that we still struggle with. We need to also in those moments remember the truth of Romans 8.1, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Even though we struggle, even though we're living in that Romans 7 moment, there is no condemnation. Christ has paid it all on the cross, paid the price for all your sin. Paul says in Romans 8, 14, that all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. Yes, you will fail at times in the fight against the flesh. But take heart in knowing that when we as believers fail, we repent eventually. Or we're not Christians. We repent. We grieve over our sin. We confess it. We turn from it. We have new resolve to not return to that pigsty and to fall into it again. This too is a merciful work of the Spirit of God in our lives. This too is what it means to be led by the Spirit of God. And in those moments, we can take comfort that despite this ongoing struggle with our flesh and remaining sin, and despite our failures that are far too many to mention, we are nevertheless the sons of God. Children of God who are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. A position and a privilege that is unchangeably, unassailably, and unwaveringly ours. And nothing can take that away, not even our struggle with remaining sin and the flesh. And the work that God has begun, he has promised to complete and perfect. Through the power of the Spirit and the work of Christ, one day the battle will be over. But until then, until then, we remember that we have no obligation to obey the flesh. We rely on the Spirit's mighty power at work in us. We realize we have an active role to play in the fight, and all along we rest and rejoice in our unchangeable status as the children of God. Let's pray together. Lord God, we thank you for giving us encouragement in the midst of the battle. There's a battle plan here. You've laid it out for us. You've equipped us with your power, your indwelling presence. The very power that raised Jesus from the dead is the power that is operative within us to renew us. to make us able to say no to sin and yes to righteousness. Help us to realize our part in the battle and to do our part in reliance upon the Spirit's power and always rest and rejoice in our adoption as sons and daughters of God. We thank you in Jesus' name, amen.