So, as always, before we delve into God's Word and set ourselves this hour to contemplating and receiving the Word of God, let's go to the Lord and ask His blessing on our time. Please join me in prayer. Father in Heaven, we thank you for this time. Thank you for the Lord's day. It is your day, and you've created it and set it apart, and have made it the first day of the week with the resurrection of Your Son, the firstborn of the new creation. And Father, we as Your people who have been called out and saved and separated in Him, we come on this Lord's day, this first day of the week. Every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. And Father, we rejoice in the good news of salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Your beloved Son. We just thank you and praise you for Him. We know that there is no salvation outside of Him. There is no other name by which, given among men, by which we must be saved. It is Christ alone. He is the way and the truth and the life. And there is no coming to you but by Him. And so thank you for giving Him to us and us to Him. And Father, we thank you for your perfect salvation in Him. And the freedom that we have in Him. the freedom from sin and from guilt and from the power of sin, as we'll be considering. But Father, sin is still present and active, and even though its dominion has been broken, it's still very present and powerful and active in us. And Father, at times, we must confess we feel as if we are still bound to it. And so, Father, we know that we have been set free. We walk by faith and not by sight. We walk by faith in the finished work of Christ and in what You have done in Him, and not by anything that we see, even in ourselves. We live by the Word of God and the gospel promises of God. And so, Father, we come now to Romans chapter 8, and we'll be looking now at Paul, just seeking to drive home and bring home the good news that he has. been preaching and that we've been considering these last couple years. Father, I pray that you would bless it. I pray that you would use this time, this study, to strengthen and build up and establish your people. If there is anyone lost, I pray that the lost would be saved, that they would see the light and see their own darkness in the face of the light of Christ, and that they would repent of their sins and believe this gospel, which is the only way of salvation. And Father, all those that you have saved, I pray that they would be built up and strengthened and established in the truth once for all time handed down. I pray that we would understand this gospel more and more and live by faith in it and thrive and run and fight and conquer and be joyful. And Father, I just pray that you would do this by your grace and by your power, through your Word, by your Spirit in us, through your Word. And we ask that in all of it, that your name would be glorified and magnified and exalted. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, well let's continue our study of Romans. So we want to look today at Romans chapter 8. So let's go ahead and turn our Bibles to Romans chapter 8, and today, Jim is walking around with some handouts if anybody came in after the prayer. But today we're going to read Romans chapter 8, the whole chapter, and we're going to be focusing the next few weeks on verses 1-11. That's our first major section, as you can see from the outline. But we'll start by reading the whole chapter, because it's just good to get the whole feel of what we're about to delve into. It is truly one of the most amazing chapters in all of Scripture. Romans chapter 8. We can come here again and again and again and again and draw from this endless well, this bottomless well of grace and life and light and encouragement and doctrine and find great help as we make our journeys through this world to the life to come. So let's turn in our Bibles to Romans chapter 8 and we'll read the whole chapter as we begin our study of Romans chapter 8. Romans 8, verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh. in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 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 death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 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, it will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him, in order that we may be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. And those whom He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called, He also justified. And those whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised? Who is at the right hand of God? Who indeed is interceding for us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen and amen to that. We'll just end the class right there. I don't need to teach that, right? There's a reason why Romans chapter 8 has been a bulwark for the faith of the saints throughout the history, throughout the ages of the church. It is filled with wonderful, beautiful, amazing truth. And so it's my privilege and my pleasure to delve into this chapter with you all and seek to bring out the many, many gems. There's many, countless gems that are hidden here, that are sometimes not hidden, that are just gleaming right there for you to see. But there's many more that are hidden beneath the surface. There's so much doctrine and truth that will stabilize your soul in this chapter. Again, Paul's point is to really drive it home. and preach it to you all. Let me see one of these outlines real quick. I forgot to keep one for myself. But again, the first section is Final Gospel Applications, the Foundation Restated Justification. You can kind of follow it through there. Final Gospel Applications. That's really what I believe Paul is seeking to do. Everything he's been arguing, he's seeking to now apply. And he's going to go into the, again, justification. He's going to go into the new way of the Spirit. Adoption and inheritance. The coming glory. Glory of the children of God and of the redeemed creation. God's eternal will and power to bring His children to the promised glory. And he's going to close with these six great rhetorical questions that you heard me asking. And the answer to all of them is obvious. Nothing. Nothing can. Nothing can separate you. So that's what we're going to study. So I'm going to go into it somewhat methodically, as I have been. And I appreciate your patience. Some of you, I know you're not wired that way. You don't like the detail. Some of you are wired that way, and you really love and appreciate the detail. And so I've already worked all the way out through the end of Romans 8. We've got a big book here, basically, to go through. and I hope that it will be beneficial to you. By God's grace, it will be. So first, chapter 8 begins with the word, therefore. And so just some context here about what the therefore points back to. There's some different views on what the therefore really is pointing to. But when we see therefore, it's easy to just pass over things like that, but it marks a transition to conclude or to apply what he has been arguing. So what is the therefore concluding or applying here? Well, John MacArthur, for example, says that therefore marks the conclusion and application of everything Paul has argued up to this point. And so chapters 1 through 7, basically, right? Paul is now concluding everything. John Murray believes that therefore of chapter 8 is meant as a conclusion or application more specifically of Paul's argument in chapters 6 and 7. And so that's what he has in view. Regarding the freedom from the power of sin. Jeffrey Wilson says, from the contradiction of the flesh, which believers still find within themselves, Paul now turns to the determinative aspect of their experience by explaining the full implications of what was summarily stated in chapter 7 verse 6. And again, in chapter 7 verse 6, I hope I've drilled it into you at this point, that's Paul's statement about the new way of the Spirit versus the old way of the written code. And so believers having been set free from the law and serving in the new way of the Spirit versus the old way of the written code. So he sees the therefore as pointing back to chapter 7 verse 6. The ESV Study Bible is a combination of MacArthur's and Wilson's view. The commentator there sees the therefore as primarily referring to Paul's statement in chapter 7, verse 6, but about the new way of the Spirit, but also more broadly as relating back to elements of Paul's gospel argument regarding justification from 3.21 to chapter 5.21 as well. And so, what do I think is the right view? And they're all very similar. I think that the last view is the right view, as we'll see. Paul's statement about the new way of the Spirit versus the old way of the written code in chapter 7 verse 6, I believe, is the dominant idea in the first 13 verses of Romans 8, but I think there are also elements of Romans 3.21. and following regarding justification, chapter 4 regarding the life of faith, chapter 5 regarding the life of assurance, and elements of chapter 6 regarding union with Christ and freedom from sin, and elements of freedom from the laws, penalties, and demands of chapter 7 as well. You're going to find all of those points in chapter 8 as we go on. They're all coalescing into Paul's final climactic gospel application here in chapter 8. But as Paul turns the corner out of Romans 7, where he addressed the believer's inner conflict with indwelling sin, I think his primary intent now is to work out what he said in chapter 7 verse 6 about the new way of the Spirit. So keep that in mind as we go. I've been trying to lay the groundwork for that as we've gone, that I think that's really what Paul is going to be an important theme that Paul's going to come back to now. There are 10 references to the Holy Spirit in verses 4 through 11. Again, contrast that with chapter 7, verses 14 to the end of the chapter, where there were zero references to the Holy Spirit. And again, many commentators say, well, that's evidence that Paul can't be referring to a regenerate person there in chapter 7, 14 to 25. But again, I've argued that that's Paul preparing the way, laying the first part of the argument for why we ought to so rejoice now, that that's not all there is. That is a reality for the Christian, indwelling sin, this law of sin at work in our members. But that's not all there is, right? We come back to the gospel, to preach the gospel. And so Paul's turning the corner now. And again, the Spirit is being mentioned 11 times in these in verses 4, 10 times in verses 4 through 11. And so again, I think that's because this new way of the Spirit that he's coming back to, which he mentioned in chapter 7 verse 6, is the answer to the dilemma of powerlessness against indwelling sin that we have in chapter 7, 14, 25. Right? Remember the great problem that we called it? Right? I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability, the power to carry it out. That's the great problem? Well, the answer to that is that that's not all there is, right? In the gospel, we serve God in the new way of the Spirit, not in the old way of the written code. And so we'll get into that. So let's just do a quick overview of the chapter here since we're starting. So though Paul begins with this theme of the new way of the Spirit, he moves from there to contemplate the doctrine of adoption and the glorious inheritance of the children of God. And then from there, Paul's main focus will be back to what he started in chapter 5 regarding the life of assurance. Remember back when we talked about the golden chain of assurance back in chapter 5? He's already touched on that. He's coming back to it now in greater force in chapter 8. And it will be one of his main themes towards the end. I hope you could hear that in the reading of it, right? The confidence that we ought to have in the gospel. Paul will conclude Romans 8 with a contemplation of God's eternal will and power to bring us to the glory that he has promised. And then, as I mentioned, six rhetorical questions designed to show us why we ought to have absolute assurance and confidence in God's gospel. That's really where he's going. Absolute assurance will be the final climactic point of Paul's initial proclamation of the gospel in Romans 1-8. So when we truly grasp the gospel, it ought to cause us to have that kind of confidence and assurance. And if it doesn't, something is deeply wrong in our thinking and our understanding. That's why, again, remember at the very beginning Paul said the reason why he desired to write to them this letter is that he might impart some spiritual gift to them to the end that they might be established. And that spiritual gift he wants to impart is the gospel. He put the gospel in a letter because nothing so strengthens a Christian like a simple understanding of what God has truly done and what this gospel is and why it is such good news. We're not going to cover this now in this Sunday School series because we're just going to stop at chapter 8. But in chapters 9 through 11, Paul's going to go on to deal with another objection or misunderstanding of the gospel. Someone may hear of the absolute certainty of God's way of salvation and how it is impossible for God to fail to bring His people to the glory that He's promised them and then read their Old Testament and see that the vast majority of Israel, God's old covenant people, perished in their sin. and even to Paul's day had rejected their own Messiah and were perishing in their sin. How can I have confidence that God will save me if it appears he failed to save Israel? That's really the objection. And Paul deals with this by delving deeply into the doctrine of election and reprobation and shows how God did not fail, but in fact saved every single man and woman from Israel that he chose for salvation. and that God had a sovereign and tremendous purpose in why he did things the way that he did them with Israel. Which leads Paul to then exclaim in worship, he doesn't go into some dark, you know, oh, Calvinism is so dreary and, you know, election and all these things are so hard to swallow and some sort of angry, you know, dejected state. No, he ends that consideration in chapter 11, declaring, oh, the depth and riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God. How unsearchable. are His judgments, and how inscrutable His ways. For from Him, and to Him, and through Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen. Paul then moves in chapters 12-15 to move to his practical application of the gospel. Romans 1-8 is largely about what God has done and the effect that ought to have in producing full assurance and joy in our salvation. Romans 12-15 is about what our lives then should look like now as the Church of Jesus Christ in the world. What does it look like to be the Church? What does it look like for a saved community? How do they live, Jew and Gentile, together? And then chapter 16 is a final personal greeting from Paul to the church there in Rome. Again, we won't go into those sections, and I'd encourage you to study those, read those on your own, as there is much that will be a blessing to you in those sections. But again, for the sake of time, we're already coming up on two and a half years or so. I'm going to stop at the end of chapter 8. And there's going to be so much there that will help us. All right. Before I delve into the exposition, does anybody have any questions or comments or anything before we start our study of Romans 8? Anything that is in your mind already that we can help address before I start? As always, shoot your hand up if you have a question. I've got a lot to cover, and so my goal is, for your sake, to help us move. And so I'm trying to move us. But if you have a question or something isn't clear at any point, just let me know. Or grab me after class and we can chat about it. Alright, well let's delve into Romans 8, verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This is the foundation of the gospel restated, the doctrine of justification. So as he turns the corner to conclude and apply the gospel, the first thing that he does, and he's spent several chapters now, and a long time for us, expounding those chapters away from the foundational doctrine, which is, again, the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, the doctrine of justification by faith alone. So he comes back, the first thing he does as he concludes his gospel, applies his gospel, is he reminds us again of the doctrine of justification. Condemnation is the opposite of justification. And so to say that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus is the same as saying there is only justification for those who are in Christ Jesus. So he's pulling back in also, I think, the doctrine of the believers' union with Christ. Those who are in Christ have no condemnation at all. Right? It's in Christ. There is no condemnation where? In Christ Jesus. The doctrine of union with Christ, which we really looked at in chapter 6. 5, 6, and 7. So, just to remind us of what this truly means, again, John MacArthur said of this, quote, no sin, again, the doctrine of justification, that there is no condemnation from God for those that are in Christ. I never get tired of thinking about that. I hope you don't either. That is the heart of the good news. It's where it all starts. John MacArthur puts it this way, quote, No sin a believer can commit, past, present, or future, can be held against him, since the penalty was paid by Christ, and righteousness was imputed to the believer, end quote. Sounds too good to be true. And we hear it and we think, well, then that means you can just live however you want, right? No. Remember, Paul dealt with that in chapter 6 and 7. But that's the doctrine of justification. That's the heart of the good news. No sin that a believer can commit, past, present, or future, can be held against him since the penalty was paid by Christ and righteousness, which Christ is and He accomplished, was imputed and has been imputed to you if you are a believer today in Christ. Now again, this is all in the present tense. Therefore there is now. Right? The word now. There is now. Present tense. No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And I think this is connected with Paul's personal testimony from chapter 7 verse 14 to 25 when he shifted to the present tense. And his experience with the power of indwelling sin in him and how he found himself doing the sin that he hates. found this war within himself, and found himself at times feeling almost like he is still bound to the power of sin, even though he knows he has been set free from it. He ended chapter 7 by saying, O wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death. That's the cry of faith, the cry of the new man, the cry of agony. And he answered his own question, again, not by turning away and falling into unbelief, but by preaching the gospel to himself and saying, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. I believe as he turns the corner into chapter 8, he is continuing to preach the gospel to himself and to us, to his audience now. He's turning to his audience who have experienced the same thing that he describes of himself in chapter 7. And he says, therefore, There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. As if to say, even when we fail and fall to that law of sin that is still at work within us, even now, there is no condemnation for us because we are in Christ Jesus. Having been justified once and forever, we have perfect peace with God. There is no more enmity in the heart of God toward us. As he said in chapter 5 verses 1 and following, right? We have, having been justified, we have peace with God. There is no enmity, no condemnation in the heart of God toward us who are in Christ Jesus. We have been reconciled to Him perfectly and forever through the death and resurrection of Christ. Our falling to the power of remaining sin at work in us cannot change that. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Even as I fight this war against my own flesh and find myself much to my dismay as a new man in Christ, falling at times to its power, we must remember this doctrine of justification by faith, that we stand perfectly righteous before God based upon the blood and the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We are accepted before God based upon His performance. based upon His performance, His righteousness, not ours. And so even though we fail, there is and never will be, nor can be, any condemnation from the judgment seat of God toward those of us who are in Christ Jesus. That's the doctrine of justification. We come back to it again. We must remind ourselves of the foundation as we begin to apply and conclude Paul's gospel presentation. So that's where he begins. He pulls back in this doctrine of justification because everything in the gospel is built upon it. Alright, so Paul then moves in verse 2 to, I believe, set forth the new way of the Spirit now. Again, after having briefly reminded us of the foundation of the gospel, justification and union with Christ, Paul now says in verse 2, "...for the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." So the two key phrases are the law of the spirit of life and the law of sin and death. I believe both of these are different terms referring to the new way of the spirit versus the old way of the written code. And so I just wrote that up here on the back. Chapter 8, verse 2, the law of the spirit of life and the law of sin and death. Chapter 7, verse 6, the new way of the spirit versus the old way of the written code. So the old way of the written code was a law of sin and death to all of us because we could not keep the law's demands for perfect righteousness. Nor could we pay the law's penalties for our sin. You will hear me preach this like a broken record because this is so crucial to our doctrine. We were under the law's condemnation in two ways. We were under its demand for a perfect righteousness which we never have kept. We have never lived a perfect righteousness. We never can live a perfect righteousness. And we were under the law's penalty, its curse, because we have never kept the law, the law's demands, or met the law's demands. And so we're under the law's demands for perfection, and the law's curse and penalty for failing to meet the law's demands. And so in that sense, the law of God is a law of sin and death. As Paul has made this point at the end of chapter 3 in verse 20, he said, "...by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified, declared righteous, found to be righteous in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." The law just exposes and reveals our sin. It's a law of sin and death. That's what the law is to us, outside Christ. And so the old way of the written code is similar to that, is the same thing. Where God held up his law on tablets of stone and said, do this and live. That could only expose the depth and greatness of our guilt and condemn us and kill us. It could not help us in any way. Do this and live. And you must do this. if you are to live. If you do not do this, you will die. That's the law. And that's why it's a law of sin and death to us, because we cannot do this and live. And there's no help provided to do this and live. So Paul is saying here that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from that. We now serve God in a new and living way, this new way of the Spirit where God graciously and powerfully works the resurrection life of Christ in us. He goes on in verses 3 to 4 to explain this, saying, "...For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." and we'll work through this, there's a lot in here. I have written here, there's so much truth contained in these two verses, it's astonishing. So let me just point out a few things as an overview of these verses, before we go into the details. First, Paul is contrasting the powerlessness of the law with the power of God. That's why we call today's class, The Power of God vs. The Power of Sin. He's contrasting the powerlessness of the law with the power of God. God has done something that the law was powerless to do. What was the law powerless to do? Well, we'll consider that. Secondly, the key idea in this passage is what God has done, which is, Paul tells us, He has condemned sin in the flesh. This phrase is very important. As Jeffrey Wilson puts it, Paul is pointing us to the objective basis for the internal or subjective work of the Spirit in the believer. The objective, outside of you, is what objective means. The objective basis or ground for the internal work, subjective work of the Spirit in us. God has done something outside all of us, a historical fact, whereby He condemned sin in the flesh. And this is a reference to the crucifixion of Christ. But what does it mean that God condemned sin in the flesh? Well, we'll look at that. Thirdly, Paul's argument here is very Trinitarian, if you didn't pick up on that. He depicts the Father as sending the Son into the world and the Father as condemning sin in His Son's flesh on that cross. And it is by the Holy Spirit that believers now walk and live their lives. You see the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit in these two verses. And so I don't want us to miss the Trinitarian framework. But fourthly, we have a very clear statement regarding the incarnation of the Son. He came, Paul says, in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. Why is the Incarnation crucial to the Father's work of condemning sin? And so there's much in, again, we'll look at that question. So there's much in these verses to carefully unpack and contemplate. So first, let's see how far we can get today. So first, Paul begins with the word for. And this is similar to the word therefore, but it's a little, it's more of, the way I see for is the Greek word gar, and therefore is a different Greek word. I don't know it off the top of my head, but therefore seems to be more transitional, right? Paul is moving now to an application or to a major transition, which we see at the beginning of verse one. But for, Paul uses repeatedly over and over throughout his entire argument. You'll see that word gar just almost at the beginning of every sentence, for. It could also be translated because. And it's a linking word. It's not quite as strong as therefore where it marks a major transition. It's just linking to what he had just said. And so, just wanted to point that out very quickly. It's a linking word that shows he's working out the point that he had just made about the law of the spirit of life having set us free in Christ from the law of sin and death. So what he's about to say is a further explanation of that. Okay? So, let's look at the powerlessness of the law. So the Greek text says this, this is the actual ordering of the words, for powerless being the law, in that it was weak through the flesh. Our translation in the ESV puts it a little differently. For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do. But if you really look at the way that the Greek is arranged, the first thing that comes out is, for powerless being the law, in that it was weak through the flesh. So the law of the spirit of life or the new way of the Spirit was necessary because of the powerlessness of the law." Why was the law powerless or incapable of setting us free? Paul says that it was weak through the flesh, the law. Again, this is his similar argument. The law isn't the problem. He's still kind of defending the law. The law isn't the problem. The standard and the commandment isn't the problem. We're the problem, right? The problem is in us. And so, and again, Paul illustrated that by his own experience in chapter 7, right? What's the problem? It's the flesh in which dwelleth no good thing. But in unregenerate men, that's all there is. They are in the flesh. They are in the dominion of the flesh, in the realm of sin, under its dominion and domination. And so the problem is even more magnified. And again, the law is powerless to deal with that. And so, in contrast to the powerlessness of the law, Paul says, just to restate it, for powerless being the law, and that it was weak through the flesh, and then the next word out of his mouth is God, Theos. So Paul is saying God has done what His law cannot do in this matter of the salvation of His sinful people. There's nothing wrong with the law, with God's law. By nature it is a standard, right? And a standard cannot cause what it commands. It's a standard. That's its function. And so there's nothing wrong with God's law. A standard cannot cause what it commands. And so, in this matter of the salvation of His fallen people, God has come and exerted His power on their behalf. So thinking back again to Romans 1.16 and Paul's thesis statement of the entire epistle, what does he say? He says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, because why? It is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. And so in the face of our powerlessness against indwelling sin, which Paul focused on in chapter 7, Paul's now focusing on the power of God unto salvation. In this case, the power of God contrasted with the law's powerlessness. Again, We have the desire as new men and women in Christ to do what is right, that is to keep God's law, but we don't have the power or the ability to carry out our desire. I can meditate on the law all day and it of itself, and that's a good practice, but the law of itself cannot help me. It can't help me keep it. But God has done, again, what the law, weakened by the flesh, is powerless to do. And so this passage is all about the power of God on behalf of His people in His gospel. Now, what is it that God has done that the law could not do? And this is where Paul turns his focus to the incarnation of the Son of God. Again, the objective basis for his subjective work in us now. The incarnation of the Son of God and the condemnation of sin. We have five minutes. There's no way. There's no way. That's going to be half a class right there. So let's pause there and just open it up for any questions or comments. But yeah, next he's going to. What has God done, right? You see the formula, the way He's framing it up. The law is powerless to save sinners. It cannot affect what it commands. And so God has come and He has done, exerted His power to do what the law can't do. And He's going to trace that out through the incarnation. and God's objective work and history of sending His Son into the world, His condemnation of sin in the flesh of His own Son upon the cross, and what that means, and then He's going to move from the objective to the subjective to our hearts then, and show how God, as God monergistically, right, not synergistically, God doing His part, you didn't have anything to do with the incarnation of the Son of God, or the condemning of sin in the flesh of the Son of God upon the cross, And Paul is going to make the same connection to the power of God now exerted on behalf of those he saves through the Spirit in their hearts. So that's the argument he's setting up and where he's going to go next time. Any comments or questions about anything we've covered so far? It's a complicated argument, and I don't know that there's a simple way to explain it, but I hope it's coming out clearly. In chapter 7, yeah. He's falling, He's failing His attempts to be holy. And then He says, there is no condemnation. I'm failing, I'm trying. Yeah, in light of that. And so this is like, you know, it's really good. Yeah, and I think that's exactly how we have to understand that statement. Again, He's already made that point in chapter 5 verse 1 about justification. But now He's making it in light of what He just said about His own failings and His own sins. and the power of it in Himself. And I think we're prone as Christians to think, OK, I'm saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. I've been given a perfect righteousness and everything. All right, now I've been brought into the club. Now it's on me. And now after 10 years, I've been taught so much. After 20 years, I've been taught so much truth and so much doctrine. And we look at our failings still, and we say, I should know better. there should be more progress, and we begin to sort of subtly, I think, stop trusting in the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone, and we start trusting in our own performance and our own progress. Yeah. So... But Paul gives us a good model here to come back to preaching that doctrine to us. We start there. We always come back to the doctrine of justification. And the fact that Christ's person as the incarnate Son of God and His work, keeping the law of God on our behalf from birth to death, and His cross where He took the penalty for the broken law upon Himself, that work is perfect. And it cannot be added to or taken from by us and by our performance. We come back to that again. That is the starting point. That's always the launching point. There's more doctrine to know and to cling to, but that's always the launching pad. Paul gives us that model here, I think. Amen. Alright, well, we'll press on and we've got so much to cover. Next time we'll go into a little bit of detail on the doctrine of the Incarnation because I think this statement about God doing what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh in for sin. There's so much in that statement about Why the Incarnation and the specifics about it are so essential to the Christian Gospel? We'll get into that next time, so let's go ahead and pray. Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your Son, who is the central person of the Gospel. Thank You for Him. Thank You for sending Him. there would be no hope outside of Him and all that He is for us. And so, Father, we just ask that you would, I do pray that you'd minister this great truth of the justification from your very judgment seat upon your sinful people based upon the person and the finished work of Christ as their righteousness, as their justification. I pray that you would make that truth sweet to us again. And Father, I do pray that if there is any saint struggling in the room today with his or her performance, Father, I pray that they would look not to themselves, but that they would look to Christ and Christ alone. And that they would go from there and fight from there, always going back and retreating back to that mighty fortress that you've given us. Bless our worship service, Lord. Please be glorified by it. Lift up pastor as he preaches. Give us attention. Help us to rejoice. Help us to enjoy sweet brotherly fellowship today in the Lord and help us to enjoy this Lord's Day which you've given us for our good. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Kitchen take. I mean, yeah, I think you're right. Did you see most probably was the work they did? Thank you. All right, so, the Y's didn't get to go. Do you know what white sauce is? I just want to tell you that there's a reason. I'm trying to erase it. Yeah. Thank you. Got it. But you didn't put it up here, did you? Because they took it back and put it themselves. Yeah. Wednesday's a big day. Good morning. How are you? I guess it's better than being there. with that, but I'm kind of battling with something kind of like that, but I think it's a big issue to take in. Sometimes I just get a weird feeling of, you know, kind of falling down like this, and then I'll come back up and be fine. It's weird, I don't know. I'll probably have so many health problems, it's not very old. He just said, he just asked me if he and Jacob wanted to get together. You know, you don't have to, if you don't want to. Did you take a photograph of him, please? Why is this so dirty up here? so so so so so so so so Good morning to everyone. It's good to see you all here. What a beautiful day the Lord has given us today and it is even more beautiful because this is the Lord's day. What a blessing we have to gather and to worship the Lord. Thank you for coming today. If you're visiting with us this morning, we want to extend a special welcome to you I want to welcome also those who are watching us on our live stream. I trust it will be a blessing to you today as you join us for our worship. Let me remind you of our afternoon fellowship meal and invite you to stay for that. We meet down in the basement about 10 minutes after the morning service is over and then we have our afternoon service following that at one o'clock. So I want to invite you to stay. and hope that you are able to this afternoon. We are here to worship the Lord and we need to prepare our heart and our mind in order to do that. So I would like to read this morning from Psalm 71. I will read verses 17 through 24. As you hear the word of the Lord, prepare your heart and your mind today to worship him. Psalm 71, Verse 17 through 24. O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again. From the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again. I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God. I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O holy one of Israel. My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you, my soul also which you have redeemed, and my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long. Good morning, everyone. For our call to worship this morning, if you take out your psalters and turn with me to Psalm 100, we'll stand together and sing together Psalm 100 to the tune of our doxology, or praise God from whom all blessings flow. So let's stand together and sing Psalm 100. Come ye before him and rejoice. Oh, that the Lord is God indeed, without a doubt. ♪ To bless and magnify His name ♪ ♪ Because the Lord our God is good ♪ ♪ His mercy is forever sure ♪ ♪ His truth at all times to be stood ♪ Our scripture reading this morning is from the Gospel of Luke chapter 14. And we will read verses 1 through 33. Luke chapter 14 verses 1 through 33. One Sabbath when Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?" And they could not reply to these things. Now he told a parable to those who were invited when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, when you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, Do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him. And he who invited you both will come and say to you, give your place to this person. And then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place so that when your host comes, he may say to you, friend, move up higher. Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. He said also to the man who had invited him, when you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just." When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God. But he said to him, a man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, come, for everything is now ready. But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame. And the servant said, sir, what you have commanded has been done and still there is room. And the master said to his servant, go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own wife, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So, therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. And may the Lord bless the reading of his holy word. Let us pray. Our great and gracious heavenly father, the almighty God, we gather today on this Lord's day as your people to worship you because you and you alone are worthy of all honor and praise. Father, we pray for the presence and power of your Holy Spirit this morning so that we may indeed worship you rightly in a way that you deserve and in the way that you ask. May we worship you in spirit and in truth and in the beauty of holiness, in reverence and adoration at Thanksgiving. Father, tune our hearts to hear thy voice. Speak to us, Lord, this morning. And we pray for your mighty power among us in every heart and mind this morning. Sanctify Your people, Heavenly Father, with Thy truth, and Your Word is the truth. Father, mold and shape us more and more into the image of Your beloved Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And Father, we thank You and praise You that when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, You made us alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all of our trespasses and all to the praise of the glory of thy grace. Father, we are here for the praise and the glory of thy great name. Father, we pray also for your mighty converting grace to regenerate dead hearts, Father, I pray if there is anyone here this morning who is lost, who has never repented and turned to Jesus Christ by faith alone and rested in Him and said, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. Oh, Father, I pray this morning if there is anyone here like that, in thy mercy, You would save them today. Again, all for your glory. Father, we ask for your blessing upon this worship service. We know this is for you and about you. It is not for us or about us. So Father, we pray that our worship and all that we do today would please you. And we pray that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, His great name may be exalted. And we pray this in His name. Amen. All right, take out your hymnals and turn to hymn number 464 with me. 464, we're gonna sing the old hymn, How Firm a Foundation. 464, if you would. And if you can, stand with me, 464. How Firm a Foundation. ♪ So good for you, what more can we say ♪ ♪ Than to you, who we have sent to you ♪ ♪ Who for refuge to Jesus have fled ♪ ♪ Dear God, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed ♪ is mine. For I draw to the sea, and I go to refine. For the soul that on Jesus hath lived for me knows what I will, what I will not deserve to dispose. And the soul that I love that song, How Firm a Foundation. Praise the Lord, we do have a firm foundation in Jesus Christ. We don't have to worry about losing our salvation or falling away, because it talks about that I'll never deserve. But again, it's the power of Christ that helps us do that. I would like to look this morning before our offering, Psalms 8411. It says, for the Lord God is the sun and the shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold for them that wait or walk righteously or uprightly. Again, this verse draws our attention to it's not in us that in our strength it comes. It's from Jesus Christ himself. It says the Lord God is thy son. Again, you think about the son, it brings, It brings warmth to us. It brings growth to our plants and it just gives life. And that's who Christ is. The Lord Jesus Christ come to give us life so that we might have life. And not only that, he gave us grace and glory. His grace is sufficient. And again, no good thing will he withhold. You think about the blessings that we receive each day come from God himself. My wife and I were talking about the blessings this morning on the way to church. We made a decision several years ago that she would stay home. And the blessing got now, it's our grandkids. Praise God. We got that opportunity. And again, it's because of how gracious and loving our father is. And again, Lord, we have so much to be thankful for this day. Let us bow in a word of prayer. Gracious Father, we thank you, Lord, for this day. We thank you for your blessings. And not only that, we thank you for who you are. You keep us. And again, we don't have to worry about falling away because of the firm foundation that we have in Christ himself. He came, he died, he rose again, and it didn't stop there. He lives to make intercession for us every day. He's our advocate. And again, Lord, we go to you, Father, and seek you daily for your strength and your guidance. Help us to honor you that all we do, I pray for this offering, Lord, and we use wisely for the work of God and this community and around the world. In Jesus' name, amen. so so you you Stand with me, please, if you're able, and on the back of your bulletin is our responsive reading for this morning. We will be reading together Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 through 20, which speaks of the preeminence of Christ. When we are finished this morning with the responsive reading, please remain standing for our final hymn. Colossians 1 verses 15 through 20. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is above all things, and in Him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Amen. And may the Lord bless the reading of his word. And if you take out your hymnals one more time this morning, turn to hymn number 463. 463 will sing Blessed Assurance. As we sing, children going to children's church may be dismissed. 463, Blessed Assurance. This is my story. This is my story. This is my story. Turn in your Bibles, please, to Philippians chapter two as we continue our study through this letter. Our text this morning is Philippians chapter two, verses 17 through 30. I would like to read, beginning in verse 14, through verse 30, so we can read this passage here in context. Paul writes, do all things without grumbling or disputing that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world holding fast to the word of life so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me. I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interest, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need. For he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed, he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. The overarching theme or maybe the overarching purpose of this second chapter of Paul's letter to the Philippians is to call us to Christ-likeness. to be like Christ. This is found, this summary statement, this overarching purpose statement is found in chapter 2, verse 5, when Paul says, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. So Paul exhorts us as Christians to have the mind of Christ, to manifest or to show the mind of Christ. And it is the mind that we, as children of God, already have in our union with Christ. And we know that in verses six through eight, Paul holds up Jesus Christ to show us what is his mind. We see there, it is the mind of self-emptying. It is the mind of self-renunciation. The mind of Christ is also the mind of humility. And it is the mind of selfless love and sacrificial service, even to the point of death for the benefit of others to the glory of God. That is the mind of Christ. And then on both sides of this beautiful hymn of Christ that many call it in verses six through eight, on both sides of that, Paul shows us some implications for our lives, especially for our lives together in fellowship of the church and how we are to function in this world. We know in verses three through four, as we have already considered, Paul says, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. But each of you look not only on to his own interest, but also to the interest of others. That is the implication of the mind of Christ in us. Also Paul says then in verses 14 through 16, As we just read, do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. We are to shine as lights in this world, Paul says, holding fast to the word of life. These are the implications to you and me. as individual Christians and as a corporate body of believers in this local church. These are the implications of having the mind of Christ. Now, as we come to these closing verses of this chapter, we need to understand that Paul is not done yet applying his call to us to Christ-likeness. And in these verses, he goes beyond teaching this truth and showing us its implications to holding up three examples of men who exemplified the mind of Christ, holding these men up for our scrutiny and our emulation. We know that our perfect example and our perfect model to emulate and to imitate is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. If we are to be more like Christ, we must learn of him and follow his example. Jesus told us in Matthew 11, 29, learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart. but we can also study the lives of others who imitated Jesus Christ and we can learn from them and we can follow the pattern of their lives. And this is what Paul does here in these verses. He cites for us three examples of real people of like passions with us who exemplified in their lives the mind of Christ. And the first one is Paul himself. And the other two are Timothy and Epaphroditus. So in the lives of these three men, we see the mind of Christ exemplified. And Paul encourages us to learn from him and from Timothy and Epaphroditus and to emulate them as they were imitating Christ. So this morning, I want us to examine the Apostle Paul. Next week, we will examine Timothy and Epaphroditus. But before we focus on the Apostle Paul this morning, I want us to consider something that all three of these men have in common. They have several things in common, but one of the most important and one of the most essential things In fact, it is the essential thing, is they were not afraid to bear the cost of following Jesus Christ and serving Him. They were willing to give up everything. You see, they understood that to serve the Lord means carrying a cross. It means sacrifice and suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ and for his kingdom. We know that Paul is in jail, and we just read that Epaphroditus nearly died for the cause of Christ. You see, the Lord Jesus never said that serving him will be easy and comfortable. We live in a church culture that likes the idea of being a follower of Christ so long as it does not involve sacrifice. We are happy to go to church when it is convenient for us to do so. We are happy to serve as long as we don't have to step outside of our comfort zones to do it. We cling to our calendars and we enjoy and cherish our comforts. But we must understand that the call of discipleship is a call to submit to the will of God in Christ, even if doing so demands a deep and lasting cost. This is what we see among these three men. The Christian life, like the life of our Lord and Savior, is a sacrificial life. In our scripture reading this morning, from Luke chapter 14, in verse 27, Jesus said, whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. He says in Luke 14 verse 28 to count the cost. And he says in Luke 14 verse 33, anyone who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Jesus said in Matthew 10 verse 38, whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. This is a true follower of Jesus Christ, the one who bears his own cross and comes after Christ. The one who counts and understands the cost of following Christ and is willing to pay that price. The one who renounces everything for the cause of Christ. This is a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Jesus says, if you do not do these things, you cannot be my disciple. Charles Spurgeon said, we may well doubt whether we are true followers of the crucified or have entered into any true experience of his religion unless there is the trace of the cross somewhere, whether known to men or known only to Christ. The cross is a symbol of suffering and sacrifice, even to the point of death. for the cause of Jesus Christ and for the benefit of others. And this is what it means to be a disciple or a follower of Jesus Christ. It means self-renunciation. It means humility. It means sacrificial service for Jesus Christ and his kingdom to the glory of God. So as we study these men, as they are presented to us here in this passage, let each of us ask ourselves this question. Does my faith and my service cost me anything? Am I really a disciple of Christ? And there's one other thing about these three men. that is common among them. The Apostle Paul and Timothy and Epaphroditus exemplify the mind of Christ, but if all we have are their lofty examples of these three men, we will struggle to follow them. We will struggle to imitate them. So what we need as much as their example is the same power that animated their lives. There is a persistent refrain running through each life and each ministry, connecting all three, sort of like sounding a common note among them all. And it is this, it is union and communion with and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of these three men, were in union and communion with the Lord Jesus Christ, and they were supremely devoted to him. When Paul talks about serving in the gospel with Timothy, he is not just talking about serving others with the gospel message. He is talking about the gospel being the reason and the grounds and the passion and the power for their service and partnership together. When Paul says that Epaphroditus nearly died for the work of Christ, he is saying that Epaphroditus thought Jesus and the advancement of the praise of his name was worth dying for. You see, these three men were consumed with Jesus Christ and His glory. He is all in all to them. They submit to Him. They serve, bound together by Him. They want His will for others to be done. They are prepared to die for His cause. And this is the overarching lesson these three examples teach us. When the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ reaches deep into our hearts and possesses our souls, Jesus Christ becomes everything. Jesus Christ becomes that pearl of great price that Jesus spoke about in his parable in Matthew chapter 13. Jesus becomes for us that hidden treasure in a field for the possession of which we gladly surrender everything else. He becomes the animating motive of our obedience, of our service, and of our ministry. And His Spirit supernaturally empowers us and propels us to follow Him. You see, there is no way to follow the examples of these three men apart from devotion to Jesus Christ and a delight in Him and the gospel of His grace. The gospel empowers the kind of self-renunciation, the humility and the love and the sacrifice that we see first in Christ and that we will also see echoed in Paul and Timothy and Epaphroditus. If the mind of Christ is to be manifested in you and me, there is no other way except in and through Jesus Christ. He must be our all in all. So as we study these three men, let these scriptural mentors drive us back to Christ, whose example they fully imitate. Let them send us back to Christ. Crying out to him for the grace to be more like him, to increasingly imitate his life, and that all for His glory. This is why these three men are lifted up for us in Holy Scripture. So let us then this morning see the mind of Christ exemplified in the life of the Apostle Paul. Possibly no other mortal man ever manifested the mind of Christ in his life more than the Apostle Paul. Once a proud, haughty Pharisee, glorying in his own righteousness and burning with indignant hatred against Jesus Christ and his followers, Paul was transformed by the sight of the glorified Christ when he was going to the city of Damascus to apprehend anyone who confessed his name. The sight of the once crucified and now enthroned Savior was a means of conversion so radical and so sudden that probably no other sense has been so intense. And we cannot ignore the radical transformation that occurred to Paul by his encounter with Jesus on that road to Damascus. His transformation was truly radical. Paul himself claims Jesus as the supreme influence in shaping his mind. We notice, for example, when Paul writes his letters, he often identifies himself as a bond slave of Jesus Christ. And it is the teaching of Christ, who revealed his own mind to Paul, that stands as the foundation of who Paul was and how he lived. You see, there was a real conversion and a real changing of Paul's mind and a real transformation of his thinking. And what was true of Paul is true of everyone who is in Christ. We must be found in Christ in order to know him and in order to be conformed more and more into his image. So from the moment of Paul's conversion, it was the one desire of his soul. It was the inmost yearning of his being to be like Christ and to manifest Christ in all that he did. Paul expressed this here in Philippians in chapter three, verse eight, when he said, indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. And again in Philippians 3 verse 10, Paul said, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. And it was in this spirit that Paul could write to his beloved Philippians here in Philippians 2 verse 17, when he said, even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Paul had just told them in verse 16, that his joy in the day of Christ would be to find them approved, to find them having walked before God as his children without blemish and earnestly engaged in holding fast to the word of life. At the day of Christ, Paul considered their reward as his own reward. He says, I would be proud then. I will be proud of that. I will be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. You see, Paul's service was for them. Paul would count all of his service as but an assistant of theirs. to have their labors and their devotedness to the Lord looked upon as the completion of a work of which he was just a part of. To understand what Paul is saying here in verse 17, we must understand what he has in mind here, what he is referring to. Paul here alludes to the drink offering in the ceremonial law of the old covenant. Paul says, if I'm to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, he is alluding back to the old covenant and the drink offering in the ceremonial walls. The drink offering was a cup of wine, which was poured out upon the burnt offering. And it was typical of the outpouring of the Lord Jesus Christ's soul unto death. It was typical of his voluntary surrender of everything that might contribute to his joy and to his happiness as a man. He poured it all out. Wine is the symbol of joy and gladness. And what man ever deserved to be happier than the Lord Jesus Christ? To whom was joy and gladness a righteous due if not to him? Yet in infinite grace, he became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. In Jesus's ministry and in his life, he poured out everything that would make him glad and happy. The burnt offering spoke of Jesus in the highest sense as offering himself without spot to God on our behalf. So in the sacrificial service, the burnt offering would be cut into pieces, it would be washed with water, and then it would be laid upon the fire of the altar and wholly consumed by the fire. And the drink offering was simply poured out upon it, and in a moment it was vaporized. And the steam symbolized the rising of the offering to God for whom the sacrifice was made. Now, with this in mind, consider the beauty of this figure that Paul uses here. When he says, even if I am poured out as a drink offering, he is not referring to his present suffering, but he's referring to the possibility that he will die. During his second Roman imprisonment, knowing that he would shortly be led to the executioner for decapitation, he writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, 6, and says, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. So Paul uses this drink offering to speak of his own death. of his own violent death that he may someday die as a martyr. His blood will be poured out. And for the Philippians, Paul says, it would be his blood poured out upon the sacrificial offering of their faith. So Paul uses the main sacrifice, the burnt offering, as an illustration of the Philippians' Christian life and service. He compares the sacrificial offering of the Philippians with his own, but he magnifies theirs and minimizes his. They were both laying down their lives for the sake of the gospel. But Paul regards their sacrifice as the greater sacrifice, and his as only the drink offering poured out upon it. The burnt offering was the greater sacrifice. The drink offering was the lesser, though important, and part of it. So drawing from that picture, Paul placed greater significance on the sacrifice offering of their faith and even his own life. So Paul was willing to sacrifice for the Lord, even if it meant dying. And he would simply look upon that as a small part of theirs, as the drink offering poured out on the burnt offering. And notice that Paul says at the end of verse 17, in this I am glad and rejoice with you all. Paul says that he will rejoice in this. He will rejoice in whatever measure God uses him to be of help to the Philippian church. Paul would gladly be poured out in martyrdom on the service and sacrifice of their faith. If that would be his lot, he would rejoice that it should be so. To suffer for Christ's sake brought him joy. And he wanted these Philippians to understand that and to rejoice with him too. He said, I am glad and rejoice with you all. So when we look at Paul here, we see an astonishing humility and self-renunciation. Here is a man who exemplified the mind of Christ. Paul lived what he told the Philippians to do in verse 3. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself. What humility for the great Apostle Paul to rejoice at the fact that someday he would be the lesser part of the sacrifice poured out upon the major part, the Philippian Christian's testimony and service to God. And what absence of that mind which is sometimes seen today in Christian ministry. We can become jealous of the ministry of others. We can become envious of the success and the recognition that they are receiving because we think we ought to receive it too. But there was no such spirit in the Apostle Paul. He had renounced himself and he served in humble sacrifice. And he rejoiced in everything that the Lord might do through him. And Paul's only jealousy was for the glory of God. And so in this, he followed Christ. In this, he manifested the mind of Christ. And therefore, he could confidently appeal to these Philippian Christians and to you and me today to walk in his steps, to follow his example. It is significant, too, that Paul speaks of himself and of his service in this incidental way in but one verse. But when he turns to Timothy in Epaphroditus, he has a lot more to say about them. We see how in the remainder of the chapter, verses 19 through 30, we see how Paul shines the spotlight, not on his own work, but on the work of these two men. And this too shows the heart and the mind of Paul. There is not the slightest trace of self-promotion here. Like the Lord Jesus whom he serves, Paul is not grasping for greatness. We know the Lord Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. Like Jesus Christ, Paul emptied himself, as we read about Christ in verse seven, and made himself of no reputation. Paul did not want the limelight. Paul did not want the recognition. Paul did not want the glory to go to him. Paul was not looking for a pat on the back. Paul was not looking to be lifted up on some pedestal. Paul was looking to others. and he was lifting them up. There is not a trace of self here in Paul. He's not pandering after their attention. He's not trying to manipulate them into affirming him. But instead, he eagerly shines his spotlight on Timothy and Epaphroditus, commending them most warmly and selflessly to the Philippians' affection. So we see in all of this, Paul manifested the mind of Christ. In union with Christ, Paul models this Christ-like spirit of self-renunciation, humility, and sacrificial service. And we are to follow in his steps. This is what it means to have the mind of Christ. This is what a disciple of Jesus Christ does. This is who a disciple of Jesus Christ is. Renouncing self, humbling oneself, and serving others in a sacrificial way, counting the cost, and giving everything up. What we see in the life of the Apostle Paul and what we will see next week in the lives of Timothy and Epaphroditus is the mind of Christ exemplified. They are here today being held up in Holy Scripture for our learning, for our admonition, so that we too can be thoroughly equipped, so that we too can be more and more made into the image of Christ. As I said earlier, our perfect example and model is Christ himself. If we are to be more like him, we must learn of him and follow in his steps, for he is meek, he is humble, he is gentle, and he is lowly of heart. But we know that we can also learn from mentors. We can learn from the lives of others who have emulated Christ. And by God's grace, empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit, we can follow the pattern of their lives. And what we learn from the life of Paul is that the Christian life is one of sacrifice. It is one of self-renunciation and humble service. So again this morning, I put the question to ourselves. Does your faith and service cost you anything? Are you a follower of Christ so long as it doesn't cost you anything? Let us examine our own hearts and our own lives in light of the example of the Apostle Paul. John MacArthur once made a very pertinent observation related to this. He said, American society has bred a generation of Christians who primarily want to be successful and who are more concerned about themselves and their own lives than they are for others. Seldom do they have a humble attitude of service. They are unwilling to make sacrifices for the cause of Christ because they have been taught, whether verbally or not, that Christians should be rich, famous, successful, and popular. He goes on to say, such an orientation toward personal success and popularity rather than humble service is the opposite of what glorifies the Lord. Living for the glory of God means knowing that, knowing you are expendable and being ready to die if necessary to accomplish God's ends. Such a humble attitude glorifies God. To grow spiritually, we must lose ourselves in the Lordship of Christ so that he dominates our lives. And in so doing, we will seek only his glory. not our own comfort, not our own success, and not our own glory. If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, here is the lesson that we have learned from Paul and what we will learn from Timothy and Epaphroditus. You must be willing to sacrifice and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. You must be ready to suffer for Him and with Him. You must sacrifice and surrender, if necessary, earthly comforts and ease and whatever else in order that we go out to the Lord, go outside the camp to the Lord bearing His reproach, as the Bible says. And like Paul, we must be willing to sacrifice and serve without being noticed and without being rewarded by man. Jesus told the Pharisees, they have their reward because they did everything for their own glory. They did everything to call attention to themselves and to be exalted by man. And Jesus says they have their reward. F.B. Meyer said, if we blow a trumpet every time we help somebody, we will only nourish our pride and starve our humility. A cup of cold water for Jesus's sake is all that he asked. Live with the eye of God upon you, and forget the praise of others, and don't exalt yourself. In due time, you will be exalted. Serve faithfully in the hidden place, and in due time, God will lift you up. This is what Jesus said, as we read this morning in Luke 14, 11. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. You see, we reign in life by renouncing ourselves and living to serve to the glory of God. It is, however, very certain that any service that we do for the Lord and for others of lasting and permanent benefit will cost us something. That which cost us nothing will benefit nothing. So let us, like Paul, seek to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of others. As Paul said in Romans 12, verse 1, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. And let us understand this too, and we see this clearly in our passage. There is joy in sacrificial service for the Lord. Paul says this, he says, even if I'm poured out as a drink offering, even if I must die upon the sacrifice of your offering, Paul said, I'm glad and I will rejoice. It was thus that the martyrs down through church history have walked to the scaffold and have walked to the stake to be burned alive. They walked there rejoicing and singing because they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ's name. Again, Spurgeon once wrote, when once the soul has caught sight of the true significance of life and has learned the privilege which is within its reach of identifying itself with the Son of God in his great act of redemption, A similar glow of joy begins to cast its radiance over passages of life that hitherto had been darkened and forbidding. The joy of the Lord becomes a source of altogether new strength. Partnership with Jesus in the redemption of the world opens the door to partnership in those fountains of blessedness that rise within his soul and to which he referred when he said, your heart shall rejoice and your joy no one taketh from you. And when he said these things have I said unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. Christian life is one of self-renunciation and humble and sacrificial service. So again, I put the question to all of us, does your faith in your service cost you anything? Are you really a disciple of Jesus Christ? If not, we must repent and we must cry out to Christ for the grace to be more like him. We must renounce ourselves and take up our cross and follow him. We must be consumed with his glory and his kingdom. In closing, a beautiful devotional by Oswald Chambers in his My Utmost for His Highest, his devotion on this particular topic. He begins like this, are you ready to be offered? Are you willing to be offered for the work of the faithful, to pour out your lifeblood as a libation on the sacrifice of the faith of others? Or do you say, I am not going to be offered up just yet. I do not want God to choose my work. I want to choose the scenery of my own sacrifice. I want to have the right kind of people watching me and saying, well done. It is one thing to go on the lonely way with dignified heroism, but quite another thing if the line mapped out for you by God means being a doormat under other people's feet. Suppose God wants to teach you to say, I know how to be abased. Are you ready to be offered up like that? Are you ready to be not so much as a drop in a bucket, to be so insignificant that you are never thought of again in connection with the life you served? Are you willing to spend and be spent, not seeking to be ministered unto, but to minister? This is our challenge this morning from the life of Paul, the life of a true disciple. Take up your cross and follow him. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we ask for your grace in our heart, grace upon our souls, as we consider this call to discipleship, as we consider this mind of Christ as exemplified by the Apostle Paul. O Father, I confess that I am selfish, I'm self-centered. Father, I confess that I have not fully renounced myself. Father, I pray for grace. Father, I pray for everyone here today who is a Christian for grace, for the power of the Holy Spirit, Oh, Father, may we be consumed with Jesus Christ and His glory. May we be consumed simply to follow Christ, regardless of the cost, all for His glory. Father, I pray that you would help us this day to be more like Him. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. so so