Holy Spirit Living

Romans 7:12-25

12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[d] a slave to the law of sin.

Paul is coming to the nuts and bolts of how to live in a manner that pleases God in His world. He has proven that Jesus has given us the righteousness of God as a gift because we are trusting Him as our source of heavenly truth, wisdom, and direction. So, how are we gonna get righteous behavior into our daily lives? We are being made holy according to Hebrews 10:14. How?

 

If we are going to act in a manner that reflects the image of God, which is holy in every way (although we are primarily focused on behavior holiness) then we have to have a measure of that holiness.

Canon= measuring rod

Lamp= that which shows things as they are

Sword= that which divides truth from error

And the stakes are these: Psalms 1:

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

 

  1. The Law is Good

 

  1. The Law reflects God’s character

12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

By law we mean all that God has shown us that relates to His kingdom rule in our lives. II Cor 3:16 All Scripture…

  1. The Law is spiritual

From a Greek context, this means it is in the realm of perfection. It is in the realm of ultimate definition. We would never want to     abandon this world, because this is the world of ultimate reality!

 

Inspiration means breathed out. Pneuma= breath= spirit. Spiritual means it’s from the realm of the forms, from God’s perfect realm of revelation. Jesus, Moses and Elijah at the Mount of Transfiguration.

II Peter 1 men spoke from God as they were moved along by the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 1 in the past God spoke to our ancestors at different times and in different ways. In these days He has spoken to us through His Son.

Isaiah 55:

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

 

 

  1. The Law reveals sin in us

        7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting.

It is sin that causes us to be condemned, not the law. Back         in chapter 2 Paul spoke of Gentiles who do not have the law    living by the law. There are believers who are like Ananias and       Sapphira. All people have a sin problem. Paul is about to    emphasize that about himself very clearly!

 

  1. Personal Sanctification from Paul’s Perspective

 

  1. Paul’s self-definition apart from Christ

Unspiritual, or fleshly. Living down in the world apart from   perfection. Even when I love, I do not love perfectly. When I am   patient my patience is imperfect. When I am kind, my kindness is imperfect.

These facts do not affect what we are in Christ.

These facts do not in any way excuse our bad behavior

These facts do not change our need to follow the law.

 

I am not perfect, I can be better! Then be better!!

 

  1. Paul’s thinking and desires must be renewed

        v.15-16

        We can agree with the law in our minds and fight with our bodies         to keep it.

We can find competing forces inside ourselves. Think about   fear.         Fear of heights. Walk across a beam the size of a railroad tie on the ground, no problem, high in the air? Problem.

Think about food and being on a diet. Being hungry does not   mean that you are suffering terribly. But the hunger weighs on you. And you say to yourself. “This one event of eating is not a problem.” And that is true. But what of all of the other events.   And when we eat, how do we feel?

Think about fighting with siblings or parents or a spouse,     the same issues apply. There are often issues that live beneath the surface of our lives. We have hopes, desires, insecurities     and fears that drive our emotions and our reactions.   Therapy can help us to identify them, but at some point we have   to trust something else to give us life!

We are not blank slates when we are born. We have     strengths and weaknesses. We have desires that are born out of       hormones, we have desires that are born out of competition      within family and at school. We have attitudes that are rooted in         social conventions all of which we have to set aside if we are to       follow the rule of God in our lives.

And many of these issues we are blind to.

It is the law properly understood through Jesus that the Holy       Spirit will use to change our thinking. We must establish new     priorities, new pursuits.

Psalms 119: How can a young person stay on the path of         purity?  By living according to your word.
            11 I have hidden your word in my heart    that I might not sin against you.

Ephesians 4: 17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that         you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of       their thinking.

22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put         off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful         desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your         minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Example: 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and     speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one    body.

Example: 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go      down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a         foothold.

Example: 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer,        but must work, doing something useful with their own       hands, that they may have something to share with those in        need.

Example: 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your         mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Example: 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling     and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and       compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in        Christ God forgave you.

1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself      up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Example: 3 But among you there must not be even a hint of        sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed,      because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should       there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of         place, but rather thanksgiving.

 

  1. There is a real inner conflict
  2. 18-23

18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (We have a new identity in Christ!)

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

 

Galatians 5: 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

 

III. Working Out Our Salvation in Christ

 

  1. Rescued from our sinful habits

24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this   body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who   delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

There is therefore now, NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus.

 

  1. Given a pathway to life in the Spirit

Chapter 8 summary again:

10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

 

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

8:4 We live according to the Spirit

8:5 We set our mind on what the Spirit desires

8:6 The mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace

8:9 You are in the realm of the Spirit if the Spirit of God lives in   you.

 

  1. God is at work within you

        Phil 2: 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Joel 2: 28 “And afterward,  I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,  your old men will dream dreams,  your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Holy Spirit: John 14-16 Guide you into all truth, remind you of the things that I said to you, Teach you all things.

Jesus insisted that it was better that He ascend to the Father and send the Holy Spirit!

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me! And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me!