Are You in Christ?
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:1-17
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that
it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law
might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 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, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to
be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it
is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also
give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For
if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of
the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of
adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Last week, we talked about the entrance; the door we all need to go through to
come into God's presence. We established that although the enemy has been
deceiving people, since the garden, into believing that there are other ways to get
into God presence, there is really only one way and that is through Messiah. He is
the good Shepherd sent to lead us back into the fold. What is interesting to know is
that it is very important that the sheep actually follow the shepherd and don't get
distracted into following something else or wandering somewhere else. If they follow
the shepherd, they will go through the gate into safety, if not they can get into
trouble.
Our scripture reading begins with a very profound piece of information. There is
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. That sounds good doesn't it?
When I think of someone being condemned, I think of a man on death row with no
chance for appeal. So, the fact that there is no condemnation is very good news,
isn't it? Many people quote this verse in defense of doing whatever we please. But
is it really? Who is there no condemnation for? Well, the first thing we see is that to
take advantage of this 'no condemnation' clause, you must be in Christ Jesus. As
we talked about last week, to get in we need go in the right way. Remember, the
people sitting in the movies or on the train who snuck in without paying? To anyone
looking at them it would appear that they where in the right way. Even to
themselves, they would think, hey I'm in; that is, until someone comes by and asks
for a ticket. Then, all of a sudden, they're out in the cold.
So, what is the ticket? How can you tell if you're in or not? Did you know that a
flock of sheep will follow the leader over a cliff. Yep, they'll just keep walking and
drop off one at a time. So, are you actually following Yeshua or are you following
another sheep because you figure that sheep is following the good Shepherd?
Let's say your friend gets you tickets to the Super Bowl, but you don't know they're
counterfeit. If the tickets are called into question and shown to be fraudulent, guess
who gets thrown out and likely taken to jail right along with him? That's right, you
do. So, as I said, how do you know if you are really IN Christ? Let's take a look at
the second part of that first verse. There's no condemnation for those in Christ,
who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Hold the phone! That changes everything! This is not some open ended 'get out of
jail free' card. These directions are very specific. This promise is for those who
walk according to the Spirit. Does that mean that if you walk according to the flesh
there is indeed condemnation because you are not really IN Christ Jesus? That
would be important for people to know, wouldn't it?
Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who
does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in
Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness!’
Luke 13:23-28
23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, 24
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not
be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin
to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer
and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate
and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do
not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the
prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
These people thought they were in. Maybe they snuck in by some other way or
they were given a counterfeit ticket but when the time came, they realized that they
were actually still on the outside, as Luke says, thrust out. The ones from Matthews
account are those who sound like they genuinely thought they had followed the
good Shepherd but what they had evidently done was follow another sheep that
they were absolutely sure was following the Shepherd. That doesn't help them at all
when it's time to present their ticket. Look at the things they had done! They had
prophesied; they had cast out demons; they had done many wonders in the name
of Messiah....but guess what? None of that mattered because they had not actually
come in the right way. They didn't really know Yeshua who they were supposed to
be following. It's like someone who crashes a party. You don't really know the host
but you just walk in because you know someone who you think knows the host.
I can remember when I was a teenager and I went to visit my cousins in
Philadelphia. One night my cousins took me walking down the block to go looking
for a party to crash. I remember we'd walked about three blocks and we heard music
so we walked up the steps and right into the house, no problem. No problem until
the host walked over to us and said, "Who are you here with?" When our mouths
just dropped open she promptly kicked us out of her gathering. Why? Because
she didn't know us. We didn't know her. We had come in but not the right way.
This also shows us that just because someone is doing great things, prophesying,
casting out demons in the name of Jesus, doesn't mean they know Him. How many
people get caught up following people who they think are holy. If you don't know
Him for yourself; if you don't have your eyes square on Him, you could be headed
toward the cliff and not even know it.
In Luke's account one of His disciples asks if there are few that are saved, to which
Jesus tells us to enter in the narrow way. This goes back to the theme of entering in
the door the right way. Through the narrow door, no matter how easy it seems it
would be to come in under the fence or over the wall. Jesus tells us there will be
many who will seek to enter after the Master has shut the door. They will have
followed the wide pathway where many are traveling and think they have come in
when, in reality, they are still on the outside. Then after the door is locked they will
ask for entrance and be told to depart because He doesn't know them. Can you
imagine their horror. They've been following those they thought for sure were
headed the right way. They were gathered with so many people that they were
certain they were in the right place. It like going to some federal office and getting
into a line to wait for service. Then when you finally get up to the window, the clerk
tells you that you're not in the right line. When he shows you where the right line is,
it's closing for the day. How disappointing when you realize that not only have you
wasted your time, but you have to come back tomorrow. Well, when the day of
judgement comes there won't be the option of coming back tomorrow. These
people in Luke's account try to knock but the Master says He doesn't know them.
How absolutely horrible for them to realize how simple it would have been to get to
know Him but they never did.
Paul, in his writing to the Romans completely explains how our motivations are the
key. He was a lawyer before he got saved and he always writes like a lawyer so it's
pretty easy to confuse his message if you don't look at it all in context. He explains
that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin
and death. So, what is the law of sin and death? He has just told them in Roman 6:
23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That's simple enough! The law was that if you sin, your payment is death. So, that
law is gone if you are in Christ. Then Paul writes that Yeshua condemned sin in the
the flesh. In the flesh, there is condemnation. He says Jesus did this so the
righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk in the Spirit. It
doesn't say that Messiah fulfilled the righteous requirement for us so we wouldn't
have to, although that's how many people read it. It goes back to what we were
talking about last week with how the Law and the Prophets hang on two motivations;
love of God and love of others. They have to be written on your heart, giving you
pure motivation in the things you do. The law was weak through the flesh. People
usually see it as he's saying the law is weak, but he clearly qualifies the statement
with....in the flesh.
Paul explains why the law in the flesh is weak. Look at Romans 8 again, starting at
verse 5 as I read everything regarding the flesh in context. It's because those who
live according to the flesh, set their minds on things of the flesh, and to be carnally
minded is death because the carnal mind is against God, not subject to the law of
God and therefore can not please God. Makes more sense when you see it in
context doesn't it. Well, when you look at how Paul is contrasting the two, let's see
what that should mean about walking in the Spirit. Those who live according to the
Spirit, set there minds on things of the Spirit, because being spiritually minded is life
and peace, because the spiritual mind is an ally to God, understanding the law of
God and therefore pleasing God. And don't think that I would ever presume to add
to scripture because not only are those last three things implied by Paul here in
Romans but they're also confirmed in other places in scripture.
2 Corinthians 5:20a, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were
pleading through us. If we are ambassadors, we are indeed allies.
Jeremiah 31:33, But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be
their God, and they shall be My people.
Isaiah 51:7a, Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My
law.
Psalm 119:34, Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it
with my whole heart.
Psalm 40:8, I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.
And if you want to know what pleases God, read Hebrews 11. Back to Romans 8,
in verse 9 Paul tells us that if we are in the Spirit, God dwells in us and we are His.
Would the Master have to say He doesn't know you? No. Why? Because we are
His. Why? Because the Spirit of God dwells in us. Why? Because we walk
according to the Spirit. Paul says the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is
life because of righteousness. So, since the Spirit raised Christ from the dead, that
Spirit will also give life to your mortal body through His Spirit. You see? This is why
we don't simply come to Christ and immediately die physically to go be with Him.
Although we must die to self daily, the Spirit that should be living within us is more
than able to revive our physical bodies so we can live in health and wellness here
and now. The key is...are you walking in the Spirit? Or are you walking in the
flesh? Only you and God knows. Someone that may look like a wonderfully holy
person whose heart is on fire for God may actually be motivated because they want
people to see the things they do and think they're a good person. We can't tell, but
God can. Another thing, if you are walking according to the flesh, doing the things
of God will be a chore. You will have to try really hard to do the right thing. That
was Paul's point here. Now, this message is not meant to scare you. It's meant to
inform you. We have not been given the spirit of fear. If you are afraid, then cry out
to Jesus. Tell Him that you want to know Him. Tell Him that you want the life and
peace that come from His Spirit dwelling within you. Open your heart to gain
understanding. If you seek Him diligently and honestly, He will reveal Himself to
you. When the door closes I want to see you all on the inside with me and Jesus!
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: February 4, 2007
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:1-17
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that
it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law
might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 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, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to
be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it
is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also
give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For
if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of
the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of
adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Last week, we talked about the entrance; the door we all need to go through to
come into God's presence. We established that although the enemy has been
deceiving people, since the garden, into believing that there are other ways to get
into God presence, there is really only one way and that is through Messiah. He is
the good Shepherd sent to lead us back into the fold. What is interesting to know is
that it is very important that the sheep actually follow the shepherd and don't get
distracted into following something else or wandering somewhere else. If they follow
the shepherd, they will go through the gate into safety, if not they can get into
trouble.
Our scripture reading begins with a very profound piece of information. There is
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. That sounds good doesn't it?
When I think of someone being condemned, I think of a man on death row with no
chance for appeal. So, the fact that there is no condemnation is very good news,
isn't it? Many people quote this verse in defense of doing whatever we please. But
is it really? Who is there no condemnation for? Well, the first thing we see is that to
take advantage of this 'no condemnation' clause, you must be in Christ Jesus. As
we talked about last week, to get in we need go in the right way. Remember, the
people sitting in the movies or on the train who snuck in without paying? To anyone
looking at them it would appear that they where in the right way. Even to
themselves, they would think, hey I'm in; that is, until someone comes by and asks
for a ticket. Then, all of a sudden, they're out in the cold.
So, what is the ticket? How can you tell if you're in or not? Did you know that a
flock of sheep will follow the leader over a cliff. Yep, they'll just keep walking and
drop off one at a time. So, are you actually following Yeshua or are you following
another sheep because you figure that sheep is following the good Shepherd?
Let's say your friend gets you tickets to the Super Bowl, but you don't know they're
counterfeit. If the tickets are called into question and shown to be fraudulent, guess
who gets thrown out and likely taken to jail right along with him? That's right, you
do. So, as I said, how do you know if you are really IN Christ? Let's take a look at
the second part of that first verse. There's no condemnation for those in Christ,
who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Hold the phone! That changes everything! This is not some open ended 'get out of
jail free' card. These directions are very specific. This promise is for those who
walk according to the Spirit. Does that mean that if you walk according to the flesh
there is indeed condemnation because you are not really IN Christ Jesus? That
would be important for people to know, wouldn't it?
Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who
does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in
Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness!’
Luke 13:23-28
23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, 24
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not
be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin
to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer
and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate
and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do
not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the
prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
These people thought they were in. Maybe they snuck in by some other way or
they were given a counterfeit ticket but when the time came, they realized that they
were actually still on the outside, as Luke says, thrust out. The ones from Matthews
account are those who sound like they genuinely thought they had followed the
good Shepherd but what they had evidently done was follow another sheep that
they were absolutely sure was following the Shepherd. That doesn't help them at all
when it's time to present their ticket. Look at the things they had done! They had
prophesied; they had cast out demons; they had done many wonders in the name
of Messiah....but guess what? None of that mattered because they had not actually
come in the right way. They didn't really know Yeshua who they were supposed to
be following. It's like someone who crashes a party. You don't really know the host
but you just walk in because you know someone who you think knows the host.
I can remember when I was a teenager and I went to visit my cousins in
Philadelphia. One night my cousins took me walking down the block to go looking
for a party to crash. I remember we'd walked about three blocks and we heard music
so we walked up the steps and right into the house, no problem. No problem until
the host walked over to us and said, "Who are you here with?" When our mouths
just dropped open she promptly kicked us out of her gathering. Why? Because
she didn't know us. We didn't know her. We had come in but not the right way.
This also shows us that just because someone is doing great things, prophesying,
casting out demons in the name of Jesus, doesn't mean they know Him. How many
people get caught up following people who they think are holy. If you don't know
Him for yourself; if you don't have your eyes square on Him, you could be headed
toward the cliff and not even know it.
In Luke's account one of His disciples asks if there are few that are saved, to which
Jesus tells us to enter in the narrow way. This goes back to the theme of entering in
the door the right way. Through the narrow door, no matter how easy it seems it
would be to come in under the fence or over the wall. Jesus tells us there will be
many who will seek to enter after the Master has shut the door. They will have
followed the wide pathway where many are traveling and think they have come in
when, in reality, they are still on the outside. Then after the door is locked they will
ask for entrance and be told to depart because He doesn't know them. Can you
imagine their horror. They've been following those they thought for sure were
headed the right way. They were gathered with so many people that they were
certain they were in the right place. It like going to some federal office and getting
into a line to wait for service. Then when you finally get up to the window, the clerk
tells you that you're not in the right line. When he shows you where the right line is,
it's closing for the day. How disappointing when you realize that not only have you
wasted your time, but you have to come back tomorrow. Well, when the day of
judgement comes there won't be the option of coming back tomorrow. These
people in Luke's account try to knock but the Master says He doesn't know them.
How absolutely horrible for them to realize how simple it would have been to get to
know Him but they never did.
Paul, in his writing to the Romans completely explains how our motivations are the
key. He was a lawyer before he got saved and he always writes like a lawyer so it's
pretty easy to confuse his message if you don't look at it all in context. He explains
that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin
and death. So, what is the law of sin and death? He has just told them in Roman 6:
23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That's simple enough! The law was that if you sin, your payment is death. So, that
law is gone if you are in Christ. Then Paul writes that Yeshua condemned sin in the
the flesh. In the flesh, there is condemnation. He says Jesus did this so the
righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk in the Spirit. It
doesn't say that Messiah fulfilled the righteous requirement for us so we wouldn't
have to, although that's how many people read it. It goes back to what we were
talking about last week with how the Law and the Prophets hang on two motivations;
love of God and love of others. They have to be written on your heart, giving you
pure motivation in the things you do. The law was weak through the flesh. People
usually see it as he's saying the law is weak, but he clearly qualifies the statement
with....in the flesh.
Paul explains why the law in the flesh is weak. Look at Romans 8 again, starting at
verse 5 as I read everything regarding the flesh in context. It's because those who
live according to the flesh, set their minds on things of the flesh, and to be carnally
minded is death because the carnal mind is against God, not subject to the law of
God and therefore can not please God. Makes more sense when you see it in
context doesn't it. Well, when you look at how Paul is contrasting the two, let's see
what that should mean about walking in the Spirit. Those who live according to the
Spirit, set there minds on things of the Spirit, because being spiritually minded is life
and peace, because the spiritual mind is an ally to God, understanding the law of
God and therefore pleasing God. And don't think that I would ever presume to add
to scripture because not only are those last three things implied by Paul here in
Romans but they're also confirmed in other places in scripture.
2 Corinthians 5:20a, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were
pleading through us. If we are ambassadors, we are indeed allies.
Jeremiah 31:33, But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be
their God, and they shall be My people.
Isaiah 51:7a, Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My
law.
Psalm 119:34, Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it
with my whole heart.
Psalm 40:8, I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.
And if you want to know what pleases God, read Hebrews 11. Back to Romans 8,
in verse 9 Paul tells us that if we are in the Spirit, God dwells in us and we are His.
Would the Master have to say He doesn't know you? No. Why? Because we are
His. Why? Because the Spirit of God dwells in us. Why? Because we walk
according to the Spirit. Paul says the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is
life because of righteousness. So, since the Spirit raised Christ from the dead, that
Spirit will also give life to your mortal body through His Spirit. You see? This is why
we don't simply come to Christ and immediately die physically to go be with Him.
Although we must die to self daily, the Spirit that should be living within us is more
than able to revive our physical bodies so we can live in health and wellness here
and now. The key is...are you walking in the Spirit? Or are you walking in the
flesh? Only you and God knows. Someone that may look like a wonderfully holy
person whose heart is on fire for God may actually be motivated because they want
people to see the things they do and think they're a good person. We can't tell, but
God can. Another thing, if you are walking according to the flesh, doing the things
of God will be a chore. You will have to try really hard to do the right thing. That
was Paul's point here. Now, this message is not meant to scare you. It's meant to
inform you. We have not been given the spirit of fear. If you are afraid, then cry out
to Jesus. Tell Him that you want to know Him. Tell Him that you want the life and
peace that come from His Spirit dwelling within you. Open your heart to gain
understanding. If you seek Him diligently and honestly, He will reveal Himself to
you. When the door closes I want to see you all on the inside with me and Jesus!
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: February 4, 2007