Book of Romans, 8:13-15 - We Are Not Debtors to the Flesh, Pt. 2 (01/19/2020)

Good morning How's everybody this morning? I guess we'll just have

Children's Church in here today Are you warm enough in here?

Okay, I'm not a good judge of that. I'm usually too hot.

So Well, we've got a few out ill today

I thought we had already kind of gone through The whole church with the coals, but maybe it's a different one

A little bit different cold going going around. Yeah cold weather this time

All right. Well, let's turn to Romans chapter 8. I think we're all the way up to verse 12 today

And we kind of started on this. Well, we ended up right at this place last time. So we'll just start here

Let's pray first Lord. Thank you so much for the time to come together and study again

Thank you for the first hour today and and what we learned there Thank you that you teach us while we teach it's amazing how this living book is always

Got something to be reminded of but something new to think of too. So thank you for that protect our loved ones who are

Traveling later today bring them back to us safely and those who are not well We just ask you to continue to strengthen them help them to feel better soon.

And thank you for time together now Jesus name Amen Well follow along with me there and I'll read it to you it says

Romans 8 12 therefore brethren. We are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh and When it starts with the word therefore

Naturally refers back all the way every verse in this chapter really but even even the previous chapters, but specifically

Why is it that we shouldn't be debtors to the flesh if you look back you're gonna see About four reasons in verse 9.

It said that we're in dwelt You know we if well, let's put this way verse 9 lays it out this way if you're saved

You're in dwelt by the Spirit Instantly if you're in dwelt by the Spirit you're saved

All right But the verse also says if you are in dwelt by the Spirit you are not in the flesh

Now you had to read all the way down to verse 9 to see that But all the verses between 1 and 9 talk about it and show us why we arrive at that Conclusion and it's mainly from God the

Father's viewpoint He's just saying look if you're say if you're saved you're in dwelt by the Spirit and if you're not dwelt by the

Spirit You're not saved But if you are saved Then you're not in the flesh according to his definition of what in the flesh means

So that teaches us that in the flesh is a person who's not saved yet Who's all his whole life is all about this world?

Right and you're not that way if you're saved that's what verse 9 says So why do we owe anything to the flesh if the flesh tries to get us to sin?

We don't owe anything to it. Why should we do it right secondly in verse 10? It shows us that the old man is already judged

The flesh that we live in the fleshly part of ourselves is already judged on the cross

So why should we live according to it? It's already been condemned and judged on the cross and then

Let's see Oh also verse 10 shows us that our new man has been created so Not only is the old man judged according to verse 10, but the new man now lives

So we don't owe anything to the old man. We are the new man All right, so all that there all that is found in verse 10 and verse 11 shows that we have that we have abundant life and we have power and prosperity because We have the same resurrection power that Jesus had living in us every day

Quickening this body that we live in and giving us power in this body in this life in time and space not even talking about What it's going to be like when we're in the next

Realm, but in this realm we have power. We can have prosperity. We can have abundant life

Why because the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in this mortal body that we live in now

We're in dwelt. So all that goes back to the indwelling starts with verse 9 verse 10 verse 11 all talks about the fact we're in dwelt by the

Holy Spirit and Since we're in dwelt by the Holy Spirit and the body is already dead

Then verse 12 is true. We are not debtors to the flesh To live after the flesh we we don't owe it any we don't know this old man anything, right?

So when it tempts us to sin, we don't need to listen That's all of that is so clear in verse 12

But there if that weren't enough those four reasons that we've already seen starting with verse 9 through verse 11

There is more when we jump out here to verse 13

And I should say verse 14 It tells more reasons and then 15 and 16 and 17

All of them tell more reasons. I'm gonna skip verse 13 for a minute. It's a bit of a parenthetical

I'll come back to it in a minute, but let's keep looking at these reasons why we ought not be debtors

To do what the flesh says to do verse 14 gives another reason For as many as are led by the

Spirit of God, they are the sons of God So what does that tell us? It tells us that we are not any longer

People who are after the genetic material of our human parents who were sinners

But now we've been regened and our father is God So now we're from God.

We are the sons of God and so there's about oh five different things that I'm seeing happening here from verse for 14 through verse 17, you got four verses but about five

Additional reasons why we ought not be debtors to the flesh and I guess if you want to make it easy to remember

Let's see if we can make them all start with an a now bill You know, I have to cheat a little bit Grammatically to make them all work as an a but the first one there for we

For as many of us as are led by the Spirit. We are the sons of God We that really deals with the regeneration the fact that we're regened but why don't we call that we have been awakened

Can you remember that we've been awakened from the dead? So that's a great reason not to live according to the flesh

Don't you think? All right. So let's just go with that for that one Now look at verse 15. It gives us another one and notice they start with the word for it means because All of these reasons why we ought not be debtors to the flesh are listed here

Number 15 verse 15 because we Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear

But you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father so the second point here is that we

You know one way that the flesh Tempts us to sin is by by say allowing

Satan to create fear in our lives fear Fear can cause us to do all kinds of bad thinking and We our first thought is generally to be fearful until we think through these principles

We've learned and as we think through more and more of these principles The second thought can be well, why am

I fearing? What do I have to fear? I don't really have anything to fear because who is my father, right?

And what does he own and what does he control he owns everything? He controls everything. Why am

I afraid of anything? Does he have the ability to protect me now? We know as human fathers.

We try to protect our Family, right, but we can fail can't we? Someone stronger than us could come in and do damage to our family.

We couldn't stop it in some scenarios, right? God's not that way There's no way in which he can ever fail.

He's omnipotent He's omniscient He knows everything before it happens.

He's your father. He's watching over you Why do we fear anything? So the second point I just put fearless now,

I know that doesn't start with an a unfortunately But notice there's another part of verse 15 that starts with an a

It says the reason we don't need to fear or be held in bondage Which fear causes is because we have the spirit of adoption that starts with an a that's pretty

Pretty good, isn't it? All right, but also it says we cry I have a father and that's an endearing term for father like daddy

So how about if we use the word adored? We're adored so not only are we

Awakened and reborn and now we're born into God's family. He becomes our father, but he adores us

Like a father does a little bitty child or a child of any age actually

They never get too big or too old not to be adored so If we have that capacity

Imagine God, I mean the whole reason he gives us children. I think is to teach us a little bit of his love for us

It's this is what it's like only I love you way more than you can love your kid That's that's the way it is, which is hard for us to believe that he could isn't it sometimes

But he can and so another reason we don't need to Live according to flesh is we've been awakened and regenerated we can be fearless We don't need to let fear bother us because we're adored by the one who controls everything

Right. What about verse 16? The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God so we can call this assurance

We have assurance that it's real Because the Holy Spirit tells our spirit they live together in our brain somehow that his spirit and our spirit live together and become one spirit and It witnesses to us that we're saved.

We don't doubt our salvation Because the one who saved us lives in us and testifies to us all the time that we are saved

Sometimes we doubt why we live like we do or make decisions like we make or when we sin we doubt why to ourself

But we should never doubt our salvation because we have the assurance of it His spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are

God's children and then there's more look at verse 17 and If children then heirs heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ If so be that we suffer with him then we may also or that we may also be glorified together with him so Now we see that we're joint heirs now.

I had to really dig to get an A for that But there is one and if you were British you would know the word.

It's the word exceed. It's a fancy word But we exceed to the throne like when the prince becomes the king he exceeds from Prince to King He like that so don't you like it?

We can actually use the word now. It's a word we can pull out and use so We have exceeded from being carnal

Dead walking dead men and women to being children of the king and Princes and we will rule and reign with him forever

So we have exceeded to the same throne that he's a part of now. This is wonderful.

I'll never forget Hearing Otis teach on this concept the legal concept of what it means to be a

Joint heir and he asked the class. I heard him teach it more than once, but I'm sure some of you did too

But he would ask the class What is the difference legally between being a co -heir and a joint heir and the

Bible says we're joint heirs? Not co -heirs What is the difference? well it's hard for me to say since I'm an only child, but Katie you could say this

If you were a co -heir of all that you're the vast empire of your father

More death than asset probably. But anyway, if you're the co -heir that means

Everything I have and everything your mom has you could split that five ways and you would get a fifth of it

Right pretty good could be if I live a little longer. I think it could be we'll see the

Lord willing but So a co -heir you divide it up among the children, right and altogether the children own it all but they each own a portion

You know what the difference is a joint heir You would have to say that Katie and her four siblings each own a hundred percent of everything

So the difference is a co -heir divides it up a joint heir joint heirs own all of everything together and it is different Well, the

Bible says we are joint heirs with Christ, which means everything Christ owns we own now think about that We don't have to divide it up among each other because it's indivisible.

Anyway, it's infinite, right? It's it is enough. There's more than enough. There's no way to even talk about it

You don't need to worry about it being divided up you own all of it each of us in the room own all of it

Think about that. Why would we fear anything? Well, we shouldn't and I know the first thought is to fear especially late at night, right?

First thought is to fear But the second thought should be why? Why do

I ever fear anything? And we shouldn't there's no absolutely no need to so this is a marvelous passage verse 9 all the way down through verse 17 we have

Abundance look at this That was an easy a to come up with abundance. We because we're joint heirs with Christ and everything he owns we own 100 % and that cool

So we have been awakened. We are adored We are given assurance by the spirit that dwells in us we have exceeded from being dead men and women to being children of the king and We have abundance and all that's found in those few verses now

I skipped verse 13 because it was a bit of a parenthetical. So let's go back to it For if you live after the flesh you shall die

But if you through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body you shall live

Now the word mortify means to kill The deeds the body but what's interesting about it is we've already studied scripture that teaches us very clearly that Jesus when he was crucified he slew our old man

So our old man actually is already dead So to mortify

Not so much means for us to kill it as it means for us to count it dead and remember that it's dead

Does that make sense? We can't kill it. God killed it It was in Christ when

Jesus died the father made that decision. He did the act it's done Our job is to consider it true and to count it.

So in Time and space during our life and that's really what it means to mortify the flesh

It means count your flesh as if it's already gone Pretend you've already died and you're already in your heavenly body

Because the inside of you it already is that way the inside of you the old man has been crucified

The only thing that even lives is the new man The old man is usurping authority if he takes it over at all, which he does from time to time

But he's not rightfully doing it So just remembering the position that we hold and the fact that he's already dead helps

It doesn't hurt to tell him that when he tempts you when your own flesh tempts you say look you're dead Why do

I listen to you? You're dead All right, so we see that here but now let's look at this focus in here on the second half of verse 13

If you through the Spirit, so can you control this body of yours?

by yourself Can you do it through good character? No is

Building character bad. No, it's good to have character traits. We teach in school

Sometimes we'll see them on the door. Sometimes we'll see them on little posters, you know, sometimes they're in the

Material they're studying a good character like fruits of the Spirit right the good side of human beings

It's good to teach children those things We have to know though being adults that Knowing those things and knowing that they're right is not enough

It's not enough to keep us from sinning So character in and of itself cannot

Do the trick but notice what it says if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh so if you're holding the

Lord's hand and You're walking spirit -filled You can totally control your body

During the moments that your spirit filled You can totally control your body because your spirit and the

Holy Spirit the Bible says become one spirit at that time So it's here again.

It's a moment -by -moment proposition Thinking about what we're thinking about is the new man staying in control of that mind and you can tell when it pops out when the flesh when the flesh

Starts thinking for you. You can tell now don't feel like that's a sin when that happens

That's not the sin. The sin is if you enjoy it and keep going with it, right? So when you when the brain just pops up something, it's just a computer.

It's a glory It's an awesome thing God built. No human can build anything like it or come close to it

So it's gonna pull up stuff data that has been put in it by you by Satan by the world by bad people by good people it'll just throw it out there sometimes want it and Satan has a way to be able to cause it to throw things out there by sometimes.

It's visual. Sometimes it can be anything He can cause it to throw things out there. So that's not the sin.

The sin is what do you do with it? So if you're thinking about what you're thinking about all the time the real you the spiritual man the saved born -again

Regenerated person that you are needs to control that brain and we've talked about that a thousand times a thousand different ways

But it's saying it here again if you through the spirit Mortify, so what do you do?

How does this work? Let's get practical here Your brain pops up a thought that you know is not something Jesus would be thinking about right now

He and maybe you just say well, I'm never gonna be Jesus. I'm me. All right, let's put it this way

It's not something he wants you to be thinking about right now. How about that? What do you do?

What do you literally do? Well, you literally pray this prayer Lord Give me the mind of Christ and let me think like he would think in this situation right now

Please and it'll instantly happen. He will never not answer that prayer bad grammar good preaching He will never not answer that prayer

Lord. Give me the mind of Christ It works every time you ever prayed. It's one of the greatest spiritual warfare prayers ever invented and It's invented by the

Holy Spirit because he put it in the Bible of this concept that you had He says you have the mind of Christ, right?

You have it. So use it. So that's how you do that Now I want to look at something kind of interesting here, though Because otherwise

I'm done and I've never been done at 20 minutes to 12. You wouldn't know what to do with yourselves And the food wouldn't be ready, right?

So the sermons really over except Except that I had this part now I didn't ever brought you didn't think

I'd have time to mess with it, but we do so let's just look at this It's kind of fun stuff Sometimes The word if doesn't mean what it does in the

English language when we see it in Scripture from the Greek But if you through the

Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body you shall live now notice It's interesting this entire chapter of Romans starting with verse 1 going all the way down to verse

Where were we 17? It's kind of interesting because it starts with verse 1 it says there is there for now no condemnation to those

Who are in Christ, right? But then the next phrase kind of sounds interesting because it says who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit

So it almost makes you your brain insert the little word if like if you walk

Not after the flesh but after spirit then you will have no condemnation. Otherwise, you might have be condemned, right?

That's how we think now We know after studying all the other verses after it and all the chapters before it doesn't mean that there's no if there

You're not condemned. You see that's your position. You're standing is you're not condemned.

You're justified It's as if you never sin, you're already righteous in God's the father's eyes, right?

We know that so Sometimes even an implied if shouldn't be stuck in there, but we stick it in there when we shouldn't in it creates bad doctrine

Okay, but sometimes even when the word if is in the English it should not be in our thinking exactly like the word means and The way we can tell is we can go out look at other places

The same little Greek word is used in in the Bible and it you won't find the word if in all these places a lot

Of times you'll find some very interesting words more powerful words So let's think about this second phrase here

But if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body you shall live and let's also think about some of these these interesting verses

Let me go back because I think a couple of just amazing verses that we've already covered look at verse 9

Just for a second Look at verse 9 But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit if so be that spirit of God dwells in you

So all this stuff about worrying about well, wait a minute. Am I one of these people that walks according to flesh?

So maybe I'm condemned or not. Well that verse clears it up because it said if you've ever been saved You're immediately and dwelt by the

Holy Spirit. And if you have the Holy Spirit, you're not in the flesh Right, you're in the spirit by definition.

You're a person who is a spiritual person not a lost person All right, so we know that well now

What about verse 13 B, but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds the body you shall live

Is that word really if like we mean if as if to say that maybe you won't live

Maybe you might suffer eternal death Could it mean that we know from other scripture?

It can't mean that don't we? So let's look at this word if because I don't think it means that in this particular verse

But a couple of interesting places We do know that verse 13 is doing this is a great contrast between the natural man and the spiritual man right

The natural man if you live after the flesh you shall surely die Right all of his whole life is spent on making money power getting power

Grabbing everything this world has to offer everything Satan offered Jesus the natural man wants all of that And he will bow the knee to Satan to get it, right?

So if you live that way you're living a death life. You're not you're a walking dead man

You're like Jesus said you're a whited sepulchre full of dead men's bones You look good on the outside, but on the inside you already did but now here's the contrast if you through the

Spirit Mortify the deeds of the body you're living now that shall live means now in time and space you're living now

You're alive already If you're walking in the spirit, so it's a huge contrast contrast between a natural man and spiritual man the natural man lives after or according to or he is

Interested in the fleshly things and the worldly things and in the end of it all he dies and loses everything

All right, the spiritual man is the opposite. He is actually already Alive, so if the spiritual man mortifies the deed of the body he lives

What about this word if let me get you to look at it in some other places New Testament the exact same little

Greek word look at Matthew 5 13 It is the

Greek word a on it's a conditional particle All right, and There is another word for if now that one is a on but there's another word for if it comes from a little

Greek word I which means Usually it means because or since It doesn't mean if so much as it means because something happened or since or since something happened

So you got to kind of look and see which little word that is. All right, so in Matthew 5 13

You are the salt of the earth But if the salt has lost its savor wherewith shall it be salted it is henceforth good for nothing

Now see the word if right there Okay, that little word if Is the word eon

It comes from the little Greek word. I which means because In other words since this salt has lost its savor.

It's no good anymore It won't salt the food anymore now

Look at Matthew 6 30 Wherefore if God so clothed the grass of the field

Which today is and tomorrow is cast in the oven shall he not much more clothed you.

Oh you little faith Now what you start to see is when you see some of these kinds of verses a more

Accurate or distinct or precise English word might not be if it might be the word since since or because So look at this.

Is this really asking if God clothes the grass of the field or not, or is that a given?

I Mean if God doesn't put the little flowers out there who puts them out there nobody So it's not really if like we use it today you see because today means

Probably, you know, maybe not right maybe not it's a conditional like well, maybe not this is not saying well

Maybe God does or maybe he doesn't put the grass out there. Maybe someone else puts the grass out there

It's not saying that is it and so this little Greek word eon does not always mean if like it means in English Sometimes a better in modern

English word would be since so look at this Wherefore since God so clothes the grass of the field

Wouldn't that make more sense? To say it that way. All right, look at Romans 6 8

I'm going to show you some other examples of this same little word My point is this word sometimes is better translated into the word since since So look at Romans 6 8 now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him

Do you think that's really questioning Whether a Christian is dead with Christ It's not

It's the little word eon which More often than not is translated into the word since or because so if you look at Romans 6 8

It really means for because we are dead with Christ or since we're dead with Christ We believe we will also live with him

Do you see that so since is a really good word to translate this little Greek word eon into or a on All right.

Here's another one acts 11 1117 and here you're actually gonna start showing you some places where it actually is translated into Different words than the word if okay, it's the same little

Greek word though that we find in Romans 8 13 where it says but if you through the

Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh you shall live so 11 let's see verse 11 17 acts 11 17

You're gonna see this little Greek word a on Comes from the smaller root word

I verse 17 says for as much then as God gave them the light gift as he did unto us that word for as much then

Two words actually for as much then is the little word a on so So for as much then is the same is an old -fashioned way of saying since or because Right because or since all right acts 19 to he said unto them.

I Should give you time to look at it Look this one up because it's actually the best word acts 19 to He said unto them.

Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believe that's the little Greek word a on it's translated

If sometimes but in this verse is translated since See see the word since that's the same word so More often than not in the

Bible usage. It means since or because it doesn't mean if Okay, you have received the

Holy Ghost since you believe that is the little Greek word a on and Mark 9 9

Is interesting it's a really translated different word, I mean a different word in English, but so sometimes with Greek words

You have to kind of look at the context To know what modern

English word you would choose and When we've looked at the entire context of Romans chapter 7

Romans chapter 8 all the way down to where we are now I think the word since works much better than the word if We'll go back to that in a minute, but look at this one

Acts 19 to said since you believe so that's the same little word now mark 9 9 says and As they came down from the mountain he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen till the

Son of Man were risen the little word till is the Greek word

Aeon So it could it could be translated until which is more like if See if and until are kind of similar words like they're sort of conditional words

But the other other words since or because are not conditional at all

They're not so it's not always a conditional word And then in Hebrews 7 15 is an interesting translation of the same word

And it is yet far more evident for that after the similitude of Melchizedek there arises another priest the little word for is

From this same word. So sometimes it means for not if so now let's go back to Romans 8 13 and let's

Put any one of these other words in instead of the word if and see if we like it It says but since you through the

Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body you shall live Now that sounds better to me because I know the scripture teaches all throughout the

Bible that I can't not live I Can't go to hell. I Have to live so I don't think it's a conditional there

I think it's the word since but since you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body

You shall live. I think the word for works Because or the word for or because for because you through the

Spirit Do mortify the deeds of the body you shall live and I think because may even make a little more sense to us nowadays

Because now notice it doesn't say that you mortify the deeds of the flesh by yourself.

Does it it says you through the Spirit? Because you through the

Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh. You shall live we do that every day We do it again and again every time that brain of yours or mine throws that carnal thought up We bring it under subjection to the

Spirit to Jesus Christ to the mind of Christ right and because we do that We shall live you see the difference.

It's a much better translation. So I would pencil in the word Because now you say well, does it work with the first part of verse 13?

Well, it works perfectly For because you lived after the flesh you will die

So if you're a person who lives after the flesh you're gonna die because of that It works perfectly and in the second part

But because you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body You shall live and when you recognize that Paul is always speaking to a mixed audience

He's got three kinds of people in every room. You know what they are, right? lost sheep saved sheep goats

So the first part of verse 13 is for the goats Because you like you can imagine me picking one out in the crowd

I can't do it in this crowd We got the home folks here But if we had a visitor I could look at that visitor this morning and say because you live after the flesh

You shall die and then I say but you guys Because you live after the Spirit you shall live

Isn't that cool stuff and even then I'm still through three minutes before noon today.

So let's stand and have prayer together It concluded a months -long study.

I have no further ammunition beyond that study. So we are done Which the the discouraging part for you would be that that means between now and next

Sunday He's going to create six more months of stuff new stuff Starting after verse 17 and that what we got through today

So let's pray Lord. Thank you so much for your word Thank you for how?

Mathematical it can be but yet Thank you for your spirit for the areas where we don't know how to apply it or which word to use by the context

Your spirit will teach us which word it actually means and so we're never

Caused to live by a list of rules not even with regard to grammar. We always have to follow you

Thank you that you can give us a sense of the true meaning once we have a better grasp of the whole of the

Bible Thank you that brother Bill taught the truth this morning when he said that the

Bible is the best commentary on the Bible and That the Bible interprets the

Bible and all those wonderful things the way you've built this book is amazing Thank you for the truths you've given us this morning

Namely that we have no reason whatsoever to live according to the flesh Our flesh is dead

We are risen We have exceed extended to the throne

We are your children. We are Kings We own everything you own.

We should never have fear. We have no reason at all to Walk back into the flesh

So Lord, thank you that you have given us a new birth and that we're new people

Help us not to look backwards but forwards Having learned from the things that have happened in our lives, but not being owned by those things

So Lord help us to take these truths to help other folks that need to hear these things

From time to time in our lives and Lord bless the meal. We're about to have and we ask it in Jesus name.