← ArchiveSunday, August 18, 2013DateAugust 18, 2013SpeakerChris BurnsTextRomans 6Passages in this sermonRomans 61:54Romans 6:1–71:57Romans 39:521 John 511:21Jeremiah 1814:27Jeremiah 1714:27Ephesians 216:05Romans 530:20Ephesians 537:17TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00Man, thank you, Greg, and thank you, everybody. Y'all, some of you are actually smiling now. It's just hard not to smile when you start thinking about how great God is. Amen. It's just hard not to get excited. And that's what I want to talk to you about this morning. You know, we've been talking about questions. What is truth, Pilate asked.0:28And Jesus basically said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. And so truth is everything that Jesus, everything that God is, and everything that exudes from him. Every word that he's ever spoken is truth. And so when we look at the scriptures, they are a body of truth that has been given us by God. And then the next big question that we talked about was, who do you say that I am? You remember when Jesus confronted Peter and the disciples, and they were all there together, and he said, who do people say that I am?0:57And they said their thoughts and what they had heard, and John the Baptist, prophet, Elijah, this, that. But then he said, who do you say that I am? And that very powerful answer that Peter gave, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And then the response that Jesus gave to that. Peter, nobody on this earth gave you that answer.1:25That answer came from my Father, which is in heaven. And that is a very powerful question that we ourselves ponder, ask, answer, and give an answer to God for. And that brings us to what I feel like may be our next question. And I realize there are a lot of other questions in scripture that garner our attention. But this one is, there's a powerful question. It comes from Romans chapter 6.1:54So if you have your Bibles with you, turn with me to Romans chapter 6, verses 1 through 7. Paul is giving us doctrinal truths in each chapter. Previous chapters talked about justification, the importance of justification. Chapter 3 tells us, we'll talk about that, just how sinful that everybody is that we all are. And then he shares with us grace. Chapter 8 is a very powerful chapter that reminds us that everything we do, we do because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us.2:23It has been said, and I don't challenge this at all, but we all talk about free will. But the most important free will that you will ever exercise is the free will that you have in Christ Jesus after you have confessed him as Lord and Savior. Because that will, that opportunity that you have, then reflects all that God is or isn't doing in your life.2:53And we want to hope that God is doing a great work in our life. We hope that people are seeing grace played out in our life. We hope that people are seeing Jesus Christ in his image more every day in our life as God is working on us to create the image of his son through the hardships and through the good times that we're going through in life.3:15And so, beginning in verse 1, Paul asked, I thought, a very pertinent question, and he answered it as well. Sometimes I'm not sure we understand the answer, so we're going to expound on that a little bit.3:42And the title of the message is just really simple. It says, what shall we then, what shall we then, or excuse me, what shall we say then? What shall we say then? And that's what Paul starts out with in verse 1. He says, what shall we say then, are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?4:04May it never be, Paul says. Now, there's an obvious reason. We'll get to this later. How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Now, that's a question that's a powerful question that sometimes we don't answer. Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death?4:33Therefore, we've been buried with him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection.5:02Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him in order that our body of sin might be done away with. So we that, so we, excuse me, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.5:29For he who has died is freed from sin. Now, I want to reread this, and I like the input here. It came from a great commentator. And he said one way that will help you understand what Paul's talking about here and understanding that when we see the word sin, so often we start thinking of individual sins and things that we do.5:59And we miss the whole understanding of this passage if that's what we do. If we try to correlate or if we try to identify sin, then we miss what Paul's actually talking about in this passage. So this writer, and it really helped me when I did this, he said, Everywhere you see the word sin, add nature to it. So if we go back and read it, he says,6:29What shall we say then? Are we to continue in a sin nature? That's the nature of sin that we had before we were saved. That grace may increase. And that was because that Paul had been hearing this rhetorical question over and over again because the message of Jesus Christ was so radical in his day, especially to the Jews who had understood the importance and the power of the law and had built their life around the importance and the power of traditions6:58based on the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the interpretation of the law that everything they had bound them more and more to the ability within themselves to please God, which Paul says you can't do. And so then Paul would preach this awesome message of grace, and he would talk about the grace of God and how the grace of God has been revealed to us through Jesus Christ7:27and how the grace of God brings us to a place of understanding that we've been forgiven for our sins, and there's not anything that we can do to please God. But God has sought to radically change our lives by taking his own son and becoming his own son, becoming a sacrifice for our sins. So now we see this awesome grace. And so where sin abounds, grace abounds, Paul says.7:55And then he comes to chapter 6, and the question that's rhetorical is that, well, if sin brings more grace and grace is so awesome, then let us sin more so that more grace comes. That's a pretty good question. I think it deserves an answer. And so Paul says it does deserve an answer because people are using it as an excuse in today, people still, because we don't always study Scripture as we should to understand what the Bible actually says about who we are as believers.8:24We just want to leave that up to assumptions, and hopefully we'll have the work of the Holy Spirit to lead to the assumptions that we have, and we leave Scripture alone, and we don't read the Bible. And let me tell you something. The Holy Spirit will enable you to understand who you are and what you're about better when you read the Bible than to just leave everything up to the work of the Holy Spirit because God has provided us this beautiful text8:52so that we can understand how we are to live out our lives as believers in Jesus Christ without constantly and continually bringing shame on the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I know none of us would really want to do that, but we do when we don't follow Scripture and what it says.9:16I want us to look, first of all, and I just titled each outline a fundamental. I want us to look at a fundamental truth that Paul teaches in the previous chapters to bring us to this point. There's a fundamental truth that I think every one of us understands, and that is everyone has sinned, and no one is free from sin. Everyone has sinned, and no one is free from sin.9:46That's a fundamental truth. Paul speaks to that in Romans 3, verse 22, when he says, There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All have sinned. That's a fundamental truth. Let me tell you, Plegrian thought that everybody had enough good in them that they could choose and that they could do things that nobody said.10:12In other words, Plegrian believed that the fall, and he was one of those early church fathers that taught the Bible in a much different way than we the church discerned that it should be taught. And you go back, and you can look him up and study his philosophy, study his teaching. But the reality is just very simple. One of the things that he said that brings question to many hearts is that if there's good in everybody,10:41then everybody can respond to God out of their goodness. And let me tell you, you don't respond to God out of your goodness. You respond to God out of God. Now, not many people understand that. Not many people want to hold to that. But all have sinned, and all fall short. Now, here's the fall. The fall was complete. That means everybody's fallen as far as they can fall to be so totally wrapped up in sin11:10that there is no speck or spark of goodness in them. And we see this again. Maybe played out in a little different way, but in 1 John 5, beginning in verse 5, he says this is the message we've heard from him and announced to you that God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he's in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son,11:38cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves. And the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.12:04So our sin nature that everyone has, a fundamental truth is that we've all fallen. We've all sinned. We've all missed the mark. We've all brought shame to the Lord Jesus Christ. We all start at the same spot at the foot of the cross. There's none in here that are any more worthier than anybody else.12:33There's nobody in the world. There's nobody in the universe that's ever been more worthier than anybody else than Jesus himself, other than Jesus himself. So not only is that a fundamental truth, here's another one. Everyone's disappointed God. In Romans 3, chapter 9, what then, are we better than they? Not at all. For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. There is none righteous, not even one.13:00There's none who understands. There's none who seeks for God. Everybody's disappointed God. Everybody in this room is disappointed God. We've all disappointed God with our lives, with our thoughts, and the lives that we've previously lived without him and in the disgrace of dishonoring him. And let me tell you something, there's nobody in this room that God didn't create. Whether it be in your mother's womb13:28or as at the beginning when he created Adam and he created Eve, he created both of them. In all of God's infinite grace and mercy, we are not all springs of something or someone else. We are here because of God. Amen. Then he goes on. Their throat is an open grave. He's talking about us. With their tongues,13:58they keep deceiving. The poison of asp is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction, and misery are in their paths. And the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. That's us that have disappointed God. Can you imagine as we see in Jeremiah, I believe Jeremiah 17 or Jeremiah 18,14:27where we see the illustration of the potter and the clay and God is talking about Israel. But as we look at that and we apply that to our own lives and the potter is making this beautiful piece of our bowl or work that he's been working on. And as he works on it and as the crowd gathers around to watch the artistic ability of this great potter, they see with their own eyes this beautiful piece that he's making. But then all of a sudden the potter takes and he crushes it14:54and he makes it down into the lump of clay that it was because it was within his eyes and his ability as the potter to see the crack that had already been exposed. And so crushing that, he begins to remake it again so that it becomes the vessel that he had ever intended it to be. That's us. We're cracked. And we need a God to remake us.15:20We need a God who loves us enough to know that we cannot remake ourselves. We need a God who exudes grace toward us. And, you know, I thought this was interesting in that fundamental truth.15:49Everyone has lived in and was darkness. Now, when I say was, that means if you're a believer today, you're not darkness. But not only were you in darkness, you were darkness. And listen to what he says in Ephesians 2, verse 1. He says, You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of the world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them, we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh,16:19indulging in the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. I want to ask you, you just spark out an answer here. What have you ever seen a dead man do besides stink?16:49Nothing. Dead men don't do anything. Dead men can't do. Paul said we were dead men. We were as dead men. We were living our life. We were living our life under the lusts of the world. We were living our life under the lusts of our flesh. We were doing whatever felt good. We were doing what sounds a lot like today, doesn't it? If we could think of it, we would do it. If we thought it was pleasurable, we would find a way to compromise and do that.17:16And God said, that's where you were. Paul said that's where you were. We walked according to the course of this world. Let me tell you something. I like people who say, I'm an old man. I don't follow anybody. Oh, yes, you do. You're either following the course of the leader of the darkness of this world, or you've given your life to Jesus Christ, and you've surrendered unto God that which you withheld from him for all those years, and because God through his Holy Spirit has done a work in your life, and now you walk according to the leadership of the Lord17:45because you've surrendered your life to Christ, or you're still walking under the leadership of darkness. There's no in-between. You're not in that gray area. You say what you want, and you say, I just don't believe. You don't believe all you want to. But Paul's already declared. God's Word declares. We walked according to the power of the air, and the Spirit is now walking, or work of the Spirit is now working in the sons of disobedience. We live or lived in the lust of our flesh,18:12indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Wow, what a life. What a life. That's who we were. You know, there are people now that use that phrase that I use a lot, and that is, you know, it's an oncoming phrase, and we're, you know, scum-sucking, sore-licking dogs. And I want to tell you something. You multiply that times 1,000, and you kind of can get to where we really were in light of a holy God.18:41I want you to think for just a minute about the condition that you and I were in, and maybe you are still in that condition, and you're here today. But you and I were in that condition of deadness, of stinking, of desiring life in darkness, of desiring to live life after the leadership of the host of darkness. And listen to this. By nature. Now, how many of us know what he's talking about?19:14By nature. By the reality of who I am. By the nature that was in me. We were children of wrath, even as the rest. Some might say, and I wrote this down, and I want to read it because I didn't want to try to remember everything. Some might say, Brother Chris, we didn't come here to hear this today. We came to hear how we could have stronger marriages.19:43We want to know what the Bible says about financial security. We want to know how to raise godly children in a ungodly world. And let me say this. The problem in our world today is, is that's the philosophy that's being taught. When if we just realize where and whence we've come from, and whose we are, we will have these things. We will have godly homes. When I realize where I was, and I know what God's done for me,20:13I don't need somebody to teach me how to love my wife. The Holy Spirit of God comes into my life, and He begins to influence me with a love that I've never had before. I don't need a book on how to raise children. I've got the best book if I'll just read it, and then I'll study, and I'll turn my life over to the Holy Spirit. I'll learn how to love my children. I'll learn how to love my grandchildren. I'll learn how to relate to my brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. My friend, the problem that is going on in the world today, in the church today, is that we have weak, mealy-mouthed messages20:43that are trying to teach us how to be happy and live in darkness. And you can't do it. We are trying to hold on to the things of darkness, and have joy and pleasures, and still please God. And you cannot do that. I believe when we recognize who we are, and what we've done, and what we are capable of,21:13all these other things will become a byproduct of our spiritual lives in Jesus Christ. Now, that's a fundamental truth. I want to tell you a fundamental difference. Now, that lies in this passage that I just read. We're going to skip down to the other questions, beginning in verse 3. We have a fundamental difference that has taken place. There's a fundamental difference that's taking place.21:41Now, fundamental is very concrete, very, very, we know what that means. So, this is very simple. The fundamental difference, we have experienced the supernatural work of God. Now, that's where we get confused. Sometimes we try to hang definitions and understanding on things that are supernatural work of God. And I sometimes must admit, I don't, I don't know, not sometimes, a lot of times I have to admit, I just don't know how God did what he did. I just know the Bible says that he did it.22:11How did he baptize me into the death of Jesus Christ? I don't know how he did it. Does that mean that when I was baptized in the water baptisms that I was, no, that is an outward example of that. But what God did in our life at the new birth is just like he told Nicodemus, it was a supernatural, spiritual work of God.22:39That is the difference. Or do you not know, Paul says in verse 3, that all of us who've been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death. Therefore, we've been buried with him. How am I buried with him through baptism into death? So that as Christ was raised into death through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Folks, there is a work of God that takes place.23:08Not a work of the psychologist, not a work of the psychiatrist, not a work of the will, not a work of the mind. It is an absolute, dominating, all-powerful work of God that takes a person through the new birth. And sometimes we go after, you know, I get, I'm inundated with self-help books. Some of them are spiritual self-help books. But I come back to think, you know,23:38if people just understand that in this position over here, we are worthless without God. dying and headed to a sinner's hell, well, you know, that's just part of it. We're living in darkness. We're following the lusts of the flesh of this world. We're working on behalf of the prince of darkness. We can go on and on and on. And everything we do is selfish.24:06Everything we do is inconsistent. Everything we do is destructive, even though at times it may seem like it's not destructive. It's destructive. But when I move into the life of Christ by confessing Jesus Christ as the Lord of my life and surrender my inability or my ability to save myself and understand that through God he saves me, then Paul says God is able to take us to the baptism,24:33baptizing us into Christ Jesus and baptizing us into his death and raising us up in newness of life that we can walk like we never dreamed we would ever walk before. I wrote this down because I think it's important. We says this. In verses 3 and 4, he says, Do not refer to water baptism, but to the operation of the Spirit25:01in putting us into Christ as members of his body. It's supernatural work. It's a supernatural work. Listen, you can drive yourself crazy trying to understand supernatural works of God that are only in the ability of God. But God can do it. You may not. You may go, Brother Chris, I'm just having the hardest time. Let me tell you something. Just trust it. That if you've experienced the new birth,25:30there are things that have gone on in your life that will never go on. You could have never brought them on. You would have never anticipated anything like that ever happening. You could have never understood that you could have ever done what you've done. People will come and they will share before the church from time to time of a life that they now live. And Jesus Christ and we as the church go, Wow! And the thing is, is that we shouldn't be so wowed by the supernatural work of God under the operation of his Holy Spirit.25:59But this person goes on, he says, This operation is illustrated by water baptism. When Christ died, we died with him. When he was raised, we were raised to newness of life with him. This is our new position in Christ. Christ not only died for sin, but he also died unto sin. That is, he broke the power of sin and put out of commission, destroyed the old nature. The old nature is still there.26:29This we know. We know because every one of us has a battle with it every day. But it has been robbed of its power by the cross of Christ. For we died with Christ to all that belongs to the old life. In other words, for the first time when we came into Christ, we had an opportunity to exercise a will that we never realized we had to say no to the things of this world26:58and yes to the things of God. Somebody said today or somebody told me last week, I forgot when it was, but it was a little bit of a brief testimony. They said, you know, I wanted to stay home today. Thought I would stay home today. Thought I'd just relax and chill. I was tired and, you know, I just felt like, you know, I'm not going to do it. I'm going to go. Why does that battle go on? And I wanted to say, man, this is the work of God and the Holy Spirit in this man's life and he don't even realize it. He said,27:28He said, so I, you know, I got up and came. You know, brother Chris, I just want to tell you something. And I didn't know this was a guest. He said, man, my life was blessed. I've got exactly what I needed. I cannot ask for any more of what God was doing and I didn't even want to be here. But you see, that's the work of the Holy Spirit in our life against the work of our flesh that says, hey, don't do that. You can do this. Don't do that or whatever. And then the work of God says, no, sacrifice, surrender. Come on, be a part of, do it. People come to me and say,27:58man, you know, brother Chris, I didn't want to take that class, but you know, when I took, after I took that class, I'm so glad. I want to tell you, my life has been so blessed by the class. It's not what I did. You know, brother Chris, I didn't want to be a part of Love's Church. I want you to know, I really want, but you know, I've been out there and my life has been blessed and I'm just saying, yeah, there's a battle within us all. But we have the ability now to say, flesh, get behind me because I'm following28:27the Spirit of God today. In other words, something happens and you have the privilege to blow up and be unchristian about a neighbor. Maybe someone lives in your community. You got an opportunity to blow up, but you don't because you want to please God. You know, there again, I'm reminded of Nate Saint and all those missionaries that gave their life28:56down there having weapons but not willing to shoot the Indians because they knew that if they shot the Indians, those Indians would go to hell, but they knew if they were speared by the Indians that they'd go to heaven, but the opportunity for those Indians to accept Christ was there and would continue to be there as long as they lived and that's exactly what happened. My friend, led by the Spirit of God to do the most unbelievable things that the world looks at and says we're foolish for doing. You know, it's foolish for some to understand how it is for others29:25to want to sacrifice in their giving, to sacrifice in their desire to be in church, to sacrifice in their service at the church or to sacrifice in their love for others that others don't want to love. We are to live the supernatural work of Christ. And how do we best do that? We talked about this in our Sunday school class this morning. It's a word that you could write on the wall.29:55Surrender. Surrender. Sin and the old nature are hard masters. The unsaved person is a slave of sin. But even many Christians still serve sin even though their slavery to sin has been broken by Christ. People read Romans 5. Discover that Christ died for their sins and receive him into their hearts30:24but they fail to take up the words of Romans 6 and discover the glorious liberty they have in Christ. Again, and see for yourself that, he just simply says, read Romans 6, 1 through 10 again, and see for yourself that the believer is dead to sin. The old nature has been crucified with Christ. The believer is freed from sin. The old nature can no longer reign as king over the Christian30:54who knows the truth, reckons on the truth, and yields, surrenders to the truth. My son, truth's not binding. Truth's the most exciting thing that we can have. I want to tell you, there's nothing more exciting to be around somebody that you've been totally truthful with and you know there's not anything they can hold against you but I want to tell you there's nothing more miserable to know that you've held a lie in your heart and waiting for that lie to be exposed.31:23We live under the power of the Holy Spirit in us and not under the ability of ourselves or better our flesh to guide us. In other words, and this is so true, somebody says, how often do I have to surrender to the Holy Spirit? Is it an everyday thing? Yeah. Is it an every week thing? Yeah. Is it an every month thing?31:52Yeah. Let me tell you, it's an every 30 second thing for some. For some, it's an every minute thing. For some, it's an every other second thing because for some, there's a battle and they realize it and until they get the Holy Spirit involved in denying those things that they've been bound to, that they've been freed from, they just constantly battle. But then, ultimately, consistently,32:22consistently, making and allowing the Holy Spirit and surrendering to the work of the Holy Spirit, those sins become father and father behind us. It doesn't mean there are not going to be new ones that come to us. My friend, what Paul is saying is that we no longer have to live our lives knowing that the next thing we do may be sin when God has freed us to make the decision not to do it. And it is32:51our free will. If you're a Christian here today and you're choosing to gossip, you are choosing to follow the flesh over against the Spirit. If you're a Christian here today and you're choosing to lie, you're choosing to follow that lie over the work of the Holy Spirit in you. There's a fundamental argument that's going on. That fundamental argument Paul states is what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace33:21may increase? The question of the age is can I continue to sin as a Christian? Yes. But be careful. You said what? Can I continue to sin? Let me tell you, not only can you continue to sin but according to John you do continue to sin. but listen you better make sure which side of the fence you're on33:51you're on because here is the reality. Now a believer who continues in sin God's grace is sufficient to take care of their sin and grace abound to bring them into glory. Paul doesn't argue that. What Paul does argue and what Paul does say and what the Bible does teach us that a believer who determines that they're going to not surrender34:20and continue in sin ask Ananias Sapphira God can take their life and remove their shame from the church. God can remove listen I listened to a message last week I thought was the most interesting thing he said why and then shall we live for Christ he said because one day we're going to eyeball him eye to eye and we're living to be able to face him and to hear him34:50say Lord Jesus or him to say to us well done good and faithful servant Hebrew says we focus on the finish line we focus on the author of our faith we focus on the Lord Jesus Christ because he's the one we're running the race for and he's the one that's going to greet us when we cross the finish line we are in this to please God and not to please ourselves we live under a new authority35:19the Holy Spirit can we grieve the Holy Spirit absolutely you can grieve the Holy Spirit when you determine that your preferences and your life is more important than God's word and life for you you are immediately doing battle with the Spirit of God that is seeking to bring you35:48to submission to the Spirit of God that is working in you to bring out the image of Christ and not to constantly shadow your life by the darkness that you once lived the answer the grace of God covers all sin for the believer the power of God has severed the control of the flesh and sin over the believer just because there's grace enough does not okay the act of sin Paul says36:18Paul says that very clearly do we continue in sin so grace abounds no why because we've been gloriously spiritually buried in Christ Jesus and our sin has been our sinful self has been severed so what's our response to this Romans again just re-reading two and three here's here's our response36:47may it never be how shall we who died to sin still live in it or do you not know that all of us who've been baptized into Christ have been baptized into his death that's why there's a supernatural work of God going on in the body and the life of the believer every day every second every nanosecond of every day to bring about the image of Christ listen to what he says37:17in Ephesians chapter 5 let no one deceive you with empty words for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience therefore do not be partakers with them for you were formerly not now I want you to notice he didn't say you formerly walked in darkness he said you formerly were darkness he said for you were formerly darkness but now you are light in the Lord walk as children of the light for the fruit of the light37:46consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness but instead even expose them for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them secret but all things have become visible when they are exposed by the light for everything that becomes visible38:16is light for this reason it says awake sleeper and arise from the dead and Christ will shine on you wow listen folks we live in a society where it is now become vogue to live together and not marry38:46that's okay you know there are economic reasons for it there are these excuses people people today have no concern it's better to get to know each other by just living with each other it's vogue it's vogue to be homosexual now it's vogue everybody is becoming that but let me tell you something to be vogue is to be darkness to be vogue39:15is to live in darkness to be vogue is to be contrast between light and darkness and have darkness control your life don't be vogue be godly listen we get up every day we look in a mirror we determine what we look like and how we look and most of the time when we do that it's determined by how everybody else is looking do I look like I'm going to fit in with everybody else today39:44else today my friend it's time we as believers look like what god wants us to look like and not what god's work and not what the world wants us to look like so the truth of the matter is simple as a child of god how do I come to the place where god truly reigns in my life well first of all paul on multiple occasions is examining yourself and know you're in the faith make sure that you're a believer40:14a believer that you're one who's confessed christ as his lord and savior and who god has done the supernatural work of causing you to be born again and I want to tell you something that's not a hard task it's not hard to identify the reality of your heart and your life when you study the scriptures in first john just go back today this afternoon go back read first john chapters 1 2 3 4 and 5 and he's going to show you in there love your brother as yourself love your neighbor he says he goes on to talk about what it is to not walk in darkness40:44in darkness and he gives multiple opportunities for a believer to read that word and to come away from there saying thank you jesus for the affirmation that your word gives me that I'm a believer what about I know I'm a believer brother chris I know I confess christ as my savior but my life doesn't show it everybody in this room thinks I'm an awesome believer everybody in this room sees me as a great person but to be honest with you I have a wicked heart and my heart is deceitful41:13is deceitful and I know I'm a believer and brother chris what do I do I want to tell you you have to go back to where Paul teaches us and the bible is very clear in first john john teaches us if we know we have sin then let's confess that sin let's repent of that sin and let the holy spirit of god work fresh in our lives that's the only41:41way you can't keep hiding it you must bring it to the surface because confession is agreeing with god that that life and that action was sin repentance is turning away from that sin because god has so burdened your heart that you're the most miserable human being in the world let me tell you this is the second thing I wanted to say earlier not only does a believer have to be fearful of death sudden death by god when he continues to live in sin42:11knowing that he's a believer but I want to tell you there are a lot of people that are in the church today and in the world today that are miserable human beings in the world they're popping every kind of pill that the doctor give them to make them happy when the only thing that's truly going to make you happy is to come clean with the Lord Jesus and admit your sin and repent the tragedy of people saying brother Chris I just don't know if God's there42:40there I just don't know and I say no wonder look at how you live listen I'm not going to pick on sins you know what you're doing you know we can blast sins when in reality the greatest sin is the hardness of your heart to the presence of the Holy Spirit of God working through you and in you to bring about his purpose you know43:10you know isn't it neat where he says James I think it is or is it Peter to do to know good and not to do it is sin oh we want to throw rocks at all those bad things at the drunks and the alcoholics and the drug addicts and the prostitutes and the homosexuals and the this and that let's throw rocks at all of them they're all when in43:40when in our own heart we know we're not living surrendered and doing what God has redeemed us to do let's pray father today there may be somebody here that lord this this message the only thing they heard was the very first and that god is that they live in sin and that in that sin and darkness they need a savior and father i believe with all my heart you are44:10you are the only savior that can take a person out of the sin and out of their darkness and cleanse them and place them in the life of christ baptize them into his death and sever them from the ability to be constrained to live under the influence of sin god i thank you that the leadership of the holy spirit in the life of a born-again believer is more powerful if we surrender to them the flesh44:39the flesh that we've been severed from but god i pray every day for lord i know every day i battle sin and sometimes my flesh wins the majority of the time it may win and god i pray thank you that your holy spirit doesn't leave me but he hangs in there to continue to help me understand that i have45:08the strength and i have the ability to say yes to the things of god and no to the things of the flesh and so lord let this day be if there is someone lost come and confess christ as their savior lord be born into the family of god be born again father i pray if there are believers here today and they're45:37and they're struggling with surrender god they're struggling with sin that they're holding on to and lord they need free they need to be free lord may you overwhelm them with your holy spirit and bring about the freedom and the liberty that is theirs already in christ jesus first in jesus name we pray amen just stand for him of invitation and as you stand the invitation46:07the invitation is simple if you don't know christ your personal savior we invite you just to simply step out and come if you're battling something in your life and you know that that battle you just bow right where you are and pray god i want you to teach me i want to know i want to surrender i want to be free the freedom's there just whether or not you're taking it serious and then maybe you're looking for a church home and god's brought you to this place and this is where you want to be you simply step out and come and come46:39to the next time and come to the next time and come to the next time and comeMore sermons on Romans →
