Romans 8:1-17
O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24 KJV)
We've all been there.
"Why do I keep doing this?"
"How can I belong to God and still wrestle so much with sin?"
The harder you try, the more stuck you become.
"Who will rescue me?"
1. There is no condemnation for you.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
That's the power of grace.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
There is now no condemnation for those who are in Him.
God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us in order that we might become of righteousness of God … (2 Corinthians 5:21)
You keep reviewing the evidence against you and you know you don't have a chance.
You have been forgiven by the grace and mercy of God.
2. The Spirit leads you into a new way of life.
Some people live according to the flesh.
Others live according to the Spirit.
But those who live according to the Spirit experience something entirely different.
Life according to the flesh is life powered by our own strength.
Life according to the Spirit is life empowered by the Spirit of God.
But the Christian life is about living in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul says we are able to put to death the misdeeds of the body.
But when we move closer to the source of power, everything changes.
Real power for transformation comes from the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God is at work within you.
3. We have a relationship with God that will last.
What you do flows out of who you are.
Paul says we're adopted into God's family.
He has brought us into His family.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God... (John 1:12 NASB)
See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God; and in fact we are. (1 John 3:1 NASB)
You get the power you need because you belong to God.
When the Spirit lives in you, everything changes about who you are and who you will be.
The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives within us.
With Him, we are His children, free from guilt, who can claim as our birthright power over sin.