The Crescendo

Romans.8:1-11 ESV

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [a] 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you [b] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, [c] he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not 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 set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus [d] from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Prayer:

Paul in chapter 7 was having a transparent moment and calling the church to be transparent or to display transparency with an open argument or dialogue about the battles between his flesh and his spirit.

• To be transparent means you are being clear in words, actions, and deeds. Being transparent enough for friends, family, or strangers to see through you. Transparency eliminates the lies or the excuses we tend to lean towards or into when we look at or see insecurity in the mirror of our hearts. Transparency is simple, clear, and easy to understand. When you are transparent you are simple, clear, and easy to understand. You are not complicated, dark, and hard to understand. A person who is transparent does not have secrets...

Eugene Peterson calls our attention to scripture:

“I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself— after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So, if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still cannot keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I cannot do it. I decide to do good, but I do not really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, do not result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who cando anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.”

It is after this open argument that the gospel crescendo is written to the church...

cre·scen·do
the highest point reached in a progressive increase of intensity.

The orchestra example... (The voice of God...) Righteousness, Faith, and Praise

Paul begins chapter 8 with a gospel crescendo of encouragement beginning in verse 1

Point 1- Walk in the spirit

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [a] 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you [b] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, [c] he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

A. No condemnation
B. Jesus set you free from the law and death.
C. God sent His son as a sin offering so you can live.
D. Christ fulfilled the law in us so we can walk according to the spirit.

There is now no condemnation no guilty verdict, no punishment for those who are in Christ Jesus who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior. For the law of the Spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus the law of our new being has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do that is, overcome sin and remove its penalty, its power being weakened by the flesh man’s nature without the Holy Spirit, God did: He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin. And He condemned sin in the flesh subdued it and overcame it in the person of His own Son, so that the righteous and just requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh guided by worldliness and our sinful nature but live our lives in the ways of the Spirit guided by His power.

Walk in the spirit that will cause you to...

Point 2- Live, Set and Please God

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 set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those, who are in the flesh, cannot please God.

Living your lives according to the spirit enables you to set your mind on the spirit and by default gives you life and peace. Naturally, our flesh wants to dominate causing us to be hostile towards God with no submission or humility. By this our actions are not pleasing to God.

“If our minds are set on the wrong things, our feet will automatically go in the wrong way. Setting your mind is like choosing a TV station. You can watch channel 4 or channel 47, but you can’t watch both simultaneously. Nor can you simultaneously listen to AM and FM frequencies on the same device.

You have two different channels- one that leads to death and one that leads to life and peace.” - Dr. Tony Evans

So, when you live according to the spirit and set your mind on the spirit, that will equate to living a life pleasing to God.

Point 3- The Spirit is life because of righteousness

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Paul assures the people with the statement “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” This presses upon the importance of God’s spirit living on the inside of a Christian. Leading me to ask you does the spirit of God dwell in you? Hopefully, because the spirit is life...It is life because of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. Christ had you in mind when he was betrayed by a disciple, he had you in mind when he was spit on, he had you in mind when they mocked him, He had you in mind when they whipped him, He had you in mind when they pierced him on his sides, placed nails in his hands, placed a crown of thorns on his head. He had you on his mind when he said “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

Righteousness was displayed on the cross for you and me causing us to understand that God...

Point 4- God gives you life

11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus [d] from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!