Month: July 2011

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.
Rom 8:9

Recently, when studying Romans 8, my attention was drawn to the different names of the Spirit of God given in this chapter. These different names highlight the richness of the gift we have in the Spirit of God. As our text above confirms, this gift is common to all believers. There is a greater level of intimacy that the church has with God now than was previously known because of our relationship with the Spirit. In contrasting this difference before and after Pentecost, Jesus says in Jn 14:17, “…He dwells with you and will be in you.” What a blessing we have because of the indwelling Spirit of God! Let’s see what these various names of the Spirit in Romans 8 reveal to us.

Rom 8:2 – “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus”
What was our state prior to the work of the Spirit in our lives? Eph 2:1 says we were “dead in trespasses and sins”. Dead! What hope can there be for a dead man? Does he have any power to give himself life? No, he can only become progressively worse as the body begins to decay. Remember what Martha said about her brother Lazarus after he had been in the grave four days? “Lord, by this time there is a stench”! (Jn 11:39) All a dead man can do is stink! What a debt we owe to the Spirit of God who has made us alive! In our flesh, we could do nothing, but God by His Spirit raised us from our spiritual death! “It is the Spirit who give life; the flesh profits nothing.” (Jn 6:63)

Rom 8:11 – “the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead”
In speaking of His Spirit that the disciples would soon receive, Jesus told them to remain at Jerusalem until they were “endued with power from on high.” That word power is the Greek word from which we get the English word “dynamite”! To have the Spirit dwelling in you is to have the power of God, the same power that raised the Son of God from the dead! No wonder we’re told we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (Ph 4:13) With such a treasure in these earthen vessels (2 Cor 4:7), why would we ever be paralyzed by fear? “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31) The church is an unstoppable force in this world. Go forth boldly, church, declaring the word of God without fear of what man might do to you, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Ti 1:7) Jesus overcame this world and so shall you through Him! (Jn 16:33)

Rom 8:15 – “the Spirit of adoption”
Just when it seems things couldn’t get any better, the Lord reminds us that we have the Spirit of adoption! We have life because we were “born of the Spirit”. (Jn 3:6) That means we are now the sons of God and have all the privileges that come with that birth! Just listen to Rom 8:16-17: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 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.” What right do we have to be “joint heirs” with God? He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He deserves such glory! We are unworthy of ourselves to enjoy His inheritance; nevertheless, we are told in God’s word that “we shall also reign with Him”! (2 Ti 2:12) What do we do in response to such things? We bow and worship! We cast our crowns at His feet! (Rev 4:10) You are joint heirs with Christ, church! Let your weeping be turned to joy! “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Rom 8:18)

Jamie

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus
Rom 8:1

Of all the glorious thoughts contained in Scripture, I don’t know if any surpass the glory of this verse!  What a thought that man–who was made from dust and sinned against his holy Creator Who gave him life thereby falling short of the glory of God–could stand before God uncondemned!  “Amazing love!  How can it be that Thou my God shouldst die for me!”  As if the thought that wasn’t glorious enough, the Lord adds a three-letter word in this verse that makes all the difference: “now”!

There are men that would teach you that is not the case, dear soul.  They would say you can’t stand before the Lord even now uncondemned and eternally justified.  You must do something more than simply believe in the Lord Jesus.  You must add to His work with your own works to obtain such a gift, but doesn’t that negate the fact that it is indeed a gift?!!  Paul dealt with this very point in Rom 4:1-5.  Just listen:

“What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?  For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  For what does the Scripture say?  ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’  Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.  But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness…”

Oh precious thought!  When I agree with God that I can do nothing to earn His favor but that He alone could pay that debt that rendered me acceptable before Him, He gets all the glory as it should be!  Christ upon the cross was a sacrifice sufficient enough to purge me from all my sins (1 Jn 1:7)!  As the old hymn says:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

How can we not sing when such a gift is ours!  May a song rise in our hearts today in praise to our Redeemer!  He has done what we could never do!  The law stood against us and condemned us because we could not keep that which was required for us to be acceptable before God by our own works.  But, thank God with me this morning that Col 2:14 reminds us Jesus Christ has “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

Jamie

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
    The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
    The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
    The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
    Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
    And in keeping them there is great reward.
Ps 19:7-11

As we’ve been studying the book of Romans, over and over again we’ve been reminded that we simply cannot be saved by the keeping of the law.  Last week, we were asked the question , “Is there a contradiction between Paul’s observation that the Law is a demanding, unyielding code of condemnation and David’s obvious affection for the law in Ps 19?  It’s clear from our text above that the psalmist took great delight in the law of God and observed that in keeping it there was great reward.  We find the same love in Ps 119 where in almost everyone of the 176 verses we have a reference to the word of God!

Surely Paul and David cannot be opposed to one another, right?  Absolutely not!  Paul is only pointing out in Romans the weakness of our flesh.  We are unable to keep the law because of our fallen nature.  The point in the law is to show us our need of a Savior.  It exalts the Lord Who provided a way of salvation for those that had fallen short of the glory of God! (Rom 3:23) We can never come up to the standard set forth in the law.  We’d have to be perfectly righteous just as God is; however, the law is still holy and good (Rom 7:12) and worthy of our obedience and meditation.  The difference now is the motivation behind my obedience.  If I tried to keep the commandments prior to salvation, I was motivated by the condemnation that if I didn’t keep them, I’d fall into judgment; however, now that I have a new heart, I strive to keep God’s commands because I love Him and desire to do that which is pleasing to Him.  Remember Christ’s words in Jn 14:15?  “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Even though the believer is now justified before God through the work of Jesus Christ, he will never cast off God’s word.  In fact, it will be the delight of his heart, even as it was for David, because he sees the great benefit and blessing in it.  We have a richness in the word of God that you won’t find anywhere else.  Paul said in 2 Tim 3:15 that the Holy Scriptures were “able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”  Can we say that about another book or any media for that matter?  Will you find that blessing on the evening news, in the next box office blockbuster, or the current New York Times’ bestseller?  We would do well to devote ourselves far more to the reading of the scriptures than the thoughts of man, even religious books!  Sure, there are works of men that have benefited us, so we would not abandon entirely every work of man, but will we find anywhere else such an undiluted source of wisdom?  No!  Stay in the word of God!  I have no doubt that the “parchments” mentioned in 2 Ti 4:13 were copies of the Scriptures because Paul told Timothy, “If you forget everything else when you come to visit me, don’t forget the parchments!”  How much time have we wasted–WASTED–on the works of men!  Get alone with God, cry out for understanding by His Spirit, and saturate yourself in His word!  As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word of God that you may grow thereby! (1 Pet 2:2) Nothing will profit you more!

Jamie