Romans 229: Romans 8 - Why Did God Leave the Flesh in Us?

Welcome To  

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a worldwide Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.

 

What is the holy life?  What is THE RESURRECTION LIFE the Lord Jesus Christ wants His believers to live?  Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verses 1 to 3 describe it…Verse 1…

 

EPH 4:1

Therefore I (Paul), the prisoner of the Lord, implore you believers in Christ to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called…

 

Believers in Christ have been invited to, and have been granted the privilege of salvation, and that requires something of you…it requires the same thing required for salvation…obedience to your Lord.  How does your obedience look to others when you are reflecting the qualities of the Lord Jesus Christ?  Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verses 2 and 3…

 

EPH 4:2

…(living a lifestyle filled) with all humility and gentleness, (a lifestyle filled) with patience, (a lifestyle) showing tolerance for one another in unconditional love…

 

EPH 4:3

…(while) being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

We are to walk in a manner worthy of the gifts the Lord Jesus Christ has given us…we are to walk worthy of the person the Lord Jesus Christ has made us…and quite often we don’t.  When we don’t, we must remember the difference between God’s UNconditional love and the world’s conditional love.

 

When someone has unconditional love for you, as the Lord does for all of His creatures, which is an unending tolerance for your mistakes, He still expects you to conduct yourself in a certain way.  Walking in a manner worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ is not a legalistic pursuit.  It is a standard of conduct demanded by the gifts with which you have been bestowed.  When I trained my children at home, I expected them to live the training when they went out into the world.  They didn’t always, and that was fine with me…I knew they would make mistakes…but as a rule I expected that they would live their training because they wanted to reflect the parenting they were receiving.  The Lord wants the same from us.

 

The world’s conditional love has a hook…I’ll like you when you do what I say…I won’t like you when you don’t do what I say.  Conditional love is not the kind of love the Lord has for us.  The world would like to impute that kind of love to Him, but it is not the love He has for us.  So please don’t pull your underwear over your head during the times when you realize you are not reflecting the conduct the Lord expects from you.  Don’t ever get yourself in a place where you think the Lord is requiring things of you, and that if you don’t give them, He’ll stop loving you.  Don’t ever get yourself in a situation where you think the Lord is conditional in His love for you.  Don’t get the feeling that your failures in living THE RESURRECTION LIFE threaten your salvation. 

 

The Lord wants your voluntarily obedience in ALL matters.  So believers in Christ, when you don’t voluntarily obey in all matters, just know that God still loves you UNconditionally, and that your salvation is not threatened.  Then, just make the next right decision. 

 

So what is this holy conduct?  Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verses 10 and 11…

 

2PE 3:10

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

 

2PE 3:11

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you believers in Christ BE in the matter of holy conduct and godliness?

 

Great question Peter…a BEING question…believers in Christ ought to BE those who walk in a manner worthy of their calling.  Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verses 14 to 18…

 

2PE 3:14

Therefore, beloved (divinely loved ones), since you look for these things (to come…the heavens passing away and the earth being burned up), be diligent to be found by Him in a mindset of peace, spotless and blameless…

 

2PE 3:15

…and regard the patience of our Lord with you as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him by God, wrote to you…

 

2PE 3:16

…as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable (including me) distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

 

2PE 3:17

You therefore, beloved (divinely loved ones), knowing this (upcoming event) beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and so that you don’t fall from your own steadfastness…

 

2PE 3:18

…but instead, grow in the sphere of grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

 

Welcome to a place where you have learned what kind of person you are…and welcome to a place where you are about to learn the standard of conduct you are to reflect in ALL matters, to let others see the fruit of the Spirit being made clearly visible in you.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

FIRST 

Lauren Daigle 

 

The opening song is FIRST by Lauren Daigle.

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Thank you Father for your faithfulness…thank you for walking with us every day…thank you for being with us every moment…thank you that your promises are true and that Your grace never fails us.

 

As we lay our lives before You at this moment of worship, help us to know You with every fiber of our being…help us to proclaim Your precious Son’s glory…make everything within us cry out, “Holy is the Lord Jesus Christ, the One and ONLY God Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who was, and who is now, and who is to come” … give us the opportunities to brag about the Lord to others…help us join the angels in heaven who sing of Your greatness and Your beauty.

 

We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S STUDY
Why Did God Leave the Flesh in Us?

 

Let’s not keep you in suspense.  The omnipotent Lord Jesus Christ, the Sovereign God of the Universe who has all the power, could have easily removed “the flesh” from us at the moment of salvation.  He didn’t.  So why didn’t He?  I think it is because He wanted us to be certain that He didn’t need us to overcome anything in our own power, especially sin, because He knew we couldn’t do it.  So the Lord gets to demonstrate that He is able and willing to overcome everything for us.  It’s a reminder that He wants us to depend on Him.  In Romans, Chapter 4, Verses 20 and 21, Abraham reminds us of our challenge as believers in Christ in the matter of God…faith…

 

ROM 4:20

…yet, with respect to the promise of God, Abraham did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God…

 

ROM 4:21

…and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

 

As believers in Christ we have the same gift of faith as Abraham…and we must count on it that God is able AND willing to perform everything on our behalf…especially the holy and blameless life that is worthy of the calling to which we have been called.  And in today’s lesson we’ll reflect on the challenge of this lifestyle.  Only a couple of announcements today…

 

BARAH MINISTRIES ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

NEXT WEEK!

Visit the Vets

October 18, 2015

1:45PM MST

 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Next Deacon’s Meeting

October 24, 2015

7:30AM MST

 

TODAY’S STUDY
Why Did God Leave the Flesh in Us?

 

We continue our study of Romans, Chapter 8…here’s what we’ve learned so far…beginning at Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 24…

 

ROM 7:24

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

In this verse we learn of the frustration we feel because we have “the flesh” still active in our unredeemed bodies.  We don’t “feel” holy.  Why?  Because we are not able to conquer “the flesh” … because our will is not stronger than “the flesh.”  Yet we rest because God is able to conquer “the flesh” for us.  John, Chapter 16, Verses 32 and 33 say…

 

JOH 16:32

Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you, my apostles, to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because God the Father is with Me.

 

JOH 16:33

These things I (the Lord Jesus Christ) have spoken to you (for a reason), so that in (union with) Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

 

God overcomes the world for us.  Now Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 25…

 

ROM 7:25

Thanks be to God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord (for the deliverance from the body of death)! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other hand, with my flesh, I am serving the law of sin.

 

As believers in Christ, it’s easy to get stuck in Romans, Chapter 7…and to think your only option for your whole life is to run in the circle of “wretched man that I am!”  The Lord wants us to take comfort in our dependence on Him, and to take advantage of the Spirit He put in us to guide us…Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 1 and 2…

 

ROM 8:1

Therefore there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are IN UNION WITH CHRIST JESUS.

 

ROM 8:2

For THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF “THE RESURRECTION LIFE” in union with Christ Jesus has set you free from THE LAW OF SIN AND OF DEATH.

 

God the Father gave us God the Holy Spirit of THE RESURRECTION LIFE to set us free from mental slavery to the ruler of this world and His cosmic curriculum. RIGHT NOW, as believers in Christ, we have eternal life.  RIGHT NOW, we have the holy life God wanted us to have.  In the Spirit, the Lord gave us the power we simply don’t have, the power to live that resurrection life.  In the Spirit, God gave us deliverance.  Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 3 and 4…

 

ROM 8:3

FOR WHAT THE MOSAIC LAW COULD NOT DO, (as) weak (and) as (powerless as) it was through the flesh, GOD THE FATHER DID: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh…and as an offering for sin, GOD THE FATHER CONDEMNED SIN IN THE FLESH…

 

Why?

ROM 8:4

…so that the requirement of the Mosaic Law (righteousness) might be fulfilled in us believers in Christ, who DO NOT WALK ACCORDING TO THE FLESH but who WALK ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT.

 

God the Father took our sin problem out of the way.  So the first six verses in summary…

 

SUMMARY OF ROMANS 7:24 to ROMANS 8:4

 

God knows us better than we know ourselves because He created us.

 

God knows what we can do and what we can’t do…and in omniscience, has always known what we can and can’t do, even before He created us.

 

SUMMARY OF ROMANS 7:24 to ROMANS 8:4

 

ALL that we can’t do, He did for us.

 

He did it ALL for us by sending His Son to die for us, which allows God the Father to treat us in a way that is better than fair…He treats us with mercy and in grace.

Life presents us with one DICHOTOMY after another.  What is a DICHOTOMY?

 

DICHOTOMY

Two completely opposed and totally contradictory viewpoints being offered for your consideration at the point of decision.

 

Satan offers us believers a rebellious lifestyle through “the flesh” in us.  God the Holy Spirit of the Resurrection Life offers us a lifestyle of righteousness and peace…the holy lifestyle.  Let’s pause for a music break before we continue.

 

MUSIC BREAK

I WORSHIP YOU

MercyMe

 

TODAY’S STUDY
Why Did God Leave the Flesh in Us?

 

In the next few verses of this first passage in Romans, Chapter 8…we learn the natural orientation of each creature who has chosen sides in the Creator- Creature Conflict… Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 5…

 

ROM 8:5

For unbelievers, who are walking ACCORDING TO THE FLESH, occupy their beings (their minds) with the things of the flesh…but believers in Christ, who are walking ACCORDING TO THE (power of the) SPIRIT, occupy their beings (and their minds) with the things of the (Person of the) Spirit.

 

As believers in Christ, we were unbelievers once…and at that time we occupied our minds with the things unbelievers occupy their minds with…so we are not special, nor are we able to boast that we did something to rid ourselves of the cosmic mind…Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 3…

 

EPH 2:3

Among the sons of disobedience we believers in Christ, too, ALL formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh (we had the same  “if it feels good do it” mindset) and indulging the desires of the mind (which is the mind of “the flesh” that has enmity toward God), and by nature we were children who were the object of God the Father’s wrath (set for the second death), even as the rest (of the unbelievers were).

 

Said another way…Colossians, Chapter 1, Verses 21 to 23…

 

COL 1:21

And although you (believers in Christ) were formerly alienated (when you were unbelievers) and (although you were) hostile in mind (with enmity toward God), (and although you were) engaged in evil deeds…

 

COL 1:22

…yet the Lord Jesus Christ has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before God the Father holy and blameless and beyond reproach—

 

COL 1:23

…if indeed you continue in the faith, firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

 

Here’s what William Newell, in his book Romans Verse-by-Verse, has to say about those who are “in the flesh” …

 

NEWELL ON THOSE “IN THE FLESH”

 

Those who are “in the flesh” … cherish, desire, are occupied with, are absorbed in, talk about, think about, and follow after…the things of the flesh.

 

Here’s the biblical proof…Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 19 to 21…

 

GAL 5:19

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality…

 

GAL 5:20

…idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions…

 

GAL 5:21

…envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things (and unbelievers do PRACTICE these things…not believers) will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

Here’s what Newell has to say about those who are “in the Spirit” …

 

NEWELL ON THOSE “IN THE SPIRIT”

 

Those who are in the Spirit…discern, love, value, and are absorbed in

…the things of the Spirit.

 

Here’s the proof…Galatians, Chapter 5, Verses 22 to 26…

 

GAL 5:22

But THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…

 

GAL 5:23

…gentleness, self-control; against such virtues there is no law.

 

GAL 5:24

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 

GAL 5:25

If we believers in Christ live by the Spirit, and we do, let us also walk by the Spirit.

 

GAL 5:26

Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

 

As I am learning to live the holy life, I have come to not mind it at all that I am falling short over and over again.  Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…

 

 

ROM 3:23

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

<I get knocked down, but I get up again…think you’re ever gonna keep me down?>

 

I have no confidence in myself, but I have total confidence in God.

Are you willing to let God do what He wants to do with you?

 

Why is it important to consider the things in the next verses about those who are “in the flesh” and those who are “in the Spirit?”  One thing we must know is that these verses are not talking at all about people…rather, they are talking about the fundamental operation of “the flesh” and about the fundamental operation of the Spirit…these verses show what lifestyle each is promoting… Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 6…

 

ROM 8:6

For the MIND OF THE FLESH is set on the second death, but the MIND OF THE SPIRIT is set on the resurrection life and peace…

 

“The mind of the flesh is set on the second death” is the perfect description of the flesh’s influence… for example, the flesh’s influence on the arrogant atheist, who in spite of hearing that the Lord Jesus Christ is God, and in spite of hearing an accurate gospel message, rejects both in favor of a false Christ and a false gospel.  Do unbelievers know the issues of salvation?  The Lord says “YES” through the apostle Paul in Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 20…

 

ROM 1:20

For since the creation of the world the Lord Jesus Christ’s invisible attributes, His eternal power and His divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that all mankind are without excuse.

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 2, Verse 14…

 

2CO 2:14

But a natural man (an unbeliever) DOES NOT ACCEPT (in fact, REJECTS!) the things of the Holy Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and (furthermore) he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

 

Add in this idea…Romans, Chapter 3, Verses 10 and 11…

 

ROM 3:10

…as it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…”

 

ROM 3:11

“There is no creature who understands spiritual things…there is no creature who seeks for God…”

 

For the believer in Christ, we are to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called.  We are sanctified as an established and irrevocable fact…we are made holy...we are made blameless by God in the eyes of God…we are set aside for a tremendous set of privileges.  God made us this way…God did these things for us.

 

Sanctification is God’s full acceptance of our holiness, blamelessness and perfection based on the Cross of Christ.  If we turn for comfort from Christ and the Spirit to the world, or to ourselves, we are miserable…and when we turn back to the world or ourselves, the Lord does not take such a turn lightly… Hebrews, Chapter 10, Verse 29…

 

HEB 10:29

How much severer punishment do you think a believer in Christ will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

 

As believers in Christ we are not to take our gifts lightly.  It robs us of peace. Galatians, Chapter 3, Verse 5…

 

GAL 3:5

So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

 

We know the answer…believers in Christ are to walk by means of the gift of faith we have from God…having full assurance that everything God promises He is able to do.  Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 10…

 

ROM 5:10

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God the Father through the death of His Son, and we were, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

We are reconciled to God, but He did not remove our flesh.  But he is able to deliver us from its power, and He longs to do so.

 

Now in Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 7…the perfect description of the unbeliever…

 

ROM 8:7

…because the MIND OF THE FLESH is hostile toward God (that is, completely consumed with enmity); for the MIND OF THE FLESH does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so…

 

What is enmity? 

 

ENMITY

A feeling or a condition of irreconcilable hostility…hatred…ill will… animosity…and antagonism.

“The flesh” in you engages in regular “FleshTalk” …

         

“FLESHTALK”

 

“You’re going to commit an act that ruins everything…and

          everyone is going to turn on you when it happens”

 

Your flesh hates you, hates everything precious to you, hates everyone who supports you, especially God.  How does your flesh talk to you? 

 

Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 8…

 

ROM 8:8

…and those who are IN THE FLESH (unbelievers) cannot please God.

 

Those who are “in the flesh” can’t please God because they don’t want to do things God’s way.  They pretend to have “questions” about God, but they are really asking God to come onto their turf.

 

How can a loving God cast one of His creatures into the Lake of Fire?

(He shouldn’t)

 

Why would God let all these bad things happen in the world?

(He does, and so is not worthy of worship)

 

You mean to tell me if a woman like Mother Theresa does one million good deeds, but doesn’t believe in Christ, she’s going to hell?  I can’t believe that!  (I don’t like God’s rules)

 

Well you better like His rules!  Here’s what the Lord has to say about those who do good deeds but have no relationship with Him…Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 21 to 27…

 

MAT 7:21

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter heaven.”

 

MAT 7:22

“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’”

 

MAT 7:23

“And then I (the Lord Jesus Christ) will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

 

MAT 7:24

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

 

That’s what believers in Christ do…

 

MAT 7:25

“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.”

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is THE ROCK!  What do unbelievers do?

 

MAT 7:26

“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”

 

MAT 7:27

“The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

 

The life of a believer in Christ is founded on the Rock…the life of the unbeliever is sitting on sand. 

 

Those who are “in the flesh” are not interested in pleasing God.  Genesis, Chapter 4…

 

GEN 4:1

Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.”

 

GEN 4:2

Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

 

GEN 4:3

So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.

 

GEN 4:4

Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering…

 

GEN 4:5

…but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.

All offerings to the Lord involve blood…Cain brought a fruit salad!  J  It was unacceptable to God.

 

GEN 4:6

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?”

 

That’s always what happens to those who don’t do what God is asking them to do…they act as if they have been victimized by God.

 

GEN 4:7

If you do well (if you are obedient), will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you (to ruin you), but you must master sin.”

 

If we are to live a holy life, we must master sin by being obedient to God.

 

God leaves the flesh in us after salvation so we will have constant trials for the disobedience in us.  It is an encouragement as much as it is a warning to live the opposite life…a life of obedience.  It highlights are absolute dependence on God.

 

When the Lord Jesus Christ

Promises Salvation, It’s a Guarantee!

 

ACT 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

ACT 4:12

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given to mankind by which we must be saved (except the name of the Lord Jesus Christ).”

 

LUK 19:10

“For the Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

CLOSING SONG

BE THOU MY VISION

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

          THANKS- INTERCESSION- PETITION

 

And we pray that You protect our steps as we go out into the world, Father…and that you keep us on the narrow way, completely dependent on You and Your Guiding, Mentoring Spirit…we ask this in Christ’s name, Amen.

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

 

www.barahministries.com


©® Barah Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.