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SCRIPTURE:
Romans 8:7-9; 7 “ . . .
because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not
subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so;
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 However, you are not
in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to
Him.
A. The Price of Not Belonging to
God
vs. 7,8
We see it stated in these verses very clearly.
1. One’s Hostility Toward
God vs. 7a
“ . . . because the mind set on the
flesh is hostile toward God . . .”
2. One’s Disobedience Of God
vs. 7b
“ . . . does not subject itself to the
law of God . . .”
3. One’s Disability Concerning God
vs. 7c
“. . . it is not even able to do so .
. .”
4. One’s Displeasure Before God
vs. 8
“ . . . those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.”
B. The Price of Belonging to
God Romans 8:1-4
Romans 8:1-4; 4 “There is
therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the
law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as
it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned
sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the requirement of the Law might
be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according
to the Spirit.”
— One cannot say it often enough. The price
for us is minimal. Stop trying and start trusting. Salvation is of the
Lord. We need to hear it over and over again. In our totally helpless
estate, when we deserved His judgment, Christ died for us!
See Romans 5:6-9; 6 “For while we were
still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7
For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good
man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved
from the wrath of God through Him.”
C. The Permanence of Belonging to God
Paul is talking about a permanent solution not a
temporary fix.
Romans 8:9 “However, you are
not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in
you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong
to Him.”
1. Paul Asserts that the
Believers were “not in the flesh”
Romans 8:9 “However,
you are not in the flesh . . .”
The things that pertain to those “in the flesh” do
not pertain to those whom Paul is addressing.
2. Paul Asserts that the
Believers are “in the Spirit”
That is an entirely different relationship than being in
the flesh! Belonging to God is to be IN THE SPIRIT. Jesus taught the
Samaritan woman about worshiping of God in John
:22,23; 22 “You worship that which you do not know; we worship that
which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 “But an hour is
coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father
in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His
worshipers.”
He explains being “in the Spirit” in John
3:6-8 where He says;
6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” 7 “Do not
marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind
blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where
it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the
Spirit.”
The need of every person is met only by the new
birth.
3. Paul Asserts that the Spirit is in
the Believers
“ . . . you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if
indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” This is a reference to
Christ’s promise to His disciples when He comforted them anticipating
His sacrificial death and ascension to Heaven; John 14:16,17; 16
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He
may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him,
but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.
Praise God! We have the eternal
presence of the Divine Holy Spirit. Paul concludes verse 9 by
setting forth the contrast of belonging to God or of being alienated from
Him. Vs. 9b “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of
Christ, he does not belong to Him.” One’s
sense of belonging must first begin with God and from there it moves to
the joy and fellowship of God’s extended family in the Bible-believing
Churches God has so wonderfully preserved in our day of confusion and
turmoil.
Why not bring your struggles to Him? He
cares for you and invites you to come to Him. Matthew
11:29,30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take
My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart;
and you shall find rest for your souls. 30 “For
My yoke is easy, and My load is light.”
Christ Jesus died on the cross as a mediator for sinners such as we. All who
come to Him in repentance He gives life and faith to believe.
John 1:11-13; 11 He came to
His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as
many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God.
If you have never entrusted your life to Him, why not come to Him today
for Salvation. That's the first order of business.
"And
there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men, by which we must be
saved." Acts
4:12
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