Sermon Notes - Romans 8:1-11 - Littleby Baptist Church - January 19, 2025

1.        Thanksgiving, Christmas, Talent & Testimony, Snow Day, and then last week’s Lord’s Supper we have taken an 8 week break from Romans.

a.        In chapter 7, Paul was talking about how we learned about sin through the OT law.

b.       The more we knew about sin the more we gravitated to it.

c.        Not trying to pass the buck.

d.       We are still responsible for what we do.

e.        But even as a follower of Christ who desires to follow Jesus.

f.          We want to do what is right.

g.        We want to follow the Lord’s will.

h.        We still sin.

i.          It is still in us.

2.        Thankfully we have Jesus.

a.        Thankfully we have an overflowing of grace.

3.        The last couple of verses in chapter seven set the stage so let’s start there.

4.        Romans 7:24

a.        Just like Paul we are sinners.

b.       Who will rescue us from our sins?

5.        Romans 7:25

a.        Thanks be to God!

b.       Through our Lord and Savior Jesus, we have been redeemed!

c.        We will sin no matter how hard we try not to, but we are saved.

d.       With our minds we should be choosing to serve God.

e.        Prioritizing our time with our God.

f.          Talking to Him.

g.        Studying His Word.

h.        Choosing to serve Him and others.

i.          But our flesh is still weak.

j.          Choose to be a slave to Jesus.

k.        Serving Him in any way He calls you.

l.          But we will still sin.

m.     Thankfully we are saved through our faith in our Lord Jesus.

6.        Romans 8:1

a.        Therefore – because of what we just reviewed.

b.       Because of the redemption we have through our Lord and Savior Jesus.

c.        Re-read the verse.

d.       Paul is answering what would be a reasonable question.

e.        How is my salvation impacted if I continue to sin even if I am choosing Jesus.

f.          Should I be frustrated and defeated with the on-going sin in my life?

g.        Re-read the verse.

h.        If Jesus is our Savior… there is no condemnation.

i.          We are saved.

j.          Our sin is wiped away.

k.        Not just the sin we had on the day we gave our life to Christ, but the sin we commit today, tomorrow, next week, and thirty years from now.

l.          As we seen earlier in the letter, it does not mean we are to continue to live in sin.

m.     We are not to embrace our sin knowing that we have more than enough grace to cover it.

n.        But at the same time, we are not to worry about running out of grace.

o.        The sins we commit because of the flesh that we are, is covered by our Lord Jesus.

p.       Re-read the verse.

7.        Romans 8:2

a.        Through our connection to Jesus.

b.       Through our belief in Him.

c.        Through His atoning work on the cross.

d.       His death and resurrection.

e.        The grace that He has given us.

f.          We have been set free from our sin and the death that we deserve.

g.        Set free from what we have earned.

h.        Jesus has paid the price.

i.          It is a done deal, if we repent and believe.

j.          There is no condemnation for those of us who are found in Jesus.

8.        Romans 8:3-4

a.        The OT Law could not free us from sin and death.

b.       It was tied to flesh.

c.        It was dependent on humans.

d.       Which made it powerless.

e.        So, God stepped in.

f.          He sent Jesus to walk this earth.

g.        Fully human so that He could be tempted as we are, yet He did not sin.

h.        Says here ‘He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own son’.

i.          We see two things in this statement.

j.          First is that Christ defeated sin.

k.        His life and death made it so that sin has no power over those who follow Him.

l.          The other and closely related to it is that He fulfilled the OT law’s requirement.

m.     2 Corinthians 5:21

n.        Jesus became the sacrifice for those who needed a sacrifice.

o.        He became a sacrifice for me, for you, for our families, for our friends, for everyone.

p.       For those who chose to not walk according to the flesh but according to the Sprit.

q.       Then Jesus defeated death.

r.          Granting new life for all who believe in Him and what He did for us.

9.        Romans 8:5

a.        Our mindset is the key.

b.       We know we are sinful beings.

c.        Paul called himself a wretched man.

d.       Yet we look up to him and study the words that God gave us through him.

e.        As Christ followers, our sinful nature does not determine our eternal destination.

f.          Our choice to repent of our sins.

g.        Our choice to follow Jesus.

h.        Our mindset to live according to the things of the Spirit to use Paul’s phrasing.

i.          We are going to faulter, we are going to sin.

j.          But if each day we battle through.

k.        If we fight the good fight.

l.          If we choose Jesus.

m.     We will be found among those who have been redeemed.

n.        It is based on our mindset.

o.        If we have faith in Jesus.

10.   Romans 8:6-8

a.        There are two mindsets.

b.       Those of the Spirit.

c.        They are seeking life and peace.

d.       Then there are those who are choosing the mindset of the flesh.

e.        Which is a mindset of death.

f.          It is hostile to God.

g.        Cannot follow God’s law.

h.        Cannot please God.

11.   When we think about Christ followers.

a.        We know we are not perfect.

b.       We are going to sin.

c.        But we return to our God.

d.       We choose to seek Him.

e.        We choose to repent.

f.          We have been given grace.  

12.   Those with the mindset of the flesh.

a.        Those who embrace their sin.

b.       Some choose to do things in spite of what the Bible teaches.

c.        We see it around us at work, school, and in our neighborhoods.

d.       We see it on TV.

e.        There are others who just think it does not matter.

f.          They keep doing their thing, embracing their sin.

g.        You cannot please God if you have a mindset of choosing to live in sin.

h.        We need to choose to follow Jesus to be saved.

13.   Romans 8:9

a.        Paul transitions from a general conversation to a direct comment.

b.       What he states to the Roman church could be said to us as members of Christ’s church.

c.        As a follower of Christ.

d.       We are not in the flesh; we are not of that mindset.

e.        We are not choosing to embrace our sinful ways.

f.          Instead, we are choosing to follow Jesus.

g.        We are embracing the Sprit filled mindset.

h.        We are choosing life.

i.          We are choosing the peace that comes from a life with Christ.

j.          The last half of the verse lets us know that the Holy Spirit is in those that are Christ followers.

k.        The Holy Spirit is guiding us, strengthening us, and comforting us.

l.          If our mindset is on the flesh the Holy Spirit is not in us.

m.     He is not doing any of those things.

n.        The Holy Spirit is only at work in us if our mindset is on Christ.

o.        Choose to follow Jesus.

p.       Make Him the priority each day.

14.   Romans 8:10

a.        Sin has already brought death to you.

b.       Through Adam and his sin, we are facing death.

c.        Through our inability to live without sin, we are facing death.

d.       Yet, through our faith in Jesus.

e.        Through our choosing Him.

f.          Through Him being in us.

g.        We are given life.

h.        With a huge emphasis on GIVEN.

i.          We are not righteous on our own.

j.          I think that has been clear; we are sin filled on our own.

k.        But through our faith in Jesus, who lived a perfect sinless life we are granted righteousness.

l.          We are redeemed.

m.     We are made Holy.

n.        We have been set apart.

o.        We are spiritually alive for all eternity.

15.   Romans 8:11

a.        If the Holy Spirit is in us through our faith in Christ.

b.       Then the same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead on the third day.

c.        Will raise us from the dead.

d.       There could be some debate on if this happens with the rapture, at the end of the tribulation period, or at the end of the millennial reign of Christ.

e.        But we will save that for another day.

f.          The Holy Spirit is telling us through Paul here in Romans and in other letters.

g.        We see it in letters penned by John, and we see it in the Old Testament.

h.        That through the power of God, specifically the Holy Spirit.

i.          Those who choose Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit will be resurrected.

j.          We will have revived and improved physical bodies at some point in the future.

16.   Choosing Jesus redeems us today.

a.        Sets us free from our sins on this side of eternity.

b.       And gives us a wonderful new body for all of eternity in our God’s presence.

17.   Our mindset has to be of the Spirit.

a.        We need to choose Jesus.

18.   It starts by recognizing that Jesus is God.

a.        That His sacrifice was made to pay our debt.

b.       A debt that we cannot pay on our own.

c.        He is offering to pay our debt free of charge.

d.       All we have to do to accept it is believe and repent of our sins.

e.        A simple choice.

19.   Do you have a choice to make today?

a.        A choice to follow Jesus?

b.       A choice to step out in faith in serving God and others?

c.        Whatever your choice is, pray about it and then do it.

d.       I am here if you would like to talk and pray about it.