Well, Romans chapter 8 is where we're going to be spending our time together in God's Word today. I asked my kids this morning what the best part of church is, and they each had a different answer as to what the best part of church is. And so I was thinking about those different answers, whether it's the people who are there, or whether it's the Word of God, or whether it's the singing, or the prayer. The fellowship afterwards with the people, all those different aspects of it. What they all have in common is the Lord Jesus Christ. That Christ is with us in the preaching of his word. Christ is with us in our fellowship. Christ is with us in our prayers. And so, of course, the greatest thing about Sunday morning worship is the Lord Jesus Christ, and we're thankful to have the Word of God with us. And Romans chapter 8, what a tremendous passage for us to come back to after several years since we were last in the book of Romans. And I wanted to come to Romans 8 this morning with you because I recently said that there is perhaps no more necessary and helpful chapter in all of the Scriptures for the followers of Christ living in our time and place than Romans chapter 8, because we are living in a time where there is an oppression and victim mindset. And I can think of no better cure, no better answer to the oppression Olympics that are going on all around us than this awesome, triumphant, joyful passage in Romans chapter eight that spans the past, present, and future of our salvation. So let's open up to Romans chapter eight, verse one. In Romans eight, I'd like to read the first three verses. There is therefore, Now, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 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, he condemned sin in the flesh." Those three verses do an awesome job of recapitulating everything that the book of Romans has been about up to this chapter. And when you think about the Book of Romans, there is perhaps no more important book for understanding, for appreciating, and for putting into practice the truths of the gospel than this comprehensive treatment by the Apostle Paul. What a blessing to have this as the chief of the letters of the New Testament, first among the epistles. And Paul begins his exposition of the gospel, so that we can understand it, with the doctrine of sin. Starting in Romans chapter 1, continuing to the halfway point in Romans chapter 3, Paul details what the problem is. We all have so much suffering. We all have so much trouble in our lives. And then we need to know what is causing all of this. What is the problem? Until you get a proper diagnosis of the problem, then you can't move on to a successful solution. Every engineer knows that. Every doctor knows that. Every gardener knows that. And you must find out what is the problem if you are going to come to the solution. And so God makes it very clear. The problem is indwelling sin. The sin that is in me. The sin that is in you. We can quit blaming our society. We can quit blaming the politicians. We can quit blaming the corporate entities. We can quit blaming our family. And instead, we can recognize that all have sinned. all fall short of the glory of God, and that we all contribute to this great problem of sin and its consequences. And having established what the problem is, then Paul expertly reveals from the Holy Spirit what the solution to the problem of sin is, laying out the doctrine of justification by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in chapters 3 and 4. And then going on, in chapters 5 and 6 to talk about the process of becoming more Christ-like, sanctification, how God not only frees us from the penalty of sin through justification, but He frees us from the power of sin, having sanctified us in Christ. That then leads into chapter 7, where Paul deals with the misery of being in the flesh. This chapter, the second half, starting after verse seven, down to the end of the chapter, really does an excellent job of showing how even though Christ has died, even though we've been set free from sin, that the only way to experience that victorious life, the only way to implement the solution that God has given to us for our sin problem, is to walk by the Spirit. You see, everything that is in Romans, starting in Romans chapter 1, leading up through Romans chapter 7, is there to prepare us for Romans 8. Why do we study the doctrine of sin? Why do we study the doctrine of justification? Why do we study the doctrine of sanctification? It's all so that we can live in Romans chapter 8. All of the doctrine, all of the gospel doctrine is so that we can live in the triumph and in the joy of Romans chapter eight. You can't just start in Romans chapter 8 and expect to have all the victory and all of the joy and all of the triumph. But if you stop in Romans chapter 7 and you don't get to Romans chapter 8, well then you might have your head full of a lot of knowledge and you might be able to fill out correct answers on a doctrinal test. But until you live in Romans chapter 8, you're not going to have the experience. You're not going to have the life. You're not going to have the victory that Jesus Christ has come in order for you to have. And so I want to spend some time here in Romans chapter 8. Those first three verses were just setting the stage for us. They were just doing the work of review so that we could get to the triumph and the joy. Now, back in the text, look at chapter 8 verse 4. Notice that connecting phrase there at the beginning of verse 4, and order that. All that God has done in setting us free from the law of sin and death, this has been done through his son that he sent. And this is 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. Now he's talking about our present life. He's talking about how we can live in accordance with the righteous requirement of the law. And what is the righteous requirement of the law? All of those commandments that God gave, think of the 10 commandments. They are all commandments to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, with all of your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. And now, because of the work of Jesus Christ, because of the new covenant, because of the gospel that Paul preached that he was entrusted with, you can live that life. You can love God with all of your heart. You can love your neighbor as yourself. You can love one another the way that Christ has loved you, walking according to the Spirit. It is the Spirit of God who comes into our life and gives us the power to walk in love. That is awesome. And that's what he's going to unfold in the following verses. You know, people, they come to pastors, they come to counselors, they come to friends, and they say, I don't know how to change. How do I change? How do I experience what God wants me to experience in my life? How do I respond? How do I overcome? And they say, the Bible's not clear. The Bible doesn't give very definite answers. I need someone to explain it to me in a way that I can understand it. And there it is right in front of you. You must walk. according to the Spirit." What does that mean? Can you put that into language that is not metaphorical? Well, walking with the Spirit means you live your life with God as your constant companion. You live your life with God as the one whom you are looking to every moment of every day on how you're going to respond, how you're going to initiate, how you're going to act, and how you're going to react. that God is always on your mind, that God's Word is always in your heart, that you're thinking and meditating upon His instructions and His promises and His encouragement and His correction, and that you're putting it into practice. You look around at this beautiful property that we're enjoying today, and do you think that it came to be this way without any work? You look over at the garden that's over here up on the hill. You see the fence. You see there's a lack of weeds in that garden. Do you think that just happens without any work? No, it takes a constant work. And this is what the scripture has to teach us is that there's no hack to spiritual life. And people want to go online and they want to find the life hacks. How do you get what you want with the minimum amount of work? And so often that's how we approach our spiritual life. We want a spiritual life hack. How do I become what I want to become? How do I get the love? How do I get the self-control with a minimal amount of work? And here's the truth. You can't. You cannot hack spiritual life. It takes work. And it takes the work of walking with the Holy Spirit. You have to keep in step with him. You have to meditate on his word. You have to put it into practice. You have to put off sinful thoughts. You have to replace them with positive thoughts. Just like this garden over here. If you don't pull out the weeds, the weeds take over. If you don't pull out the weeds in your heart and mind, they're going to take over. Just like this garden over here. If you don't water it, those plants are going to die. They're not going to produce any fruit. You've got to put the spiritual work into your garden if you want to bear the fruit. Walking with the Spirit is that spiritual work. Whole books have been written on walking in the Spirit, and I'd love to share more with you on that, but that's not the point of today's sermon. We're just getting started into Romans chapter 8, and the goal is to get to the end here in Romans chapter 8. So let's move on then. You see that the Spirit is introduced in verse 4, and He is going to be mentioned 20 times in Romans chapter 8. He's only been mentioned a couple of times in the book up to this point, but Romans 8 is the chapter of the Holy Spirit. If you want to know about living the victorious Christian life, living in the Spirit and not living in the flesh, well then, Romans 8, here is your chapter. All right, so let's continue reading then. After our introduction, we're getting into verses 5 through 7, where we get about this mindset. What is the mindset of a person who is walking in the Spirit, of a Christ follower, of someone who is having this victory of the gospel lived out in their life? Notice what Paul says. Those who live according to their 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. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile towards God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh. If, in fact, the spirit of God dwells in you, anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. So, it's your mindset. If you have your mindset on the things of the Spirit, what does it mean to have your mindset on the things of the Spirit? It means you're constantly aware of what is pleasing to God and what is not pleasing to God. You've read God's Word, you've studied God's Word, you've been taught God's Word, you know God's character, you know His instructions, you know His commands, and throughout your life, as you're talking with your wife, as you're talking with your kids, as you're talking to your co-workers, as you're talking to your employees, as you're talking to your teacher, you're always thinking, what does Christ say about this? What would be pleasing to God? God is with me. I want to please Him. You know, when you go out with somebody, you don't just think about, what do I want to do? You think about, what does the other person want to do? And that's what God wants us to do in our lives. He wants us to go through our lives with God, with Christ, with His Spirit, constantly thinking, what does He want to do? What does He want me to say? What would please Him? That's the mind that is set on the Spirit. The mind that is set on the flesh is the life that is lived apart from thinking about God, apart from thinking about God's interest. It just thinks about me. How do I feel? What do I want? What do I want to do right now? That's the mind that is set on the flesh and it can't please God. But the mind that is set on the Spirit is what we are cultivating, what we are practicing, what we are habituating ourselves to do on a regular basis. And the more you have control of your thoughts to think about what is pleasing to the Spirit and to be motivated by the love of God for you and the hope that God has laid out for you, it's going to give you the power to live your life in obedience to Him from your heart. That's what the gospel is designed to do. Create a life of love towards God that is not put on, that is not a show, that is not hypocritical, but is sincere and genuine. So that's walking in the Spirit and the Holy Spirit here. And now we want to look at verses 15 to 17. and see how this is going to work itself out through our hope. Hope is the power for the Christian life. Now, I think we'd left off a little bit before that. So let's pick it up. I want to read the whole chapter today. And it says there in verse 10, if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. That's where we left off. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption." Note that. Not the spirit of slavery, the spirit of adoption as sons. By whom we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs. heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him, in order that we may also be glorified with him." All right, so there, verses 15 to 17, we see introduced this wonderful truth about adoption. This ties in with what Paul taught to the Galatians when he told them that in previous times when God made his covenant with Israel, they were brought in as like a servant, like a slave in God's household. And it wasn't until the promise of the new covenant was fulfilled with the pouring out of God's Holy Spirit that he would give to the people of Israel a new heart. A heart that was able to submit itself to God's law and was able to walk according to the love that is spelled out in God's instructions. That power, that new covenant that goes along with the Spirit, that goes along with adoption, that is what Paul is talking about here. All of the wonderful truth of the gospel is leading up to our enjoyment of the presence of God in our lives. God is your Savior. He is the one who is going to transform you. He is the one who is going to change you. He is the one who is going to remake you. Let's continue on that theme here in chapter 8. We get to the hope because he ended in verse 17 talking about the hope of being an inheritor of what God owns along with Jesus Christ. We have an inheritance. This is our future glory. This is our hope. Let's read about that in verses 18 and following. For I consider, listen to the word of God, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that this whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Our hope, our hope is not just for us. Our hope is for the whole creation. When mankind fell into sin, it brought consequences not only to the human race, but to the whole planet, to the plants, to the animals. to every part of God's creation, falling under the curse. And God has a plan to set this creation free from its futility, from the death that causes everything to become meaningless in this life, in this world. God has that only for a time. He has a hope that he's going to set the creation free and that this corresponds with our freedom. You live in a body of death. You live in a body that experiences sickness and pain. You live in a body that at any moment could come to its end of its life. And in this, there is pain. In this, there is suffering. The pain of loss of loved ones, the pain of our own suffering. And we have this groaning that the scripture acknowledges and confirms. And yet this is in the chapter where God's ultimate triumph over all of it is being enjoyed. Only when you know the depths of the sufferings of this present time can you begin to have some kind of understanding of the greatness of the glory that is to be revealed to us. Now, there's no way that you have anywhere near an appropriate conception of the glory that awaits you. However much you are looking forward to glory, you are not looking forward to it enough. So many things in life are a disappointment. You look forward to them, you look forward to them, and then they finally come and you think, well, you know, it was okay. I better find something else to look forward to. And we spend all of our life hoping that we're gonna find that thing that really brings that wow, that satisfaction. God says, I am going to bring it. And when you experience it, it is going to blow your mind. You have no idea. You have no conception of how great it's going to be. And God puts this out in front of you as a promise that is going to give you the strength to go through the difficulties and the sufferings of this life. Now, we always talk about difficulty and suffering in general terms. We never talk about the specifics because that gets too personal and we don't like to do that. But we have to. Your suffering, your pain, compare that with what God is going to give to you in the future. And Paul says, they don't compare at all, which is such an awesome statement. Some people might look at that statement and think, well, he just doesn't understand my suffering. You know, he's just not a very compassionate, empathetic person. That's exactly false. That would be a wrong conclusion to draw because Paul suffered greatly. He knew about suffering. If you want to stack your suffering compared to Paul's suffering, you're welcome to do that, but that's not the point. The point is not to compare our suffering with one another. The point is for you to look at your suffering and to recognize that it is insignificant in comparison with the goodness and the grace and the love of God that He has yet in store to show to you because He has adopted you into His family. Talk to somebody who's been adopted. Talk to somebody who didn't have a mom or a dad and who grew up as an orphan. And then find out about the joy of being brought into a loving family for the first time. That's what has happened for all of us on a much grander scale. It's wonderful to be adopted into a loving family, but it doesn't compare with being adopted into God's family. What can God do for His children? What can't God do for His children? And we look at our lives and we say, well, if I'm adopted into God's family and if God loves me so much, then why do I have so much suffering? If He wants to give me all these wonderful blessings, He can give some of them now, I'm ready, I'll take some of those blessings. And God is testing us. God is testing our faith to find out whether or not we trust Him. He puts us through different sufferings, through different trials. Some of us have more, some of us have less. It seems like some people get more than their fair share. Some people are tested harder. You don't get to choose how God tests you. You just get to choose how you respond to the test, whether or not you demonstrate faith in his promise, whether or not faith in that promise is real enough to carry you through your suffering. That's the choice you get to make. Let's continue. Verse 26, somewhat of an aside. We won't spend a lot of time on verses 26 and 27, but let's keep reading. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings. There's the groanings again. Creation is groaning, we're groaning, the Spirit is groaning. It's a time of groaning, I'm not denying that. Groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit, because the spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know, yes we know, that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified. What do you say to someone who's going through suffering, extreme suffering? You say what James says, count it all joy. when you experience the testing of your faith. And you say, Timothy, no, no, no, no. That's not what you say to someone who is suffering. That's exactly the wrong thing to say to someone who is suffering. Count it all joy. What kind of counselor are you? What kind of friend are you? Where's your empathy? Don't you understand the kind of suffering this person is going through? And I'd say, don't you understand the promise of God? Don't you understand the hope that he's laid out before us? Yes, people need empathy. Yes, people need understanding. Nothing wrong with that. People need hope. People need joy. And where does hope come from? Does it come from you? Does it come from us? Does it come from our community? We want to be a blessing to people. God works through us in wonderful ways. I'm not denying that. But your comfort, even if no one else is there to comfort you, even if your pastor blows it, even if your spouse blows it, even if your neighbors and your friends blow it, and they're terrible comforters. Your comfort is the Holy Spirit. You have the Holy Spirit. You're not left alone. You're not an orphan. God is with you. Draw near to God. Put your hope in Him. Trust in Him. Rejoice in Him. Rejoice in the Lord always. Maybe you can't rejoice in your church. Maybe your church is full of a bunch of really unhelpful people. God is real. God is there. Count it all joy when you encounter various trials is not my instruction. It's not my comfort. It's God's comfort. It's God's instruction. And you come along and you say, oh no, that's not how you comfort someone. And I say, oh really? Now you are wiser than James the apostle. Now you are wiser than the Holy Spirit who wrote those words. You better check yourself before you wreck yourself because you have pride when you contradict the word of God. You do comfort people with God's promises. You do comfort people with God's instructions. You do comfort people with the Word of God. There's many ways to comfort. I'm not saying James is the only verse. But it is a good one. It's right. It's helpful. But only for those who believe. It's only helpful for those who believe. Yeah, you go to someone who doesn't believe and you tell them, count it all joy when you encounter your various trials. Not going to help them. But for someone who believes, that is the greatest help, the deepest help. Now, back in the text, our glorification is in front of us. God is conforming us to the purpose of Christ. And you know what James says before I leave this? James says, your testing, let your suffering that produces endurance have its perfect result. Let you be perfect and complete spiritually. Perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Why does God test your faith? To grow you, to strengthen you, to prune you. God brings pain into your life so that you can bear more fruit. Now, if the purpose of your life is to avoid suffering, well, then it's really hard to rejoice in suffering. But if the purpose of your life is to bear fruit, then you can enjoy suffering because you know it has purpose. And when you know it has purpose and you let it have its purpose in your life, then you are the victor, not the victim. You've accomplished your purpose. You've overcome. That's what Romans 8 is about. That's what James chapter 1 is about. It's about triumph. It's about victory. It's about hope. Let's read verse 31. Everything that Paul has taught, all the doctrine through the first eight chapters, it leads up to this glorious question. What is our soul's response to the love of God for us in Christ Jesus, to the knowledge that God has predestined us before the beginning of the world to be Christ-like, and that God is working in our lives in every way to make us Christ-like, and that God is going to see us safely home on heaven's shore, where we are going to live eternally with every blessing that God can give us. What's our response to that? Our response is to not fear man. If God is for us, who can be against us? God is for us. God is for us. Four words, simple words. Not a lot of syllables, not a lot of Latin. God is for us. That's all we really need to know. Well, of course, you need to know who God is, and you need to know what he's done for us, but those words capture it all. God is for us, so who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? God is going to give me all things. God is going to give you all things. He's doing it now. He's giving you every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. He's conforming you in your character to the Son of God, Jesus Christ in all of his perfection. God is for you. The circumstances that are in your life that other people mean for your harm, God means it for good. When Satan attacks you, when he destroys you, God means it for your good. He can't do anything that God does not allow, that God has not predestined, that God cannot work to make you the overcomer to become like Christ. Once you have this mindset that to be like Christ is my only concern, my only goal. When I say only, I mean main, okay? My main goal, my main concern, top. then nothing can hurt you anymore. Nothing can stop you. But if maintaining your comfort is your goal, then persecution works because I'm gonna take away your comfort. I'm gonna take away your cushy life. And so then we back off and say, okay, I won't be so Christ-like. I won't talk like Christ. I won't act like Christ. Whatever you want, just let me have my comfort. Persecution doesn't work against those whose only goal in life is to become more Christ-like. When the apostles were beaten and sent home in the book of Acts, they went on their way rejoicing that they were counted worthy of suffering for the Lord Jesus Christ. Once this is your mindset, once this is your goal, then nothing anyone does to you can hurt you. You are now indomitable. You are now victorious. with the mindset of the Spirit, the mind that is set on the things of God. Do you see it? Do you understand it? Is it coming home to your heart? Romans chapter eight, the chapter of ultimate triumph. Let's finish it out. It says there, who is the one who is going to bring any charge, in verse 33, against God's elect? It is God who justifies. The most important thing for your soul is where does your soul stand before God as far as being justified or being condemned. And because of the doctrine of justification through faith in Jesus Christ, you stand justified. And once you have that justification, you can never lose it. And you are set. You are destined for glory. No one can ever bring a charge against you because God has justified you through Jesus Christ. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us, who shall separate us from the love of Christ. So tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword, as it is written, For your sake, we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. You know, it's so easy to rejoice in the victory of other Christians who sailed through bloody seas, who faced down persecution, who spent time in prison, who had torture and were killed for the Lord Jesus Christ. And we say, yeah, Romans 8 is for those Christians, and they did a good job. Way to go, guys. What about you? How are you looking at the suffering in your life? So small in comparison. Not that we're supposed to be comparing our suffering with one another. But this is not just for those Christians. This is for us. What's your mindset towards the suffering in your life? Is it the mindset of Christ? Is it the mindset of the Spirit? Is it the mindset of the victor? Or do you go around as the victim? No. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I'm sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. You can take me away from my family. You can take me away from my home. You can take away my life. But you can't take God away from my heart. My heart is with God. God is with my heart. I am in fellowship with Him and therefore I am invincible. Therefore I am indomitable. Therefore I am fearless. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of man brings a snare. If you're afraid of what your family is going to do, if you're afraid of what your neighbors are going to do, if you're afraid of what your government is going to do, that's a snare. And you're missing out on the very beginning of wisdom in your life, that you fear the Lord. You recognize His control. You recognize His power. You recognize His purpose. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Let's get a good start on wisdom and stop fearing man. The Lord is with me. What can man do to me? God is with us. I'd like to end with one of my favorite verses. It's in Luke chapter 12, verse 32. I've said it to you often, but it's been a little while. I wanted to bring it up again this morning. Jesus Christ told his disciples, fear not. One of the most constant commands, the most repeated commands in the Bible is this command, fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. That's Luke 12, 32. Fear not, little flock. Here you are, you're little, you don't have much power. Fear not. Your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. We are saved in hope. Glorification is coming. Jesus Christ is returning. He allows us in this short period of our lives to be tested in many different ways, by many different circumstances, through many different people. And each one of those tests is designed for a purpose in our lives to make us more like Jesus Christ. And so let it. Let it have its perfect result. Work together with God's purpose. Have your mind set on the Spirit. And this is how we go from being victims to being more than conquerors.