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Eastside Church Sermons
These are the sermons of Eastside Church in Madison, WI. We live in a broken world - everyone feels it. We believe we were made to have lasting peace with ourselves, each other, and God. Because of who Jesus is and what he has done, we don’t have to experience the hardships (or joys) of this life alone. We exist to be a church made up of people who love, live like, and speak of Jesus, locally and globally, as the Spirit leads.
Eastside Church Sermons
Romans 7:41-8:4 by Houston Tucker
At Eastside Church, we believe that transformation comes from a Spirit-filled life, where the power of the Gospel shapes us to love, live like, and speak of Jesus in our daily lives. Rooted in the teachings of Romans 7 and 8, we recognize the struggle between sin and grace but celebrate the freedom Jesus offers to overcome life’s challenges. Through relatable stories, heartfelt prayer, and real-life experiences, we journey together as a community, trusting the Holy Spirit to guide us in growing more like Jesus, while supporting one another in our families, friendships, and beyond. Join us as we seek to bring hope and transformation to Madison and Dane County.
Good morning everyone. My name's Houston. I'm one of the pastors here. Man, it's like Ben said, we're starting a new sermon series this week and I feel like such a broken record. Hopefully it's a good song, but every time we start a new thing, I say, yes, I'm excited for this one, this is going to be great. I always say that I'm excited for this one, this is going to be great. I always say that, and probably that means that they're always great, right? So what a place to be, right, man.
Speaker 1:Yes, we're starting this new series in Romans 8 today, and it's about we're calling it the spirit-filled life. And so the idea is that, you know, in the church we talk a lot about being spirit-filled or spirit-led, or living life in the spirit, and these are great things, these are great terms. We know that we can pick that up. This is good and important, but what in the world does that actually mean? What does it really mean for me, a 32-year-old man who wakes up in the morning sore and tired and my daughter screaming to get up and play? What does that really mean for me to live a Spirit-filled life? So that's what this series is about. That's what we're going to do. We're going to unpack Romans 8, this chapter in the book of Romans that is easily one of the most important, one of the most thorough, one of the most theologically dense chapters in all of Scripture, and we're going to go pretty slow, very slow Houston-style slow through this chapter. For nine weeks We'll be in chapter 8 of Romans and my hope is, at the end of this we will be people who know what in the world it really means to be spirit-filled, what it really means to live life in the spirit, and my prayer is that we will be people who do live life in the spirit and it will be powerful powerful for us, powerful for our neighbors, for our family, for Lapham, for our neighborhoods. I think it should be really good. And so today we're starting with really laying a foundation. We're laying a foundation for this whole conversation.
Speaker 1:You know so often in our culture people are very concerned with spirituality. Know so often in our culture people are very concerned with spirituality, right Like. We see this a lot in our generation, millennials and Gen Z. We see that our generation is suddenly much more interested in spirituality than many generations before and we hear often this question of like, what does it mean to be spiritual, or what does a spiritual life really mean? And what I think is really important that we see and this is really what we're arguing today, I think it's really important to see is that the true spirit-filled life, the true spirit-ual life, if you will, is based on the foundation of the gospel. Because what we see coming into this is that we have a problem that needs fixed. We have a problem that prohibits us from truly experiencing the Spirit-filled life, the spiritual life, and really what we see and you see, this is the main idea in your bulletin the gospel is the foundation for the spirit-filled life, because the gospel is the story of us being transferred from one rule to another, the transfer of under the rule of sin and death to the rule of the spirit.
Speaker 1:We're going to unpack what that means, but I was thinking, okay, what's a helpful illustration to kick off this conversation? And so my daughter, stella, is two and my parents come up and visit, or we'll go down and visit them pretty frequently, and our experience 100% of the time, almost 100% of the time after my parents leave, is grandparent hangover, and it is devastating. It's wonderful, you know, it's good that Stella gets spoiled by her grandparents, like it's right. You know, I see what might be some grandparents here. This is good work you're doing, grandparents, good work you're doing. You should keep spoiling, bless you. But so be like. I'm going to make some comparisons. That might feel bad and I don't mean that. Okay, but essentially, what is happening At the end of a two-day, three-day stretch where Stella's with my parents?
Speaker 1:What is happening to Stella? She is being shaped by the rule of another set of adults, right? Stella inevitably, inevitably, devolves in her language to a caveman at the end of these times and she goes from being this like what I think is really impressively like talkative kid who can say and communicate a lot of things, to a cavewoman grunting Just ugh, ugh and just all the sounds, right. And why is that? It's because any time she makes any sound, my parents just swarm to her like, oh, what do you need? Let me, what can I get you? And so it like trains her, right.
Speaker 1:But what essentially is happening here? What's happening is Stella is living a few days under the rule, if you will, of different people, under different expectations. A different thing, different set of people are ruling her life and she's being shaped by that, right. And so what does that do? It affects our relationship in some ways, not ultimately, not negatively. It's good, you know, hear me, it's good, but, like man, we have to retrain her.
Speaker 1:Stella, use your words, not your wine. Use your words, not your wine, and this is the thing you'll if you're in our home, you know RMC can attest. This is the phrase Sell it, use your words, not your wine, because we have to retrain. She has to learn to live under a new rule. I mean, that's what we're talking about today In much more extreme terms.
Speaker 1:Grandparents, you're not evil, please believe me, I don't believe that. But what we're talking about today is that, in more extreme terms, like, if we talk about we want to be spirit-filled people, we want to experience the spirit in our lives, then we must be ruled by the spirit. He must rule us if we want to experience him the way that we do. And so that's what we're going to see today. And the good news, of course, is that the gospel is the foundation for that change. It's a change of allegiance, the transferring from one rule to another. So I'm going to unpack that in three points today. First, we're going to look at this problem, the law of sin and death. Then we're going to look at the solution who is Christ Jesus, our Lord? And then we are going to look at the solution who is Christ Jesus, our Lord and then we are going to look at the resulting life, and that's living under the law of the spirit of life. So, again, we're going to look at the problem, the solution and then the resulting life.
Speaker 1:First, let's pray, god, I just thank you for this day, thank you for everything you give us. And, lord, I just recognize that for every person in this room there is a story about how we got here today one way or another, that we have our own baggage, our own hurts, our own hardships, we have our own struggles. And I just pray, lord, that wherever we're coming from today, that you would bring us here to meet you. I pray that you would help us to hear what you have to say, to see what you have to say and ultimately, lord, I pray that you would open our hearts to receive what you've got for us. Lord, I pray that as we get into something that's maybe a little more theological or a theological principle, man, I just really pray against this staying in our heads and staying as an idea that we think about and not something that is transforming to our lives. And so I pray that you would transform us today. I pray that you'll help us, that these ideas would seep deep into us and that we would be different when we leave here different. For your glory and our good. I pray this all in Jesus' name, and I pray that the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts will be glorifying to you, god, jesus' name, amen, all right, first thing I want to talk about is the problem that we have.
Speaker 1:What is the problem that we have? In short, our problem is that we are under the law of sin and death, and what a fun way to start the sermon this morning right, like already we're vibing. What does that mean? Well, that's a great question. In fact, such a great question that Paul has devoted essentially the entire chapter seven of Romans to answer that. And so, if you look at your passage, we are starting at the end of chapter seven because Paul is going to capture this whole long processing that he's done in a few simple long processing, that he's done in a few simple, hard verses. And so look at 21 through 23 of our passage. It says this so I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand, for I delight in the law of God in my inner being. But I see in my members another law, waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Speaker 1:All right, what is Paul saying here? What is he getting at? Well, essentially, he's saying that his life is this prolonged internal struggle. It is a struggle. And what is that struggle between and this is important because at first glance we might not have a lot of answers what is the struggle between? Some of us, we read this and we think the struggle is between doing what I know is right and doing what I want to do. Or some have said oh, the struggle is between doing good and doing evil, or maybe it's even is this the struggle between who I am now and this person that I want to be? And in each of those there's pieces of truth. Like all of those are sort of true about what Paul is saying. But at the end of the day, he's really very simply talking about one thing, and it's the struggle for control. It's a struggle for control between two things. He's asking here essentially what will have control over my life?
Speaker 1:And to describe this he uses the word law. And this is strange in a lot of ways, because what we see is that Paul says law, says the word law. A lot in our passage it shows up I should have counted near 10 times in our passage. And here's the problem is that he's using it in at least three different ways. Of course, right, and he's using it right away. Sometimes he's talking about law, as in that thing that God gave Israel in the Old Testament, the specific set of instructions that he gave them. Sometimes he's using law to refer more broadly to the things that God tells us to do, the good things. This is right, this is wrong. But most often in our passage he uses law to mean the idea of rule or control. This is what he means by the law of sin and death. He's not saying that there are some documents somewhere that says these are all the bad things you ought to do and I'm under that law. What he's saying is that sin and death have control. They're fighting and holding control over him. They rule him, you could say. And so you can see why chapter 7 is a difficult passage to interpret.
Speaker 1:Christians have wrestled with this for a long time, because paul is using the law, the word law, in so many different ways. He's very seamlessly going between these different ideas and using the same word the whole time, and I think that's for a good reason. It's because what he wants to communicate is this, I think, very poetic picture of a battle, of a struggle. There is conflict inside of me and man I don't know about you, but that sure captures my experience of things this conflict, because who doesn't resonate with this picture that Paul is painting? Who doesn't resonate with this idea of, in my inner, being the true me? I know what I want to do and then I don't. I know what is right, I'm going to do that, except I don't. He is so worked up and we know this right. We know this pattern, we know how this happens, these cycles, and what is Paul describing? He's describing the experience when you say, okay, you have that moment of clarity, you know this experience.
Speaker 1:For me it happens at 1130 pm. It's this moment of clarity where I say, okay, I am going to change something, like, I am going to get my life together, I'm going to go to sleep earlier tomorrow, wake up at a better time, like I'm going to do things right. And what happens? Okay, I make a few very hard but good decisions. And then, man, what do I experience? I experience good things, hard but good decisions. And then, man, what do I experience? I experience good things, things are going well, some things are changing, my life feels different, it's wonderful. And then you know this song and dance. What happens? Literally anything right, someone says the wrong thing to you, you are tired, you have, for example, children who are so wonderful but hard, or someone hurts you in some way or, god forbid, someone does something truly awful to you. And then what happens? One small decision, one bad decision, and it's just the start. It's the start of the same cycle, the same spiral down.
Speaker 1:And then, before we know it, we're back here and we say with Paul, this wretched man that I am, and what's happening? It's a civil war. There are two things battling inside of me, battling for control. We want to be good, we want to do things that give us life, and we also want bad things that destroy us. And it is exhausting. It's exhausting and I always think when Paul says the more wretched man that I am boy, that's lighter than some of the language I use. So the question is who's going to win this war? Who's going to win this civil war in us?
Speaker 1:And at this point what comes to mind to me is this old story. Maybe you've heard it. It's like a grandfather. He's talking to his grandson and he says, son, there are two wolves inside of you, one good, one evil, and they're battling for control. And then the grandson. He asks but, grandpa, which one wins? And he says, full of wisdom, he says the one you feed the most. This is interesting. I found out that that story was made up in the 60s by Christian ministers, actually of all people, because they thought when they were preaching passages like this, they said, oh, perfect illustration.
Speaker 1:But I have some gripes with it. I have some gripes with this picture because there's a sense in which it captures something really true. Hey, there's this line of good and evil and it runs through each of us, and then there's battle, there's struggle inside of us. Which one is going to win, which one's going to have control? That's true, that's good.
Speaker 1:My problem is in the conclusion of this. My problem is that essentially, it's saying that I get to choose which one wins. It's saying that I get to choose whether the good wolf or the evil wolf wins inside me, because it's which one I'm going to feed more. And that's nice, yeah, sure, great. But what happens if I want the good one to win, but I cannot help but feed the evil one? What happens if I say every day that I want one thing I want the good wolf to win the battle, and yet I cannot help but to feed the evil? What then See, my gripe with that illustration is that it ultimately puts control of the situation in our hands. It tells us that we are the ones who decide who wins. But if that was true, if that was true, then wouldn't we be in a different spot right now, right, wouldn't we live in a different world?
Speaker 1:Friends, our problem is that regardless of how much we want good, the problem is, regardless of how much we want this good side to win, it doesn't matter as much as we want the good wolf to win we will never feed him more than the other. And why? Because what Paul says we are under the law of sin and death, meaning it has control, rule over our lives. So it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how good our intentions are, it doesn't matter what you set out to do Under the law of sin and death, we lose. End of story. We will be corrupted, we will die. It doesn't matter whether you have the right intentions, it doesn't matter if you are this paragon of self-control, it doesn't matter whether you have the right intentions, it doesn't matter if you are this paragon of self-control, it doesn't matter. And so there's our problem. Nice, lovely, light way to start the morning. The problem is that if we are under the law of sin and death, we lose Full stop. And so the question, of course, is what is the solution? What is the solution to this problem? And of course, no surprise to us like, the solution is Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Speaker 1:And here's what I want us to catch. I know a lot of you very well, and here's what I think. We talk a lot about the gospel. Yes and amen. We should, we'll never stop. We'll never stop talking about how the gospel and how good and important it is. But here's what I think. I think a lot of us can get caught on certain parts of the gospel and not see the whole thing. How many of us, when we think about what Jesus has accomplished for us.
Speaker 1:Let's say this what has Jesus saved us from? Now, a lot of us, in our tradition, we're going to answer things like he saved us from the wrath of God or he saved us from hell. Yes and amen. He has. Praise God until the end of time. He has saved us from the wrath of God and from hell.
Speaker 1:But do you see what Paul says here in our passage? Look at verse 24. Verse 24 and 25. He said Wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me, who will rescue? Who will save me From what? From this body of death. Praise be to God, through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Where did he save us from? He saved us from this body of death.
Speaker 1:Now, what does that mean? That's tough. What does that mean? It means that he has changed the nature of this civil war inside of us. It means that he has changed the terms of battle, so to speak. He's made it to where we're not helpless anymore and, most importantly, he's made it so that for his followers, man, sin and death do not automatically or ultimately win. Let me say that again For Jesus' followers, he has made it to where sin and death do not automatically or ultimately win. And friends we don't always talk about this. We don't always talk, especially in our tradition. We don't talk about this enough.
Speaker 1:One of the most important things that Jesus has accomplished on the cross is that he has freed us from the control of sin and death and he has put us under the Spirit's control. That's what the beginning of chapter 8 is about the transfer of control in our lives. Look at verses 1 and 2 of chapter 8. He says 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. This is what we were just talking about. This is it? We are free from condemnation. Yes, praise God, amen, this is so good. We are free from condemnation. Yes, praise God, amen, this is so good. And we are transferred from the control of sin and death to the control of life through the Spirit.
Speaker 1:Here we see a very, very important theological principle. In this world, we have two options. We have two options for control over our lives. Either we can have the control of sin and death or the control of the spirit of life. And here's why I think that's significant, because in our culture. I think if we were to go out and we were to say, man, evil has a grip on us as humans, right? People would say, yeah, man, evil has a grip on us as humans, right? People would say, yeah, and, man, we need freed from this grip of evil in our lives. And I think people would say again, yes. And then the question is what then are we freed to?
Speaker 1:Because in our culture, if you think about the movies, the superhero movies, the comics, all these things, anytime the idea of mind control by evil comes up, or the control of evil. What's the goal? The goal is for them to be freed and independent, to be able to choose for themselves, because this is the ultimate good. Right Is that I get to choose for myself. But what does the Bible say? What does Paul say here? No, what he says here is that we not only need to be freed from control of evil, we need to be put under the control of God. We need this, we need it.
Speaker 1:The idea is, if you and I were just freed from the tyranny of sin, we're still screwed Like, we're still up a creek. The culture says that, hey, we would be happy, fulfilled, good, but no, we would not. And why is that? Well, the majority of chapter seven is dedicated to processing this idea, but the simple answer, it seems, is that sin is just too baked into us. It's seeped in when we have done evil things or when things in the world have done evil to us, that that sin, that death, is seeped into our bodies, so to speak. That's what Paul is saying. He says who will save me from this body? And he paints this picture. He says I want to do good, I want to do the right thing, but my members are under the law of sin. And he's painting this picture that it's like. It's like me at my core. I want good, but this body is corrupted. And look, here's the deal my core, I want good, but this body is corrupted. And look, here's the deal.
Speaker 1:Paul is not saying that the physical flesh, that human bodies are evil and corrupted. What he's doing is he's drawing this picture for us. He's trying to communicate something to us, and what he wants us to get is that we, as people, have been corrupted by sin. We've been warped by it, we've been changed by it. He wants us to see that sin makes us into people who sin. And so, even when we want to do the right thing, we battle our flesh, or in other words, our sin nature, because it's bent towards evil. And so what we should see is that we get this picture that we, as people, are not. It's not like this. Well, I am an upstanding citizen, I'm a good person at my core. It's these darn sticky fingers that just can't help but steal, right. Oh well, I'm good. It's these guys like so terrible, no, no, no. The picture is I don't want to live this way anymore. I don't want to steal anymore, and also I do and I will. That is what Jesus came to fix. That's what he came to fix. That's what he came to fix.
Speaker 1:Look at verse 3. He says this 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. What does this mean? What does that mean? The law was weakened by sinful flesh. That's what we've been getting at. That's what we've been saying this whole time.
Speaker 1:See, god told us. He said this is right, this is wrong. And he said. He even went on further. He said if you do the wrong thing there are consequences If you do the wrong thing. There are consequences. If you do the right thing, there are blessings. And still we didn't keep it. Why? Because sinful flesh is more powerful than knowledge. Because sinful flesh is more powerful than consequences. Because, unfortunately for us, sinful flesh is more powerful than even my own self-interest. And so God did what the law could not. He did what we could not. He freed us. He freed us from the law of sin and death. How? By killing it. Do you see this?
Speaker 1:Look at what it says in verse 3. He sent his son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin he condemned sin in the flesh. This is saying, when Jesus came to earth, he came in the likeness of sinful flesh. What does that mean? It sounds like he's saying something like Jesus looked nasty or something like that. But no, what he's saying is that Jesus came, he became human, fully human. He came in the flesh and he had the human experience and he had the human life. And still he did not sin, he did not do evil, he did not get corrupted by the evil happening around him and when he goes to the cross, uncorrupted, perfect, with the good nature, he exchanged it with ours. He exchanged our natures. He took on our sinful flesh, if you will. He took on our sin nature. And then what? He died? Do you know what?
Speaker 1:The verse in 2 Corinthians? You've probably heard this before? He became sin. Who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God? Do you know what that's saying? It's saying Jesus on the cross became that sinful nature of ours that is destroying us, and died, got killed on the cross. Why? So that we could be freed from it, so we could be freed from this tyranny of the sinful flesh. And what did he give us? He gave us his, he gave us his nature, his life. In other words, we'd say he set us free from the law of sin and death because he killed it on the cross and he put us under the law of the Spirit of life. So we saw the problem. We see that Jesus was our solution. Let's unpack what this resulting life is. And, man, I hope you catch a lot of things today, but maybe, if nothing else, catch this the new life we live, this life in the Spirit, is life under the control of the Spirit. That's what Paul is getting at in verse 4.
Speaker 1:Let's finish out the passage. Read verse 4 with me In order. Remember God condemned sin in the flesh 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. All right, there's two parts here. We need to pull apart, two things we need to look at.
Speaker 1:First, this line righteous requirements of the law. What does it mean that the righteous requirements of the law have been fulfilled in us? This has a couple of meanings, but at the core is referring to the things that God requires of us, like if we were to ask what makes us right with God, what makes us good people, man, what does it mean to live the good life? These things, these requirements, or what Paul is talking about, the righteous requirements. And now those things are fulfilled in us. And here's the deal, here's what we have to ask. What exactly does that mean? And people have gone back and forth about this. Scholars go back and forth even today about what exactly this means. Because really it seems like there are two options.
Speaker 1:There are two kind of interpretive options here. First, are we saying that the righteous requirements of the law have been met on our behalf? In other words, is Paul saying that Jesus met all the standards and gave it to us? Or is Paul saying that now, because of what Jesus has done, we're new people and, as these new people, now we meet the righteous requirements of the law? So which is it? Are these requirements meant on our behalf or are we being made into new people who meet these requirements? And I don't have many tricks in preaching, so it's going to be no surprise when I say my answer is yes. Yes, I think both are the answer.
Speaker 1:Grammatically, it's really important. Look at verse 4. Pay attention to the grammar here. In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled. Do you see? That's a passive verb, and that's important, because Paul does not say in order that Christ might fulfill those in you, and he also doesn't say in order that you might then fulfill them. Do you see what I'm saying? It's obscure. It's a passive verb for the righteous requirements. They are being met. Why? Why does Paul do that? Well, man, because of everything we've talked about so far, because of this whole journey that we've been on today.
Speaker 1:See, our problem was not just that we had not met the righteous requirements of the law. Our problem is that we had not and could not, do you see? We needed Jesus to meet those requirements for us, and we needed to be made into people who can meet them. And so it's not an either or it's not this dichotomy. It's both. It's both or it's not this dichotomy, it's both. Paul's left it ambiguous because he is bridging something for us. He's melding these two ideas together. And so, christian, is your new life marked by what Jesus has done for you, or is it marked by what the Spirit is currently doing in you? And look, if we've been around for a minute, we know yes. The answer is yes. It's a false dichotomy. These things are not at odds with each other. This is it. This is the life. This is the life that we're talking about. It's a false dichotomy. These things are not at odds with each other. That's what Paul is saying. In fact, that's what Paul says at the end of this verse. Look in order that might be fulfilled in us.
Speaker 1:Who, those of us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Now, what does this mean? What does that mean? So many people, for so long, christians, have read this and have said oh, I guess that means that now it's on me, but doesn't that just fly against everything that we've just talked about Like? Doesn't that just go against this whole problem that we have? Hey, what's our problem? I cannot do it, and so what? We're just suddenly in a new position. Okay, it's like I've wiped the slate clean. I've given you the tools, now go, it's your job. You better. I hope you get it this time. No, of course not. No, it does not say that these righteous requirements of the law have been met if we walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh. It says it's meant for those of us who walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh. This is not suddenly our job. This is not suddenly all on us. Friends, the good news, the great news, is that this Christian life is not about hey, god's wiped your slate clean. Now it's all on you.
Speaker 1:No, no, because, why? Because Paul in Romans, chapter 7, is a Christian when he says wretched man that I am, who's going to save me from this body? Praise be to God, jesus Christ, our Lord. So this is what we have seen today. It's this bridging together of two ideas, it's this connection of two ideas into one, and I think we're left with a very clear theological principle In Jesus, we have been transferred from the rule of sin and death to the rule of the spirit, of life, and this is the foundation. This is the foundation for everything that we're going to read in the rest of Romans 8. This is the principle, the cornerstone. Eight this is the principle, the cornerstone, the bedrock of what it means to live a spirit-filled life is to understand that Jesus has taken us from death into life, from being ruled over by sin to being ruled over by the Spirit, and anything that we might want to experience with the Spirit being shaped and led by the Spirit, comes with and led by the Spirit, comes with being ruled by the Spirit. And so what I want to do is I just want to end with a brief thought, two thoughts.
Speaker 1:A lot of us, man, I'm just going to say me, I have this problem where what I want so badly is experiences with the Spirit. You know, I read these passages in the Bible and I read these guys who have had these life-changing events, who have lived and walked with the Spirit, people who do incredible things, who say incredible things, who say incredible things. Like man, I want that, and the question for people like me and maybe people like you is do I want the rule of the Spirit in my life? And friends, what I think that we see in this passage and elsewhere is that if we want the experience of the Spirit, if we want the life of the Spirit I mean I've said it a hundred times today we need the rule of the Spirit, and so I think a brass text, like a tangible thing that means, is man, are we seeking out what the Spirit wants for our lives, like, am I living my all-the-time life, saying, spirit, what do you want from me for me, what do you want me to do? And, in short, I can just really easily pull apart this idea of experiencing him and submitting to him, obeying him. And what I hope that we see in this is that man, all that joy, all that great, powerful experience, like all of this good stuff that I think we all want, is not separate from obedience to him and listening to him and saying, okay, you want me to do this, okay, okay, I will. I mean that has like a million implications for all of us and we have to keep chewing on that. But we're not going to get, we're not going to get the experience without the lordship, without the submission. And the last thing I want to say I mean we talk a lot about inevitability, like hope.
Speaker 1:In the church. We talk about how, when we lose somebody, when we experience loss, or just like how awful this world is, we talk a lot about this hope that we have because Jesus will come back and yes and amen. That's so good, that is life-giving hope, right, but do we understand the hope that is offered in this passage, the hope that says, friend, if your life is this battle of control, if your life is you saying with Paul wretched man that I am, who will save me? What we have to understand is that, as Christians, as followers of Jesus, we have another hope, an inevitability, if you will, an inevitability that this sin that is in my life, this corruption that has taken hold of me, does not have the final word. And yes, I mean ultimately, when we're with Jesus, we're going to be made perfect, we're going to be with him and it's going to be so beautiful, it's going to be so good, yes, but do you understand what Paul is saying? He's saying that the spirit is ruling our lives right now.
Speaker 1:So what does that mean? That means parents, wherever your kids are right now, whether they know Jesus or not. This is not the end of their story. It is not hopeless. I mean spouses, if you or your partner, your spouse, knows the Lord. It means that these knock down, drag out fights are not the end of the story. It means, very practically, that we are not done and that's a great cliche.
Speaker 1:We hear it a lot, but do we believe that? Do you believe that You're not done? This right now me right now is not the end of my story. And praise God because this guy is not where I want him to be. But we have an inevitability yes, ultimately, when Jesus comes again, but we have this inevitability of being on this path, of living this life where the rule of the spirit of life wins ultimately and not the rule of sin and death. Now, what does that look like? In my experience, it's a very long, bumpy road and it's hard and it sucks sometimes. It's very, very long, but it's not done. I mean, that gives me a lot of hope. It gives me a lot of hope that this guy that woke up this morning is maybe not the guy who's going to wake up tomorrow. I praise God for that. Let's pray.