Fight Sin Like a Victor, Not a Victim

00:00:00.000 | [Music]

00:00:04.000 | Don't fight sin like a victim of sin.

00:00:07.000 | Fight sin like the victor over sin that you are in Jesus Christ.

00:00:12.000 | That's the punchline of a powerful sermon clip sent to us by Nathan.

00:00:16.000 | Nathan is a podcast listener.

00:00:18.000 | He emailed me the clip calling it "one of the most influential clips I have ever come across."

00:00:22.000 | And he goes on to say, "The most impactful line that hit my heart two summers ago," he writes,

00:00:26.000 | "was the line about fighting sin like a victor, not a victim.

00:00:31.000 | Rather than feel defeated, God wants us to have confidence that the war is won in Him."

00:00:37.000 | Amen, Nathan.

00:00:38.000 | It's a good summary of a really good clip from Pastor John's 2001 sermon on Romans 8, verses 1-4.

00:00:44.000 | Here's Pastor John.

00:00:46.000 | In Christ, now, we see there are two things true of us.

00:00:51.000 | Verse 1 has the same phrase, "In Christ Jesus."

00:00:56.000 | Verse 2, "In Christ Jesus."

00:00:58.000 | What are we?

00:00:59.000 | In Christ Jesus in verse 1.

00:01:01.000 | "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus."

00:01:05.000 | So the first thing we can say about being in Christ Jesus is that the verdict is delivered and we are not condemned.

00:01:12.000 | It's passed. The trial is over.

00:01:14.000 | No condemnation in Christ Jesus.

00:01:17.000 | And then verse 2 says, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free."

00:01:23.000 | So we have pardon and we now have power in Christ Jesus.

00:01:29.000 | You don't get into Christ Jesus without having both of those made over to you.

00:01:34.000 | There's pardon in Christ. There's power in Christ.

00:01:37.000 | You don't get into Christ and say, "I've got the pardon and not the power. I've got the power and not the pardon."

00:01:41.000 | In Christ, you get them both or you don't get them.

00:01:45.000 | You're not in Christ.

00:01:46.000 | If you put your faith in Jesus, you get united to Jesus and in Jesus there's no condemnation and there is power.

00:01:54.000 | Now, here's the question.

00:01:57.000 | How does the working of the power towards liberation and transformation relate to the declaration that I have no condemnation?

00:02:10.000 | And this is not nitpicking.

00:02:13.000 | This is your life.

00:02:15.000 | You get these backwards, you die.

00:02:19.000 | You get them right and live it, you live.

00:02:23.000 | So, what's the order between verses 1 and 2?

00:02:29.000 | Notice the word "for" at the beginning of verse 2.

00:02:34.000 | You might wish it weren't there.

00:02:38.000 | There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

00:02:42.000 | NIV says "because." The other versions say "for." They mean the same thing.

00:02:49.000 | "For" or "because" the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets you free from the law of sin and death.

00:02:58.000 | So, what's the relationship between justification in verse 1 and sanctification in verse 2?

00:03:05.000 | Well, before you answer too quickly, take something into account.

00:03:10.000 | The meaning of "for" or "because" both in English and Greek, both in apostolic language and your language, has two meanings.

00:03:19.000 | One is "for" or "because" can introduce a basis or ground or reason that something is.

00:03:30.000 | Or it can introduce the evidence that you know something is.

00:03:36.000 | Give you an example from your language.

00:03:39.000 | "I'm really hungry because my stomach is growling."

00:03:45.000 | Or you can say, "I'm really hungry because I skipped breakfast."

00:03:51.000 | And "because" in those two sentences have radically different meanings.

00:03:58.000 | A growling stomach is not the basis of hunger.

00:04:03.000 | It's the effect and evidence of hunger.

00:04:07.000 | And we use the word "because."

00:04:10.000 | "I'm really hungry because my stomach is growling."

00:04:14.000 | But if I say, "I'm really hungry because I skipped breakfast."

00:04:19.000 | Well, we know that skipping breakfast is the cause of the hunger and is the ground and basis of the hunger.

00:04:25.000 | So, here's my question for the relationship between verses 1 and 2 of Romans 8.

00:04:32.000 | Which meaning of "because" is here?

00:04:38.000 | Is he saying, "There is therefore now no condemnation because look, you are being transformed by the Spirit of God bearing witness that you are free."

00:04:52.000 | Or is he saying, "There is therefore now no condemnation because the foundation and the basis of your acceptance with the Father, your verdict not guilty, is the Spirit-wrought righteousness that you are performing."

00:05:15.000 | I'm going to argue that the "because" or the "for" at the beginning of verse 2 is the evidence, points to the evidence that verse 1 is so.

00:05:28.000 | Reason number one. Notice the relationship between verse 3 and 2.

00:05:36.000 | Verse 3 begins with that same word, "because" or "for."

00:05:40.000 | "The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death because," now boil down verse 3 to its main statement,

00:05:48.000 | "because God condemned sin in the flesh, the flesh of His own Son."

00:05:54.000 | And you remember how we pointed out the connection between the word "condemned" there in verse 3 and the word "condemnation" in verse 1?

00:06:03.000 | Verses 1 and 3 are together in this.

00:06:08.000 | Verse 3 is all about what God has done to set you right with Him.

00:06:15.000 | He has sent His Son to live a perfect life, to die a substitutionary death, to bear your condemnation.

00:06:24.000 | No guilt, no wrath, no condemnation. Why?

00:06:30.000 | Jesus in the flesh bore it. God condemned it there and not in you.

00:06:37.000 | And that is given as the basis of verse 2, your sanctification.

00:06:44.000 | So when verse 1 says, "There's no condemnation now in you," it's pointing to verse 3 saying, "He died for you."

00:06:55.000 | All the wrath of God was poured out on Him.

00:06:58.000 | So look, the Spirit is in you, triumphing over your sin. Rejoice, there's no condemnation.

00:07:06.000 | And verse 6 of chapter 7 is magnificent in its clarity and power.

00:07:17.000 | But now, "By dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law."

00:07:26.000 | And here in the context, it's the Mosaic Law. Know that from verses 1 to 5.

00:07:32.000 | We've been released from the law. The law is curse, the law is guilt, the law is condemnation.

00:07:37.000 | Christ became a curse for us, Galatians 3:13, so that the curse of the law is broken. It's not over us anymore.

00:07:47.000 | And then, look at these precious words that follow.

00:07:52.000 | "So that we serve in the newness of the Spirit, and not the old way of the latter."

00:08:06.000 | What's the relationship between being freed from the law with its condemnation, its curse, and its guilt,

00:08:14.000 | and the ability by the Spirit to triumph in service for God? What's the relationship?

00:08:20.000 | It's crystal clear in this verse. "We have been freed from that, so that we would serve this way."

00:08:29.000 | If you turn those around, you don't have Christianity. You have another religion.

00:08:36.000 | It's the difference between fighting to get justified, and fighting confidently because we are justified.

00:08:44.000 | It's the difference between your heavenly court trial being behind you with an irrevocable verdict of not guilty being rendered,

00:08:54.000 | and having the trial in front of you, hanging over your head, wondering if your behavior will measure up in the power of the Holy Spirit.

00:09:02.000 | It's the difference between the freedom of confidence and the bondage of fear.

00:09:08.000 | It's the difference between rendering to Christ the double glory of His being our righteousness and our condemnation,

00:09:17.000 | and the power that brings us into holiness, or just giving Him half His glory,

00:09:24.000 | and calling Him the One who enables us to perform a righteousness which we will offer to God from ourselves,

00:09:31.000 | as the foundation of our acceptance with Him.

00:09:36.000 | I don't want Him to get half His glory. I want Him to get all of His glory.

00:09:41.000 | His blood and righteousness being the ground of our acceptance, and His power being the means by which we are liberated and transformed.

00:09:51.000 | And it's the difference between your life and your death.

00:09:58.000 | Pray, pray with me now, that God would help you fall on your face and pray, "Oh God, oh God help me get this right.

00:10:08.000 | Help me not to be a Pharisee. Help me to know how to rest sweetly in the no condemnation that there is in Christ,

00:10:16.000 | so that out of the sweet communion and rest and acceptance and love and vindication and justification that there are in you,

00:10:23.000 | I might now have power in the Holy Spirit to get victory over my lust and my greed and my fear."

00:10:32.000 | Pray like that. And then when you go out, in just a minute, I'm done, I'm going to let you go.

00:10:37.000 | When you go out, fight your sin like a victor, not a victim.

00:10:48.000 | When you walk out of here this afternoon and temptations come, and they will come, there resides in your members another law.

00:10:55.000 | The law of sin and death. The Spirit is in you to help you make war on this law.

00:11:01.000 | And it's the war as a victor in confidence that we're loved and accepted, that will show that you are loved and accepted.

00:11:12.000 | Fight like a victor this week, not like a victim.

00:11:18.000 | And now may God fill you with all joy and peace in believing as you trust in his precious and very great promises.

00:11:27.000 | And so may you abound in hope. And all the people said, "Amen." You're dismissed.

00:11:33.000 | Amen. Nathan, thank you for this encouraging clip taken from John Piper's October 7th, 2001 sermon titled, "Set Free by the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus."

00:11:42.000 | "Set Free by the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus." You can find it, the entire sermon, and many others at DesiringGod.org.

00:11:49.000 | And if you have a favorite sermon clip of Pastor John, email it to me.

00:11:52.000 | Give me the title of the sermon and the timestamps from when the audio clip begins and ends, and tell me why it's impacted you.

00:11:58.000 | Give me your name and the closest city and email me all of that information at AskPastorJohn@DesiringGod.org.

00:12:05.000 | That's an email address, AskPastorJohn@DesiringGod.org. Put the word "clip" in the subject line, if you would, please.

00:12:11.000 | Well, next time, a pastoral dilemma to face. A Christian willfully and knowingly marries a non-Christian.

00:12:19.000 | How should a church respond?

00:12:22.000 | Well, we will need to pray for wisdom before we walk through this one. We will.

00:12:26.000 | And we'll deal with this next time when Pastor John joins us in the studio again on Friday.

00:12:30.000 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke. Pastor John and I will see you then.

00:12:34.000 | [END]

00:12:36.000 | [END]

00:12:38.000 | [END]

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Fight Sin Like a Victor, Not a Victim

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