Find Out What You Have in Christ | Romans 8:12-30
Grace Coach Podcast
English - September 30, 2023 20:31 - 25 minutes - 15.8 MB - ★★★★★ - 33 ratingsChristianity Religion & Spirituality graceministry gracepodcast podcastchristian podcastministry sermonpodcast Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Guess What! You Are No Longer Under Law-Romans 8:1-11
Our ministry is centered on empowering Christians to grasp the full extent of their inheritance in Christ. Through our efforts, we also aim to share the good news of the gospel, which can lead unbelievers to salvation. We rejoice when individuals embrace this message.
In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul endeavors to enlighten Christians about their spiritual possessions in Christ while simultaneously highlighting what those without Christ lack. Here's a summary:
For Born-Again Christians:
God resides within you. You dwell in the realm of the Spirit. God has infused life into your mortal body. Eternal life awaits you with God. You are embraced as a child of God. You have been legally adopted into God's family. You are an heir of God and share in Christ's inheritance. The Spirit has bestowed upon you His first fruits. God orchestrates all things for your benefit. God has foreseen and chosen you. You are being transformed into the image and likeness of God.For People Without Christ:
You lack the indwelling of the Spirit. Pleasing God is unattainable without Christ. There is hostility between you and God. You are confined to the realm of the flesh. You do not belong to Christ. The Spirit does not abide within you.Transcript
(0:00) Want to discover your freedom in Christ? Then listen in as Mike Stone and Kevin (0:06) Smith talk about it today on Grace Coach. Welcome to Grace Coach, my name is Kevin (0:11) Smith. I got my best friend Mike Stone with me today. What's up Mike? Hey good to (0:18) be here and I'm glad I'm still your best friend. Nothing's changed from the last (0:23) podcast. From the last podcast. I don't think anybody's ever gonna overtake you (0:28) as much things as we've been through. I think you're in. But there are a couple of people (0:36) that are close second. I'll duke it out with them. You better take me out to (0:41) dinner again sometime soon. Okay. All right, so today we're talking, we're (0:48) actually probably not going to finish Romans chapter 8. This chapter has got so (0:53) much in it. It is unbelievable. And it is just an affirmation of what we have in (1:03) Christ. And it's rock-solid. It solidifies our standing with God in so (1:13) many different aspects of it. So we really hope you guys listen up, get your (1:20) Bibles out. We're gonna be starting in, we're actually gonna backtrack a little (1:25) bit. We covered up to Romans 8 11 last week, but we're gonna backtrack just a (1:30) little bit of a review. I'm gonna read Romans chapter 8 verses 8 through 11. (1:37) Which says, that's why those who are still under the control of the sinful (1:43) nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You (1:51) are controlled by the Spirit, if you have the Spirit of God living in you. And (1:57) remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not (2:02) belong to Him at all. And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will (2:09) die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right (2:15) with God. The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. And (2:22) just as God raised Christ from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies (2:28) by this same Spirit living within you. Wow. That is incredible right there. That (2:37) is packed full of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are dead and (2:43) we are alive by the Spirit. If you look in your Bibles, many of the chapters (2:49) headings, I don't know what Bible you have, but most of them are has something (2:55) to do with life in the Spirit. And that's a major theme of this chapter and what (3:01) we're going to be talking about today. Yeah, and I especially love Romans 8-11, (3:08) Kevin. Whenever you talk to somebody and you ask them what's your understanding (3:13) of salvation, many times you'll hear that, well, Christ died for my sins. And then (3:21) when you say to them, well, what's the meaning of the resurrection? What's the (3:26) resurrection mean to you? Here in Romans 8-11, it really says the purpose of why (3:33) Jesus rose from the dead, that the same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead, who (3:39) lives in you, will give life to your mortal body. Yes. The same Spirit living (3:47) within you. So that's a unbelievable reason for the resurrection that we're (3:56) made alive by Christ living in us, just as Jesus was resurrected and made alive (4:04) from his tomb. Amen, amen. But what I see, Kevin, and through this, what Paul is (4:14) doing, he's constantly, and I think you said this, he's talking about what we (4:21) have received, which is the Spirit of God living in us. And then he's also (4:26) contrasting that with what you have not received. And so he's just concerned with (4:35) eternal life, that people would be born again and saved and would be raptured one (4:42) day. But he's also constantly comparing that to those who don't, who do not have (4:50) the Spirit of God living in them. And that's how he writes. And so with that in (4:56) mind, I'm going to read Romans 8-12-14. (5:02) Therefore, brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful or (5:09) human nature urges you to do. For if you live by it, it dictates, which really (5:17) means if you live suppressing the truth about the new life in Jesus. If you keep (5:26) suppressing that, it says you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit (5:34) you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live eternally. Because (5:42) those who believe in Jesus have eternal life. That's what all those verses in (5:49) John talk about. John 3-16, John 3-36, John 5-24, that whoever believes in Him (5:59) will have eternal life. Yeah, so it says it. Even in the opening (6:06) verses that we just read, not only that you have the Spirit, but you have (6:11) life. It's a life and death comparison, as we've said, you know, in before in this (6:18) chapter. That's right. And notice he's not talking about those who are forgiven, (6:27) as good as that is. I never want to minimize the power of Jesus taking away (6:34) our sins on the cross, but he's talking about something greater, and that the (6:40) resurrection of Jesus and the new life given to us in Christ Jesus. It's just we (6:47) can't talk about that enough, the importance of the resurrection, because (6:52) we're not made alive when Christ took away our sins. We were cleansed from (6:59) unrighteousness. We were cleansed from our sins so that His life could come live (7:05) inside of us and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Yeah, so now the Spirit is (7:11) living in us and He'll never leave us. Again, we go back to the cross because all (7:17) our sins are taken away. Amen. So verse 14, it says, for all who are led by the (7:25) Spirit, who are born again, who are saved completely, are children of God. Yes. We (7:36) have talked so much about how Paul makes comparisons in this chapter, and as we (7:43) move into verses 15 through 17, he's gonna make another very powerful (7:50) comparison that the people who received this letter could totally understand. It (7:58) was part of their culture, just as it's been a part of our culture, but slavery. (8:04) So the comparison is a slave and a son, and Paul has used this term, adoption, (8:14) five times in his letters, and he's using it again here today. The readers in Rome, (8:23) because Jewish people didn't really have officially recognized adoption, but the (8:28) Romans did, and so when you got adopted into a family as a Roman, you did get (8:35) full rights as son and full heirs as we are to everything that Christ has. This (8:45) is like so plain to them, and it's plain to us, but probably not as powerful to (8:54) the people he wrote it to. So let me read Romans chapter 8 verses 15 through (8:58) 17. So you have not received the Spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead (9:05) you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we (9:12) call him Abba Father, for his Spirit joins with our Spirit to affirm that we (9:20) are God's children, and since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, (9:29) together with Christ, we are heirs of God's glory, but if we are to share his (9:36) glory, we must also share his suffering. So there's that comparison. Slaves and (9:47) sons, and we are rightful heirs of Jesus Christ. I mean, we say this all the (9:58) time, but we have received everything that we have for life and (10:03) godliness in Christ Jesus, because we've received him. So we don't have to... I (10:09) mean, I hear sermons so much. Do more. Be better. Get closer to God. (10:15) You know, seven ways to become closer to God, and I just like, come on people. I (10:22) mean, I understand what they're saying, but do you not see that you're in? You (10:30) can't get any closer to God if you are an heir with Jesus Christ, and you (10:36) share his glory. That is so true. It reminds me of a story that I heard over (10:46) and over at conferences I used to go to about how perfect we are in Christ, in (10:53) God's eyes. Mm-hmm. We're perfect because we have the perfect one living in us, and (10:59) what's happening in the Christian world is like a picture of the Mona Lisa, which (11:06) in most people's mind is a perfect painting. You can't add or subtract to (11:13) the Mona Lisa, but what's happening is many people are putting a mustache on (11:21) the Mona Lisa and say, hey, I think she looks better, and you're messing with (11:30) the perfectness that we have in Christ. Or somebody, some people put a smile on (11:35) her or something, you know. Or a smile. Tweak her a little bit, you know. Do (11:40) something, and there's no need for that. It's a perfect painting, and (11:46) there's no need to try to get more right with God than we are or have him love us (11:53) more than he already does. We are as righteous as we're ever gonna be (12:01) because we have the righteous one living in us. So he's just beating the (12:08) table on this, and I love how I see the word children over and over in verses (12:16) 15 to 17. I think three or four times he's saying we are God's children, and it (12:22) reminds me of John 1 12, Kevin, that reads, Yet to all who did receive him, to those (12:31) who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Amen. (12:39) We're in. We're his children. Yes, and that's the apostle John writing (12:46) that, and here's the apostle Paul. Yet it's the same spirit speaking to both of (12:51) them. Yes. There are a lot, as I've studied this, there's several different places (13:01) where, you know, like Paul would write to the Galatians, you know, about the (13:06) suffering. Geez, there's a whole comparison I was reading. It's in (13:15) Galatians. Let me see if I got it here. I won't read the whole thing, but it's Paul (13:20) just basically saying the same things in his message. It's just the solidifying (13:26) theme of his heart. Yeah. Our heart with God that he wants us to understand, so (13:35) he's telling that to all the churches in just a different way, but it's the same (13:41) theme. Yeah, and I feel like that's what our ministry is about. I know that's how (13:48) I've felt over the past 30 years, that I've always wanted to help Christians (13:54) understand what they have. If God has taken away your sins one time on the (13:59) cross, why would you be asking God to do what he's already done? Yes. It doesn't (14:05) make sense. Just on that level, it doesn't make sense to ask God for what (14:10) he's already done, and there are no scriptures. There's only one possible (14:15) scripture that might lead somebody to believe they need to ask God over and (14:22) over to get forgiven in order to be forgiven. That's 1st John 1 9, but that's (14:27) not what 1st John 1 9 is about. That's a salvation verse. Just read 1st John 1 (14:32) 8 and 1 10. But it's so important to understand what you have in Christ (14:40) because if you don't, you walk around as if you're not even saved and forgiven. (14:47) It's like you don't know it, and it will turn into a deep, dark depression, high (14:55) anxiety. It will just mess with your life. And so that's what our ministry, and (15:03) that's what Paul is trying to do, help these Romans understand what they (15:08) have in Christ. You know, when you say that, it made me think of a couple of (15:14) people that we've known for over 20 years, and I'm not gonna get into any (15:23) details or names, but they just basically walked away from the faith. He went to (15:28) seminary and everything, okay? I know a lot of people...this guy just walked away (15:33) from the faith. I mean, he was a leader. He was a musician on stage, and now he's (15:39) basically turned away. And I mean, I can't help but think that he did not (15:45) understand the whole gospel, and he was on a works righteousness. I didn't (15:54) know him...I wasn't like, you know, I don't think I was ever in a Bible study with (15:58) him, I can say that. So I don't really know exactly what he believed, but he (16:02) seemed solid talking to him and everything. So the point is, hold on to (16:09) the truth. Hold on to the truth. Search for it like it is gold. That's what (16:18) Proverbs tells us to. Search for wisdom like it is gold. This is wisdom, friends. (16:26) Hold on to it. Study it. Treat it like gold. I know we all work jobs to (16:34) earn money, but the Bible tells us this is the most important thing you could (16:41) ever do with your time and energy and life, and it will set you free. That's right. (16:48) Yes. So, you know, in verse 16, Kevin, I love this verse. You just read (16:55) for his spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. So if (17:03) someone says to you, well, how do you know you're born again? How do you know, Mike? (17:08) How do you know, Kevin? Well, this is like a go-to verse for me, that the Spirit of (17:15) God has joined with my spirit, and I know he is affirming in my heart and spirit (17:24) that I am born again, and I am God's children. Yes. I just love how he says (17:32) that. Well, since you said that, I want to read 1 John 5, verse 13. I love (17:42) telling people this after they come to understand their salvation in Christ, (17:47) because the evil one, Satan, will come the very night that you accept Jesus (17:53) Christ as your Savior and confuse you and try to deceive you. But hold on to this (18:00) verse right here, 1 John 5, verse 13. I have written this to you who believe in the (18:06) name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. Friends, people (18:14) don't hear this. People, oh my God, I think of another guy who was a leader in (18:21) the church, and questioned. We went to dinner one time, and he seemed troubled, and I (18:27) just said, Mark, what's going on? I'm questioning my salvation. I don't know (18:33) for sure if I...and he is the president of a national organization right now. I don't (18:40) know why I haven't talked to him in years. But anyway, 1 John 5, verse 13. You know, if you believe, you may (18:48) know that you have salvation. And that is a solid truth that God wants us to know. (18:56) That is right. That's a great verse. All right, I'm going to read Romans 5, 18, and I'm (19:03) going to read through 23. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the (19:10) glory that he will reveal in us later. I believe he's talking about the rapture. (19:16) For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children (19:25) really are. Against its will, with all creation was subjected to God's curse. (19:35) That happened when Adam disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (19:41) And that curse of spiritual death has now been passed on to all people. (19:48) But with eager hope, verse 21, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join (19:57) God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has (20:05) been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers (20:13) also groan even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory. (20:20) For we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. Isn't that true? (20:27) We just long for the day that we have new spiritual bodies and we see the Lord face to face. (20:36) So, we too wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us full rights as his adopted (20:43) children, including the new bodies, new spiritual bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope (20:51) when we were saved. If we already have something, again, we don't need to hope for what we have. (21:00) We only hope for what we don't have yet. But we look forward to something when we don't yet have. (21:08) We must wait patiently and confidently. And what I believe, again, he's talking about, Kevin, (21:14) is the rapture, the day we receive our new spiritual bodies. (21:19) Yes, I totally agree. And you mentioned it. I mean, it began, this whole little section right (21:28) here began in Genesis. And it's ending with our future glory. So, this is a big, big picture (21:37) of what God's plan is, yet it includes us in it. Those of us who are in Christ and those of us who (21:48) are not in Christ. But if you are his children, one day we're going to have new bodies. We are (21:58) going to be in heaven. This is, I mean, common knowledge. I mean, this is what Christians, (22:05) when you become a Christian, you hope for your salvation in eternal life. (22:14) But we have life right now, but there will come a time where we're going to have glorified bodies (22:23) that God is going to, and we don't want to get into all the whole things of revelation, (22:29) but there's going to be a time, a thousand year time here on earth that this creation, (22:35) you know, it's going to be redeemed. It's going to be, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. (22:43) The book of Revelation talks about. And this curse that Paul personifies the creation by giving it (22:51) a mouth, the groan, you know, we know creation doesn't have a mouth, but you know, Paul kind (22:58) of uses this literary term and just gives it this word picture that it's groaning like we groan. (23:08) When we become a Christian, we know that we are not doing everything we need to do. We fail (23:16) numerous times, a million times a day, whatever. If you're keeping score, you know, you know, (23:23) you failed one day. The failure that we experience, it ain't going to be, (23:31) we're going to be in heaven with God. We're going to have glorified bodies. We're going to be. (23:36) Our mind is going to be the whole concept of God. We're going to see him face to face. (23:44) It is going to be a mind blower what he has in store for us. (23:51) That is the glory that we have waiting for us as his beloved children. (23:58) And just so to continue on your thinking and what you just said about, you know, (24:03) when we have trials to know to be hanging on to this future redemption and the future rapture, (24:12) verse 26 says, and the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what (24:18) God wants us to pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be (24:25) expressed in words. And the father who knows all hearts knows what the spirit is saying (24:31) for the spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. I love that. (24:38) Yes. The cool thing about this is when the Holy Spirit prays for us, he's praying a hundred percent (24:46) in accord with God's will. That's the beautiful thing about this verse right here. (24:52) That's right. And we know that God causes everything to work together for good of those (24:59) who love God and who are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in (25:05) advance. Love that. And he chose them to become like his son, those who have come to faith in (25:13) Christ so that his son would be first born among many brothers and sisters. And verse 30, (25:21) having chosen them, he called them to come to him and having calling them, he gave them right (25:29) standing with himself and having given them right standing, he gave them glory. Wow. (25:39) Thank you for listening to Grace Coach. If you want to connect with us, (25:43) we would love to engage with you. Email us at thegracecoach at gmail.com. (25:49) Visit our Facebook page or visit our website gracecoach.org.
Our ministry is centered on empowering Christians to grasp the full extent of their inheritance in Christ. Through our efforts, we also aim to share the good news of the gospel, which can lead unbelievers to salvation. We rejoice when individuals embrace this message.
In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul endeavors to enlighten Christians about their spiritual possessions in Christ while simultaneously highlighting what those without Christ lack. Here's a summary:
For Born-Again Christians:
God resides within you. You dwell in the realm of the Spirit. God has infused life into your mortal body. Eternal life awaits you with God. You are embraced as a child of God. You have been legally adopted into God's family. You are an heir of God and share in Christ's inheritance. The Spirit has bestowed upon you His first fruits. God orchestrates all things for your benefit. God has foreseen and chosen you. You are being transformed into the image and likeness of God.For People Without Christ:
You lack the indwelling of the Spirit. Pleasing God is unattainable without Christ. There is hostility between you and God. You are confined to the realm of the flesh. You do not belong to Christ. The Spirit does not abide within you.Transcript
(0:00) Want to discover your freedom in Christ? Then listen in as Mike Stone and Kevin (0:06) Smith talk about it today on Grace Coach. Welcome to Grace Coach, my name is Kevin (0:11) Smith. I got my best friend Mike Stone with me today. What's up Mike? Hey good to (0:18) be here and I'm glad I'm still your best friend. Nothing's changed from the last (0:23) podcast. From the last podcast. I don't think anybody's ever gonna overtake you (0:28) as much things as we've been through. I think you're in. But there are a couple of people (0:36) that are close second. I'll duke it out with them. You better take me out to (0:41) dinner again sometime soon. Okay. All right, so today we're talking, we're (0:48) actually probably not going to finish Romans chapter 8. This chapter has got so (0:53) much in it. It is unbelievable. And it is just an affirmation of what we have in (1:03) Christ. And it's rock-solid. It solidifies our standing with God in so (1:13) many different aspects of it. So we really hope you guys listen up, get your (1:20) Bibles out. We're gonna be starting in, we're actually gonna backtrack a little (1:25) bit. We covered up to Romans 8 11 last week, but we're gonna backtrack just a (1:30) little bit of a review. I'm gonna read Romans chapter 8 verses 8 through 11. (1:37) Which says, that's why those who are still under the control of the sinful (1:43) nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You (1:51) are controlled by the Spirit, if you have the Spirit of God living in you. And (1:57) remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not (2:02) belong to Him at all. And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will (2:09) die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right (2:15) with God. The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. And (2:22) just as God raised Christ from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies (2:28) by this same Spirit living within you. Wow. That is incredible right there. That (2:37) is packed full of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are dead and (2:43) we are alive by the Spirit. If you look in your Bibles, many of the chapters (2:49) headings, I don't know what Bible you have, but most of them are has something (2:55) to do with life in the Spirit. And that's a major theme of this chapter and what (3:01) we're going to be talking about today. Yeah, and I especially love Romans 8-11, (3:08) Kevin. Whenever you talk to somebody and you ask them what's your understanding (3:13) of salvation, many times you'll hear that, well, Christ died for my sins. And then (3:21) when you say to them, well, what's the meaning of the resurrection? What's the (3:26) resurrection mean to you? Here in Romans 8-11, it really says the purpose of why (3:33) Jesus rose from the dead, that the same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead, who (3:39) lives in you, will give life to your mortal body. Yes. The same Spirit living (3:47) within you. So that's a unbelievable reason for the resurrection that we're (3:56) made alive by Christ living in us, just as Jesus was resurrected and made alive (4:04) from his tomb. Amen, amen. But what I see, Kevin, and through this, what Paul is (4:14) doing, he's constantly, and I think you said this, he's talking about what we (4:21) have received, which is the Spirit of God living in us. And then he's also (4:26) contrasting that with what you have not received. And so he's just concerned with (4:35) eternal life, that people would be born again and saved and would be raptured one (4:42) day. But he's also constantly comparing that to those who don't, who do not have (4:50) the Spirit of God living in them. And that's how he writes. And so with that in (4:56) mind, I'm going to read Romans 8-12-14. (5:02) Therefore, brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful or (5:09) human nature urges you to do. For if you live by it, it dictates, which really (5:17) means if you live suppressing the truth about the new life in Jesus. If you keep (5:26) suppressing that, it says you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit (5:34) you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live eternally. Because (5:42) those who believe in Jesus have eternal life. That's what all those verses in (5:49) John talk about. John 3-16, John 3-36, John 5-24, that whoever believes in Him (5:59) will have eternal life. Yeah, so it says it. Even in the opening (6:06) verses that we just read, not only that you have the Spirit, but you have (6:11) life. It's a life and death comparison, as we've said, you know, in before in this (6:18) chapter. That's right. And notice he's not talking about those who are forgiven, (6:27) as good as that is. I never want to minimize the power of Jesus taking away (6:34) our sins on the cross, but he's talking about something greater, and that the (6:40) resurrection of Jesus and the new life given to us in Christ Jesus. It's just we (6:47) can't talk about that enough, the importance of the resurrection, because (6:52) we're not made alive when Christ took away our sins. We were cleansed from (6:59) unrighteousness. We were cleansed from our sins so that His life could come live (7:05) inside of us and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Yeah, so now the Spirit is (7:11) living in us and He'll never leave us. Again, we go back to the cross because all (7:17) our sins are taken away. Amen. So verse 14, it says, for all who are led by the (7:25) Spirit, who are born again, who are saved completely, are children of God. Yes. We (7:36) have talked so much about how Paul makes comparisons in this chapter, and as we (7:43) move into verses 15 through 17, he's gonna make another very powerful (7:50) comparison that the people who received this letter could totally understand. It (7:58) was part of their culture, just as it's been a part of our culture, but slavery. (8:04) So the comparison is a slave and a son, and Paul has used this term, adoption, (8:14) five times in his letters, and he's using it again here today. The readers in Rome, (8:23) because Jewish people didn't really have officially recognized adoption, but the (8:28) Romans did, and so when you got adopted into a family as a Roman, you did get (8:35) full rights as son and full heirs as we are to everything that Christ has. This (8:45) is like so plain to them, and it's plain to us, but probably not as powerful to (8:54) the people he wrote it to. So let me read Romans chapter 8 verses 15 through (8:58) 17. So you have not received the Spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead (9:05) you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we (9:12) call him Abba Father, for his Spirit joins with our Spirit to affirm that we (9:20) are God's children, and since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, (9:29) together with Christ, we are heirs of God's glory, but if we are to share his (9:36) glory, we must also share his suffering. So there's that comparison. Slaves and (9:47) sons, and we are rightful heirs of Jesus Christ. I mean, we say this all the (9:58) time, but we have received everything that we have for life and (10:03) godliness in Christ Jesus, because we've received him. So we don't have to... I (10:09) mean, I hear sermons so much. Do more. Be better. Get closer to God. (10:15) You know, seven ways to become closer to God, and I just like, come on people. I (10:22) mean, I understand what they're saying, but do you not see that you're in? You (10:30) can't get any closer to God if you are an heir with Jesus Christ, and you (10:36) share his glory. That is so true. It reminds me of a story that I heard over (10:46) and over at conferences I used to go to about how perfect we are in Christ, in (10:53) God's eyes. Mm-hmm. We're perfect because we have the perfect one living in us, and (10:59) what's happening in the Christian world is like a picture of the Mona Lisa, which (11:06) in most people's mind is a perfect painting. You can't add or subtract to (11:13) the Mona Lisa, but what's happening is many people are putting a mustache on (11:21) the Mona Lisa and say, hey, I think she looks better, and you're messing with (11:30) the perfectness that we have in Christ. Or somebody, some people put a smile on (11:35) her or something, you know. Or a smile. Tweak her a little bit, you know. Do (11:40) something, and there's no need for that. It's a perfect painting, and (11:46) there's no need to try to get more right with God than we are or have him love us (11:53) more than he already does. We are as righteous as we're ever gonna be (12:01) because we have the righteous one living in us. So he's just beating the (12:08) table on this, and I love how I see the word children over and over in verses (12:16) 15 to 17. I think three or four times he's saying we are God's children, and it (12:22) reminds me of John 1 12, Kevin, that reads, Yet to all who did receive him, to those (12:31) who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Amen. (12:39) We're in. We're his children. Yes, and that's the apostle John writing (12:46) that, and here's the apostle Paul. Yet it's the same spirit speaking to both of (12:51) them. Yes. There are a lot, as I've studied this, there's several different places (13:01) where, you know, like Paul would write to the Galatians, you know, about the (13:06) suffering. Geez, there's a whole comparison I was reading. It's in (13:15) Galatians. Let me see if I got it here. I won't read the whole thing, but it's Paul (13:20) just basically saying the same things in his message. It's just the solidifying (13:26) theme of his heart. Yeah. Our heart with God that he wants us to understand, so (13:35) he's telling that to all the churches in just a different way, but it's the same (13:41) theme. Yeah, and I feel like that's what our ministry is about. I know that's how (13:48) I've felt over the past 30 years, that I've always wanted to help Christians (13:54) understand what they have. If God has taken away your sins one time on the (13:59) cross, why would you be asking God to do what he's already done? Yes. It doesn't (14:05) make sense. Just on that level, it doesn't make sense to ask God for what (14:10) he's already done, and there are no scriptures. There's only one possible (14:15) scripture that might lead somebody to believe they need to ask God over and (14:22) over to get forgiven in order to be forgiven. That's 1st John 1 9, but that's (14:27) not what 1st John 1 9 is about. That's a salvation verse. Just read 1st John 1 (14:32) 8 and 1 10. But it's so important to understand what you have in Christ (14:40) because if you don't, you walk around as if you're not even saved and forgiven. (14:47) It's like you don't know it, and it will turn into a deep, dark depression, high (14:55) anxiety. It will just mess with your life. And so that's what our ministry, and (15:03) that's what Paul is trying to do, help these Romans understand what they (15:08) have in Christ. You know, when you say that, it made me think of a couple of (15:14) people that we've known for over 20 years, and I'm not gonna get into any (15:23) details or names, but they just basically walked away from the faith. He went to (15:28) seminary and everything, okay? I know a lot of people...this guy just walked away (15:33) from the faith. I mean, he was a leader. He was a musician on stage, and now he's (15:39) basically turned away. And I mean, I can't help but think that he did not (15:45) understand the whole gospel, and he was on a works righteousness. I didn't (15:54) know him...I wasn't like, you know, I don't think I was ever in a Bible study with (15:58) him, I can say that. So I don't really know exactly what he believed, but he (16:02) seemed solid talking to him and everything. So the point is, hold on to (16:09) the truth. Hold on to the truth. Search for it like it is gold. That's what (16:18) Proverbs tells us to. Search for wisdom like it is gold. This is wisdom, friends. (16:26) Hold on to it. Study it. Treat it like gold. I know we all work jobs to (16:34) earn money, but the Bible tells us this is the most important thing you could (16:41) ever do with your time and energy and life, and it will set you free. That's right. (16:48) Yes. So, you know, in verse 16, Kevin, I love this verse. You just read (16:55) for his spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. So if (17:03) someone says to you, well, how do you know you're born again? How do you know, Mike? (17:08) How do you know, Kevin? Well, this is like a go-to verse for me, that the Spirit of (17:15) God has joined with my spirit, and I know he is affirming in my heart and spirit (17:24) that I am born again, and I am God's children. Yes. I just love how he says (17:32) that. Well, since you said that, I want to read 1 John 5, verse 13. I love (17:42) telling people this after they come to understand their salvation in Christ, (17:47) because the evil one, Satan, will come the very night that you accept Jesus (17:53) Christ as your Savior and confuse you and try to deceive you. But hold on to this (18:00) verse right here, 1 John 5, verse 13. I have written this to you who believe in the (18:06) name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. Friends, people (18:14) don't hear this. People, oh my God, I think of another guy who was a leader in (18:21) the church, and questioned. We went to dinner one time, and he seemed troubled, and I (18:27) just said, Mark, what's going on? I'm questioning my salvation. I don't know (18:33) for sure if I...and he is the president of a national organization right now. I don't (18:40) know why I haven't talked to him in years. But anyway, 1 John 5, verse 13. You know, if you believe, you may (18:48) know that you have salvation. And that is a solid truth that God wants us to know. (18:56) That is right. That's a great verse. All right, I'm going to read Romans 5, 18, and I'm (19:03) going to read through 23. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the (19:10) glory that he will reveal in us later. I believe he's talking about the rapture. (19:16) For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children (19:25) really are. Against its will, with all creation was subjected to God's curse. (19:35) That happened when Adam disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (19:41) And that curse of spiritual death has now been passed on to all people. (19:48) But with eager hope, verse 21, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join (19:57) God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has (20:05) been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers (20:13) also groan even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory. (20:20) For we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. Isn't that true? (20:27) We just long for the day that we have new spiritual bodies and we see the Lord face to face. (20:36) So, we too wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us full rights as his adopted (20:43) children, including the new bodies, new spiritual bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope (20:51) when we were saved. If we already have something, again, we don't need to hope for what we have. (21:00) We only hope for what we don't have yet. But we look forward to something when we don't yet have. (21:08) We must wait patiently and confidently. And what I believe, again, he's talking about, Kevin, (21:14) is the rapture, the day we receive our new spiritual bodies. (21:19) Yes, I totally agree. And you mentioned it. I mean, it began, this whole little section right (21:28) here began in Genesis. And it's ending with our future glory. So, this is a big, big picture (21:37) of what God's plan is, yet it includes us in it. Those of us who are in Christ and those of us who (21:48) are not in Christ. But if you are his children, one day we're going to have new bodies. We are (21:58) going to be in heaven. This is, I mean, common knowledge. I mean, this is what Christians, (22:05) when you become a Christian, you hope for your salvation in eternal life. (22:14) But we have life right now, but there will come a time where we're going to have glorified bodies (22:23) that God is going to, and we don't want to get into all the whole things of revelation, (22:29) but there's going to be a time, a thousand year time here on earth that this creation, (22:35) you know, it's going to be redeemed. It's going to be, there will be a new heaven and a new earth. (22:43) The book of Revelation talks about. And this curse that Paul personifies the creation by giving it (22:51) a mouth, the groan, you know, we know creation doesn't have a mouth, but you know, Paul kind (22:58) of uses this literary term and just gives it this word picture that it's groaning like we groan. (23:08) When we become a Christian, we know that we are not doing everything we need to do. We fail (23:16) numerous times, a million times a day, whatever. If you're keeping score, you know, you know, (23:23) you failed one day. The failure that we experience, it ain't going to be, (23:31) we're going to be in heaven with God. We're going to have glorified bodies. We're going to be. (23:36) Our mind is going to be the whole concept of God. We're going to see him face to face. (23:44) It is going to be a mind blower what he has in store for us. (23:51) That is the glory that we have waiting for us as his beloved children. (23:58) And just so to continue on your thinking and what you just said about, you know, (24:03) when we have trials to know to be hanging on to this future redemption and the future rapture, (24:12) verse 26 says, and the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what (24:18) God wants us to pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be (24:25) expressed in words. And the father who knows all hearts knows what the spirit is saying (24:31) for the spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. I love that. (24:38) Yes. The cool thing about this is when the Holy Spirit prays for us, he's praying a hundred percent (24:46) in accord with God's will. That's the beautiful thing about this verse right here. (24:52) That's right. And we know that God causes everything to work together for good of those (24:59) who love God and who are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in (25:05) advance. Love that. And he chose them to become like his son, those who have come to faith in (25:13) Christ so that his son would be first born among many brothers and sisters. And verse 30, (25:21) having chosen them, he called them to come to him and having calling them, he gave them right (25:29) standing with himself and having given them right standing, he gave them glory. Wow. (25:39) Thank you for listening to Grace Coach. If you want to connect with us, (25:43) we would love to engage with you. Email us at thegracecoach at gmail.com. (25:49) Visit our Facebook page or visit our website gracecoach.org.