Sunday, May 21, 2023 AM
RETURN TO HOLINESS: The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Mike Teel, Pastor
FOCAL PASSAGE:
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. —Romans 6:1-12
WE MUST
TO SIN
2 We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?;
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. —Romans 6:2, 8
–Remember we do not die easily, especially the desires we must deal with daily.
1. THE STRUGGLE OF
IN OUR LIVES
–These deaths spoken of here are associated with our union with Christ and His death.
–This is accomplished at the time of our Salvation when God delivers us from the domain of darkness and transfers us to the kingdom of His Son.
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, —Colossians 1:13
–It is something God does for us at the moment of our salvation.
2. THE BATTLE
DAILY
–Paul urges us to “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” Romans 6:12
–How can sin reign if we have died?
–The Scripture reminds us that we are to be LIVING SACRIFICES.
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. —Romans 12:1
–We don’t die easily and keep dragging ourselves off the altar.
–Paul is referring to the continued presence and ceaseless activity of sin that, though it is “dethroned” as the reigning power over our lives, still seeks to exert a controlling influence in our daily walk.
IN THE SPIRIT
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. —Galatians 5:16
–To walk by the Spirit is to live under the controlling influence of the Spirit and in dependence upon Him.
–Paul indicated that when we do this, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
–It is a matter of surrendering to the Purpose and Power of the Spirit of God.
1. THE PRINCIPLE OF
–Practically speaking we live under the controlling influence of the Spirit as we continually expose our minds to and seek to obey the Spirit’s will for our lives as revealed by Scripture.
–When we speak of the Principle of Dependent Responsibility it means we are responsible before God to obey His Word, to put to death the sins in our lives (both acceptable and unacceptable sins).
–At the same time, we do not have the ability within ourselves to carry out this responsibility – we must become totally dependent upon the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
–We are both responsible and dependent.
2. THE WORK OF THE
–In the New Testament letters, we see the writers, especially Paul, ascribe this work in us sometimes to God the Father, then to Jesus the Son and at other times to the Holy Spirit.
–The truth is all three members of the divine Trinity are involved in our spiritual transformation.
–Remember, though the Father and the Son work through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; —I Corinthians 6:19
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, —Ephesians 3:16
–Someone has well said, “The Spirit conveys what Christ bestows.”
THE
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
–How does the Holy Spirit work in our lives in dealing with the constant battle with sin?
–We need to believe that as we seek to deal with our subtle sins, we are not alone.
–He is at work in us, and we will see progress as we walk by the Spirit.
–He dwells in us and is at work in us to transform us more and more into the likeness of Christ.
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. —II Corinthians 3:18
Let’s examine how He works in our lives…
1. HE
US OF SIN
–One of the ways the Holy Spirit works in us is to bring conviction of sin.
–He causes us to begin to see our selfishness, our impatience, or our judgmental attitude as the sin they truly are.
–He works through Scripture.
–He also works through our consciences as they are enlightened and sensitized by exposure to His Word.
–We will not begin to deal with sin until we first realize that the particular pattern of thought, word, or deed is indeed sin.
2.
AND
US TO DEAL WITH SIN
–Another way in which the Holy Spirit works in us is to enable and empower us to deal with our sin.
–As we learn to depend upon the Holy Spirit, we are able to deal with our impatience, our critical and judgmental spirit.
–This means we should never give up. In fact, the only way Satan can defeat you is for you to give up, because the Holy Spirit will continue to provide you with power to overcome.
–Realize that sometimes the work of the Holy Spirit may be incremental or sometimes He may allow us to do things in the energy of the flesh to realize we truly can depend on Him.
3.
MAKES US AWARE OF SIN
–Sometimes the Holy Spirit works alone without our conscious involvement.
–Even in our most dismal days when we see little progress in the battle with sin, we can be confident the Holy Spirit is still at work in us.
4.
SPIRITUAL GROWTH
–Another way in which the Holy Spirit works for transformation is by bringing into our lives circumstances that are designed to cause us to grow spiritually.
–Just as our physical muscles will not grow in strength without exercise, so our spiritual life will not grow apart from circumstances that challenge us.
–God will allow what we call a CRISIS OF BELIEF.
–Remember God does not tempt us to sin (James 1:13-14), but He does allow circumstances to come into our lives that give us opportunity to put to death the particular subtle sins that are characteristic of our lives.
–This is all true with the understanding that God is absolutely in sovereign control of all our circumstances.
37 Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? —Lamentations 3:37-38
–The truth of this passage is that God is in complete control of our lives, and He uses these events, sometimes mysteriously, to change us more into the likeness of Christ.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. —Romans 8:28-29
In summary we see that the Holy Spirit works in us to convict us and makes us aware of our subtle sins. He enables us to put them to death while sometimes working in ways we are not even conscious of many times through CRISIS OF BELIEF where He uses these events to shape us to look more like Christ.
LIVE IT OUT
–How has the Holy Spirit been working in your life lately?
–What sins has the Holy Spirit brought to your mind that you need to deal with?
–How are you progressing in declaring these sins dead in your life?