Testimony is STILL one of the most powerful tools to finding the truth.

 

Eyewitnesses lead us to the TRUTH, and the TRUTH should be all that we truly care about……

 

Paul found the Truth on his way into Syria—in pursuit of the opportunity to torture, imprison, humiliate, and even kill the followers of Jesus.

 

And after his conversion, he wrote this:

 

Romans 8  1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.  And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.  5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.  9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

 

I want to encourage you today to TRULY read that.

 

It is an incredible testimony to our God.

 

And it is a great reminder to us.  We are not supposed to forget who we are:

  • We are Forgiven.  And we are not to look back on our past and be ashamed….THERE IS NOW NO CONDEMNATION
  • We are Free.  We are not in the bondage of our own sin.  We are to put a new focus—on Jesus….THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE SET ME FREE
  • We have a new Mindset.  WE HAVE OUR MINDS ON WHAT THE SPIRIT DESIRES.
  • We are not bound by legalism—for ourself OR others.  And God warns us that when we judge others—we judge ourselves.  It is a simple concept: if we want to be truly judged by law—ALL OF US ARE GUILTY.  And so we can be free of the law because THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE SET ME FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH.

 

We are entrenched in LEGALISM—and time and time again I prove it to myself:  I have read that very verse and said this: “Do I live according to the Spirit?  Because so many times I am not—so am I in Christ Jesus?”

 

But God is trying to tell us to walk into the freedom He is offering…..

 

We can walk away from legalism….and guilt….and doubt….and self-hatred…..

 

And we can walk with Jesus.

 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about a response.  It is about a God who takes 5000 steps at us—to meet us—and to love us.  But we must RESPOND and take just ONE to meet Him.

 

What would your life truly look like if you could walk in Romans 8?

 

Would it look different than what it does today?

 

If it would, I encourage you on this day to RESPOND to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Memorize that scripture and ask God to write it on your heart.

 

  • John 3:16 says He came to save the world.
  • 2 Corinthians 5 says that we are to reconcile men to God.
  • John 19 records Jesus saying that “It is finished”—that our sin debt is PAID IN FULL.
  • Isaiah 53 says that He (God) laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.
  • Ecclesiastes 12 says that we are to “fear God and keep His commandments–for this is the whole duty of man…”  (Not by legal means—but by BEING IN CHRIST JESUS!!)
  • Genesis 6 says:  “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord…”
  • Genesis 14 says that Melchizedek put grace and blessing and hope on Abraham just like God, through Jesus, wants to do with us.

 

And so how do we RESPOND?

 

I think a model of our response can be found in scripture.

 

Men and women saved by Jesus did not go live in seclusion and focus on their faults and deficiencies.  They lived in freedom and began to walk out the call that Jesus had put over their lives.

 

And so should we.

 

In The Name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

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Coach J