Yesterday, I preached on Romans 8:26-27. It is one of the most powerful sections in one of the most powerful chapters in all of Scripture. To think that God the Spirit would pray to God the Father on the basis of the finished work of God the Son for me is absolutely incredible. It's also a mystery - something we cannot fully understand.

Now, when I was preaching, I noted that sometimes we work so hard at understanding the mysteries of the Gospel that we neglect to worship God for the Gospel. That is truly a tragedy. Imagine a scientist only ever looking through a microscope at God's creation, but never just enjoying the beauty all around them. Or think about an astronomer only ever looking through a telescope, but never enjoying the grandeur of a clear night's sky with the naked eye. We must step back and be in awe of the mysteries God puts before us.

That does not mean we should neglect the hard work of studying and understanding these mysteries. Too often, Christians use 'mystery' as an excuse for spiritual immaturity and Biblical illiteracy. God does desire that we grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him. Take Ephesians 1:18 for example - "I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him."

It is our very study of these mysteries that should drive us to worship and awe. Yes, there are times when we must pause, acknowledge our lack of understanding and bow in reverence. Then there are times when our passion for God drives us to know Him more and take hold of Him until the Spirit grants us a deeper knowledge of the Word. We aren't seeking new revelations, but to better understand the revelation already given to us through the Scriptures. When we do, our worship of Him will grow stronger and deeper.

The beauty of this pursuit is that we will never arrive. God always transcends our current knowledge of Him and therefore, we will spend all eternity diving into the depths of who He is. This is why I personally believe that study of theology is worship. It's not simply an intellectual pursuit - though it engages our intellect - but a heart pursuit as well. The mysteries of the Gospel leave us in awe, but they also drive us to know Him more

In Romans 8:18-25, we see a theme of future salvation running throughout. As a matter of fact, Paul points to the glory yet to come as our hope in the midst of pain. So often, we are taught that our only hope is in the finished work of Jesus on the cross for us. In one sense, that is true, but Paul very clearly says that the hope we were saved by is unseen - meaning it hasn't happened yet.

I believe that one of the reasons we are so tempted to question God in our pain is because we either don't understand or meditate on this truth of our future glory. I love the way Peter puts it in 1 Peter 1:8-9 – “Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Peter says that we have not yet fully received the goal of our faith. Jesus absolutely finished the work of our justification at the cross. He defeated death once and for all. But there is still a work of sanctification being done in us and we still eagerly wait for the work of our glorification on the day Jesus returns. This allows us to have hope because we know that even though things are not as they should be, He's not finished with us yet!

On the days that you become frustrated with your sin and suffering, hold on to the hope that God is still working on you and He WILL complete the work that He began (Philippians 1:6). When you can't understand why you are going through certain trials, place your hope in the salvation you have yet to fully see. If we can rejoice so greatly in the work Jesus has already completed, we can surely also rejoice in the work He is still doing and will do.

The secret to being patient in the midst of difficulty - I believe - is to trust the God of the process. If we continuously search for answers to our pain, we are looking to the things that can be seen. But that's not where our hope lies! Our hope is in the things unseen (Romans 8:24-25). Of course you can't see how your pain is working for you yet. That's why we are told to "eagerly wait with patience." The same confidence you have in the finished work of Jesus can be placed in the 'yet to be completed' work of Jesus.

So when you rejoice in the God of your Salvation, understand that you are rejoicing in things still unseen. Understand that you are declaring that God will finish the work that He began and one day all the pain you've been experiencing will fade away because of the glory we will experience when we are face to face with our Salvation.

If we are Facebook friends, you may have scrolled past a meme I posted a few days ago. I'll post it here so you can appreciate it again:

Maybe my sense of humor is a little weird sometimes, but I thought it was funny and true all at the same time. It's so easy to read Romans 8:1 and believe that because Jesus paid for our sin, it's not a big deal for us anymore. In one sense that's true, but in another sense it's ridiculous. I'll do my best to explain.

Let's start by talking about why sin isn't a big deal.

Romans 8:1 - "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus."

Simply put, there is not a single sin that you have ever committed, or will ever commit that wasn't paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ if you are in Him. It's not possible for us to be condemned for our sin because Jesus took all of our condemnation. To say that our sin has any effect on our standing before God now is to say that the sacrifice of Jesus wasn't enough.

This is why in 1 John 1:9 we are told to confess our sins in order to be forgiven. John tells us that when we do that, we are cleansed from "all unrighteousness." God isn't intimidated or surprised by your sin. He knows the depths of our depravity, and yet He still sent His Son to pay the price that we should have paid so that He could offer us complete forgiveness and freedom. So no, your sin (in that sense) is not a big deal. To treat it as such cheapens grace and lacks trust in the atonement Christ provided for us.

At the very same time, Paul reminds us that not only has Jesus saved us from the penalty of sin, but the power of sin - we are supposed to live differently if we truly have been saved by grace.

Romans 6:1-2 - "What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"

Not only does it cheapen grace to believe that our sins aren't fully paid for, it also cheapens grace to live as though sin still has power over us. Forgiveness and grace don't offer us the freedom to live in sin, they give us the freedom to live in the Spirit. Remember that Christ's death and resurrection didn't just wipe the slate clean, they gave us a new heart with new desires and longings.

I believe that one of the most confusing and mis-interpreted passages in Scripture helps shed light on this for us:

Hebrews 6:4-8 - "For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are re-crucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt. For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned."

It's not possible to have truly experienced grace and not produce the fruit of righteousness. The author of Hebrews isn't saying that you can be saved and lose your salvation. He's saying if your life isn't producing what grace has worked out in you, then you were never truly saved to begin with. It's impossible to experience grace and be the same - it just doesn't happen.

Of course, this doesn't mean that you don't have wayward Christians or those that live in sin for a time. True believers absolutely struggle with temptation and sin (see Romans 7). The mark of a true believer isn't freedom from the presence of sin (yet), but the power of sin. One day, we will be free from the very presence of sin, but until then we wage war against the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

We have been saved by grace, the slate has been wiped clean, there is no condemnation, you are free. "For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love." (Galatians 5:13)

The grace of Jesus has been lavished upon you - live like it.

Yesterday, I had the incredible opportunity to preach my first sermon as lead pastor of MissionWay Church. It was an exciting day for sure for many reasons. One of those reasons being that we have begun a journey through Romans 8 together. I mentioned in my sermon that 4 weeks is not even close to enough time to really pull out everything I would like from this chapter and deliver it in my sermons. That being said, I hope to use this blog as an avenue to get a few extra thoughts on the passages out there. Whether you're able to hear the sermons or not, I hope that these posts will serve as an encouragement to you and cause you to go deeper in God's Word as well.

I want to take a moment to focus in on Romans 8:5 - "For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit."

When I read that verse, one of the first questions that comes to my mind is, "how can we set our minds on the Spirit, then?" Paul makes it very clear that the only way we can walk in a manner pleasing to God is to set our minds on (and therefore walk in) the Spirit. So how can we do that? I'd like to give a few practical suggestions.

1. Your daily devotions shouldn't end.

No, I do not mean that you can't ever stop reading the Bible or praying out loud. Way too often, we treat our devotions as another item on the checklist that we need to get done. We have this idea that if I have an incredible time with God at the beginning of my day, then my mindset will be right for the rest of the day. I'm saying that our mind-set has to stay on the Spirit all day long. We have to constantly reorient ourselves throughout the day. your daily devotions are great, but they will not sustain you - setting your mind on the Spirit will.

For example, if I pray at the beginning of the day for the Spirit to help me love my wife unconditionally and then, that evening, I begin to get frustrated with her, my prayer at the beginning of the day isn't necessarily what will help me in that moment. It is in that moment that I have to decide once again to set my mind on the Spirit. Maybe I say another little prayer to myself, or I bring to mind a truth from God's Word that I can apply in that moment.

Whatever it takes, I need to be setting my mind on the Spirit throughout the day, not just in my devotional time.

2. Fight with Prayer.

Prayer is not meant to be a last resort, or a defensive strategy for when we mess up. It's meant to be a first response to everything and an offensive weapon. Ephesians 6:18 says - "Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance..." Go into every situation, and every interaction you have with someone with a mindset of prayer. It doesn't have to be long or even out loud, just make sure you are setting your heart on the Spirit through prayer every single opportunity you get.

3. Keep Truth in front of you.

Obviously, the primary way to do this is by reading the Word regularly. But there are many other ways to keep truth in front of you without sitting down on the couch with your Bible in hand. Memorize Scripture for example. Or write down some verses that you know you will need throughout your day and post them throughout your home or office. Listen to podcasts, audiobooks, or an audio Bible on your way to and from work. Talk about Biblical things with your family and friends. Get creative and find ways to keep the truth in front of you at all times, because we live in a world that is full of lies and the enemy is always trying to cause us to stumble.

At the end of the day, we are either setting our minds on the flesh or on the Spirit, there really isn't much of a middle ground here. There is a battle going on inside of us between the flesh and the Spirit and the one we set our minds on will win the day.