WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:01.600 Yeah. 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:12.320 Well, looking at the songs that uh that God led our worship team to pick out this morning, it's it's evident that God really wants you to know that He loves you this morning. 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:15.119 That's kind of been woven all throughout. 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:25.519 And I think that's it's interesting because a lot of what we're gonna talk about today has to deal with this understanding of who God is and oftentimes misconceptions that we have about who God is. 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:35.520 We have a tendency as people to see God as a distant, demanding ruler when in reality he is a loving, caring father. 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:49.759 And it's actually one of the biggest paradigm shifts that we all have to experience and almost continually do it because there's just something about our nature, there's something about the world that just pulls us to say, like, no, God must be more harsh, he must be more upset, more angry. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:55.679 And in reality, no, he's incredibly kind, he's incredibly patient, he loves you very, very much. 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:02.079 And everything that we do has to be about focusing on that because we we need to remember that as often as possible. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:06.879 All right, well, last Sunday we started a new series called Free. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:14.000 And what we're doing is we're gonna spend the next few weeks going through this section of a letter in the New Testament called the Letter to the Romans. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:17.200 And it's a very complicated, very nuanced thing. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:18.159 We'll talk about that in a minute. 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:19.359 Nuance is good. 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:23.280 Uh, but if you had to give it a theme, the theme would be freedom. 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:26.159 So, for example, we'll get to this one a little bit later on. 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:28.000 This is toward the end of the section we'll be studying. 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:38.159 Romans 8.2 says, Because you belong to him, because you belong to Jesus, the power of the life-giving spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:48.400 Now, if you're someone who's kind of new to the whole church thing, uh, whether you're here or you're watching from home, and that statement, the life-giving spirit has freed you from the power of sin and death, you're like, it doesn't mean anything to me. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:49.200 Just stick with it. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:50.799 I think it'll make sense. 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:56.000 But this whole section is about this idea of freedom. 00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:07.200 That Jesus has done something, and the result of what he's done is that you have been set free and you can live in a freedom you could never experience apart from Jesus. 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:10.879 Now, we talked about this a little bit last week, and I'm approaching this one a little bit different. 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.120 I've got visual aids this time around. 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:15.520 Uh, this is a diagram of freedom. 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:17.759 This is what freedom looks like. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:20.879 Freedom is really messy. 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:22.960 It's really messy, right? 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:31.520 That's why as parents, we struggle sometimes to give our kids more freedom because we just can't visualize how they're gonna handle it, what they're gonna do with it. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:35.199 It's so much easier to provide more and more structure. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:36.960 Think about our nation. 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:38.960 We are a free country. 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:42.639 And we've been a free country for about a quarter of a millennia now. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:45.520 250 years or so, we've been a free country. 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:49.759 And if you study the history of our nation, what you find is that it's pretty messy. 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:54.960 There's a lot of good and there's a lot of bad, and it's just sort of a mess. 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:56.800 The good news is it's it's interesting, right? 00:02:56.879 --> 00:03:04.879 American history at the very least is interesting because it's so messy, because turns out it's one thing to be handed freedom, and it's another thing to figure out what to do with it. 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:08.879 Like, how do you actually live in freedom? 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:13.759 Freedom can be abused, freedom can be misused. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:15.919 People do funny things with freedom. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:21.599 And it's it's interesting because we we like to imagine God being a God who's not about freedom. 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:33.759 You know, it's that paradigm shift I was talking about a minute ago, that whole distant demanding ruler, that God must be a God where it's all about order and structure, there's a lot of rules, it's like a tightrope that you have to follow, right? 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:40.960 One step to the left or to the right, you're out, because God is definitely not a God of freedom, because God would never be okay with a mess. 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:41.919 Right? 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:45.280 But that's just not the case. 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:47.759 That's not the case. 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:55.759 In fact, one of the best pictures we have of the will of God and just what God desires would be if you go back to that original story in the Bible. 00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:00.800 And even if you're not a Jesus follower, you're new to church, you're probably familiar with it, uh, the story of the Garden of Eden. 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:03.599 We'll reference that story a few times today. 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:12.800 That that gives us a really clear picture of what God's will is like, because that was before everything sort of went awry. 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:17.839 And God tells the people in the garden, he says, hey, look, you can eat, what does he say? 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:18.800 Does anyone know the word? 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:20.160 He says, eat what? 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:23.120 Eat freely. 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:24.399 Eat freely. 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:26.319 He says, You can you can eat freely. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:27.439 It's freedom. 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:32.560 He's like, all that you see, all the all the trees in the garden, they're all yours. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:36.160 Have at it, have, have at it, have what you want, eat freely. 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:39.519 And he says, Oh, but there's this one tree you should avoid. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:47.600 See, we like to think of God being the opposite of that, that God would have a thousand things you shouldn't do, and there's only one good thing to do, that his will must be like a tightrope. 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:49.199 When in reality, no. 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:52.639 No, God is a God of tremendous freedom. 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:57.279 But we struggle with freedom because freedom is kind of messy. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:00.639 And the reality is, this is not just a picture of freedom, this is me. 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:02.319 And I hope it's some of you too. 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:04.959 I hope I'm not the only messy one in the room. 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:08.079 Anyone else willing to admit that you're kind of a mess? 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:09.279 Right. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:19.439 And so it can be disillusioning and disheartening as a Jesus follower because you know when you give your life to Jesus, you think to yourself, oh wow, this must, this is gonna fix everything. 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:21.600 This is gonna fix everything. 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:26.800 I'm gonna give my life to Jesus, I'm gonna get baptized, I'll go to church, I'll read the Bible, and boom, it's all fixed. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:29.600 And in a sense, yeah, it is all fixed. 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:38.639 That's the the eventual destination, but in in practicality, we're still, we're still really, really messy. 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:41.040 And this section on freedom, it deals with that. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:48.560 In fact, Romans chapter seven, it's kind of halfway through, Paul says, I don't really understand myself. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:51.839 I don't really understand myself. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:06:02.000 And he goes on to say that I do things I don't want to do that I don't think are good, but I do them anyway, and then there's things that I really want to do because I know they're good and right, and I don't end up doing them. 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:06.240 I do what I hate and I don't do what I love, I don't understand myself. 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:07.439 Can anyone relate to that? 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:09.279 Does that sound like life to anybody else? 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:11.439 Why do I keep doing the things that I do? 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:13.120 Why do I keep doing this? 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:16.639 Why do I keep getting stuck on the same stuff? 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:21.839 Why do I keep telling myself that tomorrow I'm gonna start doing that thing that's really good? 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:23.680 Now tomorrow's gonna be the day. 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:28.480 And then tomorrow shows up, I'm like, actually, today's not a good day. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:32.079 Tomorrow would be better, and tomorrow just keeps happening tomorrow. 00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:35.120 Why don't I quit the things that I say I'm going to quit? 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:37.759 Why don't I do the things that I know I ought to do? 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:40.800 I don't know, I don't understand myself. 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:43.600 It's messy. 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:46.399 But please understand this. 00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:48.639 God is okay with your mess. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.439 What I mean by that is not that he wants you to stay here. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:54.000 This isn't a fun place to live. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:07:01.120 But but he's not intimidated by your mess, he's not disgusted by your mess, he's not turned off by it. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:04.879 There's nothing that God looks at and sees in you where he goes like, ugh ah. 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:13.600 You know, like maybe you've been in a dating situation before where you saw some mess at some point before it was too late. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:16.160 You know what I mean? 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:19.519 All of us married people are laughing at that. 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:24.879 Uh and you're like, oh no, I abort, abort, go, run, run, right? 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:27.519 You know, that's the reality. 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:28.800 And again, we're talking about God's love. 00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:29.680 There's a lot of ideas. 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:32.000 This whole section is very nuanced, there's a lot of layers to it. 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:36.079 Nuance is okay, but the reality is a lot of times as people, we love out of ignorance. 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:40.399 We love because we don't know just how messy it is. 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:43.439 God never loves out of ignorance. 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:48.639 He knows everything, he sees the mess for what it is, and he loves you anyway. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:50.800 But again, he doesn't want us to stay here. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:55.199 Part of freedom is learning how to how to understand it, at least it should be. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:08:04.560 And so last week we kind of created a framework that we're gonna use to sort of guide us in what what Romans 6 through 8 is communicating, because it's pretty complicated. 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:11.360 Like if you're a if you're a new Jesus follower or you're kind of thinking about it, there's a part of me as a pastor that's like, don't do Romans. 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:14.800 If you've been a Jesus follower for long, you know why, but it's interesting. 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:18.240 Uh, the book of Romans, the letters, it was written to new Christians. 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:20.879 Because everybody at that time was a new Jesus follower. 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:23.920 There's no such thing as someone who's like, yeah, I grew up in the church, didn't exist. 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:34.080 And so we've got to make sure we don't underestimate our ourselves and our ability to understand really complex things because what God has done for us, it's it's beautiful, it's simple in many ways, it's also complicated. 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:34.720 We need some help. 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:37.759 And so as we go through this section of Romans, we're gonna cover a lot of ground. 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.679 Last week I showed you guys a list of all the concepts in Romans. 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:46.320 It's a lot, but this is a framework that just basically helps us understand the gist of what's going on. 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:49.120 Everyone in this room was born, correct? 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:50.320 Great. 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:54.240 Uh when you were born, you received a nature. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:57.440 And you might use language like the way that you're wired. 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:00.799 You know, that you're just naturally, this is this is who you are. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:05.440 This is this is everything from your imagination, your desires, your feelings, your thoughts, this is you. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:06.960 And the Bible has a word for that. 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:08.480 It's it's flesh. 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:15.759 Sometimes, depending on your translation, it might actually say the phrase sin nature instead of flesh. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:23.120 And there's language used saying that that apart from Jesus, we're actually slaves to our flesh. 00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:26.000 That we are slaves to our sin nature. 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:27.919 Now, culturally speaking, that doesn't fly. 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:28.960 No one's gonna go for that. 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:33.120 If you say, hey, agree or disagree, you're a slave to your sin nature, people would be offended. 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:34.639 But we talked about this last week. 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:38.000 How often have you heard someone say something like, I'm only human? 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:44.399 I can't change the way I feel, I can't, I can't help the way that I feel about this. 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:47.840 Those are statements that are basically saying I'm totally a slave to this. 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:49.440 I can't help it. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:52.559 I feel really strongly about something and I'm compelled to follow it. 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:59.200 And so we're born, we get this nature, the Bible calls that flesh, and then that leads to, unfortunately, death. 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:01.519 It leads to death. 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:03.679 And we'll go into more detail about that in a minute. 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:06.000 But then when you give your life to Jesus, something happens. 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:07.919 You become born again. 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:09.360 You're born again. 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:14.000 Jesus says this in John chapter 3 that you must be you must be born again. 00:10:14.159 --> 00:10:15.360 And when you're born again, guess what? 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:16.480 You get a new nature. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:18.799 There's a new life that develops inside of you. 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:22.000 And that new nature actually desires the things that God desires. 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:28.639 That new nature desires things that line up with what God would desire for you, and we call that spirit. 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:33.600 That's the phrase we see in scripture: that we're we're born not of flesh, but of spirit. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:38.080 At your core, you are a spiritual person. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:41.279 That is who you are. 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:43.759 You're spiritual. 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:48.159 And so there's got to be some life in your spirit for you to actually be the person that you're meant to be. 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:51.200 And if we live by the spirit, it leads to life. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:56.799 And so as we study this section, you're gonna see a lot of terms, a lot of phrases, and it's gonna feel like it's all layered on top of each other. 00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:58.399 It's gonna feel like a mess. 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:05.919 But this is a framework to help us understand what the author's trying to tell us, what God's trying to tell us, because we want to be people who live here. 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:07.679 But it's it's hard. 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:09.200 It's hard to live here. 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:10.559 It's it's kind of messy. 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:13.519 And so, with that said, I just want to jump into Romans chapter 6. 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:14.879 I'm gonna read the first 11 verses. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:16.320 This is really what we're gonna cover today. 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:19.840 And by the way, um, I'm reading everything off of the His Hands Mobile app. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:21.759 If you ever have that up, you can follow along. 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:25.679 All the scripture that we use is there, and uh something you can use afterwards as well. 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:27.039 So here we go. 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:29.440 Again, this is gonna feel really messy. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:36.559 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more of his wonderful grace? 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:38.000 Of course not. 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:39.600 It's a funny idea, right? 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:44.399 What what Paul's saying is, hey, God's given us grace, he forgives us for our sins. 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:49.679 And so there's one logical out outcome to that is to be like, sweet, let's do way more of that. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:50.639 Right? 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:53.600 He says, of course not. 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:58.559 Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:03.840 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:06.720 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. 00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.600 The reason we do baptism the way we do is it's symbolic. 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:14.960 When someone goes into the water, it's symbolic of them being like it's like Jesus going into the tomb. 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:18.000 When they come up out of the water, it's symbolic of Jesus being raised to life. 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:20.080 So he's making that connection there. 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:26.960 He says, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:32.159 Since we've been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:37.039 Now we know that our old sinful selves, that's this person right here. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:43.440 He says, We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ, so that sin might lose its power in our lives. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:45.600 We are no longer slaves to sin. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:52.639 For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin, and since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:56.240 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead and he will never die again. 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:58.960 Death no longer has any power over him. 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:02.639 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:05.919 But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:13.679 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:15.840 Simple stuff. 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:16.639 Right? 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:20.320 There's a lot going on there. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:30.639 But all of this, again, this is this is all designed to help us understand ourselves, to help us understand how to live in this freedom that we're meant to live in. 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:33.120 And so I want us to kind of unpack this a little bit together. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:35.200 Alright, there's a word that popped up. 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:38.480 It's it's a word that no one really likes, and it's the word sin. 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:42.799 Now, we we often have a lot of misconceptions about sin. 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:45.759 It's kind of it's kind of a nuanced thing. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:48.399 I want you to think for a second about the word love. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:52.000 We see love probably is very opposite to sin. 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:54.480 Love is something that we do, right? 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:55.840 Like you love things. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:58.240 Think about some things that you love, maybe people you love. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:01.919 I love my wife, I love Jesus, I love this church. 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:06.559 But there's also stuff I love, like I love basketball, I love biscuits and gravy. 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:07.600 And you know what? 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:15.200 I think I communicated more love at the end there, and it's not that I love that more than my wife or Jesus for sure. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:18.000 It's just uh I'm kind of hungry. 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:19.919 So uh that's all. 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:22.480 Like love is something that you do. 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:27.120 And there's probably some things that you love really well, like you're good at loving that thing, it's something that you do. 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:30.000 Well, sin is something that we we do. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:34.480 And sometimes we look at this word and it's like a really negative word. 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:37.360 The Greek version of it literally just means to miss the bullseye. 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:42.080 Anytime we step outside of what God has deemed as good, that that's just that's sin. 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:46.559 But sin is more than just behavior, it's more than just something that we do. 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:47.679 Think about love. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:54.080 Not only do we love things, not only is love an action, sometimes we talk about love as if it's something that's like out there in the world, right? 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:59.360 We might say things like, I'm I'm looking for love, I'm searching for love, I found love. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:04.240 Love is like, it's something that exists outside of us. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:06.960 We see that in scripture with sin as well. 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:10.480 In fact, the very first time that this word is used is Genesis chapter 4, verse 7. 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:14.799 God's talking to a man named Cain, and he says, You will be accepted if you do what's right. 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:16.240 Cain's really going through some stuff right now. 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:17.679 He's about to make a terrible decision. 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:21.279 He says, But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:28.799 Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you, but you must subdue it and be its master. 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:36.240 Okay, he's saying, Hey, sin is it's like this thing, and it's out there, and and it has really bad intentions for you. 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:41.279 So sin is something we do, but it's also some like kind of external force. 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:43.039 But but go back to love. 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:54.559 Not only do we do love, it's not just an action, it's not just something that's kind of out there, but we also have this sense that love is like inside of us, that love is at work within us. 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.200 And sometimes you're just you're filled with love. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:02.240 I mean, I I those of you who know me well, you know my kids, and I talk about them all the time. 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:06.559 Number one, having four kids is like perfect for my job because I need material. 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:07.919 I need constant stuff. 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:09.120 You know what I mean? 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:11.039 Like every week it's gotta be a new message. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:12.159 And so they give me lots of stuff. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:15.519 And and I have I have three boys and I have one girl. 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:22.240 And I joke all the time and say things like I repeat stuff a lot that you know, the difference between boys and girls if you're a dad is really simple. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:25.440 You would you would die for your boys, but you would kill for your daughter, right? 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:27.679 It's just the truth. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:35.440 And you know, I love I love my daughter so much, and it just has this different effect on on me than even my son's. 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:37.840 I don't love her more, it's just a different kind of love. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:43.600 That sometimes I'll just catch myself just watching my daughter, and I'll just cry. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:52.639 Like she'll just be singing in the car poorly, and I will look at her through the rearview mirror and just tear up. 00:16:52.799 --> 00:17:00.559 In fact, I think I I spend more time with the rear view mirror on the back seat watching my kids than I do looking at the cars behind me, which is the purpose of that. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:01.759 It's probably not good. 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:07.920 But but it's like there's a love inside of me and it it almost takes over sometimes. 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:10.720 And I'm just swept up in it. 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:13.119 It's an internal force, not just something out there. 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:15.279 Well, the Bible talks about sin in similar terms. 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:23.440 In fact, in Romans chapter 7, verse 20, Paul wrote, But if I do what I don't want to do, I'm not really the one doing it. 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:27.279 It is actually sin living in me that does it. 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:31.839 It's sin living in me. 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:40.319 So sin is something we do, it's something that's kind of out there, but it's also something at work within us, and it's really, really serious. 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:43.119 Jesus actually talked about sin in very serious terms. 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:47.119 He said, Hey, if your right eye causes you to sin, just gouge it out. 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:51.839 And if your right hand, assuming that that's your strong hand, if it causes you to sin, just cut it off. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:53.119 Now he's being hyperbolic. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:58.160 Jesus is always talking a metaphor, but he's talking about sin in very serious terms. 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:07.680 In fact, Romans chapter 6, verse 23, that's part of this section we're studying, says, For the wages of sin is death. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.279 But the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:17.759 So what this tells us is that sin it's not just serious, sin is like expensive. 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:18.720 See that? 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:20.160 Now it's a dollar sign. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:21.599 Isn't that funny? 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:25.680 That is the most clever thing I will do all day long. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.960 And I don't just mean while I'm here, I mean all day long. 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:31.599 Sin is is expensive. 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:36.559 There is a price for sin, and apparently that price is death. 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:43.039 Now, this is where that whole misconception of God thing comes in, because we we struggle with this. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:45.680 We struggle with this even if we've been following Jesus for many years. 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:49.519 We have this tendency to believe that God overreacts to sin. 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:55.759 That God is like really touchy, and you know, he just overreacts. 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:57.440 There's certain things that just set him off. 00:18:57.519 --> 00:18:58.880 I'm sure there are things like that in your life. 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:01.839 There are certain things that they just they set you off. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:04.799 You get really annoyed, really, really frustrated. 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:07.440 Like, like have you ever been uh in a car? 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:08.880 Well, yeah, of course, okay. 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:10.240 Everyone been in a car? 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:10.799 We're good? 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:11.519 You still with me? 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:11.759 Okay. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:20.000 If you ever been in a car and you're you're the second person at the the stoplight, and the person in front of you, when it turns green, just doesn't go. 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:25.839 Like they're on their phone or they're looking at their kids in the rearview mirror or something like that, you know what I'm talking about? 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:33.359 And it's time to go and they just don't, and you have to honk, and like they get through just in time, but you don't? 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:35.519 Has anyone ever had that experience? 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:43.839 Is that not the most like rage-filled sort of like such injustice has been done to you in that moment? 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:58.559 So I'm not gonna name names, but I I did that um on accident, obviously, and uh a few weeks back, and I looked in the rearview mirror and was like, sorry, and uh the person was just like giving it to me. 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:17.519 And they totally go to church here, and it was awesome, it was great, and they didn't know, and and and they they still don't know, but it was me, and I was so like, this is so cool because I love them and I actually super respect this person, and I kind of like them more now. 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:25.839 Um you know, you know, like certain things they they just set you off, and you just kind of ah, you lose it. 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:36.720 Well, we have a tendency to think that God is like that with sin, that God is really touchy and he gets really offended by sin and he overreacts and it's overblown, and that's why sin leads to death, because God overreacts to sin. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:41.119 But but that's that's not the truth at all. 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:43.839 In fact, it couldn't be further from the truth. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:46.880 God is not the one who who forces death on us, right? 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:53.039 It said the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:57.039 See, God is not the one who demands payment for sin. 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:01.920 Sin demands payment in and of itself. 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:05.279 God is the one who provides payment for sin. 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:11.440 In fact, the reality is that we just we way underestimate this. 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:12.559 We really do. 00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:13.599 And part of that's cultural. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:22.720 We happen to live in a time right now where, culturally speaking, we kind of have this idea, and I'm not talking about you individually or even everyone in this room or watching online, but just a culture as a whole. 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:28.960 If our culture does believe in God, the idea is kind of like, well, shouldn't God just let me decide what's good and what's not? 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:34.559 Shouldn't God let me be the one who chooses what's right for me and what's wrong for me? 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:40.079 And if it's right for me and I like it and it feels good to me, shouldn't God be okay with that? 00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:45.680 And that kind of makes sense from a really egocentric, selfish, selfish place of thinking. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:46.799 It really does. 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:52.559 You know, I I had a really interesting conversation with Marlon, uh Yoder, who paints the Tree of Life paintings in our building. 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:59.599 It was a couple weeks ago, and uh Marlon was talking about how he very uh often has given away paintings of his to, you know. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.240 For charity or whatever it is. 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:05.359 But, you know, it's his work, it's his life. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:07.440 And he said something so profound. 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:12.240 He said, you know, I give stuff away, but when I give it away, it has to be on my terms. 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:16.559 Because he's the one who created it. 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:20.319 And so if he's going to give it away, it has to be his way. 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:26.079 We've got to be okay with the idea that God has a certain way, that he would like things to be. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:27.759 That's not unreasonable. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:28.640 That's not ridiculous. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:32.720 Sometimes our culture is like, I can't believe that God has like preferences. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:33.920 You know? 00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:41.920 That's ridiculous that God would desire things to be, I don't know, a certain specific way, because like maybe he knows better. 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:43.599 But he does. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:44.880 He does. 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:50.880 And when we step outside of what he says is good, that's sin. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:57.920 What almost always happens is that we vastly underestimate what's going to happen as a result. 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:01.839 It's not God who overreacts to sin, it's us who underestimates it. 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:05.680 Take, for example, the story I mentioned earlier, Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:08.319 We've all probably heard that story, even if you're not a Jesus follower, right? 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:09.359 There's the forbidden fruit. 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:12.960 And God says to them, hey, don't eat the fruit from this one tree. 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:15.680 Because if you eat it, you will surely what? 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:16.640 Die. 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:19.200 He says, You'll die. 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:21.200 Now, we can read that as a threat. 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:26.720 God is like, if you eat this fruit, I swear, I am going to kill you. 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:27.680 Right? 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:30.000 And that's very often how we see that story. 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:36.400 That God is threatening them, that He's saying, Hey, if you step out of line and do what I don't want you to do, you're gonna die, meaning I'm gonna do it. 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:37.920 That's not what He says. 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:40.640 He says, if you eat this fruit, you will die. 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:42.799 That is the result of the action. 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:47.680 The truth of the matter is, sin kills. 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:48.240 Period. 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:49.039 End of story. 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:50.640 It demands death. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:53.759 It's never satisfied. 00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:55.599 Sin is insatiable. 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:05.519 When you start living out of that, out of that old nature, that flesh, sin nature, whatever you want to do, or you're just living, doing whatever you want to do. 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:08.559 It's amazing how much that sort of takes over. 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:12.720 And there might be things that you started doing maybe years ago because you enjoyed it. 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:15.759 You did it because you wanted to, now you do it because you have to. 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:18.000 You're not in the driver's seat anymore. 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:20.480 It's a compulsion that takes over. 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:23.119 Because sin is never satisfied. 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:29.759 Sin will not stop until it destroys everything in you. 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:32.000 It will destroy your self-respect. 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:35.039 You'll feel like a hypocrite all the time. 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:39.039 You'll have no peace because it's not satisfied with you having peace. 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:42.240 It will destroy relationship and trust. 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:46.000 It will destroy every opportunity. 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:47.039 It will ravage you. 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:49.200 It seeks to control you and to dominate you. 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:50.880 Sin is evil. 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:53.519 It is of our enemy. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:55.920 And it doesn't play nice. 00:24:56.400 --> 00:25:01.440 And so when we see Jesus, we see God takes sin seriously, it's because sin is serious. 00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:06.079 And if we don't deal thoroughly with sin, sin deals thoroughly with us. 00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:07.759 And it isn't kind. 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:11.200 Sin is serious and it is costly. 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:13.680 The wages of sin is death. 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:14.559 So what is the solution? 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:15.119 What do we do? 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:16.480 How do we escape this? 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:19.039 Really simple. 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:22.319 All you gotta do is die. 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:25.599 That's it. 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:28.319 You just have to die. 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:31.200 Because that's the way sin works. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:32.640 And all of us have already done it. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:34.079 We've already experienced it. 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:37.039 Like we've already we've already eaten the fruit, so to speak. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:38.000 It's done. 00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:39.440 All you have to do is die. 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:41.759 And so let's go back and let's look at Romans 6. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:43.200 I'm going to read 3 through 10 again. 00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:48.319