In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of studying the word of God. He encourages the audience to dedicate three hours every evening to study and to constantly seek a deeper understanding of the scriptures. The speaker also emphasizes the need to prioritize studying over distractions such as texting, phone calls, and games. He uses a diagram to illustrate the transformation that occurs within a person when they believe in Jesus Christ, highlighting the concepts of justification, redemption, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Overall, the sermon emphasizes the blessings and fruits that come from diligently studying and applying the word of God in one's life.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, AFPA, 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the free will offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Good morning, brothers. Brand new day, praise God. Alright, let's see. Thank you, son. A cup of cold water in Jesus' name, huh? A couple of things this morning. I just want to talk to you a little bit this morning about your studies before we move on into some accountability on your studies. But just want to encourage you that we are trusting you that you are doing your studies. We kind of have you on your honor. You know, this isn't a regular Bible school. If it was, you would be taking tests every two or three days. You would be getting grades. You would be getting Fs if you didn't do your studies, you know. And if this was a regular Bible school, you would have invested three, four thousand dollars, you know. All of those things work together to motivate people to do their studies. In other words, why waste my time just sitting in classes and hearing the teacher. I want to get in and dig and get more out of the class. I want to apply myself. But here, the setting is different than that. But we have you on your honor, you know, that you are digging in. Now, I'm not saying, I know that some of you don't read as fast as others. And I'm not saying that I'm putting you under a law. You have to get everything read. But I am telling you that you should be putting in those three hours every evening to study. You should be going over definitions while you're driving and, you know, in your free time you're doing that. You shouldn't be texting, phone calls and games and all those things. That's not what we're here for. We're here to study and we're wanting you to taste the fruit and the blessing of digging in deeper. See, that's the idea of it. We're putting you under those disciplines so you can taste some things. So, just want to encourage you on that. You know, I know we don't have games planned this weekend. I don't know if you remembered it, but it's a prayer and fasting weekend. You know, Thursday noon, no food until Sunday noon. But the idea of a little activity on Saturday is just, you know, to get a little energy out and to clear your mind. It's not, okay, we've got the weekend. It's time to play and skate and, you know, rent the gym and play ball and all that. That's not the idea. The idea is, okay, we know you guys are boys. You've got lots of energy. Go get some of that energy out. Spend a couple of hours running, sweating and all of that, breathing hard, heart pumping. And then back to the thing that you're here for. See, you will study better if you get a little exercise. So, that's our heart in that for you. And I would encourage you to dig in while you have the opportunity. And, again, we're trusting you. Alright, your word for tomorrow is ethics. I want you to read chapter 5 and 6 in that book, Bone of His Bone. And I want you to read Romans 5, Romans 6, 7 and 8 one time for tomorrow. We're going to be in Romans 6, 7 and 8. So, you read it one time. And I don't mind you doing that for your devotions. I don't mind that as long as you get some meat out of it. You know, like some of you have shared, that's excellent. In fact, the verse, was it you, Ryan, that shared out of Romans 8? Yeah, we want to say something on that verse today. So, it tickles me when you guys find those nuggets in there ahead of time. Praise the Lord. Romans 6, 7 and 8 one time. Alright, I'm getting a little tired. So, please forgive me if my thoughts aren't just quite all together. I think I pushed too hard this weekend. So, I'm paying for it. Alright, let's have a prayer. Lord, we do love you this morning. And we're so grateful, Father, that we can call you our Father. That you look down upon us in mercy. And called us with a holy calling. And Lord, you washed us in the blood. And redeemed us back to God. We do thank you, Father, this morning. And we ask you again, Lord, that you would guide our hearts in wisdom. All of us, Lord, fill us with your spirit today. That we may be able to see deeply into your heart. Concerning sanctification. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen. Alright, the title of the message this morning is Sanctification, Surrender and Sanctification. Probably not the best title. I didn't give it two hours. So, there's probably a better title for that. Sanctification, Surrender and Sanctification. You'll understand what that title means a little bit later here in the message. But I've not said a lot about sanctification up until this point. And the reason for this is that it has more to do with ongoing salvation than initial. Although it does have to do with initial salvation. But we now have crossed over on the other side of the initial work. And thus, our focus is changing. And we've got you in Romans 6 and 7 and 8. And we're talking about sanctification and a spirit filled life. And a holy life. And all these kind of things is what we are focusing on through the rest of this week. Because as we said from the beginning, God clearly demands a practical righteous life out of those He redeems through the death of His Son. There's no question about that in the Scriptures. Now, there are several Bible words that address this subject of sanctification. But all of them can be traced back to one root word. And that root word is the word holy. I think you'll find that word about 650 times in the Bible. That root word holy. We will look more closely at this word holy. But first, consider some of the words that flow out of this root word holy. It's where we get our word hallow. Or, hallowed be thy name in the Lord's prayer. Holiness comes from the root word holy. Consecrate comes from the root word holy. The word saint comes from the root word holy. And it literally means holy ones. We are called the holy ones. That's what the Spirit of God led the Apostle Paul. That's the word that he used. Holy ones. Paul, the Apostle, unto the saints at Corinth or Philippi or wherever. The holy ones. The consecrated ones. The dedicated ones. It's where we get our word saint. Also, the words sanctify and lastly, sanctification. And there are probably a few other lesser ones. Again, these words do not appear often in the New Testament. Please keep noting that. But, the sanctified, set apart, holy light is all over the New Testament. Again, I see that so beautifully. That God is not focusing on the word, He's focusing on the life. The word that He focuses on is Christ. All the way through the New Testament. But the life that Christ produces to the sincere who truly walk with Him is a holy, sanctified, set apart life. That's very clear as you look into the New Testament. When you find the word holy in the Bible, again, following the law of first mention in biblical interpretation, the first place the word holy shows up in the Old Testament is in the book of Exodus. At that place where Moses saw the burning bush. The bush that was on fire but was not consumed. Hallelujah. The bush that was on fire but was not consumed. This intrigued Moses and he turned aside to look at this bush and came near to it. And he heard the voice of God say to him, Moses, put off your shoes from off of your feet. For the ground that you're standing on is holy. Now why is it holy? It is holy because God is there. And wherever God is, it becomes holy. Now that's the first mention of the word holy. Isn't that a beautiful introduction to that word? Isn't God beautiful how He puts His Bible together? You can go right back to that verse and look at it and study that thing deeply and you'll understand what those 680 other times that the word holy shows up in the Bible. You get your foundation right there. That's beautiful to me. The definition of sanctification. In simplicity it means to set apart. Sanctification has a two-fold meaning. It means to be separated unto God, set apart unto God, and separated from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Romans 12, 1 and 2, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, set apart, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. But don't stop there. Be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove or show or express that perfect, holy will of God. That good and acceptable and perfect will of God. This dual concept of being separated unto God and separated from the world is clearly expressed in a portion of Scripture in Leviticus chapter 20. Let me read these words to you. In Leviticus 20, 22 through 26, God says these words, Ye shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments and do them. And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nations which I cast out before you. Look at God's heart there. Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people. Get that? And ye shall be holy unto Me, for I the Lord am holy. Then I thought of the verses we've read already there in Ezekiel 36, but again to note what God says there in Ezekiel 36 in verse 23. He says, And I will sanctify My great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them. And the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. Now we're back to that verse. We read it, but now we're back to that verse. And we begin to see into the heart of God again what God is after. God is after a people. God is after you as an individual that you might be His. That you might be His possession. And did not it say in the Scriptures where the Apostle Paul was speaking, I believe in 2 Corinthians 6 there, or maybe it's 1 Corinthians 6, that he says, Don't you know that you were bought with a price? And you are not your own. You're not your own. You've been bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which belong to God. And why? God wants to sanctify His great name through your life. That's what He's after. And that before the heathen that are around you. Be thou an example, young men. Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in conversation, in word, in spirit, in attitude, in all of those things, in motivation. Be thou an example to the believers. Come on. Rise up, O men of God. Have done with lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength to Christ, the King of kings. Hey, listen. God is after you. Are you ready for Him to possess you? I want us also to remember that God finishes this portion of Scripture in Ezekiel 36 by saying these statements, Ye shall be my people and I will be your God. So there again we see this twofold concept of a separation unto God and a separation from the world. And I think sometimes we get that thing mixed up because, you know, it's a little harder to see the separation unto God, but it's a lot easier to see when somebody's not separating from the world. So I think we hammer a bit probably too much on the separation from the world and miss some of the separation to God. But in truth and reality, you cannot separate yourself truly from that world without separating yourself unto God. But the end result is a life that is set apart from this world around us. In it, but not of it. In it, but catch. In it, to win it, but not of it. Not anymore. Holy. The use of the word progresses from the Old Testament to the New. This is very interesting. Although God commands His people in Leviticus to be holy, there are hundreds of instances where the word holy is used about things in the Old Testament. A consecration, a dedication of things to God. That which belongs to Jehovah is holy. If it's a piece of furniture in the tabernacle, it is a holy piece of furniture. If it is a golden goblet that is used in the tabernacle, it becomes a holy goblet. Anything that is dedicated to Jehovah becomes holy. And that's what you see all the way through the Old Testament. You see that word holy being used about things. And it simply means to separate from worldly use and consecrate it to God. I mean, a goblet is a goblet, right? You know, a golden vessel is a golden vessel. There's lots of golden vessels in the world in the days when Israel walked upon this earth. There were lots of golden goblets. But God said, the ones that you're going to use for Me, you shall dedicate to Me. They will belong to Me. They will be for My service, and you will not use them any other way. And if you want to see how serious God is about that, go over there and see what happened to that king who took those vessels, you know, that were vessels out of the house of God, sanctified, set apart for God's use and God's use only, and used them to drink and get drunk in a wicked party over there in Persia or Babylon. I guess it was the son of King Nebuchadnezzar. He found out real fast. Thou art weighed in the balance and found one thing. This day the kingdom is divided from you. He found out real fast. Those things were dedicated to God and to His service. Don't use them for worldly things. Some examples of this would be the tabernacle itself, the furniture, the animals that are offered in sacrifice. Days become holy. Even the firstborn, God says, are sanctified unto Jehovah for His use. But in all of these examples, we're looking at items. But as you move into the New Testament, the whole use of the word holy takes on, blossoms, blooms into a beautiful understanding that you don't get just looking in the old. When you get to the New Testament, which by the way, you'll find the word holy 180 times in the New Testament, and it's not talking about goblets. It's talking about us, brethren. 180 times. The meaning of these words broadens and takes on an ethical meaning as well. It's not that it's no longer set apart, but this set apartness has ethical meaning to it. And the reasons for this, I believe, are evident if you'll think about it. We are not a thing. We are eternal souls made in the image of God. We are those whom God has set His heart upon that He might redeem us for His special purposes. A whole lot more than a gold goblet in the New Testament. In the New Testament, the emphasis is no longer on objects, but it's on human beings. There is still the aspect of set apartness. But this is no mere human operation. This is sanctification. This sanctification is done by God in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son. And because of this supernatural work which takes place, ethics or a holy life is the result. Remember? Anything that God touches becomes holy. And thus, ethics begin to flow out. The holy life is the result. Again, as in other words relating to salvation, I noted this. I found that it is hard, again, to distinguish at times which way the word is being used. Is it referring to a standing set apartness? Or is it referring to a life that represents that standing? And again, it seems that you cannot separate those words. They go together. A truly set apart standing will produce a set apart life. Now, that is intriguing to me. I know that's all new to you. But I've been studying the Bible for 35 years. And when I find something like that, it just, you know, it just like catches my attention. And I realize, you can't pull those words apart. And you can't pull them apart because those words are powerful words. And when you have the standing of set apartness in God, you will have a life to back it up. And there are plenty of spurious examples of the opposite in our land today. Those young people that I preached to over the weekend, they had their worship service before I got up to preach. And if you would have went by what they were singing, you would have thought these are dedicated young people. But it's easy to sing words. But when it came time to hear the word of the Lord and take a good look at my own life and what it's producing, all of a sudden they went like this. You know that expression? You know that body language? Not always, but you can tell. I mean, I looked around the room. There were a lot of them going like this, just looking at me. Oh, praise the Lord. They go together. A truly set apart standing will produce a set apart life. Do you believe that? I'm giving this in a purely biblical sense. I realize that it is often not that way in reality in people's lives. But we're looking at what the Bible says this day. And the reason why there's some gap and inconsistency there is because man has a free will. And God has ordained that man should choose to follow Him, choose to yield to Him. And thus there is often a gap in the reality because God is waiting on man to choose. And even as we sit here today in this room, there may be some gaps in the reality, and it's because man has been made by God a free will being. And if you think about it, what else could God do than that? What, for robot, brings any glory to God at all? I mean, okay. As much as a rock sitting out there, you can look at the rock and say, God made the rock, and amen, that's a nice rock that God made. Yes, it brings some glory to God. But if God makes a man and gives him a free will, and that man rises up in that free will and says, I'm going to love God with all my heart and soul and mind and strength. I'm going to give my life to Him every day. That glorifies God. Does it not? So beautiful. Remember the definition that I gave you a few days ago, the definition of perfect holiness when we were looking at God. It's good to consider it again this morning because though we cannot put that on us here today, we can still get some insight into it for our own lives. Perfect holiness is the absence of all that is evil, plus the presence of all of God's holy attributes. That's perfect holiness. And thus, my dear brethren, holiness is still the same for us also. It is the absence of that which is evil and the presence of that which is right. And God must work that work in our hearts and our lives, sometimes continually, showing us that which is evil so that we can deal with it and gloriously inspiring us to that which is right that we may yield our hearts to it and do it with all of our heart. And that is holiness. Or sanctification. God wants to deliver us from all that is evil and fill us with all the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ. Philippians chapter 1. Okay. Having looked at the principle a bit, let's go back to Friday's lesson on the salvation of man's soul. I want to put my diagram on the board again, if you'll let me do that. Maybe I can get it better this time. Not bad. Not bad at all. Praise God. Spirit, soul and body. And by the way, I'm not real dogmatic on this diagram. I'm not telling you that I see how it is all done. I'm not claiming that. It's just a way to illustrate and help us to understand that some major changes have taken place inside of man and that there are some things that God wants to work out from the inside to the outside in your life and mine. That is the only reason why I use the illustration. But let's look again briefly at this mighty work of God. When man believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, he is justified. That is that legal act of God declaring a man righteous. He's free from guilt. He's washed in the blood. He's forgiven. He is also redeemed, bought back, snatched out of the devil's kingdom and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Hallelujah. It's hard to be a teacher with some of this. At the same time, regeneration takes place. A mighty work of recreation. A new heart is given to man. A baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And man comes out a new creature in Christ Jesus. From there, he is also filled with the Spirit. An infusion of God, the Holy Ghost, in man's spirit. New heart, new spirit. Holy Spirit put into that new spirit which has been made alive unto God. Also, reconciliation takes place where the enmity is changed to friendship and there is now that true at-one-ment between God and man again. And lastly, he is born into a new family. That is the church. He is baptized into the body of Christ. There is a union with Christ and His people that he knows that he never knew before. Now, having said all of that, let us reason together. Is that not a set-apartness right there? Is there no sanctification in that very act of salvation? There is. No doubt about it. There is a sanctification from day one. A set-apartness. As we looked at the whole list of those things which God wrought in a man's life, when he believes that saving Word with a repentant heart, God sets him apart. He becomes a new creature. He is a new creation. He is in Christ. He has been translated out of the devil's kingdom and he is now in Christ's kingdom. He was in Adam. Now he is in Christ and Christ is in him. He is set-apart. But is that all there is to it? There is a verse in 2 Timothy that brings this aspect of set-apartness out very clearly. 2 Timothy 1 verse 9. You already looked at it. Brother Jerry admonished you on this verse, but consider it in light of what we're talking about. Where Paul says to Timothy, who, talking about God, who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. I see nothing but holy otherworldly purposes implied in this verse. What about you, brethren? I see nothing but holy otherworldly purposes in these verses. I mean purposes that are so otherworldly they were planned out by God before the world even began. How much otherworldly can you get than that? Oh, that God would open our eyes and help us to see that those purposes are holy purposes. And they are realized as we walk in that holy set-apartness which was wrought in us in Christ Jesus when He born us again by the Spirit. Turn with me to Romans 6. Want to be focusing there for a while. Sanctification. That's our focus here this morning. There are many different theological views about this subject of sanctification. Most of the time, the theologians turn to Romans 6 to explain, prove, dialogue on their view of sanctification. I'm not sure how deep and how far and broad we want to dialogue on the theologies of sanctification, but brethren, what I want to leave with us is that there should be a reality. If something happened back there, it's going to do something in my life over here, in my everyday life, every morning, every evening. My life is not going to be the same as somebody else's life who has not been born again by the Spirit of God. And we're not talking about half-hearted stuff. We're not talking about a quarter of salvation. We're talking about a transformation that changes a man's motives, his desires, his plans, his dreams. We're talking about a transformation this morning. And when that happens, on the day that he believes that saving word, it's going to live itself out in that man's life. No question about it. Some say that sanctification takes place at salvation. Some say it's a second work that happens later on. That all this that I explained to you, it happens later on in your Christian life after you get some light and understanding and all of that. Some say it's even a third work that you get born again, that later on you get filled with the Holy Ghost, and later on you get sanctified and made pure and free and you never sin again. There's lots of views on all of that. And sometimes they can get a bit mystical in their views of this. And I'm not discounting the mystical side. By that I simply mean the spiritual side of it, where the Spirit of God does a work inside of the heart of a man consequent later than their born-again experience. I believe in that. But to say that sanctification is a work that takes place down here at a point in time, and after it's done, then I got it. I feel that is a dangerous thing. Very dangerous! And I know people who believe those things and once they, quote, get sanctified, then they relax. Okay, there's nothing else. I was born again back there. Now I've been sanctified. I've got it, you know. This work has been done. This second work has been done in me. Now I'm free from sin. Nothing else. What do we do now? I don't believe in that. My view is more practical and down to earth than that. Let me just explain a little. And while I explain, please note, I'm not dogmatic on all the things that happen and how it happens. Let's be dogmatic on the reality that a truly set-apart position will produce a set-apart life that is without question. Again, going back to the salvation-friendly environment that we set the stage for on Friday. That salvation-friendly environment sets the stage for surrender, which is part of initial salvation. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, not just our Savior. And so, the salvation-friendly environment sets the stage for surrender and commitment. This brings the many words of Christ to bear on a seeking soul. If you don't hate your father and mother, you cannot be My disciple. And if you drop yourself down into that salvation-friendly environment of persecution and all those things you know, those things bear right up on the heart. And some of you in this room, you may have faced things just like that. Some of you had a right. You lost your father and mother. You chose to love God. You had to make those choices when you gave your heart to the Lord Jesus. That was good! You considered being born again. Immediately you thought, I'll lose everything I have if I do this. Those are good thoughts. I remember Brother Emmanuel Esh on his knees many, many years ago when he was wrestling out salvation on his knees. You know what he wrestled with? He was a farmer. He liked farming. It was a blessed life to him. And he knew, if I do this, I'm going to lose my farm. Back and forth. But Lord, I'm a farmer. But God, I want peace with You. But I'll lose my farm, Lord. Finally, he just laid the whole thing on the altar. He said, God, You can have the farm! I want salvation! I want peace with God! Whoosh! Transformation in Emmanuel Esh's life. You know what? That good beginning has affected that fanatic until this day. Amen? So, it brings the many words of Christ to bear on a seeking soul. There is surrender in this believing. We believe into Christ, losing our life in Him. The mighty work of salvation takes place. That is a sanctification which we've already proven. This saved man, this new creature in Christ Jesus is commanded to continue to believe. We talked about that yesterday standing on the chair. He is commanded to continue to believe. And he is clearly commanded to yield and surrender and give up and deny himself, etc., every day. This brings about a process of sanctification that continues all the way to the end. And all who yield to this command, this process of sanctification, are conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. And that's where God is. He wants to make you like His Son. Again, a salvation-friendly environment. Remember, in the book of Acts, they didn't just get born again in that salvation-friendly environment. They lived in that environment and so did the early Anabaptists. And so does the persecuted church in China. And so did the dear Romanian brethren when there was persecution there and in Russia also. They didn't just make their decision in light of the persecution. They lived there every day that way, not knowing if this is my last day. Now, that kind of salvation-friendly environment deepens, inspires and speeds up this sanctification process whereby God conforms us into the image of His Son. There can be sanctification experiences in the midst of that. By that I mean a crises. When you think about it, talk about crises. You're two years old in the Lord. You make a choice to go to a meeting. They catch you at that meeting. You're going to go before the magistrates tomorrow. And that magistrate's going to tell you you'll never see your wife and your children again unless you repent of being at this meeting and all of that. Now he's got a decision to make. Amen? I mean, it puts sanctification right down on the lower shelf, right where the rubber meets the road, doesn't it? Not too much mystical in that, is there? However, that guy gets back in his cell in the middle of the night and he wrestles that thing through with God and yes, he makes his choice. I am going to stand for God. And guess what? The Spirit of God comes upon him and yes, he is set apart in a deeper way by the Spirit of God through the decision that he just made. He's going to stand for God no matter what happens to him or his wife or his children. So sometimes there are crises, experiences in this life, this process of sanctification. But let's not make that the rule. See? It's much more practical than that. All of this explained is given from the perspective of man's responsibility. There is the mystical, the spiritual aspect of all of this also. Christ does now live in me. And only as I abide in Him can all of this happen. But I must yield to Him in that abiding. That's man's side. Those are the choices that I need to make. You see how those work together? God moves upon a man. A man yields to God. Salvation takes place. God continues to move upon that man. That man continues to yield to God. Sanctification takes place. I become more set apart and more set apart under God and away from this world. God does sanctify His very self in me and my life changes because I yield to the workings of God in my life. That's how it works. Only as I abide in Him can all of this happen. All the words of Jesus and His life example come in here now again. We can live the way that He lived when He walked in human flesh. But only as we allow Him to have complete control of our life. Yes, some of the high standards of the Sermon on the Mount, they're high. You might look at them and say, how can I do that? Maybe you related to some of that. I think it was in chapter 1 of the book that you read. All the things that God wants us to do and you think, I can't live like that! You're right! You can't live like that! Not in your own strength. Not by yourself. But a life that is continually yielded to the control of God can live like that. And thus, all the words of Jesus come to bear again upon our life. And we have to say it all over again. Except you're willing to forsake all and deny yourself and pick up the cross and follow Me. You can't be My disciple. It's a life of discipleship. Let's go through Romans 6 a bit and consider what Paul is saying to us. I think that you will agree it's very down to earth what Paul is saying in Romans 6. He begins by saying, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Shall we continue? Shall we live in sin and live in sin and live in sin so that we can rejoice and relish in the grace of God? No! He said in chapter 5 up before that that grace reigns through righteousness by Jesus Christ! Grace doesn't reign through sin! Grace reigns through righteousness by Jesus Christ! And so, he's making the plea. God forbid! How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Now, he's making a statement there. We are dead to sin! That's the statement. Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Now, he's speaking about a spiritual baptism there. But in a salvation-friendly environment, those two can happen about the same time. I mean, just like there with Peter. What shall we do? And Peter said, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were baptized that day. And they were baptized in water that day, but they were also baptized by the Spirit of God into Christ. Into Christ's death and into Christ's resurrection, just like we explained on Friday. That did take place. Paul is simply reasoning with them. Don't you know what took place back there? You are not the same person that you used to be. You have now died unto sin. Don't live in sin. Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life, a whole new life, a new life, a resurrection life, the life of the Son of God, the life of Christ in me, in newness of life. That happened. That work took place inside the heart. The old man was crucified. That dead spirit is buried and gone. And a new spirit will I give you. And I will put my spirit within you. All Paul is saying is, don't you remember that that's what took place in the center of your being? What an absurd thing to think about continuing in sin when that took place in man's being. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is, present tense, not was, is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed. And that word destroyed means rendered powerless. That the body of sin might be rendered powerless. That henceforth, we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. All Paul is saying is, there was a mighty work done in your life. God changed you. You have been born of the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Marvel not that I say unto thee, ye must be born again. Born from above. Born by the Spirit of God. A recreation must take place or you will not be able to see the Kingdom of God. But what Paul is reasoning with them about and us also is, don't you remember the mighty work that was done in you? Don't live in sin. You don't have to. Verse 8. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once. But in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Now Paul has been laying out a truth, a principle up until this point. He is giving us the facts. Just as simple as that. He is giving us the facts. You may not understand the depths of all those facts. You don't need to understand the depths of all those facts. But know this, God wrought a mighty change in you when you were born again. You are not the same person. You know that. You are not the same person. God has changed you. In here, we are talking about somebody who is one day old. For the sake of the illustration. But now look what he says in verse 11. And here some of the writers, and maybe the writer of the book that you read there, makes this a very spiritual thing. But I'd like you just to take it a bit more of a practical way. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves. This is a fact. Just consider it done. It is a fact. Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. See? Through Jesus Christ. You're dead unto sin. And you're alive unto God. Just consider it so. Verse 12 Let not sin, therefore, reign in your body. Your mortal body. Don't let sin reign in your mortal body. Why? Because God has wrought a mighty change in you. Don't let sin reign in that mortal body of yours anymore. This is not some super spiritual mystical experience that you need to see. It's a fact! Don't let sin reign in your mortal body. That ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Now let's just ponder that for a minute. God saved me. But my soul and my body, well, they've had some catching up to do. They've had some catching up to do. My body was very used to the way that it lived and the things that it did and the drinking that it did and the drugs and where my eyes went and all of those things. That was my body and my soul. But there was a mighty change that took place in this man right here. And the day, the morning after I woke up, I mean, I knew I was a totally different person. Now, if you'd have looked at me, you might not have thought so. Still had my hair hanging down here like this, you know. But I knew. I mean, as soon as I picked up the Bible, I knew. I opened that Bible. It was just like a holy awe was on me. I mean, this is the book that I bought. And now, I'm holding it with reverence and thinking, wow, all these words are God's words. And, yeah, something changed inside of this man. And that very first day, I said to Jackie, I think God wants me to be a preacher. Where am I getting all of these notions? What's going on? God changed me right here. But you know what? I mean, I wish He would have. It would have been nice. But He didn't change my mind. My mind still had all the things in it that it had in it before. You know? And this body had patterns that weren't very good, that needed to change. One of them was just being downright lazy. Born again! God's Spirit inside of me! But a mind that still needs to be renewed. Born again! God's Spirit inside of me! But hair that needs to be cut. And some lazy bones in my body. See? But what does He say? Reckon that that mighty change is taking place there. And that God is living inside of you. And do not let sin reign in your mortal body. To obey the lust thereof. Neither yield your members. Hands, feet, eyes, ears, mouth. Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. But yield yourselves, your soul, your being unto God. As those that are alive from the dead. And your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Do you see what He's saying there? He's saying, Come on, fellas! Let your body and your soul catch up with what God has done right here in your being. Yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead. And think about that. I was dead and God brought me back to life. Now what am I going to do? My reasonable service is to yield myself unto the God who raised me from the dead. Amen? What else could I do? I mean, that's what Adam did. Why wouldn't I do the same? Yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead. And your members, yield them as instruments of righteousness unto God. Come on, get this body in line. Let the Spirit of God have control in your life. Sanctify this soul of yours. Change that mind you have. Change it. Renew it. That's what Paul is saying. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but you are under grace. Grace is at work in your life. Grace. That's not just favor in this verse. It's power. What then? He's going to reason again. Shall we sin because we're not under the law, but we're under grace? God forbid. Look at his simple reasoning. This is not complicated reasoning. This is not deep theology here in chapter 6. It's very simple reasoning. He reasons. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are? To whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. Now you have a new choice. But the basic laws are still the same. If you yield yourself to be a servant to sin, you will become a servant to sin. But if you yield yourself to be a servant of righteousness, you will become a servant of righteousness. But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin. But ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. And he's pointing them back to that day of salvation for them. Remember, it's an obedience of faith. You've obeyed from the heart that doctrine which was delivered unto you. And you have been changed on the inside by the power of God. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men. Because of the infirmity of your flesh. For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity, and to iniquity unto iniquity, or to say, unto iniquity and more iniquity and more iniquity. Listen to what he's going to say. Even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. You tried to do it, but you couldn't. What fruit had ye then in those things? Whereof ye are now ashamed. For the end of those things is death. But now, being made free from sin, because God has transformed your inner being. You don't have to live in sin anymore. And become servants to God. Ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life. All he's saying is simply this. Before, sin reigned through sin in your life. Now, grace reigns, power reigns in your life through righteousness. And in the same way that before you were born again by the Spirit of God, it just seemed like sin reigned in your life and sin led to more sin, led to more sin, led to more sin. But now that whole thing has turned around. And now righteousness reigns. And grace reigns in your life through righteousness. And as you yield yourself unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and you yield your members as instruments of righteousness unto God, guess what? That whole thing turns around. You become a slave to righteousness. You find yourself being moved by God in holy and right ways. I will write my laws upon your heart and cause you to walk in them, says God. See how it works. See how it's supposed to work. Now, that's not very mystical, is it? But there are times when the Spirit of God will help you to open up your eyes and help you to see. Don't you know the depths of what has been done in you? But here's where I cannot go along with the second blessing people. This is something that already happened. Now, it may take you a while to catch up to where it is, but it already happened. It's not another work of grace. It might be a work of grace in the sense that you're catching up to the reality of what happened in your life. But it's not another work of grace that God comes in and does something else inside of you. No, it's already done. It's already done. Yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead. Amen? And Paul, he doesn't stop there and will be there before the week is out. But when you get into Romans chapter 8, he comes right along and says the same thing all over again, only in a deeper way. There he talks about walking in the Spirit. See, walking in the Spirit. Now, we're really yielding, aren't we? You know, that's a whole lot more than, you know, a trip to the altar to give up your truck. You know what I'm saying? You know, so you give up your truck or you give up your whatever other toy it is, you know. Maybe it's your phone you need to give up or whatever. But what Paul's talking about in Romans chapter 8 is way, way, way beyond giving up a truck. Or a fancy car. Or that nice job that you have, you know, or whatever. It's way beyond that. He's talking in Romans chapter 8 of a surrender, a continual surrender, a continual surrender. Allowing yourself to be so possessed by God that God tells you what to do. And you have no choice except to yield. That's Romans chapter 8. But to finish it all off, in Romans chapter 12, he says, After having overflowed for all of these chapters about the glorious and beautiful mercies of God, he says, And don't stop there. Because if you really do, verse 1, verse 2 will also follow. And be not conformed to this world. Don't be stamped into the world's mold. I mean, oh, that God would put a holy hatred in our hearts, a despite. I'm not going to let that world stamp me into its mold. I'm a child of the King. If God would put a holy hatred in us, don't let the world push you into its mold. Don't be so mushy, so soft, so pliable that the world just kind of forms you right into its mold. And you go along with what everybody else goes along with. Come on, brethren, let's have more than that. Don't let the world push you into its mold. Be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed. Here we are back here in the mind. Mind, will, and emotions. Be you transformed. I got born again. God didn't born again my mind. I wished he would have, but he didn't. But you know what? Spirit of God was right on target with me. I mean, I took this book in my hand and I started reading it two and three hours every day. You know what I was doing? Right here. Something happened here. Now, God's Spirit is right here. Transforming and renewing this old hippie's mind into a totally different mind. Which is, by the way, going to change his life. That I might prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Surrender. Sanctification. Surrender. Sanctification. That's what God's after. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for the simplicity of your word. It's not complicated, Father. Oh, Lord. Have mercy on us, Lord. This easy society that we live in, God. There's not too much tough for us to go through. Nobody lost their head lately, Lord. Oh, Father. I pray that you'll teach us to walk a sanctified, surrendered life. For your honor and your glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.