Transcript Romans 8: Life in the Spirit

Dr. Kenneth Jones
Romans 10:1 - Brethren, my heart's desire and
my prayer to God for them is for their
salvation.

Not Political:
◦ Paul is referring to salvation from the sin of
unbelief; and the consequences of sin in hell.
◦ Paul didn’t just “care,” he prayed with desire and
compassion

They had a zeal for God, but not according to
knowledge.

They were ignorant of God’s righteousness.


They were seeking to establish their own
righteousness – being ignorant of the
righteousness of God that He requires
They did not subject themselves to God’s
righteousness.
Romans 10:2-4:
For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God,
but not according to knowledge.
3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and
going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of
God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to
every one that believeth.



Having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, they
sought salvation by works, and not by faith in Christ
Their lack of knowledge is reflected in the fact that they are
ignorant of God’s righteousness, and want to establish their
own righteousness.
Paul thought he was executing zeal in persecuting the
Church until God met Him on the road to Damascus

Of all the people in the world, Christians are the
ones who have the right to be enthusiastic
◦ About their position in Christ (Eph. 1:4-8) and walk in the
Lord
◦ Their every day life in Christ Jesus, being sold out and
committed to him
◦ We ought to have godly zeal to tell the world the glorious
message of the Gospel
◦ Even in trials, testings and afflictions we can let the love of
Christ and the joy of the Lord shine through.
Is zeal or enthusiasm of God exemplified in your
life?

Zeal is defined as “ardor in the pursuit of anything;
ardent and active inte rest; enthusiasm; fervor.”
Galatians 4:18 “But it is good to be zealously affected
always in a good thing, and not only when I am present
with you.”
Titus 2:14 “Who gave himself for us, that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
Psalms 69:9 - For the zeal of thine house hath eaten
me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached
thee are fallen upon me.

The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up - The strong desire to
promote God’s glory has absorbed all others.

Get fired up! Zeal is represented under the idea of heat
Our Lord Jesus Christ Was filled With Zeal: The above scripture
speaks of Christ, that the zeal of God’s house had eaten Him up.
(John 2:17) He was controlled by, moved, or motivated by zeal


Enthusiasm: The word comes from a Greek Word,
enthousiamos” and “enthousiazein” meaning literally “possessed
by God or God in us.”


You Are a Fanatic About Something
When we go to a Concert, football or,
basketball game, etc., most people are “swept
up with the crowd” in enthusiasm for their
team or musical artist

Most of your favorite TV shows are on DVRs

Most recently, “The World Cup”
Revelation 3:14-17
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:The
Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning
of the creation of God, says this:
15 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold
nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.
16 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot
nor cold, I will spit] you out of My mouth.
17 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become
wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do
not know that you are wretched and miserable and
poor and blind and naked

You are neither cold nor hot: This picture of
lukewarmness would immediately strike the
Christians of Laodicea because the water they
drank every day was lukewarm.
◦ Many churches today drink from a fountain of a
lukewarm gospel

Lukewarmness is a picture of indifference and
compromise.



Because the Laodiceans lack this vital quality,
God says He will spew them out of His mouth
(Revelation 3:16).
We cannot effectively serve in God’s Family
without godly zeal.
What makes the Laodicean problem even
worse is the fact that they are completely
unaware of this fatal spiritual flaw.

Knowledge is defined in a religious sense: “a clear
understanding or perception of the will or Word of
God.” An intimate knowledge of God achieved
through relationship
2 Pet. 1:5-6 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your
faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; to knowledge
temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness;”
Colossians 1:10 “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in
the knowledge of God;”
Ephesians 5:17 “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding
what the will of the Lord is.”
2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. to him be glory both now and for
ever. Amen.”

Knowledge Without Zeal: Understanding without
Activity
◦ This describes many in the church today. They have heard
and received God’s word; but like the church at Sardis they
“are dead” (Rev. 3:1-3).
◦ They May Show up: But they do very little work in the local
church.
◦ It is sinful - “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and
doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17)
◦ God will judge us on what we know and did not perform
◦ Knowledge without zeal is like faith without works, it is
dead. (Titus 1:16; James 2:20)

Enthusiasm without direction
◦ Can lead to actions not ordained by God (Philippians 3:6)


At one time Paul was in this condition. He had a
“zeal” for God; i.e. “persecuting the church”, (Phil.
3:6; Acts 22:3,4) but he was lacking in “knowledge”
regarding Jesus as the Christ, and what he must do
to get right with God. (Acts 22:7-8,10,12-16)
Many are sincere in their belief, but even their
sincerity lacks knowledge


The Apostle Paul didn’t say that their zeal wasn’t
genuine, but focused on the wrong things
Not according to Knowledge: “What knowledge?”
◦ Not knowing about GOD'S righteousness
◦ Not realizing the true foundation of salvation: “
◦ That Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life:

Those who know their God do exploits for God and
not for man (Daniel 11:32)
Acts 18:24- 28
And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an
eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to
Ephesus.
25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and
being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently
the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom
when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto
them, and expounded unto him the way of God more
perfectly.
27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the
brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who,
when he was come, helped them much which had believed
through grace:
28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly,
shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.



Apollos was fervent in spirit and he was instructed in
some doctrine
◦ He taught diligently - defended with zeal and
earnestness his views of the Messiah
In Ephesus, Aquilla and Priscilla met a certain Jew
named Apollos who explained the Word to Him more
“Correctly”
For he mightily convinced the Jews - Being more
Knowledgeable, Apollos won the Jews by strong
arguments; he bore down all opposition, and
effectually silenced them now that he had both
knowledge and zeal



Christ is the perfect fulfillment of what the Law
requires – by achieving righteousness for everyone
who believes
Paul emphasizes the sufficiency of faith in receiving
the righteousness of God
This does not mean that the Christian may ignore
God’s moral standards or commandments
Romans 3:10, 11- As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God.
There is none who seeks after God: We deceive ourselves into
thinking that man, on his own, really does seek after God.
God captures our attention and stirs us through the Holy Spirit
Man on his own cannot find God, God seeks us out
Man in his ignorance searches for God through his rituals and
religion, but God sent Jesus to restore man to fellowship with
God
Today, Many Churches are making their own
righteousness, looking to achieve peace and
victory by their own means
The Gospel is more about them than God
Apart from Christ our right standing with
God is impossible
Isaiah said that our righteous acts are like filthy rags
(Isaiah 64:6 )
He was talking about self righteousness (the things we do to
try to make us right with God)
The Apostle Paul is saying that the Israelites didn't know
God's righteousness and so they tried to establish their own
Like the Israelites our churches are filled with people who
look holy but solely trust in themselves to be good enough
for God
Compared to the nations around them, the
Jews assumed they were good enough because
the were the “People who had God’s laws,” but
in comparison to God's righteousness, the law
showed them it was impossible to fulfill on
their own.
The law was intended to show us our inability
to earn our way to heaven and to reveal our
need for a savior.
Today it is my prayer that you recognize how
righteous you are in Christ Jesus. You have
God's righteousness covering you and you can
stand in His presence fully justified, forgiven
and loved. Sin is not an issue with him because
he has paid your debt to it. Through faith in
Jesus we are the righteousness of God, amen!