Last time we talked about how only God could have saved us from the condemnation of our sin.  We also talked about the difference between having a mind set on the flesh versus a mind set on the Spirit.  Only those who are in Christ (those whose sins have been forgiven in Christ through faith and been put into a right standing with God) are able to have a mind set on the Spirit.   The condemnation removed, being “in Christ” through faith, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, is all a work of God.  Now this all takes place during the “justification” of a sinner, their being made right with God through faith.  The “sanctification” of a Christian, begins at justification and is the practical outworking of the indwelling Spirit to conform us into the image of Christ.  No one knows Christ better than the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit is actively at work to conform us into Christ’s image.  This is not an outward-in activity, it is an inward-out activity.  In making us into a new creation through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are given a new heart that has desires for God where none existed before.  The mind set on the Spirit is not so much about the works you do, but about the inclination of your heart and mind to desire God and desire greater fellowship with Him through submission/obedience.  This is where we’re going to enter in today.

Romans 8:9-11 “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

A lot of people are mourning the deaths of elementary school children by a lone shooter this week.  This was a horrendous evil perpetrated by an individual agianst those who were defenseless.  Everywhere, people ask the question, how could God allow this to happen? How can we make sure this never happens again?  As Christians we have a different worldview than others.  While not wanting to lessen the rage against the manifest evil of last week, part of me wonders why the people who seem so burdened by the deaths of 20 innocent children are not as concerned about the nearly 5 million children who will die this year due to hunger, that’s over 15,000 defenseless children a day.  This isn’t to guilt anyone, but only to expose a greater evil in the world than what can be seen in one incident.  The world can be shocked by evil, but as Christians, we are not shocked because we fight against this evil every day.  You seen when Adam originally sinned against God, sin entered the world and permeated the deepest, furthest reaches of creation.  We can hear about this incident in Connecticut and mourn the evil there, but we cannot be surprised by it because of what has been revealed by God to us in the gospel.  We know the depths of evil that are in our own heart and we know that unless the grace and mercy of God reaches out to someone, their sin will only grow leading to their death and judgment.  The evil that is innate in the heart of man is fundamentally the same as Adam’s sin – pride.  They will not love others out of a love for God (evidence of a mind set on the Spirit), rather they will do what is in their nature to do and use the world to seek to serve themselves (evidence of a mind set on the flesh).  There is no greater selfish act than to deprive someone of life.  For whatever your reason, you are robbing that person of everything they have to serve your desire, no matter how twisted that desire is.

So we can talk about gun control, we can talk about security in schools, we can talk about better mental healthcare, and any other variety of topics, but we know that there is no “solution” to the evil in the world apart from the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  As Christians, we have to decide how we are going to engage this world that we live in.  How can we bring light into a dark and dying world?  My encouragement today is not to dissuade you from engaging government to restrain evil, but reckognize that restraining  evil is all a government can do, it cannot eliminate it.  My encouragement to you is to be healers of evil; to war against it through Christ.  How do you start?  You start with yourself.  The great part of Christ’s call to us is that his command to us is not complicated.  Sometimes I worry that Christians can miss this and believe their relationship with God to be a burden – it shouldn’t be.  Jesus has said in in Matthew 11:29-30 – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Christianity is not complicated, and it is not meant to be burdensome.

Christianity is about one thing.  Luke 18:18-21 – “And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”  When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”   Two quick observations from this text.  Jesus asks him why he calls Him good if God alone is good, as if to ask him if he knows that it is God speaking to him.  Secondly, look at Jesus’ response.  He gives the ruler 3 tasks – sell all he has, distribute it, and come, yet Jesus tells him one thing he lacks, not three.  One.  What he lacked was Jesus.  He did not love Jesus, he loved his money.  He did not want to follow Jesus, he wanted to follow his money.  He did not want to be led by the Spirit of Christ, he wanted to set his mind on fleshly pursuits.  He did not want to put to death his fleshly desires by following Christ.  As Christians, we have the Spirit of God in us, and our task is no different – we must be actively submitting ourselves to the Spirit’s leading; denying our flesh to gain a greater joy in fellowship with God.

All of the commands of Jesus come down to this – love God and make his love known to the world.  You know God and love Him, so you want to make Him known to everyone.  It’s the greatest news in the world – we have a Savior.  This world is screwed up, I’m screwed up, you’re screwed up, but in Christ we have been forgiven and freed from bondage to sin to enjoy God forever.  We can’t be suprised by the evil in the world because we know that apart from Christ, people are in debt to their flesh, to obey its desires.  Their flesh tells them to serve it, and they obey because that is their nature.  Through Christ, we are no longer bound to our sin nature.  We have a new heart and a new nature that finds pleasure in God Himself, a greater pleasure in fellowship with the Living God, Jesus Christ.  How do we push back the darkness in the world?  We push it back by pressing into Christ in our own lives.  We defeat sin and death by bringing to life Christ in our hearts, minds, and bodies through the Holy Spirit.  We are being led by the Spirit of God to pursue God, and in pursuing God we leave behind sin and evil.

Every one of us will have battle wounds from this fight.  Every one of us will still have to kill off the temptation of our flesh and sin by pressing into a greater joy in Jesus Christ.  My exhortation to all of us today is to not grow weary in this fight.  Evil is real in the world, and we are the light of the world God has ordained to push back the darkness.  1 Peter 1:3-9 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”