Romans 8:10-11 Pt 2

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central. Welcome everyone. It is Wednesday, September the twenty fifth, twenty twenty four. It is currently two pm Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Albilene, Texas. The Christian life is a life of sin. The Christian life is a life of sin.

0:43 I know that goes against almost everyone's theology, but it is true, ladies and gentlemen, it is true. The Christian life is a life of sin. God's Law demands perfection. It tells you to be holy as God is holy. You're never as holy as God is holy. So you are in a perpetual state of sin because you never obey that one simple commandment. And then we could add more commandments and more commandments and more commandments, and you. Are guilty, guilty, guilty. Because the law not only demands perfection externally, it demands it internally, You're in a perpetual state of sin. The Christian life is a life of sin, and Christianity through it.

1:26 Two thousand years of history has tried to figure out how to process that truth and how to process that reality and how to deal with it. And let me just say, if you look at all the things that's been said about this reality, it's gone everywhere from total denial of the reality to every kind of convoluted and contradictory explanation you can come up with, and at times it can be absolutely maddening. But let me just state it clearly, so there is no confusion. When you think of the Christian life. You have to start with the like basic principles, and that is, no one keeps God's law.

2:07 Number two, we are in a perpetual state of sin. That is the truth. Whatever else you believe about salvation, whatever else you believe about being transformed, whatever else you believe about the power of the Holy Spirit, those two things remain a reality. No one keeps God's law. We are in a perpetual state of sin. Unless you accept those two facts, then you're just You've created a fantasy world. You have a Disney version of Christianity. You have a Hallmark Movie Channel version of Christianity. And that's of no value to you, nor me, nor anyone. We have to deal with the reality that sin is a reality. So we've been trying to listen to some different approaches to this subject. We kind of looked at the lordship approach a little bit.

2:59 On Sunday, we looked at this book Six Secrets of the Christian Life and their approach, and we've been taking that apart, and that has been confusing. And we've been reviewing sermons, surveying sermons on Romans chapter eight, verses ten through eleven, because there's a specific A lot of people look to Romans eight ten through eleven for some kind of answer, and the book Six Secrets of the Christian Life, they built their hypotheses on those verses, and we've already found ourselves extremely confused. So we're getting ready to survey another sermon on Romans eight ten through eleven. I don't know where this one's going to go. We're going to try to see how they approach it. But before we do anything else, because the reality is you're a sinner.

3:42 I'm a sinner. You're living in sin, and I'm living in sin. Let's begin with a confession of sin borrowed from the Church fathers. Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your hands on the cross and redeemed us by your blood for me a sinner, for none of my thoughts are hidden from you. Pardon I ask, pardon, I hope for pardon. I trust to have you, who are full of pity and mercy, spare me and forgive. If we confess our sins. He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I want you to hear that again, Lord Jesus Christ, who stretched out your hands on the cross and redeemed us by your blood, forgive me a sinner, present tense. Practically I'm a sinner.

4:44 Positionally I'm perfect, But practically i'm a sinner. For none of my thoughts are hidden from you. None of my thoughts are because none of my thoughts are hidden from God. I am a sinner. Forget my desires, forget my motivations, forget my actions, forget my inaction. Just take my thoughts and desire and guess what I need to come to God and say, forgive me, for I'm a sinner because none of my thoughts are hidden from you. Pardon, I ask, pardon, I hope for pardon. I trust to have you, who are full of pity and mercy, spare me and forgive. The Early Church. Understood that every time we show up to worship, it is a gathering of sinners who are in sin, who are living in sin, who are guilty of sin. And we have to acknowledge that whatever we're going to do with Romans eight, whatever we're going to do about how Christians understand sin and how you've got to start with those basic concepts. No one can keep the law. And you're in a perpetual state of sin. And I know, I know you. You want to say, no, no, no, no, I'm a new creature. All things are passed away, all things are become new. Well, then you should not sin.

5:57 There should be no sin left at all anywhere in you. But you continue to sin. Why do you continue to sin? You say, I've been set free from sin. Well, if you've been set free from sin, then you should be able to be perfect because whatever is keeping you from perfection, you're not free from. You're free from the penalty of sin, the condemnation of sin, the guilt of sin, because in Christ Jesus, you are perfect. In Christ Jesus, positionally you are a new creature. Practically you're still a sinner. Practically you still have a sin nature, and practically you cannot keep the law and you cannot be perfect, meaning you are still not free from the bondage of sin. As far as.

6:38 Your body, your nature, you're still it's still there, and it keeps you from perfection. Now, the theory that we. Looked at in the book Six Secrets of the Christian Life. Remember they put forth third argument. Remember it goes like this. Number one, the Christian body is dead. Your body is dead to anything spiritual. All right, this is their hypotheses. Number two, the nature and heart inside of you is perfectly changed. Everything inside of you is perfectly changed, transformed. There is no sin inside of you. The problem is your body. So this is how it works.

7:18 The body is dead spiritually, but your nature and everything internally has been transformed. But your body cannot respond to the new nature. The new nature may want to, may desire to, but your body is unresponsive. So what you need is some kind of a spiritual resurrection. You need your body needs to be experienced a resurrection now, not the ultimate resurrection, but a resurrection now so that it can then be alive to well the new nature and the new heart. How do we get this supposed spiritual resurrection. Well, the best answer the book has given us in chapter two is we need a transformation which is progressive that doesn't even sound like a resurrection.

8:03 And it's up to you and me to. Make it happen, even though they say God is the one who does it, because it all comes down to how much time. You read and study your Bible. So there are hypotheses even though it kind of started at least even may, even if I may have disagreed, I could at least understand it. Now it's just becoming justice convoluted and contradictory as well all the other systems. Now they base it on Romans chapter eight, Romans Chapter eight, verse ten and eleven, which reads, and if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwell within you. And then they take that and try to apply that to why Christians struggle and why we sin. Well, it's because of a dead body, but yet we're alive on the inside. But the life on the inside can't do anything because the body is dead.

9:03 And it becomes very confusing. And the sermon, the last sermon we reviewed, was it was just insane. I mean, I don't even We were told we can keep the law, yet there was an acknowledgement that nobody does, even though supposedly we can. There's no cardinal Christians and there's no fleshly Christian. Yet we continue to sin, and we can be a wretched man that I am, So we continually to sin, we can be wretched, but somehow we're not cardinal or fleshley. It was all over the place. Yet we can keep the law, but yet no one keeps the law. Somehow righteousness was put inside of us, but yet it's the doctrine of imputation, which doesn't put righteousness inside of us. It was so philologically a mess that well, there's a part of me wanted to continue, but I'm like, nope, let's just grab the sermon's two point oh app or in this particular case, I grabbed the sermon audio website search for Romans eight ten through eleven, picked a random sermon, which is what you're supposed to be doing.

10:05 And I found one, and we're gonna listen to it. All right, we're gonna we're gonna review it, we're gonna analyze it. I don't know how this is going to go. We will find out. Are you ready? I hope you're ready. That was a ten minute review. I hope I got everything in to the best of my ability. There's lots of pieces to this. Remember sometimes in this podcast, if you've got to be patient, because sometimes we're like, well, here's this and this and this and this, and it can seem confusing. But I think typically before it's all over, we wrap it. Up nice and neat. I think you can argue the effectiveness of doing it that way, but I think it typically works. But it takes us on a wild and winding road. Okay, along and winding road, a wild and winding road, however you want to describe the road. There's lots of twist turns and ups and downs, but we get there eventually.

10:58 So let's see. Where this we remember when I do reviews, I don't listen to the sermons first, so it's random. I'm just I told you to listen to random sermons on Romans eight ten through eleven. Well, I don't ask you to do something I'm not doing, so I'm doing it with you. And here's the random one I've chosen for today. I have no idea what's about to happen, or we're going to find out together. Sit back, here we go. I'd glad you to be turning in your copies of God's Word to Romans chapter eight. Romans Chapter eight. You that are visiting with us, we are in the midst of an exposition of Romans A, particularly with emphasis upon the Spirit of God. We're calling to study life in the spirit. Let me read of our portion this morning, Romans eight, beginning in verse five down through verse twelve.

12:00 Romans eight, Chapter eight, Verse five through verse twelve. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life in peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God. Nor indeed can be so. Then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, If indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

12:48 Is not his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His spirit who dwells in you. And then Paul brings us to a. Very pointed practical application in verse twelve. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. So reads the word of God. Let's pray and ask for the Lord to help us to understand and apply his word to our hearts this morning.

13:32 Let's pray together all our heavenly Father. We come this morning recognizing that this is a rather difficult, even complex portion of your word, and we need your special help. We need the grace of the Spirit of. God to help us, to enable us to understand and to properly apply your word this morning. Please give us attentiveness, give understanding, give us help from heaven as we consider your word this morning. We pray this in the glorious name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

14:13 Now, anyone who's listened to me for any length of time knows that I'm already sitting here frustrated. Two thousand years of church history. With this idea that God will help us understand. God will give us understanding. God will give us insight. God will give us clarity. God will help us understand his word. Two thousand years later, the church doesn't agree on baptism, the Lord's Supper, salvation. It doesn't literally agree on anything. No one agrees on how to even interpret Romans eight ten through eleven. If God is giving understanding, if God is giving insight, if God is giving clarity, then ladies and gentlemen, there should be one understanding, one doctrine for crime all out. There should just be one church instead of thousands of churches where nobody agreed literally on anything.

15:02 I don't know how we it's so weird how Christians were like, well, the Holy Spirit's leading us into all truth, then we should be in all truth. But we're not, because that verse is not about us leading us into all truth. As referring to the Apostles, and to those who wrote the New Testament, the authors of Scripture, the Apostles because they had apostolic authority. We do not believe in apostolic succession. We believe once the apostles died off, the error of the apostles ended. That ended. So if God is the one now giving me because just think about how this works. If I'm the pastor and I tell you God, gay, I prayed for God to give me insight, to give me understanding, and God gave me this interpretation, you can't challenge my interpretation because it would be infallible because it would be from God.

15:54 And then if you told me that you were studying and God gave you that understanding, well then I couldn't challenge your understand because it came from God. And how could God be giving you an understanding that's different than my understanding, because then. God would be somewhere someone's lying. I understand that this is the common way Christians pray, but I don't think we ever think of the implications of what we're saying. If God has given me understanding, then my understanding cannot be challenged. It cannot be questioned because it's from God, Therefore it's infallible. Basically, I'm the pope. I wish it was true.

16:37 I wish I could go Lord Romans, forget Romans eighteen to eleven. Lord, help me understand baptism for believers only by immersion? Does it regenerate a baby at eight days old and turns them into a magic Christian? Does it wash away original sin? Is it regenerative or is it simply a symbol of what you've already done? The Lord's Supper? Is it should be open communion? Closed communion? How I mean? I give the word repentance. Nobody seems to agree on that salvation? How do we understand it? Moneargistic, synergistic? Do we believe it from a calvinistic perspective, a non calvinistic perspective? Human depravity? Do we understand it. From it and Augustine perspective? The perspective of Augustine? Or do we understand it from the perspective of Pelagius.

17:23 I can go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. You just name the. Issue, and I can give you the divisions and church history and that are still currently underway. There's still divided, still no agreement. I wish it was true. I wish you I could say, Hey, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for tuning into this podcast. We have a scripture in front of us today. It's Romans eight ten through eleven. I need you to pray right now, and I will pray right now. And God's going to give us understanding. And He's going to give you the same understanding that he's giving me, because he's not a God of confusion. So I don't you don't really even need me because God's going to give you the same understanding he's going to give me. So you don't really need to hear me preach because God's going to give it to you. So all you're gonna have. We don't even really need to study.

18:07 All we have to do is say, God, help me understand. This doesn't work that way. I so wish it did. All right, Now, what's getting ready to happen? Well, the reason I'm spending so much time on that is because we're getting ready to hear him take apart Romans eight ten through eleven. Now, what happens if we start taking Romans eight ten through eleven apart, and I disagree with his perspective? Is his perspective right because he prayed for God to give him understanding? What if or maybe God gave me the understanding? So am I right? Or he's right? Now? Who are you supposed to believe? Do you say, well, I'm not going to believe either of them. I'm gonna let God give me the understanding. So then you don't need to listen to sermons. If God's giving you the understanding of the text, you don't need to listen to anyone.

18:52 Explain the text. So if God's giving everyone an understanding of the text, then you don't need anyone to teach you. You don't need a commentary, you don't need a study Bible, need preachers. You just pray and dun dunda? Do you have understanding? Do you understand that the system just leads to utter It just it becomes nonsensical, It just. Becomes it makes all of our words meaningless. Now, let's see if we're going to find agreement or disagreement here we go. So we want to return to our study this morning that we're calling life in the spirit here in Romans aid. As we continue to focus upon these. Two very different pictures that Paul gives us here, two very realistic pictures. First of the Christian who's been regenerated by the Spirit of God, who has life in the spirit, who's walking according to the spirit. The other a picture of every lost, unsaved person, those who are still in the flesh, as Paul calls them, and they mind the things of the flesh.

20:00 Okay, so we're gonna start off with this premise. You're a Christian, you're better than those people. And I know they don't say it this way, but this is Look, just let's just be honest. Let's call it what it is. He's saying, we're better than them. We walk in the spirit, we have the spirit. They're fleshly, they're fleshly, they have the things of the flesh and mind. Now, so Christians, we don't do that. We walk in the spirit. Now, if we walk in the spirit, does that mean we ever sin? If you're sinning, are you walking in the spirit? How much sin can you commit and still be walking in the spirit? Because how did we establish this at the beginning? You're con perpetual in a state of sin, So are you walking in the spirit?

20:40 But the people in the world. They're fleshly minded, they have the things of the flesh in mine. You're telling me Christians aren't fleshly minded? Are you telling me Christians don't have the things of the flesh and mind? Give me a break. See, we love this very black and white like. That's them, but we are us, We're better than them. They don't walk after the spirit, they don't have the spirit. They're fleshly, they're carnal. But thinks, be to God, I'm not like those people. Two thousand years of church history, and what do we see Christian sins and sin, sin, sin, sin, sin sin. So then what's the Christian answer? Typically, Well, that person's not saved, that person's not saved. That person's not saved, that person's not safe. But I'm saved. I think the God that I'm not like these other people.

21:27 I think the God that I don't do this and I don't do that. But are you not denying the reality of your own sin? Well? Okay, but that's there. His premise is there's two different people, and this difference is black and white, is what he's establishing. So far, Let's see how far he takes this. And last week we considered this picture that Paul gives us of the car carnal person, the person governed by his sinful nature, the flesh Versus seven and eight. And we saw there that there are four things stated about all unsaved, unregenerate men, women and boys and girls. Number one, they have a carnal fleshly mind, which is hostile towards God.

22:26 So according to him, only lost people have a carnal fleshly mind that's hostile towards God, only lost people. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as nto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it. Neither yet now are you able, For ye are yet carnal? Whereas there is among you envy, strife, and division, are you not carnal? And walk as men? You tell me that Christians are never carnal, are never fleshly in their mind, that their mind is never hostile towards God. Our minds are constantly hostile towards God. Because God's ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not my thoughts. We constantly find ourselves in conflict. The Bible says, be holy as God is holy. And you don't want to be holy as God is holy because you still have a sinful nature that is in constant rebellion against God's holiness.

23:30 There is a there is sin nature still. For you. Not to be carnal minded and have a mind. That's against God in any way shape or form, would mean you've been totally. Transformed, no sinful nature at all. Well, if you have no sinful nature at all, you're not fleshly, you're not carnal. Then you should be perfect. I don't understand we create. It's almost sometimes I think when I when sometimes listening to Christianity, I literally think I'm just reading like a fantasy. Novel, Like this is not the real world. Remember Luther's famous.

24:11 Quote, love God, Love God. Sometimes I hate him. Now you're saying, oh, Luther, how could you see that? Because sometimes it's true because of our sinful nature. That's why we are, say, by an imputed righteousness, because we are still sinners. Man. All right, let's see, let's see where he goes. So all right, but I've already demonstrated first Corinthia three. Don't tell me I look, I went. I graduated from a school. I had to write a paper trying to argue that there are no carnal Christians. In fact, I have I have my textbook. Hang on right over here, hang on, here's the textbook.

25:00 Here's the textbook that I have from that school. On its First Corinthians, a study of the spiritual material conflicts of today. And I believe at the end, hang on, uh, hang on, let me hear. Maybe it's not. It may be it's not in the end here, hang on, it may not be here. Maybe hang on, let me see here, right, it's not at the end. It's in the actual text. I thought there was a chapter at the end that dealt with it. But if I go to First Corinthians. Three in the book, all right, so it goes on to say that this is there.

25:49 Basically I could I could read all of this. It makes the argument that there's no cardinal Christians. And as a result of this study, one of the things I had to do was write a paper making an argument that there are no cardinal Christians. And it's like, I felt like I had to jump through hoops to make it work. Now, you say, and just so that anybody knows. When whatever school I went to, I obviously would write or or answer the questions as I was being taught. I wasn't there to argue. I wasn't there to fight. I wasn't there to make a point. I was there to learn whatever system they were teaching right so that I could understand it and try to master it. But it's just twisted logic to try to make it work. We've worked through that chapter before in my preaching and teaching.

26:30 If we need to, we can go back to it. But I just already he's made a statement basically, we're not carnal, and yet One Corinthians three makes it very I mean, what do you call the Church of corinth Is it not a fleshly cardinal church? Yet Paul refers to them as brethren, as babes in Christ. He doesn't say, hey, hey, you're acting this way because you're not saying no. He's saying you're acting this way because you're babies. You're carnal, you're fleshley, meaning that Christians can be that way. Love God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul. Do you do that? No? Well, if you're not doing that, then what are you. If you're in a perpetual states, in which I have already demonstrated, then what are you there? We have a sinful nature, so what are you? There's still a carnality and fleshley. Now, you could try to argue, well, you can be carnal, but it's the amount of carnality. Well, if you want to start getting all subjective that way, they're just making a dogmatic assertion that you're not this way, and I'm going to say no.

27:28 This really describes Christians. The mind of the flesh, it says, is enmity against God. The mind of fallen man hates God. But we also saw that the lost carnal minded person is not subject, does not subject himself to the law of God. Since he hates God. He also despises his law, which reflects God's character as just and holy and good, and that law represents the sovereign authority of the God Who's given it. And so the last person doesn't want God telling him what he can do what he cannot do, and so he is not subject to the law of God. Thirdly, we also saw that not only is the fleshly minded person hostile against God, not only is.

28:24 He not subject to the law of God. But thirdly, they are morally incapable of submitting to God's law verse seven, that their hearts and minds despise God so much that real heart obedience to God's moral commandments is utterly impossible. And then fourthly we saw is if that. You know what He's applying, they cannot true heart obedience to the law. They cannot do, but we can. Now you can have true obedience to the law. Then you can be perfect. Now people will want to argue with me.

29:13 Don't argue. Just be perfect. Just be perfect. Now, be perfect inwardly and externally right, be perfect. No, don't send some email where you're rude and angry and call me names and then act like you're the one who is obeying God's law. Because you're supposed to love even your enemy. So I expect a very loving, compassionate, merciful email and where you can articulate how perfect you are. But you tell me how perfect you are. But hey, when you go to bed at night and you lay your head down, you really look at your life and tell me how perfect you really are, because you're not unless you're convinced that you're as holy as God is holy.

29:56 And if you're convinced that you're as holy as God is holy practically, then ladies and gentlemen, we're in two different planets, in two different worlds. Because I know you're not. As holy as God as holy, because God is perfectly holy. But that's the standard. So can now you've been so magically transformed, you can do that. I will argue you cannot. You never can. And Salvation wasn't about making you that you can be. Salvation was about declaring you holy even though you're not holy, not based off an infused righteousness, but based off an imputed righteousness. It's the same. We talk about this. Over and over and over and over again. Let's continue to see where this goes.

30:41 That isn't bad enough. Paul was on the stay that those who are in the flesh, they cannot please go Now. They may be very nice people. We all know people who are very religious, and that people can be very religious. They can do lots of good things as the world would see it. But from God's perspective, they can do nothing that pleases him or curries his favor. Even we saw in Proverbs that even the plowing of the wicked is considered. Sin by a holy God. What a horrible picture, Paul pains of all fallen human beings.

31:25 And it's a very bleak, a very ugly picture, indeed, which of course is why we need the grace of God and why we need to be saved. But now today we want to turn our focus. Now he's not explicitly saying, but he's saying, Hey, we need to be saved, so we won't be like that anymore. Will be the good guys, we'll be the perfect people, because in churches you never have backstabbing, lying politics. God, I mean sin after sin, and I know it, Bill well. Not everyone in the church is saved. When anyone says that, what you're saying is all those people who do bad, they're not safe. But I am. I get so sick of that.

32:07 I think the God that I'm not like all these other people. All these other people who do bad, they're sinners. But I'm the one person in this church who's not a sinner. When they walk by me, they look to me in there is holiness. If only we could be as good as that person. You're delusional if you think of yourself that way. All right, But we want to get to ten and eleven. So let's see where we're going to go. As to the other picture, that of the man or woman who has been saved by God's grace, who has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, who is now in the category being in the spirit, and is walking after.

32:50 Or according to the Spirit of God. And that's the picture Paul gives us here verses nine through eleven. And let me read that three verses. Once again, Paul says, but you are not in the flesh. Speaking to Christians, you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If indeed, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

33:39 Now. First of all, Paul gives us here a few things which characterize all true Christians and some of the benefits that come to us as we are in the spirit. He first says of Christians that they are in a fundamentally different place, a fundamentally different position and condition than those who are yet in the flesh and unsaved. He says categorically to God's people. Here he says, you are not in the flesh. You are no longer governed by your carnal mind. You're no longer in a position of enmity against God. You're no longer hostile towards God, or in a condition where you are rebellious.

34:24 Against God's law. No, there's been this fundamental change of heart, mind, and character wrought in you by the Spirit of the Living God, who now dwells in you. You are now in the Spirit. You see, that's our position if we are Christians. And he elaborates then on what that means. And this morning we want to open up three things that are true of every Christian as it relates to his connection to the Holy Spirit. Here in these verses. The first is this, the Christian enjoys the blessing of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God. Number two, he enjoys the blessing of the enlivening Spirit dwelling in him, or the renewing of the Spirit of life. Number three, he enjoys the blessed promise the prospect of bodily resurrection by.

35:26 This same spirit. So there are three glorious blessings or benefits that Paul opens up for us here for those who are in the Spirit and who are in Christ. And Paul then concludes this short section with a practical call for our response to these blessings, that therefore we are debtors. We're not debtors to the flesh, but implied here we are debtors to the Spirit of God. And we'll look at that more willing, hopefully we'll look at that next Lord's Day. All right. First of all, then this morning the Christian enjoys the blessing of the indwelling of the Spirit of God. This is the distinguishing mark of every true Christian, according to the Apostle Paul. Here in verse nine he says, you're not in the flesh, but you're in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. And so here you have the fact that we are in dwelt as God's people by the Holy Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity, which is what makes this such an astounding, such a glorious blessing, brothers and sisters.

36:43 Note have Paul identifies the spirit here he says he's the spirit of God. But then he says he's the Spirit of Christ. Down in verse eleven, he refers to him as the spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead, speaking of the Father, this is the one who in dwells us. Now Paul isn't speaking of three different spirits as it were, No, these are synonymous terms. He is the spirit who is of God. He comes forth from God the Father. He's the one who did, indeed raise Christ from the dead. He's also the spirit of Christ. He's sent by Christ. The spirit's ministry in us was secured by Christ for us in his death upon the Cross, and the Holy Spirit reveals Christ. He's responsible, you see, for applying the salvation of Christ to the individual.

37:39 Souls of believers. In fact, here in verse ten, Paul can even say of Christ himself that Christ himself dwells in us also. And the point here is this that when the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ and dwells a person, it can be said Christ himself is in us in a spiritual sense. He dwells in us by his Spirit. Now we understand that Christ Jesus, the god Man, in his humanity, is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high in heaven. His corporal presence is in heaven.

38:21 So we're talking here about the Holy Spirit, who he sends to dwell in the believer. But this isn't the only place you see that we read about the Holy Spirit and dwelling God's people. This is something that God promised. I'm not saying a lot here because you know, everyone would agree that we're in with the Holy Spirit. The issue always comes down to, Okay, now that we're into it with the Holy Spirit. Now, why right, that's where the issue is because it's always turns into Dundundanah. You have superpowers and basically now you can be perfect. However, well you can't be perfect. Well, if the spirit's the one empowering me to live the Christian life, why wouldn't I be perfect? Since the Holy Spirit is God would be omnipotent. So then it comes down, well, I can stop the Spirit. Well, if I can stop the Spirit, then I'm greater than the Spirit.

39:16 Then it gets all weird and crazy and confused. So this part. We should have some form of agreement on this. I think it's going to be the next point. So I'm trying to let him get through this point relatively quick without interrupting it too much, and I'm also looking up other things. We do need to do some work on this section of Romans been I've taught through Romans, so I know I've covered this section, but we may need to go back and do some more work on it, because I just it's maddening the way how this is typically handled. So but we may do some work, but for now, we're just going to see how he handles verse ten and eleven, since that's where the hypotheses from the Six Secrets of the Christian Life is found. Let's see how he handles it. So let's see, let's see if we can get there. Let's see where this goes.

40:01 All the way back in the Old Testament, in his Covenant promises to his people, would you please turn with me to Ezekiel Ezekiel Chapter thirty six. Now we'll come back to Romans eight. Oh no, no, no, no. No, no. Did y'all hear that reference? Did y'all hear it? Why? Why everybody knows I'm getting ready to lose my ever living mind. We're going to go to Ezekiel thirty six for the nineteenth thousandth time. Ezekiel thirty six. This does not require seminary education, does not require.

40:54 Bible college education. Does not require graduating from a Bible institute. It just requires basic reading comprehension that you learned in elementary school. Ezekiel thirty six. Verse one. Also, thou son of Man, prophesy onto the mountains of And I'm going. To say it this way, just to stress it. Is Rael, Israel, and say, ye, mountains of Israel, hear the words of the Lord. Thus, say the Lord God, because the enemy hath said against you. Aha, even the ancient high places are ours and possessions. Therefore pray and say, thus saith the Lord God, because you have made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, that you might be a possession under the residue of the heathen, and you are taken up in the lips of talkers and are in an infamy of the people. Immediately, I think we're getting an idea. This is about Israel. Oh wait, are you confused?

41:54 Are you sure? Verse four? Therefore ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, into the hills, and too the rivers, and too the valleys, into the desolate waters, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about. Therefore, thus says the Lord God. Surely, and the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen has spoken all idumia, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey prophesy. Therefore, concerning the land of Israel, how many times do I need to point this out? Israel is mentioned over and over look at verse ten, and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, Like how many times do we need to go through this verse verse twelve. Yay, I will cause man to walk upon you, even my people Israel. That's verse Well, let's see here if I go down to verse fourteen, son of Man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land.

43:09 Okay, how many more. Times here verse twenty one, but I had pity for my holy name, which the House of Israel had profane. Like anyone reading this is gonna be like this is Israel Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel Israel. But for some weird reason, pastors just run in and say, hey, hey, Israel, get out of the way, come on, move, get out. We don't care about you. Die, we don't care. We're gonna go rip some verses out of context and make it about us. Now, I'm not saying that's what's getting ready to happen, but considering the way he's approaching Romans eight, it's about us. And for some weird reason, we're going to Ezekiel thirty six, which is not about us unless Israel doesn't mean Israel, and land doesn't mean land, and nations don't nations, and none of this means anything that it seems to say.

44:04 I've said this so many times. I'm so if I hear another sermon where Ezekiel thirty six is just literally abused. It is twisted, it is ripped apart. It's like some. Medical hack who has surgical instruments just ripping someone into pieces. Now, maybe this is gonna go better, but you can already hear where I Obviously I'm being very cynical and being very negative. I don't know what's getting ready to happen, but I'm just gonna go ahead and get it out of the way. In fact, I had my church one son. I think you've heard me do this, and countless times I'll tell the congregation count how many times Israel is mentioned in Ezekiel thirty six. All right, here's this commentary, here's a sermon. They're gonna make it about us. What textual basis are they doing that?

44:55 All right? Yeah, I could just hear and read the whole chapter. Right, But okay, let's see where. I think I know which verses he's gonna go to. But I'm praying that I'm wrong. Here we go. That. I just want you to see a couple of places where this is made evident, that we are in dwelt by the spirit of God. This is not some new idea. This is what God promised for his people all the way back into the Old Testament. Ezekiel thirty six, Verse twenty five. God did not answer my prayer.

45:35 Here we go now, just so that you know, so that there's no confusion before we get to twenty five, since you know we're just gonna jump in the middle and we're gonna skip it. Let's go to twenty one. But I had pity for my Holy name, which the House of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whether they went. Therefore, say into the House of Israel. So he's already used twice, just in these verses preceding it. Thus say the Lord of God, I do not. I do not this for your sakes, O, House of Israel. We mentioned again, that's three times. But for my holy namesake, where you have profaned among the heathen, whether you went, And I will sanctify my great name, which will profane among the heathen, which you have heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them. And the heathens shall know that I am the Lord Saith, the Lord God, which I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. Right, he's speaking of Israel, is going to be sanctified before the eyes of the heathen.

46:24 He is speaking of the nation of Israel. For I will take you from among the heathen and gather you out of all countries and will bring you into your own land that is not the church, that is Israel. Then and that context, then then I will sprinkle and clean water upon you. Then after you're brought into your own land, when they're brought into their own land, then God's going to do this. He's now just jumped into. Ezekiel thirty six twenty five told Israel to take a hike. And now this is about us. It's not about. Us, God says, he promises for the New Covenant. He says, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues.

47:32 And you will keep my judgments and do them. Now, okay, I'm gonna take a deep breath. I'm going to say this calmly. You've heard my frustration. But this is why I get so frustrated. They take this. This is a part of. The covenant made to is ry L. When they come into the land, God is going to save them. He's going to redeem them, he's going to restore them. He's going to fulfill the promises that he has made to Israel all the way back to the Abrahamic Covenant. He's gonna They're gonna be his people. He's going to be their God. He's gonna dwell in the midst of them. They will be redeemed, and they will be in the land.

48:15 But if you make it about us, please make it about us, then, ladies and gentlemen, I challenge you. God's given you a new heart. He's given you us new spirit. He's taken away your stony heart, and he's given you a heart of flesh. All right. If he's done that, then, ladies and gentlemen, that's the eradication of the old nature. The old nature is completely gone. If you have no longer a heart of stone, you know law, you have a heart of flesh you. If God has given you a new spirit and a new heart, then, ladies and gentlemen, why do you sin? Oh? This verse seems to completely remove the ability to sin.

48:57 I will put I will, I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues. Here, you will walk in my statues. Hey doesn't say you'll try to, you'll, you will put effort to you will, and you shall keep my judgments and do them. You're going to do this well, that means you should be perfect. Why are we not perfect? Oh? But to show you this has nothing to do with us. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. That's not us, that's Israel. Is he gonna read the next verse? What do you think? Do you think he's gonna read verse twenty eight that.

49:39 You're gonna dwell in the land. Do you that I gave to your fathers, clearly speaking to Israel? Do you think verse twenty eight is gonna be read. I'm hoping it will be. Let's see. Let's see. And so here you have, and he goes on by the way, and you shall dwell on the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your god. So here these rich. He read it, but he skipped over the land part and said I. Will be that Uh. He mentioned, he says uh, And he mentioned he for skips the part I gave to your fathers, and he says, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. That's the part that gets the emphasis. He just left out the part. Well, wait a. Minute, which land am I going to get my father's Wait, my father's had land that God promised?

50:27 Which land is that is? That? Is that West Texas, East Texas, North Texas, South Texas? Wait? No, my if I follow my family line that goes all the way back to coming from England over and then my great, my great great great, if I go all the way back in time, I have relatives that worked directly with George Washington, very much of a part of the founding of the of the country. My my daughter, she's notified. She can be a daughter granddaughter of the Revolutionary War because of our connection to this man who worked with and I could name all the names. So was there some land that I'm promised? No, this is not about me, it's not about you. This is about Israel. And then just so that you'll know, I will save you from all your uncleanliness.

51:21 And then he goes on to say. And well, I could go through and go through, go through all of this, but you get the idea this is about Israel. He just ripped it out of context and made it about us. Now, I do appreciate he did read that verse. I didn't even think he was going to read it, So I do appreciate that he read it. But he just moved on past the land. The land should immediately made him stop and. Go wait, wait, wait, guys, guys, what are we doing here. We can't be using this. This is about Israel. God has not done this for Israel. This has never happened. Hmm, all right, this is a promise to Israel.

52:02 Forget this. Let's look at something else that's kind of what should have happened. The Covenant promises that God makes to his new covenant people, we could say his New Israel. And among them are. No See he just threw out Israel. Hey, these are promises God made to New Israel. So he made promises to New Israel that He's going to give them the land that he promised to Old Israel. So new Israel gets the land promised to old Israel. Well what when do we get this land? So basically, hey, God, God made these promises to the nation of Israel. Sorry, guys, sorry, you lose, you lose.

52:51 You you get the curses, we get all the blessings. I guess we get actual land too. I guess the land that was promised to your fathers we get. We get. And even though God says Israel Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, Israel, he didn't really mean that Israel. He mean I New Israel. Are cleansing and purifying from sin, the forgiveness of our sins, regeneration by His grace, the reality of God's special presence. He says, I will be your God, and you will be my people. But you notice he promises here to put his spirit within us, and so the dwelling of the Holy Spirit as one of the covenant promises that God makes to his people, and made this promise many many years ago. And you remember how the Lord Jesus there in John fourteen fourteen seventeen, he said in the upper room to his chosen disciples, he told them about the Spirit of truth, that you know him, for he dwells with you.

53:58 And he will be in you. So he's the Holy Spirit of promise. But then you come to First Corinthians chapter. Six, where the apostle Paul is exhorting believers to purity, to resist sexual temptations. Now, why would Paul have to exhort Christians to purity and to avoid sin. We just read that they have been given a new heart, they've been given a new spirit, and they're gonna walk into statutes. So we just read what you just quoted. It's true of us that God has done away with all of our iniquity, done away with all of our sin. Why then, do I have to be encouraged to try to pursue holiness.

54:42 I shouldn't have to be. You don't need to motivate me externally to pursue holiness. I have a new heart, a heart of flesh. And the spirit in me that would be motivating me to holiness. Nobody has to encourage me to holiness. I don't have to pursue holiness. I don't have to strive for holiness because holiness is inside of me. So I don't need to do anything. It should already just be natural, because now my nature has been totally transformed. So then why do you go to what passes say? Well, here's Paul. He's encouraging, he's imploring that, he's imploring Christians. Well, if he's imploring Christians, then you're arguing. Then you're making at least agreeing. The First Corinthians is a letter to Christians. Well, how are these Christians described? Let me see here and brethren, I could not speak under you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. How can they be carnal if they have a brand new spirit and a brand new heart.

55:36 Where is the carnality coming from? It's not coming from inside the house, because you're making the argument that the inside of the house has been completely cleaned out. So where is it coming from? Look at Ezekiel thirty six. Look at the language. It's the idea of eradicating that basically all sin is gone, because it's referring to a time that's not yet occurred, when Israel is going to be completely redeemed, regenerated, and saved. In the meantime, the gentiles have been grafted in and Israel has been blinded to be provoked to jealousy. But there will come a time that God will turn back to Israel. Say and you say, well, that's dispensational. I don't care what team you want to throw me on.

56:23 It's the only thing that makes any sense because Ezekiel thirty six is clearly not the reality of any Christian I have ever met. And he missed lists a number of different powerful motives. But again, look at First Corinthians chapter six, First Corinthians chapter six, and notice what Paul says. A motive for us to pursue holiness, to pursue purity. This is what he says in First Corinthians six. Beginning in verse eighteen, he says to them, flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body. That he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own for you or bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit.

57:29 Now, if you're going to make the argument that the spirit's inside of us, empowering us, transforming us, changing us, doing all the things that we claim, and that we have a new heart and a new nature, then why I gotta flee sexual sin? Where is the desire for sexual sin coming from? Because inside of me is God, who supposedly is empowering me and has completely transformed me on the inside. So the only thing I should be desiring on the inside should be prayer, scripture, sermons, god theology, god witnessing, just loving my enemy, loving my neighbor, loving God. I basically, oh I should desire is holiness, holiness, holiness, holiness.

58:10 I should because that's all that's inside of. Me, which are God's So why should Christians avoid sexual impurity? Well, there are many reasons, of course, but this is one of them. Sexual impurity defiles the temple of God, And Paul says, don't you realize that your bodies are temples. They're dwelling places of the Holy Spirit of God, who dwells within you. How can you do such a thing? God has made your body his special dwelling place. How dare you pollute it? How dare you desecrate the temple of the Spirit of God with such sin?

59:01 And so Paul's whole. Argument here hinges on the reality that the Holy Spirit himself has made our persons his temple. He dwells within us. The Holy Spirit has made our human bodies. And souls his home. But now, what does it mean that the Holy Spirit dwells in the saints. Well. First of all, it doesn't mean that the. Spirit of God is limited to dwelling in human bodies. That's not what it means. We need to remember that the. Holy Spirit, being God, is omnipresent. For example, someone thirty nine to seven David asked this question, where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

59:51 And his bottom line answer was nowhere. He's in heaven, he's in Hell, he's everywhere. You remember, how solemn, and even in our scripture earlier in Acts made it very clear that the Lord is not limited to dwelling in physical homes or places, and so in that sense, the Spirit is not confined spatially to any one location, because the Holy Spirit is God and he has no physical limitations. But he's chosen, you see, to manifest his special spiritual presence in certain places. Of course, in heaven we know that. But in his church corporately, Ephesians two twenty two tells us you also being built together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit, and brothers and sisters when we gather together corporately.

1:00:43 As a church. But the Spirit of Christ is present here in a very special way. We need to appreciate that. But He's also chosen to make every single believer, every child of God, his special dwelling as well. Well. Our bodies are indeed the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. Now, what are the purposes for him in dwelling us? Why is this a big deal? And the answer to that question could really take several sermons, and you'll be happy to know that We're not going to give you several sermons this morning. I'm not going to do that.

1:01:24 But essentially, the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in the hearts of God's people in order to communicate to us the grace of Christ, to sanctify us, to make us holy after the image of Christ. Okay, so we've circled back. We always circle back the Holy spirits in you to sanctify you and to make you holy. Now, if the Holy Spirit's do in disanctifying, this is just the basic question. Look, people may think I'm trying to be antagonist, I'm trying to be played devil's advocate. These are just questions I have struggled with my entire Christian life, and no matter how many schools I've gone to how many degrees I've obtained, Nobody has yet provided anything close to a reasonable answer.

1:02:12 If God is the one. Sanctifying, if God is the one making holy, then any lack of sanctification and any lack of holiness in your life, for my life is the fault of God, because God is. The one doing it. And if you say, well, well, well God is doing it, but you've got to let him, I've got to let him. So if I just say, right now, God, make me perfect, I let you am I perfect? And if God is the one, if God wants me to be holy, and he's the one making me holy, why wouldn't he change my let Why wouldn't he change my want to wanting and letting? So then he could then just have full reign. And so if if all I have to do is let God, then you're telling me every Christian possesses the ability to be absolutely perfect and to be as holy as God.

1:02:57 All we have to do is let him do it. I just know one, let him do it. They should be very simple and very straightforward. Let God do it. Boom, You're perfect. Now, almost all Christians acknowledge nobody can be perfect. All right, then that means if no one's im perfect or in a perpetual state of sin, but God is the one supposedly doing the sanctifying. If God is doing the sanctifying, why can't God get anyone to perfection? What is keeping me from perfection? If you say, if you try to say, well, what's keeping me perfection? Is me? I'm the one keeping me for perfection? Wait a minute, what would be in me that would resist God from getting me to perfection? Because according to Christian teaching, there I have a new heart, I have the Holy.

1:03:49 Spirit in me. What is the thing keeping it from me? Is there still sin in me? Now? If they're still sin in me, where is the sin? Because you said I have a new heart, and many go so far to say a new nature, a new heart, and a new spirit. Well, if I have all of that, what is the sin? What is the thing keeping me pushing the Holy Spirit back to get me to perfection? There's got and whatever is holding me back from getting to perfection is greater. Than the Holy Spirit. If everything on the inside has been changed, then there's the only thing on the inside should just be complete. Like, hey, right, we'll just listen to a little bit more and wrap this up. Everything on the inside basically should be just like, hey, go ahead, go ahead.

1:04:40 I interrupted myself there, but okay. That's his primary purpose to bring the blessings of Christ's redemption home to us sinners as we were. And yet the spirit of God has been commissioned as the one of in the Godhead. He's going to come and communicate the blessings that Christ has procured for us at Calvary. He brings them to us. He's the one who delivers them to us, you see. And so for example, he's been given as the one who enlightens our minds in the truth. He's the spirit of truth. He's the spirit of enlightenment. He's come to be our spiritual helper and our spiritual sanctify her. He's come to strengthen us with might and the inner man through his spirit. He's called the comforter, the one who brings comfort to our hearts. He's the one who enables us to produce spiritual fruit. We saw that in Galatians five.

1:05:45 He causes us and helps us to pray. He's the spirit of grace and supplication. He works faith in us, he works assurance in us. As the spirit of adoption. He leads us to put sin to death here in Romans thirteen. We're going to see that in the next week or two. As well, he causes us to enables us to walk in God's statutes God's law. As we've noted several times in previous. Sermons, he enables us to walk in God's law. You guess where we guess where we guess where we've ended back. I guess where we ended back in. We've ended back up with that. You can keep the law like everything, this is just the standard teaching and creator. Look, I'm not even criticizing this sermon. Everything he's saying is standard typical Christian teaching. There's nothing outside of the norm of basic Christian teaching. This is the standard. There's nothing here.

1:06:50 But it just leaves you anyone who's who thinks about well, wait a minute, wait a minute. Okay, so the Holy Spirit does all of these things. But what where did we start this? No one keeps God's law be holy as God is holy. No one has ever accomplished that. All right, Therefore, you're in a perpetual state of sin. You can say all of this stuff, it does not change those two realities. You do not keep the law of God because to do so would mean you have to be perfect. Nobody is perfect. Therefore you're in a perpetual state of sin. So we can talk up all the big game that the Holy Spirit does this and this and this and this and this and this and this and this and this and this and this and this.

1:07:32 The reality contradicts all the claims. And again, if you disagree with me, fine, go live your perfection. Go be perfect. That's all you got to do. You don't argue with me. You don't have to prove to me you're perfect. Just go be perfect. You tell everyone, don't listen to theology central, come and follow me because I keep the law of God perfectly as he is Holy. Ah I am holy. Go preach that. Tell everyone that. Just make sure you don't let anyone actually see who you really are, because sooner or later that facade's going to fall apart and everyone's going to see. You're a sinner and thought word. Indeed, by what you do, by what you leave undone, you are a sin against God externally, you sin that God against God. Internally, you sin with your desires, your wants, your feelings, your emotions. We are in a perpetual state of sin because we still have a sin nature. We still are corrupt on the inside.

1:08:31 The call is still coming from inside the house, and we still are a sinner. And this is just telling you none of that reality is true, because all of that sin is just one bye bye. But in short, the Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead who communicates all spiritual life and grace and sanctifying influence in our souls, uniting. Us to the Lord. Jesus is Christ our head, and he is the fulfillment in this life of that great covenant promise that God said, I will dwell in my people.

1:09:14 And he just went back to Ezekiel thirty six, which was about Israel. We can't get out of this circle, can we. We can't break free. We cannot break free from this now remember. The book six Secrets of the Christian Life. Their argument is all of that is true about us inside, all of that is true, all of this is true. We have that spirit, we have that power, we have that ability. It's all right there. The problem is my body is dead, and so therefore my body can't respond to all of that.

1:09:54 Now he hasn't got into that yet. He hasn't got into the part of the body being dead. So we'll stop here because is where it's seventy minutes. But we will come. Back to this one because I want to see if he's going to I mean, the way he's made it sound you basically you're on. Your way to perfection. You should be pretty close to it. Now. Is he going when he talks about the body being dead? Is he gonna go. Hard? You turn and go, well, well, wait. A minute, wait a minute, even though the spirit does all of this, even though basically you should be perfect, well, well, the reality is we're all still sinners. Well, oh man, I don't even understand then.

1:10:35 Now I remember, I've given you every opportunity to map it out yourself, map it all out. How does it all work? Now? What most Christians will just do is claim to basically be almost sinless, or they'll say, well, it's not you're not perfect, it's just the overall. They'll try to they'll try to kind of quant qualify it and try to and it's like, but it's still it will. Fall apart all right. Oh man, I wanted to get further. I wanted to get further, But I think that's a. I mean, hey that Look, there's nothing I want to make it very clear, even though I disagree with this sermon, everything he's saying is standard basic Christianity. There's nothing outside of the norm of Christianity. This is the typical teaching you'll hear in every church. This is the typical teaching you hear in most Bible colleges, most seminaries. It's the basic concept. It's taught, oh everywhere. It is the norm. Very few who would disagree with it. All I'm saying is you go with that theory. Well, first the Ezekiel thirty six things. Some should disagree with that because that's just that's just crazy.

1:11:40 But all I'm saying is it's not about arguing or disagreeing. It's about just stating the facts. Look at your own life. Do you continue to sin? Where is the sin coming from? Where is the sin originating? Jesus seems to say a sin originates from inside. Well, if I'm still sinning, that means I'm still sinful on the inside. Why am I still sinful on the inside? If supposedly I have a new nature, a new heart, and a new spirit, And if the spirit's on the inside. Why don't you get rid of the sin that's on the inside. Unless he's there simply as a reminder that he is there because of grace and because of I am declared perfect because of an imputed righteousness.

1:12:23 Right, Maybe I don't know all right. The point is Christianity wants to believe that we're all We're better than everyone else, We're better than them, it's them versus us, and that. We're the good guys in the story. We're the good guys, we're the heroes, we're the perfect ones, we're the pure ones, We're the godly ones. Two thousand years of church history demonstrates I'm going forget two thousand years of church history. You just look at your own life today. Come on, your own life. Have you today been as holy as God? As holy? Have you loved God today with all your heartlind, body, and soul. Have you loved your neighbor as yourself? Have you been selfless or selfish? Have you put others before you?

1:13:09 Have you loved your enemies? Have you gossiped? Have you slandered? Have you been filled with anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, wrath? I can go on and on and on and on and on at some point you'd be like, well, and I know the Early Church believe that we continue to sin. That's why the Confessions of Sin is there. That's why these confessions are there. I could say to her and read another one, but yeah, yeah, yeah, I was reading one from Augustine. But I'll just stop there. Thanks for listening, everyone, have a good day. God bless