The sermon by Jamey Stout titled 'Freedom from Sin's Power to Walk In the Power of the Holy Spirit' explores the profound transformation that occurs when believers are united with Christ. Stout emphasizes that believers are not only freed from the penalty of sin but also from its power, highlighting Paul's teachings in Romans 6. The sermon explains that God justifies the ungodly through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, making them righteous by grace. Stout uses vivid metaphors, such as a fish being unable to breathe out of water, to illustrate the necessity of being 'in Christ' for true spiritual life. The sermon further discusses the work of the Holy Spirit in producing the fruit of the Spirit in believers, emphasizing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The speaker concludes with a call to embrace this new life in Christ and to pursue increased holiness through the Spirit's power.

Father, thank you so much that we can come into your holy presence. Miracle of miracles knowing full well that we are sinners through and through, but we come because there is one at your right hand, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness, he's our wisdom, he's our sanctification, he's our redemption, he is all we have and he is all we need and we we worship you Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that you are here, we need your help, We pray that you would minister to each one of us, that you'd have your way with us, oh Lord, that we would bask in the sufficiency and glory of you. We ask it in your holy name. Amen.

My topic is to want enough religion to be free from the penalty of sin but not its power. And then to desire every area of your life to be under the power of the Spirit of God. Well, I cannot help but think of Paul's answer under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to this first part, to want enough religion to be free from the penalty of sin but not its power. So please go with me to Romans 6 and let's look at how Paul answers such a question after he is laid out so clearly for us that God truly has dealt with the penalty of sin that he is a God who justifies the ungodly that he is a God who puts forward his own son who bears the full brunt of almighty wrath because brothers and sisters brothers not sisters because there's no sisters here that I know of anyway. But anyway, brothers, God has put forward His Son as that propitiation for our sins to be that wrath satisfying sacrifice for us so that all the wrath of God do the one who puts their faith in Christ alone is declared righteous by the sheer mercy and grace of God.

I mean think about that, that the gavel of the judge of the universe comes down on the person who's resting on Christ alone that they are righteous in his sight. I mean that is just absolutely the best news I've ever heard in all my life that this great God would do this. So the penalty of sin has been paid, but if you can look at that and now think oh but now I can send my head off because I'm righteous before God then you haven't heard what Paul's been saying and so Paul talks about in chapter 5 the reign of grace he's taken us God the Father has taken us out of Adam, He's placed us in Christ, we were united to Adam and all the consequences of sin of Adam and death reigning over us because of that sin and now in Christ grace is reigning over us and life is reigning over us. It's awesome and so this is where this question Paul comes up says as a someone who would go down the wrong path in the light of the grace of God. So let's look at a little bit of context here.

Go with me to Romans 5 and let's look at verse 20. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. So that as sin reigned in death even so grace might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord what shall we say then Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound or may increase? So it's the same words that he used in verse 20. The law comes in so that sin would increase But what happens?

Grace abounds all the more. It's like when Adam sinned, this match was struck, and then with Christ coming in work, the match is taken and thrown into the ocean, and the grace of God in Christ Jesus so overwhelms the hard work of Adam that it just destroys it for all who are in Christ. It's a much more grace abounds and so this sure salvation, this salvation that cannot be throttled because it's based on the eternal Son of God and His holy work, does that now cause a person to abound in sin? Well Paul's answer is in verse 2. That's absolutely unthinkable.

God forbid You cannot go down that path. Why? Because you've been united to Jesus Christ. When He died, you died. When He was placed in the tomb, you were placed in the tomb.

And you were raised to new life in Christ. So by definition, a Christian cannot be under the power of sin because he's no longer in Adam he's in Christ and everything that Christ brought through his mediatorial work as our representative head as the one who took on sin and defeated it he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. This is what he did and because of that we've been united with him. God the Father's placed us in him as this text continues to lay out. Certainly not.

Here's the main premise that Paul puts forward of why this cannot, this is so unthinkable. How shall we who die to sin live any longer in it?" And then he elaborates on all of that, of what that means. Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized in his death? In other words, God the Father immersed us into union with Jesus Christ. And the only water that could possibly be here would be the symbol be something symbolic because water will not place you in Christ, but God the Father by His great power and sovereign grace can.

And he did that. And in his death and then verse 4 therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death that is just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we should walk in newness of life." So I was just thinking, I was talking to one of the brothers, how do you illustrate this? And as you look at this text and one of the things that I picked up from, I believe it was John Calvin and his Institute, You learn a lot about what we lost in Adam with what we are restored with in Christ, what we regain in Christ. So if you picture it this way, you know you guys were catching fish out there. I couldn't catch anything.

I caught, maybe I could catch a cold. That's about all I could get. But, and you guys would get those fish out of that pond and you'd hold that fish up. And what would that fish immediately begin to do? It's trying to breathe, right?

But it can't breathe unless it's in the water and so it's those gills are opening and shutting and but that that fish is gonna what if it stays out of the water it's gonna die listen when our first parents fail in the garden we were taken out of life we were placed in death and the only thing that could happen to you when you're in Adam is die and die eternally separated from God under his wrath for all eternity in hell and that's us and and the crazy thing about it is is the deception of our heart is so crazy that we actually think we're living but we're gonna die and it's as sure as can be well just as sure as that when you place that fish back in the water what happens whoo man he takes off Dutney you know what life's all about you were created To be a slave of God to worship God for God to be your all Sin destroyed that When you're placed back in Christ you have life again. You're what you ought to be You're a man who's now because there's only two slaveries in the world you're either a slave of sin and thus death you're gonna be separated from God or you're a slave of God and in Christ what are we brethren we're slaves of God that's why Paul is saying he's hammering at home this is a reality this is not something that does come out experientially but the first part of this section is positional truth you were in Adam and all you could expect is death but my brethren you are in Christ now and all you can expect is life life eternal it is awesome to know Christ and it is an unshakable salvation this great King of ours so just as just as sure as what Adam brought in it's just as sure as what the Son of God Jesus Christ brought in.

So don't be a fish groping for life come to the water of life amen and drink deeply of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So just with that I would just say with that first part of our thing it is absolutely impossible for you to say that. You cannot say I want to be free from the penalty of sin not the power of sin. You're not a Christian. You're not a Christian by definition a Christian is a man who's been taken out of the power and reign and dominion of sin and placed in Christ.

That's what a Christian is and it will come out in your life and increasing holiness as Brother Trent so adequately shared with us in Romans 8 with the power of this Holy Spirit of God. And I would just say there when you go to Romans 8, the Spirit is the one who's going to cause us to live out this great union with Christ. And just Let me highlight one verse, verse 9, but if you are not in the flesh, but you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Christ or Spirit of God dwells in you, but if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. In Christ you have the Spirit, whole new principle at work within you. Now having said that, I just want to take some time and ask us the question, why would we want to live any other way?

When you look at your flesh and what it produces It is sick. I Cannot stand mine. I look at him in the mirror He's a wretch who will deliver me from this body of death. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord Okay, But when you look at the precious fruit of the Spirit and the characteristics of our God as he lives in us, it is awesome. So go with Midi Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 through 23.

Paul's making a comparison between what the flesh produces, the works of the flesh, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Notice it's one fruit. You think about this, a singular fruit. It'd be like taking one piece of fruit and as you bite into it you taste an orange, you taste pineapple, you taste mango, you taste banana. It's just amazing.

It's one fruit, but it's got all these characteristics to it as he lives in us and this this brethren this is what I know my family needs out of me more than anything else. They need me to be more godly. They need to see more of the power and truth of the Holy Spirit within me and more less of Jamie Stout and more of Christ. Now this is what he looks like. Love.

The fruit of the Spirit is love. This love, as you think about it, a warm regard and interest in another. No greater love than this and a man laid down his life for his friends. This was what our Lord did. He loved his disciples, he loved them to the end in John 13.

He loved them to the end. You think about 1st Corinthians 13 and that great personification of what love is. That's what the Spirit produces. You know what the Spirit looks like in a man and a boy? 1st Corinthians 13, love.

Love does not seek its own. Love is not proud. It's all that we want to be. It is Jesus Christ living his life in a man. How about joy?

Think about that. The fruit of the Spirit is joy. Whenever I think about this I've thought about Luke 10-21 where Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and once he rejoicing and He's rejoicing in the fact that God the Father is absolutely sovereign over salvation and he does all of his pleasure. And he'll open up a simple person's mind and heart whereas the man who thinks he's righteous and has it all together he stiff arms and he delights in revealing himself to whom he wishes And the son has the same prerogative as you see in that text in Luke 10 and also a correlation text in Matthew. Jesus rejoiced in the spirit.

Do you have joy? Do you have joy in who God is and what God has done? That is joy. Joy unshakable. Because it's not based on me.

It's not based on my feelings that are here today and gone tomorrow it is based on Christ and he is always my righteousness before God He is always my sanctification before God. It's an unshakable truth and reality. Joy, peace. Think about Jesus Christ sleeping on a boat where the storms are about to destroy it and seasoned fisherman scared half to death and he's asleep. I am not more like the disciples you know oh I long to be more like my Savior and to have such peace.

It is well with my soul peace at all times in my life. This is what our great Holy Spirit produces in us. About long-suffering, The state of being able to bear up under provocation And my children and my wife would say Jamie. Yes, this is what we need of you. This is what we need of you, to be able to bear up under provocation.

How about he who went all the way to the cross? How about he who had hard hearted disciples who were slow to understand, and yet he just continued with them loving him till the end. What a king, what a king, he's my king. He does this with us. You know brothers as we see God being this way with us and Exemplifying these characteristics this fruit as we gaze upon the glory of the Lord.

What does 1st Corinthians teach us? What happens? We're changed. We're changed by the Spirit of the Living God. Kindness.

This is the quality of being helpful or beneficial. I like what Acts 10 38 says as Peter's preaching to the Gentiles Cornelius and his friends and family that were gathered. Jesus went around doing what? Doing good. Doing good.

This is positive moral quality characterized especially an interest in the welfare of others. Now you look at this fruit man, do you want to go to the works of the flesh mentioned earlier in this section in Galatians? As you look at the better kingdom of the kingdom of God's beloved Son, do you really want to live over here and puke? No. Man, I don't want to go there.

I am so sick and tired of that I want more of Jesus faithfulness or kindness we look at kindness goodness now faithfulness the state of being someone in whom confidence can be placed, reliability, fidelity. Well I know no one else more reliable than my dear King, my Lord and Savior, who has faithfully walked with this sinful man through thick and thin already and know without a shadow of a doubt because of his good pleasure and his great promise to sinners to save them all the way. Not just the penalty of sin, but the power of sin. And one day by His great gospel of grace, the very presence of sin. See, why wasn't Paul ashamed of the gospel?

Because it is the power of God for salvation and that wasn't just justification that was also the sanctification that happens to a man or a boy when they're placed in Christ and holiness is the only path for them now and They can't go back because Christ can't go back to the tomb and it's Him that I'm united with. It's Him. It's Him. Oh Great God how I need and want more faithfulness in my life by your precious presence and grace Gentleness I love this one The quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one's self-importance. Oh my, how easily this is.

Not, This is so contrary to the flesh, it's not even funny. When you think about our Lord, Why did he come? He who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, he who is causing the very men that he's ministering to to breathe and he told them I came to serve and not to be served. The one who's holding the very breath of the men that he's about to wash their feet has girded himself as the most menial servant in his bowing is washing their dirty sandaled feet. Why?

Because he who is the King of glory is also meek. He's meek. He wasn't filled with self-importance. He wasn't causing their kneecaps to break and bow as they should. He was washing their feet.

This is my God. Oh King please help us to be men who are filled with meekness and not filled with self-importance. How dare you treat me that way. What is that? What is it?

Meekness. This is what God looks like on display. Self-control. I had already eaten my supper and Pastor Scott had just preached on the sovereign right of God on the body and there was still pizza over there and without thinking I just went over there and grabbed another piece of pizza I sat down I started eating it you know what I don't need this at all and I had to throw a perfect good pizza away thanks a lot no just kidding self-control you know this is what the spirit does I need it oh to restrain oneself's emotions and impulses or desires this is a fruit of the Holy Spirit of God so brethren why in the world would we want anything else right so when you think of grace I love John Murray as just kind of I was reading through his commentary on just some chapter 6 and he said this about grace Grace is very much misunderstood isn't it? Grace is the sovereign will and power of God coming into expression for the deliverance of men from the servitude of sin.

My friend if you're still serving sin you've not tasted of the grace of God. Oh, but there is a Christ who is all-sufficient who says to you, Come and He'll receive you. Oh, my King will receive you. He'll wash you and he'll put you on the path of holiness till glory and The and and it will be finished When we see his glorious face and are transformed into his likeness by his power shall we give him thanks together father what can we say to you that you who did not with withhold your own son but delivered him up for us all How will you not also with Him freely give us all things? My Lord, how I pray that the great shield and buckler that You are, Jesus Christ, over all that ails us as sinners would come to us, would be real to us, that we would know you, truly know you, crucified, risen, and coming again, And that we would rejoice in you Christ.

And I plead with you Lord, I need to look more like you. I look so much like I shouldn't. There's too much of the residue of Adam, God, that comes out of me that my boys and my dear wife see. I need change. I need you.

I want nothing more. I tend to see more of you in my life. And I plead Christ that the same would be true of my friends here. For Jesus' sake we ask it. Amen.