Well, good morning to everyone. We're continuing our study in Hebrews 12. We started in 18 to 24 last week and looking at the distinction between the old and new covenants, such an important truth to understand. And I want to look at it in the context of the epistle here. 

But this morning, I'm kind of going to veer off a little bit and look at application for us because this is such a tremendously important application for us to take for ourselves concerning the distinction between the old covenant and the new covenant and what the new covenant means to our Christian life. We must have an understanding of that. So we're actually going to spend a lot of time in some other scriptures this morning. 

But in our text, the author's writing to a group of Jews who were under persecution because of their profession of faith in Christ. They were being pressured to go back to the law, to Judaism, to the temple sacrifices. And the intent of our text and the flow of the letter is to show those Hebrews that what they really needed to fear was not persecution from their community or their friends or family, the threat that came there. 

But what they really needed to fear was going back to the law. The law is a fearful and terrifying and condemning thing. And the author reminds them of the giving of the law at Mount Sinai and how terrifying an event that was as God's holiness was on display in contrast to man's sinfulness. But in contrast, coming to Jesus, coming to Mount Zion to the new covenant in his blood is not a fearful thing. 

There's nothing to fear in coming to Christ through faith, only grace and mercy and promises from God of the new covenant in Christ. So the direct application of this stunning text to these Jews was meant to show them the peril of returning to religion and at the same time to encourage them concerning the great truths and promises of coming to Jesus, of coming into the new covenant fulfillment in Christ. 

But as I said, for us today, there's also a very important application from this contrast that we see between the old and new covenant. And this application relates to our understanding of who we now are in Christ and why we can and how we should live a life of fruit and holiness in this new covenant time. And that's really what I want to explore this morning. 

In light of the new covenant truths in Christ, how is it that we should live? What should be our expectation for our lives each day? Why is it that we can live holy lives as God has provided all things that pertain to life and godliness in Christ? 

Let's look at our text again this morning, Hebrews 12:18. 

“For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. For they could not endure what was commanded. And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow. And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and trembling. 

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” 

I've given you four points on your outline this morning that we're going to look at. First, we're going to see no fear of the law. Second, no fear of sin. Third, no fear of death. And fourth, no fear in the battle. 

Well, first, we see again in our text that for the one who comes to Jesus, to Mount Zion, there is no fear of the law and its condemnation. Sinai is a picture of God's holiness and in contrast to man's sinfulness, it's God's justice. It's his perfect standard, it is law. And it's meant to show the sinfulness of man, to lead us to the Savior, to show us our need. It's not meant for us to keep to earn our own righteousness. It is grace. It is Jesus on the cross and his death, burial, and resurrection. It is the new covenant. It is Zion that brings peace with God, that deals with sin, that makes us righteous. 

Romans 3 tells us that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law. One of the great promises of the new covenant is that we as believers in Jesus Christ are no longer under the law, but we are under grace. Galatians 3 tells us that after faith has come, we are no longer under the tutor, the schoolmaster referring to the law of Moses. 

In 2 Corinthians 3, which we looked at last time, Paul tells us that we are ministers not of the letter, not of the law, but of the new covenant. I'd like for you to turn over to Romans 7 with me, please. 

Romans 7 at verse 4, Paul gives us a tremendous truth here concerning our relationship to the law now that we are in Christ. In 7:4, he writes, “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ that you may be married to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” 

One truth that is clear in the scriptures for those who have come to faith in Christ is that we are no longer under the law. In Galatians 3:10, Paul says, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” 

If you don't do it perfectly, if you're under the law, if you're seeking to establish your own righteousness through the law and works and you don't do it perfectly, as James says, if you stumble at one point, then you're cursed. You're under the curse. In verse 13 of that text, he said, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.” 

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. So many clear scriptures. We have nothing to fear in the new covenant because we are freed from the curse, the condemnation of the law. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So we do not need to fear the law and its condemnation. 

Second, I want us to consider the truth of the new covenant that we have nothing to fear concerning indwelling sin. And this is something we really need six or seven sermons to cover. And I entertained that thought, to be quite honest with you, but we're going to plow through today. 

So turn over to Romans 5 with me. Romans chapter 5 at verse 12, this is such an important text for us to understand. And it establishes tremendous foundational truth for understanding our salvation in Christ and who we are in Him. 

Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned. For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of him who was to come.” 

So what he's saying there is, from Adam to Moses, there was no law. God gave Adam a law. Do not eat of the tree, right? He ate of the tree, transgressed the law. He brought death into the world through his sin. And the curse came upon the world. And every man born in Adam is born a sinner. But from Adam to Moses, there was no law, yet death reigned because of the effects of Adam's sin. 

Look at verse 15. “But the free gift is not like the offense, for if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned, for the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation. But the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one Jesus Christ." 

Now look at verse 18. “Therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. Even so, through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.” 

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 to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

This text explains to us the effects of the sin of Adam on all mankind. Every man is born a sinner in Adam with sin dwelling in him, dominating him, and controlling him. And since every man is born in this condition in Adam, what we see is the internal sin principle controlling the outward behavior of the man in Adam. This is what we talk about often in that religion gets it wrong because religion thinks that a man is bad because he does bad. And therefore, their solution is for that man to do good, that he might become good. 

But the problem isn't that man does bad. The problem is that man is bad. He is corrupt on the inside, and therefore, he needs to be changed. He needs to be what Jesus called born again, regenerated, recreated. Sin reigns. Sin dominates and controls every action in the man in Adam. This is his relationship to indwelling sin. And thus, his outward expression is one of continual sinning, the inability to do what is right or to please God. The man in Adam exists under law in bondage to sin. And he's destined for death, eternal death, in the lake of fire. 

But not so for the man in Christ. Look at verse 18 in chapter 5 again, please. “Therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. Even so, through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience, many will be made righteous.” 

These are such important truths, my friends. The condemnation, the sinful condition, the state of all men in this world is a result of Adam's sin in the garden. And so the solution is not for man to do good, to become good, but rather for one man, Jesus Christ, in his one righteous act on the cross, taking the wrath of God for my sins and my place, to make me righteous through faith. If one man's one-time act got me into this, then I need one man's one-time righteous act on the cross to get me out of this, to rescue me from indwelling sin. 

So that just as, did you notice those words? Just as sin reigned in death in Adam. Do you see that around you in the world? Do you see sin reigning in the lives of lost men? Just as it reigns in their lives, even so, he says, even so, grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

You see, here we have God's plan. We have His purpose in salvation. Hear this, my brother, my sister in Christ. God saved you for the very purpose of making you holy, of having grace reign in your life to produce fruit for His glory, to show the amazing life-transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, of the efficacy of His one-time sacrifice, subsequent death, burial and resurrection, and the abundant life that He's promised to give those who believe. 

And the salient truth, the central fact that brings all this to pass, God's plan for transforming you and me, for releasing us from the sin that lives in us and controls us, is found in the next two verses in Romans 6. Paul says grace abounds. We're saved by grace through faith, not by works. And the man of the world objects. The religious man objects. And he says, well, if you're saved by grace, do whatever you want, right? Just do whatever you want. Just go on and sin. Just sin all you want because it's just grace. You don't have to do any works. That's what they said to Paul. 

Look at verse one. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Well, then shouldn't we get on with the sinning so that God's grace can abound?” What's his answer in verse two? “No, no, no, no, no, no. May it never be, perish the thought. Certainly not. It's the strongest negative. Certainly not.” 

Now look at his reasoning. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” This is the key. When we came to faith in Christ, we died. We died to sin. We died with Christ. 

See, those Jews within this community of Hebrews who had not come to faith in Christ, who had not gone on to perfection, were under the law. And they were considering staying there and going back to Judaism. And because they had not believed, because they were still in Adam, they were under the curse of the law. They were dominated by indwelling sin, and they were destined for death. If they did not come to Zion, if they did not turn to Jesus in faith, they would die in their sins. And this is true for every man. If a man rejects the free grace gift of salvation through faith in Christ and chooses to try to justify himself by the works of the law, then he is under the curse. And he will only experience wrath. 

But for the man who does believe, God performs an amazing work on him in this new covenant. I'd like for you to listen to the words of Ezekiel 36. This is a prophecy foretelling the new covenant. God says, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will take out 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 statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” 

This, like Jeremiah 31, is a prophecy, a promise of the time when God would bring a new covenant fulfilling all that the law pictured and represented when Christ would provide the perfect, final, sufficient sacrifice. It was in His first coming and in His death, burial, and resurrection that Jesus instituted this new covenant, that He made good on this promise in what I call a pre-filling, right? Because ultimately these promises will be fulfilled in Israel. They were made to Israel. But we see them being pre-filled in the church. We experience these blessings out of the covenant made with Israel. That's what we studied in Hebrews 8. 

You see, I feel like sometimes we as Christians really understand justification. We get that. Christ died for our sins, and because of what He did, because I'm in Him positionally, I don't experience condemnation, God is pleased with me, I'll go to heaven. I understand justification, but I'm not sure that we understand sanctification. I'm not sure that we understand what God actually did when He put us in Christ. He made us new creations. He regenerated us. He gave us a new heart. He gave us a new spirit. He made our spirit alive, and He put His Holy Spirit, in fact, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have come to live in us, it says. 

I don't know if we can appreciate the magnitude of that change. And that's what we find in Romans 6. Paul says, “Do you not know? Do you not know that when you believed Jesus, you died? You were united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We died to the law, as we saw in Romans 7. We died to indwelling sin that lives in us. This is so important for us to understand. It's the reason why we can now live a new life in Christ, because we died. 

Let me give you an illustration. Most of you have heard this before a couple different ways. My daughter has a German shepherd named Leah, and she stayed with us for a period of time a couple years ago. And this dog is not mean and never bit anyone, but it's just aggressive. When someone would come to the house, it would go flying out the door, all the way, and come right up to their chest. And they were scared. 

So I was teaching through this with some of the young people, so I started calling her the sin dog, because of the way she illustrated the sin beast that lives in every man. Think about a mean dog. If you were locked in a room with a really big, mean dog who was intent on ripping you to shreds, your attention and your focus would be on that dog, and the actions of that beast would control your every move. If he moved toward you, growling and snarling, you would move away. If he moved here, you would move there. You can visualize in your mind how that beast would dictate your every move. It would dominate and control your outward actions because of the fear of the power and the threat of that sin dog. 

She had the UPS guy high-stepping one day on the way out, you know, dictating your actions. That is what indwelling sin is in the man and Adam, a powerful force like a beast as God described to Cain all the way back in Genesis, a beast that desires to rule over you and control you, and that is why the man and Adam lives in a perpetual state of sin. That is why the carnal man, Romans 8:7, cannot please God. And the sin in him is manifested out through his members, his mouth. You ever had coffee with an old yuper guy? He has to use the Lord's name in vain seven times every sentence. That's the sin in him manifest out through the members of his body. 

But for the man in Christ, as we see in Romans 6, he no longer has to fear indwelling sin. Why? Because he died. You see, if you were in that room with that big mean dog, you would have to fear; you'd have to watch, you'd have to move, you'd have to evade the beast unless you died. If you died, then the beast could no longer harm you, intimidate you, control you. If you were dead, then you would no longer have to fear the beast. And this is exactly what happens in the New Covenant when a man turns to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Paul says grace abounds. We're saved by grace through faith, not by works. And the man of the world objects. The religious man objects. And he says, well, if you're saved by grace, do whatever you want, right? Just do whatever you want. Just go on and sin. Just sin all you want because it's just grace. You don't have to do any works. That's what they said to Paul. 

Look at verse one. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Well, then shouldn’t we get on with the sinning so that God’s grace can abound?” What's his answer in verse two? “No, no, no, no, no, no. May it never be, perish the thought. Certainly not. It’s the strongest negative. Certainly not.” 

Now look at his reasoning. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” This is the key. When we came to faith in Christ, we died. We died to sin. We died with Christ. 

See, those Jews within this community of Hebrews who had not come to faith in Christ, who had not gone on to perfection, were under the law. And they were considering staying there and going back to Judaism. And because they had not believed, because they were still in Adam, they were under the curse of the law. They were dominated by indwelling sin, and they were destined for death. If they did not come to Zion, if they did not turn to Jesus in faith, they would die in their sins. And this is true for every man. If a man rejects the free grace gift of salvation through faith in Christ and chooses to try to justify himself by the works of the law, then he is under the curse. And he will only experience wrath. 

But for the man who does believe, God performs an amazing work on him in this new covenant. I’d like for you to listen to the words of Ezekiel 36. This is a prophecy foretelling the new covenant. God says, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will take out 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 statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” 

This, like Jeremiah 31, is a prophecy, a promise of the time when God would bring a new covenant fulfilling all that the law pictured and represented when Christ would provide the perfect, final, sufficient sacrifice. It was in His first coming and in His death, burial, and resurrection that Jesus instituted this new covenant, that He made good on this promise in what I call a pre-fillment, right? Because ultimately these promises will be fulfilled in Israel. They were made to Israel. But we see them being pre-filled in the church. We experience these blessings out of the covenant made with Israel. That's what we studied in Hebrews 8. 

You see, I feel like sometimes we as Christians really understand justification. We get that. Christ died for our sins, and because of what He did, because I’m in Him positionally, I don’t experience condemnation, God is pleased with me, I’ll go to heaven. I understand justification, but I’m not sure that we understand sanctification. I’m not sure that we understand what God actually did when He put us in Christ. He made us new creations. He regenerated us. He gave us a new heart. He gave us a new spirit. He made our spirit alive, and He put His Holy Spirit, in fact, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have come to live in us, it says. 

I don’t know if we can appreciate the magnitude of that change. And that’s what we find in Romans 6. Paul says, “Do you not know? Do you not know that when you believed Jesus, you died? You were united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We died to the law, as we saw in Romans 7. We died to indwelling sin that lives in us. This is so important for us to understand. It’s the reason why we can now live a new life in Christ, because we died. 

Let me give you an illustration. Most of you have heard this before a couple different ways. My daughter has a German shepherd named Leah, and she stayed with us for a period of time a couple years ago. And this dog is not mean and never bit anyone, but it’s just aggressive. When someone would come to the house, it would go flying out the door, all the way, and come right up to their chest. And they were scared. 

So I was teaching through this with some of the young people, so I started calling her the sin dog, because of the way she illustrated the sin beast that lives in every man. Think about a mean dog. If you were locked in a room with a really big, mean dog who was intent on ripping you to shreds, your attention and your focus would be on that dog, and the actions of that beast would control your every move. If he moved toward you, growling and snarling, you would move away. If he moved here, you would move there. You can visualize in your mind how that beast would dictate your every move. It would dominate and control your outward actions because of the fear of the power and the threat of that sin dog. 

She had the UPS guy high-stepping one day on the way out, you know, dictating your actions. That is what indwelling sin is in the man and Adam, a powerful force like a beast as God described to Cain all the way back in Genesis, a beast that desires to rule over you and control you, and that is why the man and Adam lives in a perpetual state of sin. That is why the carnal man, Romans 8:7, cannot please God. And the sin in him is manifested out through his members, his mouth. You ever had coffee with an old yuper guy? He has to use the Lord's name in vain seven times every sentence. That's the sin in him manifest out through the members of his body. 

But for the man in Christ, as we see in Romans 6, he no longer has to fear indwelling sin. Why? Because he died. You see, if you were in that room with that big mean dog, you would have to fear; you’d have to watch, you’d have to move, you’d have to evade the beast unless you died. If you died, then the beast could no longer harm you, intimidate you, control you. If you were dead, then you would no longer have to fear the beast. And this is exactly what happens in the New Covenant when a man turns to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Paul says grace abounds. We're saved by grace through faith, not by works. And the man of the world objects. The religious man objects. And he says, well, if you're saved by grace, do whatever you want, right? Just do whatever you want. Just go on and sin. Just sin all you want because it's just grace. You don't have to do any works. That's what they said to Paul. 

Look at verse one. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Well, then shouldn’t we get on with the sinning so that God’s grace can abound?” What's his answer in verse two? “No, no, no, no, no, no. May it never be, perish the thought. Certainly not. It’s the strongest negative. Certainly not.” 

Now look at his reasoning. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” This is the key. When we came to faith in Christ, we died. We died to sin. We died with Christ. 

See, those Jews within this community of Hebrews who had not come to faith in Christ, who had not gone on to perfection, were under the law. And they were considering staying there and going back to Judaism. And because they had not believed, because they were still in Adam, they were under the curse of the law. They were dominated by indwelling sin, and they were destined for death. If they did not come to Zion, if they did not turn to Jesus in faith, they would die in their sins. And this is true for every man. If a man rejects the free grace gift of salvation through faith in Christ and chooses to try to justify himself by the works of the law, then he is under the curse. And he will only experience wrath. 

But for the man who does believe, God performs an amazing work on him in this new covenant. I’d like for you to listen to the words of Ezekiel 36. This is a prophecy foretelling the new covenant. God says, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will take out 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 statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” 

This, like Jeremiah 31, is a prophecy, a promise of the time when God would bring a new covenant fulfilling all that the law pictured and represented when Christ would provide the perfect, final, sufficient sacrifice. It was in His first coming and in His death, burial, and resurrection that Jesus instituted this new covenant, that He made good on this promise in what I call a pre-fillment, right? Because ultimately these promises will be fulfilled in Israel. They were made to Israel. But we see them being pre-filled in the church. We experience these blessings out of the covenant made with Israel. That's what we studied in Hebrews 8. 

You see, I feel like sometimes we as Christians really understand justification. We get that. Christ died for our sins, and because of what He did, because I’m in Him positionally, I don’t experience condemnation, God is pleased with me, I’ll go to heaven. I understand justification, but I’m not sure that we understand sanctification. I’m not sure that we understand what God actually did when He put us in Christ. He made us new creations. He regenerated us. He gave us a new heart. He gave us a new spirit. He made our spirit alive, and He put His Holy Spirit, in fact, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have come to live in us, it says. 

I don’t know if we can appreciate the magnitude of that change. And that’s what we find in Romans 6. Paul says, “Do you not know? Do you not know that when you believed Jesus, you died? You were united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We died to the law, as we saw in Romans 7. We died to indwelling sin that lives in us. This is so important for us to understand. It’s the reason why we can now live a new life in Christ, because we died. 

Let me give you an illustration. Most of you have heard this before a couple different ways. My daughter has a German shepherd named Leah, and she stayed with us for a period of time a couple years ago. And this dog is not mean and never bit anyone, but it’s just aggressive. When someone would come to the house, it would go flying out the door, all the way, and come right up to their chest. And they were scared. 

So I was teaching through this with some of the young people, so I started calling her the sin dog, because of the way she illustrated the sin beast that lives in every man. Think about a mean dog. If you were locked in a room with a really big, mean dog who was intent on ripping you to shreds, your attention and your focus would be on that dog, and the actions of that beast would control your every move. If he moved toward you, growling and snarling, you would move away. If he moved here, you would move there. You can visualize in your mind how that beast would dictate your every move. It would dominate and control your outward actions because of the fear of the power and the threat of that sin dog. 

She had the UPS guy high-stepping one day on the way out, you know, dictating your actions. That is what indwelling sin is in the man and Adam, a powerful force like a beast as God described to Cain all the way back in Genesis, a beast that desires to rule over you and control you, and that is why the man and Adam lives in a perpetual state of sin. That is why the carnal man, Romans 8:7, cannot please God. And the sin in him is manifested out through his members, his mouth. You ever had coffee with an old yuper guy? He has to use the Lord's name in vain seven times every sentence. That's the sin in him manifest out through the members of his body. 

But for the man in Christ, as we see in Romans 6, he no longer has to fear indwelling sin. Why? Because he died. You see, if you were in that room with that big mean dog, you would have to fear; you’d have to watch, you’d have to move, you’d have to evade the beast unless you died. If you died, then the beast could no longer harm you, intimidate you, control you. If you were dead, then you would no longer have to fear the beast. And this is exactly what happens in the New Covenant when a man turns to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Paul says grace abounds. We're saved by grace through faith, not by works. And the man of the world objects. The religious man objects. And he says, well, if you're saved by grace, do whatever you want, right? Just do whatever you want. Just go on and sin. Just sin all you want because it's just grace. You don't have to do any works. That's what they said to Paul. 

Look at verse one. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Well, then shouldn’t we get on with the sinning so that God’s grace can abound?” What's his answer in verse two? “No, no, no, no, no, no. May it never be, perish the thought. Certainly not. It’s the strongest negative. Certainly not.” 

Now look at his reasoning. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” This is the key. When we came to faith in Christ, we died. We died to sin. We died with Christ. 

See, those Jews within this community of Hebrews who had not come to faith in Christ, who had not gone on to perfection, were under the law. And they were considering staying there and going back to Judaism. And because they had not believed, because they were still in Adam, they were under the curse of the law. They were dominated by indwelling sin, and they were destined for death. If they did not come to Zion, if they did not turn to Jesus in faith, they would die in their sins. And this is true for every man. If a man rejects the free grace gift of salvation through faith in Christ and chooses to try to justify himself by the works of the law, then he is under the curse. And he will only experience wrath. 

But for the man who does believe, God performs an amazing work on him in this new covenant. I’d like for you to listen to the words of Ezekiel 36. This is a prophecy foretelling the new covenant. God says, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will take out 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 statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” 

This, like Jeremiah 31, is a prophecy, a promise of the time when God would bring a new covenant fulfilling all that the law pictured and represented when Christ would provide the perfect, final, sufficient sacrifice. It was in His first coming and in His death, burial, and resurrection that Jesus instituted this new covenant, that He made good on this promise in what I call a pre-fillment, right? Because ultimately these promises will be fulfilled in Israel. They were made to Israel. But we see them being pre-filled in the church. We experience these blessings out of the covenant made with Israel. That's what we studied in Hebrews 8. 

You see, I feel like sometimes we as Christians really understand justification. We get that. Christ died for our sins, and because of what He did, because I’m in Him positionally, I don’t experience condemnation, God is pleased with me, I’ll go to heaven. I understand justification, but I’m not sure that we understand sanctification. I’m not sure that we understand what God actually did when He put us in Christ. He made us new creations. He regenerated us. He gave us a new heart. He gave us a new spirit. He made our spirit alive, and He put His Holy Spirit, in fact, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have come to live in us, it says. 

I don’t know if we can appreciate the magnitude of that change. And that’s what we find in Romans 6. Paul says, “Do you not know? Do you not know that when you believed Jesus, you died? You were united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We died to the law, as we saw in Romans 7. We died to indwelling sin that lives in us. This is so important for us to understand. It’s the reason why we can now live a new life in Christ, because we died. 

Let me give you an illustration. Most of you have heard this before a couple different ways. My daughter has a German shepherd named Leah, and she stayed with us for a period of time a couple years ago. And this dog is not mean and never bit anyone, but it’s just aggressive. When someone would come to the house, it would go flying out the door, all the way, and come right up to their chest. And they were scared. 

So I was teaching through this with some of the young people, so I started calling her the sin dog, because of the way she illustrated the sin beast that lives in every man. Think about a mean dog. If you were locked in a room with a really big, mean dog who was intent on ripping you to shreds, your attention and your focus would be on that dog, and the actions of that beast would control your every move. If he moved toward you, growling and snarling, you would move away. If he moved here, you would move there. You can visualize in your mind how that beast would dictate your every move. It would dominate and control your outward actions because of the fear of the power and the threat of that sin dog. 

She had the UPS guy high-stepping one day on the way out, you know, dictating your actions. That is what indwelling sin is in the man and Adam, a powerful force like a beast as God described to Cain all the way back in Genesis, a beast that desires to rule over you and control you, and that is why the man and Adam lives in a perpetual state of sin. That is why the carnal man, Romans 8:7, cannot please God. And the sin in him is manifested out through his members, his mouth. You ever had coffee with an old yuper guy? He has to use the Lord's name in vain seven times every sentence. That's the sin in him manifest out through the members of his body. 

But for the man in Christ, as we see in Romans 6, he no longer has to fear indwelling sin. Why? Because he died. You see, if you were in that room with that big mean dog, you would have to fear; you’d have to watch, you’d have to move, you’d have to evade the beast unless you died. If you died, then the beast could no longer harm you, intimidate you, control you. If you were dead, then you would no longer have to fear the beast. And this is exactly what happens in the New Covenant when a man turns to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Paul says grace abounds. We're saved by grace through faith, not by works. And the man of the world objects. The religious man objects. And he says, well, if you're saved by grace, do whatever you want, right? Just do whatever you want. Just go on and sin. Just sin all you want because it's just grace. You don't have to do any works. That's what they said to Paul. 

Look at verse one. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Well, then shouldn’t we get on with the sinning so that God’s grace can abound?” What's his answer in verse two? “No, no, no, no, no, no. May it never be, perish the thought. Certainly not. It’s the strongest negative. Certainly not.” 

Now look at his reasoning. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” This is the key. When we came to faith in Christ, we died. We died to sin. We died with Christ. 

See, those Jews within this community of Hebrews who had not come to faith in Christ, who had not gone on to perfection, were under the law. And they were considering staying there and going back to Judaism. And because they had not believed, because they were still in Adam, they were under the curse of the law. They were dominated by indwelling sin, and they were destined for death. If they did not come to Zion, if they did not turn to Jesus in faith, they would die in their sins. And this is true for every man. If a man rejects the free grace gift of salvation through faith in Christ and chooses to try to justify himself by the works of the law, then he is under the curse. And he will only experience wrath. 

But for the man who does believe, God performs an amazing work on him in this new covenant. I’d like for you to listen to the words of Ezekiel 36. This is a prophecy foretelling the new covenant. God says, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will take out 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 statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” 

This, like Jeremiah 31, is a prophecy, a promise of the time when God would bring a new covenant fulfilling all that the law pictured and represented when Christ would provide the perfect, final, sufficient sacrifice. It was in His first coming and in His death, burial, and resurrection that Jesus instituted this new covenant, that He made good on this promise in what I call a pre-fillment, right? Because ultimately these promises will be fulfilled in Israel. They were made to Israel. But we see them being pre-filled in the church. We experience these blessings out of the covenant made with Israel. That's what we studied in Hebrews 8. 

You see, I feel like sometimes we as Christians really understand justification. We get that. Christ died for our sins, and because of what He did, because I’m in Him positionally, I don’t experience condemnation, God is pleased with me, I’ll go to heaven. I understand justification, but I’m not sure that we understand sanctification. I’m not sure that we understand what God actually did when He put us in Christ. He made us new creations. He regenerated us. He gave us a new heart. He gave us a new spirit. He made our spirit alive, and He put His Holy Spirit, in fact, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have come to live in us, it says. 

I don’t know if we can appreciate the magnitude of that change. And that’s what we find in Romans 6. Paul says, “Do you not know? Do you not know that when you believed Jesus, you died? You were united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We died to the law, as we saw in Romans 7. We died to indwelling sin that lives in us. This is so important for us to understand. It’s the reason why we can now live a new life in Christ, because we died. 

Let me give you an illustration. Most of you have heard this before a couple different ways. My daughter has a German shepherd named Leah, and she stayed with us for a period of time a couple years ago. And this dog is not mean and never bit anyone, but it’s just aggressive. When someone would come to the house, it would go flying out the door, all the way, and come right up to their chest. And they were scared. 

So I was teaching through this with some of the young people, so I started calling her the sin dog, because of the way she illustrated the sin beast that lives in every man. Think about a mean dog. If you were locked in a room with a really big, mean dog who was intent on ripping you to shreds, your attention and your focus would be on that dog, and the actions of that beast would control your every move. If he moved toward you, growling and snarling, you would move away. If he moved here, you would move there. You can visualize in your mind how that beast would dictate your every move. It would dominate and control your outward actions because of the fear of the power and the threat of that sin dog. 

She had the UPS guy high-stepping one day on the way out, you know, dictating your actions. That is what indwelling sin is in the man and Adam, a powerful force like a beast as God described to Cain all the way back in Genesis, a beast that desires to rule over you and control you, and that is why the man and Adam lives in a perpetual state of sin. That is why the carnal man, Romans 8:7, cannot please God. And the sin in him is manifested out through his members, his mouth. You ever had coffee with an old yuper guy? He has to use the Lord's name in vain seven times every sentence. That's the sin in him manifest out through the members of his body. 

But for the man in Christ, as we see in Romans 6, he no longer has to fear indwelling sin. Why? Because he died. You see, if you were in that room with that big mean dog, you would have to fear; you’d have to watch, you’d have to move, you’d have to evade the beast unless you died. If you died, then the beast could no longer harm you, intimidate you, control you. If you were dead, then you would no longer have to fear the beast. And this is exactly what happens in the New Covenant when a man turns to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Paul says grace abounds. We're saved by grace through faith, not by works. And the man of the world objects. The religious man objects. And he says, well, if you're saved by grace, do whatever you want, right? Just do whatever you want. Just go on and sin. Just sin all you want because it's just grace. You don't have to do any works. That's what they said to Paul. 

Look at verse one. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Well, then shouldn’t we get on with the sinning so that God’s grace can abound?” What's his answer in verse two? “No, no, no, no, no, no. May it never be, perish the thought. Certainly not. It’s the strongest negative. Certainly not.” 

Now look at his reasoning. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” This is the key. When we came to faith in Christ, we died. We died to sin. We died with Christ. 

See, those Jews within this community of Hebrews who had not come to faith in Christ, who had not gone on to perfection, were under the law. And they were considering staying there and going back to Judaism. And because they had not believed, because they were still in Adam, they were under the curse of the law. They were dominated by indwelling sin, and they were destined for death. If they did not come to Zion, if they did not turn to Jesus in faith, they would die in their sins. And this is true for every man. If a man rejects the free grace gift of salvation through faith in Christ and chooses to try to justify himself by the works of the law, then he is under the curse. And he will only experience wrath. 

But for the man who does believe, God performs an amazing work on him in this new covenant. I’d like for you to listen to the words of Ezekiel 36. This is a prophecy foretelling the new covenant. God says, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will take out 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 statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” 

This, like Jeremiah 31, is a prophecy, a promise of the time when God would bring a new covenant fulfilling all that the law pictured and represented when Christ would provide the perfect, final, sufficient sacrifice. It was in His first coming and in His death, burial, and resurrection that Jesus instituted this new covenant, that He made good on this promise in what I call a pre-fillment, right? Because ultimately these promises will be fulfilled in Israel. They were made to Israel. But we see them being pre-filled in the church. We experience these blessings out of the covenant made with Israel. That's what we studied in Hebrews 8. 

You see, I feel like sometimes we as Christians really understand justification. We get that. Christ died for our sins, and because of what He did, because I’m in Him positionally, I don’t experience condemnation, God is pleased with me, I’ll go to heaven. I understand justification, but I’m not sure that we understand sanctification. I’m not sure that we understand what God actually did when He put us in Christ. He made us new creations. He regenerated us. He gave us a new heart. He gave us a new spirit. He made our spirit alive, and He put His Holy Spirit, in fact, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have come to live in us, it says. 

I don’t know if we can appreciate the magnitude of that change. And that’s what we find in Romans 6. Paul says, “Do you not know? Do you not know that when you believed Jesus, you died? You were united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We died to the law, as we saw in Romans 7. We died to indwelling sin that lives in us. This is so important for us to understand. It’s the reason why we can now live a new life in Christ, because we died. 

Let me give you an illustration. Most of you have heard this before a couple different ways. My daughter has a German shepherd named Leah, and she stayed with us for a period of time a couple years ago. And this dog is not mean and never bit anyone, but it’s just aggressive. When someone would come to the house, it would go flying out the door, all the way, and come right up to their chest. And they were scared. 

So I was teaching through this with some of the young people, so I started calling her the sin dog, because of the way she illustrated the sin beast that lives in every man. Think about a mean dog. If you were locked in a room with a really big, mean dog who was intent on ripping you to shreds, your attention and your focus would be on that dog, and the actions of that beast would control your every move. If he moved toward you, growling and snarling, you would move away. If he moved here, you would move there. You can visualize in your mind how that beast would dictate your every move. It would dominate and control your outward actions because of the fear of the power and the threat of that sin dog. 

She had the UPS guy high-stepping one day on the way out, you know, dictating your actions. That is what indwelling sin is in the man and Adam, a powerful force like a beast as God described to Cain all the way back in Genesis, a beast that desires to rule over you and control you, and that is why the man and Adam lives in a perpetual state of sin. That is why the carnal man, Romans 8:7, cannot please God. And the sin in him is manifested out through his members, his mouth. You ever had coffee with an old yuper guy? He has to use the Lord's name in vain seven times every sentence. That's the sin in him manifest out through the members of his body. 

But for the man in Christ, as we see in Romans 6, he no longer has to fear indwelling sin. Why? Because he died. You see, if you were in that room with that big mean dog, you would have to fear; you’d have to watch, you’d have to move, you’d have to evade the beast unless you died. If you died, then the beast could no longer harm you, intimidate you, control you. If you were dead, then you would no longer have to fear the beast. And this is exactly what happens in the New Covenant when a man turns to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Paul says grace abounds. We're saved by grace through faith, not by works. And the man of the world objects. The religious man objects. And he says, well, if you're saved by grace, do whatever you want, right? Just do whatever you want. Just go on and sin. Just sin all you want because it's just grace. You don't have to do any works. That's what they said to Paul. 

Look at verse one. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Well, then shouldn’t we get on with the sinning so that God’s grace can abound?” What's his answer in verse two? “No, no, no, no, no, no. May it never be, perish the thought. Certainly not. It’s the strongest negative. Certainly not.” 

Now look at his reasoning. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” This is the key. When we came to faith in Christ, we died. We died to sin. We died with Christ. 

See, those Jews within this community of Hebrews who had not come to faith in Christ, who had not gone on to perfection, were under the law. And they were considering staying there and going back to Judaism. And because they had not believed, because they were still in Adam, they were under the curse of the law. They were dominated by indwelling sin, and they were destined for death. If they did not come to Zion, if they did not turn to Jesus in faith, they would die in their sins. And this is true for every man. If a man rejects the free grace gift of salvation through faith in Christ and chooses to try to justify himself by the works of the law, then he is under the curse. And he will only experience wrath. 

But for the man who does believe, God performs an amazing work on him in this new covenant. I’d like for you to listen to the words of Ezekiel 36. This is a prophecy foretelling the new covenant. God says, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will take out 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 statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” 

This, like Jeremiah 31, is a prophecy, a promise of the time when God would bring a new covenant fulfilling all that the law pictured and represented when Christ would provide the perfect, final, sufficient sacrifice. It was in His first coming and in His death, burial, and resurrection that Jesus instituted this new covenant, that He made good on this promise in what I call a pre-fillment, right? Because ultimately these promises will be fulfilled in Israel. They were made to Israel. But we see them being pre-filled in the church. We experience these blessings out of the covenant made with Israel. That's what we studied in Hebrews 8. 

You see, I feel like sometimes we as Christians really understand justification. We get that. Christ died for our sins, and because of what He did, because I’m in Him positionally, I don’t experience condemnation, God is pleased with me, I’ll go to heaven. I understand justification, but I’m not sure that we understand sanctification. I’m not sure that we understand what God actually did when He put us in Christ. He made us new creations. He regenerated us. He gave us a new heart. He gave us a new spirit. He made our spirit alive, and He put His Holy Spirit, in fact, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have come to live in us, it says. 

I don’t know if we can appreciate the magnitude of that change. And that’s what we find in Romans 6. Paul says, “Do you not know? Do you not know that when you believed Jesus, you died? You were united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We died to the law, as we saw in Romans 7. We died to indwelling sin that lives in us. This is so important for us to understand. It’s the reason why we can now live a new life in Christ, because we died. 

Let me give you an illustration. Most of you have heard this before a couple different ways. My daughter has a German shepherd named Leah, and she stayed with us for a period of time a couple years ago. And this dog is not mean and never bit anyone, but it’s just aggressive. When someone would come to the house, it would go flying out the door, all the way, and come right up to their chest. And they were scared. 

So I was teaching through this with some of the young people, so I started calling her the sin dog, because of the way she illustrated the sin beast that lives in every man. Think about a mean dog. If you were locked in a room with a really big, mean dog who was intent on ripping you to shreds, your attention and your focus would be on that dog, and the actions of that beast would control your every move. If he moved toward you, growling and snarling, you would move away. If he moved here, you would move there. You can visualize in your mind how that beast would dictate your every move. It would dominate and control your outward actions because of the fear of the power and the threat of that sin dog. 

She had the UPS guy high-stepping one day on the way out, you know, dictating your actions. That is what indwelling sin is in the man and Adam, a powerful force like a beast as God described to Cain all the way back in Genesis, a beast that desires to rule over you and control you, and that is why the man and Adam lives in a perpetual state of sin. That is why the carnal man, Romans 8:7, cannot please God. And the sin in him is manifested out through his members, his mouth. You ever had coffee with an old yuper guy? He has to use the Lord's name in vain seven times every sentence. That's the sin in him manifest out through the members of his body. 

But for the man in Christ, as we see in Romans 6, he no longer has to fear indwelling sin. Why? Because he died. You see, if you were in that room with that big mean dog, you would have to fear; you’d have to watch, you’d have to move, you’d have to evade the beast unless you died. If you died, then the beast could no longer harm you, intimidate you, control you. If you were dead, then you would no longer have to fear the beast. And this is exactly what happens in the New Covenant when a man turns to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Paul says grace abounds. We're saved by grace through faith, not by works. And the man of the world objects. The religious man objects. And he says, well, if you're saved by grace, do whatever you want, right? Just do whatever you want. Just go on and sin. Just sin all you want because it's just grace. You don't have to do any works. That's what they said to Paul. 

Look at verse one. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Well, then shouldn’t we get on with the sinning so that God’s grace can abound?” What's his answer in verse two? “No, no, no, no, no, no. May it never be, perish the thought. Certainly not. It’s the strongest negative. Certainly not.” 

Now look at his reasoning. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” This is the key. When we came to faith in Christ, we died. We died to sin. We died with Christ. 

See, those Jews within this community of Hebrews who had not come to faith in Christ, who had not gone on to perfection, were under the law. And they were considering staying there and going back to Judaism. And because they had not believed, because they were still in Adam, they were under the curse of the law. They were dominated by indwelling sin, and they were destined for death. If they did not come to Zion, if they did not turn to Jesus in faith, they would die in their sins. And this is true for every man. If a man rejects the free grace gift of salvation through faith in Christ and chooses to try to justify himself by the works of the law, then he is under the curse. And he will only experience wrath. 

But for the man who does believe, God performs an amazing work on him in this new covenant. I’d like for you to listen to the words of Ezekiel 36. This is a prophecy foretelling the new covenant. God says, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will take out 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 statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” 

This, like Jeremiah 31, is a prophecy, a promise of the time when God would bring a new covenant fulfilling all that the law pictured and represented when Christ would provide the perfect, final, sufficient sacrifice. It was in His first coming and in His death, burial, and resurrection that Jesus instituted this new covenant, that He made good on this promise in what I call a pre-fillment, right? Because ultimately these promises will be fulfilled in Israel. They were made to Israel. But we see them being pre-filled in the church. We experience these blessings out of the covenant made with Israel. That's what we studied in Hebrews 8. 

You see, I feel like sometimes we as Christians really understand justification. We get that. Christ died for our sins, and because of what He did, because I’m in Him positionally, I don’t experience condemnation, God is pleased with me, I’ll go to heaven. I understand justification, but I’m not sure that we understand sanctification. I’m not sure that we understand what God actually did when He put us in Christ. He made us new creations. He regenerated us. He gave us a new heart. He gave us a new spirit. He made our spirit alive, and He put His Holy Spirit, in fact, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have come to live in us, it says. 

I don’t know if we can appreciate the magnitude of that change. And that’s what we find in Romans 6. Paul says, “Do you not know? Do you not know that when you believed Jesus, you died? You were united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We died to the law, as we saw in Romans 7. We died to indwelling sin that lives in us. This is so important for us to understand. It’s the reason why we can now live a new life in Christ, because we died. 

Let me give you an illustration. Most of you have heard this before a couple different ways. My daughter has a German shepherd named Leah, and she stayed with us for a period of time a couple years ago. And this dog is not mean and never bit anyone, but it’s just aggressive. When someone would come to the house, it would go flying out the door, all the way, and come right up to their chest. And they were scared. 

So I was teaching through this with some of the young people, so I started calling her the sin dog, because of the way she illustrated the sin beast that lives in every man. Think about a mean dog. If you were locked in a room with a really big, mean dog who was intent on ripping you to shreds, your attention and your focus would be on that dog, and the actions of that beast would control your every move. If he moved toward you, growling and snarling, you would move away. If he moved here, you would move there. You can visualize in your mind how that beast would dictate your every move. It would dominate and control your outward actions because of the fear of the power and the threat of that sin dog. 

She had the UPS guy high-stepping one day on the way out, you know, dictating your actions. That is what indwelling sin is in the man and Adam, a powerful force like a beast as God described to Cain all the way back in Genesis, a beast that desires to rule over you and control you, and that is why the man and Adam lives in a perpetual state of sin. That is why the carnal man, Romans 8:7, cannot please God. And the sin in him is manifested out through his members, his mouth. You ever had coffee with an old yuper guy? He has to use the Lord's name in vain seven times every sentence. That's the sin in him manifest out through the members of his body. 

But for the man in Christ, as we see in Romans 6, he no longer has to fear indwelling sin. Why? Because he died. You see, if you were in that room with that big mean dog, you would have to fear; you’d have to watch, you’d have to move, you’d have to evade the beast unless you died. If you died, then the beast could no longer harm you, intimidate you, control you. If you were dead, then you would no longer have to fear the beast. And this is exactly what happens in the New Covenant when a man turns to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Paul says grace abounds. We're saved by grace through faith, not by works. And the man of the world objects. The religious man objects. And he says, well, if you're saved by grace, do whatever you want, right? Just do whatever you want. Just go on and sin. Just sin all you want because it's just grace. You don't have to do any works. That's what they said to Paul. 

Look at verse one. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Well, then shouldn’t we get on with the sinning so that God’s grace can abound?” What's his answer in verse two? “No, no, no, no, no, no. May it never be, perish the thought. Certainly not. It’s the strongest negative. Certainly not.” 

Now look at his reasoning. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” This is the key. When we came to faith in Christ, we died. We died to sin. We died with Christ. 

See, those Jews within this community of Hebrews who had not come to faith in Christ, who had not gone on to perfection, were under the law. And they were considering staying there and going back to Judaism. And because they had not believed, because they were still in Adam, they were under the curse of the law. They were dominated by indwelling sin, and they were destined for death. If they did not come to Zion, if they did not turn to Jesus in faith, they would die in their sins. And this is true for every man. If a man rejects the free grace gift of salvation through faith in Christ and chooses to try to justify himself by the works of the law, then he is under the curse. And he will only experience wrath. 

But for the man who does believe, God performs an amazing work on him in this new covenant. I’d like for you to listen to the words of Ezekiel 36. This is a prophecy foretelling the new covenant. God says, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will take out 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 statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them.” 

This, like Jeremiah 31, is a prophecy, a promise of the time when God would bring a new covenant fulfilling all that the law pictured and represented when Christ would provide the perfect, final, sufficient sacrifice. It was in His first coming and in His death, burial, and resurrection that Jesus instituted this new covenant, that He made good on this promise in what I call a pre-fillment, right? Because ultimately these promises will be fulfilled in Israel. They were made to Israel. But we see them being pre-filled in the church. We experience these blessings out of the covenant made with Israel. That's what we studied in Hebrews 8. 

You see, I feel like sometimes we as Christians really understand justification. We get that. Christ died for our sins, and because of what He did, because I’m in Him positionally, I don’t experience condemnation, God is pleased with me, I’ll go to heaven. I understand justification, but I’m not sure that we understand sanctification. I’m not sure that we understand what God actually did when He put us in Christ. He made us new creations. He regenerated us. He gave us a new heart. He gave us a new spirit. He made our spirit alive, and He put His Holy Spirit, in fact, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have come to live in us, it says. 

I don’t know if we can appreciate the magnitude of that change. And that’s what we find in Romans 6. Paul says, “Do you not know? Do you not know that when you believed Jesus, you died? You were united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We died to the law, as we saw in Romans 7. We died to indwelling sin that lives in us. This is so important for us to understand. It’s the reason why we can now live a new life in Christ, because we died. 

Let me give you an illustration. Most of you have heard this before a couple different ways. My daughter has a German shepherd named Leah, and she stayed with us for a period of time a couple years ago. And this dog is not mean and never bit anyone, but it’s just aggressive. When someone would come to the house, it would go flying out the door, all the way, and come right up to their chest. And they were scared. 

So I was teaching through this with some of the young people, so I started calling her the sin dog, because of the way she illustrated the sin beast that lives in every man. Think about a mean dog. If you were locked in a room with a really big, mean dog who was intent on ripping you to shreds, your attention and your focus would be on that dog, and the actions of that beast would control your every move. If he moved toward you, growling and snarling, you would move away. If he moved here, you would move there. You can visualize in your mind how that beast would dictate your every move. It would dominate and control your outward actions because of the fear of the power and the threat of that sin dog. 

She had the UPS guy high-stepping one day on the way out, you know, dictating your actions. That is what indwelling sin is in the man and Adam, a powerful force like a beast as God described to Cain all the way back in Genesis, a beast that desires to rule over you and control you, and that is why the man and Adam lives in a perpetual state of sin. That is why the carnal man, Romans 8:7, cannot please God. And the sin in him is manifested out through his members, his mouth. You ever had coffee with an old yuper guy? He has to use the Lord's name in vain seven times every sentence. That's the sin in him manifest out through the members of his body. 

But for the man in Christ, as we see in Romans 6, he no longer has to fear indwelling sin. Why? Because he died. You see, if you were in that room with that big mean dog, you would have to fear; you’d have to watch, you’d have to move, you’d have to evade the beast unless you died. If you died, then the beast could no longer harm you, intimidate you, control you. If you were dead, then you would no longer have to fear the beast. And this is exactly what happens in the New Covenant when a man turns to faith in Jesus Christ. 

Paul says grace abounds. We're saved by grace through faith, not by works. And the man of the world objects. The religious man objects. And he says, well, if you're saved by grace, do whatever you want, right? Just do whatever you want. Just go on and sin. Just sin all you want because it's just grace. You don't have to do any works. That's what they said to Paul. 

Look at verse one. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? If where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. Well, then shouldn’t we get on with the sinning so that God’s grace can abound?” What's his answer in verse two? “No, no, no, no, no, no. May it never be, perish the thought. Certainly not. It’s the strongest negative. Certainly not.” 

Now look at his reasoning. “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” This is the key. When we came to faith in Christ, we died. We died to sin. We died with Christ. 

See, those Jews within this community of Hebrews who had not come to faith in Christ, who had not gone on to perfection, were under the law. And they were considering staying there and going back to Judaism. And because they had not believed, because they were still in Adam, they were under the curse of the law