Supernatural Living in a Secular World

Dying to Live

Pastor Chuck Swindoll • Romans 6:1–14

In the first five chapters of Romans, Paul laid the groundwork for the rest of his letter. He established six all-important facts: * All humanity is depraved—we've “fallen short” of God's holiness. * All humanity is under the penalty of sin—separated from God. * Instead of abandoning us, God provided a rescue for us. * God's “rescue operation” was accomplished at the cross of Christ. * When we believe in Jesus' death and resurrection, He “justifies” us. * As a result, we are no longer under sin's penalty or domination. The next big issue is this: How can salvation from the power of sin become a reality? Being “saved by grace apart from works” is one thing, but being able to walk by grace . . . that's quite another. How can we now live victoriously? What must take place in order for us to live free from sin's control?

Portrait of a Struggling Christian

Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Let's face it: every one of us who knows Christ as Savior has been torn within while fighting battles with the flesh. We feel frustrated, and we are occasionally defeated in that struggle. We realize we have God's power within us, and we know that His Spirit is at work, prompting us to do what is right—but we do wrong. Knowing we should obey, we disobey. Wanting to think, say, and do what is best, we covertly rebel. We're not short on desire, but when it comes to pulling it off, we blow it! Paul, speaking for all of us, brought truth out of the closet and exposed it for what it is: SIN. He put it this way: “I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin” (Romans 7:14). When Charles Haddon Spurgeon stood to preach on this awful reality, he appropriately titled his message, “The Monster Dragged to Light.” Now, let's face that monster head-on.

Let's Talk about Our Walk

Pastor Chuck Swindoll • Romans 8:1–10

Everybody dreams of a fulfilled life—one that results in our reaching maximum potential with only a minimum amount of conflict and stress. But as we learned in Romans 7, such dreams are more ideal than real. Nevertheless, we still long to be less frustrated and less anxious in our walk with the Lord. Who doesn't desire greater balance and more consistency? But is that possible? God's answer is yes, but the outworking of His answer calls for drastic changes in our mental attitudes and the breaking of long-standing habits. These alterations that lead to an abundant life are humanly impossible; we simply cannot pull it off, no matter how hard we try! But Romans 8 offers good news: the fulfilled life is divinely possible through the power of Him who lives within us. The secret lies in simply allowing Him to take control and change our walk.

Glorying and Groaning

Pastor Chuck Swindoll • Romans 8:18–27

Once Paul got past the sinfulness of sin (Romans 1-3) and the grace of the gospel (4-5), he focused our attention on the sanctification of the saint (6-8). That third subject reached its climax in Romans 8, where Paul emphasized the work of the Holy Spirit, especially what Jesus called the abundant life (John 10:10). As we learned in the previous message, life is made possible by His empowering us to live above the drag of the flesh. Such a concept could cause some to think that the Christian life is a “cloud nine” delight, full of nothing but “glorying,” uninterrupted peace, pleasure, and prosperity. To keep things realistic, Paul introduced the other side of life—the “groaning.” And to help us understand it better, he interjected an analogy that is familiar to all of us: God's creation. From that, Paul turned to all of us: God's creatures. There are glorying and groaning in both. They are indissolubly linked—welded together and inseparable.

Providence Made Practical

Pastor Chuck Swindoll • Romans 8:25–39

At long last, we have reached the climax of the first section of Romans. Finally, the truths we've gleaned thus far begin to come together. Now that we have acknowledged the essential and inescapable presence of suffering in our journey, we need strong words of encouragement and reassurance. Because “we do not see” what's ahead (Romans 8:25), and because “we do not know how to pray” (8:26), we desperately need something to hang on to, mentally and emotionally—something to stabilize us in the midst of the “mess of life.” Knowing that, the apostle Paul offered some of the most powerful and comforting words in all his writings—reminding us of God's magnificent providence. Only by coming to terms with this great doctrine can we confidently face an uncertain future.

Insight