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Sermon #3144

Complete Salvation

A Sermon on Romans 8:8-11

Originally preached April 29, 1960

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Scripture

Romans 8:8-11 ESV KJV
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, …

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Sermon Description

Will a Christian’s mortal body be raised from the dead when Christ returns? Based on Paul’s teaching in this passage, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says it will. In this sermon on Romans 8:8–11 titled “Complete Salvation,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that Paul is painting a picture of the Christian in today’s world by showing what the future will look like. While a Christian is still in this world, their body remains dead because of sin, but it will be raised from the dead when Christ returns. The two phases of the Spirit dwelling within the Christian points to the physical body as a temple of the Holy Ghost. Just as Christ was filled with the Spirit, so is a Christian and He serves as the seal and assurance that Christians’ bodies will be resurrected. They can be certain of this because Christ will always finish His work in their lives. Christ will redeem them and their mortal bodies from the fall and anyone who says otherwise is denying Scripture. Christians can look with great anticipation to the day when their salvation will be complete and that their mortal bodies will be free from disease and decay, worthy of the Holy Spirit that dwells within.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The apostle Paul is giving assurance about our final and complete salvation in Romans 8.
  2. In verses 5-8, Paul defines and describes the Christian versus the non-Christian. The Christian walks after the Spirit, the non-Christian after the flesh.
  3. In verse 9, Paul applies this to the Roman Christians, saying they have the Spirit of Christ.
  4. In verses 10-11, Paul describes the Christian's present state and future state. Our spirit is alive now, but our body is dead because of sin. But God will resurrect our bodies.
  5. Verse 10: Our spirit is alive because of righteousness, but our body is dead because of sin. Sin remains in our body, so we must fight it.
  6. Verse 11: God will resurrect our mortal bodies through His Spirit in us. This is the climax of Paul's argument.
  7. Verse 11 does not refer to a moral resurrection or physical healing. It refers to the literal resurrection of our bodies.
  8. The mention of Jesus's resurrection and the Spirit dwelling in our bodies shows Paul means the bodily resurrection.
  9. The bodily resurrection completes our salvation. We fell in body and spirit, so we will be redeemed in body and spirit.
  10. Paul's wording in verse 11 emphasizes the Spirit dwelling in us. This proves our bodily resurrection is certain. The Spirit is the seal and guarantee of our redemption.
  11. God would not give us His Spirit but not resurrect our bodies. He finishes what He starts.
  12. The Spirit dwells in our mortal bodies, so God will make them fit for the Spirit's indwelling.
  13. The Spirit in us is the same as in Christ. We are in Christ, so what happened to Him will happen to us - including resurrection.
  14. At the resurrection, our bodies will be freed from sin, weakness, disease, and death. We will be like Christ.
  15. We can rejoice because though our body is dead because of sin now, it will be resurrected. The Spirit in us guarantees this.

The Book of Romans

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.