Main Point: The Spirit of adoption breaks the chains of servile fear, freeing us to relate to God not as a master to be dreaded, but as a Father to be loved.

Outline:

1. Sinful Fear (Servile Fear)

2. Godly Fear (Filial Fear)

Main Point: Christians are not slaves, but sons of God by adoption, and now members of God’s household and family.

Outline:

1. Children of the King

2. Brothers of the Brethren

3. Heirs of God

Main Point: Because God condemned sin in Christ and gave every believer His Spirit, Christians should set their minds on the Spirit and so walk in new obedience that truly pleases their Father (with resurrection hope).

Outline:

1. All Christians Have the Spirit

2. All Christians Are Called to Walk in the Spirit

3. All Christians Are Able to Please God

Main Point: Because God has condemned our sin in Christ and given us the Spirit of life, we are truly set free from sin’s dominion so that, as beloved children, we can now live to please the Father and fulfill the righteous requirement of his law.

Outline:

1. The Spirit of Life (v. 2)

2. Freedom by Condemnation (v. 3)

3. Liberated to Be Righteous (v. 4)

Main Point

We desperately need God's Word; without it, God's people cannot function as God's people. God, in His faithfulness, has broken the silence. He has graciously given what only He can give: His Word through His prophet.

Main Point: Because Jesus has borne the condemnation we deserve, everyone who is in Christ is truly and forever free from God’s condemning verdict, so we can live without fear about our past, our present, or our future.

Outline:

1. The Condemnation We Deserve

2. The Grace that We Receive

3. The Life We Live Without Fear

Main Point: Sin remains within the heart of a believer in this life, producing inner conflict between the God that he loves and the sin that he is still tempted by.

Outline:

1. The Believer’s Delight in the Law (7:14, 16, 18, 21-22)

2. The Believer’s Actions of Lawlessness (7:14b-20)

3. The Believer’s Inner Conflict (7:21-24)

Main Point: True freedom of the will was lost in Adam’s fall and can only be restored through God’s grace in Christ, since apart from regeneration all human actions (even seemingly good ones) remain enslaved to sin and incapable of pleasing God.

Outline:

1. Mankind’s Will Before the Fall – Able to Sin, Able Not to Sin

2. Mankind’s Will After the Fall (Apart from Christ) – Not Able Not to Sin

3. Mankind’s Will After the Fall (In Christ) – Able Not to Sin

4. Mankind’s Will in Glory – Not Able to Sin