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Romans 8:1

Romans has been called the manifesto of the Christian life, the great Christian manifesto. Paul had wanted to go to Rome, but had not been able to do so. Therefore, he wrote this letter to the Christians in Rome. One of the reasons Romans is called the Christian Manifesto, is because Paul appears to have been trying to write out all of the aspects of Christianity that he normally preached to new groups of people when he was presenting the Gospel. In Romans 1:16-17 (ESV) Paul gives us a great summary statement for the entire book when he writes 16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

It has been said that for a non-believer who is searching to understand who Jesus really is, we need to recommend they read the Gospel of John. Currently the Gospel of John is being studied in our Sunday School classes. For a believer who is wanting to become well-grounded in all of the major doctrines (doctrines simply mean the basic tenants of a belief system) of Christianity, we need to recommend they read Romans, because it contains just about every major biblical doctrine, usually articulated, explained and spelled out completely.

It has been said that a study of the book of Romans can be found in every major revival in church history. Just think of that for a moment. Every major revival in church history, you will find the leaders transformed by, touched by, influenced by their study of the book of Romans. Romans is the book that transformed the life of Martin Luther, who is credited as the individual who started the great Protestant Reformation. Eventually Martin Luther wrote a commentary on Romans, and it was this commentary that in the 18th century, a guy by the name of John Wesley started reading, and it changed his life. And that provoked a great evangelical revival of the 18th century, led by John Wesley and his brother Charles. These are two examples of the influence the book of Romans has had in church history.

Probably the two most influential chapters in Romans are chapters 8 and 12. As you may remember, the text of the last two messages I shared with you were both taken from Romans 12, which is sometimes called Paul’s graduation chapter in Romans, because it comes immediately after he completes the doctrinal section of the book; and it’s called the Graduation Chapter because here Paul was telling the Roman Christians how to apply all the doctrines he has explained. Those first 11 chapters of Romans are all doctrinal chapters, and they are divided into God’s Wrath, God’s Grace, and God’s Plan. Chapter 8 is the final section of Paul’s discussion about God's grace.

The next few times I speak to you I’ll be focusing on Romans 8.

On January 1, 1863, the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, signed an edict proclaiming that the slaves in the Confederate states were free. What he signed is called the Emancipation Proclamation. About 2,000 years ago, God signed our Emancipation Proclamation when on a cross just outside of Jerusalem His son went to die for our sins, to set those who believe in Him free from their slavery to sin.

All members of the Human Race are born as slaves of sin. Anyone born a slave of sin, who longs for freedom and emancipation, could have it from that moment onward. The edict was signed in blood. Romans 8, one of the greatest chapters in all of scripture, lays out the results of that event and how the results apply.

Griffith Thomas and a few other guys were responsible for the Dallas Theological Seminary being established. He was a friend of Dwight L Moody and wrote several theological commentaries. He said Romans 8 is the chapter of chapters for the believer, and went on to say, “I suppose if scripture were a golden ring, that the Book of Romans would be the diamond on that golden ring; and Romans chapter 8 would be the sparkle on the diamond of that golden ring.”

Douglas Moo, a biblical scholar of our time said, “Romans 8 deserves to be put in the front rank for its rich and comprehensive portrayal of what it means to be a Christian.”

These two men join the ranks of countless other Christian scholars who suggest that all Christians should pay great attention to what the verses of Romans 8tell us about what we have as a Christian.

I’ll read Romans 8:1-2, and I’m reading verse 2 because it completes the sentence begun in verse 1; but I’ll be focusing in on the first verse today.

Romans 8:1-2 (ESV) 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

An outline for today would have 5 points, that might be listed as:

I. The word “Therefore” – as used in Romans 8:1

II. The word “now” – as used in Romans 8:1

III. The phrase “no condemnation” – as used in Romans 8:1

IV. The phrase “in Christ Jesus” – as used in Romans 8:1

V. The permanence of our salvation, Romans 8:38-39

It’s been said this chapter begins, and ends, with bookends; and that everything in between just adds to them. It begins with no condemnation. It ends with no separation. As a Christian, we have no condemnation before God. As a Christian, we can'tbe separated from the love of God.

No condemnation, that's one bookend. No separation, that's the other bookend. So, verse 1, the first bookend, says 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And then verse 38&39, the other bookend (don't worry, we’ll be covering all the verses in between.) verse 38&39 say 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. No condemnation, no separation.

In chapters 6 and 7 of Romans, Paul had been discussing the struggles Christians deal with as they journey along the path of sanctification, sanctificationbeing the process of becoming more like Jesus every day. Although we try to make progress on this sanctification path, it is accompanied by failures. In Romans 7:18-19, Paul wrote For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. As Christians, all of us have this problem that Paul is describing. We have the desire to follow Christ and be faithful to Him and His teaching, but find ourselves involved in the very things we are trying to avoid. In Romans 7:24 Paul was crying out because of his failures, saying Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Then we get to Romans 8 and it, like Christ Himself, assures us, 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. In just two verses, Paul goes from declaring himself a complete failure, without any hope, to proclaiming There is therefore now no condemnation… Because our copies of Romans has been divided into chapters with numbered verses, it is easy for us to miss this transition in just a few verses. Some digital editions of the Bible will allow you to see scripture in paragraph form without the chapter and verse divisions, but will still let you locate different passages based on their chapter and verse format. If we read from Romans 7:21 straight through Romans 8:2, it would be:

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

This causes us to be able to get the natural flow that Paul had intended while he was writing it. The word translated from Greek as therefore in verse 1, means basically the same as our word therefore, which is “what follows is a conclusion based on the facts previously stated.” Thus, if we go back we should be able to see a logical flow, such as because of A, B and C, therefore X, Y and Z; and it should all make sense. But when we re-read these passages in paragraph form, the conclusion Paul draws in verse 1 doesn’t really follow what he had just said. So, we have to look farther back in his writing to determine what the thereforeis referring back to. When we consider Paul’s style of writing, it appears that his mind was always jumping to related facts and at times he would digress, or what today we often call “chase a rabbit.” He almost always came back to the original thought after he finished the rabbit chase. Some of you may be thinking, Jesse, that sounds like you. Well, you won’t see that in things I write, because I type my thoughts out using a word processor, and then go back and clean it up. Paul was writing with paper and ink, and so when he digressed, it usually end up in the final product. So, the therefore in verse 1, is referring to something before the digression. A clue to how far back we need to go is found in the word now. Paul put the word nowin there for a reason, because the sentence would still make since without it, so the now is needed and is all important. So now seems to indicatethat Paul is comparing two different time periods, as if to say before things were a certain way, but now things have changed. It tells us things used to be one way, but now they are another way. He is comparing time periods. If we go all the way back to Romans 5, we find that Paul was comparing what Adam did, and how it affected us, to what Christ did, and how it affects us. Romans 5:12-17say:

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Here Paul is comparing two time periods. First he starts with Adam, who bought death through sin into the world, and thus all men became sinners because of the sin nature they inherited from Adam. Then Paul jumps to Christ and His free gift of righteousness. Paul goes on in Romans 5:18-19 to say:

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Here we find what we were looking for, Paul is contrasting how things were then, with how things are now. Through Adams we were all made sinners, but through Christ we can now all be made righteous. That was then, this is now, the now being that all important word in Romans 8:1. So if we read the last of chapter 5 followed by the first two verses of chapter 8, we can see if it makes more sense.

Romans 5:20-21followed by Romans 8:1-2,

Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

That fits perfectly, Paul was talking about death reigning then, and grace reigning now. To make sure this is the fit we were looking for, let’s see if there is any indication that Paul started on a digression at the end of chapter 5. There is such an indication, at the beginning of the next chapter, Romans 6:1-2, he asked the question, What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?, and Paul goes on to ask additional questions and then to supply answers in the remainder of chapter 6 and in chapter 7. Paul interrupted himself with a questionand followed that to its conclusion before getting back to his original topic in which he was comparing then and now. The remainder of chapter 8 is all about the benefits we get as a result of the grace of Christ. He’s saying that before there was only sin and death, and now grace is available to us through Christ. Thus, he can say There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Paul continues on in chapter 8, as if, he had not digressed, and that everyone is easily following his reasoning. This helps us understand how important context is in interpreting the Bible, and understanding how everything fits together is hugely important. Paul was contrasting how well off we are now after Christ, as compared to how we were after Adam brought sin into the world and we were all condemned, but because of what Christ did, There is therefore now no condemnation. Now we through Christ, can be forgiven of our sins and be reconciled to our creator.

In John 3:16-18, Jesus told Nicodemus, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. Jesus is teaching that until someone believes in Him, they are already condemned because of sin.

The word translated condemnation in Romans 8:1, is a legal term, meaning someone has been found guilty in a court of law and their sentence has been issued. Jesus also taught in Matthew 25:41, that on the day of judgement, the king will say to those on his left (meaning those who didn’t believe in Jesus), ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. This is the condemnation that Paul is talking about in Romans 8:1, when he said, There is therefore now no condemnation. There was condemnation, as Jesus taught there in Matthew 25:41, but nowthere is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This is now, the situation is no condemnation, because of what Jesus did on the cross, and our acceptance of His payment of our sin penalty, the condemnation that we had been under has been forgiven, we have a full pardon, and as we stand before God on the judgement day, He will see us in the righteousness of Christ. In Romans 7:24 Paul had just written Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?, and that describes our plight, our situation, prior to us accepting Christ as our savior. We like Paul can pass from the helpless state we were in because of the sin nature we inherited by accepting the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, simply by believing that He is who the Bible says He is, the son of God who paid our penalty for sin when He died on the cross and rose again the third day.

That’s exactly what Paul was saying when he put that last phrase on Romans 8:1where he said, for those who are in Christ Jesus. For those individuals, because of what Christ did on the cross, There is therefore now no condemnation.

Because we inherited the sin nature of Adam and became sinners ourselves, we are already condemned if we have not believed in Jesus. As Paul writes this portion of his letter to the Romans, he has already explained to them that under the law, there is no way we can live up to God’s standards, and once we are guilty of breaking His law, the standards that He established for mankind, then we stand condemned. But for those who have believed in the name of Jesus, those individuals have received a full pardon as the free gift of righteousness …through the one man, Jesus Christ. That free gift covers all our sins, and Paul reassures the Romans of this fact, in Romans 8:38-39, where it says, 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. No condemnation, no separation, and again in Romans 11:29, Paul writes, For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

This morning, if you don’t know Christ as your personal savior, but would like to know how to allow Him into your life to become your savior, we’re going to have some men down here at the front you can come talk with, and any of them will be happy to answer any of your questions about salvation. Or if you have already accepted Christ, and would like to become a member here at Genesis and join with us in celebrating this free gift that brings no condemnation we’ve talked about this morning, you come and one of us will help you with what needs to be done to accomplish that. Or if you just have a need, that you would like to talk with someone about, or need someone to join you in prayer about, you come this morning and one of us will be happy to pray with you, or if you just want to kneel at the alter and pray, you’re welcome to do that.

I’m going to say a prayer, and then the music will start. When that music starts, you come.

Father God, help us respond to Your love for us, by admitting that we have broken Your law, the standards that You have set for all mankind, and believing that Jesus is Your son, who lived a perfect life and died on the cross to pay our penalty for those sins we have committed, so that we can have the peace and joy of knowing from that point forward there is no condemnation for us. And Father, for those of us who have accepted Christ already, help us to have the desire to be more like Jesus every day. Amen