No Condemnation

Introduction

Imagine two fighters, one of them representing good and the other representing evil. They fight, and over and over again the good guy is knocked down by the evil guy. Eventually, just when evil seems to be winning, another fighter enters the scene. He represents the Holy Spirit and in one hit he knocks down the evil fighter. This is how we have seen this text develop. There were two laws at play, the law of sin and the law of God, the law of the carnal man’s mind. This war was being won by evil leading to death because the law of God, though perfect and holy, was “weakened by the flesh” so that sin and death result. What was needed was a third law, one to come to the aid of the man who wants to follow God in his mind and he takes down the law of sin in one sucker punch.

The free gift of God has been previously described as being the free grace gifted through faith in Jesus Christ. That then united us with Christ to walk in righteousness. Now when we look at the result of justification in the believer, we see that no condemnation exists, and therefore no death in an eternal sense, against the one who believes on Christ. This is because the Christian is now free from the law of sin and death. Why? Because the law of the Spirit and of life has come to set them free from the flesh.

A New Law

The text begins with a glorious declaration: there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

No condemnation because we have died to the law, therefore the law no longer accuses us in our sin.

No condemnation because Jesus’ death has satisfied our guilt in his body on the cross. His righteousness in keeping and fulfilling the law applied to us, our sin applied to him.

No condemnation because we are bound to a new law, one that does not condemn us but rather one that convicts us, drawing our heart closer to God.

No Condemnation because we have died to sin, and so it no longer reigns in us.

The Old Law and the Law of the Spirit: A law given by the Spirit vs. a law given with the Spirit - John Chrysostom.

By the Spirit means it came with spiritual origin. The law was indeed from God delivered by the Holy Spirit to the Prophets of old. Although it came from the Spirit, it was weakened by the flesh because the power to save from sin was not in the law.

A law given with the Spirit means that the power of God in the person of the Holy Spirit draws near, abides with the person, tabernacles with them, and causes them to walk in righteousness since they have died to sin and are raised with Christ. As the Spirit dwelt in Christ and thus taught him, in his humanity, the law in his mind and heart, so the Spirit abides with those who are united to Christ by faith. He directs them and writes the law on their hearts so that they are able to do it.

God’s New Work

Let us take a deeper look into this new work that God has done in the establishment of the law of the Spirit.

God’s new work is that God has set us free from the law of sin and death.

God’s new work has done what the law could not do, since it is weakened by the flesh. Again, the combination of law and flesh produced sin leading to death because the law could do nothing about the indwelling sin. Original sin had totally tainted the human life to the extent where adherance to the law, even total agreement in the mind, could not save from sin.

It is important to remember that God’s new work does not dismiss his work in the Old Covenant. Scripture teaches us in Galatians that the law was a tutor that leads to the Gospel of Christ. The law wasn’t weak in what it was meant to do, but what we are seeing is that the law was never meant to bring salvation. Instead, the purpose of the law was to pave the way for the gospel.

How does God overpower the power that weakened the law when it comes to salvation? Byu sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.

In his coming, Christ secures the presence of God with man.

In his taking on the likeness of sinful flesh, Christ further secures that connection between God and man as well as becoming the perfect man and dying on the cross to pay for sins.

“he condemned sin in the flesh”

Praise Jesus, that he did not condemn sinners but sin. He condemned the root of the disease without hurting the ones in whom the disease flourished.

In love, Christ condemned sin in the flesh, and in whose flesh did he condemn it? In his own sinful flesh. He took the punishment of the cross at the hand of the Father so that justice may righteously condemn sin once and for all. This condemnation of sin in the body of Christ means no condemnation for the believer. Sin, though condemned, has been removed from us and placed on Christ so that sin may justly be condemned without the sinner having to suffer for it.

“Who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

“The righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,”

In the great exchange, the righteousness of Christ is put on us so that we are justified before the Father on the merit of Christ’s perfect, human life.

The righteous requirement of the law fulfilled, we are free to fulfill it on another dimension: through the Spirit’s work in us. This is clear in the next phrase in verse 4. The Spirit in the believer fulfills the spirit of the Law through the Law of the Spirit dwelling in the hearts of believers.

“who walk, not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

There is, indeed, a walk that results from this call. We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.

There is no exception. Those who are in this group called “those who are in Christ Jesus” do not walk according to the flesh. All that Paul has just unpacked goes along with what he is saying here. Salvation always produces a walk, and it is not like the walk of the man at the end of chapter 7, the carnal man. It is not a cycle of wanting to obey the law but evil always foiling us. In the Law of the Spirit, we are empowered by the Spirit to have the will of God, revealed through the Scriptures, written on our hearts so that we may joyfully and powerfully walk in it.

Next, Paul will continue to unpack the distinction between walking in the flesh and walking in the Spirit. From our text, we may glean this, which we will explore more in the future.

Walking in the Spirit means being Gospel-centred in life and practice as well as doctrine.

Walking in the Spirit is a joyful and victorious experience.

Walking in the Spirit does not carry the threat of the law. All it’s curses have been ended in Christ.

Walking in the Spirit is not simply trying to do your best. The carnal man was trying to do his best. It means walking in the faith that you are a new person in Christ. You consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. You walk in the faith that the Spirit is in you and you live your life based on that belief.

Walking in the Spirit means embracing the love of God with faith in Christ and responding to it with the obedience of a faithful child by the power of the Spirit working in us.

Conclusion