Romans 8:1-17

The Glorious Union with Christ

Introduction:

Proposition: Cherish your union with Christ.

a freedom from sin’s bondage (vv. 1-8)

Romans 8:1–8“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. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Explanation.

The culmination of Paul’s argument from the opening of his letter until now comes to a point at verse 1. If you were wondering at any point if sin would continue to condemn you, Paul explains the opposite. Yet take note, it is only those who share in their union with Christ who are free from the bondage of sin.

A. The Content (vv. 1-2).

What are we being saved from? Paul tells us: condemnation from the law of sin and death.

B. The Means. (vv. 3-5).

Christ Jesus is the means by which this is accomplished.

C. The Result (vv. 6-9).

i. For those in Christ. Life and peace are given to those who are in Christ Jesus. This is not to say that life is given insofar as Christians will never die. Rather, Paul is saying that the life you are given is intertwined with being raised again to newness of life with Christ Jesus. It looks at the tension of the already-not-yet. Already, we are co-heirs with Christ, adopted sons with the firstborn privileges bought by Jesus Christ. Already, we are free from sin’s domain and bondage. Already, we are given the Spirit who indwells within us, conforming us to the image of Christ. Yet, we are not yet physically raised again to newness of life. We still eagerly await and anticipate this blessed hope.

Similarly, we are at peace with God. We have entered into the ultimate Shalom. We have been grafted in to the people of God, the true Jerusalem, the city of peace. We are not held under the law and its condemnation for law breakers. Instead, because of what Christ has done for us, we stand clothed in his declared righteousness. We are at peace with God.

ii. For those in the flesh. The contrast between those in Christ and those in the Spirit is quite clear from the text. If you continue in the flesh, you are subject under the Law of God. We already know that apart from Christ there are none who are righteous and that all who have sinned fall short of God’s glory. All sit under the condemnation of God. Therefore, their penalty is just, which includes death and judgment, the complete opposite of life and peace.

Brothers and sisters who hear this message, are you in Jesus Christ. Have you proclaimed and confessed that Jesus is Lord as your saviour? Are you united to him in a bond that can never be broken? If so, continue to walk by the Spirit. Yet, if you are not in Christ, if you are still devoting yourself to the plague of sin, Romans 1:29–32“They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

Or as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:9 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,”

If you live by the flesh you die by the flesh. You stand under God’s wrath now and will continue to endure the wrath of God for all eternity. But the Good News is that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Good Shepherd, was born in a low estate, he humbled himself, he took upon himself human flesh, he bore the Law’s demands and upheld it perfectly. Yet, he incurred the penalty you and I deserve on the cross. Cling to someone who can and will save you. One who gives you a freedom from sin’s bondage. Cherish your union with Christ. How else do we do this? Well, we are reminded of our union with the Triune God.

2. a union with the Triune God (vv. 9-11)

Romans 8:9–11“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, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

Explanation.

3. an adoption secured by the Spirit (vv. 12-17)

Romans 8:12–17“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”