Salvation In Christ

Introduction

[prayer]

Thank you so much for having me here this morning. I am very excited to be here. It has been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to preach. I believe it has been a couple years at this point, but I love to preach, I love the opportunity to study God’s word and then to play a role in proclaiming that word. This morning I will be going through Romans chapter 8 verses 1 to 17, so if you have a Bible feel free to make your way there. I chose this book, and this passage within the book for a particular reason, specifically in regard to myself. The book of Romans has played a particularly significant role in my life, and this particular passage alone has played a significant role as well. To give some background about me, I’m the son of pastor. I was born in Auburn, Alabama; the bible belt; land of the southern baptists. When I was very young my dad felt led to the pacific north west to church plant seeing that this was the most unchristian part of the country at the time, and may still be. We moved to a little town 1 hour south of Seattle. After doing ministry in Washington, when I was in 6th grade, my dad felt led to a church in Rapid City, South Dakota. I believe that my walk with the lord began in Washington, but the most significant moments of growth in my faith happened in South Dakota, and that is where the book of Romans comes into the picture. I was at the time struggling with my sin. I continually found myself repenting of sin but then finding myself back in the sin which I repented of. There was a lot of self loathing, and shame, and regret, and most of all, great fear that I would die having never truly repented. I feared condemnation. I felt like my sin couldn’t possibly be forgiven since my repentance clearly wasn’t legitimate. Sin is supposed to go away when you truly repent right? I have a core memory sitting in the car with my dad while I cried confessing my sin and my fears that I was not truly a believer. Now to pause here, I have been a believer for so long I don’t actually recall my exact conversion. From my earliest memories living in Washington, Jesus was a dear friend to me. I have had an awareness of my sin and a regular impulse to confess and repent. I would pray laying on my bed asking God to protect me when I felt afraid, I would feel guilt for sins throughout the day and take them to Jesus, and when I felt joy I would thank him. Because of the loving instruction from my dad, I was a genuine believer at this point, but maybe you can relate to this, that there are times in our walk when we more questions than answers. When we struggle with doubt. When we forget beautiful truths we once knew and we find ourselves resting our assurance of salvation on our own efforts. I’m hopeful that the passage this morning will bring encouragement to you and an often needed reminder of what Christ accomplished for us who are in Christ. So back to the story, my dad response was shocking. He didn’t preach trying harder. He didn’t even talk about different strategies to avoid sin, though we would eventually get to that. He saw a much more pressing matter. He needed to give me assurance of my salvation. See my dad knew me well and he had observed me for over a decade at this point and in this moment he seemed to know me better than I knew myself. And told me that I am a child of God! He did not say I think, though I know he in one sense could never know my heart as the Lord does. Yet my dad had confidence and gave me confidence that I was in the Lord. I was in Christ. I was a New Creation. And this was the message I truly needed. Not a message of trying harder. Not a message of studying ones faith like a science experiment, where you look for signs of life. I needed assurance in the work of Christ in my life, and he gave that to me, and that lit a fire within my very soul. One which led me to be vocal about my faith to unbelievers. One that helped me conquer sin. One that propelled me into the study of the Scriptures. And when I was propelled into the Scriptures I found myself in… Hebrews… And I was really confused. But then I came to Romans and there was just the clearest and most helpful representation of the Gospel I had ever read, especially for an analytical guy like me. For those of you who don’t know, I’m an engineer, so I have a nerd brain. Romans just seemed to be written personally for me. Ever since I would find myself coming constantly back to this book. I recall coming up to chapter 7 verses 15 and on.

English Standard Version Chapter 7

15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 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. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 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. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Reading these words as a 7th grader were nourishment to my soul. “Yes Paul! You get me! You understand! Thank you! Wretched man that I am! What am I to do??” Nothing, Paul says. I cannot save myself, but I can cast myself upon the Savior and be united to him. And this is the central message we will be unpacking this morning. Unity with Christ. Read with me verse 1 of chapter 8.

Body

English Standard Version Chapter 8

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

To be “In Christ Jesus” appears to be the core of Paul’s soteriology, and the Bible’s for that matter. Do you know the most common way to refer to Christians in the Bible is not Christian. It is not believers. It is not those belonging to the way. It is those In Christ. I’d like to read a quote here by a guy named Richard Gaffin.

“The central soteriological reality is union with the exalted Christ by Spirit-created faith. That is the nub, the essence, of the way or order of salvation for Paul. The center of Paul’s soteriology is neither justification by faith nor sanctification, neither the imputation of Christ’s righteousness nor the renewing work of the Spirit. To draw that conclusion, however, is not to de-center justification (or sanctification), as if justification is somehow less important for Paul than the Reformation claims. Justification is supremely important, it is absolutely crucial in Paul’s gospel of salvation (cf. Eph. 1:13). Deny or distort his teaching on justification and that gospel ceases to be gospel; there is no longer saving good news for sinners. But no matter how close justification is to the heart of Paul’s gospel, in our salvation, as he sees it, there is an antecedent consideration, a reality, that is deeper, more fundamental, more decisive, more crucial: Christ and our union with him, the crucified and resurrected, the exalted, Christ. Union with Christ by faith, that is the essence of Paul’s ordo salutis.” - Thesis of book By Faith not by Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation by Richard Gaffin

I agree with Gaffin here. I see the idea of being in Christ as being a central hub of a wheel in which all other spokes of benefits branch off from. We are adopted because we are in Christ. We are forgiven because we are hidden in Christ. We have righteousness before the throne because we are in Christ. We live righteous lives because we walk in Christ. I found myself often hyper-fixated on forgiveness of sin, which granted is certainly a critical and quite possibly one of the most critical aspects of salvation. But in fixating on this, the justice of God did not make perfect sense to me here. How could it be just that God would condemn a righteous man and that mean that I an unrighteous man could be justified. I would hear it described to me like this. Imagine someone is on death row and they have a twin who loves them so much that they switch places and die in their place. This is a helpful way to see the love of Christ in identifying with us and dying in our place, but it either places ignorance or injustice on the Judge in this illustration. Is the father just blinded such that he genuinely doesn’t notice that unrighteous people are getting into heaven while his righteous son is crushed? Would not a judge who knows be unjust to administer judgment on an innocent on behalf of the guilty? This perceived dilemma went away when I began to think about union with Christ.

On June 10, 2019 I married my wife, Kristine. At the time I was a college student and she was a wedding photographer, a pretty successful one in my opinion. She had a bank account with a fair bit of money whereas I had thousands of dollars of debts and much more to come. On the day we were married, that back account became our bank account and my debt became our debt. “And the two shall become one” says Genesis, and we did. Since then there is nothing that is just mine or just hers, but only ours. We cannot be viewed separately. If our children are neglected, we are both responsible. If we incur great amounts of debt, we are both responsible. If we amass large amounts of wealth and success, the wealth and success are both of ours. In Ephesians 5:22-33 Paul discusses this husband-wife relationship, and he unites this to the idea of being in Christ. This is not just a clever illustration, but rather Paul claims that this is the very reason God created marriage in the first place!

English Standard Version Chapter 5

31 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church

So now consider this idea of unity with Christ as we stand before the Throne of God above. When our case before the throne is considered, we are not considered alone, but we are considered as a unit with our Savior. And so when the Lord pronounces innocent, he is not unjust, for he is saying “they are innocent.” And we are! Me and Christ, that is, as one unit. Have we not as a unit payed our debts? Have we not merited the just reward of heaven? Indeed we have! Rejoice brothers and sisters, those who are in Christ, for before the Throne of God above we have a strong and perfect plea. Oh how strange and divine I can say all is mine, yet not I but through Christ in me! Indeed. Lets go back to the text.

English Standard Version Chapter 8

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

I have heard it described as similar to ideas of the law of gravity here and the law of aerodynamics. Gravity does not cease, but we can in a sense appeal to the law of aerodynamics to overcome, to be set free from, the law of gravity.

English Standard Version Chapter 8

3 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, 4 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.

We see here a freedom from condemnation and thus a freedom of sin and death. This is accomplished because Jesus did something that we could not do. We have this thing called the flesh, and this flesh is the gravity working against me. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak Jesus says, and I find this to be true constantly. The weakness of our flesh limits us in fulfilling the good law. One note here, I don’t think Paul intends to disparage the law in this passage, nor do I believe he disparages flesh as the gnostics did. If this were so, would Christ have come in the flesh? Would he have sought to fulfill the law? Indeed the flesh is a good creation of our God as is the law. But the flesh indeed is weak and full of desires. These desires though not wrong in themselves, when given over to rather than walking in accord with the soul which should override our flesh, especially in response to the law of God, we find oursleves weak. The Law therefore, good as it is, cannot save us because of the weakness of our flesh. Yet Christ came in the likeness of flesh and he, though tempted with the desires common among all flesh, he did not sin. Though he was hungry and desired food, he would not give into the tempter and break his fast in the wilderness. Though his flesh in anguish desiring to be spared the cup of unbearable pain, he did not flee but said “not my will, but yours, father, be done.” He condemned sin and now the righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled in us! This fulfillment is two fold. First we receive Christs righteousness which he merited within his flesh as he walked on the earth. Second, we are given power in the Spirit to, like Jesus, walk in newness of life. We are those who walk according to the Spirit.

English Standard Version Chapter 8

5 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. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 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. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 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. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

This here is very practical. Set your mind on the Spirit and this shall result in a life in accordance with that Spirit. Don’t forget, though, that in context we are first freed because we are in Christ and then we are called to live in that salvation by living in Christ, that is, living in accord with his Spirit. And in verse 9 we see a similar assurance to that which was given to me by my dad. “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit.” I just need to remind you that this passage has 7 other Chapters before it in which Paul explains that we cannot be righteous and fulfill the law. We are sinners and are saved only because of grace through faith. So our assurance here being in the Spirit is not our efforts but our having faith in Jesus. This is well established by the point we reach Chapter 8 and thus is not emphasized as clearly here. But Paul has assurance that they are among those for which there is no more condemnation. They are in Christ and thus in the Spirit.

English Standard Version Chapter 8

11 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.

Heirs with Christ

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 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. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 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!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 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.

From this I want to draw your attention to 7 things Unity with Christ means. Hold these close to your heart. May they bring bring you a joy unexplainable and a security unattainable.

Unity with Christ means salvation from the due penalty of sin

Unity with Christ means salvation into eternal life

Unity with Christ means salvation from the tyranny of sin

Unity with Christ means salvation into the freedom of righteousness

Unity with Christ means salvation from hostility to God

Unity with Christ means salvation into sonship

Unity with Christ means nearness to Christ.

Let deal with each in turn...

Salvation from the due penalty (Death & Condemnation)

This book states that the wages of sin is death. This hearkens back to the declaration in Genesis which states “in the day you eat of the tree you will surely die” and the continual refrain as a consequence through the many genealogies of the book “and he died… and he died… and he died.” Furthermore God states that “my spirit cannot bear to dwell with humanity forever.” And here again in Romans “For to set the mind on the flesh is death...the body is dead because of sin...if you live according to the flesh you will die...” Death. This is the due penalty for sin, and by extension, hell. For Hell is nothing but death forever. In the same way that salvation is in one sense an immediate event and also a continuous everlasting event, so to is death.

Death is a great expression of our weakness in the flesh and furthermore often the source of our deeds of weakness in the flesh. We fear death and thus we pursue vain pleasure, as if to soak up what little time we have on this earth. Fear of death leads us to reject our savior before men when put to the test. I am convinced sin itself is death. For when I find myself in the mire of sin, a dead like feeling overcomes me. Death of loved ones can cause us to question, or doubt, or resent. Death is a weapon of our enemy, but he has been disarmed!

Our Savior came in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. And if the Spirit of him who was raised from the dead now lives in us, he who raised Jesus will also give us life again. This is the second point.

Salvation into Eternal Life

Jesus said “I am the life.” He said “I am the bread that comes down from heaven.” Recall that the manna which fell is what preserved the lives of the Israelites on their sojourn. Jesus too gives us the life that is in himself. This is what we are to think when we eat the Lord’s Supper. Christ has life, and to abide in him is to have his life course through our veins. Jesus said “I am the vine; you are the branches.” What life is there in a branch that is not attached to its fine? There is none. Here is another example.

Recall that we have pointed to Genesis earlier in which the two shall become one flesh. This is both a metaphorical or spiritual meaning in that a husband and wife are considered as a unit, but this also has literal meaning in that the unity the two share results in a legitimate singular being, namely a child. And when this child is in the mother, he receives nourishment yes? There is much to this experience I cannot ever grasp as a man, but the unity, the bond of a mother and the child in her is unique. Eve was named “Life” for a reason and I believe this too is meant to point us to the profound mystery of Unity with Christ.

Salvation from the Tyranny of Sin

Salvation is a free gift, but this does not mean our lives will not look different. I believe we frame the reality of sin wrongly when we suggest that free grace means freedom to sin. That’s not freedom! We have freedom to sin no more! Freedom to sin makes absolutely no sense. That’s like saying freedom to remain enslaved! Friends, we are saved from a tyrant, why would we continue to make ourselves bound to him again and again?

"Be not a traitor then to so great a gift, but keep guarding this goodly treasure.” - John Chrysostom

Salvation into the freedom of righteousness

Consider these words from this same man as he reflects on this exact passage.

“Christ has not extinguished the tyranny of sin only, but has even made the flesh to weigh us down less, and to be more spiritual, not by changing its nature, but rather by giving it wings. For as when fire comes in company with iron, the iron also becomes fire, though abiding in its own nature still; thus with them that believe, and have the Spirit, the flesh henceforth goes over into that manner of working, and becomes wholly spiritual, crucified in all parts, and flying with the same wings as the soul, such as was the body of him who here speaks.” - Chrysostom

Wings are a fitting image. Once again I remind you that “the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” So we fly by the law which overcomes the former law.

Salvation from Hostility to God

English Standard Version Chapter 8

5 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. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 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. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

In our sin, we are hostile to God. We are alienated. We are cut off from the source of all that is good. Another great saint puts it this way “you have made us for yourself O Lord and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you” - Augustine.

Salvation into Sonship

English Standard Version Chapter 8

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 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!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 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

I’ll let this passage speak for itself. What a gift to be considered a child of God. To be adopted by a loving Father.

Nearness to Christ

Lastly there is nearness to Christ. I break the pattern here to call attention to this last note. There are many benefit to being in Christ, but our great reward in heaven is Christ himself, and this reward we get to have now. This is why Jesus told it disciples as they were sorrowful that he would leave them that “it is better that I go.” In this he promised the Helper, his very own Spirit, the Holy Spirit. And we must recall that this unity is so essential that where one person is found, there is all three. This is why Paul can seamlessly transition between speaking of the Spirit of God and then the Spirit of Christ. Paul can speak of the Spirit living within us and thus Christ himself living in us. We are in Christ and thus it is also true that Christ is in Us. Thus it is better to have Christ inside, than beside us. We are closer to Jesus right now than his disciples were as they walked along the road with him. What a joy we have to be in right relation with Jesus our Savior. Our friend, our brother, our Savior and God.

Conclusion

To conclude I recall the illustrations I gave regarding being in Christ: Oneness in marriage (my debts are his debts, his riches are my riches, we are a unit before God legally) and therefore by extension the oneness in childbearing (I take the oneness described in genesis to refer to both concepts and thus both pointing to Salvation), and lastly Branches and Vines. Note how critical these ideas are to the human condition and how they trace back even to the garden itself. God made two from one man who were to be made one. Interestingly enough they were tasked with tending vines. I hope these images are helpful and round out the what Paul means when he says we are in Christ. I pray that we will all rest on being in Christ.