“Introducing Romans 8!”
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This morning’s message is an INTRODUCTION to the message of Romans 8!
Or, better still an OVERVIEW of the OVERALL MESSAGE of Romans 8—which magnifies TWO ESSENTIAL TRUTHS for us to UNDERSTAND and BELIEVE!
I. There is NO CONDEMNATION for those in Christ Jesus! - (8:1)
I. There is NO CONDEMNATION for those in Christ Jesus! - (8:1)
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,
II. There is NO SEPARATION from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! - (8:38-39)
II. There is NO SEPARATION from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! - (8:38-39)
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
These are the BOOK-ENDS of Romans 8!
And if you don’t get anything else I say in this message, I pray you understand these two truths: there is NO CONDEMNATION for the believer in Jesus Christ, and that there is NO SEPARATION from the love of God in Jesus Christ!
OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS we will dive deep in the verses in-between and explore the two themes of SANCTIFICATION that is a result of living in or by the Spirit, as well as the SECURITY we have in Christ, which is a direct consequence of work of the Holy Spirit!
11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.
John Stott refers to the later (the theme of SECURITY) as the, “…overarching theme in this chapter, namely the absolute security of the children of God.”
And he is not alone in this assertion:
According to Charles Hodge, ‘the whole chapter is a series of arguments, most beautifully arranged, in support of this one point’. And Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones agrees with him. ‘I make bold to assert that the great theme of chapter 8 is not sanctification … The great theme is the security of the Christian.’ At the same time, the two topics are intimately related. For possession of the Spirit is the hallmark of those who truly belong to Christ…
BTW: The Holy Spirit is mentioned thirty-two times in Romans: four times in chapters 1-7; seven times in chapters 9-15; and TWENTY-ONE times in Chapter 8:1-27—more than in any other single chapter in the Bible!
Robert Mounce writes:
When the freedom of the Spirit, celebrated in chap. 8, is compared with the repressive power of sin in chap. 7, it seems strange that both could be operative in the same person. Yet does not experience teach us that every attempt to live the Christian life apart from the empowering presence of the Spirit of God ends in defeat? We lose the battle only when we engage the enemy without the resources supplied by the Spirit. God never intended us to go it on our own. Did not Jesus say, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5)? The difficulties of the Romans 7 experience are self-imposed. They show the natural outcome of failing to appropriate the Spirit of God. The victory of Romans 8 results from living in vital union with Christ Jesus, sustained and empowered by the Spirit of God.
John Stott:
“Thus the Christian life is essentially life in the Spirit, that is to say, a life which is animated, sustained, directed and enriched by the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit true Christian discipleship would be inconceivable, indeed impossible.”
INTRODUCTION - “What have we learned on the way to Romans 8?”
INTRODUCTION - “What have we learned on the way to Romans 8?”
So far we have studied the great themes of:
CONDEMNATION — (Romans 1:18-3:20)
CONDEMNATION — (Romans 1:18-3:20)
All have sinned and are therefore lost and stand condemned before God!
JUSTIFICATION — (Romans 3:21-5:21)
JUSTIFICATION — (Romans 3:21-5:21)
The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe!
SANCTIFICATION — (Romans 6:1-8:30)
SANCTIFICATION — (Romans 6:1-8:30)
The work of God in separating us from the penalty and power of sin, rooted in our death to sin through the Cross and not the Law!
Romans 8 is the continuation of the theme of SANCTIFICATION, with the emphasis on living by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, as well as introducing the theme of SECURITY! — (Romans 8:31-37)
AND I am looking forward to the next few weeks as explore the lessons of Chapter 8 in regards to walking and living “…according to the Spirit” (vv.4-5)!
Today’s message will emphasize what Stott, Hodge, Loyd-Jones have called the “…overarching/great theme” of the believer’s SECURITY!
And though it seems to be out of order (since the bulk of doctrine of Security is found in the later verses), it is APPROPRIATE to consider it first because that’s how chapter 8 BEGINS!
I. NO CONDEMNATION - (8:1)
I. NO CONDEMNATION - (8:1)
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,
Eleven words in English, eight words in Greek containing one of the most important truths a Christian MUST BELIEVE!
I realize it might come across as a bit strong, saying this is something you must believe, but the reason I say that is because it is true whether you ‘believe’ it or not!
Let’s walk through the verse…
A. “Therefore…”
A. “Therefore…”
“Therefore” - ἄρα - ‘consequently’ ALWAYS looks back!
The question of (7:24), “Who will rescue me…?” is ANSWERED in (7:25)!
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.
In all honesty, if it weren’t for (8:1), I’m not sure how I would understand this verse!
“What does that mean?” Jesus Christ is my rescuer (which seems to be a place of victory), but I’m still stuck in the middle of a CONFLICT between my mind serving the law of God, and my flesh serving the law of sin!
“WHO WON?” - According to (v.1) — I WIN!
The game is over, the score is tallied, the race is run, the verdict is in—WE WIN!
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation…”!
B. “…there is now”
B. “…there is now”
“now” - νῦν - a point of time simultaneous with the event of the discourse itself—‘now.’
This word answers the question of WHEN?
You are no longer under condemnation RIGHT NOW! This not some future PROMISE regarding the Judgement Day, but a present REALITY!
Right now, at this moment in time, there is…
C. “…no condemnation”
C. “…no condemnation”
From Οὐδὲν - a negative reference to an entity, event, or state—‘no one, none, nothing.’
From κατάκριμα - ‘to condemn, to render a verdict of guilt, condemnation.’
This particular word is used only three times in the NT:
16 And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification.
18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone.
If you are “in Jesus Christ,” you are NO LONGER UNDER CONDEMNATION!
16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
There are ONLY TWO OPTIONS: You believe in Jesus and are NOT condemned, or you do not believe in Jesus and you are “already condemned!”
Q: “Do you believe this?”
Can you REPEAT after me? - “I am NOT condemned!”
ACCORDING TO Pastor Gary Hamrick, there are THREE CHALLENGES to this truth:
1. The FIRST comes from an ENEMY that Jesus describes in (John 8:44)
1. The FIRST comes from an ENEMY that Jesus describes in (John 8:44)
44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
SATAN LIES to two groups of people with two different lies:
To an UNBELIEVER, he lies by only quoting the first part of (v.1): “Therefore, there is now no condemnation!”
Remember Jesus’ temptation? Satan quoted Scripture, but not the whole passage!
We live in a culture and age that has bought the lie that there is nothing wrong with anything we do! ‘There is no condemnation!’
To the BELIEVER, he tells the same lies as he did to Eve, “Did God really say…?”
“How could you possibly be un-condemned? Do you know what you did? How bold of you to think you are innocent? Deep down you know that you are condemned!”
A lie which gives birth to twin children, “Shame” and “Guilt!”
2. The SECOND comes from SELF!
2. The SECOND comes from SELF!
Shame and guilt lead to DOUBT, and when challenged with the truth about the grace of God, they sometimes respond, “Well, I know God forgives me, but I just can’t forgive myself!”
Hamrick: “This may sound holy, but it’s actually haughty!” “Who gave you a promotion that you know more about judgement than the Word of God?”
“Who are you going to believe? Satan or the Word of God?”
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
OBSERVATION: The BATTLEGROUND here is the “mind!”
SEVEN times the word, “mind” is used in (Romans 7:23-25; 8:5-7)!
3. The THIRD comes from “EXHUMERS”!
3. The THIRD comes from “EXHUMERS”!
People who love to dig stuff up—who love to dig up the PAST!
So whether it’s yourself, a pastor, or well-meaning counselor, or family members, at some point we need to STOP BEING GRAVE-DIGGERS!
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,
One final phrase from (v.1):
D. “…for those in Christ Jesus”
D. “…for those in Christ Jesus”
That is the REASON for “no condemnation” is that we are “…in Christ Jesus!”
You don’t EARN IT and you don’t DESERVE it, and you could never be declared, “Not guilty!”
There is no condemnation because you are IN JESUS CHRIST!
This truth is repeated throughout this section:
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am serving the law of God, but with my flesh, the law of sin.
14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
The SECOND FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH from Romans 8 is
II. There is NO SEPARATION from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! - (8:38-39)
II. There is NO SEPARATION from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! - (8:38-39)
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
No CONDEMNATION and NO SEPARATION! That’s my message this morning.
I pray it will encourage you and empower you as you fall on your knees every day this week and say, “Thank you Lord Jesus!”
And you have never surrendered your life in faith to Jesus, I pray this will be the day of your salvation!
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.
31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
