9/13/26 AM

A group of people here in Worthington, Christian Reformed Church is a massively. I wanted group of people you guys are leaders and your industries. The various occupations that you represent a year leaders in this community and and whether, you know, it or not this community, not only depends upon this particular group of people in so many different ways, but they also look up to you.

Many of you hear of this especially if you're my age or older, you've heard over the course of your lifetime likely over five thousand different sermons. You've been to Sunday school. Almost. Have you your entire life? Many of you are teaching it or have taught. It. Many of you here. Had the privilege of going to Christian School. Summit View, Christian High School, love letters w even Christian colleges for all of this talent for all of this knowledge that we have all of us here. Struggling one particular regarding that is putting words to the gospel explaining. What Christianity is about, we give herself this challenge. Quite often, too, to be ready at any time to be able to explain the gospel in a minute or less and it's hard to do, isn't it? What's so hard about it? Cuz you never know when that opportunity is coming. It's not like you could take some time to prepare. A few things to say that when all of the sudden this this opportunity to explain who and what Jesus is the somebody, boom, it's just there and you got to be ready for it. All of the Bible, of course, is important. Every single one of these Pages, all 66 of these books are the infallible in an errant word of God. That's why we spend the time coming to know them the way that we do. Now, all of these words are important

But not all of them are equally valuable. If you were to open your Bibles to the Old Testament, to do the book of 1st Chronicles, you noticed that the first nine chapters of it. That's a lot. The first 9 chapters of Avatar are just one genealogy of Israelites after another Oh, that's really helpful for us. It helps connect some of the historical dots in the Old Testament. We can kind of see how people were connected from passages like that it's in passages like that, that we see the faithfulness of God generation after generation. And as you read through those nine chapters, you begin to recognize some of the key names that are also listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, as we read them in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, that's all really important stuff. But it's not, it's valuable for a time in your life work, everything seems to be closing in and you don't know where else to turn, right? I probably would not recommend the first nine chapters of Chronicles for that would, I would recommend. And some of you have heard me, tell you this before that, that chapter, which is not just regarded by many as the gospels greatest chapter countless other theologians have come to the same conclusion. That these words in the 8th chapter of Romans are the most valuable of all of the valuable words that are included in scripture. Not if we were to read through Romans chapter 8, all-in-one go. There are 39 versus their attempt to read it. Well would take us roughly six minutes out loud. You could probably read it yourself just in your in your head. A few minutes faster than that, but in any reading it's going to take you longer than a minute to read through Romans chapter 8. And this is sort of our goal is to be able to explain what the gospel is in a succinct way. And in a way that that, that we can get it in there in less than a minute. And so, what we're going to be doing together in our morning, service is over these next 3 months from now until November 15th. At 10 different Sundays, we're going to go through these 39 versus word by word what that works out to Dennis 36-second. Chunks they're going to be read through Romans chapter 8 in in roughly 36 s chunks. Every single one of these 10 section of This, Magnificent chapter, that we go through, would be a great template for you to use, to explain the gospel in a minute or less. Because one of the other things that you find out about doing that is, you can't use the same speech every time because the context is always different. So we need to be able to explain the gospel. It's in lots of different ways and how it applies to so many different things. Do I have? We begin that time together? We're going to look at probably the greatest, exposition of the gospel and 36 seconds or less, and that's these first opening four verses of the gospels greatest chapter Romans chapter 8. You're going to want those words in front of you as we read them, it's on page 1756. This is a section of the Bible that you just can put a bookmark in for next week as well. Cuz we're going to read through verse for today. And then next week, we'll start with verse 5. But let's begin. I'm here with these amazing words. Hear. Now, the word of the Lord. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit of Life, Set Me Free from the law of sin and death, or what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature. God, did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful, man to be a sin offering until he condemned sin and sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in US. Do not live, according to the sinful nature. but according to the spirit, Thank God for these amazing words and pray that he'll plant them deeply in US, Father in heaven. We thank you for the Bible is, thank you for all of the different ways that we see our selves ation in Jesus Christ through it. We thank you, especially for these words that you have called us to dwell on for the next 3 months, This Magnificent chapter in the middle of the book of Romans. Be with us this morning. Now as we come to understand this amazing truth that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. All of this. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. This morning we're going to look at at three particular aspects of this gospel. A word with simply means, good news. We're going to begin by understanding that the gospel is about with the Triune God has done that word. Triune simply means three, and one. Try and Moon are trying. It's about what God our Father did and what he did through his son Jesus Christ. And what he applies and makes known to us according to the Holy Spirit. For 2,000 years. Now, ever since the early church, there have been those who have been trying to explain away the Trinity, trying to dude, lessen. The impact of this mysterious doctrine of a God who is three in person, but one Innocent, but the more we begin to understand what the New Testament says, the more we see the need to to come to submission to this on one hand, difficult doctrine, that God is three and God is one. But on the other hand, this doctrine that helps us explain how it is that you and I have stationed through Jesus Christ. What is it that you know God has done for us? Well, he has enabled us is enabled us to meet his righteous requirements. That's exactly what we read their inverse for. Why did this all happen got saved us in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met. And why is that such a big deal? We'll think about what the righteous requirement of the law is. Some of your minds will go immediately to the Ten Commandments that's a summary of Law and total, isn't it? Others of you will just go right to the summary that Jesus gave that we are to love the Lord, Our God with all of our hearts and our minds and our soul and our strength, he's quoting Deuteronomy chapter 6 there and then we need to love our neighbors as ourselves Others of you will go right to the Golden Rule. When you think about what the righteous requirements of God's law is that we treat others in the same way that we would like to be treated ourselves at the teaching from Jesus, in the sermon of the mount. In all of those are good summaries of what God righteous requirement is, but we can get even more basic than that. He even a passenger comes earlier and scripture, even in the second chapter of Genesis, this is one that we've looked at together before. I would say one of the most important passages to understand and all of scripture, this is the second chapter of Genesis the world and all of its beauty. In the Garden of Eden has been created. God has placed his image Bearer Adam and it for what purpose were we bought that purpose for Adam here in Genesis chapter 2 Under Sending that that purpose for Adam is also the purpose for you. And I This Is Why We Exist the Lord God took the man and place them in the Garden of Eden, for two particular reasons. Number one to work it. This is something that we get. Well, here in this congregation. You are a hard worker and part of the reason that your hard workers is because this kind of theology, this understanding that you and I glorify God, the best in the work that we do. Not just here in this room but all week long and all of the Myriad of different ways that we do for work. That. That's her motivation for doing a good job. We want to give praise to the God, who created us to do it. We understand our purpose. Well, here to work hard and to glorify God through that work. It's what we were created to do but that's not it, is it Adam did his work well, but there was this other provision. Not only was he to work the garden, but he was to keep it as we talked about this before. There's, there's really nothing specified there. Keep it, what? Keep it looking, nice, keep it. Well trimmed and manicured and and cultivated, well yeah, but more than that. Adam was to keep this new world. Holy Because he was in the image of a holy God, how do we know that? What we keep seeing this word keep his rather innocuous words. He keeps showing up and some really important place it's route. The Old Testament. Reminding us that this is our purpose to keep this world holy and we did not do it. It has created a large budget, a large problem, a massive problem for you. And I that this law that we were given, as simple as what it is, to keep it. Holy, is that a powerless? Not because there's something wrong with God's lost. Let's get that straight right here. And now nothing is wrong with God's law, all of it from his very simple explanation. There, a Genesis chapter 22, all of the implications of it, that's unfolded, all throughout the rest of scripture. All of it is good and perfect and pleasing to God. It's the way he's created us to live in order to enjoy the blessedness that he created us for nothing is wrong with God's law, it's weekend because of our flesh. That's an important phrase right. There are flash. Let me see how this is a newer translation that's on the screen here in the owner translation to. Yeah, they kind of smooth that out for us here in this older. One it says that what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature. You're the one that's there is a word that we talked about often here. Is that words are? That's the Greek where that's behind her. This newer translation is a bit more of a literal translation again. So it's not talking about your, your flash in your blood in a literal sense. His talking about this sinful human nature that you inherited. When you were born that you and I have inherited from our father. Adam is broken, it's weekend, God's law, so much, so that God's law that span that he sent forward for us to live this blessed life by working and keeping his creation. Holy is impotent because of it, it doesn't work anymore. A representative failed, Adam failed to keep it holy. And because of that, all of creation after him, every single person has been born under a curse. Born unable to understand fully this world that were in. We've talked about this so often with sin does to us, it it's it's an intellectual disability that we have. We cannot think straight talks about that. In the opening chapter of the book of Romans that we suppress the truth in unrighteousness. And because of that are thinking has become law, not only do we not have the ability to, to pull ourselves up out of this mess that were in. We can't even see the exit on our own because we submits is truth and we suppress the truth. What Jesus had that conversation? We looked at earlier with pilot but the importance of Truth Jesus and I have come to bring this truth back. And you remember how that story goes on Pilots not interested in the truth, is he because he suppresses the truth, just like the rest of us. This is what starts does to us his our enemies. So it's coming back and trying to drag us back to our sin.

But what the law was powerless to do, this is what God did. He has no met this. Righteous requirement in us, that's what the end of verse for says, right there, I don't have it highlighted, but God did, what we were unable to do so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us. This is the good news of scripture. We've been made good and acceptable in the eyes of God, because we in Christ. Meet God's righteous requirements. How did he do this? He did this by sending his own son. No matter how much, or how little, you know, about the Bible here this morning, you know? John 3:16, don't you for God. So loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. This is how he met this righteous requirement on our behalf by sending his son. How did he send him in our likeness? Again that's exactly what our text says. The law was powerless to do it because we broke it. God did it and he did it by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh? That is a massively important word. Right there. It does not say that God sent his son in Sim, 4 flash. What good would that do us? That would be like sending us a lifeguard. If we were drowning a lifeguard who could not swim a lifeguard? Being sucked into the deep just as we are. No, that is not at all. What we need? We need somebody who's outside of this curse, somebody who's Like Us in every regard. But is not included in the Sin of Adam. that's why we make such a big deal, during the Christmas story about the role of Mary, the Virgin Mary Who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. You see Jesus. It is different than us, isn't he? He no longer has this curse Hebrews here tells us that Jesus Christ is made like you and I and every regard he is fully Mad. Is fully man and he's fully gone. But there's is a critical difference here in Christ. He's not born with this broken nature, the way that you and I are good. Paul talked about this in Corinthians. This is a verse that you really ought to have memorized. God made him who had no sin and of course, they him here was at Capital H is Our Savior, Jesus Christ. God made Jesus, who had no sin, nobody else in the history of humanity, who has been born. After Adams can make that claim that they are completely without sin. The rest of us have been born into this mess, symbol from the time. We were even conceived. No hope of ever meeting God's righteous and perfect in the Holy requirements. But Jesus Christ is he is the one who had no sense and God made him to be sin for us. In other words, he took our sin on himself even though he had none of his own So that in him. That's a very important preposition right there. We're going to talk about that in a moment that simple little word in so that in Christ. You and I might become the righteousness of God. This is what the gospel is about his not about you, cleaning yourself up. If not about you, just trying to do a little bit more good than what you've done. Bad. It's not about you and and and the dedication that you have made to to live your life. Now is the way that God wants you to, even though you're going to fail to do that, the moment you make the dedication, we can do this on our own. It's all about what God has done in making you. And I and fulfillment of the simple requirement that he had for us to be capped. Holy, this is what Christ has done for us. God is able to meet his righteous requirement by sending his own son in our likeness to be what? Now, this is really important here because this is going to differentiate a lot of people who claim to be Christian. This is how you can really get down to the Crux of the matter and and and how it is that that you understand scripture and and how it is that maybe somebody that you're speaking with understand scripture ask them what did Jesus come to do? What did Jesus come to be? And there's some different options here that people are going to choose from. They will say, well Jesus came to be an example for us so that we can go through these four gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and John and read about how it was the Jesus lived, and how he spoke. And we can emulate that him going to the cross on behalf of those that he loved. We must follow that example. Other people will say, no is an example for it. But he's also a teacher. That was a, we need to study him in such a way that we get past the word that are on these Pages it and the the truck Detail that they so often include and come to know in our own way. And according to our own definition, what it is that Jesus was pointing to so that we can be better versions of ourselves that we can shut off. All of these problems that come from the curse on our own and live the way that Jesus did. Still others will come as soon as Jesus came to us to help us understand that. As image bearers of God, we need to be on the lookout for the poor, and oppressed, and get rid of the systems that are oppressed in them and improve their quality of life. That's what Jesus would want us to do. And all of those things are things that you. And I need to understand in Jesus, he must be an example for us. He is our chief prophet and teacher as our catechism puts it. He does help us end in a way that nobody else can understand the plight of so many people in this world who God expects us to come alongside and help. But understand that if Jesus Christ just came to be a teacher. Just teaching you to be a better version of yourself by better adhering to Allah that powerless to save.

Rule gift he would have have been it changes our status, and no way, just because we have a good teacher, we need something more. We need this sin that's been pushed down upon us, not only will not by our choice. We were born into this mess. And then, all we've done, is his ads into it. We need these sense paid for. We use a couple of different theological terms to explain. As we say, we need our sense at home. If you want to be even more detailed, you can say that we need to have our scent propitiate, it that is paid for by another. And that is what Jesus came to this sin offering. Again these words come right out of our passage. God did this, he met the righteous requirements of the law on our behalf by sending his own son in the likeness of our simple flash, to be a sin offering. Interested in the original texts that were offering is not there, but nearly every translation, puts it in. It simply says in the original texts that he sent his own son, in the likeness of sinful flesh for sin. In other words, to meet the payment that you, and I could not make Jesus Christ, is what was sent in our place, so we call his work. Substitutionary atonement. And you know what? Both of those words mean you know what it means to have somebody substituted in your place. You also know what atonement is all about a payment needed to be made and that payment was blood. That was the condition that got headset way on at the beginning of the Bible, then that sin would result in death. And blood would be required to atone for it. This is what God has done for us. The gospel is not about what you and I have done. The gospel is all about what our try, you know, God has done. And it makes a big ship, a couple of them actually notice that the first couple of words we just blew right over the word. Therefore only what Paul is summarizing. Here it is is the massively beautiful and Rich the ology that comes in. Romans 1 verse with chapter 1 through chapter 7 that we don't have the time this morning, it would take a service in and of itself it to go through that someday. I hope to do that with you but not today understand that that we're not jumping into something here in the middle of a book that's not connected to a whole bunch of truth that comes before. It's there for because everything that Paul has written in this wonderful letter is true, there is now no condemnation. Something has changed is different than the way things used to be there to be nothing but condemnation. Now, it's different than this is something that's really, really hard. For people, like you and me to understand. Because so many of this year and had the blessing, the absolute blessing of growing up and Christian home and in Christian churches with all of the Christian education that comes along with it and people like you. And I we we don't know what it's like to be outside of Christ. We don't understand the fact that there's this massive change in history that occurred two thousand years ago. Because for people like us it's always been this way. Others of you are here this morning and you have had that blessing of living outside of the kingdom of God. And an understanding what Christ has done for you. And now you're in the kingdom of God, you get that word not in a way that the rest of us do.

So what has it shifted? It, shifted condemnation. This is something that we need to remind ourselves of that. All people, all people are born, come down. This is a shock to do a lot of people in our world because the conventional wisdom is that as Humanity? Yes, we have problems, that's evident wherever you look a bit but they're all fixable if we just adjust this and do that and reform, this life can be better. We can get past this and that's Afflicted us for our entire history and move on and to the blessedness that whoever created us has in store for us. That's how most people understand things that yes, we have problem. Yes, we do things that are wrong but it's not that bad when it comes down to it, we just wandered away a little bit from the way we ought to be. And all we need to do is Wonder right back.

But deep down, you know, the truth. You know how Broken You Are. You know, this internal struggle that even as a believer in Jesus Christ, you have on a daily basis with sharks your your flash, your your sinful Human Nature. Sharks convinces. You to to do what, you know is wrong. But in in in Stony different instances, you fall for it Time After Time After Time. and then Satan whose name, literally means be at user is right there to say See, this is what you deserve, you deserve the condemnation of God. This is something that you need to remember as you speak to other people about the gospel. Is that no matter what their education is, no matter how much they know about the Bible in church and Aunt, they know God, That's what we were at earlier in in Romans chapter one day. No God, they know that there is a gulf between us and him are just suppressing that truth in unrighteousness. So you're coming to them with a truth here but they're ready to hear. They know the backstory here better than what, you think they do, this is what the gospel is about it. She this condemnation that we rightfully deserve.

How you were no longer condemned. It's not you. That's condemned anymore. This condemned. Now here's the ship gone. Now has condemned sin in your place. Do you see the reversal there? You and I deserve the confirmation. No sense is what being condemned it. What is that condemnation? Or we can read about that and in the sixth chapter of the book of Romans, we read about the wages of sent, what is that we get or what we deserve to get us sinners and of course that's dead. That it is what those two men on the cross. We're getting fat and the one began to realize that that he deserved every bit of what he was getting in the only way to, to crush that purse. On the way to crush that Chris is to bring it to its logical conclusion, to bring it to crush and kill. The one who is Holy?

What we deserved, isn't it? We deserve the death that Christ. That's how it is that God crushed, condemnation, shifted it from off to this then that price paid for paid for in his own flesh that flash that was just light up.

This is important for you to understand. Jesus Christ, does not change your history. Jesus Christ does not make the sins that you and I have committed just go away as if they never happened. We know that those consequences from those sins which are of different different severities. Their consequences, never really go away. We have to live with some of those consequences are entire life. That's in is still there. We've done that nothing changes here except we're no longer being condemned for it. Oftentimes is in compared to a courtroom. And you know how I love the different parts of the courtroom are the judge and the prosecutor and the defense attorney. The question here is not whether or not you and I are sinners. That's established fact. That's not being questioned by anybody in the courtroom. Does not just make our sins disappeared. We have been declared guilty for everything that we have done. What changes is the sentencing process? We are no longer condemned even though that's what we deserve. Instead of getting the sentence of death passed down to us, the judge says, you may not lie and come into my presence because you are no longer condemned that punishment that was a pawn. You has been placed on Christ. Shifted no longer over us. Secondly. The gospel shifts are legal status. Regardless of what you think you're about the immigration debate that's going on in our country that has lots of different good Christian opinions about that. That's not the point where I just want you to understand that legal status. That's a big deal, isn't it? It if you have a legal status in this country to then you can stay and then if you don't, that's where things are difficult. For some people right now, legal status is hugely important. And what you need to understand about the gospel and it has shifted, your legal status, your ability to be in God's present. Here's what it says you have now been set free from this law of sin and death. You're no longer legally under this penalty that you have incurred upon yourself. You're set free from it, you're no longer a condemned lawbreaker in God's eyes. This is hard to wrap your heads around, isn't it? Because again you know, the severity of those sins, you know what it is that you have done even if nobody else in this room done and you think nobody could ever forgive me outfits. But read what this says you've been set free from it. Set free from the law of sin and death. I'll be careful with this Doctrine. Hey, this is a powerful doctrines. You need to know it. Well, but you need to be careful front because you hear those words that you've been set free, and that's exactly what Starks wanted to hear. Starks wanted to hear that, you belong to yourself. Now, you've been set, free of the chains have been broken, you can be whoever you want to be living, however, you want to look, that's not at all what it says. You been set free from the law of sin and death. You're still under God's law. Just in a different way. Is it before we knew God's law. But we suppress it. This is, again, the beginning of the book of Romans hear the wrath of God, was, is being revealed from Heaven. This is how the gospel Begins by the way, with God's Wrath. We need to understand that I got is very, very angry for send. It goes on here in verse 19. Why is God so angry with us? Because what we may know about God, what he has revealed about himself is playing everybody. This is why you can be confident that everybody, you talk to you, no matter how atheistic, they either claim to be or seem to be all of them know, God is plain to them. We can see the evidence of him everywhere. We look, God has made it that plants. So, what's the problem? Why is God? So angry is because we suppress the truth. We don't want to be under the law of God. We don't want anything to do with God. This is what's in does to us. I don't want to love God. It's a problem for us. And then now we here, we've been set free in. This is wonderful. We don't have to live in her that problem anymore. Oh no. That's not what God is saying. No. Not at all. It's just different for us. Now as we approach God's law, we often talk about God's lost as being a mirror for us and just as you look in the mirror maybe as you come in from the shop at the end of the day, in the grease and dirt all over your face in the mirror can tell you, you got a big problem, you better not go to town looking like that. But the mirror is not going to clean your face, is it? It's just going to tell you. You have a problem. That's why God that's why people don't like God blood tell them. They have a problem tells them, they're not the way that God created them to be and we don't like being told that because we feel that there is nothing that we can do about what we've done in the past. So I just don't want anything to do with his long moving forward.

I think the changed. This is what it means to be regenerated in the spirit of God's. This is a covenant. I will make with the people of Israel. After that time, declares the Lord, I will put my law in their minds, that will write it on their heart. If you we begin to look at God's law, not just as condemnation. As a guide to gratitude, that's how we often refer to it here. And more than that, a guide to live in the blessedness that you and I created to live in. God will be our God. We will be his people. This is the order that we were created for and this is what we are being restored to Finally, we need to understand. even though the gospels about with the Triune the Danse, he even though it shifts condemnation from us, $0.02 change their legal status, it isn't for everyone. The gospel is not for everyone.

Although a lot of people just want to stop here at the beginning of this year, maybe have this first-half memorized and that's good to know that there is no condemnation because of what God has done. But we also need to understand the second half of it. That this gospel is only for those who are in Christ. Exactly what it says there isn't, it is now no condemnation for who for those who are in Christ Jesus. This is the Bible. Favorite favorite phrase to do. Explain what it means to be a Christian. A Christian is somebody who is in Christ, there is no separation between your essence as a creative person and you're, you're being communally. Joined it to Jesus Christ. It's an amazing. Amazing transformation. We don't have time to unpack all of that here today but understand this is what it means to be a Christian. A Christian is somebody who is in Christ, so, if you spent your whole life outside of price, And even here today, you're beginning to understand though. I want to be in Christ, I want to make sure that this Christianity is for me that is evidence friend of the fact that the holy spirit is beginning to open your eyes so that you no longer suppress this beautiful truth but want to be included in it that is evidence that God has chosen you for this wonderful gift of Salvation and we want to hear more about that from you so that we can help you move there in farther in price.

What does that look like? Well, it's described for is here and in a beautifully succinct way. The righteous requirement of the law has been fully met in US. People like you and people like me, what do we look like? Well, there's two attributes here. We are people who no longer live according to the flesh Ozarks is still there. And my life sucks is still tempting us every moment of the day and we still fall for his Temptations way too often.

But we don't live according to it. If it hit, he's not dictating things for us away that he used to This is important for you, if your priority, it is chasing the things of this world. if you're more interested in that, then this That's an indication. You might want to look into that, that you're a little bit more interested in living in, sark's, then what you are in Christ, it don't let that go have somebody. Come alongside you in and help bring you back into the truth. But we don't live according to Stark's, we live, according to the spirit. It's a whole different way to live the whole different way to look at the world. Nothing is the same about it. Is it? What, what is it all about? Oh, that's what we got to talk about next week in verses 5 through 8 until I hope you come back for it. This is what the gospel is. You can share this gospel with somebody in as little as 36 seconds if you just know this passage and can unpack it for them, know it well for yourself. Let's pray. That God will sink deeply into our hearts and Minds spot. These are absolutely wonderful words that you have given us to dwell on here over these next 3 months. Thank you for them. Help us to know them. Well help us to know them well so that we can live this life of gratitude. There are work and through keeping our lives. Holy as they've been made, Holy by Jesus Christ. Why do we pray that we would know these words? Well for ourselves? I pray that we would know them well so that we can explain it to others. All of this. We pray now in Jesus name, amen.