Romans 8 1_4 Freedom in the Spirit Good Friday

Secular:

Trapped…

… in a car (roll over or accident)

… in a mob

… in a mineshaft

… in a closet

… in a sleeping bag

… hotdog game

We hate to be trapped…

- euphoria when we are released…

- incarceration is the supreme punishment in our society… jail time even probation… a restriction on freedom…

Imagine what it was like for the Son of God… Holy, Innocent and Pure… to be held to the cross… to be subject of his Father’s Holy wrath…

- It was and is a huge sacrifice…

- The Perfect Son of God…

- NAU Philippians 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

- Wow…

- The very King of kings… humbled to death on a cross…

- Why…

- Titus 2:14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

- Jesus came to set us free from the grasp of sin… and to reconcile us to God…to gain FREEDOM IN CHRIST

- Freedom from Condemnation

- Freedom that Justifies

- Freedom from Penalty

- Freedom that Sanctifies

Biblical:

Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Personal:

It was not the nails that held Christ to the cross… in was the Sins of the World…

It would not be nails that held us to the cross… had Christ no died for us… it would be our sin…

But we don’t have to fear the righteous wrath of God… the pain, the torment, the humiliation…

Because we have freedom in Christ…

Bridge:

The Cross is a about sacrifice… holy wrath… human depravity… pain… suffering…

But the cross is also about freedom…

Freedom for the Children of God…

Let’s talk about that freedom… (4pts)

Body:

Freedom from Condemnation

Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Have you ever seen a movie… where the prisoner is sentenced to death… the scene focuses in on an electric chair…

strapped in…
the minister or priest pray
and as the hour of execution approaches…
the camera pans to a phone on the wall… waiting for the governor’s call

James 1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
That is the consequence for sin… death…
In the presence of a holy God the consequence is separation
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The promise in Christ is that we can have freedom… freedom from Condemnation…
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
That was earned by the cross… not by us… or anything we can do…
Give us Freedom from Condemnation

Freedom that Justifies

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Freedom that Justifies…

God in his mercy and grace gave us the Mosaic Law…
With its sacrifices and practices…
To draw us close…
To show his Worthiness… Holiness
Romans 7:12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
But we couldn’t…
Acts 13:38 "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

Jesus is the Father’s answer to our inability!
To be justified is to be made righteous. It is a divine act where God declares the sinner to be innocent of his sins. It is not that the sinner is now sinless, but that he is "declared" sinless… legal standing before God
Because we couldn’t do it… God sent his Son…
The story is told of a man who operated a drawbridge. At a certain time each afternoon, he had to raise the bridge for a ferry boat and then lower it quickly for a passenger train that crossed at high speed a few minutes later. One day the man’s young son was visiting his father at work and decided to go down below to get a better look at the ferry as it passed. Fascinated by the sight, he did not watch carefully where he was going and fell into the giant gears. One foot became caught and the boy was helpless to free himself. The father saw what happened but knew that if he took time to extricate his son, the train would plunge into to the river before the bridge could be lowered. But if he lowered the bridge to save the hundreds of passengers and crew members on the train, his son would be crushed to death. When he heard the trains whistle, indicating it would soon reach the river, he knew what he had to do. His son was very dear to him, whereas all the people on the train were total strangers. The sacrifice of his son for the sake of the other people was an act of pure grace and mercy.
That story portrays something of the infinitely greater sacrifice God the Father made when He sent His only beloved Son to earth to die for the sins of mankind-to whom He owed nothing but condemnation.

[1]

We have Freedom… Righteousness… because we have trusted in the death of Christ…

We have Freedom that Justifies…

Freedom from Penalty

3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the

flesh,

The Law of Moses… divine in purpose… through the Grace of God… was beyond our ability… it demonstrated God’s holiness…
But when we failed to meet God’s expectation… we could have been subject to great penalty!
We don’t deserve God’s grace… we have failed to meet his clear and holy expectation…
The penalty for sin is death… and we have sinned…
When someone cheats on an exam… we expect a penalty
When someone injures another purposefully… we expect a penalty
When someone steals… we expect a penalty
We have cheated our God, we have been adulterous, we have stolen from our God, we have morally offended our God…
Our penalty… should be death… eternal separation from God…
Matthew 13:41 "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Philippians 2:5 …Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
The Son of God suffered your penalty…
Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
He paid a great physical penalty!!
But it is the words… from our beaten and bloodied Saviour… that haunt my mind…

That speak of the true nature of the penalty…
"ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?"

In his great trial… in his great suffering… the Holy God of Heaven… poured out his wrath on his Son…
We have freedom from the Penalty… Holy Wrath… and Holy Separation…
Those who trust in Christ not only are saved from the penalty of sin but also are able for the first time to fulfill God’s righteous standards. The flesh of a believer is still weak and subject to sin, but the inner person is remade in the image of Christ and has the power through His Spirit to resist and overcome sin… last point

Freedom that Sanctifies

4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Through trusting in the Cross… the hope that is Christ Jesus
The Cross freed us from Condemnation…

Our eternal outcome is no longer death… suffering in hell apart from God

The Cross has justified us…

Through Christ we wear His righteousness and are reconcilled to God

The Cross freed us from the Penalty…

The Wages of Sin is Death…

The Work of the Cross gives us Freedom that Sanctifies (Makes Holy)
In ourselves… Isaiah 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Our Freedom to be made holy comes through trusting in the Christ of the Cross… the truth of hope through him… and he promises…
Jesus Promised…the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you
And the Spirit He promised… dwells in us…
2 Timothy 1:14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
And the purpose…
Philippians 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure… make you holy… transform you into the holy image of Christ…
And the Spirit at work in us… making us Holy…
Gal 5: 22 …the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affectionsb and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.[2]
It is a process of turning our lives over to the crucified Christ… and allowing the Spirit to purge us and refine us… that we might give glory to God…
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

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[1]MacArthur, J. 1996, c1991, c1994. Romans. Moody Press: Chicago

b affections: or, passions

[2]The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 . Logos Research Systems, Inc.: Oak Harbor, WA