Rom 8-No Condemnation

| No Condemnation! Romans 8:1-4

November 5, 2006 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For 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. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.  (NLT) So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. PRAY Scripture Memory:Romans 8:1 (NIV) – Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Intro:Have you come to point in your life where you know for certain that if you were to die you would spend eternity with Christ in heaven?Do you often question whether or not you truly are one of God’s children? What is it that brings us confidence in this matter and what is that makes us doubt? What: A Truth to Remember (v. 1):How & Why: Why This is True & How God accomplished it (v. 2-3):Who: A Challenge to Consider (v. 4): What: A Truth to Remember (v. 1):(NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (NLT who belong to Christ Jesus).Implications:☞  There are those who are under God’s condemnation. “There are two classes of human beings: those who are in Christ Jesus and who are therefore not under condemnation, and those who are not in Christ Jesus and who are therefore still under condemnation.” (Boice)Explain the uniqueness of Christianity…☞  There are times when we FEEL like we are (or, perhaps like we SHOULD be) under God’s condemnation, because we are so painfully aware of our sin.Cartoon: “Well, I’ll be! They’re right, here it is: Perfect, adj. complete in all respects; without defect or omission; sound; flawless, like a pastor, his wife and their children.”☞  It is a matter of faith vs. unbelief. Faith which takes God at His Word and believes the gospel…☞  It is a matter of definition:(NIV) For those who are in Christ Jesus (NLT who belong to Christ Jesus)… How & Why: Why This is True & How God Accomplished It (v. 2-3):(NIV) 2Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life has set us free from the law of sin and of death (NLT from the power of sin that leads to death).(NLT) 3The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.☞  Because Christ’s death freed us from the power of sin that leads to death.Ø   The Covenant of WorksShorter Catechism Question 12:Question: What did God’s providence specifically do for man whom he created? Answer: After the creation God made a covenant with man to give him life, if he perfectly obeyed; God told him not to eat from the tree of good and evil or he would die.Ø   The Covenant of GraceShorter Catechism Question 20:Question: Did God leave all mankind to die in sin and misery?Answer: From all eternity, and merely because it pleased Him God chose some to have everlasting life. These He freed from sin and misery by a covenant of grace and brought them to salvation by a Redeemer. Ø   Our Natural Propensity:We naturally want to earn our right standing before God. That is why we doubt.The problem is:☞  The law could not do this because of our sinful nature.Ø   An important thing to understandNO ONE will be deemed acceptable to God because of what THEY have done. (Explain the gospel to those who have  not yet embraced it) Ø   An important thing to rememberNO ONE will be deemed acceptable to God because of what THEY have done. (the gospel to those who have embraced it, and yet constantly need to come back to it) Who: A Challenge to Consider (v. 4):(NLT) He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.God’s goal in all of this was what?…that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us (lit: might be fulfilled in us) who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.What is the requirement of the law?1. That we obey God perfectly2. That if (when) we do NOT obey Him perfectly, we must die.In other words: the Covenant of WorksHow is this fully accomplished (fulfilled) for (in) us? – We no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.God is glorified by the transformation of rebellious, sinful people as they turn from lives of INdependence to lives of humble DEpendence.  Justification always leads to sanctification.Justification: The act of God’s free grace by which He pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight. (SC. Q. 33)Sanctification: The work of God’s free grace by which our whole person is made new in the image of God and we are made more and more able to become dead to sin and alive to righteousness. (SC. Q. 35) |   | Christ saved us not only from the PENALTY of sin (justification), but also from the POWER of sin (sanctification). “God saved us apart from good works precisely so we might be able to do good works” (Boice).Eph. 2:8-10 – 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Two equal and opposite errors in the matter of Christian obedience or sanctification:Legalism and LicentiousnessLegalism: Striving for personal righteousness in a minute, detailed manner which results in SELF-righteousness, pride & constant evaluation of others.Licentiousness: “Let go and let God” – Since it is God who does the work, I should just relax and go with the flow. Any effort I make for personal holiness would just get in God’s way.Cartoon: “God loves you… but don’t let it go to your heads.”God is NOT glorified in either of these.He is glorified when sinners, such as you and I, delight to do God’s will.  A Test: Do you obey God because you love Him and therefore delight to do His will? OR do you obey God for other reasons?☞    Resentment – Do you resent others when they do things which God has commanded us not to do, or when they do not do things which He has commanded us to do?☞    Motivation – If, when all is said and done, you were to find out that there is no heaven or hell, no reward, so-to-speak for righteous living, would you feel like your obedience here and now was wasted?☞    Comparisons – Do you compare your own righteousness, or lack thereof, to others leading either to feeling good about yourself or inadequate because of those comparisons?On the other hand,☞    Desire – Do you have a growing desire to know and to honor God in all you do?☞    Delight – Do you delight in seeing God glorified?☞    Grace – Is your peace with God bound up in His promise of forgiveness, or in your own obedience, or lack thereof?☞    Obedience – Do you view God’s commands as mandatory or as good ideas, but optional in terms of obedience? The true child of God cannot continue in sin and be at peace in him/herself.The true child of God longs to be obedient, delights to be obedient to Christ. The true child of God understands, in that longing, that he/she is totally dependent upon the grace of God, both for that obedience, as well as for forgiveness when they fall short.The true child of God may well, for a time, doubt their salvation because he/she understands, full well, that God’s commands are to be obeyed and, while they long to do so, are painfully aware of how far short they fall.However, the true child of God, on the one hand, trusts in God’s promise of grace and forgiveness for their assurance of salvation, and on the other hand, applies all that God had entrusted to them to live obedient lives which honor their Lord and Savior. The righteous requirements of the law (perfect obedience and death for disobedience) are fully met in us (who have embraced Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior) who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.(by our OWN strength, according to our OWN righteousness, but by the grace of God and for the glory of God) (The Message) With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us. Response:☞  Turn from self-righteousness to Christ-righteousness – from a desire to stand before God in my own right, to a grateful position before God clothed in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross☞  Turn from laziness to obedience – from casual disobedience and disregard of what Christ commands to surrender – from a lifestyle which denies the Lordship of Christ to one which draws upon his grace and power to turn more and more from sinful disobedience to God-honoring obedience in all of life☞  Turn from unbelief to faith in the gospel – from doubts which flow from our own inability to stand before God in our own righteousness, to a lifestyle of dependence upon the grace of God and confident belief in His promise to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him  |