No Condemnation
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Romans chapter 8 has been called the greatest chapter in all of Scripture. Someone once said that Romans chapter 8 begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation. Each verse could merit its own sermon. But we are going over four verses this morning. Which means there is a lot of important material to cover in a little bit of time. My hope is that you will latch on to Paul’s main point in this passage. We will see that Paul stated a life-changing, soul-freeing truth. And then, he will spend the rest of the chapter explaining and proving that truth. Here is the truth that you and I as believers in Jesus Christ need to hold on to as though our lives depended on it, because they do: Every believer is in an unmistakable position of no condemnation before God. Let me say it another way: Every single person who believes in Jesus Christ stands before God uncondemned forever. Every believer needs to understand their position when it comes to God. Paul’s declaration in Romans 8:1 is that every believer’s unmistakable position is one of no condemnation. For the rest of the chapter, he is showing various reasons for declaring that to be true. Today we deal with only three of those reasons. The first reason Paul can say that every believers stands uncondemned has undeniable proof. The second reason that every believer stands uncondemned God has unfaltering power. By extension of the second reason, the third reason that every believer stands uncondemned before God is because of God’s unyielding purpose.
Unmistakable Position
Undeniable Proof
Unfaltering Power
Unyielding Purpose
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
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,
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.
Unmistakable Position
Unmistakable Position
Before we get into the three reasons Paul makes the assertion that every believer is in an unmistakable position of no condemnation before God, we need to see his words for ourselves.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
If I was to stop and think about my life for even but a moment, I could come up with dozens of reasons I should be condemned. I can think of various ways I failed my family, failed myself, failed my church, and in them all I failed God. If you were to do the same, you would probably come up with the same results. Yet here is Paul stating that every believer stands in the unmistakable position of no condemnation before God. Why do I keep saying it that way? By now you’re probably getting annoyed by it!
I keep saying it that way, though, because of how Paul wrote the words. The emphasis does not come across in many translations. The word “no” in this sentence (There is therefore now no) is the first word in the original language. Often times many Greek writers will use word placement as a point of emphasis. If it’s the first word in the sentence, it may be an important word. But just because it is the first word, doesn’t mean it is of great importance. But in this case, it is. Not because I want it to be and not even because of the position of “no” but because of the word Paul used. Greek has various words for no and they’re used for various reasons. One of them is an emphatic no. That’s used here. In English, we have one no. To emphasize it we might use an adverb. In Greek, they had an emphatic no. So if we wanted to really emphasize this sentence, we could legitimately translate it, “There is therefore now absolutely no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” In essence, Paul wrote, “Make no mistake: there is no condemnation for the believer.” It’s an unmistakable position of no condemnation before God.
But there’s more! Paul went from the first person narrative of himself, to a general understanding that includes everyone who is a believer! It’s no longer, “I do what I do not want. . . The law of my mind. . .etc.” It’s now, “Those who are in Christ Jesus.” He doesn’t just say, “There is therefore now no condemnation for me since I’m in Christ Jesus.” He included everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus Christ. It is indeed the unmistakable position of every believer.
Lastly, to be a believer is to be in Christ. It is to be given a new identity. We are not who we were, but we are in Christ; baptized into him, engulfed in him. We are Christ’s and Christ is ours.
So, believer, make no mistake about it: you stand in a position of no condemnation before God. Remember what John wrote in
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
We were born condemned, but the moment we believed, our position changed—the unmistakable position of no condemnation.
By the way, Romans 8:1 leaves no room for the doctrine of purgatory. We either stand condemned or we stand in Christ uncondemned. We do not stand in the doorjamb between condemned and uncondemned.
Undeniable Proof
Undeniable Proof
But this leads us to the first reason Paul gave for such an inclusive and shocking statement. Paul gave us undeniable proof of our condition.
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Last Christmas, I gave you a gift that keeps on giving. It was the gift of “because/for.” Whenever you see the words “because/for” you’ll find that it is usually the main point of the text. And so it is here. Verse 1 is the more famous of the two, but verse two gives the reason behind verse 1. Without verse two, one could say, “You say there is no condemnation, but how did you come to that conclusion?” A person can say something, anything he wants, but just because he says it doesn’t mean that it’s true. So what proof does Paul give for saying that every believer stands in an unmistakable position of no condemnation before God?
Romans 8:2 (ESV)
Because the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
There’s a lot to unpack here. Let’s deal with the first law (of the Spirit of life) and then we’ll deal with the second law (of sin and death).
The first law in verse 2, has its origins in the Holy Spirit. Paul called him the Spirit of life. That doesn’t mean that the Spirit is the “living Spirit,” like we might say that God is a God of love, but could also just say a loving God. That doesn’t work here when referring the Spirit of life. Instead, this Spirit, the Holy Spirit, gives life. It is the Holy Spirit who makes us alive. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, but were made alive by the Holy Spirit. So there is this law out there. It is the law that comes out of the Spirit who has given us and will continue to give life to others who are in Christ Jesus.
What is this law? Is it the Ten Commandments? Is it the Torah? It doesn’t seem to fit those. At least, not in the way most people think. Remember what Paul wrote in
But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
We serve, in other words there is an obedience there, we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. So there is this link of serving in the newness of the Spirit and the law of the Spirit. The new way is not like the old way. The law of the Spirit is not like the old written code. What exactly does it mean? I think we need to go back to
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
As we’ve seen time and again, the outward written code, the Law reveals our sins, and can be used against us in God’s courtroom to bring about a judgment of condemnation. The law is out there and it needs to be in here. But it cannot break through the stony heart without the Father replacing the stony heart with a heart of flesh and the Spirit bringing in a new law. But what is that law!? We’ll get to that in a moment.
First we need to understand where this new law of the Spirit who gives life is found. I’m not a huge fan of the ESV’s translation here because it moves the “in Christ” to after the “set you free.” It makes it sound like the freedom is in Christ. That’s not wrong, but it’s not as full of the meaning as it could be. The Christian Standard Bible puts it well:
Romans 8:2 (ESV)
because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
The Spirit of life (as well as his law) is in Christ Jesus! Which is why freedom is there. Now think about it: you’re in Christ Jesus; the Spirit of life is in Christ Jesus! Since you’re both there, the Spirit puts his law into you and by doing so, sets you free from the law of sin and death.
Now, let’s go on to the second law; What is this law of sin and death? It seems evident from all the context of what Paul wrote in chapters 6-7, that the law of sin and death is a twisted version of God’s law.
For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.
One could say that in
For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
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.
that these are two separate laws. The law of sin and death is different from God’s law. Yes. That’s why I said it is a twisted version of God’s law. In the same way Paul wrote the Galatians about those preaching “another gospel” when he readily admits that there is no other gospel. It’s a false gospel which means its not really the gospel at all. In that way, we have God’s law, like that of coveting, which is then twisted and perverted in such a way that sin uses it for its own satisfaction and then brings death.
And what Paul wrote is that we have been set free from following after that law! The law that sin uses for its own sake and that law that condemns us to death are no longer binding upon us. Paul was making the point in verse 2 that he made in Romans 7:1-4 about the wife who is bound by law until he dies and then is set free. When we died in Christ, we were set free from the law of sin and death because we entered into Christ where the Spirit was waiting and willing to replace the old law with his own law.
Now notice the contrast between the two laws. There’s the law of the Spirit and the law of sin. The Spirit gives life, while the sin brings death. You say, “but Chris, it says and death not of death.” And you are absolutely correct. But as we’ve seen over and over again these past few weeks, sin utilizes the law to bring about death.
For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
And as I just mentioned, we saw how the law reveals sin, but also prosecutes before God to bring forth condemnation, also known as death.
So on the one hand we have the Spirit of life and his new law given for everyone in Christ. On the other hand the law of sin and death is removed from us. We are free!
So understand, beloved, and this is crucial. It is the Spirit who sets us free. No amount of pushing the law on someone in our family or friends, which sin uses as opportunities arise, can make them holy or sanctified.
Understand, you who self-condemn, that there is nothing left to condemn. The Holy Spirit has set you free from the law of sin and death. All that you have is the law that comes from the Spirit who gives you life. Why call yourself unclean when God has declared you clean? Why condemn yourself when God has acquitted you for all time? Last week, I put up a new garage door at our house. I was working on the second slat and as I picked it up, it slipped out of my hand. The corner of it fell on the third slat. Sure enough, a dent. I felt like the whole door was ruined! Katie, loves that door (even with the dent). Every time I walk out there I see “the dent.” That’s how it is with us and sin. God says, “beautiful door.” I say, “It’s hideous; just look at the dent.” God’s says, “I see no dent.” He who sees more than we could ever see, sees nothing to condemn because we are in Christ Jesus and the law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death.
But you who are hesitating to give yourself to Jesus and trust in him, you are not set free from this law of sin and death. You are not yet in Christ and therefore are not yet given the newness of life and law by the Spirit of life. So I plead with you to give yourself to Jesus.
Unfailing Power
Unfailing Power
Which leads us to Paul’s second reason for declaring the unmistakable position of no condemnation for every believer before God. The first reason was the undeniable proof. Since the Holy Spirit has removed the law that brought sin and death away from us and has replaced it with his new law, then there is nothing to condemn. There is no witness against us. There is no evidence of broken law. In fact, that law does not even exist for we who are in Christ Jesus. But the second reason is God’s unfailing power.
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,
Notice what the law cannot do. The law cannot condemn sin in the flesh. Law can declare that sin is condemnable from the outside, but it cannot separate the sin from the person and so condemn the sin in the flesh. And then notice why. Because the law is weakened by the flesh. Remember those fleshly desires?
For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
Have you ever not felt hungry until you smelled burgers on the grill or something similar? Suddenly, your stomach is telling you that it hasn’t eaten in days! Well the burgers are the law and the sinful passions are the stomach. Things were going great. The sinful passions were under wraps. They weren’t causing trouble. Suddenly the law starts cooking on the grill and the passions, desires, those feelings, start telling you its time to eat; its time to satiate the desires of the flesh. What can the law do about that? Nothing. The law can’t fulfill sinful passions. In fact, those sinful passions are weakening the law where it stands.
But God is not weakened by sinful passions. He’s not weakened by the flesh. No. God has unfailing power. And in his power, he sent his Son to condemn sin in the flesh. How? By sending his Son as a human. Paul wrote that he came in the likeness of sinful flesh. There are two ways you can misunderstand this. The first is to think that Jesus didn’t come in the flesh, but only in something that looked like and maybe felt like flesh. That’s not what Paul meant at all. Jesus came in the flesh, just like ours. The other is that Jesus came in sinful flesh and so Jesus sinned. No. The Bible is clear that Jesus never sinned. However, that flesh had cravings and desires just like ours.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Now think about this for a moment: if God’s perfect law is weakened by the flesh, what does that mean about man’s philosophies and psychologies? I’m not saying that all philosophies are bad and that psychology is bad. What I am saying is that if God’s law is weakened by the flesh, then we can certainly expect the same (if not worse) outcomes for anything human wisdom contrives. We ought not be surprised. So there are a dozen different anti-depressants out there. The side-effects at times can be pretty bad. One may have to go through half a dozen before finding one that works for them. Why? Because of the way the flesh and or body responds. Some philosophies appeal to certain desires, whether of power or sex or channeling or something else. The flesh is aroused by them. Let us be careful.
Beloved, we need to be a church who is seeking to edify our brothers and sisters by reminding them of what God has done. He already accomplished by his unfailing power what the law was too weak to do. There are Christians everywhere that are trying to reinvent that wheel. Some may be here and you are seeking to do what God has already done. You need to understand that it is not just you that’s an issue. The law is too. God has done what the law could not do and what you cannot do.
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
That’s what God has done (not is doing, but has already done) with his unfailing power.
Unyielding Purpose
Unyielding Purpose
This leads us to the third reason that Paul gave showing the unmistakable position of every believer is one of no condemnation before God. The first was the undeniable proof that the Holy Spirit removed the law of sin and death from us and gave us His law in Christ. The second was God’s unfailing power to do what the law could not do. This third is really an extension of the second reason: God’s unfailing power. It is the unyielding purpose behind God’s use of his unfailing power.
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.
Do you see that “in order that,” that’s purpose right there. Whenever you see “in order that” or “so that” or even “that” think purpose. The difference between cause and purpose is that cause shows how it happens and purpose shows why it happens. So what is the unyielding purpose of God’s use of his unfailing power to condemn sin in the flesh? The purpose is that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.
Let us not forget what Paul wrote about the law. Even though it is weakened by the flesh and even though sin takes advantage of it so that it kills us, Paul still wrote,
So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
The only way that the law can shine a light on our sin is if the law declares and demands righteous living. Thus the law demanded no coveting, but as Paul wrote, it aroused the sinful desires inside him so that there were all different forms of coveting. So then what’s going on?
Jesus died, offering himself in the flesh and took upon himself our sin. Thus, sin was condemned in the flesh. Jesus rose victorious and all who believe in him are in him. We are identified in and with Christ. When Jesus condemned sin in the flesh, he took our sins from us and imputed (or ascribed or attributed) his righteousness to us.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
To become the righteousness of God is to have the righteousness of the law fulfilled in us. We were declared not guilty. There is no condemnation for all who are in Christ Jesus. And because that law of sin and death has been removed and the law of the Spirit of life has been given, and because God condemned sin in the flesh through His Son’s death, so that we have power to live righteous lives.
Your sin has no power over you because you are no longer under the law, but under grace. Being under grace means you have the very power of God in you to say no to sin.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Don’t let sin fool you into thinking you have to obey. You don’t. You’re not a slave to sin. You’re not under law anymore. But take heart. If you do choose to sin, you are still under grace, and you are still in your unmistakable position of no condemnation before God.
But what does Paul mean by “walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” I told you we’d get to what the law of the Spirit is.
We could think back on Jesus’s life. The Gospel Accounts tell us that he was conceived by the Spirit, was led by the Spirit, that he cast out demons by the Spirit, that he had the power of the Spirit, that he rejoiced in the Spirit, and that he gave the Holy Spirit. It would seem that everything Jesus did was by the Spirit. That’s really what it means to walk by the Spirit. But that may still seem a bit like religious talk.
Just before comparing the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, Paul talked about our new found freedom, and in doing so, he told us what then we are to do with it.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Thus, it seems clear that Paul is equating verse 13 and verse 16. The freedom, the walking in the Spirit is one of service, one of loving our neighbor as ourselves, in essence, it is His law. And the fruit that the Spirit produces in us then are listed
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we conclude Romans 8:1-4, I hope you have latched on to verse 1, but only because you see the reasons why it is an unmistakable position that we hold: the undeniable proof of the Spirit freeing us from the law of sin and death and giving us his law, the unfaltering power of God as he already has done what the law was unable to do so that the unyielding purpose of having the righteousness of the law be fulfilled in us would happen as we walk in the Spirit loving our neighbors and bearing fruit. I told you there was a lot in these verses!
Don’t you want this freedom? Don’t you want to know that you face absolutely no condemnation whatsoever? If you have never called on Jesus to save your soul, you can today. I know it sounds weird, but you can cry out and confess your sins and turn from them turn to Jesus and he will save you.
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Maybe you’re concerned about a family member, a close friend. They certainly need the gospel, you know that. But they also need you to pray that God would be relentless in his pursuit of them and that the Spirit would work in that person’s life.
But if you’ve put your life in Jesus’s hands, but still have a hard time accepting this, think on what we’ve studied this morning. Pray that God would put this truth deep into your soul. Because it is only when we realize that God has done all the work for us so that we can work for him, we will keep trying to redo what he has already done and never get on with doing what he has purposed us to do.