No Condemnation

In Christ, we are free from condemnation and live by the Spirit

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott “Your Best Is to Get Me”

“Your Best Is to Get Me”

Themes: Good Works; Sin

[In a] weaving factory, [a] new and inexperienced hand managed [to] get his machine into [a] terrible tangle. Afraid [to] tell [the] foreman, [he] tried hard [to] unravel it, but [it] only got worse. In desperation [he] fetched [the] foreman [and told him], “I did my best.” [The foreman responded, “Your best is to get me.”

Archbishop Temple’s oft-quoted words expressed this very pointedly: “All is of God; the only thing of my very own which I can contribute to my own redemption is the sin from which I need to be redeemed.”

I. The Great Declaration v. 1

Paul kicks off by summing up a lot of his thought from the last few chapters with one sweeping declaration:

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ

This is incredible news for us, and this realization is going to form the basis for how we live as Christians

We must understand that we were once condemned, guilty before God in our sins

However, we can never be considered guilty in the same way again!

We have died with Christ to the Law (see 7:4)

Christ already endured its punishment for us

Christ has already fulfilled its requirements

We are now filled with the Spirit and live by the Spirit (more to come on this)

We must be clear, though, that this only happens by faith

This is a universal truth with a particular application

Unless we are found in Christ, we are completely condemned; if we are in Him, we can never be condemned again!

My Favorite Illustrations Keep the Water out of the Boat

Keep the Water out of the Boat

For a ship to fulfill its purpose it must be in the water. But woe betide it if the water gets into the boat. Likewise, we are in the world. But we must ever be alert that the world does not get into us.

II. The Great Law v. 2

The life that we have in the Spirit gives us a new “law” for living

We are set free from the law of sin and death

The law of sin and death is a karmic way of thinking: what goes around comes around

We are all familiar with the notion that if we sin against God it bears punishment in our lives; however, we have been set free from that way of acting and thinking

Sin still has consequences in the life of a believer, but they are never the same again because condemnation has been removed from us

In light of this, there are two errors that we must avoid:

Legalism

Lawlessness

Instead, we must pursue liberty!

How do we live with liberty? We do it by living in the Spirit, a theme we will spend the rest of this chapter exploring

Life in the Spirit is being filled with, guided by, and empowered by the Holy Spirit of God

Practical Illustrations: Romans 7-150: Yielding to His Complete Control (Holy Spirit)

God has given His Holy Spirit to believers to help them grow and also to give them a keen awareness of His abiding love. But as believers, our lives must be yielded to the Holy Spirit before we can reap the benefits of His presence.

Mendelssohn [the great composer] once visited a cathedral containing one of the most priceless organs in Europe. He listened to the organist, then asked for permission to play. “I don’t know you,” was the reply, “and we don’t allow any chance stranger to play upon this organ.”

At last the great musician persuaded the organist to let him play. As Mendelssohn played, the great cathedral was filled with such music as the organist had never heard. With tears in his eyes he laid his hand upon Mendelssohn’s shoulder. “Who are you?” he asked. “Mendelssohn,” came the reply. The old organist was dumbfounded. “To think that an old fool like me nearly forbade Mendelssohn to play upon my organ!”

If we only knew what wonderful harmonies the Holy Spirit can draw out of our lives, we should not be content until He has complete possession and is working in us and through us to do His will.

III. The Great Trade vv. 3-4

All of these things can be true of us, because a great trade has been made.

God was able to accomplish what the Law could not

The Law revealed God’s righteous character and requirement

Yet it also worked to reveal our inability to keep it; our sin prevented us from living up to the standard

God accomplished this through sending His Son in the form of a man

He condemned sin by breaking its power over humanity

He did this by:

Fulfilling righteousness, which no one else could do

Making us righteousness through the application of His righteousness to us

This enables us to live in a righteous way

This makes us righteous; it grants us right-standing before God

Now we live in a new way

We no longer live under the domination and direction of sin

We now live in accord with the Spirit who directs us

We have traded an old way of living for a new one

We are no longer slaves, no longer condemned, no longer powerlessness

We must live in a way that is consistent with that reality! We must live like what we are!

More Perfect Illustrations: For Every Topic and Occasion Denial: Masquerade of Innocence

A woman was working one night in a HoneyBaked Ham store. The store was equipped with security cameras, and she was watching the small, black-and-white monitors when she saw a woman come in the store, walk down the handicapped ramp, and go between two shelves. To the clerk’s amazement, this woman grabbed a ham off the shelf and stuffed it up her dress. With the ham wedged between her thighs, the woman waddled toward the door.

The clerk was stunned and wondered what she should do. Should she yell out? follow the woman?

Just then, the ham dropped out from between the woman’s legs. It hit the metal handicapped ramp with a loud bang, and then rolled and clanged to the bottom.

The thief didn’t miss a beat. She quickly turned her head and yelled out, “Who threw that ham at me? Who threw that ham at me?” Then she ran out of the store.

Citation: Kevin A. Miller, vice president, Christianity Today International

DEPENDENCE ON GOD