No Condemnation! - Romans 8: 1-4

1:04No condemnation. Freedom. Adoption. Redemption. Glory. If God is for us, who can be against us? We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Nothing will be able to separate us. Us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. All of this for us, sinners, fools, fleshly, but forgiven. And so it is with a thrill of anticipation that I invite you to turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8, verse 1. Our passage today is Romans chapter 8, verses 1 through 4. And as we go through this, I think we'll see that many of the themes that we've already seen in the book of Romans kind of climax into a pinnacle in Romans chapter 8. When we read in verses 2 and 3 about sin and death and our sinful flesh, that's going to remind us of Romans 1 through 3, where he spoke about how every person is sinful, deserving God's judgment. When we read in verse 1 about there being no condemnation, that's going to remind us of Romans chapter 4 and 5 and how the righteous are justified by faith and not by works. When we read today in verse 2 about being free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death, That's going to remind us of Romans 6 when he spoke about how Christians are free from our old master, sin.

3:12When we'll read today in verse 3 about the weakness of the law, that will remind us of Romans chapter 7 and how the law is unable to produce the righteousness that it requires. And how the law, not because it's bad, but because we're bad, it's weak. The law is weakened by our own flesh, and so our sin seizes the opportunity to sin even more when it hears the law. And so, with all of that background in our mind, as we come to Romans chapter 8, we get to this pinnacle and we just get to revel in these truths. I think that's going to be our main application for today.

4:08It's just to bask in these truths. Just remember that they are true about us. Let these things permeate our minds. And we'll see other applications as we go along. But I think the main application today is just to. Be amazed and to give God the glory for what he's done. Romans 8, verses 1 through 4 is teaching that God has done what the law could not do. God has done what nobody could do. When God sent His Son, He accomplished for us astounding mercies, impossible for man, but possible only with God. He secured an amazing future for us, even though we didn't deserve it.

5:16And so, as we study this text, we'll see three eternal gifts for those who are in Christ Jesus. Three eternal gifts for those who are in Christ Jesus. Forgiveness, freedom, and righteousness. Three eternal gifts for the one in Christ Jesus. Forgiveness, freedom, and righteousness. Follow along as I read Romans chapter 8, verses 1 through 4. 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.

6:02For 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. Pray with me before we begin. Father, it is such a joy and a privilege for us to come to this passage of Scripture, for us to read how you have accomplished the impossible in our lives, that when you sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross as a substitute for our sin, such an amazing mercy, Father, and I pray that today we would have focused minds and worshipful hearts as we approach your scriptures. I pray that we would learn the truths for the first time if this is a passage we haven't paid attention to in the past, or if there's something in these verses that someone hasn't paid attention to in the past.

7:23But also, I pray that you would help us learn again these truths. Let them permeate our mind and our conscience. Let our thoughts be saturated with the gospel of this week as we remember all that you've accomplished. We thank you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, the first eternal gift for the one who is in Christ Jesus is forgiveness. Look at verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. Complete forgiveness.

8:34We deserve condemnation, right? We deserve the sentence of judgment against us. We deserve the punishment that should follow that sentence of judgment. We were trapped in condemnation, and there was nothing we could do about it because our sin, our flesh, only led us to more sin. And so we were trapped. We deserve this condemnation, and all that would happen if we tried to get out of it is we would deserve even more condemnation. We were stuck forever, and we should be stuck forever, but we're not.

9:18Every ounce of condemnation has been removed from us. You know, sometimes when we know the gospel, and we know that we have believed in the gospel, we've trusted in Christ, and we know that there is no condemnation, we can understand that, okay, we're not going to go to hell and be punished in that way. We're going to get to go to heaven. But then sometimes, as believers, we can slip back into the thought of, yeah, but when I get to heaven, I'm still going to see God there with his arms crossed, you know, kind of giving us that look that our parents used to give us.

10:03You come in, I guess. You're forgiven. Do you ever feel that way? That yes, we've been saved, but there's still those vestiges of condemnation left for us. This verse does not allow for even that small kind of condemnation. There's going to be no such thing. Paul says, no. No condemnation. Every iota of sin has been completely washed away, completely forgiven. There's nothing that God is clinging on to in bitterness. There's nothing He's going to hold against us when we get to heaven.

10:48Everything is forgiven. So, what is this statement based on? You can see the therefore at the beginning of this statement. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So, what is he basing this claim on? If you're like me, you've heard it said a lot of times that this therefore is not pointing back to what just came before, but what's come before in all of the whole letter. That since this is the climax of the letter, that this therefore is pointing back to everything that Paul has taught so far in the book.

11:34Well, that's certainly an idea that's true, that everything in the book has led up to this moment, that we need to understand our forgiveness. But I think usually when we see the word therefore, it points to something right before. And if you remember, when we were studying Romans chapter 7, we saw that at the end of Romans chapter 7, There were positive points that we skip over a lot because we focus so much on the battle of the flesh and the flesh waging war against us as believers that we skip over the fact that Paul is trying to make a positive point there. That war that is waging within us is evidence of the fact that we ourselves have been changed, our heart has been changed. So, yes, my flesh cannot keep the law, but also my flesh is not the only factor. Something has changed. I have the Spirit of God.

12:36Yes, Paul says, With my flesh I serve the law of sin. My flesh will always choose to sin if it's left to its own devices. But also, Paul says, I myself serve the law of God with my mind. And so, if it's true that a change has happened, if it's true that our hearts have been changed, if God has done such a work in our lives, then we can know there is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And notice that last key phrase: for those who are in Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus, this is what matters.

13:23We must be unified with Christ. And as believers, we were unified with Christ. We were. Killed with Christ. We died with him. We were buried with him. And we rose again to new life when we became a believer. Because we are in Christ Jesus. By faith, we are in Christ Jesus, never to be taken out again. And so, if you're asking yourself, as you hear about this passage, if you hear this passage speaking about no condemnation, and you're reading this, and it says that there's eternal forgiveness, no condemnation.

14:16And you think to yourself, I need that. I know I'm a sinner. I know I deserve condemnation. I know I need total forgiveness. How do I get it? Well, the answer is right here: what he said. The only answer is that you need to be in Christ Jesus. You need to be one of his people. You need to come to him and trust that he is who he said he is. Trust that he died, that he truly died. He died all the way on the cross. And he was buried. And on the third day, He rose again.

15:04You need to come to him and ask for forgiveness of your sins. Trust that your sins can be paid by him. Paid by him on the cross. That's how you find forgiveness, this eternal forgiveness, this freedom from condemnation. And if you're already a Christian, then this is what you already have. So don't forget it. As you bask in these truths, remember that he loves you, and there is no condemnation, not even a little, left over for you. No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Our second eternal gift for the one who is in Christ Jesus is freedom. Look at verse 2. Verse 2. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

16:03For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. So again, remember in Romans 7, usually the main discussion in Romans, when he's talking about the law, the main discussion is centering around the actual Jewish Mosaic law. But towards the end of chapter 7, he began to. Use the word in another way that we also use the word to speak about like a principle or a rule, an unchanging law, like we might say the laws of nature or the laws of logic or something like that.

16:44So listen to the end of Romans chapter 7. This is verse 21. He's saying, I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. You see what he's saying? It's like a rule. It's a principle. Verse 22, for I delight in the law of God. That's probably the Mosaic law in my inner being. Verse 23, 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. Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

17:37Now that's exactly the kind of language that I think he's using in verse 2 in our text. And so look again at verse 2. He says, For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. And when we're reading this chapter out of context, which many of us do because we love Romans 8, I have done it about a hundred times. And so, maybe more, I don't know, but when we read this chapter out of context, we can come to this and assume that the law of sin and death, that that's maybe a nickname for the Mosaic law or something like that. But I think that it's more likely that he's carrying on the same conversation from chapter 7, where he's already said, There is a law of sin that dwells in my members, a law of sin that dwells in his body of death. And that's what he's meaning when he says that he's been set free from this law of sin and death.

18:38There is this unchangeable rule about us when we're unbelievers that we always choose to sin. And there is this unchangeable rule about us as believers that in our flesh, our flesh, if left to itself, will always choose to sin. But that law of sin and death is exactly what you have been set free from. The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. There is a greater rule. There is a law that overcomes that law of sin and death. And that is the law of the Spirit of life.

19:23If you are in Christ Jesus, you are no longer bound so that you have to sin. Yes, your flesh is still waging war against you, but you have the Spirit of life that can overcome the flesh. And I believe that that is to be understood as the capital S, Holy Spirit, the Spirit of life, the third person of the Trinity. He is the key to this fight against the flesh as a believer. This is what he's going to go into and talk about for much of the rest of this chapter in verse 5 and beyond.

20:06So, yes, it is a law, it is a rule that your flesh will always choose to sin, but the Spirit of life is stronger than your flesh, so that you're never enslaved. Yes, you might present your members, you might present your body to sin, but you shouldn't. As he says in Romans chapter 6, you shouldn't, and you never have to. There always is a way of escape. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. You've been given this freedom, you've been given this life instead of death.

20:48You've been given the Holy Spirit. Now, again, if you hear that and you know you don't have that life, You know, you don't have that freedom, and you think to yourself, I want that. How do I get freedom from my own sin? I feel trapped in my sin. I sin with my words. I sin with my actions. I sin in my thoughts. I can't escape from it. How do I get this freedom? Well, again, it's right here in this text. He says, For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus. He says the same thing.

21:42There's only one way to get that freedom. There's only one thing you can do to get that freedom, and that is to come to Jesus and trust in him. Repent of your sin. Turn from your stubbornness. Stop pretending you can earn your own righteousness. And instead, ask God for forgiveness. Then you can be in Christ Jesus. You can experience for the first time the freedom that belongs to believers in Christ. The forgiveness that we have. And again, for those of you who are Christians already, this is what you have. Don't forget it. You have this freedom. You have this life. You are never so bound in your sin that there's not a way of escape.

22:49You're no longer living a life that is expecting eternal death and condemnation. And you're no longer living a life that must be trapped in sin moment by moment. There's always a way of escape because you have the Spirit of life. You are in Christ Jesus. So don't forget it. Remember these truths. Now, before we go on to the third point, I want to go backwards for just a minute. And I want to bring up something a little bit puzzling in the first verse. Look at the first verse again. He says, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

23:36And if we ask the question on a normal day when we're not studying Romans chapter 8, if we ask the question, why is there no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? I think most of us who are believers would be quick to say something like, Because Jesus paid our price on the cross, he took away our Sin. He justified us, so there is no condemnation. Well, I think that is the correct answer. We are justified. We have been forgiven. But Paul, surprisingly, gives a different correct answer in this passage. Remember, we talked about in verse 1 that he uses the word therefore. And I think that this puzzle is why many commentators say that, well, that therefore must be talking about everything that's come so far in the book. And I think it's because we expect the reason for there to be no condemnation. We expect it to be because we've been justified. And so we want to flip back in Romans to where we last saw justification by faith and not by works. And that was in Romans chapter 4 and 5. And so we say this, therefore, must be going back to that Romans chapter 4 and 5, or at least it's covering everything that we've read so far in Romans.

25:04Because we expect that immediate answer to be, there's no condemnation because of justification. Instead of assuming that this therefore has to do with what's come just before, the struggle of the mind and the flesh, this reality that something has been changed in us so we can know we have no condemnation. But I bring up this puzzle again because when we go in the other direction, That was going backwards with the word therefore. And when we go in the other direction in chapter 2, he uses the word for or because to start verse 2. So, verse 2 is again answering the question: why is there no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? And when we get to verse 3 and 4, he'll talk about Jesus dying, being sent as a sacrifice for sin. He will talk about that, but that's not the reason for verse 1. I'm almost done with this point if I'm driving you crazy. That's not the reason for verse 1. That's the reason for verse 2. Verse 2 is the reason for verse 1.

26:07So the immediate answer, if we ask the question, why is there no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? The immediate answer is because the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. All of that to say, if someone asks us, why is there no condemnation for you if you're a sinner? The right answer is because we've been justified, because we've been forgiven. But there's also another answer that it's because we have been set free in every way. We've been set free from our own flesh. We've been set free.

26:51Yes, we've been set free because of what Christ has done on the cross, but I think that there's something for us to meditate on here. Paul's point, remember at the end. End of Romans 7 is he says, it is no longer I who sin, but sin that dwells within me. And so, whether we feel like it or not, as believers, something has dramatically changed in our lives so that we are free in every way from every ounce of condemnation, and we're free from our flesh, and we're free from the law.

27:22That's Paul's answer here, and I think there's something for us to meditate on there, something we don't think about too often. But that brings us to the third eternal gift for the one who is in Christ Jesus, and that's righteousness. Righteousness, forgiveness, freedom, and righteousness. Look at verse 3. 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.

28:14So the law was weak. The law could not condemn sin in the flesh. The law could not cause true righteousness. Paul can comfortably say this now, because he spent so long explaining this in chapter 7. That it's not because the law is bad, it's not because the law is wicked, but it's because we are bad and we are wicked. So the law is weakened, as he says in verse 3 in our text, the law is weakened by the flesh.

28:59And so if somebody looked to the law to condemn sin in the flesh, they would only find that it doesn't work. You can't resort to the law to condemn sin in the flesh. The blood of sheep and goats could never permanently atone for sin, it could never permanently cleanse us, nor could we atone for our own sins by doing something righteous. Only God could do something. And he did. That's the point of these verses. Only God could step in and do something, and he did something. 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. God sent his son for sin, to take care of sin, to be the eternal sacrifice for all my sin.

30:00Now, notice how he describes Jesus. He has several phrases here how he describes Jesus. He says, in the likeness of sinful flesh. And then at the end of verse 3, he'll say that he condemned sin in the flesh. And so you can see that Jesus was truly in the flesh and in the likeness of sinful flesh. If you think about it, this is a perfect way to say this, that this puts up guardrails for us from heresy. Because if he had only said that Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh, then we might read that and assume that he's saying something like, Jesus only appeared to be human. He came only in the likeness of sinful flesh. Remember, that was something that the early church had to battle a lot. We read about it in John, in John's writings. He had to battle against this idea that people were saying, oh, it wasn't really flesh and blood. God would never become flesh and blood.

31:14It was only the appearance of flesh and blood. And so Paul adds here that the sacrifice was made in the flesh. It was truly in the flesh. But also notice. When he says that in the likeness of sinful flesh, he's careful not to say he came in sinful flesh. Because that would have been another heresy to claim that Jesus lived in sinful flesh. Yes, he had a flesh just like ours. Yes, he came in the likeness of sinful flesh, but he was without sin.

31:52And so you can just see how perfect this statement is. By sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. So yes, he was truly in the flesh, the same as our flesh, in the likeness of sinful flesh, only without sin. So it's not sinful. Paul also says that Jesus was sent for sin, not on behalf of sin, you know, not for sin's sake, but to take care of sin. Usually, when this phrase is used for sin, it's talking about as a sacrifice for sin.

32:38And so Jesus was sent to be that sacrifice. Jesus was sent to pay for sin. 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. God condemned sin in the flesh. He carried out the full penalty for sin, only not on us. He carried out the full penalty for sin in flesh, but not our flesh, Christ's flesh.

33:28So that the sin is condemned in the flesh, but there is no condemnation for us who have believed. We are free. And this is for a reason, he says, in verse 4, he says, in order that, verse 4, 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. Now, if there are any theologians in the room, sometimes this sounds to us like he's speaking about active obedience. And if you haven't heard that term before, in many of the systematic theology books, there's this paradigm or setup that when Jesus went to the cross and died on the cross, what was happening to him was passive, and so that's called his passive obedience. And they'll say something like, that brought us from negative 100% righteousness up to zero, clean. That was Jesus' passive obedience. But we also needed his active obedience, his law-keeping, so that we could be brought from zero to 100% righteousness, so that his deeds could be credited to us. Have you ever heard anything like that? That they would say something like, His death on the cross paid to go from negative 100 to 0, but his deeds and his life went from 0 to 100 so that we can really get into heaven. I don't think that the scriptures present quite as tidy of a system as that.

35:08I think that in the scriptures, 0% unrighteousness is the same as 100% righteousness. I don't know if that makes sense to you. I don't think that God ever demanded that we had to earn our way into heaven with positive works. I think that all we needed was for Christ to pay for our sin. That 0% sin is 100% righteousness. Even in this text, for the theologians in the room, if he's speaking of Jesus' righteous deeds, this righteous requirement of the law that he's talking about, if he's speaking of that, then it kind of busts the paradigm a little bit because the way he's talking about it is his death. He's saying his sacrifice for sin is what brought that righteousness to. Us. But, anyways, enough of that talk. The point that I'm trying to make is that that doesn't seem to be what he's saying in this verse. Instead, verse 4 seems to be teaching about our behavior, about something that is actually fulfilled in us. Look at verse 4, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. I think he's speaking that after believers, we are given this righteousness truly forever, no condemnation, no more sin in our life that we're going to be punished for, so that in our actions we can be truly righteous, so that we can actually fulfill the righteousness that God desires. Before we became believers, we could not be righteous. This fits with the context. Before we became believers, we could not be righteous, but after we became believers, if we're not walking in the flesh, if we're not presenting our members to unrighteousness, well, then we can fulfill righteousness. Our sins have been paid for, and our condemnation has been removed, so now we can, moment by moment, turn away from the flesh with God's help. We can actually perform righteous acts that are pleasing to God.

37:25In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the law. To the flesh, but according to the Spirit. You see, this is about the way we walk. Those who walk according, not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. And again, that's the key that Paul is going to give us: walking according to the Spirit. That's the key to how do we live a righteous life? How do we live a life that is pleasing to the Lord? We walk by the Spirit, then we can truly display righteousness.

38:01Something we were never able to do before. And again, if we go back to verse 3, all of this is only possible because of what God has done. The law couldn't do it. We certainly couldn't do it. Only God could forgive us and free us and cause righteousness to flow out of our lives. Real righteousness. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do by sending his own Son. God did what the law could not do, he condemned sin in the flesh.

38:58Again, if you hear those words, And you wish that you could truly do good things that please the Lord? If you hear those truths about being spotless and righteous because of what Christ has done, because Christ has paid the penalty. If you think, I want that, how do I get that righteousness? I think the answer is the same as it was the last two times. Only in Christ Jesus. He is the one who is sent for sin. He is the only payment for sin.

39:54He is the only one who can serve as your substitute. In His flesh on the cross, your sin can be condemned so that there is no condemnation for you. You can be free from sin as your master. You can be changed into someone who is truly righteous. In reality, before God, righteous, because all your sins have been. Paid for, but also in your actions, you become somebody who can do things that will actually please the Lord.

40:39You could start a life that is filled with the thrill of serving the God who made you. Serving the God who loves you. So, again, the answer is the same: come to God and ask for His forgiveness. Turn away from your sins, repent, and turn to God. And believers, for those of us who are already Christians, this too is true of you. So don't forget it: that since your sin has been paid for, since Jesus was sent for sin, to be the sacrifice, to be the substitute, since Jesus came in flesh that was like your flesh, since he died for sin, then you can walk in righteousness.

41:35You can walk according to the Spirit. Wise young men and young women, when they're dating or when they're engaged, the wisest of young men and young women will put guards around their life. So that they're never tempted to sin before they're married. They'll come up with rules for themselves: like, we should never be hanging out alone. You know, dinner alone at one of our houses, that's not a good idea. I certainly can't stay at your house. All of these things are full of wisdom. And if we know our sinful hearts, if we know the power of temptation, then we know why those are full of wisdom.

42:35But after the wedding, if you have been walking in obedience before the wedding, well, then all of a sudden, it can seem too good to be true. I know many of the couples have felt that. You know, wait, I can just hang out with you now? I don't have to worry about that stuff. It feels like we should be getting in trouble for this. But totally innocent and totally righteous after the wedding vows, it can feel too good to be true.

43:11Well, in the same way as believers, if we have been convicted of our sin, if we know how dark our hearts are, if we know how twisted our thoughts are, If we know that our actions deserve damnation, if we know that we deserve to be stained dark forever, to think that instead we are forgiven, that we are washed white, that there is never any condemnation for all of eternity. It's too good to be true. It feels like we should get in trouble for even thinking thoughts like that.

44:08If we know the depths of our sin, it feels too good to be true that we can be forgiven and free and righteous. But it is true. We can walk according to the Spirit now. We can reject our flesh. We are forgiven. We are free. We are righteous. The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Instead of being stuck in the unchangeable rule that our flesh will only choose to sin, we've been given freedom in life so that we can walk in joy, we can walk in uprightness. The unchangeable law of the Spirit overrules the law of sin and death in our life.

45:02We have eternal life. It can sometimes feel like these things are so good and so too good to be true that we don't want to meditate on it. It feels like too much for us. But I think we should. And there's so much for us to meditate on and be joyful about this week as we think back over this text. So much for us to meditate on. And this lays a good foundation for what's to come in the rest of the chapter. You know, more practical instruction on how to walk according to the Spirit.

45:50So let's bask in these truths this week, this week, and pray with me. Father, this does seem too good to be true, that there can be 100% no condemnation for us ever for all of eternity because of what Christ has done on the cross and because of our freedom. That we can know that because of the change that you have accomplished in our life, this great victory that you have won over our lives, we can know that there will never, for all of eternity, ever be any condemnation for those who have believed.

46:32For those who have come and repented and believed. And so, Father, I pray that you would help us to walk in righteousness. Help us be people who walk according to the Spirit. Help us be filled with joy. Help us remember these truths. Help us stand firm with our feet firmly planted in the truth that there is no condemnation for us for all of eternity. And Father, again, I pray that if there's somebody in this room that has never come to you and never believed, I pray that they would come even today, that they would believe in Jesus Christ, that they would repent of their sins, turn from their sins, and turn to you and be forgiven, have no condemnation forever, experience the thrill of being able to serve you for all of eternity.

47:40Experience the freedom from sin in every way. We thank you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.