TEXT : Romans
8: 1-17
TITLE: The Gospel teaches us that there
is no more condemnation for those in Christ Jesus
Date : 27 /11 /2011
Today we will consider
yet another phenomenon that
would attack and undermine the
good seed , the gospel and
therefore the centrality of the person and the work
of the Lord Jesus Christ in our
heart , mind , soul and passion: False guilt and shame!
This problem is
precipitated by ‘non
thinking’ or ‘shallow thinking’ , or perhaps by
busy , cluttered minds that do not want to
think
through the teaching of Scripture
on the
achievement of the cross for the true believer : “There
is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Christians who let others do the thinking for them will
at some time either be
confused by legalistic “Galatian
type Christians” , or antinomian
[1] “ Corinthian
type Christians “ . Both letters of
Paul to these respective churches
reflect a very stern rebuke .
Here is a practical
outworking of these two positions
in terms of attending public worship on the 7th day :
The legalist says : “ You have to go to public worship on the 7th day if you
are you are a Christian “ . By
this statement the legalist indicates
that one’s works
prove that you are a Christian .
This was the error of the Pharisees.
They were meticulously focused on law
and works , but this was not combined
with love for
God Himself . Therefore
they refused to embrace Christ - the gospel .
The antinomian says :
“ You must not be legalistic about public worship on the 7th day , because
you are not saved by law or works , but by
grace alone “ . The antinomian
is right , of course . But you
can be right in your doctrine
and yet not love Christ
The antinomian needs to read the letter of James as a corrective . James teaches us
that works must
surely follow your profession of faith .
Conclusion : If
public worship is seen as a duty
and not as a delight , there is a problem , whether you are a legalist or an antinomian . In both cases the center of your delight in worship is not Christ , but ‘duty’
or ‘anti-duty’ . Public worship is a good , sound habit which God has designed as a means of grace , and those who do not
use this
means of grace will eventually suffer the consequences .
When you let others do the thinking for you , you
may become very easily enslaved by
teachings that enslave you rather than free you . I
remind you that God has given you a
mind . It must be used
prayerfully and in dependence upon the gracious aid of the Holy Spirit who helps us to think. The Bereans of Acts
17:11 were a good example
of such a people
.
So with respect to false guilt and shame that is imposed upon us so very often by others or by our cultural
actions or reactions , what can we learn
from our passage in Romans 8: 1 -11 ?
1. We consider firstly the plain teaching of Scripture :
Verse 1 sums up
the theme of the entire chapter : “There is therefore now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus.” This
is a general statement of what is true
of the Christian. It is a fundamental
truth ! The remaining 38 verses
are a 'working - out' of the theme...
Verses 2 - 4 teach us
that Christians have been freed from the law of sin and death
( not meaning that the law is evil , but that the law is unable
to save us ; it can only condemn
us) . Christ Jesus has done it !
Christ’s death frees the true believer from all the accusations , all
guilt all condemnation that might be
brought against him/her .
Verses 5 - 17 teach us that there are two kinds of people in the world , who have
two different kinds of desires , and who
have two different reactions to
God and therefore they have two different future
destinations and therefore two present responses :
(i) Two different kind of people : those who live according to the
flesh versus those who live according to
the Spirit
(ii) Two kinds of desires
: those who set their minds on the things of the flesh (8:5,6,7) versus those who have set their minds on the things of the spirit (8:4,5,6)
(iii) Two
kinds of reactions to God :
the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God (8:7) and cannot
please God (8:8) , versus the spiritual mind
that is at peace with God . The spiritual mind has the Spirit of God ( 8:8)… the Spirit of
Christ(8:9)
(iv) Two kinds of destinations : those led
by the flesh do not belong to Christ (8:9) . Their destiny is eternal
death ( 8:6) , whereas
those who are led by the spirit , have life and peace ( 8:6) . This means that even though their bodies must die , they will be resurrected to eternal
life ( 8:11) . Our salvation is
guaranteed, because of the work ( the deposit – Eph 1:14) of the
Holy Spirit within us. He gives us true
life (8:2); He enables us to walk according to His power ( 8:4) ; He enables us to have our mind fixed
on the things of God ( 8:5) ; His
presence in us produces life and peace( 8:6)
; He dwells in us and thereby
mediates the real and life giving presence of Christ (8:9 -11) .
(v) Two kinds of responses : debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh ( which leads
to death – 8:12,13a) BUT debtors
to Christ, who gives us His Spirit
by whom we are enabled to
live as sons of God – i.e. not in slavery and fear (8:15) BUT as adopted (8:15) children of God ( 8:16)
The big point about chapter 8 is that those who are truly Christians ( as seen by those distinctives that set them apart from non-believers) are fully supplied by God’s
grace .
2. Application : How does this knowledge help us ?
This passage
helps the believer in terms of his/her assurance . The
conclusion near the end of chapter
8 in the light of all this teaching is
this : “ If God is for us , who can be against us ? “
( 8:31) . If you understand the complete and powerful work of God
in you
in terms of dealing with your sin
and forgiving all your sin , then it
helps you greatly .
You are helped to see that Christ
completely unloads any false guilt and condemnation under which
you may currently live.
Let us try to see this in real life
situations in which various Christians may find themselves.
- a Christian father who has to work away from home frequently lives with constant guilt that he is not there in the growing up phases of his children .
- a Christian mother lives under perpetual guilt and self condemnation because she thinks she does not do enough for her children, her husband , the finances…
- a child growing up in a Christian home feels perpetual guilt and shame for not living up to its parents expectations .
- a woman has had an abortion a few years ago ; since then she has become a Christian , but she continues to labour under heavy guilt and shame.
- You may perhaps experience a continuous sense of regret over your lack of prayer.
- Pastors often feel guilty for not being able to meet everyone’s need in the congregation etc .
Some of these guilt issues come such a long and far way , that some have begun to think that it is normal to go through life bearing such burdens . Although you are a Christian and
although you are supposed to be one of God’s free people , you
rarely feel free . Many of us feel trapped and enslaved
by someone or something , and
we know nothing of the joy
or the victory that is supposed to be our portion.
The truth is that apart from the cross , apart from the
gospel , apart from Christ
condemnation is normal ! That is why natural people
drink and do drugs , or engage in a number of distractions to get rid of these ‘normal’ feelings of condemnation . The truth is
that without the gospel , apart from the cleansing and pardoning work of our Lord
Jesus Christ we all deserve to be condemned. No one
is righteous , not even one …( Rom 3:10-18)
But here the
Bible tells us : “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus.” Here you are, Christian man and woman , and you feel perpetual guilt and condemnation . What is it that
you are not understanding?
You are not
yet understanding that the work of Christ in you is greater than all your sin !
The
Bible constantly affirms that
in Christ the believer’s
sins ( past , present and future)
have been completely taken care of . Consider also what Colossians 2: 6- 14
teaches us in this regard .
Your entire record of debt that stood against you with its legal demands , was nailed to the
cross (Col 2:14) .
This is precisely
what Horatio Spafford had understood when he composed the hymn: “ It is well with my soul” in 1873
“ My sin – oh
the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin , not in part but
the whole
Is nailed to the cross and
I bear it no more
Praise the Lord , Praise
the Lord oh my soul.”
So now I
trust that you understand the magnificent grace of God ; His total
forgiveness for all your sins . Consider
then all the guilt and condemnation that
you as a Christian might still
experience to be nailed to the cross!
Jesus died for all your sin . You bear it no more.
Moreover , you are no longer a slave ( see
8:15!) “ For you did not receive the
spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by who we cry Abba , Father!”
You have received power to obey , and
by this grace you are able
to turn from old sinful ways of living and you are able to walk in grace
motivated obedience . The motive for going to church on a Sunday is no
longer duty driven . It is a delight ,
because Jesus is there , and His Word is there , and His people are
there , genuine love is there , and a
whole lot of spiritual gifts that minister to you are
there …
All this does not mean that you will not regularly
face your own depravity and sinfulness. It is a reality . But the
difference is that when you have taken
this scripture into your heart that you
will know that the reality of
Christ’s death and forgiveness of your sin
is a greater reality ! Paul knew himself to be the chief
of sinners ( 1 Tim 1:16) , but note that
he wasn’t paralyzed by condemnation . On
the contrary , he now had
a better appreciation of God’s
grace by recognizing his own
unworthiness and sin as he
marveled at the mercy of God .
It doesn’t mean that
you will not occasionally struggle with condemnation and feelings of
guilt, but you will know what to do
with it .
And when you do sin
( and there is no one who does not sin
– 1 Jn 1:8,9 ) , then you
must confess your sin to God . He who is faithful and just has promised to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all
remaining sin – from all
unrighteousness!
By this knowledge may you learn to live the rest of
your days in worshipful thankfulness as you
are reminded with Paul : But I received mercy for this reason, that
in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an
example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:16 ESV)
[1] Antinomianism (a
term coined by Martin Luther , from the Greek
ἀντί,
"against" + νόμος, "law") is defined as holding
that, under the gospel dispensation of grace , moral law is of no use or obligation because faith
alone is necessary to salvation .
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