ROMANS 8:1-4 In Christ = No Condemnation!

 

From time to time this important question may arise in our minds: Can I be sure that I will not be condemned when I shall stand one day before the judgment seat of God?  

Atheists and Agnostics will say – that’s not a problem for me, since I don’t believe in God; I have no sense of accountability to God.

Universalists will say – Since God loves everyone and will allow no one to perish since Christ has died for the sins of the whole world (whether they know it or not), there’s no need to worry. 

But the person that reads the Bible cannot come to such a conclusion, since they can see from a plain reading that (i) God is holy (ii) man is sinful (iii) God, the Creator will hold man accountable for His sin (iv) God has provided a Redeemer (v) but only for those that confess their sin and turn to Him. 

We left Romans 7 with the apostle Paul, a mature believer in Christ seeing all this, and crying out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  He is struck by the holiness of God and the sinfulness of sin, and he finds himself begging for an answer to this dilemma: How can I, a wretched sinner stand before this holy God? Thankfully, the answer is not slow in coming. It comes in 7:25, “Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

In Romans 8 we come to one of the most thrilling chapters in the whole Bible.  The outcome of this chapter will be this thought: What a great salvation we have in Christ! 

Romans 8 begins with the statement of his theme in 8:1 - “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.  In the remaining 38 verses, he works out that statement

In 8:1-4  we learn three things that are greatly liberating   

1. 8: 1 - 2 THE PRESENCE OF SIN IN OUR LIVES IS NOT THE FINAL STORY

8:1,2 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.

The first liberating reality  we learn is that the presence of sin in a believer’s life is not the final story.  The presence and reality of sin in a believer’s life is undeniable.  We have seen this in Romans 3:9-20 and we have seen how Paul wrestles with this experience of sin in Romans 7:13 -24. And if he had ended there, this would be a most depressing conclusion.  

But now Paul wants us to see that the presence and reality of sin in our lives (Paul calls it  ‘the law of sin’ ) is not the whole story.  It certainly is not the final story.    

He shows us that there is another, much greater law at work in the believer’s life. He calls it  ‘the law of the Spirit of life’.  When you become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you are born again through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-8). You have received the righteousness of God (Rom. 3:21). You are justified by grace through faith in Jesus (Rom 3:24,26,28; 5:1,9). Justification means being ‘right with God’.  The great Judge of the Universe has declared you ‘not guilty‘. And He does this on the basis of the life of His Divine Son, in whom you have believed, and trusted. He has paid the price of your sin and guilt. This is the law of life which has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

But in chapter 7 we have seen that the law of sin (and death) is still at work in the believer. So how can these two laws, “the law of the Spirit of life” and “the law of sin and death” be at work within us?   

(i)                  The Bible teaches us here that this is so

(ii)                Our experience teaches us that this is so. In your experience you find this constant conflict. If you have been a Christian for any length of time you will have said something like this, “I am a Christian. I want to be like Jesus, but I find that I struggle with sin - sometimes even with serious sin. What can I do? Am I still a Christian when sin overcomes me?” Worse still, some think at this point, “Have I lost my salvation”?

Here is Paul’s answer following his struggle in Chapter 7: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death."

You will now have to learn not to base your trust in your feelings, but in facts.  You will need to base your trust in the lifegiving work of the Spirit, who incidentally has just convicted you of your sin, and has made you feel despondent and sorrowful. This is not a normal pattern with an unconverted person.  So, you have sinned!  Will this sin then undo your salvation? No!  Why? Because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is greater than the law of sin and death.  A Christian is not someone who has become incapable of sinning. A Christian is someone whose sin has been completely dealt with by Christ.

The law of the Spirit > than the law of sin and death

2.  8:3 A POWERFUL SAVIOUR   DEALS  EFFECTIVELY  WITH 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”,

The second liberating   reality   is best expressed in four propositions:

4  Realities  

a.      “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do for you:  Your freedom has come to you because of what God has done. Your sinful flesh weakens you considerably – so much so that you cannot overcome sin by yourself.   GOD TAKES INITIATIVE

b.      "God did this by sending His own Son". The great solution to your sin problem- that which stands between you and your holy Creator is Jesus!  How did God do this?  He sent His own Son.   He is Jesus, the eternal Son of God (John 1:1). He sent the eternal Jesus via a miraculous supernatural conception into Mary’s womb, born in the likeness of a man, a human baby, fully experiencing life in a fallen world, yet remaining without sin, dying as the sinless Lamb of God, bearing away the sin of those who will look to Him and trust Him for His work on their behalf.  This is simply stupendous: The God who created mankind in His image –first represented in Adam and Eve, who fell into a state of sin in Genesis 3, that Creator God sends another Adam – a perfect man into this world. GOD’S SOLUTION: HIS SON – JESUS CHRIST

c.       “By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh“:  Here are two important truths about Jesus: 

      (i) Jesus experienced all the sin and weaknesses common to human beings living in a fallen world, and 

     (ii) at the same time, He never sinned. His nature, His humanity was not fallen. The idea that Jesus became fallen human being is a heresy.  The phrase “in the likeness of sinful flesh” does not mean that He became involved in acts of sin.  True, He became sin for us, but the text in 2 Cor 5:21 reads, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” He became sin in the sense that He became our sin- bearer, but Jesus was never inherently sinful.  In the likeness of sinful flesh simply affirms that God brought His Son into the closest possible relation to us, yet without sin.  

Consider also this: “By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,  and for sin (or as a sin offering)."  JESUS CHRIST – OUR HUMAN SINLESS SIN-BEARER

And therefore…

d.      “he condemned sin in the flesh“…  Being sinless meant that He could kill sin! He is greater than sin. Therefore, He has condemned sin in the flesh. He has freed us from its enslaving power. That is amazing news.  JESUS’  DEATH  EFFECTIVELY DEALS WITH OUR SIN- PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

  Christ in whom we trust   >  is greater than all  our sin

Here are four compelling reasons proving that we must rest entirely in Christ’s finished work.

My greatest challenge is not to look at myself to closely. Too much  introspection without  looking to Christ   will end in becoming spiritually depressed.  Robert Murray MÇheyne (1813-1843), a Scottish pastor, wisely counselled,   "For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ" . We must  spend more time reflecting on Jesus  person  and work - resting in  Christ's grace and sufficiency. Say frequently  to yourself, Christ has done this for me and this is what I cling to. If you say, “but I don’t feel  as if I’m free from the power of sin”, then Paul says to you,  read these words again!  

3.  8:4    CHRIST IN US FULFILLS THE RIGHTEOUS REQUIREMENT  OF THE LAW

“… 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. This text stands in relation to 8:3  and must be understood in that context.

The third liberating  reality rests in the fact  that   the law is completed in Christ. Therefore we do not rest in the law. We rest in Christ.  When we walk according to the Spirit  and in Christ, the  righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us.

The result? No more condemnation!  

Christ = the end  and fulfilment of the law 

Your Lord Jesus’ victory over sin – even your sin,  liberates you from the law of sin which constantly shouts, guilty, guilty, guilty … and that is true of course,  for the law is righteous in its requirements, and holy and true.

BUT, it  tells you MORE SO, that the law of sin has been completed and superseded in Christ Jesus. This is the law of the Spirit of life, and it has set you free from the law of sin and death- so called because the law in itself cannot save you. It can only accuse you. 

But the law of the Spirit drives you to Christ. He is the end of the law (Rom 10:4) and the fulfilment of the law. You must walk in that law.  He  is the living center  from which you must live.

This is the promise given to Jeremiah 31:33  and Ezekiel 11:19-20, 36:26,27, the anticipation of the new covenant where God undertakes  to give His people a new heart and a new spirit. That new heart is driven by love for your Saviour. All your future obedience flows from that relationship.

Have you received THAT heart? 

In the following verses from 8:5 onwards we will see how that new heart manifests itself in the way we live our lives in this world.    

For this we  will have to wait for next time we meet.