Rom 8:1-16
Rom 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
No condemnation. Why? Because we belong to Jesus. Law of Spirit (life) instead of law of sin and death. The law cannot condemn us, just like if you’re dead the police can’t come and arrest you and you can’t be convicted. We have died with Christ and so the law – God’s law – cannot convict us. We are dead to the law and alive to Christ! We are dead to sin because we live for Christ.
This is the message of Romans! No condemnation. We do not have to placate God. We do not have to worry about our “performance”. We do not have to live in fear of disappointing God so much that he throws us out. He is a good, good father. He loves us unconditionally. I don’t know what kind of parents you had. Some of you maybe did grow up in fear. Fear of disappointing them. Fear of upsetting them. But in Christ there is no fear. He has declared us to be in the right with him. He loves us and nothing can separate us from that love.
Nothing can separate us because his love is not based on our performance - we are weak because of sin and so we fail – his love is based on his performance, guaranteed by the cross and resurrection. God has done what the law could not because we are weak. V3 So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
His sacrifice means that we are in perfect relationship with him. With God. A relationship so perfect that we can call God “father”.
Lord grant us today that we will see the glory and the joy of the gospel. Open our eyes to your mercy. Let us feel it! Amen.
Ok. It’s been a while since we’ve been in Romans. And v1 starts off with the word therefore. If you see a therefore ask what the therefore is there for! Two good reasons to do a quick review of Romans so far.
So let me take us through what we have learned so far to bring us up to this most powerful statement: so there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Romans kicks off with something equally powerful: 1:16, our key verse: I am not ashamed of the gospel for IT is the POWER of God for salvation. The gospel is GOD’S power for salvation for ANYONE who believes.
Why? Why do we need the gospel? Why does the gospel need to be God’s power? Why can’t it be our power? 1:18 gives the answer: Ro 1:18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
The gospel has to be something FROM God TO us (not us reaching out to God) because we are sinners and God is angry with us. How do we know this? Look around at the world. The mess we see around us is proof of God’s judgement. He gives us over, abandons us to our foolishness. He allows us to sin.
And chapter 2 says the way out isn’t being good – because the good person just condemns themselves! Lying is wrong, but we lie.
And being Jewish doesn’t help either. Because the Jew who is supposed to keep the law, doesn’t. So instead of the Law bringing salvation, it brings condemnation.
And so we end up with this sobering conclusion in 3:10 No-one is righteous, not even one. All our excuses are brought to nothing. How often have you done something despite the fact that you knew it was wrong? What about all those things in the moral “grey area”? Our own morals condemn us long before we even get to God. Ro 3:10 “No one is righteous— not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”
And that is why we are not ashamed of the gospel! No we rejoice in the gospel! Because in it a righteousness FROM God is revealed. God’s power for salvation in Jesus Christ. Ro 3:22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
In the gospel God does what we can’t:
we break the law, so Jesus keeps the perfectly law for us. Justified.
We are slaves to sin, in bondage to sin, so Jesus never sins – a perfect sacrifice. He pays the price to set us free. Redeemed.
We face Gods just anger – so Jesus takes our sin upon himself, and satisfies God’s anger with his sacrifice on the cross. Propitiated.
We are justified, redeemed, propitiated.
Ro 5:1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
But it’s not just our future which is secure, it is now. New life starts now. Not just saved FROM sin but saved FOR God. We have new life. Sin brings death, but faith in Jesus brings life.
As Christians we are the new humanity. Jesus is our new Adam. As human beings we are all sinners, because we are all born “of Adam”. His sin DNA is in us and we all confirm that we are sinners almost immediately. Just watch kids! No-one teaches them to sin but they do. This is why God must be sovereign over salvation. If we had any part to play in our salvation, then the unborn, the mentally challenged, and babies and small children all have no way to be saved. Because they are in Adam Ro 5:12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
Therefore we are not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of…. GOD for salvation. Not us, praise God. So anyone can be saved. The unborn, the aborted, the mentally challenged, and you and me. The Spirit can wake anyone to life.
Adam’s one act brought death, but Jesus’ one act brought life - big enough and powerful enough to swallow up Adam’s act of death and reverse the curse. Amen!
Therefore, how should we live? Chapter 6 Like we belong to God! Ro 6:20–23 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
But, we say, I don’t FEEL like I’m dead to sin. In fact, sin feels very alive in me! I keep doing what I don’t want to do. Ro 7:23–8:1 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The answer when we are tempted to sin is to remember who we are. We belong to Christ. We have died to sin. Sin has no power over us. We don’t need to sin anymore!
Because what benefit does sin bring? When was the last time you sinned and thought “I’m so glad I did that”. Sin brings judgement and sin leads to eternal death. But now, in Christ, we can be righteous. For the first time we can choose not to sin!
So there are now two of me inside. The old man of sin and death, and the new man of Spirit and life. I am free now! I don’t have to listen to the old man anymore. I don’t have to follow the old way of life. Ro 8:2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
In Christ we are for the first time truly free. Free to see ourselves as we truly are – sinners. Full of selfishness and self-justification, and excuses for our behaviour and the painful awareness of “me” and how are people seeing me and what if they don’t like me. We’re set free from that self-obsession so that we can glorify and enjoy God – what we were made for.
We’re free to choose not to sin, and we have been given the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead. His power is sufficient!
Chapter 8 continues to remind us of the incredible truths of the gospel as Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes these words in v3, summing up what we’ve been learning from the previous chapters:
3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have.
That’s what we just celebrated at Christmas. That God was born a man. Now that is astounding enough – that he became one of us to reveal himself to us. But that’s not all. V3 continues: And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
Wow! The law was fully satisfied in Jesus. That’s why there’s now no condemnation. The law was fully satisfied. Why? Because Jesus perfectly kept the law - AND he then took the punishment that law-breakers like us deserve: Death. He died. His death freed us from the condemnation of the law. The fine has been paid, the prison sentence served, the death for the death penalty died, the firing squad has shot a guilty person. Our sins were transferred to Jesus on the cross – he became guilty for us and so our guilt and shame and sin is all gone. We are free! We are reborn!
We now follow a new law in ourselves. No longer a law of sin and death, but a law of the Spirit. A law of life.
That is something that comes from within. You cannot pretend to be a Christian. You must have the Spirit. Because the Spirit changes you from the inside out.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
You know, I have discovered that that is true. When I sin it leads to problems! Many problems. When I obey God it leads to life and peace. Maybe not instantly, sometimes it means going through difficulties – saying sorry, confessing a lie or a mistake – but it sets the relationship back on track. So many people live with homes full of strife – fighting and arguing and nastiness. Because they’re trying to protect themselves, and so no-one says sorry, no-one says I love you – because that would show I’m vulnerable. As Christians that is not how our homes should be. We should be quick to say sorry because we know we’re sinners. We should say “I love you” and risk being hurt because we’re already perfectly loved by God. And it’s amazing the change you will see. Ask those in the church who’ve become Christians about the change in their home life!
My Dad’s friend when he became a Christian said “I can’t sin properly anymore!” It’s true! There is a new nature within you.
7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. 9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
If you find it easy to sin, you are untroubled by sinning, or you find yourself dismissing or ignoring God’s commands – maybe you’re not a Christian. Maybe you don’t have God’s spirit in you and you’re trying to impress God with your own efforts. That is the law of sin and death and you will fail. In fact, as v7 says you are hostile to God.
Please, take the opportunity now to ask God to show you the truth and to repent.
If you’re worried about not belonging to Christ, if you’re worried that “oh no I keep sinning – do I belong to Christ” - the fact that you’re worried about it means you do belong! That desire in you to obey, to stop sinning. That crushing disappointment when you sin. That cry of despair in confession. That resolve to fight sin. All signs that you belong to Christ. For we are in bodies full of sin, but we are in our spirit righteous before God.
10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
Isn’t that amazing? We don’t deserve that. But God takes our sinful rotten, dead selves, and makes us alive.
You know, if we saw ourselves in glory we would fall at our own feet in worship for we would be so glorious and amazing. That is what God I doing in us and will complete. He will turn us into a trophy of grace to the praise of his eternal glory.
Remember that. Remember his power works in you. The same power that raised Christ from the dead – is in you. You can resist sin!
There is deep eternal joy awaiting us. Let’s keep our eyes fixed ahead, for the glory and joy to come.
Debby and I were talking yesterday and I said to her that I wished I knew that she was in my future when I was younger. It would have been so much easier to keep myself from certain temptations and sins knowing that she was waiting for me. Why mess around with junk when gold is ahead?
And it struck me that that is exactly where we are. We know what is coming in our future! We have a glorious, joyful eternity ahead of us. Why mess around with “pleasures” that promise much but deliver only heartache. Fill your mind with him, with your future, and you will find the temptations of this world become quite dull.
12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
Now I could end there. Choose life. Praise God and all that. But I want to end with a little encore. A little extra that will blow your mind. And it’s in the last few verses of today’s reading. When the Spirit opened your eyes and you believed in Jesus this is what happened: you became a child of God. Jesus our brother. God our Father. A new Spirit in us.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
We do not need to be afraid. We are not fearful slaves. We are beloved children. I don’t know how good or bad you parents were, but God is perfectly good. To be his child is amazing. We are adopted as his children and we can call him “Abba, father”.
Abba is a word in Aramaic meaning “Daddy” or “Dad”. It is an intimate and personal word. “Father” sounds quite formal – Abba is personal. And we can call him Abba.
But why does the Holy Spirit here use the phrase “Abba , father”? To show us something amazing! There are only three places in the Bible this phrase “Abba, father” is used. Once here, once in Galatians, making the same point as here – but it’s first used in Mark 14:36. Turn back there and read it and be amazed. “Abba” is the intimate word Jesus used to talk to his father. In deep distress the night before his crucifixion he calls out to God saying “Abba, father”. “You are my father, my Dad”, he says.
And this is what is mind-blowing: we can say the same thing. We have the same access to God as father, the same intimacy, the same rights as a son as Jesus. That is what he has given to us. Amazing grace indeed!
If you are in Christ, then you are a child of God. And God is your father. Isn’t that just astounding. Praise God. Praise him with great praise. What a gospel we have.
Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes. No longer under law, free from sin, we have the Spirit and we are called sons and daughters of God.
O Lord fill us with joy and wonder at your mercy. Fill us with awe at what you have done. Capture our vision so that we are not tempted by the lesser distractions of this world, sin which drags us down – but let us look forward to the glorious future you have prepared for us in your mercy. And let us remember who we are. Child of God. A child of God. Daddy! We cry. Dad! My Dad in Heaven, I praise your name. our Dad in heaven, we love you.
If you don’t know him, get to know him now. If you need to make right with him, do that now during communion. Lord, move in mercy I pray. Amen.