Believer's New Position Series

Believer’s New Position

Position in the Son of God

Position in the Law of God

NCBC, 4/4/04, Romans 8:1-8

When a person becomes a Christian, he usually undergoes some radical life changes, especially if he has had an immoral background. Through the first steps of spiritual growth and self-denial, he gets rid of the large, obvious sins. But sad to say, many believers stop there. They don’t go on to eliminate the little sins that clutter the landscape of their lives.

Gordon MacDonald, in his book Ordering Your Private World, told of an experience in his own life that illustrates this truth. "Some years ago, when Gail and I bought the old abandoned New Hampshire farm we now call Peace Ledge, we found the site where we wished to build our country home strewn with rocks and boulders. It was going to take a lot of hard work to clear it all out....The first phase of the clearing process was easy. The big boulders went fast. And when they were gone, we began to see that there were a lot of smaller rocks that had to go too. But when we had cleared the site of the boulders and the rocks, we noticed all of the stones and pebbles we had not seen before. This was much harder, more tedious work. But we stuck to it, and there came the day when the soil was ready for planting grass."

Our Daily Bread.

Dearest Ones, upon accepting Jesus Christ, for those of us who have “truly” done so, we receive Positional Sanctification, meaning we are identified with and as having gone under the blood of Jesus Christ. Our sins are forgiven and we are identified as being in him and our eternity is secured.

Let’s look at aspects of this today.

Position in the Son of God

The miracle

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit [Rom. 8:1].

"Therefore now, not one condemnation."

In spite of what Paul felt in our previous study or what you or I feel occasionally, he did not nor will we who have “truly” called upon Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior lose our salvation.

Why?

Praise be to God…There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

However, outside of submitting Paul wasn’t enjoying the Christian life -- he was a failure, and he was a wretched man.

Paul knew that God wanted him to have joy in his life.

How is he and you and I to have this?

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death [Rom. 8:2].

The word “for” or “because” occurs seventeen times in this chapter. Paul is telling us that there is no condemnation because…

"The law of the Spirit"…principle and authority of law, which is exercised by the Spirit.

"The Spirit of life"…the Holy Spirit brings life because HE is life. HE is the Spirit of life.

"In Christ Jesus"…the Holy Spirit is in complete union with Christ Jesus. The believer who shares the life of Christ is liberated by the Spirit.

"The law of sin and death" we spoke of last week, it had authority over our old nature.

Only the coming of a higher authority and power could accomplish this, namely the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit operates upon the new nature, which is vitally joined to the life of Christ. We who were of the body of the dead, are now joined to the living Christ.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit [Rom. 8:3-4].

As we agreed earlier the Law cannot produce righteousness in man.

The fault lay in man and the sin in our flesh.

The Law was totally incapable of producing any good thing in man, because man apart from Jesus Christ is totally depraved. This means you and I…apart from Christ.

The Holy Spirit is now able to do the miraculously impossible, IT can produce a holy life in the weak and sinful flesh.

Illustration:

Suppose a housewife puts a roast in the oven right after breakfast, she is going to serve it for the noon meal. The telephone rings. It is Mrs. Jane Jabber is on the phone. Mrs. Jabber begins with "Have you heard?" Well, the housewife hasn’t heard, but she would like to; so she pulls up a chair. Mrs. Jabber has a lot to tell, and about an hour goes by. After smelling our good housewife says, "Oh, Mrs. Jabber, you’ll have to excuse me. I smell the roast -- its burning!" Hanging up she rushes to the kitchen, and opens the oven.