No Condemnation In Christ: Romans 8:1-4 Series

Good morning! Please turn to Romans, Chapter 8. I am so excited to be turning to Romans, Chapter 8, and not Romans Chapter 7. We’ve been in the book of Romans since January. And maybe there are some of you that are getting maybe just a little tired of it. Certainly, when we were just hitting chapter after chapter about God’s wrath, there were some who were ready for us to skip ahead to the good stuff. And for sure, after how depressing Romans 7 was, there had to be some that were wondering if the rest of the book was going to be like that. But I want to tell you that chapter 8 is the reason for all of it. I don’t know for sure if we will actually finish the book of Romans, but I’ll tell you one thing: If we quit before Chapter 8, it would be like waiting in line for the best ride at Disney World and then stepping out of line before you got on the roller coaster.

Many preachers and scholars have argued that Romans 8 is the greatest chapter in the entire Bible. One wrote that if all of Scripture were a golden ring, then the book of Romans would be the diamond on that ring. Romans 8 would be the most perfectly cut facet on the diamond.

It begins with the promise that there is no condemnation by God for those who are in Christ. It concludes with the promise there can be no separation from God for those who are in Christ.

And in between those two bookends, we see the greatest portrayal…

• Of the depth of God’s love for his children.

• Of the brokenness of creation

• Of God’s design and purpose for life

• Of the relationship we have with the Trinity

• Of our assurance of salvation

• Of the Holy Spirit empowering us to walk with Christ.

So let’s get to it. This morning as we get ready to celebrate communion, we are just going to focus on the first four verses. If you are physically able, please stand to honor the reading of God’s Word:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a] 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you[b] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 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,[c] he condemned sin in the flesh, 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.

[prayer]

Before we get into what the passage actually says, I want to make you aware of the Epic Shift that takes place between Romans 7 and Romans 8. Romans 7 is one of the most miserable passages in the entire Bible. Romans 8 is one of the most hopeful. Romans 7:24 is a wail of defeat: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 8:1 is a cry of triumph: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

And a key to understanding the change from Chapter 7 to Chapter 8 is to look at the pronouns.

In chapter 7, there are forty-seven first person pronouns. Let me just call your attention to a few of them:

14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

I, I, Me, Me, My, My. Just in those six verses, there are twenty first person pronouns. It is literally the most self-centered passage of scripture in the entire Bible.

Do you want to guess how many times Paul uses the words I, Me, or My in chapter 8? Zero.