No Condemnation!
Romans 8:1-4
Intro: Michael Breissen was a new father, and he was not about to let his wife’s first Mother’s Day pass uncelebrated. But she was a nurse, and on that particular Sunday was working at the local hospital, and they weren’t able to celebrate together at home. So Michael plunked his new son, Jason, in the baby carrier, drove to the hospital, and in front of all the patients and co-workers he surprised Miriam with candy and flowers and balloons that said, "World’s Greatest Mom."
-It was a great Mother’s Day. But after celebrating, it was time for Miriam to go back to work, and Jason and Michael to go back home. Michael gathered all the things that had been part of the celebration: the candy, flowers, and balloons. It wasn’t as much fun taking those things out to the car as it was taking them in to the hospital for the surprise. He begrudgingly tossed the candy on the front seat and got the flowers arranged on the floor where they wouldn’t tip over. He pulled the balloons in out of the wind and got everything arranged, and headed home.
-On the way home, people began to honk their horns and flash their lights at him. He didn’t realize what was going on until he hit 55 miles per hour on the highway. He heard a long scraping noise go down the roof, followed by a loud thump. He watched in horror in the rearview mirror as the baby carrier bounced off the trunk onto the highway and began to slide along behind the car.
-Michael screeched to a halt. He ran back down the highway to the baby carrier. Jason was okay. As the waves of guilt and fear and relief began to wash over him, Michael fell on the highway and began to sob, which did not stop a passing policeman from writing him up, nor the local newspaper from writing a story about it. A reporter interviewed Miriam, who showed amazing understanding. She said, "It’s so unlike him. He really is a good father."
-While there’s a part of us that says, "How could he?" there’s another part of us that relates to Michael Breissen. We recog-nize all the mistakes we have made, the dumb things we have done born out of hurry or frustration or distraction. We know that there is enough Michael Breissen in us that we could be guilty of such things too. It’s all part of being human.
-The eighth chapter of Romans begins with one of the greatest promises in all the Bible. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Just those words alone are cause for hope and celebration – if only we really took them to heart! The significance of the fact that in spite of our sin, God doesn’t condemn us is overwhelming in and of itself. But when you read that verse in light of chapter 7, the personal application of its truth is even more moving. (Intro. Adapted from Tim Bond’s sermon on Rom. 8:1-4, sermoncentral.com)
-We’ve all spent time living in chapter 7. Now, I embrace the view that Paul’s vexation or exasperation at his inability to do the right thing is a picture of his life before he met Jesus. Nevertheless, the reality for most of us is that we’ve experienced some of Romans 7 even after coming to Christ. But God speaks through Paul to tell us that even when we fail again and again, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is security in our relationship with God. If we are in Christ, we don’t need to wonder if God is angry with us. "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." If you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you don’t need to fear God’s wrath. "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." When God looks at you, He doesn’t see a wretch, He sees a son or daughter.
1. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (1)
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
-No condemnation! Though we’ve failed repeatedly and still stumble, we are forgiven and free! The question for us who have called on the Lord is not, “Am I condemned?” The question for us is, “Am I in Christ?” And there is a qualification in the last part of v.4: the requirements of the law are fully met in those who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Holy Spirit. If you are still living out your sinful nature, day in – day out, consistently living a lifestyle of sin, then it’s pretty hard to truthfully say that you are in Christ. A person who lives like that is in the flesh or in the sinful nature – not in Christ. There is a difference between that and stumbling occasionally.
-But for those who are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation! Paul knew from firsthand experience that we would all mess up sometimes – even after becoming a Christian. And I can’t help but think that he may have some of the Gentiles in mind who were part of the church at Rome. Some of them had lived a life of sin for years. They had lived immoral lives apart from God and had picked up a lot of baggage and nasty habits over the years. And it is possible that some of the more sanctimonious people had brought up their past and maybe even pointed to some of their present failures.
-Remember the struggle in the church at Rome? Jews and Gentiles were experiencing somewhat of an identity crisis. The Jews had started the church, but some 20 years later were expelled from Rome for 5 years. While they were gone, the church continued to grow because Gentile converts were sharing their faith with other Gentiles. When the Jews returned, I’m sure many of them praised God for preserving His church. However, some of them did not like the changes that came with pagans coming to Christ and joining the church. So it is likely from the strong rebuke Paul gives the Jews in ch.2 that some of these disgruntled Jews were judging the Gentiles harshly, bringing a sense of condemnation and shame on them. Romans 2:1 “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” Paul has just shown the downward spiral of excluding God in ch. 1, but then continues in ch. 2-3 to show that all have sinned and nobody is righteous before God – not Jews or Gentiles. We are all guilty of sin and have failed to measure up to God’s holiness. We deserve nothing but death. But the gift of God is life that lasts forever with Him for those who trust in Him.
-So Paul can now write to the Gentile whose sordid past causes him shame and torment, “Because of what Jesus did, there is no more condemnation for those who are alive in Him.” To the Jew who has been found guilty by the law he loves and studies so diligently, Paul says, “Because of Jesus and what He did on the cross, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
2. There is freedom for those in Christ (2)
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
-Just like the widow in Rom. 7 was free from the law of marriage to her husband, so those who are in Christ are free from the law and the slavery it creates because of our sinful nature.
-Romans 7:4-6 4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
-We are free from the failures of our weak sinful nature.
-Now, what about addictions? Some people live in constant guilt because they have some unhealthy habits they’ve not been able to kick. First off, I want to say that Jesus is able to set us free! And freedom is more than forgiveness. It includes God’s amazing acceptance and forgiveness but also brings deliverance from the bondages in our lives. God accepts us just the way we are but loves us too much to let us stay that way! He can and will deliver us from the bondage and slavery of an addiction! If human effort is not enough to keep us from sinning, then why would we think that human effort would be enough to break our bad habits, whether inherently sinful or not?
3. Jesus came as our sin offering to make us righteous (3-4a)
3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us,
-I want us to realize that our standing in Christ is not determined by our ability to kick a habit or by any other human effort! Our standing in Christ is determined by what Jesus did on the cross for us. He condemned sin in us and as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He became sin for us!” Jesus became sin for us and He condemned sin in us! We are made righteous because we are trusting Him completely for our forgiveness and freedom, not because of our own efforts. But the good news about Jesus and His offer of forgiveness and restoration does require our response. Our own efforts won’t save us, but we must respond in faith to God’s gift, or we’ll never reach out and accept it.
-In the story of the prodigal son, the son disregarded his father, and then disgraced himself in every way possible. One Bible Teacher asked, "Do you know the difference between the son in that pigpen and the pig? The difference is that no pig has ever said to himself, ‘I will arise and go to my father’” (Dr. Vernon McGee). He’s right, a pig can’t, but a child can! And when that dirty, stinking boy came within eyesight of home, His dad was there to clean Him up and throw Him a party. Paul wants to make sure that you understand that God is just as anxious to throw His arms around you. "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
-So, is it possible for Christians to have addictions and still be in Christ? Can someone have a nicotine addiction and be in Christ? Yes- if they are trusting in Him alone for their salvation. Can someone who struggles with alcohol be in Christ? Yes. Can someone who is addicted to playing video games be in Christ? Yes. Can someone who struggles with sexual addictions be in Christ? This one is a little tougher for us, but the answer is still YES! I’ve heard some amazing stories of people being delivered from these kinds of things instantly when they became a follower of Jesus. But I’ve also known people who have struggled with these kinds of addictions long after they put their faith in Jesus for their forgiveness and committed to following Him. The good news is that most of them eventually find freedom in Christ from their addictions. However, that freedom was available to them all along! Part of it is coming to the end of our own efforts. “Lord, without Your help I can’t beat this addiction! If I’m going to be free, I’m going to need some help, Lord!”
-The important thing is that we do not accept our addictions or our sins as part of who we are in Christ. We must not accept them as a normal ongoing part of the Christian life. We can change with God’s help! We can be changed by the power of the gospel! And God often uses other people to help us change. When we give someone we trust access into our lives, and permission to help us and to hold us accountable, we can find the road to freedom. Just as we humble ourselves and surrender to God, we also must humble ourselves before other people and not be too proud to ask for help!
4. We now live according to the Spirit, who helps us live right (4b)
…who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
-There’s a story about a girl who was the daughter of one of the royal families of Europe. She had a big, round nose that destroyed her beauty in the eyes of others -- and especially in her own eyes. She grew up with this terrible image of herself as an ugly person. So her family hired a plastic surgeon to change the contour of her nose. He did his work, and there came the moment when they took the bandages off and the girl could see what happened.
-When the doctor removed the bandages, he saw that the operation had been a total success. All the ugly contours were gone. Her nose was different. When the incisions healed and the redness disappeared, she would be a beautiful girl. He held a mirror up for the girl to see. But, so deeply embedded was this girl’s ugly image of herself that when she saw herself in the mirror, she couldn’t see any change. She broke into tears and cried out, "Oh, I knew it wouldn’t work!" The doctor labored with that girl for six months before she would finally accept the fact that she was indeed different. But the moment she accepted the fact that she really was different, her whole behavior began to change.
-People tend to act according to what they believe about themselves. If we are deceived into thinking that we are not what God says we are, then we are going to keep on acting that way. That is why the way to break the power of the most vicious and evil habit is to see yourself as God sees you. Then you begin to act that way. Your identity in Christ is so important! Our sense of who we are in Christ is important. I think this is partly what Paul is getting at in Romans 12 when he says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We need to understand in our hearts and minds who we are in Christ, and allow Him to transform us. If we let our habits define us, then we will see ourselves as a “smoker, drinker, doper, pervert,” or whatever. But if we let Jesus define us because we’ve put our faith in Him, then we can see ourselves the way He does: righteous, forgiven, accepted, free, complete in Christ, secure, and strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! Other people will try to define you and will label you with words that are meant to hide your true identity in Christ. Never forget who you are in Christ! If you are in Christ, your past is forgiven, your present is filled with favor and grace, and your future is filled with the great and precious promises of God!
Conclusion:
-So how do you know you are in Christ Jesus? 2 questions: Who are you trusting? and Who are you following? Where is your faith and where is your heart? If you are trusting Jesus and letting Him lead you, then you are in Christ. If you are trusting your own efforts or your own goodness or the law or anything other than Jesus, then you are not living in Christ. Perfect living is not the answer to our sin problem. However, when we accept God’s gift of eternal life, we are receiving His righteousness and His Holy Spirit to help us do what is right.
-If you are not in Christ Jesus, there is a coming judgment. And there will be condemnation for those who reject God. However, that is not what God wants. He is not willing that any should perish but that all may come to repentance. Jesus said in John 3:17, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.” He wants to forgive, justify, make you right with God, but it requires a step of faith on your part. Rom. 10 says whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. You need to call on the Lord in repentance for the wrong in your life. God wants to forgive you for your offenses and give you His life! He will help you turn away from the wrong as you surrender yourself to Him. And then you will be able to say that there is no condemnation! You stand “not guilty” before God because you belong to Him and are trusting in Jesus. Nothing will be able to separate you from His love for you!
-If you want to be in Christ today, would you start by telling Him so? From your heart to His, just whisper a prayer to God and say, “Lord, I want to be in Christ Jesus. I give you my past, present, and future. Take my life and breathe Your life into it. Change me and make me the person You want me to be.” If you will do that, God will meet with you today! He’s the Father who has been waiting for you to come home so he can run to you and throw his arms around you and celebrate the fact that even though you were lost and away, now you’ve come home! God loves you and wants you to experience how good He is. Are you willing?
(Portions of this sermon were adapted from Tim Bond’s sermon on Rom. 8:1-4, sermoncentral.com)
