Romans 8:1 (NLT) 1So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Condemnation involves a guilty verdict AND a sentence
Those who were condemned were guilty of sin
Romans 3:23 (NLT) 23For all have sinned; all fall short of God¡¦s glorious standard.
Wait a minute, that means all of us!
Those who will be condemned are guilty of rejecting Jesus Christ AND sentenced to eternal separation from God
2 Thessalonians 1:7b-9 (NLT) ¡KHe will come with his mighty angels, 8in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don¡¦t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power
Romans 8:1 (NLT) 1So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Jesus = Jehovah is salvation
Jesus is a name, There are 3 others mentioned in the New Testament. But Christ is a title
Christ = anointed, anointed as the Messiah
1. What does it mean to belong to Jesus?
John 3:16-18 (NIV) 16¡§For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God¡¦s one and only Son.
Believe
What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
Believe = faith = have confidence in = to entrust
Jesus didn¡¦t need to come to condemn us, we already were condemned. He came to save us from our deserved condemnation. He came to pardon you and me. It¡¦s a gift we don¡¦t deserve. We can¡¦t earn it.
2. Do you belong to Jesus?
Jesus is waiting for someone you know
2 Peter 3:9 (NLT) 9The Lord isn¡¦t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent.
Jesus is coming again, in the mean time live for Him
2 Peter 3:10-14 (NLT) 10But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment.ƒn11Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living!
3. How do we live for Him?
In the power of the Holy Spirit
4. Freed to follow
Romans 8:1-11 (NLT) 1So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death. 3The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin¡¦s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
5. Major control issue
5Those 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. 6If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace.
7For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God¡¦s laws, and it never will. 8That¡¦s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
9But 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 are not Christians at all.)
6. Real Meaning in this life
10Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God. 11The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you. 12So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
