FREE TO SERVE (Romans 8:1-10)
INTRODUCTION by now we’ve all seen vivid pictures of how oppressive governments like the Taliban heartlessly enslaves its own people. But there is something even more oppressive that enslaves people right here in our own homeland!
I. Sin enslaves us.
Sin follows a similar pattern with each commandment of God’s law:
1) The first commandment: a man graduates from college with only one goal in mind: to establish a successful career and make lots of money. He achieves his goal and climbs the corporate ladder. Material success becomes so important to him that he is willing to sacrifice everything in pursuit of it: his family (which he ignores), his friends (whom he uses), his co-workers (whom he betrays), his health (which he neglects), and his integrity (which he destroys). Success has become his “god”; he worships the “almighty dollar”, and his career is the only thing that gives him identity, meaning, and purpose in life. Later in life, however, he wonders if there’s something that he’s missing—but he’s burned every bridge and thrown away every relationship and pursuit that could have brought him true fulfillment. On top of that, he finds that has locked himself into a certain kind of lifestyle, and he enjoys a standard of living that is expensive to maintain. It is difficult for him to change. In the end, he dies—a rich, but lonely and bitter old man.
2) The second commandment: a young girl finds that she can be more popular in school if she uses bad language, taking God’s name in vain. The pattern continues when she gets a job in which it’s common for the other workers to swear a lot. She rationalizes that if she swears too, her colleagues will be more likely to see her as “one of the guys”—and she doesn’t want to feel like an outcast. Eventually she leaves the job, gets married, and starts to raise a family. By that time, however, cussing has become such a bad habit that, in spite of her best efforts, a few choice words will usually tend to slip out—and her kids are right there to hear it. She hears them using the bad words themselves, and feels horrible. But what can she do?
3) The third commandment: a family has had a hard week and feels too tired to go to church. They think, “missing one Sunday won’t matter.” And they’re right! They go back to church the next week and feel much better. But a little while later, after another rough week, it’s a bit easier for them to sleep in. Gradually they miss more and more Sundays, until going to church is the exception, rather than the rule. Finally, they give up going altogether, thinking, “we’ll start going again when things slow down.” Eventually, things do slow down—but now they feel too guilty to start going again. They worry about what the membmers will say when they see them. Besides, there’s a new pastor that they don’t know, and the hymns and the liturgy seem unfamiliar and foreign. Other activities, like golfing, or fishing, have become more important to them in the meantime as well. They’ll tell you, “It’s not that we’re against going to church. We’ve just gotten out of the habit.” The next time the’ll darken the door of a church will be when someone has to literally carry them in—in their coffin.
The same principle carries over to the other commandments as well! Harmless little “white lies” grow into such dishonesty that you habitually lie even to yourself and lose your grasp of what is true. The tiniest little grudge, if properly nurtured, can become a life-long hatred of someone that hurts you far more than it ever hurts them. An appetite for sexually explicit movies and TV shows can become more serious perversions and damage a person’s very soul. A juicy tidbit of gossip shared here and there can eventually make you into someone that no one will ever trust with personal information. Stop and think—how many people end up in prisons because they intend to go there? Not many! Often, what begins as a situation someone thinks they can control ends up controlling them, until things eventually get out of control!
In Romans 8, we read about the kind of death-grip that sin can have on a person:
- “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.”
- “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires…”
- “The mind of sinful man is death…”
- “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”
Galatians 6 compares the process planting crops: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction…”
James 1:15 uses the image of childbirth “…after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Satan is no dummy! He can make sin look so attractive. All he has to do is disguise it as freedom! But freedom from God is really no freedom at all. Satan just wants us to share his own fate—he wants us all to be in chains, and sin is the perfect way to gets us there. He can’t personally place those chains around our wrists and ankles. All too often, however, we’re more than willing to forge and fasten those links ourselves.
The laws of physics tell us that if certain elements are placed together, an atomic chain-reaction will result. The law of sin and death tells us that, if nothing interferes, sin in our lives causes a chain-reaction that will inevitably lead to death and eternal separation from God. But there was one thing that could shut this chain-reaction down—
II. Jesus set us free.
A) He did what the law was powerless to do.
Illustration: the best-trained chef, with the best equipment and the best recipes, will still make bad food if the ingredients are bad. For example, if he makes a cake with rotten eggs and wormy flour, it’s not going to taste good. No matter how beautifully he frosts it, the results will be disasterous.
A 30-minute makeover can’t do it, nor can $30,000 plastic surgery, nor a 300 page self-help book. In fact, no matter how hard we try to paint a pretty picture over our lives, there’s a rotten canvas underneath. Not even God’s good, holy, and pefect law can save us. The problem isn’t the law. The problem is what the law itself plainly shows us—that we are “lost and condemned creatures”. Only God himself could solve the problem by taking matters into his own hands. Through Jesus, that’s exactly what he did!
“On May 21, 1946, a young scientist, Louis Slotin, was carrying out an experiment at Los Alamos, New Mexico, in preparation for the testing of an atomic bomb in the South Pacific. Though he had done the experiment many times, the scientist’s screwdriver slipped at a critical moment. The two hemispheres of radioactive uranium came too close together. Instantly the room was filled with a dazzling bluish haze. Instead of ducking and possibly saving himself, Slotin tore the two hemispheres apart with his hands. He thus interrupted the chain reaction. On his way to the hospital, he confided to his companion, ‘You will all come through all right. But I don’t have a chance at all.’ It was only too true. He died nine days later.” (from Planet in Rebellion, by George Vandeman).
Jesus told his disciples, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life.” Jesus’ mission was a suicide mission, he knew that full well. But he also knew that it had to be that way if he was really going to break the deadly chain reaction of sin and death. We couldn’t do it—we couldn’t come close. We couldn’t help—not even a little! Nothing short of a full and total commitment on his part would do the job. He was here to do what the law was powerless to do because of our sinful nature.
B) “God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.”
1. He condemned sin in sinful man—Jesus took our punishment as one of us.
2. Through faith in Christ, “the righteous requirements of the law” are now “fully met”—Jesus gives us his perfect obedience.
Jesus paid the price for our freedom with the greatest price that has ever been paid—“Not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death.”
A young boy who spent an entire year constructing a model ship, similar to the great ship that was docked in his town’s harbor. Every sail was intricately cut and sewn, exactly to scale and perfectly placed. Every plank was carved and fashioned precisely. Finally the time came for the grand launching on a small creek near his home. During the first few moments the ship slid gracefully over the water and rode the slow current. But then, without warning, the current quickened and a gust of wind pushed the boat down the creek. The boy was unable to keep up with the ship’s pace. It soon sailed out of sight in the widening stream. The boy was crushed. Some months later he spotted a magnificent ship in the front window of an antique shop—his ship! The very work of art he had fashioned was for sale. The price was steep, and even though it belonged to him already, he was willing to pay anything to get it back. He scraped together every last penny he had to buy the ship again.
The whole world is God’s by right of creation. He made it, and everything was “very good,” precisely as he wanted it. Sin destroyed his perfect creation. So God redeemed us—he bought us back again—in the death of his only Son. We are his twice—created and rescued in Christ.
III. We are free to serve.
In the Today’s Light Bible, Jane Fryar writes, “Suppose that Jesus were to appear visibly across the table or next to your chair right now, this instant. How would you react? Would you cover your face in embarassment? Begin confessing that particular sin that causes you so much shame? Look for a way to leave the rom? Or would you feel confident in his presence? Would you with Mary at the garden tomb want to hold him, to hug him? Romans 8:1 tells us in no uncertain terms that for those who are in Christ Jesus, for those who abide in Him by faith, there is no condemnation. There is now no condemnation. When Jesus shouted from the cross, “It is finished,” your salvation was complete. Your guilt was taken away; your sin was atoned for. At this moment, nothing stands between you and a holy God. Right now—this instant—you are free from guilt!”
What can do we do with that kind of freedom?
The story is told from ancient Rome of a young girl who was placed on the public auction block. She was sold to the highest bidder. The girl was forced to turn around, front and back, that the audience might see and make an estimate. The bids came in rapid succession, for she was young and strong. Finally one man outbid all the others; he bought the girl. He immediately put down the money and took possession of his property. Then he turned to the slave girl and said, “You are free. I have bought you free. You may go on your way.” She looked at him with her eyes wide open, with fear and apprehension. She did not understand. “Free,” he said, “You may go; you are free. I have given you your freedom.” The sincerity of his tone and the love in his eyes told her it was true. She fell at his feet, and, seized by gratitude, said, “Please, I don’t want to be free. I want to serve you. Let me serve you not as a slave but as a friend.”
This attitude of loving, willing, grateful service is what Romans 8:1-10 is all about!
1. Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
2. Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
3. The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.
4. You are controlled by the Spirit if the Spirit of God lives in you.
5. If Christ is in you…your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
CONCLUSION: Jesus set us free from slavery to sin and death. Jesus set us free with his own innocent death. What he has set us free for is also his gift to us: “That I may be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.” Freedom from sin is freedom to serve! If Jesus wasn’t too important to serve, neither am I—but this is the kind of service I don’t mind, because it is a labor of love. As Jane Fryar puts it, “Life lived in slavery to the Law is like a forced march with a hundred-pound knapsack over rough terrain. Never joyful or easy, it quickly becomes impossible. Life in the Spirit, life lived under the Gospel, frees us for joy, for peace, for giving and receiving love. This kind of a walk is more of a dance, a thing of grace and tireless beauty!”
