Sermon Series on Romans 8: Reasons to be encouraged!
Pastor Bob Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church, Saugus, Massachusetts
>Reason #1: We’re covered, not condemned! -Romans 8:1-4
Introduction:
There are many reasons why we come to church—one is to get some encouragement. In spite of how badly things may be going in our lives, we have ample reason to be encouraged. There are numerous blessings God has provided us. Paul lists 14 benefits of being a Christian in Romans 8. The book of Romans is an intensely theological epistle that explains the human condition in great detail. I’ve a Pastor friend who took 4 years to preach through this Epistle, and one commentator wrote 8 volumes on Romans (Lloyd-Jones). There’s a lot to say about this letter. Paul writes as one who has struggled with trying to meet God’s requirements, then finally he surrendered to the grace of God. In chapter 7 Paul confesses his despair over trying to live lawfully by his own efforts. Paul admits that in his struggle with sin, sometimes he loses. He wonders if he’s going to spend his whole life being defeated by sin. The answer, in Romans 8, is an unqualified “NO”—we’re covered, not condemned!
The reason--we’re under grace, no longer enslaved to sin, and so we’re no longer under the law’s condemnation. We have the power to be victorious—not from within—from Above! But we need to be aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit before we can fully appreciate the help God has provided. It’s easy to despair over our failures, but we no longer succumb to guilt and shame. We’ve been delivered from the power and penalty of sin.
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (vs 1).
Paul was thrown into prison and an angel caused an earthquake to get him out. The jailor was shaken—God had gotten his attention. He begged Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” For most religions, the answer is: “obey-the-rules”. The problem is, no one can obey ALL the rules. Christianity offers a better Way. Jesus offers something unique—grace. Only Christianity makes God’s acceptance unconditional. Philip Yancy defines grace as “a gift that costs everything for the giver and nothing for the recipient.” “No condemnation” means freedom from guilt.
In 1995 I met the Army’s first Moslem Imam, Ch (CPT) Mohammed. He was assigned to the 28th Combat Support Hospital, Fort Bragg NC, the unit I served with during Desert Storm. We got together to talk about what the 28th CSH did during the Gulf War, and to talk a little about Islam. I asked him, “What happens if a Moslem breaks his fast during Ramadan? Can he be forgiven?” Chaplain Mohammed’s answer was: “No—that is a mark against him for all eternity. There’s nothing he can do about that. How can a sin that is committed be pardoned?” I recalled that the word Islam means “submission” (obey the rules). I felt grateful and relieved to know that I was under a much more gracious, forgiving system.
Paul had been a Pharisee and zealously tried to obey the Law’s requirements…he eventually realized that the Law could not help him find peace with God. The Law was a dead-end street. Had he remained “under the Law” he would have been condemned by it.
Living under the Law is no way to get to Heaven. The Law teaches us right from wrong, shows us God’s standard, and we soon realize us how impossible it is to live what God requires. We’re powerless to fully obey God. The Law of God is holy--the problem is, we’re not! The function of the Law is to reveal, prohibit and condemn sin. The Law can make demands, but it can’t supply the power to comply and meet those demands. The only remedy for us is to plead for mercy. We can do so, because Jesus took our punishment on the cross. We are liberated from the old authority/system and placed under the new.
“No condemnation”—what encouraging words! Left to our own efforts, we remain hopelessly defiled by sin. In the original Greek, the word “no” in verse 1 is very emphatic. It could be rendered: “No sort of condemnation of any kind, not even one bit”. Because of all Jesus has done for us as the sin-bearer, we can rightly be declared “not guilty”. The best explanation of this I’ve heard is if you or I were on trial for some crime…our lawyer appears in our behalf in court before the judge and announces, “Your honor, my client is indeed guilty.” -Not exactly what we had in mind! But then our lawyer declares, “However, your honor, I wish to take my client’s punishment.” This is exactly what Jesus our Advocate has done for us! In Him, we are set free.
We are “in Christ”. Through faith we become part of Him, part of His life, sharing in His death, burial, resurrection and ascension. We’re restored and united to Him as part of His family.
“Through Christ Jesus the Law of the Spirit of life set me free from the Law of sin and death” (vs 2).
Verse 2 explains why verse 1 is true. The Law has the power to show us our faults, and Christ has the power to pardon us—we’ve been “set free”; the (aorist) tense indicates an accomplished fact (Hodge).
There are 2 ways to get to Heaven: Be perfect, or seek forgiveness. The Law of God demands perfect, personal, and perpetual obedience…and we are powerless to provide such adherence. Paul calls the Law of God “the Law of sin and death” because the commandments are a perfect standard and we are very imperfect people. It is God’s effort--His work, not ours--that saves.
Jesus spoke to a lawyer who asked how one gets to Heaven. Jesus asked what the Law said about this, and the lawyer answered, to “love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength”. Jesus then said, “Great—do that and you’ll make it.” And the lawyer saw that he was in serious trouble—he realized that no one can live such a perfect life; it’s not possible. If perfection is required, no one can deserve Heaven.
The Holy Spirit convicts and sets us free--He draws us to Christ and is the power behind the rebirth of every Christian. He is also the One who imparts to us the ability to live the Christian life till the end. We aren’t redeemed from physical death, but death ushers us into eternal life, which is why for believers death is nothing to fear.
“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” (vs 3).
Jesus is our “sin offering”. His death provided the perfect sacrifice for sin. The Temple sacrifices demonstrated just how serious disobeying God is. The blood of an innocent animal had to be shed as a substitute before sin could be pardoned. These sacrifices anticipated our Lord’s death on the cross. His was a flawless, complete, once-for-all sin offering. Paul describes the Law as “powerless”. The Law can’t save us. It can’t even cause a change in our hearts. That’s not the fault of the Law, but the fault of human frailty. So God sent His Son as our Representative to do what we could never do.
A child was told to sit down and responded, “I’m sitting on the outside but standing on the inside.” Even when we outwardly comply with the Law, it doesn’t mean we necessarily want to.
Jesus was both like us and unlike us. He was purely human, more human than us because He was sinless. We are defiled and polluted by sin, less human than originally created.
“…in order that the righteous requirements of the Law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (vs 4)
A lot of people miss this completely—they’ve trusted Christ, but they still wonder if they’re going to make it. They struggle with uncertainty as to their salvation.
It’s been said that, “everything necessary for holiness has been provided by God in the gift of His Son” (G. Thomas). We have resources from Above, a constant energy hook-up. I’ve lived in San Francisco and Germany, where there are numerous trolley cars. They’re able to move through the streets because they’re hooked up to a power source, an electric cable overhead. In the same way, we’re able to live lawfully; we’re able to prosper in the will of God, because we’re connected to the greatest power source in the universe. We are led by the Holy Spirit and the moral precepts of Scripture.
Conclusion:
The “righteous requirements of the Law” are fully met in us because we’re covered by the blood of Christ, the price paid for our forgiveness. God doesn’t overlook our sins. They must be punished--and were--upon the Cross. We should be encouraged: we’re covered--sin can no longer claim, control or condemn us.
