NO CONDEMNATION

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: ROMANS 8:1-14




INTRODUCTION:


  1. The Gospel means "good news." Here is some good news: If you are saved than you are not condemned (Rom.8:1).
  2. However, if you are not saved you are condemned (cf. John 3:18).
  3. One of my favorite hymns is "And Can It Be?" by Charles Wesley:

No condemnation now I dread
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God shouldst die for me?

  1. Romans 8 starts off with "no condemnation" and ends with "no separation" (8:38,39).
  2. Again, let me emphasize that the "no condemnation" is only for those who "are in Christ Jesus" (Rom.8:1; cf. 1:18; 6:23).

 

I. IF YOU ARE SAVED YOU ARE SECURE IN CHRIST.

    1. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…" (Rom.8:1).
    2. Spurgeon said that "believers are in a state of conflict, but not in a state of condemnation." If you are saved, you are not condemned.
    3. But those who are not in Christ Jesus are condemned already (cf. John 3:18; Mark 16:15,16).
    4. When we preach that true born again believers are not condemned but are secure in Christ, some people do not like that. Some accuse us of giving people a license to sin. That is not true. Beloved, if you are really saved and you really love God, then you hate sin and you do not want to sin. If a man loves sin then he is not saved.
    5. A good gardener hates weeds. A good doctor hates sickness. A good policeman hates crime. And good Christians ought to hate sin.
    6. "Therefore" (8:1) brings us back to the previous chapters, which dealt with our justification (chapters 3,4, and 5) and our sanctification (chap. 6 and 7).
    7. Therefore, because we have been justified, and because we have been sanctified – we are no longer condemned with the world.
    8. This has absolutely nothing to do with our good works or church membership or baptism (Eph.2:8,9).
    9. Beloved, if you are saved you are "in Christ Jesus" (8:1), and you are secure in Him.
    10. Some people have a hard time understanding what it means to be "in Christ." It means to be resting in Him, depending upon Him, trusting in Him, and believing in Him.
    11. Let me make an illustration (cf. Gen.7:1). The ark was a picture of Christ. And the ark was pitched "within and without with pitch" (literally, "atonement" – Gen.6:14).
    12. "The Lord shut him in" (Gen.7:16). This is a beautiful picture of our security and safety "in Christ" (cf. Rom.8:1).
    13. This is what we call objective truth. But it is subjective also (cf. 8:16).
    14. The true believer in Jesus Christ is secure from the moment he trusts Christ up until he goes home to be with the Lord (8:38,39).

 

II. IF YOU ARE SAVED, YOU ARE FREE FROM SIN.

    1. The Holy Spirit is mentioned 19 times here in Romans 8. One of the reasons so many Christians have problems is they are in the flesh and they lack a proper understanding of the Holy Spirit (Rom.8:1,2,4,5,8,9, etc.).
    2. You can be saved and still be carnal (cf. I Cor.3:1). I know a preacher who says this cannot be, and yet he himself is quite carnal in many ways.
    3. Harry Ironside said: "The flesh of the believer is no better than the flesh in an unbeliever."
    4. Here in 8:2 the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus."
    5. When a man gets saved, he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And "the law of the Spirit of life" (Holy Spirit) delivers him from the law of sin and death (8:2).
    6. The "law of sin and death" is the authority that sin had over us before we were saved. But we are now free from that law because we are now "in Christ Jesus" (8:1).
    7. We can never get victory over sin by keeping the law. Not that there was anything wrong with the law. The problem was not with the law but with us – "it was weak through the flesh" (Rom.8:3).
    8. The law cannot save. The law can only condemn. The law commands obedience but cannot produce it. So God sent His only begotten Son to die for us on the cross and do what the law could not do. The law cannot save but Jesus saves.
    9. The law does not produce holiness. Just look at the Orthodox Jews or the various cults that try living by the law according to their own strength.
    10. Because of our sinful, fallen nature we could never keep the law or live a holy life that is pleasing to God. But the Holy Spirit produces a life of holiness and obedience in the child of God (8:4,5).
    11. The law is like a mirror that shows us we are dirty. The law shows us our sin and points us to Christ. And since it was Christ alone who kept the law, He is our perfect substitute.
    12. Those who are "carnally minded" (8:6) walk after the flesh, and are spiritually dead – "For to be carnally minded is death" (8:6).
    13. Paul goes on to say that the carnal mind is enmity against God (8:7), and that "they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (8:8). Please read verses 6-8 carefully, and then consider whether or not it is appropriate to watch trashy TV and movies, or to listen to worldly rock music, etc. God says these things bring death; they are at enmity with God; and you cannot please God if you indulge in it.
    14. God does not want to change the flesh or reform the flesh. Neither does God want to punish the flesh. I saw a video of Filipino RC’s whipping themselves and even crucifying themselves. This cannot please God.
    15. Beloved, God does not work that way. His plan is to change us from the inside out and impart to us His divine nature (cf. II Peter 1:4).
    16. So victory over sin comes through Christ living in us and through us. We must be depending upon Christ, and walking in the Spirit, and yielding to Christ. If we depend upon our flesh we will fail every time (cf. Rom.8:8-10).
    17. My final point is closely related to the second.

 

III. IF YOU ARE SAVED YOU ARE INDWELT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.

    1. We just saw that if a person is saved, he or she is free from sin. How? Through the power of the Holy Spirit, working in us.
    2. Paul goes on to say that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us and gives us the power to have victory over sin (Rom.8:11).
    3. There is no reason for us "to live after the flesh" (8:12,13) once we are saved.
    4. Of course, if you have never been saved it is as natural for you to walk in the flesh as it is for a bird to fly or a fish to swim. Because this is all you know, and this is all you understand.
    5. The Bible says you must be "quickened" by the Spirit of God (8:11; cf. Eph.2:1-9).

CONCLUSION:

  1. As we read the newspapers, we are constantly reminded of the power of sin. Some maniac up near Boston killed seven co-workers for no apparent reason.
  2. As we read the newspapers, we are constantly reminded that most people only live to satisfy their flesh (e.g., all the attention given to Madonna’s vulgar wedding).
  3. But God has given man a solution to the sin problem. The choice is ours to make (8:13). Sinners must repent from sin, and flee to the cross. If I told you this building was going to blow up in ten seconds, would you dilly-dally or would you run for your life?
  4. With that same zeal and determination we should run to the Lord Jesus Christ.


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