No Condemnation In Christ

[Read Romans 8:1-8]

There are two big lies being told throughout the United States right now. Actually, they’ve been told for many, many years. I talk about them all the time because I believe we need to bring lies into the light. Otherwise, we easily fall prey to them. If lies remain in the dark long enough, and hang around a culture long enough, people begin to believe they are true. Then, when people believe these lies are true, they begin to live by these lies. Then, things begin to fall apart because living by lies doesn’t work. Living by lies means that you are no longer living according to reality. When you don’t live according to reality, things don’t work and things fall apart. That’s why I believe one major task of a pastor is to bring the lies out into the light for everyone to see them for what they are. 

Here’s a lie that I’ve been talking about a lot lately. We’re repeatedly told that we are strong people. We’re told that we have reserves of strength stored deep within us. We’re told that we can accomplish anything if we set our mind to it and don’t give up. We’re told that the only thing holding us back is the misunderstanding of our true strength within. We’re told that we need to repeatedly tell ourselves how strong we are, in order to unlock the true strength that is within us so we can accomplish greatness in the world. That’s all lies. 

Look at the way God describes humanity in its fallen condition. First, we read this, “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.” (Romans 8:3, ESV). Now, it’s important to recognize what “the flesh” means in this passage. It’s not just talking about our bodies, but it’s talking about our being that has been corrupted by sin. That corruption works its way through every part of us, affecting everything we say and do. It’s like bad leaven, leavening the whole dough of our lives. And, because our entire being is corrupted by sin, this passage reminds us that we cannot fulfill the law. We are unable to follow the Ten Commandments. We’re not strong enough. We’re so weak, that the Law, itself, is weakened because of our weakness. 

Later on in the passage we read this stated more explicitly, “For the mind that is set on the flesh…does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” (Romans 8:7, ESV). The mind set on the flesh is the being that is corrupted by sin. It’s the same thing that was talked about earlier. And what are we told about this being? That it’s strong and capable and able to do anything it sets it’s mind to? Nope. We’re told that it does not and CANNOT submit to God’s Law. That’s a definitive statement on the ability of our sinful nature. No matter how hard we try, to matter how much strength we muster up inside us, no matter how often we remind ourselves of our own strength, no matter how often we try to unlock the strength within us, we will NEVER be able to submit to or follow God’s Law in our sinful nature. It’s impossible. You’re not strong enough. 

The second big lie being told throughout our country is that we’re all basically good people. We’re told that everyone we encounter on the street is basically good. I once read a Joel Osteen book, where he said that we all have “seeds of goodness inside us.” We’re told that all of the evil and wickedness in the world comes from outside of us. We’re told that evil comes because of the way people were parented. We’re told that wickedness comes because of societal pressures and wrongs. We’re told that if we just educated people well enough and raised them in the right environment and helped them along, their goodness would shine through—the seeds of goodness would grow in them—and we’d eventually live in a utopia. More lies. 

Here’s what God has to say about the goodness of humanity: “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God…” (Romans 8:7, ESV). That doesn’t sound like everyone is generally good, does it? It sounds more like our inherent nature—the nature that is corrupted by sin—is hostile to God. Yes, you heard that right—HOSTILE. It’s not generally good. It’s not basically good. It’s hostile to God and everything he stands for. 

Not only are we naturally hostile to God, but we’re told that those who are still living with this corrupted, sinful nature CANNOT please God. It explicitly says, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:8, ESV). I realize I shouldn’t have to say this, but I will anyway. When this passage says “cannot,” it means CAN NOT. No way. It doesn’t say they can please God in certain things. It doesn’t even say they can please God a little bit. It says they CAN NOT please God. Naturally, we’re hostile to God and cannot please him. We’re not basically good. 

And that puts us in a tough situation, doesn’t it? Because God has given us a law to follow. He has told us that we need to live according to the Ten Commandments. But, we just found out that we can’t live according to those commandments. We’re not strong enough to do it and we’re not good enough to live according to those commandments. As a result, in our sinful condition we’re continually falling further and further away from God and his goodness. 

Another way to say this is, in our sinful condition, we’re continually racking up debt after debt after debt. With every sin, we’re going further and further into debt—swiping our credit card one more time. And if you think student loan debt is crushing people, the debt of our sins is absolutely destroying us. It’s hanging over our heads, weighing us down, preventing us from doing anything. We’re completely trapped, burdened, lost, and dying in our sins. And we’re not strong enough or good enough to do anything about it. 

Let that sink in for a moment. You’re not strong enough to save yourself. You’re not good enough to save yourself. Your family isn’t strong enough to save you. The government isn’t strong enough to save you. Society isn’t good enough to save you. They’re all trapped in the same place you are—not strong enough or good enough to do anything about it. This is an extremely desperate and hopeless situation. 

This is why the gospel is such good news. We need two things in order to be right with God. We need to have our sins forgiven—our debt needs to be paid. We also need to have righteousness—we need to live according to the law, we need “money” in the bank. Again, we can’t do either of these things ourselves. We can’t do anything to forgive our own sins and we aren’t strong enough or good enough to live according to the law. But the gospel tells us that Jesus did it all for us, in our place. Actually, we’re told that the Triune God has been working to bring us complete salvation. The Father sent the Son and filled us with his Holy Spirit. All were at work to deliver us and bring us salvation. 

We see both aspects of Jesus’ salvation in this passage. First, we’re told: “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us…” (Romans 8:3–4, ESV). We’re told that God sent Jesus to accomplish two things. He sent him in the likeness of sinful flesh and he sent him for sin. 

The last part is what many people know about. Jesus died for the sins of his people. Jesus came to earth and died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. His death was the payment for sin. By his death, Jesus paid off the credit card bill, he paid the debt we all owed because of our sinful, corrupted nature. We deserved death because of our hostility and rebellion toward God, but Jesus died in our place and paid that debt. That account balance is at zero because of Christ’s death. 

But, notice how this passage describes Jesus’ life on earth. He didn’t come in the sinful flesh—with a corrupted nature. He came in the likeness of sinful flesh—in the likeness of a corrupted nature. We’re told that he did this so that the righteous requirement of the law would be fulfilled in us. This is pointing to the reality that Jesus was born with a human nature, but completely without sin. He wasn’t born with a corrupted nature like the rest of us. Then, we went through the rest of his life, living perfectly. He was strong enough and good enough to fulfill God’s law. He lived the righteous life we could never live. Jesus not only died in our place, but he also lived in our place. His perfectly righteous life can be credited to our account. His death brought our credit card balance to zero, but his perfect life brought our credit card balance inestimably into the black. Jesus paid it all, and then some.

But notice something extremely important about how all of this is worded. Who receives this forgiveness of sins and the righteous life of Jesus? Look at verse four: “in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:4, ESV). Now, this could be confusing for some. On the surface, this passage could seem like it’s saying we’re saved by the way we live. If we walk according to the Spirit, we’re saved. If we walk according to the flesh, we’re dead. However, that’s not exactly what it’s saying. Remember, we’ve already been told that we’re not good enough or strong enough to save ourselves—or to live in a way that saves us. So, we know that’s not what’s being talked about here. So, who receives the forgiveness and righteousness of Jesus Christ?

The clearest place to find this answer is a few chapters back, where we read, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:23–25, ESV). We’re told that we all fall short—no one is strong enough or good enough to save themselves. We are justified by his grace. We are saved by his grace. These things are received by faith. We look to God by faith. We receive Jesus’ life and death by faith. We trust in these things by faith. Just like you repeatedly heard throughout the previous series, “The righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4, ESV).

Notice how that is worded, though. Remember what I said in the last series. This passage is telling us that the person who is made righteous by faith will continue to live by that faith. Something has changed inside them. God has taken their heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh. God has taken their weak, rebellious, hostile, and sinful heart and replaced it with a new heart and the power of the Holy Spirit. Earlier in this passage we read, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2, ESV).  When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, the power of the Spirit sets us free from our sinful nature. We’re no longer controlled by it. Now we can place God. Now we can submit to God. Now we can follow God. Our very nature has changed from being a fleshly, sinful being to being a renewed, spiritual being. 

That’s why we read that those who walk according to the Spirit are the ones who receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The only ones who can walk according to the Spirit are those who’ve been set free by the Spirit and renewed by the Spirit and transformed by the Spirit through faith. It’s the opposite of what I said earlier in this sermon. Earlier I described sin “leavening” every part of our being. The opposite happens. When we’re saved by Jesus Christ that salvation begins to leaven every part of our being. Our hearts are changed, then everything else begins to change. We begin to talk and walk and shop differently. 

But here’s the warning that’s being given in this passage: We cannot be saved and live according to the flesh. That’s impossible. We cannot be saved and still live like we did before we were saved. Another way to put this is, we cannot be saved by Jesus Christ and still live like the rest of the world that is not saved by Jesus Christ.

I realize this is not a popular way to talk these days, but I believe it’s extremely biblical. So, I’m going to say it because I think it’s necessary and loving. If you think you’ve been saved by Jesus, but your life hasn’t changed—if you’re still living according to the sinful, corrupted nature—you may not actually be saved. True faith changes you down to the core, and if that change hasn’t happened, you need to consider whether you have a true faith. If you continue to set your mind on the sinful nature, and live according to the sinful nature of the world, you will experience nothing but death and destruction and you will not be saved, because you never had a true faith that changed your heart. I realize that may seem harsh, but it’s the most loving thing I can say to those who have fooled themselves into thinking they’re saved. Repent and believe in Jesus and experience the peace and life that only He can give. 

I also realize this could be easily misconstrued and misunderstood. Am I saying that Christians should live perfect lives and never mess up? Absolutely not. The Christian life is a struggle with sin—it’s a battle. We’re told that there is a battle raging inside of us between the Spirit and our sinful nature. Much of the Christian life feels like what the Apostle Paul described in the previous chapter, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:19, ESV). I’m sure many of you have felt that way before. I’m sure many of you have felt despairing because of your inability to overcome certain sins in your life. Sometimes you feel weighed down by the guilt and shame of those sins. 

That’s why Paul begins this chapter with these very powerful words: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1, ESV). For those who’ve looked to Jesus in true faith, received his forgiveness and his righteousness, and had their hearts transformed, there is no condemnation. None. Zippo. Zilch. Nada. You’ve been set free. Yes, you will continue to struggle with sin in your life, but you don’t struggle with those sins as a condemned person. You fight those sins as someone who has been freed by Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. 

That’s the difference between the non-Christian and the Christian—those who walk according to the flesh and those who walk according to the Spirit. If you read this passage and say to yourself, “No condemnation in Jesus! Great! I can do whatever I want. I can sin as much as I want. I can live like the rest of the world!” then you’re probably not a Christian and probably don’t have true faith. You need to repent and believe in Jesus. You need his forgiveness and righteousness and you need to be set free. 

The Christian—the one who has received the forgiveness and righteousness of Jesus and has been given a new heart—hears this verse and thinks completely different. They say, “No condemnation in Jesus! Hallelujah. I no longer have to live with the burden of guilt and shame on my back. I’ve been set free to follow him and live according to his will. No condemnation! Wow. I don’t have to live in fear, always worried about slipping up or making a mistake. I can boldly and joyfully live my life following Jesus, walking according to the Spirit.” 

Those powerful words—no condemnation—free us from the burden of guilt and shame that prevent us from fighting the battle with sin in our lives. This passage is a beautiful reminder for us—it’s a beautiful encouragement of believers—to keep pressing on as we live our lives by faith. Yes, you will mess up and fall down and skin your knee, but don’t just lay there, wallowing in self pity. There’s no condemnation for you in Christ Jesus. Get up and keep moving forward in the Spirit. Keep pressing on and fighting the battle with sin. Why? Because you’ve been set free in Christ Jesus and there’s no condemnation there. So, keep pressing on and keep your eyes on Jesus.