Condemnation for Sin

SCRIPTURE: Romans 8:2-4 (ESV)

DATE: 6-7-20

It’s great to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And the one thing I always want you to know is that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRODUCTION

We are back in the book of Romans and things are slowing down for us. Over the past three years we’ve gone through the first seven chapters of Paul’s letter to the Christians living in Rome. And chapter 8 — well — chapter 8 is going to take us two years to get through.

But never fear. We’ll get through half of the chapter this year — take a break — and then pick up the last half of the chapter next year.

But this chapter is what Paul has been building towards in the previous seven chapters. And everything that comes after this chapter — in many ways — looks back to it. This chapter is what the entire letter is built on and around.

Now last week, I had you memorize the first verse of the chapter. So let’s see how well you’ve been keeping it stored in your memory. Let’s all say Romans chapter 8 verse 1 together — and feel free to type the verse out in the comment section if you want us to know that you’ve got it memorized.

On the count of three — let’s all say it together. One. Two. Three.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Now I threw out a challenge to all of you last week. And I never got word on how many of you uploaded a video of you saying the verse from memory. So it seems like my saxophone playing days will be a thing of legendary status. “Is it really true? Did he ever play the saxophone?” Questions left hanging in the balance.

Just kidding! But I really never heard how many of you sent in your videos, but — for some fun — and with the way things are going in our country we could all use a laugh — so here’s a younger Josh Hanson playing the saxophone. Feel free to laugh it up.

INSERT VIDEO CLIP

So hopefully that itch is scratched. Now if you missed last weekend’s sermon, I can’t encourage you enough to go see how — “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” — how those are life changing and life giving words of assurance. I know we’ve got lots of division in our country right now — racial division — COVID 19 division — and — bonus — it’s an election year which always unifies our country — so we all need to be reminded of the best News to ever be heard — because — good news is in short supply these days. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

So let’s now turn to our verses for today.

ANNOUNCE THE TEXT

If you have your Bible please turn with me again to Romans chapter 8. We’ll be looking at verses 2-4. We’re in Romans chapter 8. Beginning in verse 2.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 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 8:2-4 ESV)

SERMON INTRODUCTION

Alright. Good news for us today. Good news building on the great news we learned last week. And this news is so practical for us — and here’s why.

Most of us — and this doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian or not — but most people have a bargaining relationship with God. The kind of relationship where “If I do this, then God owes me that.” Now most of us don’t realize that we have this kind of relationship with God because — for many of us — life’s usually pretty good.

But it’s during the not so good times that our bargaining relationship with God becomes evident. Because it’s in those not so good times that we feel like God isn’t living up to his end of the deal. And this is when many people will claim to no longer believe in God. And that’s not always a bad thing — because — more often than not — they weren’t believing in the true and living God — as revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Those who have a bargaining relationship with God rarely have an accurate view of who the real God is and what he’s like.

Now here’s why I bring this up. A bargaining with God kind of relationship is really a relationship based on law — not grace. What do I mean? Well — like I just said — bargaining is all about the rules of the relationship. “If I do this. You do that. But if I don’t do this. Then you don’t have to do that.” So in a bargaining relationship there are rules, negotiations, there’s a law that the relationship is built on.

But we’re going to learn something today that will show us the futility of this kind of relationship with God.

But maybe an example first.

Nelson Mandela — I’m sure you’ve heard of him. He’s the man who was held in prison for 27 years in South Africa. Eighteen of those years was spent in a small cell without a bed or plumbing all while having to do hard labor in a quarry. During these years he was allowed to write and receive a single letter every six months and once a year he was allowed to meet with a visitor for 30 minutes.

Now — imagine if you were in this situation.

What kind of bargaining would you be doing with God — or whatever higher power you believe in — “If you’d just get me out of here I will…fill in the blank.”
What kind of bargaining would you be doing with yourself — “Once I get out of here, I’m going to…fill in the blank.”

So imagine the bitterness that would build up in you over those 27 years. Imagine the hatred towards those who’ve kept you in prison. The vengeance you’d feel like you deserve.

And here lies the danger. Say you keep your end of the bargain — yet nothing seems to happen like you want it to. Even after you’re released from prison — 27 years later — you’d still be a prisoner — it’s just now your prison cell is hatred and bitterness and vengeance. That’s what living by a law — or living in a bargaining relationship with God — will do — it leaves you a prisoner.

But here’s what Mandela did — it’s quite remarkable. Later in life — as he reflected on the moment he was released from prison — he writes, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” He knew that in leaving one prison, he could walk right into another. But he chose a different path.

Now for many Christians, even though we’ve been set free from our prison — from our enslavement to sin — even though we’ve walked out of our prison cell and into freedom — many Christians live as if they’re still locked up.

And this is because — instead of living in a faith-based relationship with God — they live in a bargaining relationship with him.
Instead of living by grace, we want to live by law.
We want to have some control over our relationship with the One who’s given us freedom.
But to truly be free — we must give the One who’s set us free complete control over our lives.
No bargaining. Instead, we must trust.

So let’s go back to our verses and see how something needed to change in order for us to actually live in freedom. Then we’ll see what God did to make this change happen. And then we’ll see how all of this means gloriously good news for those who believe in Jesus. So something needed to change. God made the change happen. And this all equals good news for God’s people.

SOMETHING NEEDED TO CHANGE

Let’s go back to verse 2 and see that something needed to change.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. (Romans 8:2-3a ESV)

The law. If you’re familiar with the Old Testament — you may wonder — which law are we talking about here? Well — for Paul — the law here means the law of Moses. In fact, the phrase he uses here — “the law of sin and death” — is his way of expanding on what he wrote back in Romans 7:23. There he writes, “I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” (Romans 7:23 ESV)

So what is this “law of sin” that he now calls the “law of sin and death”? Well notice how Paul describes this law as being in us — he says it’s “in my members.” What does that mean? One pastor’s words are helpful. He says, “In other words it [the law of sin] is a power or an impulse or a principle that’s at work in my body to make me at war with myself and to draw me to do evil. It’s virtually the same as what Paul calls ‘indwelling sin.’”

And even earlier in chapter 7 — way back in verse 6 — Paul contrasts the Spirit with the law. There he writes, “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” (Romans 7:6 ESV)

“The written code” is another way that Paul refers to the law of Moses.

Now this brings up all kinds of questions — like — “Well then what’s the purpose of the law?” In fact, what do you think is the purpose of the law? Tell us what you think in the comments.

The reason why we ask this question is — because here in Romans 8 — Paul says that the law can’t do something — the law couldn’t accomplish something. But before we get to what the law can’t do — let’s talk about what it can do.

Now the Hanson kids know the answer to our question, “What’s the purpose of the law?” because that’s one of our catechism questions — a catechism is a bunch of questions and answers that teach you the truths of the Christian faith. Super helpful for kids — and — adults. So what’s the purpose of the law? The purpose of the law is to “show us the holy nature of God, the sinful nature of our hearts, and thus our need of a Savior.” This is what the law can do. It shows us the holy nature of God, the sinful nature of our hearts, and thus our need of a Savior.

Or as it’s been said, “God gave His law so that we would see what His standard was and measure our lives against it and realize we didn’t make it. The law cannot justify. It cannot save. You can’t be good enough. Why? Because it is weak. Why [is the law weak]? Through the flesh. There was nothing wrong with the moral law of God. Nothing wrong with it at all. It is holy, just, and good….The problem is not with the law. The problem is with us. We can’t keep it…And the law can’t help…there’s no provision in the moral law of God to assist us. The law, in a sense, is powerless. The law doesn’t have any energizing capability. The law is not a person. The law is outside us. It is God’s perfectly holy standard. [And] it is merciless. The law knows no forgiveness. The law knows no mercy. It exercises no grace, and it provides no help. It’s just fixed, and we crash against it with our weak flesh, only to be shattered.

Now that pastor has hinted at the answer to our other question, “What can’t the law do?” We know what it can do — it shows us the holy nature of God, the sinful nature of our hearts, and thus our need of a Savior — but what can’t the law do? The law can’t make us righteous before God. The law makes no one holy. The law is powerless to save.

And so something needed to change. Why? Because the law can’t save and God’s in the saving business. In fact, when you think of all that the law can’t do — you see the futility in having a bargaining based relationship with God. Because that’s a law-based relationship. And all law-based relationships with God end — not in salvation — but in condemnation. Yet God has promised — to his people — a “ there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” life.

Which leads us to what God has done.

LOOK AT WHAT GOD HAS DONE

Verse 3. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh… (Romans 8:3 ESV)

Now it must be said — though it’s fairly obvious — not everyone believes in sin these days. And — because of this — many people — in our culture especially — don’t believe that God condemns anyone.

Yet the story of the Bible reveals something radically different than the thinking of our day. The Bible reveals that sin — in fact — is a significant problem. Let’s see — is there any real world example I can use to illustrate how significant a problem sin is in our world? Oh yeah — the outrage in our country is due to a sinful act — the killing of a black man. But that’s not the end of sin. Many have responded to sin with sin. Many are peacefully protesting in our country — that same amendment that protects our right to worship protects their right to protest. But though many protest peacefully others are using violence — and that’s sinful. Some in authority in our country have used unnecessary aggressive responses to those who are peacefully protesting — and that’s sinful.

You see — sin is so invasive in our world — so invasive in us — sin is an insurmountable problem that we cannot overcome on our own — sin is so invasive in our world that God sent his Son — Jesus Christ — to die in order to defeat sin. And the freedom that we long for — freedom from sin and all of its consequences — and freedom from God’s condemnation towards those who sin — which is all of us — freedom from God’s just and right condemnation of sin is possible — but only through faith in his Son. Because through faith in Jesus — God’s condemnation against us — and our sin — is transferred from us to Jesus. And God’s pleasure in his Son — for living a perfect, sinless, obedient, God honoring and glorifying life — is transferred to us.

So how is that transfer possible? What did God do to make this happen — because we sure haven’t anything to deserve this transfer?

First, God condemned sin. It’s been said that, “God did something more than merely criticize sin. [When] Paul…says, “God condemned sin in the flesh”…He means that in Jesus’ flesh — in his suffering and dying body on the cross — God executed a final sentence of condemnation on the sin of everyone who is in Christ. In other words…God found sin guilty and sentenced sin to be finally punished and carried out the penalty of suffering in the death of his Son.”

Second, God didn’t condemn some generic type of sin — God condemned our sin — your sin and my sin. That same pastor goes on to say, “How could God condemn sin in [Jesus’] flesh? There was none there to condemn [because Jesus was sinless]. The clearest answer is given in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” There it is. Paul says it as clearly as it can be said: “He knew no sin.” Jesus never sinned. Of all the people who have ever lived, Jesus is the only one who did not deserve to die. Jesus is the only person who ever lived who did not deserve to suffer. But he died and he suffered. So the question is: Whose sin was condemned when Jesus’ flesh was tortured and killed?…The answer is given clearly [in] Romans 4:25, “He…was delivered over because of our transgressions.” [It’s clear] in 1st Corinthians 15:3, [where Paul writes] “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” Or in Galatians 1:4, “[He] gave Himself for our sins.” Or 1st Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.” And in 1st Peter 3:18, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous.” Or Isaiah 53 says, “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities…All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”

Our sin was condemned in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. It wasn’t his sin — he had none. Which practically means what? [It means this.] “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died.” When [Paul asks the] question, “Who can condemn God’s elect?” the answer is, “Nobody.” Nobody in heaven or hell or on the earth. Why? Because “Christ Jesus is he who died.” Therefore [if you believe in Jesus Christ you can say with confidence] it was my sin that was condemned and sentenced and punished completely and fully and finally when Christ died. And if my sin was punished…finally and fully, I will not be punished for it.

Or as Martin Luther said, “Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders, or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you are lost; but if it is resting on Christ, you are free, and you will be saved.”

And — finally — God condemned sin in the flesh…God did this. Not us. Not the Israelites. Not some past generation nor some future generation. God — and God alone — condemned sin — and — he did this for his people.

Now there are some serious implications for us from this truth. One implication is that we should take all sin seriously — because God takes all sin seriously. How seriously does God take sin? Think of what we know about creation. It’s dying just like we’re all dying. And the reason for this death — of all things — is because God refuses to give everlasting life to things that are contaminated by sin. Why? Because sin is evil. It’s wickedness. It’s the reason there are wars between countries, broken marriages, abuses of all kinds, diseases, tragedies, racism, and so on. Sin is a virus that we — on our own — have no vaccine for and no amount of social distancing will keep you from it.

And if we lived on forever — as individuals — or even as a species — we’d keep passing on sin to the generations that come after us. So God has said that sin cannot continue and — because we’re sinful — we can’t continue on either. Thus everything living dies. And death — if you don’t believe in sin — well death is evidence for sin. Death shows the expansive saturation of sin because all die. Why? Because “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” And this all sounds utterly hopeless, right?

Which is why we can’t forget what God has done. We can’t forget what God has done for two reasons. First, so we don’t become arrogant and think that we’ve solved our sin problem. We didn’t. We couldn’t. God did it. And second, we must remember what God has done so we now live for him and not for sin. When we see the length to which God went in order to give us life beyond death — life without sin — eternal life through the sacrifice and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ — we know — don’t we — we know that we now must live for the One who has set us free. As the psalmist says, “How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands.” (Psalm 112:1b NLT)

God did for us — not only what we couldn’t do for ourselves — God did what even the law could not do for us.

GOOD NEWS FOR US

And this leads to Good News for God’s people. Let’s read all of our verses one last time. Back to verse 2.

We Christians have been sovereignly pulled out of the sewer of our own sin, washed in the cleansing water of the Word, and given a new heart with new affections so we can now pursue the glory of God — and find soul satisfying joy in Jesus. And this is the great miracle of regeneration — the new birth — our spiritual resurrection. God’s raised us up from our spiritual death — with Christ — and he’s given us these new resurrected lives so we can walk according to the Spirit.

I like what one Bible commentator has said about this: “The believer is not free from the obligation to do God’s will as revealed in His Word, but [God’s] love works in [the believer] so they desire to do [the] Father’s will.” In believing in Jesus — in being saved — God’s love works in you so you now desire to do his will. Do you desire to do the will of God?

Now these verses give us reason to stop and stare at and ponder all that God’s done for us in his Son and find ourselves filled with the love of Jesus — filled with deep soul satisfying joy in him — as we see who he is and all that he’s done for us in condemning our sin in his flesh. For as we look to Jesus — as we see him condemning our sin in his flesh — as we look to Jesus — we’re put in our place — we’re humbled before him — and yet grateful beyond words. And as we look to Jesus — seeing that he has condemned our sin in his flesh — he is put in his place — the Victor over sin, the Serpent slayer, the Life giver, the One who sets his people free and gives us rest.

As the hymn My Faith Has Found a Resting Place so beautifully states. “My faith has found a resting place, Not in device nor creed; I trust the ever living One, His wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument, I need no other plea, It is enough that Jesus died, And that he died for me. Enough for me that Jesus saves, This ends my fear and doubt; A sinful soul, I come to him, He’ll never cast me out. My heart is leaning on the Word, The written Word of God, Salvation by my Savior’s name, Salvation through his blood. My great Physician heals the sick, The lost he came to save; For me his precious blood he shed, For me his life he gave.”

So how do we live in this way — this way of living where “my sin has been condemned and I am not condemned” kind of way? Or — as Oswald Chambers put it — “I have to get to the point of the absolute and unquestionable relationship that takes everything exactly as it comes from Him.” And God says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for you because you are in Christ Jesus.”

So how do we live in this way — this “sin has been condemned and I am not condemned” kind of way? First, know that if you believe in Jesus Christ you are not condemned by God — you are free from God’s condemnation, free from the power of sin and death, and free from Satan because Jesus’ victory over sin and death is your victory over. He won and gave you his Victor’s trophy and reward. Do you believe this? For this is no bargaining relationship. This is no law-based relationship. This is Christ saying, “My life for yours for I have paid your debt in full.”

And — second — this means — if you believe in Jesus — your fight against sin is not a fight for your salvation. Your eternity is not at stake. We’re not in a conflict with two equal sides.

God is all-powerful. Satan is not.
God is present everywhere. Satan is not.
God is the Victor. Satan the defeated one.
God is Truth and he always tells us the truth. Satan is a liar and deceives us with his words.
And often Satan convinces God’s people that our salvation is on the line when Jesus has said — “No! It is finished. Your salvation is secure.”
The only power Satan has over us is the power to lie to us. But we don’t have to listen. For we’ve been given authority over him in Christ. Expose his lies with the truth of God’s Word and watch that old snake slither away.

CONCLUSION

Now maybe you’ve been listening and have begun to sense the reality of sin in your life and in the world around you. You’re still not sure about all of the claims of the Christian faith, but you know that something’s wrong and that you don’t have a solution. Know that — because he loves you — God has done for you what you can’t do for yourself. So — what we talked about earlier — what God has done — is something he did for you. And he extends to you his love. He extends to you his Son — Jesus Christ. And if you would believe that Jesus has done for you what you can’t and won’t ever be able to do for yourself — if you believe in Jesus and turn from a “bargaining with God” relationship to a “I trust you — if what I see in Jesus shows me your love for me — I trust you with my life and I will live for you” kind of relationship. If this is you, I’m going to pray for you in a moment — that you — today — would receive and respond to God’s love. Giving up your bargaining relationship with him and instead — be embraced by his eternal love for you.

For others of us — though — I hope you see that — in God condemning sin — and through your faith in Jesus Christ — God is not now — nor will he ever condemn you. No condemnation means none. And I pray — that in receiving this truth — you would swim deep in God’s love for you. Experience the freedom he’s given to you in knowing that you are his beloved child — one he will never condemn.

And for those of us who may look at other Christians with jealousy — because you see them basking in God’s love while you’ve been living a condemned life — know that through your faith in Jesus you are not condemned. Stop listening to the lies of the Enemy. “There is therefore now no condemnation for you if you are in Christ Jesus.” Are you in Christ? Do you believe? Then know for certain that you are not condemned! You are loved! No need to be jealous of God’s love for his other children — he loves you with that same incredible love.

And for all of us — may we know that — from God’s view — we’re not the problem. Sin is the problem. Police aren’t the problem. Black people aren’t the problem. Republicans aren’t the problem. Democrats aren’t the problem. Sin is the problem. That’s why Jesus came to condemn sin in the flesh — not to condemn us. So — I beg you — know that you’re not a problem — you are loved. And may we treat each other as if we’re not the problem because sin is the problem. And may we thank God that he has done for us what none of us could do for ourselves.

So let’s remind each other of what God has done for us.
Let’s remind each other of God’s great love for us.
Let’s remind each other of what the Beloved One — Jesus Christ — did for those whom God calls his children.
And let’s encourage each other to live in the freedom that’s found in the life-changing words “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, when we think and ponder all that you’ve done for us in sending Jesus Christ — words seem to come up short. Amazing. Wonderful. Life changing. Our language is too limited for the response that swells up inside of us as we think of who you are and all that you’ve done for us. So thank you. That’s the best our language has got. Thank you.

Jesus, you condemned our sin in your flesh and have given us your righteousness — your Victor’s trophy. What a depth of love you have for us. Help us to dive deep into your love for us and live out of and in response to your great love. Because your love is life changing. It’s identity giving. It’s powerful.

Holy Spirit, for those who have recognized their own sin and have felt the hopelessness of a bargaining relationship with you and are desiring to know that the words “there is therefore now no condemnation for me because I am in Christ Jesus” are true for them — give them new life, open their spiritual eyes, give them faith in Christ and guide them in turning from their sin as they turn to him. And may they know — even this early on in their faith — that there is not now — nor will there ever be — condemnation in their life because they are in Christ. And may they respond to this gloriously Good News by living for you. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION

May you go believing in Jesus Christ. That he has done for you what you could not do for yourself. For he condemned your sin in his flesh so that you might receive his “there is therefore now no condemnation” life. Amen

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.