"Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, 2 because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, 4 in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you."
Romans 8:1-11
Today's Message: Freedom Is Freedom Indeed
Although we should continue working toward freedom in our world, the reality is that only way we can truly be free, and only one true God can offer genuine, lasting freedom. In John 8:36, Jesus himself said, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." What kind of freedom was Jesus talking about there? Freedom from oppression? Freedom from discrimination? Freedom from despair? Throughout the years, I heard several government officials quote these words of Jesus, and then apply them to their political party’s agenda, as if their political party were the fulfillment of Jesus’ words.
No, the kind of freedom Jesus is speaking of is freedom from sin. You see, according to the Bible, sin lies at the heart of our human lack of freedom. By "sin" I don’t much mean specific actions like lying or hatred, but I a condition of being "in" sin. The Bible pictures sin as first and foremost a condition of isolation and alienation from God, a condition of depravity, helplessness and hopelessness. This awful condition is universal, it effects every person on the face of the earth. This is what lies at the heart of all forms of human oppression. The reason racists hate, is because of the power of sin in their lives. The reason why governments oppress their citizens and exploit the poor is because of the domination of sin. The reason why assassins murder people, the reason why parents abuse their children, the reason why teenage kids take drugs to escape their reality is because of the power of sin.
God knows that to truly deal with a problem like racism, oppression or hatred, we must get to the root of the issue. Sin. This makes me think of an old friend of mine, for the first several years of his sobriety, he did not abuse alcohol, he had however, developed a new addiction, gambling. He had traded in one problem for another. Instead of hitting the bars he now hit the casinos. He’d would frequently gamble away his entire paycheck, leaving himself and his son living on next to nothing until his next payday. Which he often repeated the same process. Although he was now free from his addiction to alcohol, he was not truly free from the power of addiction. He was not free from sin.
Freedom indeed is freedom from the root problem, not just the symptoms. Today, we’re going to look at how Christ sets us free from our sin. How does Jesus Christ break the chains of sin, so that we can deal with the root issue, what lies at the heart of racism, violence, etc.?
In the New Testament, book of Romans, called Good News For Our Times. In the first three chapters of Romans, Paul painted the picture of the human condition in very, very bleak terms, as he showed that all people are helpless under the power of sin. Religious and non-religious, church goers and non-church goers, moral and immoral, Jewish and non-Jewish, all people have been chained in the prison of sin. Paul’s conclusion in Romans 3:23 was, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
We have seen that God’s law, the ten commandments, is unable to break the power of sin in our lives. God’s law shows us God’s standards by defining right and wrong for us, it can’t help us meet that standard. Last week we saw what happens when a person tries to meet the standard of God’s law while that person is still captive to the power of sin. We saw that this kind of person finds him or herself unable to obey God, inwardly torn between good and bad, and living a miserable life of spiritual defeat.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the work of Jesus Christ, Your Son. We thank You for saving grace, freeing us from sin and death, giving us life and life everlasting. Thank You for transforming our hearts, our very nature, making us a new creation in Christ. For it is written, "therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." Thank You, Lord Jesus Christ, for redeeming us, who were lost, who were living in sin and darkness.
Lord, we pray for those who remain lost in darkness, that You would soften their hearts, open their eyes and ears, that they might hear, that none should perish. Lord, we pray that You will use us, in whatever ways fitting to Your purposes and plans, to bring this to fruition. Reveal those to us You want us to share the message of the Gospel with, place us in their path, speak through us, that our voice not be heard, but Yours.
Lord, help us to be faithful and obedient to Your Word, obeying the commands of Jesus Christ, to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, and the voice of the Holy Spirit, who leads us to fulfill all righteousness for Your glory
This we pray in Christ's name
Amen.
Today we begin looking at what God has done to answer that condition. Specifically we’re going to find three kinds of freedom God offers us from sin. These three kinds of freedom correspond to the three persons of the holy trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Open with me your Bibles to the book of Romans, chapter 8
"Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit. For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you."
In chapter 5:12-21, the apostle Paul contrasted Adam and Christ. Just as sin and death came into the world through Adam to afflict all, verses 12-14, so the free gift of grace came into the world through Christ to justify many, 15-21.
In chapter 8:2, we have a similar contrast between "the law of sin and of death" and the action of God’s Son, who "condemned sin in the flesh" verse 3, —and a further contrast between “"those who live according to the flesh" and "those who live according to the Spirit," in verse 5.
Paul repeatedly contrasts flesh the Greek: sarx and Spirit, pneuma, i.e., "For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace." This "is Exodus language" —God brings us out.
When Paul uses the word sarx, he is not talking about people embodied in flesh, but is instead talking about people whose lives are focused on "the works of the flesh"—the baser things of life—"adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” Galatians 5:19-21.
When Paul uses the word pneuma, he is talking of God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who transforms our lives, helping us to focus on higher things, and making us fit for the resurrected life with Christ.
In Romans 8:1, the word "therefore" connects what Paul says here to what he said earlier. In chapter 7:12, Paul spoke of the limitations of the law. While the law was holy, it enlightened people to the reality of sin, making them accountable.
Freedom From the Penalty of Sin:
Romans 8, is one of the most profound chapters in the entire Bible. Some have called it the "high water" mark of the New Testament. Few chapters in the Bible have as much significance for living a victorious, fulfilled spiritual life than this chapter. That’s why we’re going to spend some time on this chapter together.
Let’s look at the first four verses. The words "therefore" and "now" in verse 1, signal a transition from the miserable condition that was described in the previous chapter. There’s debate among some Bible teachers as to whether the horrible struggle described in Romans 7, is intended to describe Paul’s experience as a Christian or his experience before becoming a Christian. Whichever view is accurate, Romans 7 certainly applies to any person, Christian or non-Christian alike, who attempts to meet God’s standards on their own. But instead of the horrible struggle described in chapter 7, here we find something new.
For those who have trusted in Jesus Christ, there is now no condemnation. The word "condemnation" here describes a person who’s judged to be guilty of a crime and thus liable to penalty for that crime. It describes both the verdict and the penalty. In the context of Romans, Paul’s talking about our guilt for sin and the death sentence we deserve because of our sins. For those who’ve trusted in Jesus, there’s no longer a guilty verdict or a death sentence.
How can that be possible? Paul tells us that what God’s law, the ten commandments, was unable to do, God himself has done by sending His Son. Again, God’s law was never intended to be the solution to sin. Just as a states penal code cannot rehabilitate a criminal, God’s law cannot rehabilitate the sinner. Just as a states Penal Code condemns the lawbreaker, so God’s law exposes our sin and condemns us. Instead of relying on the law to rescue us from our plight, God sent his Son into our world.
The phrase "the likeness of sinful flesh" indicates that God’s Son became truly human. He wasn’t just half human or part human, but he was fully human, who totally identified with our human condition.
Jesus became a genuine human being to be a sin offering, a sacrifice offered on our behalf. This means Jesus willingly took upon himself the consequences and penalty of human sin on the cross.
When Jesus died on the cross, sin was judged and condemned, even though Jesus was innocent. Jesus didn’t deserve to die, but he willingly took the condemnation of our sin upon himself. Jesus did this so the righteous requirement of God’s law could be met in us. You see, God’s law required a perfect life, a life totally free from failure and sin. So Jesus lived that kind of life, a life that never rebelled against God, a life that never broke God’s law, a sinless life.
I find it deeply disturbing, that in George Barna’s study of Christian beliefs in America, found that 29% of Christians believe that Jesus committed sins during his lifetime. If that’s true, then the righteous requirement of God’s law cannot be met in us, because it wasn’t met by Christ.
According to the book of Romans, because of Jesus’ sinlessness, when we trust in Jesus, our condemnation is transferred to him and his sinlessness is transferred to us. Therefore, when God looks at us, he no longer sees our sin and the condemnation it deserves, but He sees Christ’s perfect obedience. Jesus lived the life we have all failed to live and died the death we all deserve to die.
Here we find the first kind of freedom God offers.
Jesus Christ's death on the cross sets us free from the penalty of sin.
Both the verdict and the sentence have been removed by Jesus Christ. This isn’t simply a pardon, like our presidents offer to people.
What God offers us through Jesus isn’t merely a pardon, but it’s a vindication. Not only are our sins forgiven, but they are justly forgiven because God’s Son freely suffered for in our place. Not only are we restored to innocence, but Jesus Christ’s own perfect life is applied to us.
This kind of freedom is uniquely related only to Jesus Christ, God’s own Son. It was through His birth, his perfect life, His willing sacrificial death on Good Friday, and His victorious resurrection on Easter Sunday that makes this possible. And although God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are involved in this process, the instrument of this freedom is Jesus Christ.
From the moment we place our trust in Jesus Christ, we are completely set free from the penalty of our sins. We will never be more free from the penalty of our sins than we are at the moment we trust and believe in Jesus Christ. This unique freedom includes freedom not only from our past failures and our present struggles, but even freedom from our future failures as well. Christ lived and died to free us from the penalty of all sin, which includes our past sins, present sins and our future sins
I want to make something very clear, if you have trusted in Jesus Christ, then you are as free today from the penalty of all your sins as you will ever be!
Freedom from the Power of Sin:
Yet being set free from the penalty of sin doesn’t mean we stop struggling with sin in our daily lives. Although our status before God is settled, and God sees us through the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus, we still struggle to live consistently with our new status. We often find ourselves stumbling and falling, falling back into old habits and patterns. We find ourselves free from the penalty of sin, but still struggling with the power of sin in our lives.
Look at how Paul answers this struggle in verses 5-9. Now wherever the New International Version has the phrase "sinful nature," the literal Greek is "the flesh." Both translations have the potential of being misleading. The phrase "in the flesh" might lead us to think Paul is talking about our physical bodies. But the phrase "in the flesh" has nothing to do with our bodies. The NIV’s translation "sinful nature" runs the risk of making us think there are two natures inside of us, like the old good angel and devil on each shoulder, whispering in our ear. But that isn't what Paul is talking about here either.
However, back in chapters 5 and 6 of Romans that the phrase "in the flesh" is simply a way of talking about human life lived from a purely human perspective, without reference to God. Living "in the flesh" is human life lived in Adam, the head of the human race.
Christian and the non-Christian:
Paul is not contrasting two different natures inside of the Christian, but he’s contrasting two different kinds of people.
First Paul talks about the non-Christian, humanity still in Adam. The realm this person lives is "in the flesh," that realm of life that pays no attention to God and God’s desires for the human race. The outlook of this person is a "flesh" worldview. Again "flesh" has nothing to do with our bodies or with sex, but it’s talking about life lived from a purely human perspective. The word "mind set" in verse 5 is more than just our thinking, but it refers to our outlook, our worldview, our way of interpreting reality. Where the believer sees a miracle, this person sees only a coincidence. This person’s worldview is purely human, refusing to take God into account. The attitude of the non-Christian is hostility toward God. We see that in verse 7.
This hostility might be an active anger at God, or it maybe be passive indifference to God. But either way it’s hostility. The potential of the non-Christian is limited: he or she cannot please God. Even if this person somehow wanted to meet God’s standards, they lack the resources to do it. In fact, I suspect that this is the condition Paul described back in chapter 7. The destiny of this person is death. This isn’t just physical death, but it’s also spiritual death and ultimately eternal separation from God. Death in all its horrible dimensions is the destiny that awaits a person who is still under the power of sin.
But then Paul talks about the Christian, the person who is in Jesus Christ. The realm this person lives in is "in the Spirit." That doesn’t mean this person is perfect or no longer struggles, but it’s simply a new realm. I believe this is what Jesus meant by God’s Kingdom, that realm where Jesus is the king and where God’s Spirit works. The outlook of the Christian is a "Spirit" worldview.
In spite of what many Christians think, this does not mean that we are perfect, it does mean we’re able to take into account what God wants. We can now examine at our lives through a spiritual lens, as we see how our actions as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, friends and coaches, workers and employers relate to God’s will. Where the unbeliever sees a coincidence, the believer sees the hand of God. The attitude of the Christian is at peace with God.
While the non-Christian is hostile toward God, the believer has found peace with God through Jesus Christ. I want to make something clear, this doesn’t mean we no longer faces struggles, it does mean that we’ve made peace with God, that we’re no longer in a state of war against God. As Paul said in 5:1, "Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The potential of the Christian is now that he can please God. Because without faith, no man can please God. Lastly, the destiny of the Christian is now "life" rather than of death.
We can know that Paul is contrasting Christians with non-Christians here because in verse 9, he literally says, "You however are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." Paul was confident that all of the Roman Christians, not just the spiritually mature ones, are in this new realm of the Spirit. The sign of a person being "in the Spirit" is the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. In fact, if a person doesn’t have the Holy Spirit living inside of him or her, that person is not a genuine, authentic Christian.
I want to pause and mention that there are some Christians out there who tend to emphasize different experiences with the Holy Spirit that come later. Some call these later experiences "the baptism of the Spirit," while I would call it "being filled with the Spirit." But whatever subsequent experiences we might have with God’s Spirit, we must remember that the indwelling of God’s Spirit begins at the moment we trust in Jesus Christ. God’s Holy Spirit will never be more inside of you than he is at the moment you trust your life to Jesus Christ. Anyone who tells you that you don’t have the Holy Spirit living in you yet because you don’t have a particular experience contradicts what Paul says here.
Every single follower of Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit living inside him or her. We might grieve that Holy Spirit, we might have subsequent experiences of being freshly filled with the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and so forth, but God’s Spirit comes to make his home in our hearts at the moment we trust in Jesus Christ.
Why has Paul gone to all this detail to contrast the life of the Christian with the life of the non-Christian? He’s done it to show us the second freedom we have from sin. Jesus Christ’s presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit sets us free from the power of sin!
Without the Holy Spirit, we’re like a helpless insect caught in the spider web of sin. We can’t free ourselves no matter how hard we try, no matter how much will power we muster, no matter how much energy we spend. We’re powerless against the web of sin in our lives without God’s Spirit.
Then we confess our sin to God, not to be freed from its penalty, but to be restored to intimacy with God. When the Christian confesses his or her sins, it’s not to God in his role as a judge, but it’s to God in his role as a Father. We confess our sins to be restored to intimacy, not to have the penalty taken care of all over again.
Finally, after confession and repentance, we ask God’s Holy Spirit to empower us to do better next time. We take God’s promise by faith, that through his Holy Spirit we can move forward. No matter how hard we’ve fallen, God’s Holy Spirit offers us new resources, new power, new victory, if we’d only ask. God’s Spirit’s not going anywhere, so we can continually rely on the Holy Spirit to move forward in the spiritual life.
While God the Son was the key to freedom from the penalty of sin, God the Holy Spirit is the key to freedom from the ongoing power of sin in our lives.
No matter how much progress we make in the spiritual life, we’re still surrounded by sin and its consequences. We still live in mortal bodies that are decaying, getting sick, and growing old. Physical death still awaits us, no matter how free we are from the penalty of sin and how much we grow in our freedom from the power of sin. And we’re also still surrounded with people who sin against us, both friends and enemies. We still live in a society dominated by sin, as we see people oppressed, hungry people starving, innocent people hurt, and so forth. The presence of sin is still all around us, within our own physical bodies, as well as in the lives of those around us.
Look what Paul says about this in verses 10-11. Even though we’re completely free from the penalty of sin and growing in our freedom from the power of sin, our body is still mortal, and exposed to the presence of sin. Because of sin and its consequences, our bodies grow old and diseased, tired and sick, weak and corruptible. Freedom from sin’s penalty and progressive freedom from sin’s power doesn’t stop this. Yet even in the midst of our mortality, our spirit is alive, free from sin’s penalty and in the process of being freed from sin’s power.
Then Paul reminds us of Easter, that day when Jesus Christ rose again, conquering death for all time. The "him" in verse 11 is God the Father. God the Father is the one who raised Jesus from the dead on Easter Sunday, and the promise here is that he will also bring our physical bodies back to life through the Spirit on the day of resurrection as well. The fact that God’s Spirit lives inside of us is assurance of this promise, evidence of this anticipated event.
So although we’re not yet free from the presence of sin, we have a wonderful assurance given to us here. The resurrection of Jesus Christ assures us of future freedom from the presence of sin.
And on that day, sin will be locked away forever, cast into the lake of fire. No longer will people sin against us, or we them, no longer will we grieve or die, no longer will we endure illness or battle disease. When that day comes, sin will be cast out forever!
Notice the emphasis here is on God the Father. Although Jesus and the Holy Spirit both play a role, the emphasis is on God the Father giving new life to our mortal bodies. Only God can confer immortality on mere mortals like us.
In Closing....
With this assurance, we are able to live in this life, surrounded by sin. We are able to face disease and sickness with faith and courage, knowing that our future is secure. We’re able to forgive people when they sin against us. We’re able to face pain and tragedy, fear and despair. We’re even able to face evil with courage, as we are filled with assurance of our future freedom from the very presence of sin.
If Jesus sets you free, you will be free indeed. "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we’re free at last." Not just free from the symptoms of sin, but genuinely free. Free from the penalty of sin through God the Son; progressively free from the power of sin through God the Holy Spirit; and ultimately free from the very presence of sin through God the Father.
What wonderful freedom our Lord promises. There's no wonder it’s called "good news." Even though sin is a difficult topic of discussion, especially in this broken and fallen world, a negative and sometimes pessimistic thing to talk about, among the sin and corruption, however, the ultimate goal is the good news. This is the message Jesus Christ has given us to share with this world. This is the message in which we’re going to celebrate, rejoicing now in our worship and praise.
Thanks be to God.
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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