The Bible reading today is going to be from Romans 5, verse 12 to 21, and then Romans 8, 1 to 4.
You can follow along in your bulletins if you like.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin,
and so death spread to all men because all sinned.
For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam,
who was a type of the one who was to come.
But the free gift is not like the trespass.
For if many die through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God
and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many.
And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin.
The judgment following one trespass brought condemnation,
but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.
For if, because of that one man's trespass, death reigned through the one man,
much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness
reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, as one trespass led to the condemnation for all men,
so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners,
so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
Now the law came in to increase the trespass,
but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
so that as sin reigned in death, grace might reign through righteousness,
leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And moving to Romans 8, verse 1.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus
from the law of sin and death.
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,
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.
Well, this morning we are embarking on a magnificent part of God's Word.
One commentator calls Romans chapter 8,
it says it's like the tree of life in the middle of the Garden of Eden.
And as a church, we're going to spend the next five weeks
savouring and being nourished by the fruit of this tree.
This morning we've got just four verses,
Romans chapter 8, verses 1 to 4.
Four verses, just 74 words in Greek,
and yet the depth and breadth of Christian doctrine
in these four verses is astounding.
We find in these verses the justification of sinners,
the unity of the three persons of the Godhead,
the union with Christ,
the sinfulness and helplessness of humanity,
the incarnation of the Son of God,
Jesus' sinless life,
the atonement, sanctification,
and the liberating power of the Spirit,
all in these four verses.
We could lose ourselves for hours,
or days, or years,
just in these four verses.
Some of you start nervously edging towards the door.
No, but fortunately,
the structure of these four verses is very simple.
It's very simple.
Verse 1, what has been eliminated.
Verse 2, the reason.
Verse 3, the reason for the reason.
And verse 4, what has been facilitated.
So there are two outcomes,
verse 1 and verse 4.
The first is stated negatively,
something which was,
which has now been removed.
And the second outcome in verse 4 is stated positively,
something which was not,
which has now been introduced.
And then verses 2 and 3 give the explanation,
the basis of those outcomes.
So that's where we're headed.
We're on holy ground in these verses.
So let's take off our sandals,
tread reverently,
and ask for God's help as we get into it.
So let's pray again.
Heavenly Father,
open our eyes
that we might behold wonderful things in your word.
Amen.
Well, let's start with verse 1,
what has been eliminated.
Now, I have a friend,
and he shall remain unnamed,
but this friend has been recently caught several times committing traffic offences.
Twice he was caught using a mobile phone while driving
and once going through a red light.
And on top of the fines,
there is, of course,
the points that will be deducted from his licence.
And using a mobile phone while driving
comes with a penalty of five points.
We've done that twice.
Going through a red light comes with a penalty of three points.
And so if you do some quick maths,
you'll work out that he is about to lose his licence.
He's got enough points deducted that his licence is going to be gone,
but he hasn't yet been told that his licence is forfeit.
The consequence is there.
He knows it's coming.
It's hanging over him.
And now he's just in this period of anxious waiting
and driving as much as he can while he waits.
But that's my friend.
I wonder if you have ever been in a relationship
with someone where the person,
the other person,
and maybe it's a friend,
maybe it's a colleague at work,
maybe it's a parent or a spouse,
the other person in this relationship,
what you've done wrong
is always hanging over that relationship.
It's always hanging over you.
It's an anxious relationship
because you know that at any time
they might just drop into the conversation
another little reminder.
You know, you've failed.
You hurt me.
You let me down.
You're not good enough.
You know, sometimes I feel that way
about my relationship with God, actually.
Sometimes I will wake up at 2am
and just find my mind racing,
my mind racing with accusations.
And often they're accusations about
failures on my part to love other people as I ought.
You know, my mind will suddenly be filled
with people that I've let down,
with deeds that are incomplete,
with opportunities that I haven't sought
or I haven't taken.
You know, I think of my nan,
my grandnan, 102 years old,
that I haven't seen for,
I think, over a year.
And that the list of people will continue,
the people I've let down.
And I'll accuse myself,
Martin, you're a fraud.
You've failed.
You haven't done enough.
You're not good enough.
But what if the,
what if the Minister for Transport
wrote a letter to my friend
saying that she'd reviewed his offences
and decided that in his case
they weren't going to deduct
any points from his licence?
That anxious waiting
that he's in at the moment,
that would be replaced
with overwhelming relief.
And what if your friend
or your relative
who always brings up your failures,
what if they came to you
and said,
you know,
I've been doing some reading.
Actually, I've been reading the Gospels.
And I've realised that none of us is perfect.
And, you know,
at times we're all going to hurt one another.
And we're all going to let one another down.
And what's more,
I've realised actually
that I've been hurting you
by holding this thing against you.
And I want to apologise for that.
And I know it's made your life miserable.
And I want to change.
I don't want to bring that thing up anymore.
I don't want to bring those things up anymore.
They're forgotten.
They're gone.
I'll never mention them again.
And you can hold me to that.
How would you respond?
I suspect you'd be speechless.
You'd probably be thinking to yourself,
is this for real?
You know,
it seems too good to be true.
But if that friend
meant what they said
and did what they said
and did what they said,
it would be a game changer
in that relationship.
And what if God said to you,
you know those things
that you've been lying in bed
worrying about,
which you've done wrong?
I will never
hold those against you.
I mean,
wow.
It'd be like
a spring of cool water
water
in a
parched and weary
desert.
I will never
hold those things
against you.
Romans chapter 8,
verse 1.
There is
therefore
now
no
condemnation
for those
who are in Christ Jesus.
Did you hear that?
There is
therefore
now
no
condemnation
for those
who are in Christ Jesus.
Now,
if you're here this morning
and you're not a Christian,
you're not
in Christ Jesus,
you're not
united to him,
I hope
you're hearing this
and thinking,
I want to become
a Christian
because I want that.
But if you are
a Christian,
you are linked
to Jesus,
you are united
with him,
you are in Christ Jesus,
then this promise
is for you.
There is
no
condemnation
for those
who are in Christ Jesus.
God is saying
to you
that
your
offences,
your failures,
the unrighteous
things you've thought,
said and done,
all of those
2am
accusations,
they're gone.
I will never
raise them
with you again.
I will never
hold them
against you.
I won't even
speak of them.
I won't
bring them
up
in conversation
with you
in order to
knock you down.
I won't
bring them
up
as weapons
in conversation
with other people
to
humiliate you.
I'll never
give you
the cold
shoulder
treatment
because of
what you've
done.
You will
not have
to bear
the consequences
of your
offences.
It is
done.
There is
therefore
now
no
condemnation
for those
who are
in Christ
Jesus.
Now we
hear this
and aren't
we all
a bit
like
the
disciples
when Jesus
first appeared
to them
after he
rose from
the dead
and the
Gospel of
Luke tells
us
at first
they still
did not
believe
because of
joy and
amazement.
Aren't we
like that?
I mean
isn't this
hard to
really take
hold of
because of
joy and
amazement
that God
would say
it is
done.
No
condemnation.
And yet
this is the
Word of
God to
you.
And what's
more this
is the
conclusion
that Paul
has been
building to
the grand
conclusion
Paul has
been building
to through
the whole
epistle
to the
Romans.
He spent
chapters and
chapters carefully
making his
argument because
he wants us
to know this
is true.
So let's go
back to chapter
one.
No, we
won't do
that.
Now how
is that,
right?
I get to
step in this
morning as the
substitute
teacher and
you know,
what do I get
to teach about?
What's the
lesson for the
day?
You know,
maybe a bit
of calculus.
Would anyone
like to do
some calculus?
Or a
class on the
oxidisation of
ferrous metals?
No, I get
to speak on
the grand
conclusion of
the book of
Romans.
A couple of
weeks ago I
was preaching
at Mayfield
Presbyterian and
St Andrew's
Presbyterian in
town and you
know what Tim
Ravenhall, the
minister there,
you know what
he gave me?
Ezekiel chapters
38 and 39.
Right?
And now Tim's
a great guy but
you know.
But then Dave
Bott, right?
He says,
yeah you can
come and speak
on Romans 8
verses 1 to 4.
Actually I think
Dave realised his
mistake last week
because he said
to me last Sunday,
are you sure you
know you're going
to be able to do
this?
I can do it for
you if you like.
Now when I say
this is the grand
conclusion of the
book of Romans I
might be overstating
it a little bit but
only a little bit,
right?
Only slightly.
Because the word
therefore at the
start of verse 1,
it shows it's a
conclusion but what
it's picking up,
what that therefore
is picking up isn't
so much what's just
been said in chapter
7, it's rather the
conclusion of the
whole argument so
far.
In fact if anything
it especially points
back to chapter 5.
So there's a bunch
of terminology here
in chapter 8,
key words that we
find in chapter 5
and then repeat it
in chapter 8.
For example,
just to pick up
2, the word
condemnation.
There's only two
other places in
Romans where it
occurs in chapter 5
verse 16 and
chapter 5 verse 18
and the word
righteous requirement
in verse 4,
again, only occurs
four other times in
Romans and previously
it's there in 5
verse 16 and 5
verse 18.
Now without looking
at chapter 5 in
detail, you could
almost read Romans
chapter 5 as we did
in the reading and
then jump to Romans
chapter 8 and feel
like the argument
just continues.
It flows naturally
from chapter 5 to
chapter 8.
So what Paul's
doing in chapter 8,
he's showing the
conclusions, he's
developing the
conclusions he's
begun to develop in
chapter 5 but he's
giving us the
conclusions of the
whole argument so
far.
So what about
chapters 6 and 7?
Well in a sense
chapters 6 and 7
have interrupted
what Paul was
doing.
And he starts
interrogating his
conclusions with
these questions
because everything
Paul has been
saying about God's
grace, everything
Paul's been saying
about the grace of
God in saving
sinners, it all just
sounds too good to
be true.
And so in chapters
6 and 7, Paul just
interrogates the
gospel of grace with
questions.
How can God's grace
be the answer to
sin?
Doesn't it rather
permit sin?
Now if the more
our sins increase,
the more God's
grace increases, then
shouldn't we just
sin all the more?
If we're not under
the law, then doesn't
that just mean we're
just free to sin?
And Paul, after all,
what are you even
saying about the
law?
Are you saying that
the law's sin?
Paul interrogates the
gospel of grace with
these questions because
it just seems too good
to be true.
But in chapter 8,
having dealt with the
objections, having
answered the
questions, Paul returns
to where he left off
in chapter 5 and he
gives us his
conclusion.
There is therefore
now no condemnation
for those who are in
Christ Jesus.
And then Paul gives us
the reason for that
conclusion.
The reason.
Now in a sense, Paul
doesn't really need to
give the reason for that
conclusion because he's
already given it in the
earlier chapters, but he
repeats the reason here
and he does it in a kind
of unique form of words,
a unique formulation
and it's rich.
So let's listen to it
together.
What's the reason that
there's no condemnation
for those who are in
Christ Jesus?
Verse 2.
For God has done
what the...
Sorry, that's verse 3.
Verse 2.
For the law of the
Spirit of life has set
you free in Christ Jesus
from the law of sin and
death.
What's the reason there's
now no condemnation for
those in Christ Jesus?
It's because the law of
the Spirit of life has set
you free in Christ Jesus
from the law of sin and
death.
That's the reason.
Now, Paul says because
one law has set you free
from another law.
Now, Paul here isn't
speaking about the law of
Moses, although usually when
he uses the word law he is.
In fact, in the very next
verse, in verse 3, when he
says law, he's talking about
the law of Moses.
But he isn't talking about
the law here, although maybe
he uses the word law because
he kind of wants it there in
the back of our mind by way
of contrast.
But he's talking about two
opposing powers.
Two opposing powers.
Two binding principles that
operate in our world.
The power of the Spirit of
life and the power of sin and
death.
Now, there's a law, there's a
binding principle that
operates in the part of North
Lampton where I live, just
across the road from the
university.
The law is this.
When there is summer rain and
sun, there will be mosquitoes.
When there's summer rain and
sun, there will be mosquitoes.
It is an unfailing rule of our
neighbourhood.
Where there's one, there must
be the other.
A couple of years ago, the
uni ran a grand challenge to
address the mosquito problem and
they awarded grants to, you
know, the answers, the
proposals that seemed the most
innovative.
But nothing humans do can ever
overcome this law.
You know, emptying out water
collected in little vessels around
the garden or, you know, the
bottom of planters or whatever,
that doesn't help.
It doesn't solve the problem.
Putting up like mosquito zappers,
that doesn't fix the problem.
Putting on insect repellent, that
doesn't fix the problem.
Citronella candles aren't enough.
Nothing we do is ever enough to
escape the law of North
Lampton.
It's a binding principle.
There's also a law, a binding
principle of the Shadwick House.
The Shadwick House.
It goes a bit like this.
When the television is on, there
will be children.
When the television is on, there
will be children.
Now, it is an unfailing rule.
In fact, it's the most effective
method of gathering children.
Tidying up tends to send them
scattered to the, scattering to the
four winds.
Placing food on the dinner table is
hit and miss.
It has variable outcomes.
But turn on the television and
suddenly they're scurrying out of,
you know, holes in the ground and
cracks in the wall.
When the television is on, there
will be children.
It is an unfailing rule.
Likewise, there's a law, there's a
binding principle of the Shadwick
family Christmas.
It goes like this.
When my brother Jake is present, there
will be Diet Coke.
When my brother Jake is present, there
will be Diet Coke.
It's another unfailing principle.
You'll never find one without the
other.
You see my brother and look nearby,
you will find some Diet Coke.
And he'll gladly share it with you.
Because after all, it's an unfailing
rule.
His supply is limitless.
It's like the widow's jar of oil,
which never runs dry.
Like, when my brother Jake is present,
there will be Diet Coke.
Each of these is an unfailing rule.
Well, likewise, there is a law of
sin and death.
There's a law of sin and death.
When there is sin, there will also be
death.
When there is sin, there will also be
death.
You know, I've used lighthearted
examples, but we're not talking about
something lighthearted now, are we?
The universal reach of sin is confirmed
by the universal reach of death.
Every wrinkle, every grey hair tells a
story.
Here is a sinner.
We may mask it for a time, we may cover
it up, but it'll catch up with us.
All die, because all have sinned.
And there is no escape, as Paul says in
Romans chapter 5, verse 17, ever since
Adam, death has reigned.
It is an unfailing principle.
Where there is sin, there will also be
death.
But God's word says here that in Christ
Jesus, the law of sin and death has been
overpowered by another law, by another
binding principle, another unfailing
principle.
Where there is the Spirit, there will be
life.
Where there is the Spirit, there will
also be life.
Like the river flowing out of the garden,
the Spirit brings life wherever He goes.
You cannot have the Spirit and not have
life.
Like the dove that returned to Noah's
ark with a freshly plucked olive leaf, the
coming of the Spirit always brings life.
We cannot, of course, draw the Spirit.
We can't paint a picture of the Spirit.
But if someone were to try to paint a
picture of the Spirit, I imagine the
canvas would be bursting with colour.
With verdant green, with flowers in bloom, with
children laughing at play, because wherever
the Spirit is, there is life.
And in Christ Jesus, this law, the law of the
Spirit of life, shatters the other law, the
law of sin and death.
He liberates us from the old law.
He breaks its hold on us.
So that the old law no longer applies.
The rain and sun come, but the mosquitoes do
not follow.
We have sinned, but death has lost its power.
How is it that in Christ Jesus, the power of this
new law can liberate us from the power of the old law?
Well, verse 3 gives us the reason behind the reason.
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.
The first thing this verse says, and there's a lot this
verse says, the first thing it says is
that what, our liberation from the old law of sin and
death, it could not be achieved by the law of Moses.
It could not be achieved by the law of Moses.
The law of Moses could not bring freedom, rather it brought
bondage.
The law of Moses could not bring justification, rather it
brought condemnation.
The law of Moses could not bring life, rather it brought
death.
The law of Moses could not bring freedom and justification
and life because it was weakened by the flesh, Paul says.
It was weakened by the fallen, sinful condition of humanity.
The only way the law could bring freedom and justification
and life would be if we, by our perfect obedience,
made ourselves free,
justified ourselves,
made ourselves righteous.
The only way the law of Moses could bring life would be if we,
by our perfect obedience, earned life.
The law of Moses couldn't break us free from the law of sin and
death.
The law of Moses itself was captive to the law of sin and
death.
And it strengthened the chains by which that law bound us.
But what the law could not do, God has done.
God has done.
Now, how much is packed into this verse in verse 3?
But God has done it.
He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own son in the likeness
of sinful flesh and for sin.
Let's break it down.
God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh.
See how carefully and reverently Paul describes the incarnation of the Son of God,
the becoming man of our Lord and Saviour.
God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, Paul says.
He does not say,
in the likeness of flesh,
for that would imply that Jesus were not fully human.
And he does not say,
in sinful flesh,
for that would imply Jesus was sinful just as we are.
Rather, he says,
in the likeness of sinful flesh,
fully human,
yet himself without sin,
God became man.
But God's sending of his son wasn't complete at the incarnation.
God didn't just send his son to become a man.
He sent his son for sin.
For sin.
That is,
that his son might be an offering for sin.
A sin offering.
A sacrifice for the sins of which we are guilty.
The sins of the human race.
Indeed,
the very sacrifice,
the very offering that the law itself prescribed.
And by doing this,
God condemned sin in the flesh.
Condemned sin in the flesh.
Notice the repetition of that word there,
condemned,
in verse 3,
like condemnation,
in verse 1.
The reason there is no condemnation,
verse 1,
for those who are in Christ Jesus,
is because the condemnation has already fallen,
verse 3.
The sins which were ours,
the condemnation became his.
The reason the law of the spirit of life
liberates us from the law of sin and death
is because in Christ Jesus,
the law of sin and death has already been satisfied.
Its power is spent.
It has no more claim.
It has no more strength.
Condemnation is eliminated.
You know,
there are lots of things we as human beings,
there are lots of things we as human beings can experience,
which I myself will never experience.
Doing a triple somersault into an Olympic pool
is something I will never experience.
I'll never experience what it's like to hold a conversation in Swahili.
I'll never walk on the moon.
There are lots of things a human being can experience
which I myself will never experience.
At least not in this life.
I can't so much speak for the life to come.
I mean,
maybe in the age to come,
our resurrected bodies will be so glorious
that we'll all be capable of amazing athletic feats.
Maybe in the age to come,
Babel will be reversed
and we'll understand all tongues.
And maybe in the age to come,
our dominion over the natural world
will be perfected
and brought to such new heights
that we'll walk not just on the moon,
but on Mars and on Saturn as well.
I don't know.
But there is one thing I know
I will never experience.
Whether in this age
or in the age to come,
I will never be condemned for my sins.
I will never experience in full
the retributive justice of God.
I will never suffer the penalty of the law.
You know,
the fact that Melissa Wu
is an Olympic diver and I am not
doesn't really mean I'll never dive.
Maybe I will.
The fact that Neil Armstrong was an astronaut
and I'm not,
that doesn't necessarily mean
I won't walk on the moon.
Maybe I will.
But the fact that the Son of God
was condemned in my place,
that means I will never,
never,
not now,
not then,
not ever,
be condemned.
Condemnation is eliminated.
Do you believe it?
And not only has condemnation been eliminated,
but righteousness has been facilitated.
Now,
facilitated might not be the best word here,
but I succumb to the preacher's temptation
to have rhyming words.
Not only has condemnation been eliminated,
but righteousness has been facilitated.
Look at verse 4.
Verse 4.
God condemned sin in the flesh,
in the person of his Son.
Verse 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.
Now,
this is the second outcome of the reason
and the second outcome of the reason
for the reason,
but it needs to be unpacked a bit,
because there are some different ways
we can take verse 4.
And in fact,
I've possibly multiple times
changed my view on verse 4,
so I want to give you a few options.
I'll tell you what I think.
What is the righteous requirement
of the law
that is fulfilled in us?
Well,
the law,
again,
once again,
must be referring to the law of Moses.
And that word righteous requirement,
that needs a little bit of reflection.
The Greek word basically
just means a righteous thing,
right?
In the Septuagint,
the Greek translation of the Old Testament,
it's often used of the statutes,
in the plural,
of the statutes found in the law of Moses.
The statutes is used the same word,
and that's again and again in the Old Testament.
Occasionally,
it's used in the singular,
when one individual statute or judgment
is being focused on.
In Romans,
in chapter 1,
verse 32,
feel free to look at it with me if you like,
but I'll read it out.
In chapter 1,
verse 32,
at the end of Paul,
sort of outlining how God has handed us over
to ever-increasing sin
because of our refusal to acknowledge Him
and worship Him.
Romans 1,
verse 32,
says,
though they knew God's decree
or God's righteous requirement
that those who practice such things deserve to die,
they not only do them,
but give approval to those who practice them.
Same word,
God's decree,
His righteous requirement,
His judgment.
So,
possibly,
and there in Romans,
chapter 1,
verse 32,
what is it?
It's God's declaration
that those who sin will die.
So,
possibly,
that's what it's saying here in Romans 8,
verse 4,
that by condemning sin in the flesh,
in Jesus Christ,
God has satisfied that requirement of the law on our behalf,
that sin leads to death,
the law of sin and death,
basically.
And certainly,
that's true.
I mean,
that's the point I made just a little bit earlier in this talk.
Yeah,
it's certainly the case.
And that used to be sort of how I took this verse,
but I probably lean now towards one or the other,
you know,
taking it a different way.
There are other ways that that word,
the righteous requirement,
is used in Romans.
Another way it's used is in Romans 5,
verse 18,
Romans 5,
verse 18,
where we read,
Therefore,
as one trespass led to condemnation for all men,
so one act of righteousness leads to justification for all,
and life for all men.
And there,
the word that matches the one we're talking about,
dikaioma,
it is in Greek,
is the word translated as act of righteousness.
One act of righteousness.
So there in Romans 5,
verse 18,
that word is used of Jesus' obedience,
his righteousness.
Adam's sin led to condemnation for all.
Jesus' righteousness,
his obedience,
leads to justification for all.
Our sin was given to Jesus,
his righteousness given to us.
So it could be talking about that,
and I think that's probably more likely than the first explanation I offered,
that what this is saying,
stating now positively,
is that the righteous requirement of the law,
the law's demand for righteousness,
is satisfied because of Jesus' righteousness on our behalf,
by his obedience.
Even though I think like either of those really does fit the context well,
I'm still not convinced that's the primary sense of Romans 8,
verse 4.
When Romans 8,
verse 4 says that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,
what is it talking about?
Well,
fulfilled there is in the passive,
so it is what God does.
It's something,
it's the work of God in us.
Our righteous requirement is singular,
but it's not talking about any one single statute of the law.
I think it's talking about the law as a whole.
The law's overarching,
comprehensive requirement for righteousness.
God's law demands righteousness.
It's talking about the heart of the law,
it's talking about its nature and purpose,
to promote righteousness.
And Romans 8, verse 4,
isn't just saying that's fulfilled for us by Jesus,
although it certainly is,
but also that the purpose of God's condemnation of sin
in the death of Christ
was so that the righteous requirement of the Lord
might be fulfilled in us,
in us.
Now,
that language of fulfilling the law comes up again in Romans,
in only one other place in Romans.
If you go to Romans chapter 13,
you'll find it there.
Have a look at this with me,
Romans chapter 13.
Romans chapter 13, verse 8.
Romans 13, verse 8.
Oh,
no one anything
except to love each other,
for the one who loves another
has fulfilled the law.
The commandments,
you shall not commit adultery,
you shall not murder,
you shall not steal,
you shall not covet,
and any other commandment
are summed up in this word,
you shall love your neighbour as yourself.
Love does no wrong to a neighbour,
therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
We see the same idea in Galatians chapter 5, verse 14.
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word,
you shall love your neighbour as yourself.
And both of those passages,
of course,
echo the teaching of Jesus Christ himself
about the law.
Now,
if I'm right to link those passages
with Romans 8, verse 4,
then Romans 8, verse 4
isn't just saying that
Jesus takes the penalty of the law for us,
and it isn't just saying that
Jesus' righteousness
satisfies the demand of the law
on our behalf,
although those are true,
it's also making the incredible claim
that those who are in Christ Jesus
fulfil the law.
Now, the New Testament
never says believers are under the law
of Moses.
The New Testament
never says believers are of the law of Moses.
The New Testament
never says believers belong to the law of Moses.
The New Testament
never says believers have to do the law of Moses
or obey the law of Moses.
But it does say
that when we live a life of love,
we fulfil the law.
And God condemned sin in the flesh
by sending His perfect sinless Son
as an offering for sin,
not only so that condemnation
might be eliminated,
but so that righteousness
might be facilitated.
that love
may be
enacted
in the lives of His people.
Which is also,
I must confess,
too wonderful for me
to fully comprehend.
Now, when I toss and turn
at 2am
accusing myself
of all my failings,
there is
a lot of truth
in my accusations.
I am a sinner.
I do deserve condemnation.
My love
is insufficient.
My deeds
are incomplete.
complete.
But when I find myself
in that headspace,
I'm not only forgetting
Romans 8 verse 1,
I'm also forgetting
Romans 8 verse 4.
I'm not only forgetting
that condemnation
is eliminated,
I'm also forgetting
that righteousness
is facilitated.
You know,
it's an extraordinary thing,
isn't it?
It's an extraordinary thing.
You see,
the obligation,
this is what Romans 13 says,
the obligation to love
is never satisfied.
It's never completed.
You can never tick off
the command
to love your neighbour.
It draws us ever on.
And yet,
even still,
God can look
on our incomplete
and faltering efforts
to love one another,
and rather than condemn
our failings,
he can recognise
the beauty
of his own handiwork,
producing righteousness.
He can say,
by my Son
and through my Spirit,
the righteous requirement
of the law
is fulfilled
in you.
Condemnation
is eliminated.
Righteousness
is facilitated.
in Christ Jesus,
the law
of the Spirit
of life
has set you
free
from the law
of sin and death.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.