WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.960 The Bible reading today is going to be from Romans 5, verse 12 to 21, and then Romans 8, 1 to 4. 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:11.320 You can follow along in your bulletins if you like. 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:17.660 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:21.640 and so death spread to all men because all sinned. 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:27.260 For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:34.020 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, 00:00:34.400 --> 00:00:36.420 who was a type of the one who was to come. 00:00:37.859 --> 00:00:40.160 But the free gift is not like the trespass. 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:45.160 For if many die through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God 00:00:45.160 --> 00:00:50.180 and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many. 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:54.400 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. 00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:58.679 The judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, 00:00:58.899 --> 00:01:02.359 but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:07.500 For if, because of that one man's trespass, death reigned through the one man, 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.480 much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:15.500 reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 00:01:15.500 --> 00:01:20.640 Therefore, as one trespass led to the condemnation for all men, 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:25.260 so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.319 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:32.780 so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 00:01:33.980 --> 00:01:37.099 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:40.319 but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:44.759 so that as sin reigned in death, grace might reign through righteousness, 00:01:45.299 --> 00:01:48.419 leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:01:50.039 --> 00:01:52.519 And moving to Romans 8, verse 1. 00:01:52.519 --> 00:02:00.780 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:02:01.500 --> 00:02:05.459 The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus 00:02:05.459 --> 00:02:07.299 from the law of sin and death. 00:02:08.099 --> 00:02:11.859 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. 00:02:12.460 --> 00:02:15.560 By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:18.439 and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:22.840 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, 00:02:23.139 --> 00:02:26.439 who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:38.020 Well, this morning we are embarking on a magnificent part of God's Word. 00:02:39.079 --> 00:02:41.319 One commentator calls Romans chapter 8, 00:02:42.340 --> 00:02:45.939 it says it's like the tree of life in the middle of the Garden of Eden. 00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:49.819 And as a church, we're going to spend the next five weeks 00:02:49.819 --> 00:02:53.680 savouring and being nourished by the fruit of this tree. 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:56.500 This morning we've got just four verses, 00:02:57.219 --> 00:02:58.960 Romans chapter 8, verses 1 to 4. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:02.639 Four verses, just 74 words in Greek, 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:06.719 and yet the depth and breadth of Christian doctrine 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:09.159 in these four verses is astounding. 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:12.680 We find in these verses the justification of sinners, 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:16.000 the unity of the three persons of the Godhead, 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:18.379 the union with Christ, 00:03:19.040 --> 00:03:21.480 the sinfulness and helplessness of humanity, 00:03:22.040 --> 00:03:24.240 the incarnation of the Son of God, 00:03:25.040 --> 00:03:26.520 Jesus' sinless life, 00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:29.040 the atonement, sanctification, 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:30.939 and the liberating power of the Spirit, 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:32.540 all in these four verses. 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:36.400 We could lose ourselves for hours, 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:38.379 or days, or years, 00:03:38.460 --> 00:03:39.840 just in these four verses. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:44.539 Some of you start nervously edging towards the door. 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:46.360 No, but fortunately, 00:03:47.140 --> 00:03:50.319 the structure of these four verses is very simple. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:51.659 It's very simple. 00:03:52.259 --> 00:03:54.740 Verse 1, what has been eliminated. 00:03:55.939 --> 00:03:57.379 Verse 2, the reason. 00:03:58.340 --> 00:04:00.140 Verse 3, the reason for the reason. 00:04:00.920 --> 00:04:03.420 And verse 4, what has been facilitated. 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:05.500 So there are two outcomes, 00:04:05.659 --> 00:04:06.780 verse 1 and verse 4. 00:04:06.780 --> 00:04:08.900 The first is stated negatively, 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:11.340 something which was, 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:13.060 which has now been removed. 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:16.819 And the second outcome in verse 4 is stated positively, 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:18.439 something which was not, 00:04:19.180 --> 00:04:20.339 which has now been introduced. 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:23.680 And then verses 2 and 3 give the explanation, 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:25.220 the basis of those outcomes. 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:26.160 So that's where we're headed. 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:29.819 We're on holy ground in these verses. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:31.500 So let's take off our sandals, 00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:32.639 tread reverently, 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:35.160 and ask for God's help as we get into it. 00:04:35.160 --> 00:04:36.640 So let's pray again. 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:40.120 Heavenly Father, 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:43.840 open our eyes 00:04:43.840 --> 00:04:47.880 that we might behold wonderful things in your word. 00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:49.460 Amen. 00:04:51.460 --> 00:04:53.440 Well, let's start with verse 1, 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:56.220 what has been eliminated. 00:04:57.200 --> 00:04:58.080 Now, I have a friend, 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:00.320 and he shall remain unnamed, 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:05.379 but this friend has been recently caught several times committing traffic offences. 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:10.219 Twice he was caught using a mobile phone while driving 00:05:10.219 --> 00:05:12.279 and once going through a red light. 00:05:12.719 --> 00:05:13.879 And on top of the fines, 00:05:14.540 --> 00:05:15.180 there is, of course, 00:05:15.259 --> 00:05:17.519 the points that will be deducted from his licence. 00:05:17.779 --> 00:05:20.139 And using a mobile phone while driving 00:05:20.139 --> 00:05:22.019 comes with a penalty of five points. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:23.939 We've done that twice. 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:27.539 Going through a red light comes with a penalty of three points. 00:05:27.540 --> 00:05:30.460 And so if you do some quick maths, 00:05:31.260 --> 00:05:35.260 you'll work out that he is about to lose his licence. 00:05:35.640 --> 00:05:38.640 He's got enough points deducted that his licence is going to be gone, 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:42.620 but he hasn't yet been told that his licence is forfeit. 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:45.220 The consequence is there. 00:05:45.300 --> 00:05:46.220 He knows it's coming. 00:05:46.320 --> 00:05:47.660 It's hanging over him. 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:51.400 And now he's just in this period of anxious waiting 00:05:51.400 --> 00:05:53.580 and driving as much as he can while he waits. 00:05:53.960 --> 00:05:58.060 But that's my friend. 00:05:59.140 --> 00:06:02.160 I wonder if you have ever been in a relationship 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:07.400 with someone where the person, 00:06:07.520 --> 00:06:08.260 the other person, 00:06:08.379 --> 00:06:10.200 and maybe it's a friend, 00:06:10.440 --> 00:06:11.640 maybe it's a colleague at work, 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:15.620 maybe it's a parent or a spouse, 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:17.560 the other person in this relationship, 00:06:18.340 --> 00:06:20.340 what you've done wrong 00:06:20.340 --> 00:06:24.220 is always hanging over that relationship. 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:26.360 It's always hanging over you. 00:06:27.540 --> 00:06:29.639 It's an anxious relationship 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:32.959 because you know that at any time 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:36.759 they might just drop into the conversation 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:37.879 another little reminder. 00:06:39.280 --> 00:06:40.199 You know, you've failed. 00:06:41.259 --> 00:06:42.699 You hurt me. 00:06:42.699 --> 00:06:45.300 You let me down. 00:06:46.899 --> 00:06:48.019 You're not good enough. 00:06:51.599 --> 00:06:53.139 You know, sometimes I feel that way 00:06:53.139 --> 00:06:54.659 about my relationship with God, actually. 00:06:55.659 --> 00:06:57.719 Sometimes I will wake up at 2am 00:06:57.719 --> 00:07:01.139 and just find my mind racing, 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:03.459 my mind racing with accusations. 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:07.399 And often they're accusations about 00:07:07.399 --> 00:07:11.419 failures on my part to love other people as I ought. 00:07:11.420 --> 00:07:14.300 You know, my mind will suddenly be filled 00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:15.879 with people that I've let down, 00:07:16.580 --> 00:07:19.460 with deeds that are incomplete, 00:07:20.180 --> 00:07:22.280 with opportunities that I haven't sought 00:07:22.280 --> 00:07:24.580 or I haven't taken. 00:07:26.200 --> 00:07:28.460 You know, I think of my nan, 00:07:28.939 --> 00:07:31.280 my grandnan, 102 years old, 00:07:31.819 --> 00:07:33.280 that I haven't seen for, 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.720 I think, over a year. 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:40.560 And that the list of people will continue, 00:07:40.660 --> 00:07:41.740 the people I've let down. 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:45.080 And I'll accuse myself, 00:07:45.180 --> 00:07:46.240 Martin, you're a fraud. 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:48.080 You've failed. 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:48.980 You haven't done enough. 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:49.860 You're not good enough. 00:07:54.200 --> 00:07:55.340 But what if the, 00:07:55.400 --> 00:07:58.420 what if the Minister for Transport 00:07:58.420 --> 00:08:00.020 wrote a letter to my friend 00:08:00.020 --> 00:08:02.880 saying that she'd reviewed his offences 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:04.399 and decided that in his case 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:05.379 they weren't going to deduct 00:08:05.379 --> 00:08:06.500 any points from his licence? 00:08:08.939 --> 00:08:10.800 That anxious waiting 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:12.620 that he's in at the moment, 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:14.040 that would be replaced 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:15.120 with overwhelming relief. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:18.959 And what if your friend 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:19.920 or your relative 00:08:19.920 --> 00:08:22.379 who always brings up your failures, 00:08:22.659 --> 00:08:23.860 what if they came to you 00:08:23.860 --> 00:08:24.560 and said, 00:08:25.659 --> 00:08:25.879 you know, 00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:27.060 I've been doing some reading. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:29.259 Actually, I've been reading the Gospels. 00:08:29.259 --> 00:08:32.840 And I've realised that none of us is perfect. 00:08:34.659 --> 00:08:35.539 And, you know, 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:37.279 at times we're all going to hurt one another. 00:08:38.360 --> 00:08:40.059 And we're all going to let one another down. 00:08:40.139 --> 00:08:40.700 And what's more, 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:42.039 I've realised actually 00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:44.500 that I've been hurting you 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:47.519 by holding this thing against you. 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:51.120 And I want to apologise for that. 00:08:51.179 --> 00:08:52.759 And I know it's made your life miserable. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:55.460 And I want to change. 00:08:55.580 --> 00:08:58.460 I don't want to bring that thing up anymore. 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:00.879 I don't want to bring those things up anymore. 00:09:00.980 --> 00:09:01.539 They're forgotten. 00:09:01.819 --> 00:09:02.419 They're gone. 00:09:02.500 --> 00:09:03.779 I'll never mention them again. 00:09:03.860 --> 00:09:05.439 And you can hold me to that. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:09.659 How would you respond? 00:09:12.379 --> 00:09:14.299 I suspect you'd be speechless. 00:09:15.179 --> 00:09:16.240 You'd probably be thinking to yourself, 00:09:16.340 --> 00:09:17.139 is this for real? 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:19.639 You know, 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:21.019 it seems too good to be true. 00:09:21.019 --> 00:09:25.039 But if that friend 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:27.039 meant what they said 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:29.679 and did what they said 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:32.399 and did what they said, 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:35.059 it would be a game changer 00:09:35.059 --> 00:09:35.860 in that relationship. 00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:40.699 And what if God said to you, 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:43.220 you know those things 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:46.020 that you've been lying in bed 00:09:46.020 --> 00:09:46.840 worrying about, 00:09:47.180 --> 00:09:48.420 which you've done wrong? 00:09:50.520 --> 00:09:51.860 I will never 00:09:51.860 --> 00:09:53.740 hold those against you. 00:09:57.759 --> 00:09:58.400 I mean, 00:09:58.759 --> 00:09:59.520 wow. 00:10:02.379 --> 00:10:03.200 It'd be like 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:04.700 a spring of cool water 00:10:04.700 --> 00:10:05.300 water 00:10:05.300 --> 00:10:05.860 in a 00:10:05.860 --> 00:10:07.379 parched and weary 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:08.259 desert. 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:10.700 I will never 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:11.440 hold those things 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:12.040 against you. 00:10:12.820 --> 00:10:13.740 Romans chapter 8, 00:10:13.800 --> 00:10:14.320 verse 1. 00:10:15.420 --> 00:10:16.180 There is 00:10:16.180 --> 00:10:17.020 therefore 00:10:17.020 --> 00:10:17.940 now 00:10:17.940 --> 00:10:19.400 no 00:10:19.400 --> 00:10:20.740 condemnation 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:23.280 for those 00:10:23.280 --> 00:10:24.360 who are in Christ Jesus. 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:28.220 Did you hear that? 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:31.340 There is 00:10:31.340 --> 00:10:31.840 therefore 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:32.840 now 00:10:32.840 --> 00:10:33.980 no 00:10:33.980 --> 00:10:35.399 condemnation 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:36.919 for those 00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:38.180 who are in Christ Jesus. 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:42.620 Now, 00:10:42.680 --> 00:10:43.480 if you're here this morning 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:44.500 and you're not a Christian, 00:10:45.300 --> 00:10:47.259 you're not 00:10:47.259 --> 00:10:48.600 in Christ Jesus, 00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:50.060 you're not 00:10:50.060 --> 00:10:50.840 united to him, 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:52.620 I hope 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:53.600 you're hearing this 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:54.180 and thinking, 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:56.840 I want to become 00:10:56.840 --> 00:10:57.320 a Christian 00:10:57.320 --> 00:10:59.399 because I want that. 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:02.080 But if you are 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:02.500 a Christian, 00:11:02.680 --> 00:11:03.320 you are linked 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:03.740 to Jesus, 00:11:03.860 --> 00:11:04.539 you are united 00:11:04.539 --> 00:11:04.919 with him, 00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:06.039 you are in Christ Jesus, 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:07.019 then this promise 00:11:07.019 --> 00:11:07.680 is for you. 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:08.379 There is 00:11:08.379 --> 00:11:09.139 no 00:11:09.139 --> 00:11:10.279 condemnation 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:10.899 for those 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:11.960 who are in Christ Jesus. 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:13.399 God is saying 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:13.860 to you 00:11:13.860 --> 00:11:14.320 that 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:14.899 your 00:11:14.899 --> 00:11:15.600 offences, 00:11:15.940 --> 00:11:16.820 your failures, 00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:18.019 the unrighteous 00:11:18.019 --> 00:11:18.820 things you've thought, 00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:19.680 said and done, 00:11:19.879 --> 00:11:20.759 all of those 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:21.340 2am 00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:22.080 accusations, 00:11:22.340 --> 00:11:23.120 they're gone. 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:27.060 I will never 00:11:27.060 --> 00:11:27.740 raise them 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:28.580 with you again. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:30.480 I will never 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:30.919 hold them 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:31.519 against you. 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:33.180 I won't even 00:11:33.180 --> 00:11:33.919 speak of them. 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:35.460 I won't 00:11:35.460 --> 00:11:36.220 bring them 00:11:36.220 --> 00:11:36.639 up 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:38.440 in conversation 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:38.919 with you 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:39.460 in order to 00:11:39.460 --> 00:11:40.159 knock you down. 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:42.000 I won't 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:43.100 bring them 00:11:43.100 --> 00:11:43.460 up 00:11:43.460 --> 00:11:45.000 as weapons 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:45.940 in conversation 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:46.720 with other people 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:47.180 to 00:11:47.180 --> 00:11:49.180 humiliate you. 00:11:51.680 --> 00:11:52.379 I'll never 00:11:52.379 --> 00:11:52.680 give you 00:11:52.680 --> 00:11:53.100 the cold 00:11:53.100 --> 00:11:53.440 shoulder 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:53.960 treatment 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:55.220 because of 00:11:55.220 --> 00:11:55.560 what you've 00:11:55.560 --> 00:11:55.820 done. 00:11:57.080 --> 00:11:57.879 You will 00:11:57.879 --> 00:11:58.580 not have 00:11:58.580 --> 00:11:59.100 to bear 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:00.160 the consequences 00:12:00.160 --> 00:12:00.740 of your 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:01.220 offences. 00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:03.500 It is 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:04.700 done. 00:12:07.500 --> 00:12:08.240 There is 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:08.540 therefore 00:12:08.540 --> 00:12:08.940 now 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:09.540 no 00:12:09.540 --> 00:12:10.399 condemnation 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:11.340 for those 00:12:11.340 --> 00:12:11.560 who are 00:12:11.560 --> 00:12:11.960 in Christ 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:12.280 Jesus. 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:15.400 Now we 00:12:15.400 --> 00:12:15.940 hear this 00:12:15.940 --> 00:12:22.000 and aren't 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:22.460 we all 00:12:22.460 --> 00:12:22.960 a bit 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:23.400 like 00:12:23.400 --> 00:12:25.720 the 00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:26.180 disciples 00:12:26.180 --> 00:12:27.120 when Jesus 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:27.920 first appeared 00:12:27.920 --> 00:12:28.300 to them 00:12:28.300 --> 00:12:29.240 after he 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:29.639 rose from 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:29.980 the dead 00:12:29.980 --> 00:12:30.379 and the 00:12:30.379 --> 00:12:30.759 Gospel of 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:31.180 Luke tells 00:12:31.180 --> 00:12:31.480 us 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:32.720 at first 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:34.460 they still 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:34.960 did not 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:35.379 believe 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:35.879 because of 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:36.680 joy and 00:12:36.680 --> 00:12:37.340 amazement. 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:38.300 Aren't we 00:12:38.299 --> 00:12:38.819 like that? 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:40.779 I mean 00:12:40.779 --> 00:12:41.279 isn't this 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:42.459 hard to 00:12:42.459 --> 00:12:43.299 really take 00:12:43.299 --> 00:12:43.599 hold of 00:12:43.599 --> 00:12:44.019 because of 00:12:44.019 --> 00:12:44.659 joy and 00:12:44.659 --> 00:12:45.179 amazement 00:12:45.179 --> 00:12:46.039 that God 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:46.599 would say 00:12:46.599 --> 00:12:47.179 it is 00:12:47.179 --> 00:12:47.699 done. 00:12:49.379 --> 00:12:49.899 No 00:12:49.899 --> 00:12:50.639 condemnation. 00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:55.319 And yet 00:12:55.319 --> 00:12:55.759 this is the 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:56.059 Word of 00:12:56.059 --> 00:12:56.439 God to 00:12:56.439 --> 00:12:56.679 you. 00:12:57.919 --> 00:12:58.459 And what's 00:12:58.459 --> 00:12:58.879 more this 00:12:58.879 --> 00:12:59.199 is the 00:12:59.199 --> 00:12:59.799 conclusion 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:01.019 that Paul 00:13:01.019 --> 00:13:01.500 has been 00:13:01.500 --> 00:13:02.379 building to 00:13:02.379 --> 00:13:03.139 the grand 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:03.620 conclusion 00:13:03.620 --> 00:13:04.039 Paul has 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:04.379 been building 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:04.959 to through 00:13:04.959 --> 00:13:05.559 the whole 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:06.179 epistle 00:13:06.179 --> 00:13:06.479 to the 00:13:06.479 --> 00:13:06.799 Romans. 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:09.500 He spent 00:13:09.500 --> 00:13:10.359 chapters and 00:13:10.359 --> 00:13:10.959 chapters and 00:13:10.959 --> 00:13:11.839 chapters carefully 00:13:11.839 --> 00:13:12.439 making his 00:13:12.439 --> 00:13:13.359 argument because 00:13:13.359 --> 00:13:14.439 he wants us 00:13:14.439 --> 00:13:15.000 to know this 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:15.459 is true. 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:18.279 So let's go 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:18.699 back to chapter 00:13:18.699 --> 00:13:18.899 one. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:19.319 No, we 00:13:19.319 --> 00:13:19.539 won't do 00:13:19.539 --> 00:13:19.679 that. 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:21.299 Now how 00:13:21.299 --> 00:13:21.799 is that, 00:13:21.859 --> 00:13:22.039 right? 00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:24.339 I get to 00:13:24.339 --> 00:13:24.899 step in this 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:25.479 morning as the 00:13:25.479 --> 00:13:25.879 substitute 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:27.599 teacher and 00:13:27.599 --> 00:13:27.839 you know, 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:30.699 what do I get 00:13:30.699 --> 00:13:31.199 to teach about? 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:31.539 What's the 00:13:31.539 --> 00:13:32.219 lesson for the 00:13:32.219 --> 00:13:32.519 day? 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:33.199 You know, 00:13:33.199 --> 00:13:33.579 maybe a bit 00:13:33.579 --> 00:13:34.219 of calculus. 00:13:34.459 --> 00:13:34.779 Would anyone 00:13:34.779 --> 00:13:35.120 like to do 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:35.659 some calculus? 00:13:36.659 --> 00:13:37.120 Or a 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:38.980 class on the 00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:40.240 oxidisation of 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:40.879 ferrous metals? 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:43.159 No, I get 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:44.820 to speak on 00:13:44.820 --> 00:13:45.580 the grand 00:13:45.580 --> 00:13:47.460 conclusion of 00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:47.860 the book of 00:13:47.860 --> 00:13:48.200 Romans. 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:51.779 A couple of 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:52.259 weeks ago I 00:13:52.259 --> 00:13:52.980 was preaching 00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:53.500 at Mayfield 00:13:53.500 --> 00:13:54.560 Presbyterian and 00:13:54.560 --> 00:13:55.080 St Andrew's 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:55.659 Presbyterian in 00:13:55.659 --> 00:13:57.720 town and you 00:13:57.720 --> 00:13:58.220 know what Tim 00:13:58.220 --> 00:13:58.840 Ravenhall, the 00:13:58.840 --> 00:13:59.259 minister there, 00:13:59.320 --> 00:13:59.580 you know what 00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:00.179 he gave me? 00:14:01.340 --> 00:14:02.200 Ezekiel chapters 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:03.299 38 and 39. 00:14:03.299 --> 00:14:05.059 Right? 00:14:05.240 --> 00:14:07.120 And now Tim's 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:07.979 a great guy but 00:14:07.979 --> 00:14:08.379 you know. 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:10.839 But then Dave 00:14:10.839 --> 00:14:11.459 Bott, right? 00:14:12.479 --> 00:14:13.099 He says, 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:13.439 yeah you can 00:14:13.439 --> 00:14:14.219 come and speak 00:14:14.219 --> 00:14:14.899 on Romans 8 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:15.879 verses 1 to 4. 00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:17.219 Actually I think 00:14:17.219 --> 00:14:18.059 Dave realised his 00:14:18.059 --> 00:14:18.919 mistake last week 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:19.459 because he said 00:14:19.459 --> 00:14:20.179 to me last Sunday, 00:14:20.359 --> 00:14:21.059 are you sure you 00:14:21.059 --> 00:14:21.359 know you're going 00:14:21.359 --> 00:14:21.859 to be able to do 00:14:21.859 --> 00:14:22.099 this? 00:14:22.219 --> 00:14:22.979 I can do it for 00:14:22.979 --> 00:14:23.579 you if you like. 00:14:26.339 --> 00:14:27.219 Now when I say 00:14:27.219 --> 00:14:27.819 this is the grand 00:14:27.819 --> 00:14:28.399 conclusion of the 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:29.019 book of Romans I 00:14:29.019 --> 00:14:29.740 might be overstating 00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:30.319 it a little bit but 00:14:30.319 --> 00:14:31.319 only a little bit, 00:14:31.439 --> 00:14:31.579 right? 00:14:32.079 --> 00:14:32.799 Only slightly. 00:14:33.959 --> 00:14:34.779 Because the word 00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:35.719 therefore at the 00:14:35.719 --> 00:14:36.740 start of verse 1, 00:14:37.399 --> 00:14:38.219 it shows it's a 00:14:38.219 --> 00:14:39.439 conclusion but what 00:14:39.439 --> 00:14:40.120 it's picking up, 00:14:40.179 --> 00:14:40.799 what that therefore 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:41.659 is picking up isn't 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:42.419 so much what's just 00:14:42.419 --> 00:14:43.159 been said in chapter 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:45.759 7, it's rather the 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:46.399 conclusion of the 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:47.219 whole argument so 00:14:47.219 --> 00:14:47.500 far. 00:14:47.599 --> 00:14:48.279 In fact if anything 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:49.819 it especially points 00:14:49.819 --> 00:14:51.079 back to chapter 5. 00:14:52.719 --> 00:14:53.439 So there's a bunch 00:14:53.439 --> 00:14:54.479 of terminology here 00:14:54.479 --> 00:14:55.359 in chapter 8, 00:14:55.699 --> 00:14:56.679 key words that we 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:58.379 find in chapter 5 00:14:58.379 --> 00:14:59.079 and then repeat it 00:14:59.079 --> 00:14:59.779 in chapter 8. 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:01.339 For example, 00:15:01.419 --> 00:15:01.979 just to pick up 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:03.519 2, the word 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:04.399 condemnation. 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:06.139 There's only two 00:15:06.139 --> 00:15:06.860 other places in 00:15:06.860 --> 00:15:07.460 Romans where it 00:15:07.460 --> 00:15:08.519 occurs in chapter 5 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:09.200 verse 16 and 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:10.340 chapter 5 verse 18 00:15:10.340 --> 00:15:11.920 and the word 00:15:11.920 --> 00:15:13.259 righteous requirement 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:14.399 in verse 4, 00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:16.539 again, only occurs 00:15:16.539 --> 00:15:17.360 four other times in 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:18.259 Romans and previously 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:19.139 it's there in 5 00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:20.100 verse 16 and 5 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:20.759 verse 18. 00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:23.259 Now without looking 00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:24.120 at chapter 5 in 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:24.899 detail, you could 00:15:24.899 --> 00:15:26.720 almost read Romans 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:27.779 chapter 5 as we did 00:15:27.779 --> 00:15:28.480 in the reading and 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:29.259 then jump to Romans 00:15:29.259 --> 00:15:30.139 chapter 8 and feel 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:31.639 like the argument 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:32.240 just continues. 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:34.000 It flows naturally 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:34.860 from chapter 5 to 00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:35.399 chapter 8. 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:38.120 So what Paul's 00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:38.879 doing in chapter 8, 00:15:38.939 --> 00:15:39.799 he's showing the 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:41.799 conclusions, he's 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:42.340 developing the 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:43.179 conclusions he's 00:15:43.179 --> 00:15:43.939 begun to develop in 00:15:43.939 --> 00:15:44.779 chapter 5 but he's 00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:45.419 giving us the 00:15:45.419 --> 00:15:46.159 conclusions of the 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:47.019 whole argument so 00:15:47.019 --> 00:15:47.360 far. 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:48.159 So what about 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:49.100 chapters 6 and 7? 00:15:49.220 --> 00:15:49.939 Well in a sense 00:15:49.939 --> 00:15:51.580 chapters 6 and 7 00:15:51.580 --> 00:15:52.299 have interrupted 00:15:52.299 --> 00:15:52.960 what Paul was 00:15:52.960 --> 00:15:53.279 doing. 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:55.899 And he starts 00:15:55.899 --> 00:15:56.879 interrogating his 00:15:56.879 --> 00:15:57.659 conclusions with 00:15:57.659 --> 00:15:58.319 these questions 00:15:58.319 --> 00:15:59.459 because everything 00:15:59.459 --> 00:16:00.039 Paul has been 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:01.799 saying about God's 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:03.779 grace, everything 00:16:03.779 --> 00:16:05.259 Paul's been saying 00:16:05.259 --> 00:16:06.000 about the grace of 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:07.379 God in saving 00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:08.600 sinners, it all just 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:09.379 sounds too good to 00:16:09.379 --> 00:16:09.839 be true. 00:16:10.459 --> 00:16:11.039 And so in chapters 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:12.699 6 and 7, Paul just 00:16:12.699 --> 00:16:13.839 interrogates the 00:16:13.839 --> 00:16:14.799 gospel of grace with 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:15.299 questions. 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:18.919 How can God's grace 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:19.699 be the answer to 00:16:19.699 --> 00:16:19.959 sin? 00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:21.459 Doesn't it rather 00:16:21.459 --> 00:16:22.399 permit sin? 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:24.919 Now if the more 00:16:24.919 --> 00:16:25.759 our sins increase, 00:16:25.839 --> 00:16:26.379 the more God's 00:16:26.379 --> 00:16:27.379 grace increases, then 00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:27.919 shouldn't we just 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:28.639 sin all the more? 00:16:29.220 --> 00:16:30.039 If we're not under 00:16:30.039 --> 00:16:31.360 the law, then doesn't 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:31.860 that just mean we're 00:16:31.860 --> 00:16:32.779 just free to sin? 00:16:33.959 --> 00:16:35.279 And Paul, after all, 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:35.699 what are you even 00:16:35.699 --> 00:16:36.519 saying about the 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:36.659 law? 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:37.299 Are you saying that 00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:38.100 the law's sin? 00:16:38.419 --> 00:16:39.720 Paul interrogates the 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:40.600 gospel of grace with 00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:41.419 these questions because 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:42.579 it just seems too good 00:16:42.579 --> 00:16:43.159 to be true. 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:46.079 But in chapter 8, 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:46.980 having dealt with the 00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:48.059 objections, having 00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:48.620 answered the 00:16:48.620 --> 00:16:50.019 questions, Paul returns 00:16:50.019 --> 00:16:50.799 to where he left off 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:52.360 in chapter 5 and he 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:54.419 gives us his 00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:55.220 conclusion. 00:16:57.320 --> 00:16:58.580 There is therefore 00:16:58.580 --> 00:17:00.419 now no condemnation 00:17:00.419 --> 00:17:02.120 for those who are in 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:02.980 Christ Jesus. 00:17:04.839 --> 00:17:06.099 And then Paul gives us 00:17:06.099 --> 00:17:06.960 the reason for that 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:07.480 conclusion. 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:11.339 The reason. 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:12.059 Now in a sense, Paul 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:12.819 doesn't really need to 00:17:12.819 --> 00:17:13.579 give the reason for that 00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:14.299 conclusion because he's 00:17:14.299 --> 00:17:15.039 already given it in the 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:16.740 earlier chapters, but he 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:18.039 repeats the reason here 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:18.960 and he does it in a kind 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:20.500 of unique form of words, 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:22.759 a unique formulation 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:24.299 and it's rich. 00:17:25.059 --> 00:17:26.220 So let's listen to it 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:26.500 together. 00:17:26.600 --> 00:17:27.539 What's the reason that 00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:28.559 there's no condemnation 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:29.220 for those who are in 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:29.720 Christ Jesus? 00:17:29.840 --> 00:17:30.299 Verse 2. 00:17:31.900 --> 00:17:33.799 For God has done 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:35.019 what the... 00:17:35.019 --> 00:17:35.720 Sorry, that's verse 3. 00:17:36.120 --> 00:17:36.600 Verse 2. 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:37.759 For the law of the 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:39.759 Spirit of life has set 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:41.840 you free in Christ Jesus 00:17:41.840 --> 00:17:44.740 from the law of sin and 00:17:44.740 --> 00:17:45.019 death. 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:47.220 What's the reason there's 00:17:47.220 --> 00:17:48.799 now no condemnation for 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:49.660 those in Christ Jesus? 00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:50.859 It's because the law of 00:17:50.859 --> 00:17:52.420 the Spirit of life has set 00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:54.720 you free in Christ Jesus 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:56.139 from the law of sin and 00:17:56.139 --> 00:17:56.420 death. 00:17:58.019 --> 00:17:58.920 That's the reason. 00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:03.660 Now, Paul says because 00:18:03.660 --> 00:18:06.059 one law has set you free 00:18:06.059 --> 00:18:07.319 from another law. 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:09.680 Now, Paul here isn't 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:10.660 speaking about the law of 00:18:10.660 --> 00:18:12.299 Moses, although usually when 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:13.579 he uses the word law he is. 00:18:13.579 --> 00:18:15.119 In fact, in the very next 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:16.159 verse, in verse 3, when he 00:18:16.159 --> 00:18:16.980 says law, he's talking about 00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:17.619 the law of Moses. 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:19.159 But he isn't talking about 00:18:19.159 --> 00:18:21.019 the law here, although maybe 00:18:21.019 --> 00:18:22.119 he uses the word law because 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:23.199 he kind of wants it there in 00:18:23.199 --> 00:18:24.179 the back of our mind by way 00:18:24.179 --> 00:18:24.740 of contrast. 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:26.480 But he's talking about two 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:27.859 opposing powers. 00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:29.859 Two opposing powers. 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:34.000 Two binding principles that 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:35.119 operate in our world. 00:18:36.299 --> 00:18:37.759 The power of the Spirit of 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:40.000 life and the power of sin and 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:40.299 death. 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:44.359 Now, there's a law, there's a 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:46.000 binding principle that 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:47.460 operates in the part of North 00:18:47.460 --> 00:18:48.919 Lampton where I live, just 00:18:48.919 --> 00:18:49.779 across the road from the 00:18:49.779 --> 00:18:50.240 university. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:51.799 The law is this. 00:18:53.460 --> 00:18:56.879 When there is summer rain and 00:18:56.879 --> 00:18:59.759 sun, there will be mosquitoes. 00:19:01.539 --> 00:19:02.799 When there's summer rain and 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:03.899 sun, there will be mosquitoes. 00:19:04.220 --> 00:19:06.779 It is an unfailing rule of our 00:19:06.779 --> 00:19:07.099 neighbourhood. 00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:09.939 Where there's one, there must 00:19:09.939 --> 00:19:10.500 be the other. 00:19:11.059 --> 00:19:12.039 A couple of years ago, the 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:13.740 uni ran a grand challenge to 00:19:13.740 --> 00:19:15.619 address the mosquito problem and 00:19:15.619 --> 00:19:17.319 they awarded grants to, you 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:18.539 know, the answers, the 00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:20.359 proposals that seemed the most 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:21.039 innovative. 00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:24.899 But nothing humans do can ever 00:19:24.899 --> 00:19:26.559 overcome this law. 00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:29.459 You know, emptying out water 00:19:29.459 --> 00:19:30.879 collected in little vessels around 00:19:30.879 --> 00:19:31.919 the garden or, you know, the 00:19:31.919 --> 00:19:33.039 bottom of planters or whatever, 00:19:33.459 --> 00:19:34.199 that doesn't help. 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:35.259 It doesn't solve the problem. 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:37.440 Putting up like mosquito zappers, 00:19:37.539 --> 00:19:38.579 that doesn't fix the problem. 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:39.980 Putting on insect repellent, that 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:40.900 doesn't fix the problem. 00:19:41.500 --> 00:19:42.720 Citronella candles aren't enough. 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:45.299 Nothing we do is ever enough to 00:19:45.299 --> 00:19:47.299 escape the law of North 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:47.660 Lampton. 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:51.000 It's a binding principle. 00:19:52.819 --> 00:19:54.839 There's also a law, a binding 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:56.700 principle of the Shadwick House. 00:19:57.019 --> 00:19:57.759 The Shadwick House. 00:19:57.759 --> 00:19:59.720 It goes a bit like this. 00:20:02.980 --> 00:20:05.619 When the television is on, there 00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:06.339 will be children. 00:20:08.259 --> 00:20:09.640 When the television is on, there 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:10.119 will be children. 00:20:10.220 --> 00:20:11.379 Now, it is an unfailing rule. 00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:12.680 In fact, it's the most effective 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:14.660 method of gathering children. 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:17.700 Tidying up tends to send them 00:20:17.700 --> 00:20:19.119 scattered to the, scattering to the 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:19.740 four winds. 00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:24.200 Placing food on the dinner table is 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:25.019 hit and miss. 00:20:25.019 --> 00:20:26.379 It has variable outcomes. 00:20:27.639 --> 00:20:29.359 But turn on the television and 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:31.359 suddenly they're scurrying out of, 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:33.000 you know, holes in the ground and 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:33.799 cracks in the wall. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:35.819 When the television is on, there 00:20:35.819 --> 00:20:36.480 will be children. 00:20:36.579 --> 00:20:38.339 It is an unfailing rule. 00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:41.099 Likewise, there's a law, there's a 00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:42.639 binding principle of the Shadwick 00:20:42.639 --> 00:20:43.740 family Christmas. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:45.180 It goes like this. 00:20:45.180 --> 00:20:50.200 When my brother Jake is present, there 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:51.340 will be Diet Coke. 00:20:52.299 --> 00:20:53.860 When my brother Jake is present, there 00:20:53.860 --> 00:20:54.500 will be Diet Coke. 00:20:54.500 --> 00:20:55.740 It's another unfailing principle. 00:20:55.860 --> 00:20:57.320 You'll never find one without the 00:20:57.320 --> 00:20:57.539 other. 00:20:57.880 --> 00:20:59.680 You see my brother and look nearby, 00:20:59.860 --> 00:21:01.220 you will find some Diet Coke. 00:21:01.779 --> 00:21:04.340 And he'll gladly share it with you. 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:06.500 Because after all, it's an unfailing 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:06.779 rule. 00:21:06.860 --> 00:21:08.000 His supply is limitless. 00:21:08.060 --> 00:21:09.380 It's like the widow's jar of oil, 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:10.380 which never runs dry. 00:21:10.380 --> 00:21:13.900 Like, when my brother Jake is present, 00:21:14.260 --> 00:21:15.300 there will be Diet Coke. 00:21:15.660 --> 00:21:17.460 Each of these is an unfailing rule. 00:21:17.540 --> 00:21:19.680 Well, likewise, there is a law of 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:20.680 sin and death. 00:21:21.320 --> 00:21:22.740 There's a law of sin and death. 00:21:23.580 --> 00:21:26.620 When there is sin, there will also be 00:21:26.620 --> 00:21:26.920 death. 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:31.320 When there is sin, there will also be 00:21:31.320 --> 00:21:31.620 death. 00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:34.460 You know, I've used lighthearted 00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:35.860 examples, but we're not talking about 00:21:35.860 --> 00:21:37.360 something lighthearted now, are we? 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:43.639 The universal reach of sin is confirmed 00:21:43.639 --> 00:21:47.559 by the universal reach of death. 00:21:49.219 --> 00:21:52.779 Every wrinkle, every grey hair tells a 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:53.139 story. 00:21:54.579 --> 00:21:55.599 Here is a sinner. 00:21:58.059 --> 00:22:00.379 We may mask it for a time, we may cover 00:22:00.379 --> 00:22:03.119 it up, but it'll catch up with us. 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:07.979 All die, because all have sinned. 00:22:10.219 --> 00:22:13.579 And there is no escape, as Paul says in 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:16.179 Romans chapter 5, verse 17, ever since 00:22:16.179 --> 00:22:18.519 Adam, death has reigned. 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:22.979 It is an unfailing principle. 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:25.059 Where there is sin, there will also be 00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:25.379 death. 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:29.319 But God's word says here that in Christ 00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:32.439 Jesus, the law of sin and death has been 00:22:32.439 --> 00:22:35.859 overpowered by another law, by another 00:22:35.859 --> 00:22:37.759 binding principle, another unfailing 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:38.159 principle. 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:42.679 Where there is the Spirit, there will be 00:22:42.679 --> 00:22:43.220 life. 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:47.659 Where there is the Spirit, there will 00:22:47.659 --> 00:22:48.379 also be life. 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:50.500 Like the river flowing out of the garden, 00:22:51.500 --> 00:22:55.179 the Spirit brings life wherever He goes. 00:22:55.180 --> 00:22:58.440 You cannot have the Spirit and not have 00:22:58.440 --> 00:22:58.840 life. 00:22:59.960 --> 00:23:02.460 Like the dove that returned to Noah's 00:23:02.460 --> 00:23:06.600 ark with a freshly plucked olive leaf, the 00:23:06.600 --> 00:23:09.140 coming of the Spirit always brings life. 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:15.460 We cannot, of course, draw the Spirit. 00:23:15.560 --> 00:23:16.940 We can't paint a picture of the Spirit. 00:23:17.820 --> 00:23:20.000 But if someone were to try to paint a 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:21.980 picture of the Spirit, I imagine the 00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:23.860 canvas would be bursting with colour. 00:23:23.859 --> 00:23:28.519 With verdant green, with flowers in bloom, with 00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:31.179 children laughing at play, because wherever 00:23:31.179 --> 00:23:34.579 the Spirit is, there is life. 00:23:36.419 --> 00:23:39.139 And in Christ Jesus, this law, the law of the 00:23:39.139 --> 00:23:42.279 Spirit of life, shatters the other law, the 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:43.219 law of sin and death. 00:23:46.879 --> 00:23:49.000 He liberates us from the old law. 00:23:49.859 --> 00:23:51.659 He breaks its hold on us. 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:55.939 So that the old law no longer applies. 00:23:56.559 --> 00:24:00.559 The rain and sun come, but the mosquitoes do 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:01.079 not follow. 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:05.899 We have sinned, but death has lost its power. 00:24:07.979 --> 00:24:13.219 How is it that in Christ Jesus, the power of this 00:24:13.219 --> 00:24:17.299 new law can liberate us from the power of the old law? 00:24:17.299 --> 00:24:22.119 Well, verse 3 gives us the reason behind the reason. 00:24:22.619 --> 00:24:23.180 Verse 3. 00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:31.559 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, 00:24:32.419 --> 00:24:33.259 could not do. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:37.419 By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, 00:24:37.500 --> 00:24:41.180 and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:45.840 The first thing this verse says, and there's a lot this 00:24:45.840 --> 00:24:47.220 verse says, the first thing it says is 00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:53.039 that what, our liberation from the old law of sin and 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:55.620 death, it could not be achieved by the law of Moses. 00:24:58.500 --> 00:25:01.860 It could not be achieved by the law of Moses. 00:25:01.880 --> 00:25:05.400 The law of Moses could not bring freedom, rather it brought 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:05.900 bondage. 00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:09.140 The law of Moses could not bring justification, rather it 00:25:09.140 --> 00:25:10.019 brought condemnation. 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:12.940 The law of Moses could not bring life, rather it brought 00:25:12.940 --> 00:25:13.440 death. 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:18.660 The law of Moses could not bring freedom and justification 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:22.840 and life because it was weakened by the flesh, Paul says. 00:25:24.560 --> 00:25:28.259 It was weakened by the fallen, sinful condition of humanity. 00:25:29.540 --> 00:25:33.960 The only way the law could bring freedom and justification 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:38.200 and life would be if we, by our perfect obedience, 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:41.860 made ourselves free, 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:46.960 justified ourselves, 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:50.220 made ourselves righteous. 00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:56.740 The only way the law of Moses could bring life would be if we, 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:00.380 by our perfect obedience, earned life. 00:26:00.380 --> 00:26:07.000 The law of Moses couldn't break us free from the law of sin and 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:07.280 death. 00:26:08.620 --> 00:26:11.700 The law of Moses itself was captive to the law of sin and 00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:11.980 death. 00:26:14.060 --> 00:26:17.740 And it strengthened the chains by which that law bound us. 00:26:20.180 --> 00:26:24.800 But what the law could not do, God has done. 00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:27.039 God has done. 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:32.180 Now, how much is packed into this verse in verse 3? 00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:34.419 But God has done it. 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:41.839 He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own son in the likeness 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:44.419 of sinful flesh and for sin. 00:26:45.099 --> 00:26:46.000 Let's break it down. 00:26:46.379 --> 00:26:50.919 God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh. 00:26:50.920 --> 00:26:58.600 See how carefully and reverently Paul describes the incarnation of the Son of God, 00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:02.120 the becoming man of our Lord and Saviour. 00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:07.480 God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, Paul says. 00:27:07.660 --> 00:27:08.660 He does not say, 00:27:09.300 --> 00:27:11.039 in the likeness of flesh, 00:27:12.039 --> 00:27:15.100 for that would imply that Jesus were not fully human. 00:27:15.099 --> 00:27:17.659 And he does not say, 00:27:18.219 --> 00:27:19.699 in sinful flesh, 00:27:20.579 --> 00:27:23.740 for that would imply Jesus was sinful just as we are. 00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:25.779 Rather, he says, 00:27:25.959 --> 00:27:28.159 in the likeness of sinful flesh, 00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:29.379 fully human, 00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:30.919 yet himself without sin, 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:33.339 God became man. 00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:38.899 But God's sending of his son wasn't complete at the incarnation. 00:27:38.900 --> 00:27:44.500 God didn't just send his son to become a man. 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:47.880 He sent his son for sin. 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:50.040 For sin. 00:27:50.300 --> 00:27:50.780 That is, 00:27:50.840 --> 00:27:53.200 that his son might be an offering for sin. 00:27:53.380 --> 00:27:54.019 A sin offering. 00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:58.400 A sacrifice for the sins of which we are guilty. 00:27:58.519 --> 00:27:59.660 The sins of the human race. 00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:02.380 Indeed, 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:03.280 the very sacrifice, 00:28:03.460 --> 00:28:05.400 the very offering that the law itself prescribed. 00:28:05.400 --> 00:28:09.400 And by doing this, 00:28:09.620 --> 00:28:12.900 God condemned sin in the flesh. 00:28:14.500 --> 00:28:15.480 Condemned sin in the flesh. 00:28:15.560 --> 00:28:16.860 Notice the repetition of that word there, 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:17.320 condemned, 00:28:18.019 --> 00:28:18.740 in verse 3, 00:28:18.860 --> 00:28:21.740 like condemnation, 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:23.200 in verse 1. 00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:27.000 The reason there is no condemnation, 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:27.660 verse 1, 00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:29.019 for those who are in Christ Jesus, 00:28:29.360 --> 00:28:32.320 is because the condemnation has already fallen, 00:28:32.620 --> 00:28:33.160 verse 3. 00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:36.360 The sins which were ours, 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:40.100 the condemnation became his. 00:28:41.620 --> 00:28:45.740 The reason the law of the spirit of life 00:28:45.740 --> 00:28:47.940 liberates us from the law of sin and death 00:28:47.940 --> 00:28:50.360 is because in Christ Jesus, 00:28:50.500 --> 00:28:54.140 the law of sin and death has already been satisfied. 00:28:57.080 --> 00:28:58.700 Its power is spent. 00:28:58.700 --> 00:29:02.340 It has no more claim. 00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:05.039 It has no more strength. 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:09.480 Condemnation is eliminated. 00:29:12.059 --> 00:29:12.519 You know, 00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:14.279 there are lots of things we as human beings, 00:29:14.500 --> 00:29:17.400 there are lots of things we as human beings can experience, 00:29:17.740 --> 00:29:20.240 which I myself will never experience. 00:29:22.840 --> 00:29:25.380 Doing a triple somersault into an Olympic pool 00:29:25.380 --> 00:29:27.380 is something I will never experience. 00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:33.020 I'll never experience what it's like to hold a conversation in Swahili. 00:29:34.800 --> 00:29:36.220 I'll never walk on the moon. 00:29:37.280 --> 00:29:39.180 There are lots of things a human being can experience 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:40.940 which I myself will never experience. 00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:43.120 At least not in this life. 00:29:43.160 --> 00:29:44.700 I can't so much speak for the life to come. 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:44.880 I mean, 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:47.160 maybe in the age to come, 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:50.460 our resurrected bodies will be so glorious 00:29:50.460 --> 00:29:54.200 that we'll all be capable of amazing athletic feats. 00:29:55.660 --> 00:29:57.200 Maybe in the age to come, 00:29:57.640 --> 00:29:58.660 Babel will be reversed 00:29:58.660 --> 00:30:00.279 and we'll understand all tongues. 00:30:01.940 --> 00:30:03.880 And maybe in the age to come, 00:30:03.980 --> 00:30:06.039 our dominion over the natural world 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:07.860 will be perfected 00:30:07.860 --> 00:30:09.720 and brought to such new heights 00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:11.420 that we'll walk not just on the moon, 00:30:11.539 --> 00:30:13.200 but on Mars and on Saturn as well. 00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:15.559 I don't know. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:20.279 But there is one thing I know 00:30:20.279 --> 00:30:22.200 I will never experience. 00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:25.000 Whether in this age 00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:26.440 or in the age to come, 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:31.660 I will never be condemned for my sins. 00:30:34.420 --> 00:30:37.140 I will never experience in full 00:30:37.140 --> 00:30:39.420 the retributive justice of God. 00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:43.100 I will never suffer the penalty of the law. 00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:46.420 You know, 00:30:46.460 --> 00:30:47.620 the fact that Melissa Wu 00:30:47.620 --> 00:30:50.279 is an Olympic diver and I am not 00:30:50.279 --> 00:30:52.700 doesn't really mean I'll never dive. 00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:53.360 Maybe I will. 00:30:56.200 --> 00:30:58.299 The fact that Neil Armstrong was an astronaut 00:30:58.299 --> 00:30:58.860 and I'm not, 00:31:00.220 --> 00:31:01.819 that doesn't necessarily mean 00:31:01.819 --> 00:31:02.700 I won't walk on the moon. 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:03.779 Maybe I will. 00:31:03.779 --> 00:31:03.819 Maybe I will. 00:31:03.819 --> 00:31:08.659 But the fact that the Son of God 00:31:08.659 --> 00:31:10.059 was condemned in my place, 00:31:10.899 --> 00:31:13.539 that means I will never, 00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:14.579 never, 00:31:14.919 --> 00:31:15.779 not now, 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:16.759 not then, 00:31:16.980 --> 00:31:17.740 not ever, 00:31:18.619 --> 00:31:19.240 be condemned. 00:31:23.159 --> 00:31:24.379 Condemnation is eliminated. 00:31:25.980 --> 00:31:27.099 Do you believe it? 00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:33.179 And not only has condemnation been eliminated, 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:37.319 but righteousness has been facilitated. 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:37.659 Now, 00:31:38.219 --> 00:31:39.919 facilitated might not be the best word here, 00:31:39.980 --> 00:31:41.539 but I succumb to the preacher's temptation 00:31:41.539 --> 00:31:42.539 to have rhyming words. 00:31:44.619 --> 00:31:46.839 Not only has condemnation been eliminated, 00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:48.819 but righteousness has been facilitated. 00:31:48.899 --> 00:31:49.639 Look at verse 4. 00:31:50.379 --> 00:31:50.899 Verse 4. 00:31:50.900 --> 00:31:53.980 God condemned sin in the flesh, 00:31:54.200 --> 00:31:56.420 in the person of his Son. 00:31:57.580 --> 00:31:58.100 Verse 4. 00:31:58.440 --> 00:32:00.660 In order that the righteous requirement 00:32:00.660 --> 00:32:02.660 of the law might be fulfilled in us, 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:04.740 who walk not according to the flesh, 00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:06.259 but according to the Spirit. 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:08.680 Now, 00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:10.700 this is the second outcome of the reason 00:32:10.700 --> 00:32:12.220 and the second outcome of the reason 00:32:12.220 --> 00:32:12.900 for the reason, 00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:15.300 but it needs to be unpacked a bit, 00:32:15.780 --> 00:32:17.000 because there are some different ways 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:18.120 we can take verse 4. 00:32:18.780 --> 00:32:19.259 And in fact, 00:32:19.259 --> 00:32:22.299 I've possibly multiple times 00:32:22.299 --> 00:32:23.879 changed my view on verse 4, 00:32:24.420 --> 00:32:25.799 so I want to give you a few options. 00:32:26.099 --> 00:32:27.000 I'll tell you what I think. 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:29.700 What is the righteous requirement 00:32:29.700 --> 00:32:30.379 of the law 00:32:30.379 --> 00:32:34.619 that is fulfilled in us? 00:32:36.660 --> 00:32:37.039 Well, 00:32:37.059 --> 00:32:37.339 the law, 00:32:37.460 --> 00:32:37.619 again, 00:32:37.660 --> 00:32:38.019 once again, 00:32:38.059 --> 00:32:39.420 must be referring to the law of Moses. 00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:42.960 And that word righteous requirement, 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:44.119 that needs a little bit of reflection. 00:32:45.059 --> 00:32:45.940 The Greek word basically 00:32:45.940 --> 00:32:47.299 just means a righteous thing, 00:32:47.980 --> 00:32:48.180 right? 00:32:48.180 --> 00:32:49.900 In the Septuagint, 00:32:49.980 --> 00:32:51.560 the Greek translation of the Old Testament, 00:32:52.259 --> 00:32:54.560 it's often used of the statutes, 00:32:54.600 --> 00:32:55.060 in the plural, 00:32:55.180 --> 00:32:57.340 of the statutes found in the law of Moses. 00:32:58.700 --> 00:33:00.740 The statutes is used the same word, 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:02.279 and that's again and again in the Old Testament. 00:33:02.820 --> 00:33:03.180 Occasionally, 00:33:03.220 --> 00:33:04.100 it's used in the singular, 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:06.840 when one individual statute or judgment 00:33:06.840 --> 00:33:08.900 is being focused on. 00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:10.780 In Romans, 00:33:10.980 --> 00:33:11.680 in chapter 1, 00:33:11.740 --> 00:33:12.360 verse 32, 00:33:12.820 --> 00:33:14.960 feel free to look at it with me if you like, 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:15.440 but I'll read it out. 00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:15.880 In chapter 1, 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:16.420 verse 32, 00:33:16.820 --> 00:33:18.080 at the end of Paul, 00:33:18.140 --> 00:33:20.320 sort of outlining how God has handed us over 00:33:20.320 --> 00:33:23.019 to ever-increasing sin 00:33:23.019 --> 00:33:25.460 because of our refusal to acknowledge Him 00:33:25.460 --> 00:33:26.100 and worship Him. 00:33:26.640 --> 00:33:27.320 Romans 1, 00:33:27.360 --> 00:33:27.880 verse 32, 00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:28.440 says, 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:31.580 though they knew God's decree 00:33:31.580 --> 00:33:33.260 or God's righteous requirement 00:33:33.260 --> 00:33:35.860 that those who practice such things deserve to die, 00:33:36.600 --> 00:33:37.920 they not only do them, 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:39.740 but give approval to those who practice them. 00:33:39.800 --> 00:33:40.240 Same word, 00:33:40.340 --> 00:33:41.800 God's decree, 00:33:41.900 --> 00:33:43.300 His righteous requirement, 00:33:43.460 --> 00:33:44.220 His judgment. 00:33:44.220 --> 00:33:46.740 So, 00:33:46.740 --> 00:33:47.339 possibly, 00:33:48.660 --> 00:33:49.539 and there in Romans, 00:33:49.600 --> 00:33:49.940 chapter 1, 00:33:49.980 --> 00:33:50.380 verse 32, 00:33:50.500 --> 00:33:50.880 what is it? 00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:53.779 It's God's declaration 00:33:53.779 --> 00:33:55.299 that those who sin will die. 00:33:55.400 --> 00:33:55.539 So, 00:33:55.600 --> 00:33:55.920 possibly, 00:33:56.019 --> 00:33:57.700 that's what it's saying here in Romans 8, 00:33:57.740 --> 00:33:58.120 verse 4, 00:33:58.220 --> 00:34:03.200 that by condemning sin in the flesh, 00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:04.220 in Jesus Christ, 00:34:04.940 --> 00:34:09.599 God has satisfied that requirement of the law on our behalf, 00:34:09.980 --> 00:34:10.960 that sin leads to death, 00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:11.820 the law of sin and death, 00:34:11.880 --> 00:34:12.220 basically. 00:34:12.219 --> 00:34:13.899 And certainly, 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:14.359 that's true. 00:34:14.459 --> 00:34:14.539 I mean, 00:34:14.559 --> 00:34:16.579 that's the point I made just a little bit earlier in this talk. 00:34:17.279 --> 00:34:17.439 Yeah, 00:34:17.459 --> 00:34:18.359 it's certainly the case. 00:34:19.199 --> 00:34:20.859 And that used to be sort of how I took this verse, 00:34:20.959 --> 00:34:23.939 but I probably lean now towards one or the other, 00:34:24.399 --> 00:34:24.659 you know, 00:34:24.899 --> 00:34:26.339 taking it a different way. 00:34:29.439 --> 00:34:31.599 There are other ways that that word, 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:32.519 the righteous requirement, 00:34:32.639 --> 00:34:33.759 is used in Romans. 00:34:33.819 --> 00:34:35.299 Another way it's used is in Romans 5, 00:34:35.359 --> 00:34:35.959 verse 18, 00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:37.299 Romans 5, 00:34:37.339 --> 00:34:37.799 verse 18, 00:34:37.879 --> 00:34:38.319 where we read, 00:34:38.319 --> 00:34:38.579 Therefore, 00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:41.939 as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, 00:34:42.219 --> 00:34:47.159 so one act of righteousness leads to justification for all, 00:34:47.279 --> 00:34:48.399 and life for all men. 00:34:48.459 --> 00:34:48.839 And there, 00:34:49.259 --> 00:34:51.980 the word that matches the one we're talking about, 00:34:52.439 --> 00:34:52.899 dikaioma, 00:34:52.959 --> 00:34:55.199 it is in Greek, 00:34:55.419 --> 00:34:57.839 is the word translated as act of righteousness. 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:00.119 One act of righteousness. 00:35:00.239 --> 00:35:01.119 So there in Romans 5, 00:35:01.139 --> 00:35:01.439 verse 18, 00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:03.339 that word is used of Jesus' obedience, 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:04.339 his righteousness. 00:35:04.340 --> 00:35:09.180 Adam's sin led to condemnation for all. 00:35:09.500 --> 00:35:10.640 Jesus' righteousness, 00:35:10.860 --> 00:35:11.539 his obedience, 00:35:12.120 --> 00:35:14.240 leads to justification for all. 00:35:17.940 --> 00:35:19.680 Our sin was given to Jesus, 00:35:20.640 --> 00:35:22.240 his righteousness given to us. 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:25.879 So it could be talking about that, 00:35:26.099 --> 00:35:31.039 and I think that's probably more likely than the first explanation I offered, 00:35:31.819 --> 00:35:33.239 that what this is saying, 00:35:33.379 --> 00:35:34.639 stating now positively, 00:35:35.379 --> 00:35:39.019 is that the righteous requirement of the law, 00:35:39.099 --> 00:35:41.239 the law's demand for righteousness, 00:35:41.419 --> 00:35:45.019 is satisfied because of Jesus' righteousness on our behalf, 00:35:45.239 --> 00:35:46.179 by his obedience. 00:35:46.179 --> 00:35:52.960 Even though I think like either of those really does fit the context well, 00:35:53.159 --> 00:35:57.399 I'm still not convinced that's the primary sense of Romans 8, 00:35:57.460 --> 00:35:57.879 verse 4. 00:35:58.219 --> 00:35:59.299 When Romans 8, 00:35:59.339 --> 00:36:02.639 verse 4 says that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, 00:36:03.539 --> 00:36:04.899 what is it talking about? 00:36:04.940 --> 00:36:05.059 Well, 00:36:05.099 --> 00:36:06.299 fulfilled there is in the passive, 00:36:06.419 --> 00:36:07.539 so it is what God does. 00:36:08.819 --> 00:36:09.480 It's something, 00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:11.000 it's the work of God in us. 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:13.779 Our righteous requirement is singular, 00:36:13.780 --> 00:36:18.600 but it's not talking about any one single statute of the law. 00:36:19.560 --> 00:36:21.580 I think it's talking about the law as a whole. 00:36:22.700 --> 00:36:25.620 The law's overarching, 00:36:26.860 --> 00:36:28.840 comprehensive requirement for righteousness. 00:36:30.840 --> 00:36:33.860 God's law demands righteousness. 00:36:34.960 --> 00:36:36.460 It's talking about the heart of the law, 00:36:36.540 --> 00:36:38.200 it's talking about its nature and purpose, 00:36:38.260 --> 00:36:39.420 to promote righteousness. 00:36:40.580 --> 00:36:41.540 And Romans 8, verse 4, 00:36:41.539 --> 00:36:44.900 isn't just saying that's fulfilled for us by Jesus, 00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:46.199 although it certainly is, 00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:53.099 but also that the purpose of God's condemnation of sin 00:36:53.099 --> 00:36:54.920 in the death of Christ 00:36:54.920 --> 00:36:58.259 was so that the righteous requirement of the Lord 00:36:58.259 --> 00:37:00.019 might be fulfilled in us, 00:37:00.460 --> 00:37:01.699 in us. 00:37:02.840 --> 00:37:03.239 Now, 00:37:03.300 --> 00:37:05.860 that language of fulfilling the law comes up again in Romans, 00:37:06.559 --> 00:37:08.139 in only one other place in Romans. 00:37:08.259 --> 00:37:09.559 If you go to Romans chapter 13, 00:37:09.559 --> 00:37:10.239 you'll find it there. 00:37:10.500 --> 00:37:11.400 Have a look at this with me, 00:37:11.440 --> 00:37:12.299 Romans chapter 13. 00:37:13.799 --> 00:37:15.299 Romans chapter 13, verse 8. 00:37:22.460 --> 00:37:23.480 Romans 13, verse 8. 00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:23.880 Oh, 00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:25.599 no one anything 00:37:25.599 --> 00:37:28.719 except to love each other, 00:37:29.299 --> 00:37:31.900 for the one who loves another 00:37:31.900 --> 00:37:33.619 has fulfilled the law. 00:37:34.739 --> 00:37:35.559 The commandments, 00:37:35.739 --> 00:37:36.659 you shall not commit adultery, 00:37:36.739 --> 00:37:37.460 you shall not murder, 00:37:37.579 --> 00:37:38.239 you shall not steal, 00:37:38.239 --> 00:37:39.000 you shall not covet, 00:37:39.079 --> 00:37:40.259 and any other commandment 00:37:40.259 --> 00:37:42.279 are summed up in this word, 00:37:42.619 --> 00:37:44.239 you shall love your neighbour as yourself. 00:37:46.179 --> 00:37:48.159 Love does no wrong to a neighbour, 00:37:48.699 --> 00:37:52.239 therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 00:37:54.399 --> 00:37:57.679 We see the same idea in Galatians chapter 5, verse 14. 00:37:57.979 --> 00:37:59.879 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, 00:37:59.939 --> 00:38:01.539 you shall love your neighbour as yourself. 00:38:01.919 --> 00:38:03.139 And both of those passages, 00:38:03.219 --> 00:38:04.179 of course, 00:38:04.179 --> 00:38:06.059 echo the teaching of Jesus Christ himself 00:38:06.059 --> 00:38:08.179 about the law. 00:38:09.239 --> 00:38:09.639 Now, 00:38:09.659 --> 00:38:10.980 if I'm right to link those passages 00:38:10.980 --> 00:38:12.440 with Romans 8, verse 4, 00:38:12.940 --> 00:38:13.980 then Romans 8, verse 4 00:38:13.980 --> 00:38:15.019 isn't just saying that 00:38:15.019 --> 00:38:17.839 Jesus takes the penalty of the law for us, 00:38:17.940 --> 00:38:19.259 and it isn't just saying that 00:38:19.259 --> 00:38:21.119 Jesus' righteousness 00:38:21.119 --> 00:38:23.480 satisfies the demand of the law 00:38:23.480 --> 00:38:24.460 on our behalf, 00:38:25.199 --> 00:38:26.579 although those are true, 00:38:26.579 --> 00:38:29.539 it's also making the incredible claim 00:38:29.539 --> 00:38:32.380 that those who are in Christ Jesus 00:38:32.380 --> 00:38:34.380 fulfil the law. 00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:39.380 Now, the New Testament 00:38:39.380 --> 00:38:42.599 never says believers are under the law 00:38:42.599 --> 00:38:44.380 of Moses. 00:38:44.920 --> 00:38:45.719 The New Testament 00:38:45.719 --> 00:38:48.940 never says believers are of the law of Moses. 00:38:49.099 --> 00:38:49.619 The New Testament 00:38:49.619 --> 00:38:52.579 never says believers belong to the law of Moses. 00:38:52.739 --> 00:38:53.299 The New Testament 00:38:53.300 --> 00:38:56.220 never says believers have to do the law of Moses 00:38:56.220 --> 00:38:57.760 or obey the law of Moses. 00:39:01.260 --> 00:39:02.519 But it does say 00:39:02.519 --> 00:39:04.340 that when we live a life of love, 00:39:04.700 --> 00:39:06.200 we fulfil the law. 00:39:08.600 --> 00:39:10.700 And God condemned sin in the flesh 00:39:10.700 --> 00:39:12.580 by sending His perfect sinless Son 00:39:12.580 --> 00:39:13.519 as an offering for sin, 00:39:13.960 --> 00:39:16.320 not only so that condemnation 00:39:16.320 --> 00:39:17.340 might be eliminated, 00:39:18.280 --> 00:39:19.940 but so that righteousness 00:39:19.940 --> 00:39:21.200 might be facilitated. 00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:23.339 that love 00:39:23.339 --> 00:39:24.480 may be 00:39:24.480 --> 00:39:25.839 enacted 00:39:25.839 --> 00:39:28.139 in the lives of His people. 00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:31.839 Which is also, 00:39:31.960 --> 00:39:32.579 I must confess, 00:39:32.980 --> 00:39:34.099 too wonderful for me 00:39:34.099 --> 00:39:34.980 to fully comprehend. 00:39:37.039 --> 00:39:38.279 Now, when I toss and turn 00:39:38.279 --> 00:39:38.859 at 2am 00:39:38.859 --> 00:39:39.779 accusing myself 00:39:39.779 --> 00:39:40.899 of all my failings, 00:39:41.899 --> 00:39:44.839 there is 00:39:44.839 --> 00:39:46.019 a lot of truth 00:39:46.019 --> 00:39:47.119 in my accusations. 00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:53.859 I am a sinner. 00:39:56.759 --> 00:39:58.779 I do deserve condemnation. 00:40:00.940 --> 00:40:02.059 My love 00:40:02.059 --> 00:40:04.159 is insufficient. 00:40:06.440 --> 00:40:07.579 My deeds 00:40:07.579 --> 00:40:09.019 are incomplete. 00:40:09.019 --> 00:40:09.179 complete. 00:40:13.980 --> 00:40:15.199 But when I find myself 00:40:15.199 --> 00:40:16.099 in that headspace, 00:40:16.659 --> 00:40:18.119 I'm not only forgetting 00:40:18.119 --> 00:40:19.340 Romans 8 verse 1, 00:40:20.059 --> 00:40:22.300 I'm also forgetting 00:40:22.300 --> 00:40:23.480 Romans 8 verse 4. 00:40:25.239 --> 00:40:26.320 I'm not only forgetting 00:40:26.320 --> 00:40:27.800 that condemnation 00:40:27.800 --> 00:40:28.539 is eliminated, 00:40:29.099 --> 00:40:30.840 I'm also forgetting 00:40:30.840 --> 00:40:31.579 that righteousness 00:40:31.579 --> 00:40:32.559 is facilitated. 00:40:34.139 --> 00:40:34.579 You know, 00:40:34.599 --> 00:40:35.800 it's an extraordinary thing, 00:40:35.860 --> 00:40:36.139 isn't it? 00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:37.179 It's an extraordinary thing. 00:40:37.179 --> 00:40:39.319 You see, 00:40:39.419 --> 00:40:39.919 the obligation, 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:41.079 this is what Romans 13 says, 00:40:41.139 --> 00:40:42.359 the obligation to love 00:40:42.359 --> 00:40:43.919 is never satisfied. 00:40:45.639 --> 00:40:46.799 It's never completed. 00:40:47.279 --> 00:40:48.399 You can never tick off 00:40:48.399 --> 00:40:48.879 the command 00:40:48.879 --> 00:40:49.759 to love your neighbour. 00:40:51.099 --> 00:40:52.579 It draws us ever on. 00:40:55.359 --> 00:40:56.000 And yet, 00:40:56.039 --> 00:40:56.879 even still, 00:40:58.419 --> 00:40:59.399 God can look 00:40:59.399 --> 00:41:00.659 on our incomplete 00:41:00.659 --> 00:41:02.279 and faltering efforts 00:41:02.279 --> 00:41:03.799 to love one another, 00:41:04.359 --> 00:41:06.000 and rather than condemn 00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:06.839 our failings, 00:41:07.179 --> 00:41:09.299 he can recognise 00:41:09.299 --> 00:41:11.480 the beauty 00:41:11.480 --> 00:41:12.899 of his own handiwork, 00:41:13.940 --> 00:41:15.980 producing righteousness. 00:41:19.639 --> 00:41:20.759 He can say, 00:41:21.139 --> 00:41:22.000 by my Son 00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:23.199 and through my Spirit, 00:41:23.460 --> 00:41:24.639 the righteous requirement 00:41:24.639 --> 00:41:25.319 of the law 00:41:25.319 --> 00:41:26.099 is fulfilled 00:41:26.099 --> 00:41:27.279 in you. 00:41:30.460 --> 00:41:31.019 Condemnation 00:41:31.019 --> 00:41:31.639 is eliminated. 00:41:33.139 --> 00:41:33.699 Righteousness 00:41:33.699 --> 00:41:34.519 is facilitated. 00:41:34.519 --> 00:41:36.280 in Christ Jesus, 00:41:36.400 --> 00:41:36.840 the law 00:41:36.840 --> 00:41:37.500 of the Spirit 00:41:37.500 --> 00:41:37.960 of life 00:41:37.960 --> 00:41:38.960 has set you 00:41:38.960 --> 00:41:39.420 free 00:41:39.420 --> 00:41:40.840 from the law 00:41:40.840 --> 00:41:41.579 of sin and death. 00:41:44.500 --> 00:41:45.599 Thanks be to God. 00:41:45.599 --> 00:41:46.739 Amen. 00:41:46.739 --> 00:41:48.860 Amen.