WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:04.839 Well, good morning, church. Turn with me in your Bibles to Romans chapter 8. 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:14.960 Today we're starting a new series. This summer we did a series in the book of Proverbs, 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:20.760 and studying the book of Proverbs is sort of like eating a big salad with all kinds of veggies, 00:00:20.900 --> 00:00:24.839 maybe some nuts, dried fruits, goat cheese, all kinds of stuff. It's tasty, it's healthy, 00:00:25.400 --> 00:00:29.500 full of all kinds of different ingredients, but you can eat as much as you want because it's full 00:00:29.500 --> 00:00:34.560 of God's wisdom. Now, studying the book of Romans is a little bit different. It's a little bit like 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:41.560 biting into a thick, juicy steak. Or if you don't like steak, think about a piece of flourless 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:49.299 chocolate cake, something that's rich and dense, and you have to eat it slowly and chew it patiently 00:00:49.299 --> 00:00:55.000 in order to appreciate it and digest it. So, this fall we're going to spend three months 00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:00.280 on just one chapter in the book of Romans, Romans chapter 8. We're going to take it slowly, 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:05.739 just a few verses each week, because these verses are packed with spiritual life and power, 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:09.900 and we don't want to just skim through them quickly. We want to delve into them deeply and 00:01:09.900 --> 00:01:17.180 let them sink deeply into us. Now, the pastors at Trinity have committed to memorizing this chapter 00:01:17.180 --> 00:01:22.460 over the course of our sermon series this fall. And so, you can hold us accountable to that. 00:01:22.459 --> 00:01:28.679 And we want to encourage you and challenge you to join us in doing this. So, we have about 13 weeks. 00:01:28.759 --> 00:01:33.979 We'll be spending 39 verses. That's about three verses a week. You can just go along with the 00:01:33.979 --> 00:01:43.019 sermons. But memorizing Scripture is a way to help it get more deeply into us. So, I want to encourage 00:01:43.019 --> 00:01:48.119 you and challenge you to join us in memorizing this chapter with us this fall. Today, we're looking 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:51.700 at verses 1 to 4, and Paul says these words, 00:01:51.800 --> 00:02:02.100 there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of 00:02:02.099 --> 00:02:13.639 life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law 00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:24.620 weakened by the flesh could not do, by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. 00:02:24.620 --> 00:02:34.580 He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled 00:02:34.580 --> 00:02:41.719 in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 00:02:45.460 --> 00:02:53.000 Let's pray. Lord, we thank You for these words. We pray that as we unpack them that they would be full 00:02:53.000 --> 00:03:01.000 of spiritual power and life for us through Your Spirit who is at work in us. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:08.979 Now, before we delve into today's verses, let me introduce our series in Romans by giving three 00:03:08.979 --> 00:03:14.099 brief accounts of how the book of Romans has been so impactful in the history of the church. 00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:20.420 I just want to begin with three brief stories of three people who became very influential in the 00:03:20.419 --> 00:03:25.539 history of the church who were deeply impacted at crucial turning points in their lives by this book. 00:03:25.619 --> 00:03:30.939 So first, Augustine, maybe you've heard of him. He was a fifth century church leader and theologian. 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:37.779 But before he was a Christian, he was an up-and-coming young scholar. He was a professor. He had made his 00:03:37.779 --> 00:03:43.079 way from North Africa where he was born to Milan in Italy where he was a university professor. 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:49.639 He was successful, but he was searching. He searched different philosophies and religious groups and 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:55.799 went from one to the other looking for meaning. At the same time, he was increasingly troubled 00:03:55.799 --> 00:04:02.959 internally by his self-indulgent appetites and his inability to control them. And one day, 00:04:03.019 --> 00:04:07.539 he was particularly perplexed. He was talking with his friend in a backyard garden, and he writes this. 00:04:07.619 --> 00:04:07.879 He says, 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:35.319 Romans 13, 13 and 14, which says this. 00:04:35.319 --> 00:04:52.039 He wrote later, 00:04:52.040 --> 00:05:12.259 Well, ten centuries later, a monk in the Augustinian order named Martin Luther attributed his spiritual 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:16.939 awakening and the eventual Protestant Reformation that resulted as well to the book of Romans. 00:05:16.939 --> 00:05:18.879 And Luther writes this. He writes, 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:22.939 I'd been captivated with an eagerness for understanding Paul in the epistle to the Romans, 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:29.759 but a single saying in chapter 1 stood in my way. The righteousness of God is revealed. 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:37.379 I hated that word, righteousness of God, because I had been taught that God's righteousness was 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:42.579 referred to his punishment of sinners. And though I lived as a monk without reproach, 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:49.019 I felt I was a sinner before God with a most disturbed conscience. I did not love. Indeed, 00:05:49.099 --> 00:05:53.019 I hated the righteous God who punished sinners. Secretly, I was angry with God. 00:05:54.379 --> 00:05:58.579 Finally, by the mercy of God, as I meditated day and night, I paid attention to the context. 00:05:59.719 --> 00:06:03.699 In it, the righteousness of God is revealed. As it is written, 00:06:03.699 --> 00:06:10.959 he who through faith is righteous shall live. Then I began to understand the meaning. The righteousness 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:17.579 of God is revealed by the gospel, the good news, the righteousness with which the merciful God 00:06:17.579 --> 00:06:26.279 justifies us by faith. As it is written, the righteous one lives by faith. Here I felt that I was 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:31.839 altogether born again, and it entered paradise itself through open gates. I began to see the whole 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:37.579 of Scripture in a totally new way. Whereas before the righteousness of God had filled me with hate, 00:06:38.339 --> 00:06:46.419 now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul and Romans became to me 00:06:46.419 --> 00:06:55.079 a gateway to heaven. And one more, in the 18th century, John Wesley, who would become the founder 00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:59.519 of Methodism and the preacher in the evangelical revival in England, wrote this in his journal, 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:06.259 In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading, 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:12.879 guess who, Martin Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:17.240 while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:24.539 I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation. 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:33.939 An assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin 00:07:33.939 --> 00:07:42.620 and death. The book of Romans has had a deep and wide impact in the lives of many individuals and even 00:07:42.620 --> 00:07:48.620 spurring movements in the history of the church. In the eighth chapter of Romans, what we're looking at 00:07:48.620 --> 00:07:55.100 this fall is the high point of the book. It's the climax of what chapters one through seven have been 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:59.939 leading up to. It's the precursor to all that follows in nine through sixteen. So, some have 00:07:59.939 --> 00:08:06.699 compared Romans eight to the highest peak in a mountain range. And our hope as we soak in this 00:08:06.699 --> 00:08:12.680 chapter in the next three months is that we would experience what Augustine and Luther and Wesley and 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:18.860 many other believers in the history of the church have experienced. The light of God's peace flooding 00:08:18.860 --> 00:08:26.660 our heart and driving out doubt and despair. The righteousness of God becoming inexpressibly sweet 00:08:26.660 --> 00:08:34.379 to us. Our hearts being strangely warmed, knowing that we belong to Christ and He belongs to us. 00:08:35.560 --> 00:08:38.620 And chapter eight begins on this great note of Christian assurance. 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:47.279 There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. And chapter eight ends on another 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:53.340 ringing declaration. If you look at verse 39, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ 00:08:53.340 --> 00:09:01.080 Jesus our Lord. In Christ Jesus there is no condemnation for us and there's no separation from the love of God. 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:04.879 Now, this morning we're going to look at three things 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:13.440 about this assurance in verse one of no condemnation. We're going to look at why we need this assurance 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:18.740 in verse one. We're going to look at why we can have this assurance in verses two and three. 00:09:19.280 --> 00:09:24.879 And finally, we'll look at what difference does it make in verse four. So, first, why we need 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:32.860 this assurance? Now, to be clear what Paul's talking about here, the Greek word that's translated 00:09:32.860 --> 00:09:41.360 condemnation is a legal term. The Greek word is katakrema. Kata usually means according to or 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:48.159 following from, and crema means a judgment or legal verdict. So, katakrema would be that which is 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:54.759 according to a legal judgment or that follows from a legal verdict. It's a penalty or burden or 00:09:54.759 --> 00:10:02.120 punishment that results specifically from a guilty verdict. And now, in the context of Romans, 00:10:02.439 --> 00:10:12.539 Paul's referring to God's verdict, God's judgment on humanity. Paul announced this in chapter three, 00:10:12.740 --> 00:10:21.059 verse nine and ten, where he writes, all are under sin. No one is righteous. No, not one. 00:10:21.059 --> 00:10:28.579 In Romans 6.23, he writes, the wages of sin is death. And elsewhere, Paul says that sin results in 00:10:28.579 --> 00:10:39.359 bondage, shame, and God's wrath, his righteous judgment on sin. We read earlier in chapter five, 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:48.459 verse 18, one trespass led to condemnation for all humanity. According to Romans, this is the natural 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:55.180 state of human being. Every human being is made in God's image and therefore worthy of respect. But 00:10:55.180 --> 00:11:01.160 ever since the beginning of the human race, every human being has disobeyed God and rejected his 00:11:01.160 --> 00:11:09.460 authority. And as a result, we stand under God's righteous judgment. And according to the Bible, 00:11:09.560 --> 00:11:17.800 we respond to this reality of unrighteousness in a sort of complicated way. We both manifest an awareness 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:25.179 of our unrighteousness, and at the same time, we mask it. We try to hide from it. We try to run away 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:32.879 from it. Think about how we do this. Sometimes we acknowledge that deep down, we have a gnawing sense 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:40.959 of guilt and unease. We sense not only that all is not right in the world outside of us, but that all is 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:48.840 not right inside of us either. And yet, don't we also run away from that sense of guilt and unease? 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:57.500 Isn't that why addictions are so alluring? Not just drugs and alcohol, but even things like sweets 00:11:57.500 --> 00:12:04.280 and Facebook. Good things become obsessions that we can't live without because they temporarily 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:13.600 deliver us from that gnawing sense of guilt and unease. For some of us, our sense of guilt and 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:19.159 unworthiness manifests itself, especially when we come to church to meet with the people of God. 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:22.919 There's something inside us that says, you don't really belong here. 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:32.539 More than one of you has told me, the first time I walked into this church, I was terrified that the 00:12:32.539 --> 00:12:40.439 roof would cave in. That's not just being paranoid. Some people are paranoid every moment of the day 00:12:40.439 --> 00:12:47.240 that something's going to happen. But somehow the church building and the church community gathered 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:55.659 to worship the one true God confronts us with the reality that there is a God in heaven and that He is 00:12:55.659 --> 00:13:00.759 holy. And when you face a holy God, you sense your own unrighteousness. 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:08.560 Or perhaps our unrighteousness manifests itself in a constant drive to prove ourselves. 00:13:08.560 --> 00:13:15.879 And before somebody whose verdict on us really matters, we're desperate for somebody to say to us, 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:23.360 you're right. You're worthy of being loved. You make a difference in this world for the better. 00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:29.480 Because when we look down inside ourselves, we're completely insecure about whether any of those 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:37.899 things are true of ourselves. And so we can't bear when people criticize us. We become defensive and 00:13:37.899 --> 00:13:43.199 combative. Or we withdraw into silence and try to run away and escape. 00:13:46.459 --> 00:13:51.279 We both manifest this awareness of our unrighteousness, and at the same time we try to mask it 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:58.259 and run away from it. But the Bible's diagnosis of the human condition is that all of us 00:13:58.259 --> 00:14:03.500 live under this verdict of unrighteousness. 00:14:03.500 --> 00:14:07.419 And the fear of condemnation that results from it. 00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:15.240 But now in verse 1, Paul says, there's wonderful good news. There is no condemnation 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:23.639 for those who are in Christ Jesus. No more penalty that God's law would prescribe. 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:31.139 No more punishment that our sins would deserve. No more burden of a legal threat hanging over us. 00:14:31.139 --> 00:14:37.100 No more living under the weight of guilt and shame and fear. No further need to prove ourselves 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:41.340 because we are justified before the judge of all the universe. 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:47.539 You might say, boy, that does sound sort of nice. 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:51.919 But how could you ever be confident of that? 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:55.379 How could you ever know that that's true of you? 00:14:55.379 --> 00:14:58.939 Well, that brings us to our second point. 00:14:59.960 --> 00:15:03.460 Not just why we need this assurance, but why we can have this assurance. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:08.500 Verse 2 and 3. Notice in verse 1, before we go on, there are two crucial words. 00:15:08.620 --> 00:15:12.480 There is therefore now. Therefore now. 00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:18.620 Now by using these words, Paul's referring back to some things that he's already said in Romans 1 through 7. 00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:21.120 If you haven't read the first seven chapters of Romans, 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:24.100 if you've never read them or if you haven't read them in a long time, 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:25.740 let me encourage you to read them this week. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:31.179 Starting at chapter 8, verse 1 is a bit like being airlifted to the top of a mountain peak. 00:15:31.580 --> 00:15:34.519 You can appreciate the view, but you'll appreciate it even more 00:15:34.519 --> 00:15:36.799 if you've walked the trail that leads all the way up to the top 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:38.899 by reading 1 through 7. 00:15:40.259 --> 00:15:42.080 So let me encourage you to read 1 through 7. 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:45.180 They'll set the stage for what we're looking at the rest of the fall. 00:15:45.179 --> 00:15:53.199 But briefly, the first four chapters of Romans focus on justification by faith in Christ. 00:15:54.199 --> 00:15:59.059 And chapter 3, verses 21 and 22 is a key verse in the first four chapters. 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:01.779 It says, but now, notice that word now, 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:05.019 the righteousness of God has been manifested, 00:16:05.899 --> 00:16:10.939 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. 00:16:10.940 --> 00:16:16.060 In other words, because of Jesus Christ's faithful obedience, 00:16:16.900 --> 00:16:20.720 the righteousness of God is now available through faith to all who believe. 00:16:21.660 --> 00:16:22.880 We're justified by faith. 00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:27.220 Romans 5 through 7 focuses on life in union with Christ. 00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:30.000 So these twin themes, justification by faith in Christ, 00:16:30.160 --> 00:16:31.640 life in union with Christ, 00:16:32.020 --> 00:16:34.720 are the two main themes of 1 through 7. 00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:37.820 And a key verse in 5 through 7 is 7-6, 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:39.100 which says again, 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:44.540 but now we are released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit. 00:16:45.259 --> 00:16:46.940 So when Paul says, therefore now, 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:51.040 he's looking back to what he's already said in chapters 1 through 7, 00:16:51.340 --> 00:16:54.860 and especially what he said is true now of us in Christ Jesus, 00:16:55.420 --> 00:16:57.940 that we're justified by faith, 00:16:58.580 --> 00:17:00.740 and that we're united with Christ through His Spirit. 00:17:02.560 --> 00:17:06.579 But he's also pointing forward by these words to what he says in verses 2 and 3. 00:17:06.579 --> 00:17:09.659 Notice verse 2 and verse 3 begin with the word for, 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:12.339 or because. 00:17:13.879 --> 00:17:16.579 Paul gives two reasons why we can have this assurance. 00:17:17.859 --> 00:17:18.439 Verse 2, 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:22.240 For the Spirit of life has set you free. 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:25.339 Now what does Paul mean, you might ask, 00:17:25.399 --> 00:17:26.980 by the law of the Spirit, 00:17:27.740 --> 00:17:30.059 and then the law of sin and death? 00:17:30.139 --> 00:17:32.279 Paul uses the word law a lot in these verses. 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.099 In fact, he uses the word law quite a lot in Romans, 00:17:35.220 --> 00:17:36.460 and especially in this section. 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:40.579 Look up at chapter 7, verse 21. 00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:45.839 Paul uses the word law in a couple different ways, 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:48.500 so let me just show those to you. 00:17:49.180 --> 00:17:50.799 Chapter 7, verse 21, Paul says, 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:54.119 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:55.619 evil lies close at hand. 00:17:56.539 --> 00:17:59.220 What the law means in this verse is a general principle. 00:17:59.899 --> 00:18:02.379 I find it to be a general principle that when I want to do right, 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:03.619 evil lies close at hand. 00:18:04.399 --> 00:18:05.960 Go to the next verse, 722. 00:18:06.139 --> 00:18:08.779 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:12.819 Now here Paul's using law to talk about the righteous standard of God. 00:18:13.579 --> 00:18:14.980 Sometimes law is a general principle, 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:16.839 sometimes it's God's righteous standard, 00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:21.179 and then in 23, law is a power. 00:18:21.779 --> 00:18:23.980 I see in my members another law, 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:27.220 that is a power waging war against the law of my mind 00:18:27.220 --> 00:18:28.919 and making me captive to the law of sin. 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:33.579 So there's three main ways Paul uses the word law in Romans. 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:35.959 One is to refer to God's righteous standards, 00:18:36.459 --> 00:18:38.539 sometimes expressed specifically in the law of Moses. 00:18:39.299 --> 00:18:41.159 One is referring to a general principle, 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:42.859 and the other is referring to a power. 00:18:42.859 --> 00:18:46.619 In chapter 8, verse 2, 00:18:47.579 --> 00:18:50.279 I think the best understanding of the word law in that verse 00:18:50.279 --> 00:18:53.139 is as a power or as an authority. 00:18:53.299 --> 00:18:56.179 So we could understand the verse as saying, 00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:59.119 the power or the authority of the Spirit of life 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:01.959 has set me free from the authority of sin and death. 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:06.579 In other words, the Holy Spirit personally liberates us 00:19:06.579 --> 00:19:10.419 from the power of sin to which we would otherwise be captive 00:19:10.420 --> 00:19:14.019 and from the sentence of death to which we would otherwise be doomed. 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.660 The picture Paul's painting in these verses is of a prisoner 00:19:18.660 --> 00:19:21.240 under the authority of sin, 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:22.940 locked up in his cell, 00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:24.539 helpless in his bondage, 00:19:24.800 --> 00:19:26.160 one day doomed to die. 00:19:27.100 --> 00:19:29.019 But then a higher authority arrives 00:19:29.019 --> 00:19:31.779 who enters the prison, 00:19:32.140 --> 00:19:33.480 walks down the long hallway, 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:34.860 takes out the key, 00:19:35.300 --> 00:19:36.160 opens the door, 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:38.420 and says to him, 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:41.500 you are now a free man. 00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:46.259 You are set free from the law of sin and death. 00:19:46.800 --> 00:19:47.140 Paul says, 00:19:47.300 --> 00:19:49.980 this is what the Holy Spirit of life has done. 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:52.660 For you personally, 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:54.660 that word you in this verse is singular. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:56.500 It's not plural. 00:19:57.340 --> 00:19:59.360 It's not just saying he's done it in a general way. 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:02.599 He's saying he's done it for you personally. 00:20:03.579 --> 00:20:06.339 He's come and opened the door and set you free. 00:20:07.799 --> 00:20:09.559 The Bible says that every one of you, 00:20:10.479 --> 00:20:11.839 through faith in Jesus Christ, 00:20:11.919 --> 00:20:15.359 can experience this personally liberating power 00:20:15.879 --> 00:20:17.219 of the Holy Spirit, 00:20:17.899 --> 00:20:21.659 who is stronger than everything else that binds you 00:20:21.659 --> 00:20:23.959 and stronger even than death. 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:28.279 Now, Paul will talk more 00:20:28.279 --> 00:20:30.559 about the work of the Holy Spirit 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:32.180 as we continue in this chapter, 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:33.779 but that's the first reason we can know 00:20:33.779 --> 00:20:35.819 that we can have this assurance, 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:40.019 because the Spirit personally and powerfully 00:20:40.019 --> 00:20:42.180 sets us free from sin and death. 00:20:43.860 --> 00:20:45.819 The second reason why we can have this assurance 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:46.819 is found in verse 3. 00:20:48.180 --> 00:20:50.779 Again, another 4 verse. 00:20:50.779 --> 00:20:52.279 For God has done what the law, 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:53.259 weakened by the flesh, 00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:54.279 could not do. 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:57.140 By sending his own son 00:20:57.140 --> 00:20:59.319 in the likeness of sinful flesh 00:20:59.319 --> 00:20:59.980 and for sin, 00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:02.660 he condemned sin in the flesh. 00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:07.960 You know, you will never find freedom 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:11.119 from the fear of condemnation 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:14.940 just by trying harder to obey God's laws 00:21:14.940 --> 00:21:17.420 or live up to his standards. 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:20.400 God's law and commandments are good, 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:24.000 because they express God's good and holy will. 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:27.660 But God's law by itself can never deliver you 00:21:27.660 --> 00:21:30.680 from that sense we have deep down 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:31.759 that we are unrighteous 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:35.240 and that there's a verdict of condemnation 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:36.340 hanging over us. 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:39.620 Not because the law is flawed, 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:40.860 but because you and I are flawed. 00:21:41.380 --> 00:21:42.519 We have a rebellious nature, 00:21:42.600 --> 00:21:43.720 what Paul calls the flesh. 00:21:43.720 --> 00:21:45.660 And so we'll never live up to God's law 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:46.480 and God's standards. 00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:49.200 We'll either seriously minimize them 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:52.180 or we will find ourselves crushed by them. 00:21:54.940 --> 00:21:56.559 Trying harder to obey God's law 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:58.319 will never be the way to resolve 00:21:58.319 --> 00:21:59.480 the problem 00:21:59.480 --> 00:22:02.120 of our unrighteous standing before God 00:22:02.120 --> 00:22:06.100 and that insecurity that we feel as a result. 00:22:06.099 --> 00:22:08.139 But Paul says here, 00:22:08.219 --> 00:22:08.859 there's good news. 00:22:08.959 --> 00:22:09.980 God has done for us 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:11.079 what the law could never do, 00:22:11.139 --> 00:22:12.519 what we could never do for ourselves. 00:22:12.659 --> 00:22:14.639 God has done for us in Jesus Christ. 00:22:15.659 --> 00:22:16.339 Verse 3. 00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:18.659 The point of verse 3 is this. 00:22:19.379 --> 00:22:21.759 The Son of God took on what was ours 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:24.039 in order to give us what was His. 00:22:26.919 --> 00:22:28.939 The Son of God took on our human nature, 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:29.399 Paul says, 00:22:29.439 --> 00:22:32.119 He came in the likeness of sinful flesh. 00:22:32.199 --> 00:22:33.740 Now, Paul chooses his words 00:22:33.740 --> 00:22:34.759 very carefully here. 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:37.660 Again, this is thick stuff. 00:22:37.819 --> 00:22:38.500 It's packed. 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:40.400 Densely packed. 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:42.240 And every word matters. 00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:44.700 Paul chooses his words 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:45.519 very carefully here 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:46.960 because Jesus never sinned. 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:47.720 Not in thought, 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:48.379 not in word, 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:49.059 not in deed. 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:51.140 And so Paul is careful. 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:52.819 Paul doesn't just say, 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:55.839 the Son of God came in sinful flesh. 00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:00.700 That would be too strong a way of saying it 00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:02.619 because that would imply 00:23:02.619 --> 00:23:04.319 that Christ was actually sinful, 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:05.079 which He wasn't. 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:06.980 No, He says He came in the likeness 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:07.700 of sinful flesh. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:09.099 His flesh was like ours, 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:10.480 but it was not sinful 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:12.679 and corrupted like ours. 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:15.099 At the same time, 00:23:15.159 --> 00:23:15.960 Paul wants to emphasize 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:16.919 how completely 00:23:16.919 --> 00:23:19.819 the Son of God identified with us. 00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:23.039 He came in the likeness 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:24.259 of our flesh. 00:23:24.259 --> 00:23:27.160 He didn't just appear to be human. 00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:29.480 He became human. 00:23:29.579 --> 00:23:31.319 He didn't just float through this world 00:23:31.319 --> 00:23:33.039 with a protective bubble around Him. 00:23:34.539 --> 00:23:35.359 Hebrews 4 says, 00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:37.599 He was tempted in every way, 00:23:38.220 --> 00:23:40.079 just as we are, 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:42.140 yet without sin. 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:43.839 He never turned away from God. 00:23:45.619 --> 00:23:47.359 So He took on our human nature, 00:23:47.539 --> 00:23:48.359 but not just that, 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:50.259 He willingly received the condemnation 00:23:50.779 --> 00:23:51.740 our sins deserve. 00:23:51.740 --> 00:23:53.079 God condemned sin 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:54.240 in the flesh of His Son. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:57.240 Verses 3 and 4 together 00:23:57.240 --> 00:23:58.839 are actually one long 00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:00.180 and very complex sentence 00:24:00.180 --> 00:24:01.180 in the Greek. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:03.380 But this is the main clause. 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:05.779 God condemned sin 00:24:05.779 --> 00:24:08.120 in the flesh of His Son. 00:24:10.180 --> 00:24:11.000 Now in some sense, 00:24:11.059 --> 00:24:11.900 that happened throughout 00:24:11.900 --> 00:24:12.940 Jesus' whole life. 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:14.740 Jesus constantly submitted 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:16.079 His humanity 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:17.480 to the will of God the Father. 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:19.380 He faithfully resisted 00:24:19.380 --> 00:24:20.339 the temptations 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:23.160 that the world 00:24:23.160 --> 00:24:23.799 and the devil 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:24.960 confronted Him with. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:26.360 But ultimately, 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:27.660 this verse is speaking 00:24:27.660 --> 00:24:28.480 of what happened 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:31.000 when Christ died on the cross. 00:24:32.860 --> 00:24:33.960 N.T. Wright put it this way 00:24:33.960 --> 00:24:34.599 in his commentary 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:35.339 on this verse. 00:24:36.740 --> 00:24:37.940 In the death of the Messiah, 00:24:39.079 --> 00:24:41.180 the judicial punishment of sin 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:43.240 was meted out 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:45.819 fully and finally 00:24:45.819 --> 00:24:47.740 so that sinners 00:24:47.740 --> 00:24:48.859 over whose head 00:24:48.859 --> 00:24:49.759 the condemnation 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:50.359 had hung 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:52.460 might be liberated 00:24:52.460 --> 00:24:53.519 from this threat 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:56.460 once and for all. 00:24:58.159 --> 00:24:59.200 The punishment 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:00.779 that our sins deserved 00:25:00.779 --> 00:25:02.500 was meted out 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:03.819 fully and finally 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:05.279 on Christ at the cross 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:06.159 so that sinners 00:25:06.159 --> 00:25:07.259 over whose head 00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:08.139 that condemnation 00:25:08.139 --> 00:25:08.679 had hung 00:25:08.679 --> 00:25:10.119 might be free 00:25:10.119 --> 00:25:10.720 from it 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:12.439 once and for all. 00:25:12.440 --> 00:25:14.620 isn't that good news? 00:25:15.900 --> 00:25:16.840 Because Christ 00:25:16.840 --> 00:25:18.120 took on what was ours, 00:25:18.200 --> 00:25:18.940 our human nature 00:25:18.940 --> 00:25:20.039 and even our sin, 00:25:21.559 --> 00:25:22.980 we can now have 00:25:22.980 --> 00:25:24.299 what is His. 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:27.360 He has sent His Spirit 00:25:27.360 --> 00:25:28.500 to set us free 00:25:28.500 --> 00:25:29.180 from the law 00:25:29.180 --> 00:25:30.000 of sin and death. 00:25:30.039 --> 00:25:31.000 In Him we have peace 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:31.960 and joy 00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:32.539 and hope 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:33.340 and assurance 00:25:33.340 --> 00:25:34.740 and life. 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:37.400 The Spirit 00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:38.160 has set us free 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:38.880 because Christ 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:40.200 has taken the penalty 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:41.799 that our sins deserved 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:43.140 and there is no 00:25:43.140 --> 00:25:44.279 more condemnation 00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:44.860 for us. 00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:46.960 That's why we can 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:47.680 have this assurance. 00:25:47.900 --> 00:25:48.380 That's why we can 00:25:48.380 --> 00:25:49.420 be confident in it. 00:25:50.840 --> 00:25:51.720 Not because we've 00:25:51.720 --> 00:25:52.259 tried harder 00:25:52.259 --> 00:25:53.140 to obey the law 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:54.319 but because of 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:54.819 what the Spirit 00:25:54.819 --> 00:25:55.299 has done 00:25:55.299 --> 00:25:55.819 and because of 00:25:55.819 --> 00:25:56.279 what Christ 00:25:56.279 --> 00:25:56.779 has done. 00:25:58.279 --> 00:25:59.059 And of course 00:25:59.059 --> 00:26:00.660 it was all the plan 00:26:00.660 --> 00:26:01.420 of God the Father. 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:03.400 It's a work 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:04.059 of the whole Trinity. 00:26:04.840 --> 00:26:05.279 But finally 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:05.940 we need to ask 00:26:05.940 --> 00:26:07.180 if we have this assurance 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:07.779 what difference 00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:08.460 does it make? 00:26:08.460 --> 00:26:10.840 And this is what 00:26:10.840 --> 00:26:12.380 verse 4 addresses. 00:26:14.420 --> 00:26:15.200 Earlier this week 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:15.660 I was visiting 00:26:15.660 --> 00:26:16.100 with somebody 00:26:16.100 --> 00:26:16.640 and we read 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:17.539 these verses together 00:26:17.539 --> 00:26:18.299 and we talked 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:19.740 about what it means 00:26:19.740 --> 00:26:21.079 that there is no 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:21.740 condemnation 00:26:21.740 --> 00:26:23.019 for us in Christ Jesus. 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:25.100 That Jesus died 00:26:25.100 --> 00:26:26.100 for every last 00:26:26.100 --> 00:26:27.100 one of our sins 00:26:27.100 --> 00:26:27.880 on the cross. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:28.920 That we don't 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:29.880 have to be afraid 00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:30.799 of God punishing 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:32.000 us for them anymore. 00:26:32.140 --> 00:26:32.700 Our punishment 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:33.519 has been taken. 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:34.059 Our debt 00:26:34.059 --> 00:26:34.779 has been paid 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:35.579 in full 00:26:35.579 --> 00:26:36.880 glorious forgiveness. 00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:40.480 And I asked 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:40.680 I said 00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:41.160 what difference 00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:41.620 does that make 00:26:41.620 --> 00:26:42.000 to you? 00:26:43.660 --> 00:26:44.299 And he said 00:26:44.299 --> 00:26:44.960 that's amazing. 00:26:45.779 --> 00:26:46.700 I know that God 00:26:46.700 --> 00:26:47.120 has forgiven 00:26:47.120 --> 00:26:47.600 everything 00:26:47.600 --> 00:26:48.579 that I've done 00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:49.299 and it's a lot. 00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:51.100 But he said 00:26:51.100 --> 00:26:51.920 I also have a question. 00:26:54.360 --> 00:26:55.360 Sometimes I go ahead 00:26:55.360 --> 00:26:56.360 and choose to sin 00:26:56.360 --> 00:26:58.039 because I know 00:26:58.039 --> 00:26:58.920 God has forgiven me 00:26:58.920 --> 00:26:59.319 and I know 00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:00.180 He'll forgive me again. 00:27:01.579 --> 00:27:02.420 Can I do that? 00:27:04.420 --> 00:27:05.259 He's more honest 00:27:05.259 --> 00:27:05.980 than most of us. 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:06.140 He's more honest 00:27:06.140 --> 00:27:06.259 than most of us. 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:09.380 He asked a straight question 00:27:09.380 --> 00:27:09.779 so I gave him 00:27:09.779 --> 00:27:10.240 a straight answer. 00:27:10.299 --> 00:27:10.740 I said no. 00:27:13.559 --> 00:27:14.440 I've become more blunt. 00:27:38.460 --> 00:27:39.640 He Nicolás 00:27:39.640 --> 00:27:42.900 than full 00:27:42.900 --> 00:27:43.420 soever 00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:44.500 than 00:27:44.500 --> 00:27:44.840 you 00:27:44.860 --> 00:27:45.380 are 00:27:45.380 --> 00:27:45.600 likely 00:27:45.600 --> 00:27:45.960 never 00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:46.539 to matter 00:27:46.539 --> 00:28:00.220 in a few 00:28:00.220 --> 00:28:01.720 of your 00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:31.700 Thank you. 00:28:31.720 --> 00:29:01.700 Thank you. 00:29:01.720 --> 00:29:31.700 Thank you. 00:29:31.720 --> 00:30:01.700 Thank you. 00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:31.700 Thank you. 00:30:31.720 --> 00:31:01.700 Thank you. 00:31:01.720 --> 00:31:31.700 Thank you. 00:31:31.720 --> 00:32:01.700 Thank you. 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:31.700 Thank you. 00:32:31.720 --> 00:33:01.700 Thank you. 00:33:01.720 --> 00:33:31.700 Thank you. 00:33:31.720 --> 00:34:01.700 Thank you. 00:34:01.720 --> 00:34:31.699 Thank you. 00:34:31.719 --> 00:35:01.699 Thank you. 00:35:01.719 --> 00:35:31.699 Thank you. 00:35:31.719 --> 00:36:01.699 Thank you. 00:36:01.719 --> 00:36:31.699 Thank you. 00:36:31.719 --> 00:37:01.699 Thank you. 00:37:01.719 --> 00:37:31.699 Thank you. 00:37:31.719 --> 00:38:01.699 Thank you. 00:38:01.719 --> 00:38:31.699 Thank you. 00:38:31.719 --> 00:39:01.699 Thank you. 00:39:01.719 --> 00:39:31.699 Thank you. 00:39:31.719 --> 00:40:01.699 Thank you.