Learning to live free from condemnation

—Romans 8:1–13, 31–39

Andrew Fountain – Feb 4, 2018

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Matthew 28:19–20

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Ephesians 1:17–19, 3:17–19

[I pray...] “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you

the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him…
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe…
that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend… the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Summary

Growing as a Christian is aligning with
the way of thinking of life in the Spirit,
and not condemnation.

Romans Outline

chapter 1–5 Salvation
chapter 6–7 The Law can’t help us
chapter 8 The Spirit can bring us to maturity
- “No Condemnation”

Most of us have a voice inside us that is saying:
- You’re not doing as well as you could be
- You’re a failure
- You don’t measure up to what you could be
- You could do a lot better if you worked harder
- You’re a mess
- Today we are going to address the bully that is always condemning us
Romans 8 is a really hard chapter to really get to the bottom of
- I’ve done my own analysis of the Greek
- And my own translation of it into English
- I’ve carried it around with me for three weeks, praying over it, until I felt I really understood it
- Then the next challenge was how to communicate it in a simple way
  - that still preserved the essential meaning.
So to help us understand this passage, I’m going to use a parable
- Hand out the passage
You many have heard of the disaster in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2013

Paraphrase of Rom 8:1–4

1: There is therefore now no debt for those who are now in Greenwood.
2: For the rules of Greenwood; have set you free; from the rules of Rana.
3: For Mr Greenwood has done what Rana’s company’s requirements, could not do.; By sending his own Son into Rana,; he met all the company’s requirements in Rana,
4: in order that we might now become good company employees,

Romans 8:1–4

1: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2: For the law of the Spirit of life; has set you free in Christ Jesus; from the law of sin and death.
3: For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.; By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,; he condemned sin in the flesh,
4: in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,

Paraphrase of Rom 8:5–7

those who work; not according to Rana; but according to Greenwood.
5: For those who live according to Rana; have the way of thinking of Rana,; but those who live according to Greenwood; have the way of thinking of Greenwood.
6: For the way of thinking of Rana is death,; but the way of thinking of Greenwood is life and peace.
7: Because the way of thinking of Rana is hostile to the company,; For it does not submit to the company’s requirements; indeed, it cannot.

Romans 8:5–7

those who walk; not according to the flesh; but according to the Spirit.
5: For those who live according to the flesh; have the way of thinking of the flesh,; but those who live according to the Spirit; have the way of thinking of the Spirit.
6: For the way of thinking of the flesh is death,; but the way of thinking of the Spirit is life and peace.
7: Because the way of thinking of the flesh is hostile to God,; For it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

Paraphrase of Rom 8:8–9

8: Those who are in Rana cannot please the company.
9: You, however, are not in Rana but in Greenwood,; if in fact you are living in Greenwood

Romans 8:8–9

8: Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9: You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,; if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Paraphrase of Rom 8:12–13

12: So then, brothers, we have an obligation,; not to Rana, to live following the way of thinking of Rana.
13: For if; you live; following the way of thinking of Rana; you are certain to die,; But if in Greenwood; you put to death; the practices of Rana,; you will live.

Romans 8:12–13

12: So then, brothers, we have an obligation,; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13: For if; you live; according to the flesh; you are certain to die,; But if by the Spirit; you put to death; the practices of the body,; you will live.

In times past some Christians have seen this as the key to the Christian life
- They called it “mortification” (=putting to death)
- and would spend long hours trying to examine themselves for sin and “kill” it, sometimes by treating themselves harshly
Three answers to this:
1. It can’t possibly mean something that would defeat the whole message of the passage—if there was, in fact, condemnation unless you worked hard enough
2. It is by the Spirit, that is the life of God in you.
  - You allow your new ways of thinking to replace the old—you can’t manufacture it, but you can encourate it
3. The final part of the answer is in seeing the symmetry (live, die, die, live)
  - This is a motivational encouragement to step away from the old ways of thinking
  - Contrast of the results, leading to motivation
  - There is the assumption in both parts that it (is not)/(is) going to happen since you now have the Spirit
Not saying there’s not a place for looking at something in our lives and say “that has to go”
- The problem comes if that makes us feel condemned
- “That’s not who I am any more—it’s spoiling my enjoyment of the new”
We’re going to skip over the middle part of the chapter, because it’s another sermon
- But he returns to the topic at the end
- This is very easy to understand and we don’t need to involve any factories in other parts of the world
The last part of the chapter:

Romans 8:31–39

What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all,
how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?
It is God who justifies.
Who is to condemn?
Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God,
who indeed is interceding for us.

Romans 8:31–39 cont’d

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?…
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:11

11: But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,; he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead; will also give life to your mortal bodies; through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Conclusion

Growing as a Christian is aligning with
the way of thinking of life in the Spirit,
and not condemnation.