Didn't that song make your heart
sore? Well, it said no condemnation in the
song, the last stanza there. Romans chapter 8 was where we'll
be. Romans chapter 8. No condemnation is the name of
the message. No condemnation. Romans chapter 8, verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation. No condemnation. Music to a sinner's ears. No
condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh, God sent in his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh for sin. condemned sin in the
flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. No condemnation. None. What a wonderful verse. What
a mountaintop. Now the word, therefore, it says,
there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus
may be viewed in a twofold way. First, it connects with all that's
been said from Romans chapter 3, and let's turn back a little
bit here. Romans chapter 3, verse 21, it connects from there all
the way up, and this is the grand conclusion towards which the
apostle was aiming at. Throughout the entire argument, this is the conclusion. There
is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Look at verse 25 of chapter 3. Whom God has set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in His blood, To declare his
righteousness for the remission sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God Christ has been set forth as a propitiation
for the sins of his people Look at verse 25 of chapter 4 And we know last week we looked
and it said the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing
in me Christ said that remember Look at this in Romans 4, 25,
who was delivered for our offenses, our sins, for the believer's
sins, and was raised again for our justification. God is satisfied,
and because he's satisfied, there is no condemnation for the believer. Look at Romans 5, 19. So Christ
says, set forth and he has delivered
us from our offenses and raised again for our justification. Look at Romans 5, 19, for by
one man's disobedience, Adams, many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous. Many shall be made righteous.
How can this be? By the obedience of the just
one. By the obedience of the God-man-mediator. For by one man's disobedience,
many were made sinners. We were all plunged into ruin. So by the obedience of one, Christ,
shall many be made righteous. The believers are the many who
are made righteous. God's elect. His people. Believers have died judicially
to sin. Turn again, if you would, to
Romans chapter six. And put your finger in Romans
chapter four, so we're C. Romans eight one is where Paul
was coming to. That's the conclusion. Romans 6, verse 2, God forbid,
how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?
We've died to the condemning power of the law. The law has no claim on the believer
because it extracted its justice from Christ. Look at Romans 7, verse 4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should
be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead,
that we should bring forth fruit unto God. So by the obedience of Christ, believers have been made righteous. They are constituted so, legally, because believers have died judicially
to sin in Christ. They've died to the condemning
power which sin has in Christ. So the conclusion is, there is
therefore now no condemnation. None. Can we fathom that? None. Good news for sinners. It's just hard to find sinners
nowadays, but this is wonderful news. Wonderful news. And not only is it therefore
to be drawn as a conclusion, the previous chapters from 3
to 8, but it's also to be considered as having a close relation to
what immediately precedes this verse. Turn, if you would, to
Romans chapter 7. In the second half of Romans,
the apostle describes the painful and ceaseless conflict which
believers have. I like to call it a civil war
within us. We have a civil war within us
as believers. We saw this morning, be still. The spirit wants to be still,
right? Oh, but this flesh we have. Oh, but this flesh, the
battle, the civil war. In the second half of Romans,
the apostle describes what we go through, the war that's waged
between the two natures. Or between our flesh and our
new nature. We have a war between our flesh
and our new nature. And Paul, in his own experience,
shows us, by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, pens this. A grace preacher once told me
a long time ago that Romans chapter 7 is the believer's biography.
It's the believer's biography. We can all relate to this. So
Paul is going to direct attention to the divine consolation for
the condition that we're in. Our comfort only comes from Christ.
Only from him. Romans chapter 7 verse 14. For we know that the law is spiritual,
but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I allow
not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I. Beloved, Paul's just like us. Struggle's just like us. If then I do that which I would
not, I can send unto the law that it is good. Now then, it
is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For
I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. We can all relate to this. For
the will is present with me, but how to perform that which
is good I find not. For the good that I would, I
do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. You see the battle? You see the war of Paul's heaven
within himself? Just like us. Just like us. Every one of us go through this
battle between the flesh and the spirit. Every one of us. People, I remember in religion,
they put Paul and the apostles on the pedestal so high. They were just like us. They
struggled with the same things we do, beloved. Now, if I do that, I would not. It is no more I that do it, but
sin that dwells in me. I find a law that when I do good,
evil is present with me. Oh, everything we do is tainted
with sin. Everything. For I delight in
the law of God after the inward man. I remember talking to a
grace preacher a long time ago. We were just sitting, having
a coffee, and when I could drink coffee, and we were just talking
away. And he said, do you ever hear
people say, you know, you guys think you're holier than thou,
right? You get called that all the time when you're a believer.
And he looked at me and he said, do you want to sin? And I said,
no, I hate it. And he goes, me neither. We don't
desire it, but it's in us, isn't it? And we battle with it. And one day, we won't battle
with it anymore. Paul says, For I delight in the
law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members
worn against the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members. Oh, wretched man that
I am. There we are. Put our flag right there with
them. Oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this
body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ,
our Lord. So then with the mind, I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. Oh. And in the conclusion. Remember, he's writing about
a personal. Battle going in with amongst himself. And then in
Chapter eight, he speaks of the guilt of sin from which he is
completely delivered. And this is the same for every
believer the moment they are united with Christ. There is
therefore now no condemnation. He says, Who shall deliver me
from this power of sin? Look at verse 18. For the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ hath made me free. I'm free. There is therefore now no condemnation. None. It's not a question of our heart
condemning us because we always remember what we've done. Nor finding nothing within us
that's worthy of condemnation because there's lots. But this is a blessed fact. that
God in Christ, and let this sink into our soul. We have forgiveness
of all our sins in Christ, and there is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ. None. What a marvelous truth. None. And in Christ is the believer's
position before God, not his condition in the flesh. In Adam, I was condemned. Romans
5, 12, wherefore is by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin, and so death passed upon all men for that all sin.
There I am, along with every single other human being. But
in Christ, I'm free. I'm free from all condemnation,
because the blood of Christ has made me clean, washed me, Wash
me clean. And there is therefore now no
condemnation. All rest, beloved. Rest in that.
No condemnation. Your heart will condemn you. But if you're in Christ, there
is therefore now no condemnation. None at all. It's a precious
truth. And look at the little word now.
There is therefore now. Now. No condemnation. It implies that there was a time
when we were under condemnation, but there's therefore now. Think of this, believer. Now.
Right while you're here. No condemnation. And we always
say it doesn't give us a license to go crazy, does it? No, not
at all. The love of Christ constrains
us. We sin more than... Do you sin more than you want
to? Absolutely. Absolutely. You don't want to
sin. But all everything... This is why we need a Savior. Galatians 2.20. We died judicially with Christ
to the penalty of God's righteous law. And see, this is a comfort for
us. This is a comfort for us. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live. We live right now. I'm crucified
with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, who loved me, and
gave himself for me. On Calvary's cross, oh, God,
I love time era stuff, so when I think about that, that sword
come out though, oh my gosh, the sword of God's justice comes
out. And the soul that sinneth it
must die in Christ. Our sins are imputed to Christ,
and he's the sinner's substitute, and that sword of God's justice
plunges right into him. For my sin, who gave himself
for me, and for you who believe. willingly, he willingly went
to the cross for his people. He shed his precious blood for
all our sins. And there is therefore now no
condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. By nature, we're under the sentence
of the law, but now believers are under grace. Under grace,
for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under
the law, but under grace, Romans 6, 14. You're under grace, beloved. You're not under the law anymore
if you're rested in Christ. You're under grace. And therefore,
there is no condemnation. See how it all just ties in together
in Christ? By nature, we were the children
of wrath, right? We've looked at Ephesians chapter
2 many times. And you have the Quicken who
were dead in trespasses and graveyard, dead, couldn't do anything, had
no ability at all. Dead. And this is the state of
every single human which comes into this world. And you have the quickened, born
again by the Holy Spirit, regenerated. I asked a guy this week, what
comes first, faith or regeneration? I enjoy asking that question
because it tells me right where a person's at. And it also usually opens the
door up to be able to talk with them about it and reason from
the scriptures. So I asked him, and he said, well, I think it's
simultaneous. It's both. And I said, no. I pointed him to here, a dead
man cannot come to Christ. And scripture says there's none
that seeketh after God, so how can a dead man come to Christ?
It's impossible, unless God makes you willing. And when he makes
you willing, you run. You run, like Zacchaeus. I remember
hearing a grace preacher say, Zacchaeus, skin bark coming down
that tree. You come down that tree so fast,
You fled to Christ. Fled to Christ. We're dead in trespasses and
sins. Where in times you walked, in time past you walked according
to the course of the world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
But now, beloved, that was what we were, right? Children of wrath. But now, Ephesians 1.6, to the praise
of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the
blood. We're accepted in Christ. Accepted. Under the first covenant, we
were in Adam, and Scripture declares, for as in Adam all die, but now
we're in Christ. And it goes on to say, even so,
in Christ shall all be made alive. Made alive. We as believers have everlasting
life in Christ. We're made alive. We were dead,
spiritually. Now we're alive. And that's where
the battle that Paul was talking about starts. Now, condemnation is a word that
brings dread. And damnation is a word that
brings dread too, right? Because the one who's condemned,
we know that God will offer their gold to hell. But think of this for the believer. No condemnation. None. No condemnation from God. Because he extracted it in Christ.
Somebody paid. But what wondrous grace this
is. What mercy. What mercy. In the human courts, the word
condemnation means a sentence has fallen upon a criminal. And
it often fills the criminal with fear. And often those who are with
her family members, they're filled with sadness and horror. But think of this, that's just
a human court. Christ is the judge of all the
earth. The court of divine justice must be satisfied. And its judge is holy and righteous. And to that court, every single
member of Adam's race is said to be conceived in sin and shaped
in iniquity. Each one of us enters into this
world under arrest. An indicted criminal. A rebel. chained up and bound
up by our sins. One might ask, how then is it
possible for such a one to escape the execution of this dreadful
sentence? The soul that sinneth, it must
die. as far as the East is from the
West. So far hath He removed our transgressions
from us. And it's nothing we did. It's
all what Christ has done. Psalm 103.12, as far as the East
is from the West, so far hath He removed our transgression
from us. No condemnation, beloved. Now we still have the presence
of sin, don't we? But the power of sin has been
broken, and the guilt of sin is gone. For the believer, the guilt of
sin is gone. There is therefore now no condemnation. None. Does it not bring joy to
your heart? None. Oh, we could just sit here,
couldn't we? What a wonderful verse. None. Romans chapter four, verse eight
says this. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. Will not impute sin. And look at the verse preceding that.
Saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven. How
are our iniquities forgiven? Only by the precious blood of
Christ. and whose sins are covered. No condemnation. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. We don't deserve this, but God
is merciful and full of grace. Oh, what a wonderful God we have. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus. None at all. And notice here, in Romans chapter
seven, Paul was speaking of himself, right? Paul was speaking of himself.
But we know as I, As that preacher told me one time, this is the
believer's biography. We all experience this, every
single one of us. But notice, he changes the number in chapter
8, verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. That's all the elect. So every one of us can relate
to what Paul goes through in chapter 7. No condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus. To be in Christ is to be identified To be in Christ is to have all
your sins forgiven. Everyone. And God sees us who believe in
Christ. In Christ. That is why there
is no condemnation for the believer. Because Christ was the sinner's
substitute. He was the perfect spotless Lamb
of God. And He died willingly for His
people. What wonderful news this is.
And for us who go through this world every day and we wake up,
the moment we wake up we're sitting in our sleep too and we just
I remember asking the question this a long time ago. What would
happen if God opened our minds up and let everyone see what
we think for 15 seconds? Just 15 seconds. It'd be horrible,
wouldn't it? There is therefore now no condemnation
to those in Christ Jesus. Why? Because God has forgiven
us for all our trespasses and sins. All of them. And everyone who flees to Christ,
every single one who flees to Christ with nothing in their
hands, with nothing in their doing, if they flee to Christ,
He will not turn you away, as He's making you willing to come
to Him. He's making you willing. Oh, what wonderful news we have.
Think of this, too. The believer is in Christ as
Noah was enclosed within the ark. All around him the wrath
of God was being mited out, wasn't it? But there was Noah, safe in the
ark. Beloved Christ is our ark of
safety. We are safe only in Him. The
wrath and justice of God falls upon others. We are safe in Christ. There is therefore now no condemnation.
None. The believers in Christ as Jacob
was in the garment of the elder brother when Isaac kissed and
blessed him. He is in Christ as the poor murderer was within
the city of refuge. The murderer would be trying
to flee to that city to get to that city. We were talking about
that last week, Brother Dave. He's getting there, and once he got
in that city, he's safe. Christ is our city of refuge. He's our city of refuge. We're
safe in Him. And therefore, therefore, There
is no condemnation for the believer. And as his handwriting wrote,
Hallelujah. What a savior.