Romans chapter 8. Just a second, it's looking for
me. Ah, there it found me. Okay. Romans chapter 8. And verse 1 will be our text.
The Apostle says, there is therefore, now, no condemnation to them
who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit. Now, when we read Scripture,
and you find this word, therefore, You want to know what it's there
for. You want to know how it came
about. He is coming to a conclusion.
The Apostle is now coming to a crescendo, if you will, of
music. He would build up to a crescendo,
and he has come to this point. This point is a crescendo. It is a high point of doctrine. It is the highest point of comfort
to the saint of God. It is the highest point of joy
to those who are sinners by nature. Sinners who have been saved by
the grace of God. To know this, there is therefore
now, now, no condemnation. No condemnation. Not for everyone,
but specifically for a certain people. Those who are in Christ
Jesus. Now then, in order to expound
this, I know this, I want to bring you through Paul's argument,
Paul's message, if you will. We're going to go, starting back
in Romans chapter 5, he begins this message of grace. Salvation by grace. Now, he goes
back further than that, but I don't have time to go all the way back,
so I figure 5 is good enough, and we're going to start from
there. And see how Paul works through this. We're going to
see that salvation, first of all, is through a representative. There is no condemnation because,
first of all, salvation is not something done by us, but rather
something done by a representative man, Jesus Christ. Then He's
going to take us through this matter of salvation by grace
and the opposition. Believe it or not, there's opposition.
People out there don't believe salvation by grace. They don't
believe in salvation by a representative. And so they have arguments. And
Paul deals with this argument of sin. He's going to say, well,
if you're saved by grace, then that just means you can sin.
Well, that's not true. And so all of chapter 6 he devotes
to this matter of sin and how the believer views sin. And then
he says, well, if you're under grace and yet you don't want
to sin, then obviously you've got to go back to the law. No. No, remember, we're saved by
a representative. We're not saved by law. So Paul
in chapter 7 gives his own personal experience so that we as believers
might not be dragged to the pits of hell because of our sin. We
still have sin. We don't like it, we don't want
it, but we have it. And then he gives the comfort
to those saints who are sinners. There is therefore now no condemnation. So let's go through this. First
of all, salvation by a representative. Go back to chapter 5. Chapter
5. The apostle in chapter 5 makes
it very clear that salvation is by grace, the grace of God,
and was accomplished not in the objects of grace, but rather
in the person and work of a representative man. Look at verse 12. In verse
12 of chapter 5, the apostle says this, Wherefore, as by one
man's sin entered into the world, and death by sin So death passed
upon all men, for all have sinned." You see, sin came by a representative
man. You and I weren't in the garden
when Adam was there in person. What we were is we were there
in a representative. When Adam, our father, when he
sinned, death came. The moment Adam sinned, he died. Not physically, but spiritually,
he died. He began to not understand how
to commune with God. He didn't understand what God
required, and he tried to cover himself. That's been passed down,
friends. This is how we all, by nature,
view religion. We view religion by works. We think the natural process
is that religion, going to God, is something we do. Now, you
could take any religion you want to, from the Roman religion,
the Greek religion, or modern religion. One thing they all
have in common is they're trying to earn God's favor. There's
a problem with that. We can't. There's a problem with
that. We have sinned. And we sin not
just in ourselves, but even before we were born. We sinned in our
Father. and death passed down. So when
we were born, we had no ability, no power to do righteous. We
were sinners. So what did we need? We need,
if we died in a representative, Paul is saying, then guess what?
We are going to be saved by a representative. This is the good news of the
Gospel. And so in verses 18 through verse 21, he says, the grace
of God in Christ is manifest, that by one man, Jesus Christ
our Lord, came righteousness, which is given to all that He
represented. That's in verse 20. He said,
I'm sorry, in verse 18, he says, Therefore by the offense of one
judgment came upon all men to condemnation. Ooh, there's that
word, condemnation. What is that? Judgment. Judgment
fell. Judgment fell in the garden. God didn't defer judgment. Judgment
failed. And therefore, we were by one
man, we became condemned. But here's the good news. He says, even so, by the righteousness
of one, The free gift came upon all men unto justification of
life. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one many are
made righteous." Well, preacher, if salvation
is by grace and it's through a representative, what does the
law have to do with it? For us, nothing. Nothing. We've
already broken the law. The law can do nothing but condemn
us. It can't help us. It can't save
us. We've already broken it. You
can't go back and fix it. It was done in Adam. We already
broke the law in Adam. We already sinned in Adam. So
what does the law do? Paul says this about the law.
He said, moreover, the law entered. What's the purpose of the law?
That the offense might abound. The law does nothing but show
our guilt. I know you hear people wanting
the Ten Commandments to be everywhere plastered. You know what the
Ten Commandments do? They only show guilt. That's all they can
do. They can't help you. You try
to obey them, you've already failed. There's no hope in those things.
The law only shows the offense. That's all it can do. It can't
help you. But, here's the good news, where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound, that as sin hath
reigned unto death, so might grace reign through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, to all who believe
in Jesus Christ, He is our Lord. He is our Lord. He is the fountain
of life opened. He is the source of righteousness
and peace with God. His blood alone atones for sin
and His resurrection is the source of our hope. and continual intercession
for every believer. So then what's Paul saying? He's
saying, look, salvation is by grace. It's done completely outside
of us. It was done completely by another
man that wasn't us. So what did we have to do with
salvation? Nothing. Nothing. We did nothing to contribute. We did nothing to add to. It
was done completely by the grace and mercy of God alone towards
such objects of sin as we are. Now the second thing in the next
verse, he deals with this matter of grace and sin. Those who are workmongers, those
who are legalists, they oppose this idea of salvation by a substitute. They say, well, Jesus Christ
did what He could do, and so the rest is up to me. I've got
to do something. No. No. Well, preacher, if salvation
is by grace alone, just like you're saying, then what you're
doing is you're encouraging people to sin. No, I'm not. No, the
apostle forbids such things. He said this, what shall we say
then? If salvation is by the merit
of another man, and we've all fallen in Adam, and salvation
is by grace and not by the law, what shall we say? Shall we continue
in sin that grace may abound? Is that what we're saying? God
forbid you should say such a thing. Anybody that's ever been saved
from sin doesn't desire to go back to it. We don't want it. We know what it did to us. We
know what it did to our Father, and we know what it did to us.
It killed us. That's what it did. It separated
us from our God. We don't want anything to do
with sin. Shall we continue in sin? Oh,
no. No, says no believer ever. We
never say that. No true believer ever desired
to return to the vomit of his sin. Now that's how we view sin. If you're a believer in Christ,
this is how you view sin. As vomit. Remember what the Proverbs
said, as a dog returneth to what? Its vomit. That's what a false
believer does. A false believer, he's always
with his mouth, he's worshiping God, praise God, bless God. He'll
do a whole bunch of things in front of people. Let him go back
home and see what he does, and he'll be right back to his vomit,
licking it up. You see, that's not true with
the believer. We don't desire sin. We don't long for sin. If you remember the covenant
of grace back in Ezekiel chapter 36, the Lord gave a promise,
a covenant. And this is what he said in Ezekiel
36, 24. He said, I will take you from among the heathen and
gather you out of all the countries and will bring you to your own
land. You see, sinners are brought out from among the heathen. You
want to know a heathen, here's one right here. because I was
taken from the heathen. I was taken from sinners, from
Adam's fallen race. That's the promise of God. And
He says this to these sinners, I will sprinkle clean water upon
you and you shall be clean from all your filthiness and
from all your idols will I cleanse you. Listen, a new heart will
I also give you and a new spirit will I put within you. And I
will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and, listen,
give you a heart of flesh." This is God's promise to His people. He says, this is what I'm going
to do for you. This is my promise to you heathen, to you wicked
people. This is my promise of grace.
I'm going to take you out from that. And I'm going to give you
a new heart. And this heart is going to be
a heart of love. Not for sin, but for Me. A heart
of faith in My Son. I'm going to give you this heart."
You see, we didn't have this heart to begin with. We didn't
have this nature to begin with. We had an old nature of Adam.
We had a sin nature. And that's all we had. We had
a rebellious nature. We didn't love the things of
God. But now, by the grace and power of God, we've been made
new. A new creation. That's what a
believer is. He's a new creation. This is
what faith in Christ comes. This is what happens. He said, I will put My Spirit
within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall
keep My judgments and do them. And you shall dwell in the land
that I give your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I
will be your God. See, salvation is a work of God.
This is the glory of salvation. It's completely the work of God.
Absolutely, from start to finish, the work of God. Listen, I will
and you shall. Not I will and you will. No,
I will and you shall. It's a declaration. It's not
an opportunity. People say that salvation is
an option. God lays it out there and gives
every man the decision. No, God said, I'm going to do
it. There's no question here. Salvation is not a question.
He said, this is what I'm going to do. And this is what He does
for every believer. He says, I will save you. from
your uncleanness. I will call the corn and wine,
and there shall be no famine upon you, and I will multiply
the fruit of the tree and increase the field, and you shall receive
no more reproach of the famine of the heathen." What is this?
What's this corn? It's the fruit of the Spirit.
When God gives us a new nature, He gives us the fruit of the
Spirit. Love, joy, peace, meekness, temperance, faith. These are
the fruits of the Spirit. And when God gives them, He says,
I'm going to increase them. Do you have any faith at all? Do you believe on the Son of
God? Where did that come from? You? No. No, that came from Him. That came from Him. For by grace
you are saved through faith. And that, well the antecedent
of that is faith. That faith is not of yourself.
It, faith, is a gift of God, not of works. Why? Lest any man
should boast. You see, we don't get to brag
about our faith, do we? You don't get to brag about anything.
We have nothing to brag about. God says, I'm bragging on Myself.
I gave you the faith. I put My Spirit in you. I made
you a new creation. And listen, this is what's going
to happen. Then you shall remember your own evil ways and your doings
that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own
sight." Now tell me, believers, is that not so? Do you not loathe
your own self? I do. I see my sin and it makes me
weep because I've sinned against my God. Who does this? Who does this
to a man that causes him to see his sin, to see his need? Who is it? It's God that does
these things. He says, this is what I'm going
to do and make you weep because of your sin and loathe yourselves.
So what is this matter of sin? Shall we sin that grace may abound? God forbid! Who said such a thing? I loathe my sin. I hate my sin. And you a believer in Christ,
you do the same. You loathe your sin. Paul says this about us. He said, "...know you not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God, be not deceived, neither
fornicators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
the self of mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of
God." And listen, such were some of you. But you are washed. Now that's important. But you
are washed. Not that your nature changed, but that you are washed
from your sin. The only difference that it makes
is this. I've been washed. It's not that
my sin had disappeared. It's not like I don't have these
thoughts and evil things appear in my mind and my heart. The
difference between me and a lost man is this. He washed me. That's
it. The only difference. There's
no difference. Think of the vilest man you can
think of and what makes the difference between me and him. God washed
me. That's the only difference. We're
just as vile as one another. I'm just as wicked as any other
man. What made the difference? God did. God made the difference.
So shall we sin? Oh my, no. Who said such a thing? Grace doesn't move us to sin.
Grace moves us to love and affection and faith in Christ. Paul in that 6th chapter says
we should not yield ourselves as servants of sin, but servants.
He said, you were the servants of sin. Isn't that right? You
who believe. We not confess this to be true,
we were the servants of sin. But now, by grace, we are the
servants of God. The servants of God. Now then, does this mean Does
this mean that we are free from sinning? It's laughable, isn't it? It's
laughable to think that, but you listen, there are people
teaching this. There are people teaching that
when once a man's saved, that all of a sudden he doesn't sin
anymore. Follow that man around and give me a report. You'll
find out real quick that the man is not free of sin. Well,
how do we know this? Because Paul now in Romans 7
is going to deal with that matter. This one person went off this
way and said, well, you can't say salvation is by grace because
that will give man license to sin. No. So he goes in the other
direction now and some people say, well, if we're not sinning,
then obviously we don't have any sin at all. Paul said, that's
not true either. That's not true either. What does he do then? He gives
himself as an example. Now, the Apostle Paul being the
highest, I imagine, of our Christian faithmen, given the most gifts
of any of the Apostles, the Apostle Paul was. He wrote most of the
New Testament that we have now. He met the Lord Jesus Christ,
being a Pharisee, and was cast down out of season. And listen
to what he says. Go over to chapter 7 now. Chapter
7, in verse 15, he's giving his example. He says, for that which
I do, I allow not. For what I would, that I do not. But what I hate, that I do. If then I do not that which I
would not, I consent that the law is good. He's saying the
law is good. No believer ever said the law
is bad. Now the law never can save me,
but the law is not evil. The problem is not the law, it's
me. The problem is me. I consent that the law is good.
For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good
thing. No good thing. For to will is
present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not."
What is he saying? He's saying, look, when God came
and gave me a new heart, He gave me a righteous nature that desires
not to sin, but rather to live holy. Believer, you and I desire
to live holy lives. What's the problem? Why don't
we? Because you still have the old nature, what Paul calls the
flesh. You still have that Adamic nature
that you were born with. And therefore, in our hearts,
there's a constant struggle, a constant warfare that is being
waged in our hearts. I want to be holy, but I'm not. In my soul, I recognize the holiness
of God is good, but how to obtain that, I don't understand. I can't
find it. I can't do it. He says, now if I would do that
which I do not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me. He's not talking, he's not excusing himself. He's not
saying, well, it's just my old man, I'm going to excuse... No,
he's just explaining. He's just explaining what it
is. That sin is not just one sin, it's himself. He is sin. David. I'll give you an illustration. David, a man after God's own
heart. In Psalm 39, I believe it is, he said this. He determined
and he said, I will not sin with my mouth. He just determined
to do it. He said, I'm not going to sin
in front of the wicked. And he said, I was even going
to close my mouth and become a mute and wouldn't even do good.
I wouldn't do good. I wouldn't do evil. I wouldn't
do anything. And you know what he said? He said, sorrow built
up in my heart. You know why? Because even in his silence he
was still sinning. Because our nature Our nature
is so full of sin that it can't do any good at all. And this
is the struggle the new man has with the old. A constant warfare. And Paul says this, he said,
I delight at the law of God in the inward man. That's the new
man. But I see another law of my members warring against the
law of my mind, bringing me into captivity to the law of sin,
which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death?" That phrase, the body of this death. The Romans
used to have a torture for criminals. They would sew the rotting corpse
around the neck of the criminal, and he would have to walk until
it fell off. Now, that's exactly how I feel
every single day. I've got a rotting corpse about
my neck, dragging me to the ground. Oh, wretched man that I am. Now,
I've got anybody I identify with that. See, believers identify
with that. We know exactly what Paul's talking
about. We've got this old man that we can't get rid of. He's
constantly interfering, constantly. You're not experiencing it now,
even as you're sitting, trying to hear, trying to worship. He
pulls you down. He's always there. We are saved by the grace and
power of God, we're loved of God, we're redeemed of God, and
yet we've got this old man, this old heart. In Song of Solomon, the Lord
says in the picture, He says, Return, O Shulamite, which is
his bride, return, return, that I may look upon thee. What will
we see in the Shulamite? as it were a company of two armies."
You've got two armies in you, believer. You've got an army
of flesh and you've got an army of spirit and these two are contrary
one to another so that you cannot do what you would. You remember Rebekah, Isaac's
bride? That servant, he came to Rebekah's
house And you remember, he said, the woman that gives me water
and gives my camels water, that's the one that you choose, Lord.
And sure enough, she did that. And you know what he did? He
gave her trinkets. He gave her tokens of his master's
wealth. He had to show his master to
be wealthy, to be sufficient to take care of Rebecca. Well, he did. He gave her all these things,
and this woman, she was willing to go with him. She heard of
Isaac, and she fell in love with Isaac. And she said, I'll go. I'll go with thee. Is that not
a picture of us believers when we heard of Christ? Did He not
give us the trinkets and tokens of His love and affection, His
blood, His righteousness? He gives us faith and love for
Him. And we are all the way going
to our Isaac. We're journeying to our Isaac.
And we've been married to Him. We've been betrothed to Christ.
But you know what happened after she got married? She became pregnant
with the twins, Esau and Jacob. And you know what question she
asked? She said the twins began to struggle
in her womb and they were fighting with each other. And she said,
oh, why am I thus? Why am I like this? Isn't Isaac
the one? Isn't Isaac the prince? Doesn't
he have all the promises of God? Why am I struggling? Is that
not your question? If I'm a bride of Christ, if
I am beloved of Christ, why do I struggle? Why this conflict? We have Jacob and Esau inside
of us. The old man and the new, struggling
at each other. Opposed to one another constantly. Friends, what then is the remedy
for such a thing? wretched man that I am what's
the remedy our text there is therefore now no condemnation
what's what's the problem with sin sin brings guilt Sin brings
despair. Sin brings us down as to think
God has forsaken us. Sin causes us to doubt and to
fear our salvation. Am I really saved? How can I
be this way if I am saved? How is it possible? John Newton wrote Amazing Grace. He wrote another hymn. This is
his hymn. "'Tis a point I long to know. Oft it causes anxious thoughts.
Do I love the Lord or no? Am I His or am I not? If I love,
why am I thus? Why this dull and lifeless frame? Hardly sure can they be worse
that never heard His name. Could my heart so hard remain
prayer a task and burden prove? Every trifle give me pain if
I knew a Savior's love. When I turn my eyes within, all
is dark and vain and wild, filled with unbelief and sin. Can I
deem myself a child? If I pray or hear or read, sin
is mixed with all I do. Listen, you that love the Lord
indeed, tell me, is it so with you? Yes. Yes, it is. Yet I mourn my stubborn will,
find my sin of grief and thrall. Should I grieve for what I feel
if I did not love at all? Could I joy the saints to meet,
choose the way I once abhorred, find at times a promise sweet
if I did not love the Lord? Lord, decide the doubtful case.
You who are thy people's sun, shine upon the work of grace
if indeed it has begun. Let me love thee more and more.
If I love at all, I pray. If I have not loved before, help
me love today. This is the believer's conflict.
And what is the resolution? The resolution is faith in Christ. Faith in Christ. The resolution
is to stop looking within and start looking without. Remember,
salvation is without. Salvation was done by someone
outside of us. Yes, it is a work wrought in
us, but our object is not in, it's out. It's pointing to Christ. And only through Him, Paul says,
there's no more condemnation. Why, Paul? For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law
of sin and death. This is why. For what the law
could not do, that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemns
sin in the flesh. that the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us." Do you hear that? You see, there's
no condemnation because Christ took our sins and died in our
stead. Well, where then is guilt? If sin is paid for, where's guilt? You see, the Scripture has said,
He hath made Him to be sin for us. God took our sin and imputed
it to His own Son. And when God found sin on His
own Son, He punished Him. He poured out vengeance. And when God was finished with
vengeance, our Lord Jesus told us so we would have comfort.
It is finished. What? Justice satisfied. Justice is satisfied. God does not require anything
at our hands. The law has been fulfilled. If the law is fulfilled, if God's
satisfied, why are we not? Unbelief. Just simple unbelief. God said, there is therefore
now. When? Now. How about now? Now. What about now? Now, there's therefore now, ever-present
now, no condemnation. No condemnation. No condemnation. No condemnation to those who
are in Christ Jesus. You get that? Not to everybody. Now there's condemnation for
people who are outside of Christ. If you're outside of Christ,
you are not free from condemnation. Only those who are in Christ.
What do I mean by that? In union with Him. Scripture
tells us we who believe are as His body. He is our head and
we are His body. That's how in union we are with
Christ. Matter of fact, our Lord said
that we are the fullness of Him. who filleth all in all. You,
believer, are His fullness. And without you, He would be
missing something. We are His body. He is our head. Will there be any part of Christ
that would not be permitted to heaven? No. If you are in Christ,
you are safe. If you are in Christ, you are
sure of heaven as though you are already there. How sure? Because He did it before
you even came into the world. Before you were ever here, He
already finished the work. And praise God, He opened that
to my eyes. He showed me. He revealed that
to me. And to you who believe. I'll close with this. A man named
J.C. Philpott wrote this. It was very
good. He said, when we look upon ourselves, we often see ourselves the most
stupid, the most ignorant, the most vile, the most unworthy,
the most earthly and sensual wretches that God ever permitted
to live. At least, this is the view we
take of ourselves when we are really humbled in our own eyes.
But when God looks upon His elect, He does not look upon them as
they often look upon themselves. But listen, as they stand in
Christ, accepted in the Beloved, without spot or wrinkle or any
such thing. He does not see His people as
they often see themselves, full of wounds and bruises and putrefying
sores, but clothed in the perfection, the beauty, and the loveliness
of their head and husband, Jesus Christ. That's how God sees you.
That's how God sees you. If you're in Christ, this is
how God sees you. Jeremiah 50 and verse 20. In those days and at that time,
saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for. You know God searches for sin.
You know that? He's holy. He must. He must search
out all sin and punish it. But this is what He says of you,
believer in Christ. He said this, Your sin will be
sought for and there shall be none. You get that? What does God see when
He sees the believer? He sees no sin. No sin. Why? Because it's already
been paid. And God cannot demand twice payment. He'd be unjust. Wouldn't He? He'd be unjust. The most common criminal wouldn't
know that. You take a judge and he's already condemned the man,
he's already paid the price, and then he comes back and condemns
him again? No, that's unjust. He's already
paid. I tell you, believer, you've
already paid. Not in yourself, in your substitute.
So where are your eyes supposed to be? Where are your eyes supposed
to be? On you? No. No. On him. On him. Where are you looking? You're
looking here, you're not finding any comfort, are you? You're
not finding any assurance. Look there. Look to Him who's risen from
the dead. He's our hope. Hope of what? There is therefore
now no condemnation. Salvation by grace, by substitute,
not to sin. We loathe it. What do we find
in ourselves? We find sin in the struggle.
And when we sin, what do we do? We look to the Scripture. There
is therefore now no condemnation because Christ paid it all. Christ paid it all. I pray this
your hope.