please turn to your Bibles and
to the Book of Romans chapter 8. We'll read actually the first
10 verses, but our main focus will be verse 1. And the Word of God says this, There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. 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, sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and 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. For they that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit
do think of the Spirit. Verse 6 For to be carnally minded
is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God, For it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are
in the flesh cannot please God. Verse 9, But ye are not in the
flesh. You should highlight that. Because
verse 8 just told us the people who are in the flesh cannot please
God. But the apostle Paul was telling
us who believe the gospel, we're not in the flesh. So the result
should be, well, we please God. Those who are in the flesh do
not please God. We are not in the flesh. Therefore, we do please
God. That's amazing right there. Verse
9, it says, Let us pray for today's message. Heavenly Father, we come to you,
Holy Throne Father, as the Body of Christ, seeking your face
in the Lord Jesus Christ. We want to hear from you, Father.
We want You to take away any distraction from us. We want
to be able to hear and to understand Your truth that You have given
us, that You have kept faithfully all these years, Father. It has
been tested, it has been tried, and it's always come out to be
true. We could rejoice in this. We could rejoice that what we
just read came from You. We could rejoice in what we just
read has huge promises to us who believe the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. So, Father, let us be tentative
to let us hear today's message. Help us, Father, to come to understand
the Lord Jesus Christ in a lot better way than we have before
of what He has done for us, and help us to to rejoice in that. Help us to remember that there's
for now no condemnation to them who believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And we are here as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ today
to praise you and to give you all the glory. So help us to
hear from you, Father. We ask you this in Jesus' name. So like I said, today we're going
to be concentrating, even though I just read the first 10 verses,
we're actually going to be concentrating in the first verse. The first
verse, actually, Romans 8.1, there is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh
but after the spirit. It's actually, believe it or
not, my favorite verse. I have never got to preach a
message on this verse, but this verse, it is amazing to me. It
is by far, to my soul, my favorite verse. Why is so? Well, because of the fact that
it says, now, no condemnation. So as we're about to hear and
we're about to see, this word condemnation is actually a judicial
word. It's a word used in the courtroom. So today, ladies and gentlemen,
we're going to be in a courtroom. We're going to find ourselves
in the courtroom where God is the judge. So, if you want to
leave now, right now is the time. I'm just saying. So, let me repeat again the verse.
So right away you should notice that Then who are in Christ Jesus,
do not walk after the flesh. You should take notice of that.
Then who are in Christ Jesus, I repeat again, do not walk after
the flesh, but walk after the Spirit. In the Army, we often
use acronyms, believe it or not. We're so full of acronyms that
I'm sure there is an acronym for acronym. One of the acronyms
that we often use in the Army is BLUF. What does BLUF stand
for, you may ask? BLUF is Bottom Line Up Front. This is to say, you put the main
point of your message right in the front, not at the end. That's
what I will do right now. Let's break the verse down a
little bit, Romans 8.1. We're not going to leave, so
just listen and look at the verse. Please notice the therefore.
There is therefore, now this therefore is connected to the
past seven chapters. The Apostle Paul has systematically
laid down biblical truth that are connected to this therefore.
The cry from the Apostle Paul is connected to this therefore.
O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body
of death? Paul knew that he could not deliver
himself from this body of death. and that he was desperate for
deliverance. Paul asked the right question,
though, when he said, Who shall deliver me? See, deliverance
from the body of death is found in a person, and that person,
of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the time in which
the results of that was said in the last seven chapters applies
to. There is therefore now There
is therefore now. Now, not yesterday. Now, not
tomorrow. So if you find yourself in the
now, this applies. This should bring comfort to
your soul as you think about your own walk with God. As you
think about the condition in which you find yourself now. As you think about everything
that went on this week, but you are here in the now. See, as you think about all things
going on around you now, then this applies if you believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ. So, let's also notice, let's
take notice also of the no. However, before we apply the
note, let's define the word to which the note is being applied
to. The word condemnation is the Greek word katakryma, which
means the mandatory sentence to pronounce to be guilty, to
sentence to punishment, or to pass judgment against. Like I
said, the word is used in a judicial type scenario. I want you to
capture that picture because it's true. We are in a courtroom,
ladies and gentlemen. And like I said, God is the judge. And this courtroom is God judging
someone. And as a judge, who do judges
deal with? Well, they deal with criminals.
You have to understand that. You have to understand that the
relationship that we're in, it's in a criminal to a judge type
scenario. We're not in the father and son
scenario that Pastor Rick was preaching to us last week. We
ought to distinguish. See, when he talks about punishment,
I have yet ever, and I hope I will never do, punish my children.
And the reason why I say that is because the relationship with
my children are, they're my children. They're not criminals. I do correct
them. Just ask them. I do correct them. Because as a father, I love them
enough to correct them. As a new parent, you guys will
get to find out, you love your children, you will correct your
children. But notice the no, the condemnation. The Greek word, like I said,
is katakryma, which is to pronounce to be guilty. We, at one point,
were just like other men under the condemnation of the law.
It says, and the free gift is not like the resolve of that
one man's sin. For the judgment followed one
trespass brought condemnation. Therefore, as one trespass led
to condemnation for all men." We're about to see, I am seeking
and striving to keep my messages really short and sweet. And just
like last two weeks ago, I think I only taught in three points,
we're going to do the same this week, three points. One of the
points will be, Just like any other man, before we came to
saving faith of Christ, we were condemned. The Bible is very
clear about it. It says, as one trespass led
to condemnation for all men. By the way, that includes women,
because here the Greek word men is actually mankind. All mankind
are on the condemnation side of Christ. So, condemnation was our sentence. Condemnation was the verdict.
But God, being rich in mercy, we're no longer under condemnation. Right? Because that's what the
verse is. That is what this precious verse is teaching us. There is
therefore now no condemnation. Going back to the no, the no
is telling us that there is absolutely chance of us being condemned.
Zero, zip, silch, nada. No condemnation. You ought to
be rejoicing right now. I just see a bunch of deers in
the headlights. You ought to rejoice. There is
no condemnation whatsoever. Whatsoever. That right there
just blows my mind. Like I said, this is why I love
this verse. There is therefore now no condemnation to them."
This proclamation of no condemnation is applied to a specific group
of people. It's to them. Who are the them,
you may ask? Well, the them is connected to
the words that follow. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. The question is, do you find
yourself in Christ? Today, in the now, do you find
yourself in Christ, or are you outside of Christ, under condemnation? During family worship, I'm never
ashamed of telling my children, if they don't believe the gospel,
they find themselves under the wrath of God. I look them straight
in the eye with love, knowing that only God can save them.
But to save my children, I have to share them the truth. I really do. So, there is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Those who are
no longer condemned are those who are in Christ Jesus. That
is the plain teaching of the Bible. The result of being in
Christ is believing in Christ. You can't say you are in Christ
if you don't believe in Christ. That's just plain truth of the
Bible. You cannot say you are in Christ
if you do not believe in Christ. John chapter 3 verse 18, just
listen to it. He that believeth on him is not
condemned. In fact, go to it. Go to John
3, verse 18. I want you to rejoice with me.
I come here with a message of joy. I really do. In my studies, as I sought after
to get this message together, I just became rapidly aware of
the joy that this verse brings to someone's soul. Because I
recall my past. Even though I'm not what I'm
going to be one day, I'm not what I was. Just ask my wife. John chapter 3 verse 18, my friend. He that believeth on him, the
him is who? Jesus. Is not condemned. Again, the question is, do you
find yourself in Christ? Do you believe in Christ? He
that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth
not is condemned already. I'm testifying to the truth to
my children when I tell them, if they don't believe in Christ,
the wrath of God is upon them. Because he that believeth not
in the name of the only begotten Son of God." If you don't believe
in Christ, you already are condemned, as we are about to find out. Since you are already in chapter
3 of John, go to verse 36. Perhaps one of your favorite
verses. Verse 36 says this, He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not on
the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. I'm not lying to my children. The wrath of God abideth on them
if they don't believe in Christ. While I was yet outside of Christ,
while I was yet an unbeliever, I was under the wrath of God.
That's exactly where we find ourselves if we do not believe
in Christ. If we find ourselves outside
of Christ, just think about it, and this is not in my intro,
but just think about it. The people who were in the ark
were the only people that were saved. The people who were in the ark
were the only people who were saved. Everyone outside of that
ark came under condemnation. What do you say? I would say
so. I would say they got judged.
I would say condemnation came upon them. The people who are
outside of Christ will come under condemnation. In fact, they already
are condemned. But one day it will be revealed.
that you bring about a seal to share the gospel with others.
If we cannot evangelize the world, let us at least share the truth
we are loved ones. Right, brother? What do you say?
If we cannot win the world for Jesus, at the very least, we
ought to share the truth we are children. If we're parents, we
are loved ones. We are grandchildren if you have
some. I look forward to having grandchildren. I look forward
to having grandchildren, and I will tell them about the Lord
Jesus Christ. I really will. So, since you
are already in chapter, in John, let us go to chapter 5, and I'm
almost done with my introduction. We will get busy with John chapter
5, verse 24. Now, this is the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking. So, you know, when the Lord Jesus Christ says, Verily,
verily, He says it twice, that means for us to pay close attention
to exactly what He's saying. Like, really, when He says, Verily,
verily, you highlight that, magnify that, learn that. He's telling
us something big. Well, everything that He said
was big, by the way. He's the Son of God. Verse 24,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him. See, hearing the word, and believeth
on him, is the same thing, ladies and gentlemen. You don't get
to say, I hear the word, but don't believe the word. You hear
the word, you believeth the word. There's no separation. He that
heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting
life. And look at this beautiful and
amazing promise. If you believe on Him, you have
everlasting life. And look at this, and shall not
come into condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation. Isn't that what our verse is
telling us? And shall not come into condemnation, but is passed
from death unto life. What a beautiful and amazing
thing the Lord Jesus Christ is teaching there. So that then,
Go back to Romans 8, 1, so that then are the same people found
in a verse later in the chapter, actually. Go to Romans 8, verse
28, and we're just going to really read it real quick. I won't do
too much commentary on it. Verse 28, Romans 8, verse 28,
and we know In an age where truth is hated
on, the Christian ought to know that they know. We know truth. And we could say, no, truth is
not relative. The Word of God is telling me
that I know certain things that haven't changed, will not change,
and cannot change because God is not a liar. The Christian
could stand upon the Bible and say, no, this is truth applicable
in the year 2020, in the year 2022, in the year 2050, in the
year 2060. This truth remains the same and
it's applicable and I know. Do you know? Because the apostle
Paul is telling us, we know. certain things. And one of the
things that we know is this, we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. Here's the then, see? To them who are called according
to His purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, then, see the people that were predestinate,
then he also called. God has called us out. And whom
he called, then he also justified. God while all by himself in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ has indeed justified us. And whom he justified, then he
also glorified." And the translator did a wonderful
job translating that word glorified, by the way. If you notice, I
don't know too much English, but that word right there in
your Bible is in the past tense. Even though we haven't been glorified
yet, have us. We haven't. We're still here
on earth. Right? We haven't. It's a don't deal
with God. so God could speak, like, if
it's just complete, because it's going to happen. The people whom
He called out, the people whom He predestined, the people whom
He justified in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, will,
in fact, all of them, not one of them will be lost, but all
of them will be glorified. It's a done deal. You could rest on that. Can we? Praise God indeed. So the last
portion of our text, who walk not after the flesh, Romans 8.1,
let me read it again. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit. So the last point of our text
today, and I'm not finished with my sermon. This is the introduction,
by the way. This is the bluff. This is the bottom line up front.
This is what I'm trying. This is the message right in
the front. Before we slow it down a little bit, and I'm going
to get my three points. I promise you it's going to be quick and
fast. The last portion of our text today, who walked not after
the flesh, but after the spirit, it's a result or a manifestation
of not being condemned. Meaning, if there is now no condemnation
for you and I, the evidence of this is that we're not going
to be walking after the flesh, but after the Spirit. This is
true. We're going to be living a Spirit-led
life. Why would this be? Well, the
next verse tells us why. Romans 8 says this, For the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ hath made me free from the law
of sin and death. Christ, ladies and gentlemen,
came here to set us free. So that, though, he did it with
a purpose, so that we could walk in the Spirit and not after the
flesh anymore. We cannot say, we cannot own
Christ as our Redeemer and yet be walking in the flesh. That's
what we're about to see. God has called us to walk in
the Spirit. This style of walk of the Spirit is found in Christ
Jesus and it's a result of us who believe the gospel being
free from the law of sin and death. Now that the bluff is completed,
we will go over the three main points of the sermon that I have
today. Here are the three main points for anyone that's writing
it down. Point number one, the crime. Point number two, the
conclusion or verdict. And point number three, the counterclaim. Remember, this is a courtroom
scenario we'll find ourselves in. But before I do that, Two
weeks ago, I talked about three main things. One of the things
that I talked about was the substance of the Word of God. Now, if you
go to Romans 1, verse 1, we find that the Book of Romans, the
Epistle of Romans, the Letter of Romans, was written by none
other than the Apostle Paul. Romans 1, verse 1 says, Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto
the gospel of God. Paul was called to be an apostle
and to be separated unto the gospel of God. Paul wrote this
letter. However, just like I talked about
two weeks ago about being the substance of God, the letter
that we have, what I just read, what we're going to exegete,
or what I'm going to try to exegete for us, is not a mere letter
written by a mere man. It is actually God's Word. It
is God's Word when He was first penned. It is God's Word now. Now, the reason why I bring this
to your attention is to continue with one of the main points,
like I said in my last sermon. The Apostle Paul, like 2 Peter
1, verse 21, says, he wrote the letter, but this is how he wrote
the letter. 2 Peter 1, verse 21 says, All Scripture is God's breath.
It was breathed out by God. Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit
to write Romans. It is God's Word that we find
in Romans and not merely a man's letter. Keep that in mind as
we try to exegete the text and make application to our lives.
We want to hear from God today and we want to honor His Word
today. We want God to remind us today that we still have his
word in the year 2022. And this word possesses the same
authority over us that it did when it was first penned. Now,
let's begin with point one, the crime. Again, we are in a courtroom
scenario. There was a crime committed.
Go to Romans chapter 1, verse 20, and I will try to limit my
commentary. Romans chapter 1, verse 20. Because
you have to think, right? Romans 1, Romans chapter 8, verse
1 says, there is therefore now no condemnation. So you got to
ask the question, how did we get ourselves here? How did we
get ourselves to the no condemnation? Because obviously before this,
we were condemned. Like I said, that word condemnation
is used in a judicial type manner. And we were guilty. We were guilty of something.
Verse 20, Romans 1, verse 20. And we're going to stay ourselves
and I'm going to limit the verses that I have chosen, we're going
to limit it to the book of Romans. Because I want us to understand
the beautiful way in which Paul argues and the way he brings
about that conclusion. That there is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Because from
verse 1 in Romans 8, verse 1, they're all connected, and they're
all connected to bring us forth into this conclusion, that there's
now no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus. Verse 20,
chapter 1, For the invisible things of heaven from the creation
of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they
are without excuse, because that when they knew God,
they glorified Him not as God. Neither were thankful, but became
vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts was darkened." Do you guys notice the crying?
When they knew God, they didn't glorify Him as God. If you go
back all the way to Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve knew God. Did they glorify Him as God?
They did not. They disobeyed. And because of
the disobedience of Adam, the human race plummeted down and
went into a deep hole of sin. That was the crime. We sinned
against God. It says, verse 22, professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools. If I were to put a parenthesis
there on my own writing, professing themselves, I would put politicians,
I would put anybody and everybody who hate God. professing themselves
to be wise, ladies and gentlemen. They profess themselves to be
wise. They get these degrees in philosophy,
they get these degrees from the greatest and best universities
in the world, and yet, according to the Word of God, they are
fools. They're fools if they do not know God in Christ. Professing themselves to be wise,
They became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible
God into an image made like corruptible man, into birds, into four-footed
beasts and creepy things. That's how you know they're fools.
They create things so that they could bow down themselves to
them. Things they create out of clay. They bowed themselves
to them. What a fools. That's just true. Verse 24, wherefore God also
gave them up to uncleanness through the loss of their own hearts
to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. That's where
we're at right now in the year 2022. who changed the truth of God
into a lie, and worship and serve the creature
more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Wouldn't you say that that's
exactly what these wise men, these foolish people have done?
When they seek to worship the Earth, Mother Earth, or whatever
crazy name they want to give it to it. They seek to worship their creation
rather than creator. That's exactly what people outside
of Christ do. They seek to worship their creation
rather than their creator. Verse 26. For these cause God
gave them up unto vile affections. For even their women did change
the natural use into that which is against nature. LGBT, whatever, Q and all the
other letters I want to add to it. That's an abomination. It truly is. And likewise, also the men. leaving the natural use of women,
burning their lusts one toward another, men with men, working
at which unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense
of their error, which was meat. And even as they did not like
to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate
mind to do those things which are not convenient. being filled
with all unrighteousness, fornification, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness,
full of envy, murder, debate, deceive, malignity, whispers,
backbiters, haters of God, despiseful, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, disobedient to parents, children.
That's a sin. The only time you ought to disobey
your parents, it's when they're telling you to do something against
the Word of God. Disobedient to parents. Without
understanding, covenant breakers. I'm old school, so covenant breakers
just don't do it for me. It's adultery. That's what he's
trying to say, adultery. Without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful. Don't we see people's heart being
cold? They don't show mercy or kindness
to each other. The world is a very cruel world,
wouldn't you say? I'm merciful, brother. The world needs mercy. We ought
to, as Christians, as we believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, we ought to be the ones showing them mercy. Because they
ain't gonna give it to each other, I tell you that. Verse 32. who know in the judgment of God
that they which commit such things are worthy of death." Our crime
merits a judgment, death. And not only to do the same,
but have pleasure in them that do them. So I won't go too much, but in
your own time, if you want to read Romans chapter 5, verse
12 through 19, it truly declares to us the crime. We have sin. It's a human race. We sin in
Adam, but we can't just be like Adam and say, that woman that
thou gaveth me. We can't be like, well, Adam
sinned, trying to blame him. We also have sin. I know I have
sin. So what is the judgment? The
conclusion. What is the verdict? We committed
the crime. Now the judge is about to give
the verdict, the conclusion. Romans chapter 3 verse 9. Go
there with me. Now this is Apostle Paul speaking,
like I said. The Holy Spirit moved him to
write this. This is the Word of God. And
this is exactly what he says. He says, Romans chapter 3 verse
9. What then? Are we better than
they? No, we know wise. I think I got about more than
a decade of more than 10 years of proclaiming Christ as my Savior,
as I seek to be a Christian. I often have to remind myself,
believe it or not, that I'm not better than Him. We often got to do that. What,
then, are we better than they? No, in no wise. For we have before
proved both Jews and Gentiles." Gentiles, put a parenthesis there. That's us, by the way. If you
don't, be like, I'm not a Jew and I'm not a Gentile, so therefore
I guess I'm good. You're a Gentile. According to
the Word of God, it's just one or the other. We find ourselves,
we're Gentiles, so we're not better than them. That's what
the Apostle Paul is telling us. Look at what he says, that they
are all under sin. It's written, there's none righteous,
not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. None of us, outside of Christ,
or by the grace or mercy of God, we were not seeking God. This
is why some of us, like me, I found myself in religion, seeking after religion, after an experience. As you can
tell, I'm a little charismatic and loud. I get this a little
bit from my Pentecostal background, but nevertheless, it's, you seek
religion outside of Christ. And it's not like you're seeking
God. You start seeking God after God
already sought you. That's how it works. It says,
there's none that seeketh after God, verse 12. They are all going
out of the way, They are together become unprofitable. There's
none that doeth good. No, not one. Their throat is an open supplicant. With their tongues they have
used to sieve. The poison of ass is under their
lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their
feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in
their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. There is
no fear of God before their eyes. A lot of people, and as we see
it, do not fear God. Wouldn't you say? Wouldn't you
say that is true in the year 2022? Wouldn't you say that the
evidence of them not fearing God is the actions that they
take? There is no fear of God. Romans 3, verse 23, just hear
it. Go back to Romans 8, by the way.
Romans 3, verse 23. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Romans 5, 19. For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse
20. For there is not a just man upon
the earth that doth good and sin if not. That is the conclusion. That
is the verdict. There's no one righteous. No
not one. There's no one that that dies
good and sin if not. We all come short. So just like the Apostle Paul,
we find ourselves in despair, if we think about it. We have
committed a crime, and it is against God who we committed
the crime, by the way. And the judgment is that we find
ourselves under the wrath of God. The judgment is that there
is no good, not one. Is that where the Bible leads
us? Is that where we ought to be? I got great news, the Bible
doesn't leave us there. The Bible has a counterclaim.
See, but you ought to remember though, this is the one crucial
thing I want to make sure, that the conclusion, the verdict that
God gave cannot be changed with time or circumstances. We are
all under the wrath of God. We all come short of His glory. Now is there any hope for any
of us? Can man be saved from this certain doom? The answer
is found in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus
came to save the lost. Jesus came to save the damned. Jesus Christ at the cross indeed
paid for the sins of everyone who believed in him and rose
again from the dead to justify them. That is the clear teaching
of the Bible and our only hope. See, the verdict that God has
given, it is done, cannot be altered. Meaning this, God will indeed
punish people for their sins, God indeed punished the believer's
sin in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Either your sin
will be dealt in you, or your sins have already been dealt
in Christ. One of the most silly things
I was taught in the Pentecostal movement, because they're emotional,
they like to play with people's emotion. They say, God hates
the sin but loves the sinner. Well, if he did that, the question
is, why is he punishing the sinner and not the sin in hell? Because
there's people in hell right now At the very least, there's one.
At the very least, there's one. We could all agree that Judas
Iscariot is in hell right now. Can we? So there's at least one
person whose sin is being punished on him. Sin must be dealt and it will
be dealt on the sinner or on the substitute that God provided. There is no other. This verdict
is done. It's going to happen. It did
happen, in fact, for some of us. If we believe the Gospel,
our sins have been dealt with at the cross. Go to Romans 8, 1, read it again. You guys are not rejoicing like
I expect you guys to rejoice. Because I'm over here, like,
I'm trying to hold my, you know, trying to just hold myself in
place. Because I remember I'm a Pentecostal
type person, so I'd be like, whoo-hoo. I'd be rejoicing right
now. We're Baptists, brother. There
you go. So I'm, hey, I'm trying to get
there. I'm trying to get into my Baptist
heritage. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. You find yourself in the Lord
Jesus Christ, I've got good news for you. You're not condemned. If you believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ right now, you're not condemned. In fact, you will
never be condemned because the condemnation that ought to come
on you already came on Him. I brought this hymn right now
because I was just amazed as we were singing this beautiful
hymn. Let me just read this. It's not
even in my sermon, but I must give it to you guys for free.
What wondrous love is this? What wondrous love is this, O
my soul, O my soul? What wondrous love is this, O
my soul? What wondrous love is this that
caused the lover of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my
soul? For my soul. To bear the dreadful
curse for my soul. Outside of Christ, you're a curse.
The law says so. God says so. You are a curse.
You are under the wrath of God, and the wrath of God is coming
upon you. I cannot even tell, like, we're
about to, if by the grace of God, we're about to celebrate
eight years of life for Brianna next week. I cannot assure her
that we'll make it. I cannot. If you find yourself right now,
Briana, outside of Christ, you are under the wrath of God. If you find yourself under, in
Christ, right now, Briana, you are not condemned. I could tell
you that. I could tell her that. So, what was the current claim
you say? God already delivered the judgment,
right? We are all under sin. We are
all for the wages of sin is what? It's a sure thing, ladies and
gentlemen. Death is coming upon us. And I'm not saying this bodily
death, because some of us are not escaping. Even though we
believe the gospel, we're not going to escape the death that's
going to happen to this body. We're just not. If the Lord Jesus
Christ doesn't return, Some of us will die. But we get to escape
the ultimate death, the second death, the Bible calls it. People
will suffer the second death. But you, if you believe the gospel,
you're never, ever going to see that. So how did that happen? Stay with me. This is a counterclaim.
I'm almost done. Romans 8, verse 3. Romans 8 verse 3, For what the
law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh. This is the gospel right here.
The gospel never starts with you and never ends with you. It starts with God. God sending
His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, listen
to this, condemned sin in the flesh. There it is. This is the truth that we could
tell our Pentecostal lost brethren. God will indeed punish sin in
the person, not he loves the sinner but not the sin. He hates
the sinner and he hates the sin that the sinner does. Outside
of Christ, there is no love of God to be found. There is none. There is zero
love. You can read it in the same chapter.
I will urge you to read the entire chapter. It's an amazing thing.
I will be here for years trying to exegete that. But Paul talks
about the love of God in Christ. And Paul tells us that there's
nothing in this world, nothing that will come, nothing that
will happen, nothing and nada, nada, nada, nothing could separate
us from the love of God. So God sent his son, right? And he condemned sin in him. That's the kind of claim that
you and I have. The kind of claim that you and I have is not based
on our feelings. Because sometimes you may feel
condemned. But why is that? Well, We do
have an enemy called the devil. He might be condemning you, and
you might be listening to him. We do have a conscience, right? And our conscience may be condemning
us, and we might be listening to it. But God being rich in
mercy is telling us we're not condemned. we will never be condemned
if we believe the gospel. Same chapter, verse 32, verse
34. You guys remember the beautiful picture
that we have in Abraham and Isaac as they walk towards the mountain
and God tested Doesn't He test us? He sure does. God tested
Abraham and said, sacrifice your beloved son. And as Abraham was
walking with Isaac, it's an amazing thing to see Isaac, how obedient
he was. Children, how obedient Isaac
was to his father. Be obedient to your parents. And you guys remember when Abraham
was indeed, see, Abraham was a man of faith, wouldn't you
say? Isn't he the father of the faithful? Right, he's a man of
faith, right? And he was willing and was surely
going to sacrifice Isaac. So right when he's about to,
the angel say, stop! Because this was always going
to be a picture, ladies and gentlemen. Isaac was never, ever going to
be our Redeemer. He wasn't. The Lord Jesus Christ
is our Redeemer. Lately, during our family worship
time, I've been having the privilege of, I don't even remember the
title of the book, but I bought a book in which it's actually
helping my children as we go through this. We have one chapter each night,
and these chapters are actually meant for them to see Christ,
pictures of Christ throughout the entire Bible. Because all
these pictures, like the one I'm just talking about, about
Abraham and Isaac and the sacrifice that he was about to do, but
God told him to stop, it's just a picture of what actually God
the Father did. Listen to it. Verse 32. He, that is God the Father, that
spared not his own son, Isaac, got to walk He got to marry. He got to have children. Ladies
and gentlemen, our Lord Jesus Christ did not get to walk. He
was obedient. He was willingly. He laid down
His life. God the Father did not spare
His own Son. He did not. But deliver Him up
for us. The us there, highlighted, take
it all the way back to Romans 8, 1, is the them. To them that
are in Christ Jesus. It's the same people. The us. For us all. Christ Jesus was
delivered for us. How? So, listen to this. God the Father
did not spare His own Son. and punish him. The wrath of
God actually came down on our Savior, so that you and I may
not even taste of it. So when you get a little bit filled with unbelief, as if God
loves you, or if God If you start wondering whether God loves you
or whether God is being good to you, think about this. God
did not spare His own Son. Listen to this. How shall He
not with Him also give us all things? The Apostle Paul is doing a beautiful
argumentation here. He did it from the greater to
the lesser. He gave His Son Could He give anything more? No! Would He ever withhold anything
good from us? No! Verse 33, Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? There it is, courtroom. We did
a crime, we find ourselves guilty, but the promises of the gospel
is telling us that there is for now no condemnation to them that
are in Christ Jesus. So the question you may wonder
sometimes, who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Can anyone come to the courtroom
and say, hey, I have new evidence? They still are condemned. Can
they? Well, even if they did, it is
God that justifies us. The judge justified the criminal. He said, you are justified. You
are good in my sight. You are if you have withheld
all the laws. You are if you never broken any
law. But did he do it by just, hey,
there's the rock, we're just gonna put your sins under the
rock? No, he did not. He poured his wrath on the Son. Our sins had a great payment,
ladies and gentlemen. How great of a payment our sins
needed that he took the Son of God to pay it all. It is God that justifies us.
You find yourself, if you believe the Gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ
justifying the side of God, not because of anything that you
will ever, ever do in this life, but because of what the Lord
Jesus Christ has already done for you, if you believe the Gospel. Verse 34, Who is he that condemneth? There's the word again. Condemnation. Found guilty. Who is the person
that's going to come into this courtroom and say, you're guilty,
Romell? It is Christ that died. Yea,
rather, that it is risen again. Who is even at the right hand
of God? We're no longer condemned because
Christ died. Wouldn't you say that that's
exactly what this verse is teaching us? But not only did He die,
He rose again. We're no longer condemned because
Christ died. But not only died, He rose again
from the dead. He died to pay for our sins. He rose again for our justification. Mom was done. I promise you. Go back to Romans 8.1. I'm just
going to do a quick application because I have to. I have to
give you application. The gospel gives us application
to our lives. The gospel is not pie in the
sky that has nothing to do with our daily life. The gospel actually
transforms us of how we live our lives here on this earth. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. Beautiful. Amazing. That's a
secure thing. There is for now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. Who walked not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. So quickly, the walk after the
Spirit that Romans 8.1 is telling us, is actually hallmarked by
these following things. I just want to give it to you.
There's certain things that will hallmark if you ever want to
examine yourself, because that's what the Scripture tells us to
do, right? We ought to examine ourselves. And you want to examine
yourself and say, man, I want to know. Wouldn't you say it
would be a good thing to know whether you're walking in the
flesh or after the spirit, brother? Wouldn't you say that? It would
be a good thing for, you don't want to find yourself not in
the way. And if you do examine yourself
and you find yourself not in the way, guess what? That gives
you a hint, get back in the way, because you were not in the way.
So examining yourself is a prudent, good thing to do. Wouldn't you
say? So here are the things that ought
to follow if you are walking in the Spirit. And I'm just going
to give it to you and I'm going to talk about the last things,
but this walk in the Spirit is a walk by faith. It is. It's a walk by faith,
but not by sight. If you're walking in the Spirit,
you're walking by faith and not by sight. If you're walking in the Spirit,
The walker or the spirit is in a position to be walking in the
flesh. Listen to this, Galatians 5 verse
13 says, For brethren, ye have call unto liberty, that's what
we're called to, only use not the liberty for an occasion to
the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the love
is fulfilled in one word, even in this, that thou should love
thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one
another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. These are saying then, walk in
the Spirit. If you walk in the Spirit, the Apostle Paul is saying,
ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lost
it against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and
these are contrary to one another, so that ye cannot do the things
that ye would. But if you are led by the Spirit,
you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are
manifested, which are these adultery, fornication, cleanliness, lasciviousness,
all these evil and ungodly things. Verse 22 in the same chapter.
But the fruit of the Spirit, If you want to know if you're
walking in the Spirit, check your fruits. But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law.
So walking in the Spirit is opposition to walking in the flesh. Walking
in the Spirit is a walk of love and separation. Ephesians chapter
5 verse 1 through 7, real quick. Be ye therefore followers of
God. That's what we're called to, right? That's why we're here.
We're here gathered together because we profess to be followers
of God. It says, be ye therefore followers
of God as dear children. We're no longer criminals, ladies
and gentlemen. The Father is no longer our judge. If we believe the gospel, the
Father is our Father. He got it. Verse 2, and walk
in love. Walk in the Spirit is walking
in love, as Christ also has loved us and has given himself for
us an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling Savior. But for unification and all uncleanness
and covetousness, let it not be one's name among you." The
walk in the Spirit is calling us to separation. That's what
the Apostle Paul is telling us here. We ought to be separated
from unification, from uncleanness, from covetousness. Separation,
walking in the Spirit. Lastly, go with me to 1 John
1, verse 6 and 7. This is where I'm going to wrap
my my sermon and I hope you're blessed by it. I know I look
forward to Pastor Rick being back, so I'm pretty sure you
guys are looking forward to that too. So remember, we were in
a courtroom scenario. There was a crime committed.
The verdict was that we are all under sin and come short of the
glory of God. The verdict was that we are under
the wrath of God. But the current claim is that
Christ died and yet risen. That's the only current claim
that you have to your conscience, to the devil. Not your feelings,
not nothing. You ought to remember that. We
ought to remember that. The reason why I'm not condemned
is because Christ died. The reason why I'm not condemned
is because Christ has risen from the dead. That's the reason.
If you look to the mirror for the answer, you're going to be
spooked for what you see. Because there's
no hope. There's no hope in you. There's
hope in the Son of God. Okay, so what did I say, the
last verse was? Oh yeah, 1 John 1, verse 6 and 7. So, lastly,
this walk in the Spirit It's a walk that must be done
in the light and not in darkness. 1 John 1, verse 6. If we say that
we have fellowship with Him, see, we all get to profess. Professing something don't mean
nothing. You got to walk the walk. If we say that we have fellowship
with Him and walk in darkness, what do we do? We lie. I don't even know the number
because I lost the count, brother, but I'm pretty sure the last
number that I found was like 80-something percent of all Americans
here in this nation were Christians. Liars. Liars. I could say that they're
liars. We wouldn't have such policies
that we have. We just wouldn't. We wouldn't have the policies
that we have if 80 something whatever percentage it is in
this nation were Christians. If we say we have fellowship
with Him, we walk in darkness and we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light,
as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another in
the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses us from all sin. That's a promise right there.
I don't know if you guys missed that. It's a promise that if
you're walking in the light, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
will cleanse you from your sin. If we walk in the light, walking
in the Spirit, walking in the light, does not mean that you
do not sin. But it does mean that you do
not live in sin. Walking in spirit, walking in
the light means that you are honest. You are honest with people, but
above all that, you are honest with God. I am not condemned because of
Christ. I am not condemned because of
what Christ did for me. Therefore, I ought to walk in
the Spirit. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, what an amazing
thing that you have done, Father. When we found ourselves condemned
under your wrath, lost, so lost that we didn't even know about
the verdict. All the human race are condemned
outside of Christ. We're so thankful, Father, that
we were condemned, and yet you send your Son to be our carnal
claim, to be the solution for this condemnation, so that you
could be the justifier of sinful people like us. You could justify
us in front of You because You have dealt with our sin in Your
Son, Father. We thank You, we thank You that
we're no longer condemned because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Help
us, Father, to remind ourselves of this wonderful and amazing
truth. And help us, Father, to walk
in the Spirit and not in the flesh. It is in the name of your
Son we pray, in Jesus' name, Amen.