Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
39 sermons cite this verse
… and allow, as it were, Paul, in that magnificent chapter that begins, there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, if you allow Paul, as it were, to backfill for us or to paint another few scenes into this great mural of Habakkuk, then you will be tremendously encouraged. Because it's there, remember, he says, if God be for us, who can be against us? See, he doesn't say, who can be against us? Because the answer to that is, well, a lot of people and a lot of stuff. But what he says is, get some perspective. If the sovereign Lord of the universe is for you, has redeemed you, then you know, Khrushchev banging his shoe, hey. Come on. Or your wife banging her shoe, or somebody banging her shoe. Hey. And then he says, who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? You see, what he means by that is not that people won't come and accuse us. The devil accuses us, our consciences accuse us, people accuse us. But at the cross, the case is closed. …
… Which then sets the stage for the most triumphant chapter, I believe, in all the scripture, Romans chapter 8. Where he says, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do and it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin and sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. And he goes on to talk about how we have the Spirit of Christ in us. The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in us. God does not give us a Spirit that makes us a slave again to fear. …
… the cross for me. I'm covered by the blood of Christ. I've been redeemed. There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Play the movie. I'm not worried about it. now here's the thing like i mentioned this is that the movie part isn't in the bible but you know what will be worse than a movie about all the mistakes that you made and all the things that you committed i remember my youth pastor told me one time you know what will be worse than that could you imagine god played a movie of the life that you could have lived the life that you would have lived the people that you could have impacted the businesses you could have started, the lives you could have changed, the messages you could have preached, the songs you could have written, the businesses you could have started, but you never did because you quit too soon. Because you allow life to get in the way. Listen to me, that is horrible. I hate to think about that. You know why? Because the only thing harder than obedience is regret. …
you will choose one of those based upon your knowledge of the Bible. and the Bible says in Romans 8 verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Conviction is beautiful. Condemnation is of Satan. None of us who name the Lord Jesus Christ as our crucified Savior, resurrected Lord, none of us can be condemned. Isn't that great? The world can condemn us. The world can kill us. The world can do whatever they do to us. friends we're talking about real true life eternally the belief Christ was condemned at the cross in our place the father laid on him the sins of us all so that you and I could go free and your trust in him brings that to you that's why we love him that's why we want to follow him I'm going to give you a barrage of these verses real quick this cluster of them 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 you guys know this very well This is why, remember, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. …
… your sin. Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for all of your sins so that no matter how much you have messed up in the past, Romans 8.1 says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because the law of the spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. No matter how dark or dirty your past, no matter how many times you have messed up, no matter what you have said or done or failed to do, know this. In Christ, you are clean, forgiven. You are a daughter of God. So don't let, for a second, don't let guilt over the past keep you from becoming the woman God has designed you to be in the present. If God has forgiven you, then it would be foolish for you to keep on remembering your faults from the past and letting them keep you from what God in his love for you has for you today. …
… in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans chapter eight, verse one. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Listen, we are in Christ Jesus. Number two, we are children of God, like I was saying earlier. Children of God. John chapter one, verse 12. But as many as received him, To them gave he the right to become children of God. Who are they? To those who believe in his name. That's a decision you have to make. He wants you to receive him, but he'll never make you receive him. You've got to invite him in like you would any friend. Romans chapter 8, verse 16. The Spirit, that's the Holy Spirit himself, bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Church family, listen, this is so serious. The Bible says right here, the Holy Spirit will confirm to you that you belong to God. If tonight you don't know that, why are you in doubt? You're probably in doubt because you're not a child of God. …
… We're good. He said, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Oh, I'm good. He said, if I confess my sins, he'll be faithful and just to forgive me my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. He said that. I'm good. I reckon we'll just keep rowing until we get to the other side. Jesus doesn't talk about destinations he doesn't deliver you to. By the way. He didn't leave the boat. He just went into the stern, the deep part. The deep part. You don't let the Word go deep enough. You keep waiting for an explanation. What if he wants to give you a demonstration instead? Some things we're not going to understand, but he didn't turn to the disciples. Now, the reason I let you go through this storm, the reason I let them leave you, and the reason you're going through this pain… No, no, no, no, no. …
… The Bible says there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It's already been forgiven. But there is education that I might learn. It was good for me to be afflicted. What's an affliction? Well, there can be many. There can be an emotional affliction in your heart. It could be a relational affliction in your relationships. It could be a physical affliction in your body. You can get sick. This is not punishment. And David, looking back on it, goes, hey, it was a good thing that I actually was disciplined because I learned your statutes. Now the only way you're gonna learn the statutes is when you stop asking, why is this happening to me? And start asking, what do you want me to learn? No matter what happens to you in your life, stop asking why. You're not going to know why on this side of death for most things that happen in your life. Instead, you should be saying, what do you want me to learn, God? …
… Romans 8.1 There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. To every woman in this room who has had an abortion, you do not wear scarlet letter A on your shirt everywhere you go. When you're in Christ the Father on high God on high does not look at you and see the guilt of your abortion anymore. He looks on you and He sees the very righteousness of Jesus Christ himself. You're robed, you're clothed in his righteousness, whether you've had one abortion or five abortions, whether you have performed hundreds of abortions or legally made possible thousands, even millions of abortions. You turn trust in Christ to save you, forgive you, heal you, restore you, then you are not guilty anymore. He restores completely and He redeems fully. This is the beauty of our God. Our God who takes evil and turns it into good. Who takes suffering and turns it into satisfaction. Who takes mourning and turns it into dancing. oh, there are people that I know. …
… may we stand on the reality that we learn in Romans 8 1 that therefore now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And Lord, I pray for an outpouring of men who will stand firm and act like men. Lord, I pray for an outpouring of women who would play the role that you have called them to play. God, I pray for an outpouring of students that don't think their role is one day in the future, but they follow you this day. And God, may we do it for one name, which is the only name worthy of our worship that we do this for the name and the renown and the fame of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray this in his name, amen. Well, did I tell you he could preach? Yeah. Let's just stay kind of in an attitude of prayer and worship. And I wanna talk to the men, gentlemen. I wonder how many of you know deep down God has something more he wants to do in you. …
… So don't think you're going to get to heaven one day and go moping around heaven, nervous to meet Jesus, because, you know, he might condemn you. No, Romans chapter 8, verse 1 says, there is therefore now, right now. This isn't something you even have to wait for. Right now, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This is something we can enjoy right now. And then, of course, it will only enhance our experience and joy in eternity because that will continue throughout eternity. All right, so that's number four. Heaven's inhabitants are going to be faultless and forgiven. We believe that's going to add to our joy in heaven, but it gets better. Number five, heaven's inhabitants will no longer experience death, sorrow, crying, or pain. Revelation chapter 21, verse four, the passage we opened up with, makes this clear. I'll put it on the screen again. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death no more sorrow nor crying there shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away so the sorrow and pain and death that have plagued humanity now for millennia will finally be over in eternity we are going to have incorruptible imperishable heavenly bodies the bible says that will never break down grow old get sick or die You'll never need that wheelchair Or your crutches Or your medication So thankful for that 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 1 says For we know that if our earthly house …
… Glory to God. To them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. I've made it another week. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. I made it another week. Oh, hallelujah, hallelujah. Worthy is the Lamb of God. First Peter chapter two and verse nine said, you are a chosen generation. And if you're a generation, you're supposed to generate something. You're supposed to just sit back and take your daddy's stuff and your grandpa's stuff. You're supposed to keep generating. And you can't take their faith either. And you can't take their praise. So if you're a young person, you need to get crazy about your praise. And say, I don't care what nobody thinks. I'm going to praise the Lord. And if they can go crazy at concerts, I can go crazy for Jesus. But you are a chosen generation. You are a chosen generation. When they were in the sandbox, and they said, who wants to play? And everybody raised their hand. …
… So does Romans 3. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. How does that four work? That's a very explosive dangerous four. Because if you take that four as cause, you're a heretic. or a Roman Catholic. Meaning, justification is grounded in sanctification. It's not. Well, it says four. It says there's no condemnation because the law of the spirit of life in Christ has set me free from the law of sin and death. That's transformation. So justification is based on transformation. That's heresy. so is that what for means and if you study carefully how Paul thinks you know gar for can be an evidence or a ground when you give evidence for something it's not the cause of it it's the result of it let me paraphrase it like this there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for you can see in a Christian's life that the law and the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. …
… When Paul writes about it in Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8, which begins, remember, there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. as we walk after the leading and guiding of the spirit according to the word. And he says, you know, you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. And then he makes it clear. The mind of the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. Young people, the inward transformation of our minds is the only effective safeguard, the only effective safeguard against outward conformity to the spirit of the age. It is a transformation that is from within that changes what is without. it is a new life that produces a new lifestyle when Paul writes remember to the Philippians he says work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure I wonder when's the last time perhaps on your own just as you read your Bible in the morning and you thought along these lines you said the words of an old song Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me break me melt me mold me fill me Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me. …
… Jesus came to set us free. Romans 8.1 says, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. the enemy wants you he wants nothing more than for you to think that you need to try harder he wants you to think that you need to pray more he wants you to think that you need to clean yourself up he wants you to think that you need to prove that you are worthy and i want you to know that that is not from god Yeah. Jesus is not another weight in your vest. 1 John 5.3, look at this. It says, We know we love God because we keep his commands, and his commands are not burdensome. Listen to this. God's way is meant to make you lighter. He says, Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. okay so Amy put those weights down right here and let's take this vest off because as long as we have this vest on I hope because I know it's heavy we cannot take up the yoke that Jesus offers so okay this is not the yoke that Jesus is talking about This is Jesus came to save us, not to weigh us down. …
She said he don't have to work that hard. I used to live in shame and then Romans 8 1 told me that there's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. I used to believe that, I used to try to emulate Mother Teresa and I thought that you were saved by your works, but I realized that I am saved because of God's righteousness, not what I do. I was raised in a Pentecostal church, and I was taught that you had to get your act together before you give your life to Jesus, but that was false. I couldn't get my life together until I gave my life to Jesus. Thank you. Y'all sit together every Sunday? No. Why are y'all sitting together today? It's Queen Esther's Sit-Together Sunday. Huh? Huh? This is Queen Esther's Sit-Together Sunday. All right, Cher, y'all in my preaching time now. I used to think that I had to be perfect in order to be loved, but God died on the cross with complete love for me. …
… There's literally no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Stop staring at your sin and start beholding your Savior. By the way, one of Gen Z's critiques of millennials, how many millennials we got in the room? Raise your hand. How many Gen Z people we got in the room? They're like literally zero Gen Z in the first service. I'm just gonna say that, okay? So you're not awesome on the time stuff, but you got this part right. One of the critiques of millennials is that they're too somber. The millennial generation has been characterized, everybody says, by being melancholy. And that's because social analysts say they've encountered the disappointments of the world in unusual ways. A lot of institutions and power structures let you down. That is fully legitimate. But your younger siblings, Gen Z, they got something to say to you too. And that is your story doesn't stop with depression, at least if you're a Christian. Yeah, we mourn the messed up world around us, but God is doing a new thing and the joy of the Lord becomes your strength. …
… For there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. What a comfort in death for neither life nor death. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. There is comfort for body, for if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. and comfort for our souls. For 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 is interceding for us. Friends, this is why the disciples were so eager when they found Jesus the Christ. We're so eager to run and tell someone else, we have found the Messiah, we have found Jesus of Nazareth, because they understood what it meant to find him. I love the song we sang earlier. I hope it's one of the songs I'm singing when I die. …
… Romans 8, 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Isn't that beautiful? There's no condemnation. since the day that I received Christ as my Lord and Savior, I haven't been condemned one single day. Have I blown it? Have I sinned? Yes, but God has never condemned me. He's convicted me by his Holy Spirit. He said, Shadrach, don't you dare go down that path. Or when I did something that he knew I shouldn't have done, he tells me immediately, go and make it right. If I offended somebody else, go and make it right and come back to me as quick as possible. First John 1, 9, He's faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse because that's our God. So who is condemned? John 3, 18. He who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. That's who remains condemned. It's a choice. You can walk out of here today condemned or not condemned, but you will make a choice because to be undecided is to be decided. …
… That therefore now, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Only Jesus gets to tell you who you are. And so when we struggle and when we screw up and when we sin, we run to the cross and not from it. Here's what he says. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, establish you to be to him, be the dominion forever and ever and ever. So regardless of what you've done or how old you are or what your past says, guess what? God gives you grace. And grace doesn't merely save us. Grace sustains us. And grace not only washes away our sin, but when you put your faith in Jesus Christ, then we are imputed with the righteousness of him. So when we stumble and fall, we fall on the same grace that saves us and God picks us back up. …
… wearing hoodies, wearing hats. Keep your hair down. It was the walk of shame. God says in Romans 8 and 1, therefore now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I don't know who this is for, but I need you to just put your hand around somebody. Put your hand around somebody. You don't even know them like that, but put your hand around them. Listen, look at the person beside, tell them I ain't trying nothing. I'm just following what the pastor said. Put your hand around them. And I wanted you to put your hand around them because I heard God say in prayer, he said, Jamal, tell them, I'm going to walk them through it. They done came through some stuff. There were some people who promised they were going to be there. And now you in it all by yourself. God said I'm gonna walk you through there you ain't by yourself you ain't gonna be depressed you are not gonna have low self-esteem you ain't gonna feel rejected I'm gonna walk you through there yay
… All the punishment for your sin has been taken away through his cross. There is therefore now no condemnation, no punishment, no anger left for those who are in Christ Jesus. That means God feels nothing towards you right now but positive, fatherly, loving emotions. He is ready to help, and he's got nothing but good intended for you. That's grace. And the love of God. That's associated with the Father. It's easy to forget that the grace Jesus purchased for us was birthed out of the love in the Father's heart. Jesus' death was not some clinical theological transaction God pulled off. It wasn't Jesus trying to, you know, make God the Father like you again. No, it was a deeply emotional rescue prompted by the Father, the price paid by a weeping, brokenhearted father who just wanted so badly to bring you home. And it's a love, Paul says, it doesn't stop with your salvation. That same love now pervades every part of your lives. It's like King David said, Surely goodness and mercy will follow me, literally haunt me all the days of my life. …
… Romans 8, when we are struggling with sin, and the Bible gives us a promise that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because the law of the spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. When you're uncertain and fearful about the future, and Romans 8 says, you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father. The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now, if we are children, we are heirs, heirs with God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we may share in his sufferings in order that one day we are going to share in his glory. How about when things aren't working out the way they're supposed to, when Romans 8, 28 comes to our hearts and says, in all things, our God works together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. …
… No, you can't come in here, shame. There is now, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Peace literally stands guard against the outer workings of the enemy in your hearts. It is the peace of God. and perhaps one of the most profound examples of this kind of peace that I experienced was in a moment on earth that we never wanted. I've got six kids. People say, you must love kids. Yeah, I really like their mom a lot, a lot. 35 years of, I mean, just like really godly blessed marriage. And that results in kids until we figured out what caused it. And then we didn't want to quit. And that's a whole nother story. So anyway, six kids. Sorry. Merry Christmas. Trying to be on my good behavior for guests. Like, sorry. I'm just a guy. I used to be a man. Then I became a pastor. I'm still a man. Sorry. Redeem me. What was I saying? So six kids. My oldest daughter, Katie, was pregnant and about to give birth with her second child, and that would have been her first daughter. And I won't go into all the details. One, I'll get it wrong. And two, I'm not a doctor. …
… the life that is truly worth living. Romans chapter 8, verse 1 says, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. See, the first step that Paul wants us to take is to find true freedom. Find true freedom. Notice at the beginning of verse one, it says, therefore, first word out of the gate. Well, what's it there for? It's referencing back to chapter seven. If you were here last week, Pastor Derek Bonneau unpacked chapter seven where Paul was talking about his struggle with sin. All the things that I don't wanna do, I do, and the things I wanna do, I don't do. And he says, oh, wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? So in chapter seven, he's saying, man, I have such a sin problem. And so he begins chapter eight by saying, okay, since I have this sin issue, therefore, how much condemnation am I going to deal with? …
… He starts out the chapter in verse 1 saying, There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk no longer after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Now, they have been walking after the flesh all of their lives. He said, But if you just walk after the Spirit, you don't have to catch it, but if you walk after it, If you get behind it and chase it and pursue the Spirit, there is therefore now no condemnation. I don't care what you did, you won't be condemned. I don't care if you were caught in the act of adultery and they're getting ready to stone you, you won't be condemned. I don't care if you stole a loaf of bread from the bakery, God said you won't be condemned. There is therefore now no condemnation or no judgment to them that are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh. You're not seeking the flesh. You don't wake up in the morning talking about who you're going to get with. …
… Jesus he fixes the problem and to put a little cherry on top give you a sneak peek into next week Paul says in the next verse Romans chapter 8 verse 1 there is therefore now say this with me no condemnation say it like you're excited about it no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus man somebody ought to do a praise break and just run around this room right now come on the struggle is real but thanks be to God so is the Savior you know what that verse should do for some of you in this room should get you to stop beating yourselves up because there's a lot of people who put expectations on themselves that God is not putting on you you think God is demanding perfection of you? You really think that? Some of you think that. If he was, why did he send Jesus? He knows you can't be perfect. Only Jesus could live a perfect life. Only Jesus could die a sacrificial death. Only Jesus could rise again and free us from the power of sin. Only Jesus could. Only Jesus did. …
… that he is serious when he inspires words like there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. To prove to you that he was dead serious when he said, I am coming quickly. He gives you fulfilled prophecy so that you will go first to him. Let him be the voice you hear in the middle of the night when you cannot sleep. let him be the voice that comforts you when you have to face fear all by yourself let him be the voice that's the purpose of prophecy it authenticates him as the only authority in life so that you can say what the disciples said in John chapter 1 we have found the one that look at this Moses and the prophets wrote about he is Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth we have found the one whom the prophets wrote about so my closing question to you is have you found the one have you found the one the only one everything changes when you do the story is told about Albert Einstein on the train and when the conductor came by picking up tickets. The physicist couldn't find his. He looked in his coat, looked in his trousers, looked in his briefcase. Finally, the conductor said, that's okay, Mr. Einstein. Everybody knows who you are. I know you bought a ticket. He said, I know who I am, young man. What I don't know is where I'm going. You and I could say those words at times. We don't know where we're going. We need …
… And God says, now therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you are in Christ, you're a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. Your sins have been separated from you as far as the east is to the west. If you find yourself angry, hurting, afraid, God says, I have not given you a spirit of fear. but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Don't look at what you see, believe and live in what he says. Now, I wanna slow down and I'll show you something in his word that might be a little bit different from what you may typically think. Watch what happens. God says, I'm gonna send the water. But before I send the water, I want you to dig a ditch. In other words, we can say it this way. Only God can send the water, but sometimes he asks you to dig a ditch. Why? Because many times God wants us to join our faith with his powerful power when he does a miracle. …
… If you ever feel bad about yourself, there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Do not compare yourself to others, but compare yourself to me and you'll feel better about yourself. I really wanted, long before I ever got married, I wanted to have a godly marriage. So I prayed about it, pursued God, read about it, studied about it, interviewed people with great marriages. One day, God, you're gonna give me a great marriage. So I prayed all the time. God, prepare me for my wife. Give me eyes to see. Help prepare me to be a blessing. God, show me who it's gonna be like now, now, now. And so I'm praying all the time. And one time I was driving from Oklahoma to California and I was praying, God, just show me who she is and help me ready for her. God, just I'm in the spirit. God, show me my wife. And I opened, you know, looked up as I'm driving along and there was a billboard that had the name Ellen on it. …
… you have given Jesus your judgment for sin. He has taken it from you. And in exchange, Jesus has given you his salvation from sin. Romans 8.1, there is now no condemnation for those who are what? In Christ Jesus. Christ is in you. Christ has taken all your judgment upon himself. There is no more price to be paid. No more work to be done. You can rest in his love. It is finished. and you don't have to worry about a thing. You don't even have to worry about death because you have given Jesus your death and Jesus has given you his life. This is why people were being baptized last week, earlier today, why I pray people will be baptized as a result of this gathering right now, this word that we're looking at, that will step into the water to celebrate this reality. Jesus is my life. As they go down in the water, It's a picture of our dying with him. Just as Jesus died, we have died to the old us. …
… What do you do? Let me tell you right now, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So this isn't a time to make you feel guilty. This is a time just to bring awareness that if you're living outside of the will of God, you are missing the goodness of a God who loves you and created you to know him and to live for him and to experience his personal will for your life. So what do you do? Well, you recognize, actually, I have sinned. I'm not living according to what he calls me to do. And what do you do? You just confess your sins. And what's amazing is the Bible says if you confess your sins to God, he's faithful and just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. That's how good he is. Why does he do that? He is a righteous God. He's a just God. And he sent his son, Jesus, who was without sin, to pay the penalty, the price for our sins. …
… You can take the backpack off. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You can take the backpack off. The shame was put on him. He was, Isaiah said, made to be a guilt offering for you so that you could wake up today and go to a God who's removed your sins as far as the east is from the west and say thank you today that my sins have been blotted out, that the ultimate hyssop branch of all hyssop branches. Jesus himself has blotted out and wiped out my sin. I am forgiven today. Astonishing forgiveness is my story today. I wake up today again in astonishing forgiveness. God doing what I could never do in my life. I want to ask you today, have you received that? And if not, why not? God is offering you. to wipe out your sin today. And I pray that somebody will receive that today. Somebody who's a believer, somebody who came to church today for the 150th time in your life, but you still brought the shame in here with you today. …
… Going back to the first verse in chapter 8, is it really possible that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, that we will never be condemned? Is this really true? It introduces two hypothetical questions. Number one. Can God reject us? Can God become so weary of us that He changes His mind? Can God say, I've had about all I can take out of you. You're such a disappointment. You fall short so often. You bring reproach on My name. You are an embarrassment. You are a problem to My church. You don't honor My Word as You should. You stumble and fall into the same sinful patterns that you were stumbling and falling into years ago. I'm worn out picking you up and dusting you off. I'm weary of the mixed messages you send to the people who know you, because sometimes you act like a Christian and sometimes you don't. Could God just say, I really can't take any more. I'm canceling your eternal life. …
… but but lord have mercy lord have mercy on a church that wants to damn everybody to hell that wants to condemn everybody when you got a god who says in romans 8 verse 1 in christ there is no condemn how are you doing stuff jesus doesn't even do how are you condemning people you know the word condemn in in the bible is literally what we get the word when you condemn my house you're saying it's too bad for anybody to live in it again tear it down to the ground and i'm getting goosebumps and god says there is no condemnation there is nobody alive who deserves to be torn down to the ground everybody has a chance for spiritual renovation every i don't know i don't know if that makes you feel what i feel but everybody through the grace of jesus Christ is redeemable everybody is reconciling you you you're not too far gone that his grace can't grip you you you're not too bad that his love can't come lure you back into the house of God and so I let me hush because I'm about to feel like preaching on a on a Wednesday night I'm just trying to tell you that when you've got a unifying church you've got a church that's that has grace flowing and love flowing it and when praise breaks happen we got something to shout about one reason we shout is because we've been forgiven one reason we shout is because his blood still covers sins one reason we shout is because the because the body of christ …
… And oh, by the way, in chapter 8, verse 1, I know it's not going to condemn me, for there There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Why will we never be condemned if we're in Christ? Because Christ was condemned in our place. And so we struggle, and we will struggle all our life long. Sometimes young people say to me, do you ever get victory over besetting sins? Sure, as you grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ, you'll sin less. But I warn you, though you sin less, you feel worse." Paul has this horror of sin because his inner man is righteous and he sees sin against that backdrop. I think Paul, and any believer, is far more sensitive to sin than an unbeliever, because an unbeliever has nothing to compare it to. Others don't fight the battle with the flesh. They're all flesh, and the old self and the flesh are very compatible partners. So the good news is you will sin less as you grow, but you'll feel worse, because the less you sin, the more you become like God, the more you hate sin. …
… A spirit that frees us from the penalty and the power and the possession of sin, because now, therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. A spirit which makes us alive in Christ as we deepen our faith, as we live in the dualities of discipleship, as we walk with the assurance of our final victory, knowing that the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies. Today, as we continue on in our journey, I would that you hear the reading of verses 12 through 17 in the new revised standard version of God's holy word. Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse number 12. Listen for the word of the Lord. So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. …
… but make us spiritually completely alive. There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. God says, come into me, come into me. I want your fellowship. You can experience my presence. Are you ready to do that? Let me just tell you how we're going to do the Lord's Supper. if you are received christ as savior if you've been baptized in other words if you've professed your faith before other people joined a church or been baptized if you're ready to ditch competing concerns and to forsake any sins that you know of and commit yourself to be holy because that's what a temple is you can receive the sacrament that means you can actually receive his cleansing power, his grace, and his presence here tonight. If you haven't received Christ as Savior, don't take the bread and the cup. Take Christ. Bow your head and say tonight, if I've never really received you as my Savior before, I do so now because I want to be built into that temple. We're going to confess our sins together, and then we're going to pass out the Lord's Supper, and you're going to hold it until we pass out the bread, we sing, and then we'll eat together. We're going to pass out the cup while we sing, and then we're going to drink together. We're going to come into his presence because we are the temple. Because he's the temple, we're the temple. Because he's a priest, we are priests. You see? Because he was the bread of life, we can eat it. Because we've …
he dies and says, because I've paid your penalty, you no longer have to be afraid that God will reject you. Now, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And because you know that, you can now have a dynamic, an engine of gratitude in your heart that for the first time will enable you to finally do things for God instead of for yourself. the whole idea of my dying is to give you that engine of gratitude, and you've got to turn the key. And if you're not turning the key, you're forgetting what I've done. In 2 Peter, for example, there's this interesting place that says, 2 Peter says, add to your goodness knowledge. Add to your knowledge self-control. Add to your self-control godliness. Add to your godliness love. He's saying you have to grow. You have to change. You have to develop greater and greater Christian character. And then he says, Peter says, for if you do not have them in increasing measure, you are nearsighted and blind and you've forgotten that you were cleansed from your sins. …