No Condemnation in Christ
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:1-17
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was
weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on
account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might
be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those
who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live
according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is
not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot
please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give
life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 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. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For
you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by
whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed
we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
I found out on Friday that, once again, the Spirit had my mother and I working on
similar sermons this week. Similar but from very different angles. She focused on why
we do the things we do. Do you not lie because you have to or God will be mad or
because you love God and want to honor Him by honoring His Word? There’s a really
big difference. Now, today we’ll consider not why you do right or wrong but what if you
do right or wrong. If you do right do you get puffed up and look down at those who are
doing wrong? If you do wrong do you feel horrible about yourself and wait for
something to go wrong so you can say God is punishing you? That’s going to be our
focus this morning.
The very first verse in our scripture reading says that there is no condemnation to
those that are in Christ Jesus. We’re going to start by looking at the opposite side of
this one. If you are in Christ Jesus, there should be no condemnation coming from
you. Do you remember the older brother? You know, they call it the parable of the
prodigal son but what about the older brother? Remember, he’s the one that did
everything right. He stayed home with his father, worked hard, didn’t fall for the
temptation that his younger brother did. But did his heart mirror the father’s heart?
Let’s take a look! Luke 15:25-32, 25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came
and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants
and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and
because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I
never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat,
that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has
devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right
that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was
lost and is found.’”
In a lot of ways the organized church has turned into that older brother or at least that’
s what the world sees. In the older brother’s mind, the father’s love was supposed to
be in proportion to how good you are but that wasn’t the case at all. The father in the
parable loved both of them because they were his sons. Period. Our Father loves us
because we are His children, not because we follow His commandments flawlessly or
because we don’t eat pork or keep the Sabbath holy or because we tithe. The father
in the parable tells his older son that everything he has is his, so he clearly loves him.
We have to remember that because God, our Father, loves us does not mean He
loves those who are still lost less than us. We can’t come off as if we think He should
love us more. We have to remember that He loved us when we were still sinners too.
So, now let’s look at the flip side; no condemnation means no condemnation. We are
the righteousness of God by faith in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:22). We are that
righteousness when we rise above the temptation of sin. We are that righteousness
when we succumb to that temptation. We, who are that righteousness, cannot
become our own older brother. We cannot beat ourselves up with God’s law. It is not
meant to be a burden to us, it’s meant to be a guide. The psalms sing of the love we
should have for God’s law. Would you love something that would condemn you at
every turn and make a record of your faults to bring them against you? It is the enemy
that does that. He is the accuser of the brethren. The law condemns the sinner to
repentance but not the saint. The saint has already repented. For the saint the law is
more like the prodigal’s father celebrating our return to right standing as a son with no
condemnation.
So, if there’s nothing we can do to bring condemnation then we should be able to do
whatever we want to do, right? Wrong. Paul says it like this in Romans 6:1-4, 1 What
shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall
we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him
through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. We may not be condemned by sin
but we are convicted by it. The Holy Spirit within us will convict of sin. I remember
when I got convicted to stop celebrating Christmas and easter. The more I read the
Bible and studied the origin of both traditions, the more convicted I became. I didn’t
feel condemned for all the Christmas’ and easters I had celebrated in my life. I was
convicted that I didn’t want to do it anymore. When we are convicted by our sin, we
don’t have to beat our self up thinking that God is mad at us. To do that would be
casting away the blood of Christ as if it is not sufficient. When we feel convicted by sin
we should analyze the situation, ask God to reveal to us where we erred, to make our
offense clear to us so we can avoid doing it again. There may be times when we’re
not even sure what we did wrong but something inside us makes us sure that we have
done something. That’s the Holy Spirit.
We must always remember that we are not made righteous by our deeds or by our
works or by the law. We are made righteous by Christ alone! Period! End of story!
Game over. We cannot lose sight of that very crucial point. Ephesians 2:4-9, 4 But
God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we
were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6
and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7
that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. That passage says
it all. Not by works, lest any man should boast. Let us not boast in our righteousness
as the older brother attempted to do. And let us not dwell in condemnation thinking
our self not worthy of sonship as the prodigal did. The father loved them both, not
one greater than the other. Our Father is rich in mercy and offers it freely to all. He
does not want even one to perish. If He loved us even when we were dead in
trespasses, doesn’t it seem obvious that He loves those still dead in their trespasses
and He will love them even as they head toward destruction. May we love them as our
Father in heaven loves them.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: September 17, 2006
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:1-17
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was
weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on
account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might
be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those
who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live
according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is
not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot
please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give
life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 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. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For
you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by
whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed
we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
I found out on Friday that, once again, the Spirit had my mother and I working on
similar sermons this week. Similar but from very different angles. She focused on why
we do the things we do. Do you not lie because you have to or God will be mad or
because you love God and want to honor Him by honoring His Word? There’s a really
big difference. Now, today we’ll consider not why you do right or wrong but what if you
do right or wrong. If you do right do you get puffed up and look down at those who are
doing wrong? If you do wrong do you feel horrible about yourself and wait for
something to go wrong so you can say God is punishing you? That’s going to be our
focus this morning.
The very first verse in our scripture reading says that there is no condemnation to
those that are in Christ Jesus. We’re going to start by looking at the opposite side of
this one. If you are in Christ Jesus, there should be no condemnation coming from
you. Do you remember the older brother? You know, they call it the parable of the
prodigal son but what about the older brother? Remember, he’s the one that did
everything right. He stayed home with his father, worked hard, didn’t fall for the
temptation that his younger brother did. But did his heart mirror the father’s heart?
Let’s take a look! Luke 15:25-32, 25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came
and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants
and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and
because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’
28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I
never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat,
that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has
devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’
31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right
that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was
lost and is found.’”
In a lot of ways the organized church has turned into that older brother or at least that’
s what the world sees. In the older brother’s mind, the father’s love was supposed to
be in proportion to how good you are but that wasn’t the case at all. The father in the
parable loved both of them because they were his sons. Period. Our Father loves us
because we are His children, not because we follow His commandments flawlessly or
because we don’t eat pork or keep the Sabbath holy or because we tithe. The father
in the parable tells his older son that everything he has is his, so he clearly loves him.
We have to remember that because God, our Father, loves us does not mean He
loves those who are still lost less than us. We can’t come off as if we think He should
love us more. We have to remember that He loved us when we were still sinners too.
So, now let’s look at the flip side; no condemnation means no condemnation. We are
the righteousness of God by faith in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:22). We are that
righteousness when we rise above the temptation of sin. We are that righteousness
when we succumb to that temptation. We, who are that righteousness, cannot
become our own older brother. We cannot beat ourselves up with God’s law. It is not
meant to be a burden to us, it’s meant to be a guide. The psalms sing of the love we
should have for God’s law. Would you love something that would condemn you at
every turn and make a record of your faults to bring them against you? It is the enemy
that does that. He is the accuser of the brethren. The law condemns the sinner to
repentance but not the saint. The saint has already repented. For the saint the law is
more like the prodigal’s father celebrating our return to right standing as a son with no
condemnation.
So, if there’s nothing we can do to bring condemnation then we should be able to do
whatever we want to do, right? Wrong. Paul says it like this in Romans 6:1-4, 1 What
shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall
we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him
through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. We may not be condemned by sin
but we are convicted by it. The Holy Spirit within us will convict of sin. I remember
when I got convicted to stop celebrating Christmas and easter. The more I read the
Bible and studied the origin of both traditions, the more convicted I became. I didn’t
feel condemned for all the Christmas’ and easters I had celebrated in my life. I was
convicted that I didn’t want to do it anymore. When we are convicted by our sin, we
don’t have to beat our self up thinking that God is mad at us. To do that would be
casting away the blood of Christ as if it is not sufficient. When we feel convicted by sin
we should analyze the situation, ask God to reveal to us where we erred, to make our
offense clear to us so we can avoid doing it again. There may be times when we’re
not even sure what we did wrong but something inside us makes us sure that we have
done something. That’s the Holy Spirit.
We must always remember that we are not made righteous by our deeds or by our
works or by the law. We are made righteous by Christ alone! Period! End of story!
Game over. We cannot lose sight of that very crucial point. Ephesians 2:4-9, 4 But
God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we
were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6
and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7
that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. That passage says
it all. Not by works, lest any man should boast. Let us not boast in our righteousness
as the older brother attempted to do. And let us not dwell in condemnation thinking
our self not worthy of sonship as the prodigal did. The father loved them both, not
one greater than the other. Our Father is rich in mercy and offers it freely to all. He
does not want even one to perish. If He loved us even when we were dead in
trespasses, doesn’t it seem obvious that He loves those still dead in their trespasses
and He will love them even as they head toward destruction. May we love them as our
Father in heaven loves them.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: September 17, 2006
