Expound: Romans 8:1-27 - Part A

One of the reasons we love this chapter is how it begins and how it ends and everything in between. Just adds to it begins with no condemnation.

It ends with no separation. We have no condemnation before God can't be separated from the until chapter of the book of Romans, the apostle Paul to the dark picture of humanity to connect with scriptures about this moment about the new like you can have in Jesus right now to tell you about a resource that will help you grow stronger in your faith trials, temptation, and the tone those are the magazines of three booklets from when you were making available this month I correct was gift.com here's one with more of this bundle into Me.

I handed the keys to unlock the thought stances and fears that can cause you to give into temptation and speak no evil. I encourage you to avoid setting fires with your words and instead use them to bring showers of blessing when you hike six booklets go to sleep, speak no evil unhappy trials provides help hope and encouragement in dealing with life's challenges. This bundle of three booklets or years were a gift of $20 or more to help keep his Bible teaching ministry on their good yours when you get to the by calling 800-922-1888, or give online securely connect was gift.com/offer that's correct was.com/off Romans chapter on January 1, 1863, the president of the United States, then Abraham Lincoln signed and proclaiming that the slaves in the Confederate states were free. What he signed was called the Emancipation Proclamation 2000 years ago God signed our Emancipation Proclamation on a cross just outside of the Damascus gate in Jerusalem when his son went to die for our sins.

We who were slaves of sin. Anyone, anyone who would be born a slave of sin and would desire freedom emancipation could have from that moment on work. The edict was signed by blood. Romans chapter 8 I said was a chapter that I have been waiting to get to because it is one of the greatest chapters in all of holy writ in all of Scripture. It is what one guy called member talk to this week about all dead guys. So here's another quote of an old dead guy Griffith Thomas, a name not many know, but he was really responsible. He and a couple other guys for Dallas theological seminary, but he ran around with the likes of DL Moody and wrote on theology, etc. he said. Romans chapter 8 is the chapter of chapters for the believer. I suppose if Scripture were a golden ring, but the book of Romans would be the diamond on that golden ring in Romans chapter 8 would be the sparkle on the diamond of that golden ring. It's a chapter that if you spend any time at all reading to the book of Romans, you have come to dearly love by God's grace. I'm going to attempt to go through just this one chapter tonight. You've heard me make promises like that before and I've been unable to fulfill them. But we can give it a try. One of the reasons we love this chapter is how it begins and how it ends and everything in between. Just adds to it. It begins with no condemnation. It ends with no separation. We have no condemnation before God.

We can't be separated from the love of God. No condemnation.

That's one book and no separation.

That's the other book. It so verse one 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 and then verse 38 Doran to go back and read the other verses for I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. No condemnation.

No separation though. The chapter begins. There is therefore now no condemnation that therefore takes us back a few verses and the thought really begins around verse 22 but I was going to have you look at verse 24. Just to give you a contrast because chapter 7 was a pretty miserable chapter really is. It's is like a man. This is he's painting a dark picture of himself, of humanity. So he says in verse 20 4O wretched man that I am what a statement who will deliver me from this body of death.

It's as if Paul is carrying around a dead rotting carcass strapped to his back what he refers to as the body of death his old nature nature. He was born with the nature that is separated from God.

The nature that every believer still has that fights his new nature wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death, that sort of sums up that sort of book the pinnacle remark of chapter 7 chapter is filled with desperation. It's filled with defeat and no sooner does he asked that question. Then he answers the question who will deliver me from this body of death, verse 25 is the answer to that question. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

That's the answer I'm a wretched man who will deliver me, Jesus Christ, our Lord will deliver you, he's the one and then there is therefore now no condemnation, just a little bit of a review go back a few verses in chapter 7. Look at verse 15. If you remember last week I mentioned that Paul the apostle uses about 47 personal pronouns in chapter 7. I need the mind.

He's very, very self focused. Verse 15 all emphasize that for what I am doing. I do not understand for what I will to do that. I do not practice but what I hate I do.

If then I do what I will not to do. I agree with the law that it is good, but now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me, for I know that in me, that is, in my flesh. Nothing good dwells for to will is present with me. But how to perform what is good.

I do not find for the good that I will to do.

I do not do and so it goes. This guy has an eye disease.

IIII he he has an overdose of vitamin I very very self focused, as we mentioned last time Paul is being very honest about the struggle that he himself had with the old nature that we all have so chapter 7 especially with that pinnacle verse of verse 24 becomes one of most depressing sections of Scripture that exist, especially in the book of Romans chapter 7 is all about the chains of bondage, the slavery that we have, to the past, but in chapter 8, you hear those chains falling down, they break in and right out of the gate. He begins 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.

The literal way to write verse one would be. There is therefore now not one condemnation. It's not great English but it's great theology.

There's not one ounce of condemnation that can be leveled against the child of God, whose slate has been wiped clean. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, our great emancipator. No condemnation.

Now what you should do is after Jesus where there is a comma in my Bible and probably yours. If you have my translation the new King James where it has a, you should put it. Not a, because the verse really ends there. The second part of the verse. Some of us don't believe belongs there.

I included I think the way it read in the original that Paul panned the original letter to the Romans is this there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. I know what you think. You think will and why is that second part there who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit right wanting allies at their are you wondering if good, you should be wondering and I'm glad you asked because the answer for you is found in verse four 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.

The same little phrase so what we believe happened is that it was originally written. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. And then WRITING and he got to verse four and he wrote legitimately that in verse four, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. But in ancient times they didn't have Microsoft Word, they couldn't highlight a verse and copy it and paste it so they had to write or copy every manuscript by hand and it would seem the way it is. Thought is believed is that a scribe took the end of verse four and wrote in the margin on the side like a footnote who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit in the margin of verse one to show the reader that there is a relationship between those who are not condemned verse one and those who walk according to the spirit. Verse four that he's describing the same person. So he wrote that in the March and then later on since there still wasn't Microsoft Word and you can highlight copy and paste but you had to write everything by hand that another scribe in seeing the note in the margins thought all somebody left it out when it should be in verse one so included in verse one. Now you're wondering what how do you know that you could have just made that up.

We know that because we have collectively humanity has found older manuscripts and the older manuscripts.

None of them have that second part in verse one, all of them say there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. In support that you make the distinction because if you keep that little phrase in your going to be looking inward and you to be wondering well there's no condemnation. If I'm walking in the spirit. But four hours ago.

I did walk in the spirit. When I gave that guy who cut in front of me. That sign.

I shouldn't have. I know I shouldn't have but I did it I was why so maybe there's no condemnation for me because of what happened four hours, but you know how it is were up and down so you can be looking inward.

But if you omit that phrase you not to be looking inward to be looking upward. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Are you in Christ, no condemnation, so that's why it's important to to to make note of them probably that was added by a scribe later on because older manuscripts don't include that according to the those who walk according to the flesh but according the spirit. No, I know I'm still in verse one, but bear with notice what it doesn't say it doesn't say there is therefore now no failure for those who are in Christ Jesus was not true, because four hours ago you failed I when I got pulled in front of it. It doesn't say there's no mistakes for those were in Christ Jesus.

Nor does it say there is therefore now no consequence for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because you could do something you could send in a certain area and bear a temporal consequence for it says there is therefore now no condemnation that his judgment is a very strong word for judgment.

There is no strong divine judgment for those who were in Christ Jesus. Yes, the believer will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ, the reward seat. The bema seat of Christ and receive a reward for things done in the body. Paul said yes there are consequences for unbelievers who will be judged and condemned before God because they didn't let Jesus take percent but for those of us who are in Christ Jesus judgments over man judgments past past tense in John chapter 5 Jesus said these words most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my words and believes in him who sent me master?

Have you heard the words of Jesus, yes, do you believe in Jesus and the one that Jesus was sent by yes okay so this is now for you, he who hears my words and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life has it not will have it has it right now present tense, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life judgments over there's a horrible phrase. I sometimes hear believers use something bad will happen, something unfortunate will happen. Life takes a turn in the say God is punishing me. I got this sickness, God must be punishing me or this happen to me it's because God's punishing me that's not punishing you. God punished Christ for you so that you never have to be punished or condemned. That's past tense. There is therefore now not one condemnation, no condemnation for those who were in Christ Jesus. But we made it through one verse four.

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. What the law could not do that was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and or on account of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, not by us in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. Member all those personal pronouns in the previous chapter I be my 40s. 47. There absent in this section and in their place is a reference to the spirit S Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit up until now is mentioned twice in the entire book of Romans. In this section, the Holy Spirit is mentioned or referred to 20 times so you're starting now to see the cot. The contrast hears me struggling working hard. II me me my mind. Now it's there's no condemnation, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, now we have a new capacity because of the Holy Spirit and now we understand what Jesus meant when he said to his disciples, who were all bent out of shape. The Jesus would be leaving them know you care. Leave us your decision to leave us and he goes it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go. I can't send the Holy Spirit. But if I go, I will send the Holy Spirit to you and Jesus went on to describe the glorious work of the Holy Spirit bringing things to remembrance empowering us for service so it's to our advantage. Now Paul is tapping into that advantage. As he says law of the spirit S in verse four, not according to the flesh but according to the spirit S that is the holy spirit. Now I have to unravel something for you because it can be a little bit mystified. In verses two, three and four Paul uses the term law, notice it in your Bibles, but he uses it in two different ways. But he means two different things by so when we think of law we think of something that is a dictate a regulation, a regulatory principle, a legal regulatory principle like you can go over the speed limit. There's a law you can do this. There's a law or we think of in terms of the law of Moses right you shall do this you shall not do this all of the stipulations written in legal parlance, but there's another way in which the word law is used and that is it means principle or driving force or that which motivates or controls so in verse two he says the law of the spirit S of the law of Moses is not a legal mandate a legal requirement. He speaking here about the driving principle the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

The driving principle of sin and death. So we speak of the law of gravity doesn't mean that the United States Constitution, wrote gravity into law and therefore gravity exists because it's one of the laws in our country that that kind of what the principal we speak of rock called Ohm's law of electrostatic or electromagnetic force or we speak of the law of self-preservation weed, we mean something different. By that, right. So there is an impulse in us.

Naturally, a principle that drives us to do wrong, but now now by the Holy Spirit. There's an impulse, a principal that drives us to do right. That's the idea of the law, but it used a second way and that is in verse three he speaking out of the law of Moses. What we know as the Old Testament law 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, that the righteous requirements of the law. That is the law of Moses might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. So God gave the law but the law couldn't fix me like you said in the previous chapter. The problem wasn't with the law. The problem was with me and somebody said amen right problem is with you, Skip and she's right. It is so the law is spiritual, but also I am carnal. I'm fleshly. I'm not as spiritual so the law was able to fix me the law could point out I had a problem the law like a mirror could point out I'm dirty, but the law cannot lands when I see and fixed six message we want to tell you about an opportunity to take a knowledge of God's word to a deeper level, going to church is a great way to learn about God. But what if you want to learn more deeper. Calvin College offers classes in biblical studies courses like worldview apologetics learn how to defend your faith on your schedule evening classes on campus for online transfer credits to come over to University Veritas international diversity for an accredited college degree that will impact your spiritual life for the rest of your life. Apply now@calvarychurchcollege.com.

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