Romans 8:1-4
No condemnation
Introduction to series:
The next seven weeks will be spent in Romans chapter 8. This chapter is often referred to as the great 8.
“The inner sanctuary within the cathedral of Christian faith, the tree of life in the midst of the Garden of Eden,
the highest peak in a range of mountains- such are some of the metaphors used by interpreters who extol
chapter 8 as the greatest passage within what so many consider to be the greatest book in scripture.” (Moo,
467-8)
“…if the Holy Scriptures were a ring and the Epistle to the Romans its precious stone, chapter eight would be
the sparkling point of the jewel.” (Steele and Thomas, 63)
The riches of Romans 8 are inexhaustibleJohn Piper preached 28 sermons on Romans 8
Martyn Lloyd Jones has three volumes of sermons on Romans 8
I have on my desk a large book just on romans 8:1-4.
Scripture memory…
Romans 8:1–4 (ESV) — 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the
law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what
the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,
he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Prayer: prayer for illumination…
Sermon introduction: There are certain things that I hope none of you ever have to experience.
I hope that none of you ever experience getting dumped by your significant other
I hope that none of you ever experience getting fired by your boss
I hope that none of you ever experience bankruptcy
I hope that none of you ever experience getting robbed
I hope that none of you ever experience the ravages of divorce
I hope that none of you ever experience chronic illness
I hope that none of you ever experience persecution
I hope none of you parents ever experience the loss of a child
As terrible as these experiences are there is a far worse experience.
I hope that none of you ever experience the condemnation of God.
Why is this far worse? The condemnation of God lasts for all eternity.
Here is the good news this morning. Roman 8:1-4 states that Christians will never experience the
condemnation of God.
What does this mean?
First, the reality of no condemnation
Second, the reasons for no condemnation
Third, the result of no condemnation
First, the reality of no condemnation
Look with me at verse 1. “There is therefore (in light of the first 7 chapters) now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus.”
What does condemnation mean? To be found guilty. Condemnation is the noun and condemned is
the verb. The word condemnation was used in courts of law in the 1st century. If you were accused of a crime
you would stand before a judge and if the evidence pointed to your guilt you were condemned and you would
be punished. If the evidence pointed to your innocence your were vindicated or justified. The opposite of
condemnation is justification.
Condemnation carries with it not only the verdict of guilty but it usually includes the punishment as
well.
Paul makes it very clear in the book of Romans that everyone deserves condemnation. This is made
especially clear in Romans chapter 2 and 3. Paul knows that someday everyone will stand in the Divine
courtroom on that great and awful Day of Final Judgment, books will be opened and Christ will judge each one
of us. All those who do not obey all of God’s laws perfectly will be condemned. Christ will say to them “You
are guilty of disobeying my laws, therefore you are condemned to hell for all eternity, depart from me into
everlasting torment”.
Objections…
Wow… that seems kind of harsh of God!
What does no condemnation mean? Not even the least bit guilty! Look with me again at verse 1.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” What does no condemnation
mean? It means no condemnation. Not even the least bit of condemnation. Not even the least bit of guilt.
Not even an ounce, a fraction, or a splash of guilt.
To say this positively we could say “there is therefore now Justification for those who are in Christ
Jesus.” In other words those who are in Christ Jesus will be declared as righteous as Jesus on that great day.
Therefore they will receive reward instead of damnation.
We translate the Greek word Katakrima with the word condemnation but the Latin word is
damnationus which is where we get the word damnation. In other words, Paul is saying there is therefore
now no damnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Stop and let this soak in. This means you will never go to hell. This means you will spend all eternity in
joyful bliss with God.
Illustration: Imagine this scenario. You have been in jail for years. You know you are guilty of the
crimes committed. There is no way of escape. Even if you do a thousand good things you still can’t erase your
guilt. You are a condemned criminal.
You’re scheduled to be executed in a few minutes. You sit on your bed and wait but time seems to
stand still. You hear footsteps heading towards you on the cold cement floor. This is it. You are about to be
escorted to the lethal injection room.
The man coming towards you reaches in his pocket and pulls out the keys. He opens the door and says
the judge has changed his mind you are no longer a condemned person. You are free to go.
This is not a fairy tale. This is true. Every one of us was on death row. We are guilty and Christ has
opened the door of our cell and said you are no longer a condemned man or women. But the news that
Christ gives us is far greater. We are not only rescued from death but we are rescued from an eternity of
torment.
Application:
This good news only applies to those who are in Christ. Paul uses the phrase in Christ twice in verses
one and two.
So what exactly has God done to ensure we will never be condemned? That brings us to our next
point.
First, we have looked at the reality of “no condemnation”….
Second, the reasons for no condemnation
(Reason 1) We will not be condemned because of the Holy Spirit’s work! Look with me at verses 1-2.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ for (because) the law of the Spirit of life
has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
The grounds for us not being condemned is the fact that we have been set free from the law of sin and
death by the law of the spirit of life.
Most commentators agree that the word law in this context is best understood as power, authority, or
principal. Paul uses law to refer to a power in 7:21-25 (Rom 3:27, 9:31-32). So we can restate it like this- “The
power of the spirit of life has set us free in Christ Jesus from the power of sin and death.”
What does this mean? Notice that the Holy Spirit’s work is connected to the freedom we have in Christ
Jesus. “the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus” It is the Holy Spirit that applies the work of
Christ to us. Jesus died on the cross and earned our freedom from the power of sin leading to death but this
was not applied to us until the Holy Spirit gave us the ability to trust in Christ.
So I think that verse 2 means this- the Holy Spirit has set us free from the power of sin leading to death
by applying the gospel/work of Christ to us.
Reason 1 we will not be condemned because of the Holy Spirit’s work!
(Reason 2) We will not be condemned because God sent his son! Look with me at verse 3. “For God
has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful
flesh”
This is a scandalous verse. Scandalous because God the Father sent his son to die for those who broke
his law and scorned his son. Notice that Paul does not say that God merely sent a son. He takes pains to point
out that God sent his own son. His one and only son. Don’t forget who initiated salvation. It was God the
Father. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking that God the Father is an Angry God full of wrath who has
no compassion or pity. It was God the father who was moved by pity and compassion that sent his own son to
suffer and die for his enemies so that his enemies would not be condemned. God the Father abounds with
Love and God the son pours out wrath.
I would never send one of my own sons to my enemies so that they could kill him in order that I could
forgive them. But God is not like you or me. His love can’t even be measured!!!
We will not be condemned because of the Holy Spirit’s work
We will not be condemned because God sent the Son
(Reason 3) We will not be condemned because Christ obeyed the law! Look with me again at the first
part of verse 3. “For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do by sending his own son
in the likeness of sinful flesh”
The law in this passage is a reference to the laws of God found in the Bible summarized in the great
commandment. Paul says that this law could not do something. What can’t the law do? This law cannot save
us. In other words our obedience to the law will never save us. The law is not bad, in fact Paul earlier
describes the law as very good (7:14). The problem is not the law the problem is with us. No matter how hard
we try to obey the law we will never obey it enough. In fact, the harder we try to obey the law the more we
will be aware of our failure to do so.
Illustration: there are many things that are impossible for human beings to do.
It is impossible for human beings to fly on their own strength
It is impossible for human beings to survive more than 3-4 days without water.
It is impossible for human beings to live more than 130 years
It is impossible for human beings to jump across the Grand Canyon
It is impossible for a human being to pick up a five-ton boulder
And it is impossible for human beings save themselves by obedience to God’s law.
If you have been around the church for a while you know this… but how many of you deep down
inside think that God is going to love you more when you perform for him? If this is the case you are still
trying to do the impossible. You are trying to do what only God can do. You are trying to earn God’s favor
through your obedience.
If you are stuck in the good day bad day cycle you are trying to do what only God can do…
Back to our text… What we could not do (obey the law in order to be saved) God did by sending his
son. Jesus came to earth and obeyed God’s law perfectly his whole life. He earned for us a record of law
keeping so that we would not be condemned.
The moment we believe the gospel all of Christ’s perfection is credited to our account.
We will not be condemned because of the work of the HS
We will not be condemned because God sent his son
We will not be condemned because Christ obeyed the law.
(Reason 4) We will not be condemned because Christ was condemned! Look with me at verse 3 one
more time. “For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do by sending his own son in the
likeness of sinful flesh and for sin he condemned sin in the flesh”
Lets look at this phrase by phrase.
Paul says that Jesus came in the likeness of Sinful flesh. Paul chose these words very carefully. If he
would have said that Jesus came in sinful flesh that would sound like Jesus was a sinner. So he says that Jesus
came in the likeness or the form of sinful flesh. He never sinned yet he lived in a human body that was
affected by sin. Jesus was fully God and fully man and he had to be both in order for us to receive the verdict
of no condemnation.
When Paul says “and for sin” this is most likely an illusion to Christ be a sin offering on our behalf.
I want to focus on the last six words of verse 3- “he condemned sin in the flesh”. This phrase means
“God the father condemned sin in Chris”. This is the apex of these four verses. We will not be condemned
because Christ was condemned in our place. When Paul says “He condemned sin in the flesh” the flesh is the
flesh of Christ. This is made clear from what was said before in the same verse.
If Christ was innocent than why was he condemned? Christ was condemned not for his sins but for our
sins. Our sins were legally transferred to his account. Because there were transferred to him he was
condemned in our place. He became our legal substitute.
When Christ hung on the cross he experienced condemnation in the place ofThe rapist
The adulterer
The murder
The liar
The sexually immoral
The proud
The self-righteous
The racist
The bigot
The complainer
The thief
All the guilt for all these sins and all our sins was placed on Christ and he was condemned for you, in
your place.
He did not bare a little bit of our condemnation. He bore all of our condemnation. In other words, he
bore the entire weight of God’s white-hot wrath in our place.
Illustration: On Thursday night at 6pm there was an incredible storm up north. I have never seen it
rain so hard in my life and I have been in some intense rainstorms in the Midwest, in Florida, and in other
places. Rain and hail fell from the sky in buckets. My gutters could not handle it, the beauty bark in our
backyard was floating away, our drainage swales in our front yard were full and they are 3 feet deep, 10 feet
wide, and 30 feet long.
On top of all this was an awesome display of Thunder and lighting.
My son Silas wanted to go outside and experience the storm first hand. He bundled up and ran down
the steps and into the front yard. About ten seconds later a flash of lighting lit up the sky right in front of him
and a second later thunder boomed like a cannon. Of course Silas ran back in the house with a terrified look
on his face. If the lighting would have struck him he may have died.
Jesus Christ experienced the white hot furry of the wrath of God in our place. He was struck with the
lighting of God’s furry that we deserved. It was not a little bit of lighting or a little bit of wrath. It was the
wrath reserved for billions of people focused in on his only son for a few hours.
Because he faced this condemnation for us there nothing left for us to face.
We have looked at four reasons we don’t have to fear condemnation…
Application:
We often feel a little condemned? Many Christians realize that they are going to Heaven but they
walk around feeling a little condemned most of the time. You spend most of your life feeling a little guilty. I
know that God forgives me for my pride, and my complaining, and my coveting, but back when I was in high
school I did some really bad things and then there was that night with that girl or that boy that I can’t erase
from my memory. It is like a club that beats me.
Paul says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Last time I checked no means no.
No condemnation does not mean- “a large majority of the condemnation is gone” or “most of the
condemnation is gone”. It means all the condemnation is gone. It does not matter what you did!!!
Furthermore, if you still feel condemned and you are a Christian you are saying that God is not just. If
Christ was condemned in our place it would be unjust of God to then condemn us. The penalty for our sin has
already been paid. God the father must justify us if we trust his son or he would be unjust.
In addition, we often rely on our feelings too much!
I don’t feel forgiven, I feel condemned. Dave, if you know what I did in college, or in high school, or last
week you would feel condemned too. It does not matter how you feel. Please listen to the objective facts of
Romans 8:1-4. All of your sins were placed on Christ and he was condemned in your place. Does Romans 8:14 say anything about your feelings??? Your feelings come and go they can’t be trusted. What we must trust is
the objective word of God.
Furthermore, we often forget the difference between conviction and condemnation.
Holy spirit conviction is good because it is specific and it leads us to the cross. We want the Holy Spirit
to convict of us sin so that we can repent and move on. Condemnation on the other hand is often very vague,
there is nothing to repent of, but you steel feel condemned. This is from the devil.
Finally, You may be thinking- I don’t feel condemned now but I will probably do stuff tomorrow that
will make me feel condemned….
First, the reality of no condemnation
Second, the reasons for no condemnation
Third, the result of no condemnation
What is the result of no condemnation? Righteous living. Look with me at verses 3- 4. “For god has
done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and
for sin he condemned sin in the flesh, (4) in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in
us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Why does God give us the verdict of not guilty? Why does God remove our condemnation? He does
this for many reasons. But the reason given here is somewhat surprising. Paul tells us in verse 4 that God
removes condemnation so that we will live righteously.
Paul says that God has removed our verdict of condemnation through Christ, in order that the
righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to
the spirit.
Because Jesus Christ has removed our condemnation, because he has forgiven us, because he has
declared us righteous, because all these things have happened we can now be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He is
called the Holy Spirit because he is holy and he makes us holy.
God saved us by grace so that we would live lives that glorify him.
Not only are we saved from condemnation we are saved to a life of Godliness. But it is not a life of
white knuckled, pull up your bootstraps, drudgery it is a life of holiness empowered by the Spirit of God.
Application:
Won’t the knowledge of no condemnation lead to licentious living??? God gives us the verdict of no
condemnation so that we will live righteously.
We must stop and notice the order of events in Romans 8:1-4. The order is everything. If you reverse
the order you no longer have Christianity. The verdict of no condemnation comes before Holy Spirit wrought
obedience. God Justifies by grace alone and then he begins the process of sanctifying us. Unfortunately
many Christians subtly and unintentionally reverse this order.
Conclusion:
We have looked at the reality, the reasons, and the result of no condemnation.
My wife and I just finished a book that described life in Stalinist Russia. It was horrible. Stalin killed
millions of his own people because they got in the way.
Families were separated, women were raped, Children were killed. I hope you never experience that
type of political oppression.
I hope you never experience war
I hope you never experience prison
I hope you never experience starvation
And I hope you never experience God’s condemnation. You can be confident that you will not if you
put your trust in Christ this morning. Lets pray…
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Home group leader questions
What is the main point of Romans 8:1-4
Are there any parts of the passage you do not understand?
When do you feel the most condemned?
What are the reasons from this text we should not feel condemned?
What advice would you give to someone who struggled with feelings of condemnation and guilt on a
regular basis?
How is this passage going to change the way you live this week?
Who is going to memorize Romans 8?