Established in Christ, Part 2

If you would take your Bibles
and turn back once again to the book of Romans and to chapter
eight, where we have. Been for the last several Lord’s days, that little break
in between, notwithstanding, we started in Romans chapter
eight, verse one, and we have. Parked there at least temporarily
and Just by way of a quick review, we basically looked just at that
one verse, Romans 8, 1, which, as one referred to it, is one
of the crown jewels of Christian hope, one of the most profound
verses in all of Scripture with regards to our Christian life. And I suggested to you that there
were a number of What I refer to as superlative elements in
that verse, things that really there are
no. No statements that go beyond
the greatness of the ones uttered in this one verse, there is therefore
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Just
by way of a very quick and simple review, we saw that Regarding
the Christians condition and the condition that we now enjoy
purely because of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the first
superlative element was that we see in this verse the greatest
conclusion, therefore, and we saw that that word, therefore,
looks back on all that Paul had said from chapter one all the
way through chapter seven. All of those elements that were
sewn into that one great conclusive statement in verse one, we saw
regarding our condition. The second superlative element
is that the greatest change that we find that there is now, therefore,
no condemnation. Things weren’t always this way.
Things used to be much different. We were at one point under condemnation
and we were in that condition hopeless. The law didn’t help
us. Our own efforts didn’t help us.
Religion didn’t help us. But now things are different. There is the greatest change.
The third superlative element that we came across is the greatest
degree. The greatest degree there is
therefore now no condemnation, not just is a little bit of our
condemnation removed, not just is the greater portion of our
condemnation removed. There is therefore now no condemnation. We do not face condemnation,
nor can we ever come back under condemnation. The condemnation
brought on by the law, which renders us Judged and hell bound. The fourth superlative element. That we saw last week regarding
the Christians condition. Is the greatest liberation there
is therefore now no condemnation. Condemnation if it is the worst
possible condition in which an individual can find themselves
then The liberation, the freedom from that condemnation has to
be the best, the greatest liberation that anyone has ever enjoyed.
If you are in Christ, you have already come to possess the greatest
gift of all, and that is a freedom, a liberation, complete and thorough
from the condemnation that is justly leveled against all sinners.
because of God’s law. The fifth and final superlative
element stated in this little verse is the greatest haven of
all. The greatest place to be. The
greatest place for any sinner to come and to find respite and
rest and hope. There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you have placed your faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have a haven. You have a
place of rest. You have a place of comfort.
You have a place of salvation. That is the summary of the first
seven chapters of all that Paul has said. But Paul isn’t anywhere
near complete in his articulation of all that God has done on our
behalf. And remember, this chapter is
essentially woven into this greater discussion of the sanctification
of the individual by God himself. The same God who initiates and
establishes our salvation is the same God that initiates and
will effectively complete our sanctification. And so this section,
which I’ve entitled Divine Assistance in the Life of the Christian,
captures every member of the Godhead rendering aid to the
hopeless sinner, every member of the Godhead, Jesus Christ,
the Holy Spirit and God himself. And the totality of the argument
is that if the three members of the Godhead have rendered
aid to the hopeless and helpless sinner, then we must enjoy the greatest
security of all. We have the greatest motivation
to pursuit of godliness. We have the greatest motivation
to hope in heaven with a genuine hope and not just wishful thinking. Go back, if you would, to Romans,
verse 1 of chapter 8. There is, therefore, now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin
and of death. For what the law could not do,
weak as it was through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin. He condemned
sin in the flesh. in order that the requirement
of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according
to the flesh, but according to the spirit. For those who are
according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh,
but those who are according to the spirit, the things of the
spirit. For the mindset on the flesh
is death, but the mindset on the spirit is life and peace.
Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it
does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even
able to do so. And those who are in the flesh
cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not
belong to him. And if Christ is in you, though
the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because
of righteousness. But if the spirit of him who
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ
Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through his spirit who indwells you. We began last week to consider
this first section, which really articulates the truth, the greater
truth that the Christian’s life is established in Christ Jesus. That’s where it all starts. Christ
Jesus has a profound role in the sinner’s salvation, obviously. It was amazing that some commentaries
read in the Holy Spirit so heavily into this first portion, verses
1 through 11, that they almost overlook the profound role of
the Lord Jesus Christ in it. Certainly, the Spirit, as I mentioned,
is spoken of here more in Romans 8 than in any other portion of
the book of Romans, but It’s not as if the Lord Jesus Christ
is uninvolved in this process. As we saw, he’s mentioned in
verse 1 and verse 2, in verse 9, 10, 11. The Lord Jesus Christ
is fully involved in this particular passage, and that is with purpose. What Paul is doing by the Holy
Spirit’s direction is building a case that the entire effort
of the effort, rather, of the entire Godhead, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit have rendered divine aid to those who are hopeless
and helpless, those who are spiritually dead. All of the members of the Godhead
have rendered aid. And if they have rendered aid.
Then the child of God is perfectly at peace and he is perfectly
secure. Wanted to look. Beyond just verse
one. Verse one, as I suggested last
week, is the primary statement. It is the theme statement of
these first 11 verses and everything else is support. For that one
verse, that one statement that therefore there is now no condemnation. For those who are in Christ Jesus,
everything else supports that one statement. And so we come
once again to this little subject of the law. And what Paul wants
to deal with here. In the midst of laying out this
exposition of The fact that we are established in Christ is
he wants to give us a detailed closure on the law. He has discussed
the law extensively throughout the book of Romans so far hasn’t
he. We know that if you’ve been with us you’ve been there as
well. But here he wants to give us in a sense some balance of
what to do with the law. Some education, if you will,
on how we as Christians deal with the law. And he did so in
Chapter 7, but here he sews up that argument. What Paul does is begin to give
us a mitigation of the law’s condemnation. How is it that
the law is no longer effective in the Christian’s life to produce
this effect that it does on every sinner? How is it that we, in
Christ, are no longer under condemnation? How is it that the law’s effect
has been mitigated in our lives? How was it dealt with? Did God
just set aside the law? Did God ignore the law? No. And that’s exactly what Paul
wants to discuss. is a mitigating of the law’s
condemnation. How did that happen? Because
God would be unjust if he didn’t punish sin. God would be unjust
to make these threats that are woven throughout the law and
to not go through with them. God is not unjust. God’s justice
system is perfect and perfectly intact. He shows us right here. How he mitigated against the
law’s condemnation. When Paul says there is therefore
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, no one
can charge God with wrongdoing, no one can charge God with wiping
out the law and the law’s condemnation because it’s perfectly intact,
as you’ll see. The question begins, what is
the function of verse two? A little word for is a hint It
begins to explain why the Christian is no longer under condemnation.
And we need to know this because the law hangs in the balance.
God’s justice hangs in the balance. How is it that we can suddenly
find ourselves in this pristine condition, no longer under condemnation? Either God did something with
the law or God ignored his threats or something quite different.
This little word for is crucial because it ties back to verse
one and gives us the reason why there is no condemnation. It
gives us the reason for the assurance that we have. It gives us the
reason why we no longer face condemnation if we are in Christ. So that’s the function of verse
two. The bigger problem is what does
it mean? And verse 2 is a very difficult
verse. Arriving at the meaning of verse 2 is a tedious process
that has to be done in careful steps, and I’m not going to belabor
the process this morning. We’ll walk through it. We’ll deal with the issues, but
I’m not going to, in a sense, drag you through the mud. To ascertain what Paul is saying,
we have to ask a number of questions. As you begin to look at verse
two, you have to ask and answer some crucial questions. Just
glance down at verse two. At the first portion of verse
two, what law is Paul referring to? When Paul speaks of the law
of the spirit, what law is that? Speaking of spirit, to what spirit
is Paul referring? When he mentions the spirit of
life, that’s a unique phrase. What is he referring to in that? When Paul says, when Paul appends,
rather, this little phrase, in Christ Jesus, where does that
even fit? To what does that attach? And then, finally, the law of
sin and death. Which law is that? Which law
is being referred to in that particular phrase? And each of
those really have to be answered before we can even step back
and look at the whole, the big picture, and consider the meaning
of the statement in its entirety. We’ll do this in rather rapid
fire fashion, but you’re going to have to fasten your seatbelts. The big question, once we finally
get through it all, is in what sense are we as Christians set
free from the law? How does that happen? In what
sense are we free from the law? Look back again at verse 2, where
Paul first mentions the law. What law? To what law is Paul
referring when he speaks of the law of the spirit? And as you
can well imagine, There are all kinds of theories and attempts
to explain it. One said that it’s the law in
its broad rhetorical sense. In other words, statutes, principles,
the law in a very broad sense, which would have almost no meaning
or significance in the context of this verse. Some said, quite
strangely, I would already point out, that it refers to the Holy
Spirit himself. The law is the Holy Spirit. That’s a tough one. Some said that it refers to faith
some and I would acknowledge some very powerful hitters. Those
of you who are readers and book owners would recognize some names
if I were to throw them out refer to this law as the gospel. There’s a bit of irony. There
are some powerful hitters and here’s how they explained it.
One said the law of the spirit of life is the gospel. The law
of which the life giving spirit is the author. And that’s a. I think it’s an interesting explanation.
I think it’s an interesting option. Another explained it this way,
by a strange and pregnant paradox, so we take it the gospel, the
message which carries with it acceptance and also holiness
by faith is here called law. For while it is free grace to
us, it is also an immovable ordinance with God. Well, that’s a that’s
a very creative attempt to explain a very difficult passage. And
so I applaud that particular perspective. Some or another
rather said that it’s spiritual life resulting from union with
Christ which. That’s probably the most creative
of all. I don’t think it’s the most effective. Another. said that it’s the authority
exercised by the Holy Spirit. And that’s the one that I lean
towards, that it’s law in that sense, that it’s a new principle. It’s a it’s an active actuating
principle that is tied directly to the Holy Spirit. And I’ve
already tipped my hand where I go with regards to the spirit.
There’s clearly a contrast that is set up in this verse, if you
look to the latter part. The law of the spirit in the
first part is in contrast with the law of sin in the second
part. So the most effective way to work through the question
is to work backwards. What is the second reference
to the law, and is that necessarily the same as the first? And they’re
not. Paul isn’t finished, as I said,
dealing with the law. Let’s pause and think about this
for a second. Paul has dealt thoroughly with the law. I take
you back just in your mind’s eye to where Paul established
that we all, both Jews and Gentiles, are all sinners. We’re all sinners according to
the law, which he discusses 22 times, he mentions the law in
chapter 2, verses 12 through 27. 22 times. Paul isn’t done
discussing the law when he gets to chapter 3. In chapter 3, he
mentions the law 11 more times. In chapter 4, he’s not done discussing
the law five additional times with reference primarily to Abraham
and his use of the law. In Romans 5, it’s mentioned three
times just in two little verses. In Romans 6, the law comes up
again. In Romans 7, 23 times. But mind
you, As we turn the corner into chapter
eight, you’re thinking this entire epistle is going to be a recurring
theme, attending back to a treatment of the law. And it’s not. Paul’s treatment of the law is
about to come. Not to an abrupt stop. But it’s
about to reduce to a trickle. Five times here in Romans, chapter
eight. Paul deals with the law twice. He mentions it in Romans 9 with
specific reference to Israel. In Romans 10, he mentions it
one more time with regards to believers. Listen to this. Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. If
you want righteousness, if you want salvation and you need righteousness
in order to enjoy salvation, the law is done. You will not make it if you try
to live according to the law. For Moses writes that a man,
the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live
by that righteousness. You better be perfect. That in
Romans 13, it’s mentioned two times in passing. This is essentially
Paul’s last stand on the law, Paul’s final treatment of the
law. The second question here in verse
two is, OK, so if the latter part mentions the law of God,
what is the law initially? And I take it As we’ve already
mentioned, it’s that actuating principle, it’s the overarching
principle that is directly tied to the work of the Holy Spirit.
We’ll get there in a moment. This law of sin and death refers
to the law of God, it’s the law. As one said in view of the fact
that the law of sin and death mentioned later in this verse
is most naturally understood to be identical with the law
of sin. It is natural to identify the law of the spirit of life
with the spirit of the law of God to which the law is opposed. You have these two principles. You have the principle of God’s
word which brings sinners into condemnation and you have the
principle of the spirit. This actuating principle of the
spirit, which liberates sinners. I told you it was a difficult
verse. Paul says. Essentially, there
are two different kinds of principles, active and present and working
here. Speaking of the spirit, let’s
tackle that one and briefly. Speaking of the spirit to what
spirit what kind of spirit is Paul referring. And as you might
imagine there were a number of opinions on this. One said it
is the newly invigorated human spirit. And he said it this way. This
life in Christ has as its instrument the new spirit that is in man
new because of the result of their being in union with and
invigorated by Christ’s spirit. So it’s talking about the human
spirit here which is just vapid empty void. It answers nothing
it provides no hope no encouragement no there’s nothing to that particular
argument. By the way this is how preachers
have fun. We can argue with commentators because they’ve been dead 100
years. Right. Simple. Secondly. One said it is not the Holy Spirit
but the principle or power of spiritual life the counterpart
of the law of sin and death. Now I don’t know why. I can’t
explain to you why people were so reticent. to look at the pure
and simple argument here and to conclude that this is referring
to the Holy Spirit. That’s the better part of this
book, so much so that some, as I said, overlook the role of
Christ, that this is purely about the Holy Spirit. But it is the
Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit that is in view, the Spirit of
life, means the Holy Spirit, as one said. In view of the contrast
with the law of sin and death, the law of the Spirit of life
should be understood as the regulating and actuating power of the Holy
Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit that changes
lives. It’s the Holy Spirit and only
the Spirit of God that could take us out from under the condemnation
brought on by the law and free us. and liberate us from that. So, this phrase then, the spirit
of life, to what does that refer? The spirit of life? Life, that little word life,
clearly attaches to the spirit. And it isn’t all that amazing
to us as Christians looking back now. But you can imagine if you
were in the church in Rome and you heard this phrase, the spirit
of life, that might be a worthwhile Bible study worth digging into
to find out what exactly is referred to there by the spirit of life. But for us, the spirit of life Is a simple concept to understand
because the Holy Spirit is the agent of life. The Holy Spirit
is the one who brings us to life. The Holy Spirit is the one who
brings us to salvation. The Holy Spirit is the one who
rescues us from this sentence of death. It’s the Holy Spirit
that’s in view and it’s the Holy Spirit because he is the life
giving spirit. Listen to just a few of the echoes
from Paul’s own writings, that the spirit is the giver of life. Romans 8.6, the mind set on the
flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life. Romans 8.10, if Christ is in
you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit
is alive because of righteousness. If the spirit, verse 11, 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. The spirit and life are intimately
related. John 6, 63. It is the spirit
who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. First
Corinthians 15, 45. The first man, Adam, became a
living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving
spirit. The spirit is life. The spirit here mentioned is
the spirit of life, as one said, because he is the sole author
of life. Because he is life. It is eminently
appropriate that the Holy Spirit should be designated as the spirit
of life because the power he exercises unto life as distinguished
from the power of sin, which is unto death. That’s what Paul’s
dealing with here. How did we find ourself in this
condition? It’s the spirit of life. The
spirit of life has touched you. The Holy Spirit has done his
work in and on you. Another pastor said it well when
he said in speaking of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, Paul
makes unambiguous. That he is referring to the Holy
Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit who bestows and energizes spiritual
life in the person who places his trust in Christ Jesus. Paul
could not be talking of any spirit, but the Holy Spirit, because
only God’s Spirit can bring spiritual life to a heart that is spiritually
dead. Now, remember, some of you thought
I was off my rocker when I proposed the idea in Romans 7, 14 through
25, that those words were most appropriately said at the moment
of regeneration. Remember that dark black sky
in which we saw just a pinprick, a single star in that utterly
black sky. That is the moment of regeneration. And from then on, all becomes
light and we come more and more into the glory of God. That’s
what I believe Romans 7, 14 through 25 is talking about. It’s talking
about that moment. And here you have a specific
reference. to that moment. And to what took
place in that moment, namely regeneration, you were brought
to life. You were brought from utter deadness
to life itself. You had nothing to do with it.
It was God that brought you to life. And here in Romans 7, we
have an explicit reference to that work of God in a sinner’s
life. It’s the Holy Spirit’s work. of regeneration, a literal bringing
to life. By the way, we’ve entitled this
section Divine Assistance. Assistance is not even a good
word. Many have suggested many other
words. Even establishment is perhaps
not strong enough. When I say assistance, I don’t
mean that God comes down and helps you along the path to become
a Christian. I don’t mean that God gives you
a little aid. I don’t intend that God renders
us a little casual assistance along the way. Helps us become
a little more religious. It’s not that way at all, and
you know that. When God renders aid to the Christian, he is hopeless
and helpless. He is dead. The sinner is utterly
dead, says Ephesians chapter 2. He is utterly dead, and when
God comes to him, he breathes life into him. This is the kind
of assistance we’re talking about. There’s one more question to
consider. Just in verse 2, just before
we even begin to consider the broad perspective, what does
it mean? This little phrase in Christ Jesus, to what is it connected? Some said that it should be connected
with the little word life, life in Christ Jesus. Speaking of
essentially our Christian life, that’s certainly a popular position. Some, though, connected it with
this idea that we are set free. So instead of the phrase reading
or the sentence reading, the law of the spirit of life in
Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death,
it would read like this. The law of the spirit of life
has set you free in Christ Jesus. That if you are in Christ Jesus,
you have been set free, and it’s absolutely true. Those things
are absolutely true. Our deliverance, our release
is only because we are in Christ. But it’s forced to make this
passage say that it’s ultimately true. Some said that it should be connected
with the law the law of the spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free
which is really unnatural and frankly in my vernacular just
plain clunky. It should be connected with the
spirit of life. The Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Said one, the whole process of
the Spirit giving life is in Christ Jesus. It is because of
our faith in Christ Jesus. It is because Jesus Christ died
on the cross on our behalf, was raised, and the Father accepted
that sacrifice. Everything, every good thing
for the Christian is in Christ and the spirit giving life is
also in Christ, who, as one said, is the meritorious cause of justification. The deliverance from doom is
by faith in the justifying merit of Christ, which faith is attended
as well as produced by the influences of the Holy Spirit given through
and by Christ. What do we do with the totality
of this statement? The law of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
In what sense are we set free? We’re set free, we know, from
the penalty and the power of sin. That’s what Paul has been
articulating ever since Romans chapter three. As one said, the new or renewed
human spirit has its own law regulating our true condition,
just as the old spirit had. This law is embodied in the life
and character of Christ, its first utterance is justification
by faith, which at once liberates a man from the tyranny of sin
and death. and dictates a corresponding
manner of life. In other words, the spirit of
life begins the work of salvation and it continues a work of God
by way of sanctification. This truth was articulated quite
clearly in Romans 6, you were slaves of sin, you were free
with regards to righteousness, but now you have been freed from
sin and enslaved to God. You put it all together and what
does it mean? The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
has set you free from the law of sin and death. What it means is that God has
rendered you the best kind of divine aid. It took God to do
it. The law will come to see was
powerless to affect any real hope and change, any real lasting
sanctification in a believer’s life. The law was ineffective
to save us, the law didn’t justify us, and it certainly wouldn’t
sanctify us. One pastor wrote, there is therefore
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because
of the law of the spirit of life, In Christ Jesus freed me from
the law of sin and death, the law of God, which condemned me.
If I have been freed from the law which condemned me, there
is no condemnation for me to know. We cannot be under condemnation
having been freed. You see, as Christians, we are
no longer in that place. We’re no longer in a position
where we can come under condemnation In Christ, our whole position,
our whole location has changed. It used to be we were under law. And because of that, we were
under condemnation. Because of those rules and because
of our sinful, fleshly lifestyle, but no longer. We’re in a completely
different place in Christ. Because of what Jesus did on
the cross, He condemned sin in the flesh, as we’ll come to see
in days and weeks to come. And because of the power of the
Holy Spirit. We’ve come to know life, we are
freed, literally liberated in Christ Jesus, not only from condemnation,
but even from the power and the reigning power of sin. So what do you do with verse two?
Verse two looks at a power. referred to as a principle, a
law. That is working in us. And that is, in a sense, is ruling. With respect to delivering us
from the power of sin, which Paul refers to as the law of
sin and death. One said. Being thus free. From the curse of the law and
from the obligation to fulfill its demands as the condition
of life. In other words, we can’t work
our way to salvation anymore. We’ve come to acknowledge that.
We can’t live according to the law, can’t live good enough,
we can’t please God by our life. Consequently, we are freed from
a legal spirit. Our sins are gratuitously pardoned
for Christ’s sake. We are made partakers of the
Spirit of God. We are transformed more and more
into His image. And God is pledged to preserve
us to eternal life. See, what Paul points to here
is that what we needed most, God provided. We were under utter
condemnation because of the law. We were dead where we stood.
Animated cadavers walking around waiting for our own self-imposed
doom. And God stepped in. And God literally
brought us to life by the Holy Spirit. In closing, one said the law
of the spirit of life is the forceful and effective operation
of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of God’s children.
It is the very opposite of the law of sin and death, just as
the law of sin produces death. So the law, the ruling factor
of the spirit of life brings life. It does this through Christ
Jesus, that is, on the basis of the merits of the atonement
by means of the vitalizing power of our union with him. We’re a week away. from Resurrection
Day. Without that resurrection, there
would have been no salvation. But without the application of
that atonement, which was accepted by God in the resurrection, without
the application of that atoning blood to your life, it would
have been worthless. God did that. God did that as
well. God not only sent His Son, He
dispatched his Holy Spirit to seek you out and to reach down
and to bring you to life, life out of death. So that if you are in Christ
Jesus, you are no longer under any condemnation, things have
changed, everything has changed. Let’s rejoice before him. Our merciful King, we thank you
and praise you. That without you, we have no
life. Without you, we have no salvation. Without you, we have
no hope, no help. The law proved itself to be effective
only in condemning us. And we stood justly condemned,
but there was no help for us. The law could not help us any
further. Until you stepped in. Until your
own Holy Spirit applied to our lives the blood of the atonement
and breathed life into us. Lord God, we thank you and praise
you. For this life giving spirit and for the salvation that we
enjoy because of it. It’s in Jesus name that we rejoice.