Established in Christ

If you would take your Bible
and turn to the book of Romans. Romans, Chapter eight. And we come again To what I know,
the Saints would affirm is one of the greatest chapters in the
Bible. I told Frank several weeks ago
as I was preparing to preach this, I had been out of the pulpit
once in 18 months and I was just on fumes. And here I am coming
into my favorite chapter of Scripture and just weary, weary in the
work, not weary of it, as the old song used to go. And so I
definitely in the weeks off found new vigor in the attack of this
passage and in getting into it and being just encouraged and
stirred by it is it is indeed one of the greatest I’m sure
one of your favorites as well. Essentially, what you have here,
as we saw several weeks ago, is a really remarkable contrast
with Chapter 7, where there’s almost this heavy, foreboding
feeling. And then Romans 8, 1 opens up
and the glory of the skies opens and God’s glory shines down on
us. One said it this way. Great indeed
is the contrast, the stern analysis of the one, Chapter 7, is to
the revelations and triumphs of the other chapter eight and
almost as an almost starless night, stifling and electric
to the splendor of a midsummer morning with a yet more glorious
morrow for its future. What Paul begins to do here in
chapter eight is really bestow upon the saints and remind the
saints and lay out and enumerate and elaborate on all of the blessings
of the justification that we enjoy as Christians as those
who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We already
know that justification by faith has been the major theme of the
book of Romans hasn’t it. Even since Paul first introduced
the subject in chapter five he had already laid out the fact
that we are Thoroughgoing sinners, all of us are in desperate need
of a savior and all of us sought to some degree to save ourselves,
most notably the Jews who sought by the law to save themselves.
And it was futile. It was hopeless. But in Chapter
five, Paul begins to point out the great truths of justification
by faith, that if we place our faith in Christ, we are seen
as righteous. Because of our faith in him and
in here in Chapter 8, Paul revisits that great theme. Here in the
opening sentence of the chapter that there is no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus, Paul again strikes that chord
of justification by faith. Justification being the complete
absence of condemnation. And so we’ll. We’ll review that in much more
detail as we get into it. I want to read, though, the first
11 verses. As you remember, the first 11
verses are essentially the opening section of this great chapter. Chapter 8, I would probably characterize
as divine assistance or divine assistance specifically in the
life of Christians. This isn’t just a national deal
anymore, as in the nation of Israel. This is something that
God is specifically focusing upon on those who have placed
their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what kind of divine
assistance do we enjoy? Well, we saw in that opening
section, verses 1 through 11, that we enjoy divine assistance
by the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Christian life is established
in Christ Jesus. The second section, as we pointed
out, verses 12 through 27, the Christian life is sustained by
the Spirit of God. We can’t do it on our own. We
couldn’t possibly do it on our own. And the Holy Spirit is there
to assist us and sustain us in that walk. Not only is Christ
involved, not only is the Holy Spirit involved, but the third
section, verses 28 through 30, the Christian’s life is ordained
by the Heavenly Father. You talk about divine assistance.
God put his thumbprint, his stamp of approval on all of the intricate
little details of our life that led up and continue us. in our life in Christ. And then
finally, Paul reaches just an obvious conclusion in verses
31 through 39. The Christian’s life is absolutely
secure. When all three members of the
Godhead are contributing in this divine assistance, the Christian
is absolutely secure. We’ll touch upon those verses
in the weeks and months to come. For now, if you would, verses
1 through 11. 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. And 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 mindset 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 dwells in you. Well, we’ve seen the
overall structure of the passage. And I would just take you just
for a moment back to this verse, verse 1. And that’s all we’re
going to try to address this morning. For Romans 8, 1, it
is arguably one of the greatest statements in all of Scripture.
If Romans 8 is one of the greatest chapters, then Romans 8, 1 certainly
is one of the great verses in Scripture. One pastor said this
is one of the great statements of the scriptures, one of the
most important for the Christian experience and for the health
and well-being of the Christian believer. The great news of the
gospel, a way of salvation in which there is no longer any
condemnation. This is the greatest good news
that has ever come into the world, and you almost hear the superlatives
roll off this author’s tongue as he communicates the greatness. There is no greater passage.
There is no greater thought. There is no greater good news. This passage certainly ranks
among such profound verses as John 3, 16, 2 Corinthians 5,
21. He made him who knew no sin to
be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness
of God in him. Titus 2, 11 through 14, essentially
the gospel in condensed measure. And only a handful of other verses
would rise to the level of importance and significance in the Christian’s
life. Romans 8.1, look at it. It’s more than just a promise.
It’s a definitive declaration on the condition and the standing
of the person who has placed his or her faith in Jesus Christ. It is absolute. It is definitive. This is how things are, not how
things could be. It’s not just wishful thinking.
It’s not just a great hopefulness. It’s not human confidence. It
is the God ordained truth about the liberty and the security
that a Christian possesses. Another writing about the significance
of Romans 8, 1 said the present and future blessedness of the
justified in Christ in its special condition, pardon me, connection
with the work of the spirit. As one called it, the happy condition
of the man in Christ, happy is just so feeble, though, isn’t
it? When you look at the truth of that statement. I do want to make one clarification
for anyone who’s reading out of the King James, or maybe you’ve
interacted with the King James or maybe have a even the new
King James, I think, takes this particular direction. Some of
the older translations The King James most noteworthy provide
a more lengthy version of this verse which is an extended description
of those who are in Christ. It reads like this. There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus
who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. Most ancient
manuscripts and the most trusted of those manuscripts do not contain
those words. And for that reason they must
be rejected as merely a scribe’s insertion of those words into
the biblical text. Now if the words you know you
want to hang on to these words and this makes you nervous when
we start scratching out verses. Give pause for a moment. If the
words sound familiar to you and you love them you should. They
should be familiar to you because the phrase actually occurs legitimately,
I might add, at the end of verse four. Look at the end of verse
four in verse three, says he condemns 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. So we quibble not with the genuineness or the truth
of the phrase. But only the placement of it.
One scholar noted well that the words are clearly not original
here in verse one but they have been interpolated under the influence
of verse four. And so the conclusion is just
of another scholar who said that external evidence is such that
we cannot assume the genuineness of the addition in whole or part.
It is most likely that which was inserted At the end of verse
four in the course of transcription now let me unpack that for you
in two quick minutes not even two minutes. Essentially what
you have is scribes doing by hand the transcription of biblical
text and in the course of time either this note was put into
the margin as a forecast of what was to come. Or perhaps the scribe
even looked down and inserted it where he thought that it belonged
better. Those things are common in scripture
and in this particular case it is absolutely obvious what took
place. There just isn’t enough manuscript
evidence to put that phrase here at the end of verse one. Enough
said. All right. So we begin to look at verse
one. And the sentence is so simple,
you say, how on earth could I get 45 minutes out of this one verse?
Trust me. I’m going to have to hurry to
make it. There are basically five different elements to this
little verse. Uden, which means no, none, nothing. Uden. Hara, then or therefore. And then noon, it was just now
or the present what we’re talking about right now. Catechrema is
penalty or condemnation. And then this little phrase to
those who are in Christ Jesus. Tois en Cristo Jesu. To those who are in Christ Jesus.
Five different elements. Here’s what I see if we are in
this section of divine assistance, we’re specifically focusing here
now on the portion that is Christ and the benefits that we have
in Christ in verses 1 through 11. What you have here in chapter
8, verse 1 is essentially the primary statement. Everything
else hangs off of this statement in Romans chapter 8. Everything
else. Everything else supports this one statement. This is the
main thought. Romans 8 1 basically gives us
as one of the crown jewels of the Christians hope, as we just
have seen, it gives us a collection, really, of superlative elements. Which, when we consider them,
provide unshakable confidence to the child of God. First of all, Regarding the condition which
a Christian enjoys, where are we now? Anyway, what condition
are we exactly as Christians? In what kind of standing are
we spiritually speaking? Regarding the condition which
a Christian enjoys, the first superlative element is what I
would refer to as the greatest conclusion. Therefore, the greatest
conclusion. Now, there were those who took
Romans 8 1. There is, therefore, now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. They took that, therefore, and
applied it immediately to the preceding verses, the immediately
preceding verses. The word, therefore, introduces
obviously a conclusion, if you will, or consequence or a result. And so the easiest thing is to
look to the immediately preceding verses and to say that this is
what Paul’s responding to. Romans 7, specifically Romans
7, 7 through 25. Try this on. I am of flesh sold into bondage
and sin. There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. Doesn’t make any sense. I am no longer the one doing
it, verse 17, but sin which dwells in me, for I know that nothing
good dwells in me. There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. The good thing that I wish, verse
19, I do not do. I practice the very evil I do
not wish. There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. I find then, verse 21, the principle
that evil is present in me. There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. Wretched man that I am, there
is therefore now no condemnation For those who are in Christ Jesus,
Romans 7 makes a difficult fit, doesn’t it? It’s a very difficult
fit. It’s an impossible fit. As I
suggested, those words are words that a Christian will grow out
of by God’s grace in time. Things that a Christian cannot
continue to meditate on and he cannot continue to wallow in
that condition. This is exactly why. Because
there is therefore now no condemnation. For those who are in Christ Jesus,
and we must we must look for a fit. Some looked back to verse
six of chapter seven, where Paul said, but now we have been released
from the law, having died to that by which we were bound so
that we serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of the letter. Therefore, there is now no condemnation. For those who are in Christ Jesus,
one said it this way, that 8.1 makes excellent sense where it
stands, provided we recognize that it connects not with 7.25,
but with 7.6. It draws out the significance
of the paragraph in which Paul took up and elucidated the statement
he had made in 6.14. And it’s a good argument. It’s
a better argument than putting it on 7.7 through 25. But I believe it has reference
to everything that Paul has said from Romans 1 1 all the way through
7 25 7 7 through 25 in its context it’s everything. One faithful expositor said it
this way the decision which way you go here which way you pin
this depends on the view taken on the apostles argument. If
he argues that believers are not liable to condemnation because
with the mind they serve the law of God, see that’s the point
that he was making in 7.7-25, then the connection is with what
immediately precedes. Remember, that was one of the
attempts to resolve that tension in 7.7-25. What do we do with
these statements? I am a flesh sold into bondage
and sin. What do we do with that as a
Christian? If you believe that ultimately
what Paul was really saying was coming up with some mediating
point that even though he was, you know, wrestling in the flesh,
ultimately he wanted to do the right thing. And because of that.
I don’t buy it. But if his argument is this,
the expository goes on, if his argument is that those in Christ
are not exposed to condemnation. Notwithstanding their imperfect
sanctification, they haven’t arrived yet. They’re not what
they should be, but they do not stand under the condemnation
of God. They don’t. Because Christ has died for their
sins, then this connection is with the main argument of the
epistle. Since men being sinners cannot
be justified by works, since by the obedience of one man,
Jesus Christ, the many are made righteous and since through him,
not through the law. Deliverance from the subjective
power of sin is affected, therefore, it follows that there is no condemnation
to those who are in him. Remember, I suggested to you
that Romans 7, 7 through 25 were words that we say we can legitimately
say those words at the moment of our regeneration. And then
the flood tide begins, the light becomes brighter and brighter,
the dark sky gives way to the glorious light of the gospel,
which ultimately floods in with the news of Romans 8, verse 1. There is no condemnation. So, what does this, therefore,
refer back to? Not just to chapter 7, it includes
chapter 7, but all the way back to chapter 5 and beyond. As one said, the legitimate conclusion
of all that Paul had previously established. The therefore means
that this absolute absence of condemnation is an inference
that we can justly draw from everything that Paul has said
to this point. Not just freedom from the guilt
of sin, but freedom from the deliverance of the power of sin
as well. Go back with me, if you would.
Flip back to Romans 1. We’ll review just a few verses.
And as you’re turning one pastor said this up to this point the
epistle is discussed and explained from many sides the great matter
of justification. This isn’t the first time that
we’ve seen justification. Paul has alluded to it pointed
it is it exposited it on numerous occasions. The last topic considered
is the attitude of the law towards the soul, the law cannot subdue
sin. And so we find ourselves in this
pickle. Paul’s already given us the answer in chapter five.
Now he gives us the absolute and utter effect of the law. In verse six and seven. The law
cannot. subdue sin but can only expose
and condemn it. This has been shown partly to
vindicate the holiness of the law which we absolutely affirmed
partly to expose the malignancy of sin which we absolutely know
in our hearts and partly to reinforce the truth already proved that
justification is to be attained by another way. You cannot be
justified by a strict adherence to the law no matter how good
you are. You can’t do it. Justification has to be sought,
must be found another way. And Paul begins to lay that out
from the earliest verses of Romans, the book of Romans. Before we
go there, another pastor said it this way, it is unlikely that
Paul is referring to the immediate context. He has just finished
lamenting the continued problem of sin. Therefore, Marx, the consequent
conclusion from the entire first seven chapters, which focuses
primarily on justification by faith alone. Now, I want you
to go look at verse. Sixteen, a verse of Chapter one. Romans one, 16 and 17, we’ll
try this a different way. For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, that is
in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith
to faith as it is written, but the righteous man shall live
by faith. There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. There’s a fit. Romans 3.21, flip
if you would. Romans 3.21, but now apart from
the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets. There is therefore
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans
3.24, glance down. being justified as a gift by
his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. There
is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans chapter five verse one. Therefore, having been justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into
this grace in which we stand and we exult in hope of the glory
of God. There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans five, verse six. Verse
six through eight. For while we were still helpless
at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will
hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man
someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates his own
love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans chapter 5 verse 15 through
21. But the free gift is not like
the transgression for if by the transgression of the one many
died much more did by the grace of God and the gift by the grace
of the one man Christ Jesus abound to the many. The gift is not
like that which came through the one who sinned for on the
one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in
condemnation. But on the other hand the free
gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification for
if by the transgression of the one death reign through the one
much more those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift
of righteousness will reign in life through one Jesus Christ. So then. As through one transgression
there resulted in condemnation to all men, even so through one
act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all
men. For as through one man’s disobedience
the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the
one the many will be made righteous. The law came in so that transgression
would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all
the more. so that as sin reigned in death,
even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. Paul looks back indeed. But Paul
looks back not just to Romans chapter 7, which in its context
is essentially parenthetical to chapter five. Paul looks back
and he goes all the way back to what he has been saying all
along that salvation, if there is any salvation at all, is not
through the law. It is only through Christ, and
if the person is in Christ, he is absolutely free of any and
all condemnation. Point one. That’s first superlative
element is the greatest conclusion of all. Therefore, standing at
Romans eight, verse one, looks back on all of the data, all
of the argumentation of Romans one, one through seven, twenty
five, and it draws this simple conclusion. Therefore. Therefore. We are established
in Christ. Romans 8-1 gives us Christian
hope, a collection of these superlative elements that as we consider
them, they provide this unshakable confidence to the child of God.
If you are in Christ and you can read Romans 1-7, you can
draw this conclusion in Romans 8-1. If you have placed your
faith in Christ, point two, Regarding the condition which a Christian
enjoys, the second superlative element is the greatest change. The greatest change of all. It’s
a simple word. Now. Now as opposed to when. As things are now. As things
are as we stand. And it is a it’s a temporal word,
it means now as the conditions have changed. Now that deliverance
has come, now that Christ has come, now that Christ has paid
our penalty on the cross, now that the righteousness of God
has been revealed, now that the finished work of Christ is registered
in the very throne room of God now. Little reference of this word
now. Points specifically to the events
of the gospel. Now that Christ. Is raised from
the dead now that God put his stamp of approval on that sacrifice
shed for sinners. Now things are different. Now points to under these new
circumstances, which Paul, as we just outlined, has set forth
in those first seven chapters. Now things are different. Now
there is a provision for sinners. Now there is real change. Now
there is real opportunity for salvation. Now we can truly know
that we are at peace with God. Paul immediately sets up this
contrast of the old and the new. The law, which was The sinner’s
only hope in trying to get to heaven. And now the law, which
is affirmed by Paul and Jesus himself, gives way to the Lord
Jesus Christ. This now, said one Puritan, distinguishes
the two great conditions of man, his condition under the law and
his condition under grace. By nature, we are conditioned,
we are children rather of wrath, but now God has rendered us accepted
in Christ. There’s a third superlative element
in this passage. And we could read right past
these, but every one of them is as definitive as the last.
Regarding the condition which a Christian enjoys, not only
the first superlative element, the greatest conclusion and the
second, the greatest change, the third superlative element
is the greatest degree. Look at the passage, there is
therefore now no. Not just a little bit, not just
kind of. There is therefore now no condemnation. For those who are in Christ Jesus. The word is in a. It is emphatic. It is absolute. It’s a negative adverb literally
but it carries this idea of absolute and utter cessation of a condition
that we were in. We were under condemnation. And
now that is utterly and completely over. We can’t step back under
that umbrella of doom. We can’t we can’t even taste
it. One pastor said this is the heart
and soul of the gospel. That Jesus completely and permanently
paid the debt of sin and the penalty of the law, which is
condemnation and death. for every person who humbly asks
for mercy and trusts in him. Do you get that? Do you understand
that there is no condemnation, that we do not stand under the
condemnation of the law? Lloyd-Jones had an excellent
little take on this particular passage. What a statement, he
says, no, It is a little word, but of two
letters, but we are aware of it. Are we aware of its full
meaning? It is entire, it is complete, it is absolute. Paul is saying that a Christian
is a person who has been taken entirely outside of the realm
of any possible or conceivable condemnation. Do you get that
this morning? That you don’t sit under some
kind of a cloud where God could suddenly decide to zap you because
you’re not good enough yet. The Christian, he says, has finished
with the realm of condemnation, he has been taken right out of
it. Not only is the Christian not in a state of condemnation
now, he never can be. It is impossible. You talk about superlative. Had
that one little word been left out of this phrase, everything
changes, doesn’t it? There is therefore now a little
bit of condemnation. You might be freed from condemnation. One day you will be freed from
condemnation. Everything changes with that
word. No, nothing, not even the slightest bit. I told you that every word, every
element is superlative, there is a fourth. The fourth superlative
element is the greatest liberation. The condition that a Christian
enjoys is the greatest liberation that anyone could ever enjoy.
There is therefore now no condemnation. It is an ugly word. It is a brutal
word. No condemnation means, as one
said, not only freedom from the guilt of sin, but from its enslaving
power, which you on your own, on your own efforts, on your
own strength and your own so-called goodness, you are absolutely
unable to do anything about the slavery to sin in which you are
engaged. You are unable. You are absolutely
a slave to sin and to sinfulness. Further, though, in Christ, there
is no penalty that awaits us. We have this quirky, strange,
ridiculous idea that one day we’ll get to heaven and God will,
you know, shame us and chide us for all the sins and all that.
You know what? God already did that. God has
already done that and he did it in Christ when he heaped all
of his wrath onto Christ instead of you. As one describes these terms,
although condemnation relates to the sentencing for a crime,
its primary focus is not so much on the verdict. We know we were
guilty, right? Anybody not know that you were
guilty of being a sinner? We know that we’re guilty. But
the focus is not so much on the verdict as on the penalty that
the verdict demands. We were guilty and we were damned
to hell. We deserved it. It was just punishment. No good thing did we deserve,
not a single good thing. Paul here points out and announces
the marvelous good news that for Christians there will be
no condemnation, not only no sentencing, But no penalty, no
punishment for the sins that believers have committed or ever
will commit. That’s profound. And you know what, as we said
three weeks ago, if we just dipped into this passage. Condemnation
is the sole prerogative of God. We forget that. We forget that
God only is one who can condemn. Only God can issue a sentence
and carry out the penalty of condemnation. Do you remember
that? The law can’t do it. God uses
the law to pronounce that, but it’s God ultimately that condemns. The devil can’t do it, but he
tries, doesn’t he? The devil sure will call you
into account. The devil will sure let you believe
that you’re under condemnation if you give him an ear. Your
conscience will do it. Your conscience says you’re guilty.
Your conscience says there’s no hope for you. Your conscience
says you’re under condemnation. Your accusers, those who hate
you, those who hate your Christianity, hate you, hate what you stand
for, your detractors, your enemies, they will call you into account.
They will tell you that you’re under condemnation. Your sinful
past, your struggling present, your incompleteness as a Christian,
all of those things will conspire against you and they will all
point their finger at you and suggest that you currently stand
in a state of condemnation. And you don’t. It’s the sole
prerogative of God. And that condemnation is absolutely
removed as we place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
that is the fourth The fifth and last superlative element.
Look again at the text. Regarding the condition which
a Christian enjoys, the greatest conclusion, the greatest change,
the greatest degree, the greatest liberation and the greatest haven.
The greatest haven that an individual, a sinful individual, has ever
found. Certainly wasn’t found in the
law. Certainly wasn’t found in the company of fellow sinners.
It certainly isn’t found in religion. It isn’t found in the world and
all of the world’s activities. The greatest haven that a sinner
has ever known and will ever know. Is that of being in Christ. It’s like a harbor. It’s like
a safe house, if you will. It’s a place of comfort in a
place of Satisfaction, there is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. See, remember, I gave you a booklet
several months back, all of those little phrases everywhere we
could find in Christ, in him, in Jesus. And the promises and
the blessings are overwhelming, and when we begin to look at
All of the blessings that we have simply by our being in Christ,
what is it? What is this idea of being in
Christ? It is literally being placed
into him. The word that we were looking at at the moment was
baptism. We are literally placed into Christ. We’re his. It’s a safe harbor. There is
none safer. I would even go so far as to
say there is no other harbor. There is no other safety. There
is no other security than Jesus Christ. As one said in Christ, men are
acquitted, they are justified, their relation to God is determined
by their union with Christ. Everything is in Christ, everything
we have, every blessing that we enjoy. Is because of our union,
our oneness with the Lord Jesus Christ. As one said, there is not, there
never will be. There never can be condemnation.
There is nothing more foolish than the notion that you can
be in Christ at one moment. Then when you sin, you’re out
of Christ. Then when you repent, you’re in Christ again. If you
are in Him, you are in Him forever. You are in Him for all eternity.
It is God who has put you in Him. That’s the whole point of
Romans 8, remember? Our security in Christ. Our security
as Christians. If you’re in, you’re in, he says.
It’s absolute. Because of that, Lloyd-Jones
drew the following conclusion, and we close with this. He said
the Christian must never allow himself to feel the condemnation
of the law. A Christian should never speak
of himself in terms of chapter 7 verses 14 through 25. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus. That is the glory of the gospel. There are many who misunderstand
this. They seem to think of the Christian
as a man who, if he confesses his sin and asks for forgiveness,
he’s forgiven. At that moment, he’s not under
condemnation, but then if he should sin again, he’s back once
more under condemnation. Then he repents and confesses
his sin again and asks for pardon, and he’s cleansed once more.
So to them, the Christian is a man who is constantly passing
from one state to another. The Christian is a man who can
never be condemned. He can never come into a state
of condemnation again, because this is true of him. The Christian
should never feel condemnation. He should never allow himself
to feel it. If you have placed your faith
in Christ, there is therefore now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus. That’s a big question, isn’t
it? Have you placed your faith in the only place, the only haven
where you can truly be secure? Let’s go before him in prayer.
Oh, merciful King. Examine every heart. Do your
work in the hearts that remain unconverted. Bring them into
this only haven of security. by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, those of us who have
already done so, rejoice in our hearts that there is therefore
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It’s
in His name that we pray. Amen.