You can listen to the Sunday service message by Pastor Asher in the following audio link
Date: 29/03/2020: 08:30 am
Message: Pastor Asher
No Condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Fifth Sunday in Lent- 3/29/20- Pastor Joe Asher
Romans 8:1-11
Life in the Spirit
8 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. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus[d] from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
(*IN NOMINE JESU*) Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today, our focus is on Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 8. This thirty-nine verse chapter is one of the most comforting and magnificent chapters in all of God’s Word. It speaks to the believer’s position in Christ before our holy God.
When a person has faith in Jesus Christ, that person is forgiven all his sins based upon the Savior’s sacrifice on the cross. In his Roman letter, the apostle Paul declares that-
• All humanity, you and me, has failed to meets God’s standard of righteousness (Romans 3:23)
• All humanity, you and me, is under the penalty of sin and separated from God (Rom. 1:18/ 6:23)
But it is also true that God loves the world and has not abandoned us. Instead, the Lord our heavenly Father has provided a rescue for us in His Son Jesus Christ.
God’s rescue mission involved Jesus coming to earth to be born in Bethlehem. He lived a holy life without sin. Then on the cross, Christ became our Substitute. The Savior took our place. He carried our sin and paid for our sin with His holy, precious blood and innocent suffering and death. Then, on Easter, Jesus rose to life.
So when we trust Jesus as our Savior, He “justifies” us before God the Father. In other words, Christ makes us righteous because He has paid the penalty for sin by His death in our place and subsequent resurrection. And the result is that we are restored to a forgiven relationship with God, and we no longer have to face the condemnation of sin.
Let me be very clear, here. When the sinner in faith trusts Jesus as his/ her Savior, God the Father counts that sinner as clean, righteous, and holy based upon Jesus’ payment for sin on the cross. That means that the Christian believer is no longer under sin’s penalty or domination. Instead, all who love Christ in faith have passed from death to life… and this rescue from sin is God’s gift to every believer.
And now let’s go to Romans 8:1-2
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.
While our holy God must condemn all sin and all sinners, Christ became our Substitute… the Savior took our place… Jesus carried our sin and paid for it. And this is why Paul can say that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
God’s condemnation fell on His own Son on the cross at Calvary. So in Christ’s death and resurrection for us, believers in Jesus are judged and declared clean and holy before God.
Now, this amazing truth that God saves sinners through the cross of His Son has wonderful implications for everyone joining me through this stream on Facebook. First, if you are not currently a Christian believer, in the Holy Spirit’s power, right now, you can in faith trust Jesus as your Savior and be justified (declared righteous) based upon Christ’s sacrifice for you personally on the cross. Then, when God looks at your life, in His mercy and grace, the Lord will count you as forgiven in His Son and also remove all condemnation from the sin of your life because, by faith, you are in Christ Jesus.
No matter your past… no matter your transgressions, Christ’s blood cleanses all who look to Him for forgiveness, help, and peace with God. And today can be the first day where you live under the heavenly Father’s grace and love in the power of the Spirit.
To learn more about the life Christians have in Christ, contact us at this website, and we will respond with helpful resources.
But this amazing truth, that God saves sinners through the cross of His Son, is also for all of us who are already followers of Jesus Christ. There is NO condemnation for believers who are in Christ Jesus. All Christians have a freedom from sin and guilt in our walk with our Savior that allows us to respond to this dangerous and fallen world with great hope and joy. In spite of our failures and struggles and even defeat, in Christ, God is always for us. Paul concludes with this idea at the end of chapter 8 when he writes, verse 31-
If God is for us, who is against us?
Paul wants us to know that with God in our corner and on our side as our Savior, and with NO condemnation from Him, we must understand that no one else can bring any charge against God’s elect people. (Also, Romans 8:33)
But here is the problem for many Christians. So often we fail to joyfully live in the freedom we have in the death and resurrection of Christ. So many live with the guilt of past sin. So many believers judge themselves unworthy of God’s love, with the result that they continue to beat themselves up over what God has already forgiven at Jesus’ cross.
But here is the good news. Sin cannot condemn us any longer. Again, Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
This is God’s final verdict upon our sin! On the Last Day, when believers stand before the judgement throne of God, our heavenly Father will see us as clean and holy based upon the all-sufficient sacrifice of our Substitute and Savior Jesus Christ.
This is the way it happens. When we receive Jesus in faith, a great transfer takes place. Everything we have becomes His, and everything our Lord gives becomes ours. Jesus takes our sin, guilt, and unrighteousness, and He returns to us His infinite and eternal righteousness. And in this loving and undeserved gracious transfer, our sins are marked as “PAID IN FULL.”
So again, for the Christian, our sin cannot accuse us because Jesus paid our debt to sin. Romans 8:1-
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
To the Christian I say- Stop believing the lie that your past sins still condemn you. Your iniquities have no power over you. As a believer, you are washed clean by Jesus’ blood. And if you need further proof of your forgiveness and relationship with God through Jesus your Savior, listen to Paul’s conclusion to Romans 8-
If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
Paul here affirms that Christ died for us and is raised to life, and that He intercedes for us so that no one can bring any charges against sinners for whom Christ died. And when we understand this truth- that we are forgiven of all sin and that we belong to Christ- then the corresponding truth is that we can become fearless Christians.
In our world right now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, people are very afraid. In the media, there are a lot of coping strategies for dealing with this health emergency. Some of these include:
• Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting
• Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate
• Make time to unwind. Try to do activities you enjoy
• Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.
Many of these things are good things to do. But for Christians, our primary response to the COVID-19 pandemic is to remember the foundational truth that we are loved by Christ and we belong to Him. And because God is our refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1-3), in these difficult times we find our stability and might and strength in Jesus Himself.
If God is for us, who… or what… can be against us? No enemy can ultimately harm us when Christ is with us. For whatever the future holds, as Christians we know that God will see us through whatever happens in this life, or He will take us home to heaven in order that we may live with Him forever. The bottom line is that our lives are secure because our hope is in our God Who loves us and gave Himself for us.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.