Romans Chapter 8 begins like this: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” By simple definition, the third word (therefore) indicates that what is to come is following the results of a previous argument. My theology teacher often said that when you come across a “therefore” in the Bible, you have to ask yourself, “what is it there for?”

The “therefore” is like an equal sign. On this side of the sign, we are about to see the result of the equation. But to more fully understand the result, it would be helpful if we took a look at the problem. In this case, the “therefore” is wrapping up an argument put forth in Chapter 7. AND… the argument in Chapter 7 comes as the result of a larger series of theological thoughts that begins all the way back in Chapter 1.

The first seven chapters of Romans explains wonderful truths about the gospel. There is tremendous spiritual depth in the beginning of Romans. It would take me no less than ten hours of straight teaching to give a comprehensive explanation of the theological stream of thought that begins all the way back at Chapter 1. Last year, I took the time to unpack the first seven chapters of Romans right here on Sunday morning and those teaching are available to both read and listen to at vitalchurch.online.

For this morning’s message, how about if I take ten hours of teaching and condense it into about twenty minutes? As I go through this brief overview, I know that I’m going to be missing a lot of the detail that we would normally dive into if we had ten or twenty or one-hundred hours to study these passages more deeply. In twenty minutes (or so) we are going to do the best we can to gain a 30,000 foot flyover of the first 6 and 1/2 chapters and then I’ll focus on the end of Chapter 7 and the beginning of Chapter 8 with the rest of our time together. To help you follow the flow of thought, I’ll put up a chart on the screen. Turn in your Bibles with me to Romans Chapter 1.

Recap

After some brief introductions, Paul gives us his purpose and thesis statement for the entire book in Romans 1:16. In that verse he says, “¹⁶ 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.”

Why would the gospel bring with it shame? Part of the answer to that question comes from the culture Paul was living in . Christians were not well-liked.

• Jesus, the leader of the Christians, had been crucified. Crucifixion was considered a shameful way to die and any association with a crucified man was looked down upon.
• (additionally) Those who worshipped the gods, saw the worship of Jesus as a threat to their false, made-up deities.
• Jewish people, who rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah, thought of Christians as heretics worthy of death.
• (as a result) Riots and mobs formed in nearly every city that Paul visited. Regardless, Paul declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel…”

But the cultural rejection of the gospel was not the only hurdle that Christians faced. The gospel itself brought with it a dire diagnoses. The awful diagnoses of sin is a message people back then didn’t usually like to hear. (People today don’t often like to hear much about it either.)

Chapter 1: God reveals Himself as holy and mankind as unholy

¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

This verse begins by making it clear that all men (and women) are born with the capacity for knowing God, (his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world.) Every time we wake up to the order and brilliance and majesty of the created world around us, we are confronted with the reality that there is a God and that god is not us.

Ignoring the fact that God exists does not make the reality of God go away. Chapter 1 explains that a lot of people are indifferent to the God of the universe. Verse 21 says this attitude toward God leads to futile thinking and darkened hearts. The rest of Romans 1 describes how sin can utterly consume and destroy people from the inside out.

Chapter 2: The Law judges people according to their deeds.

Romans 2:6-8 says, “⁶ He [God] will render to each one according to his works:⁷ to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;⁸ but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”

Sin could be thought of as a disease and the law as a diagnostic test. If a man were to go into the doctor for a checkup, the doctor might draw some blood and run a series of tests. Through those diagnostic tests, he is looking for markers that would indicate areas of health and areas of disease. He would likely run some tests to see if that man is carrying a serious disease. The test itself is not the cure. The test simply reveals the truth about what is going on inside that man’s body.

When we test our lives according to God’s law, it also is a diagnostic tool.

• Some are tested and their lives are proven to be holy. The text says that “those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.” (this righteousness comes through Christ and not a result of works…we’ll talk about how that happens in a minute)
• Others are tested by the law and their lives are clearly carrying a disease called “sin.” That diagnoses is terrifying because the Bible says that “those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”

Carrying sin in our bodies is no small thing. Even in small amounts it is totally destructive. It’s like getting the blood test back and the doctor says to the man, “Everything looks good, but it seems like you do have a little bit of the HIV virus in your system.”

The man says, “That doesn’t sound good at all. Is the HIV treatable?”

The doctor says, “Of course not. It is the most aggressive kind and it has no cure. You’ll probably be dead in a few days…. I’ll give you two weeks tops. But, everything else looks great.”

• Even a little bit of HIV brings with it death.
• In the same way, even a little bit of sin brings with it God’s “wrath and fury.”

In light of Chapter 2, Chapter 3 paints a most disturbing picture. It says that everyone has at least a little bit of this deadly disease called sin. In fact, it’s a total epidemic.

Chapter 3: All people are sinners and condemned by the law

Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

All of us have been diagnosed as sinners from the very beginning. Our great, great, great, great-grandfather Adam was infected by sin and he has passed it on to every man and woman who has ever lived. There is no natural cure. Trying to obey more of the law does not take away what has already infected us. The cure has to be a supernatural cure.

Verse 24 begins a turning point in the book. It goes from showing how the Law diagnoses our sin to show how God made a way for sinners to be cured. Let’s read 23, 24 and 25 back to back, “²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”

So how does that work? How does a person gain this cure for the disease of sin? The answer to those questions begin in Chapter 4.

Chapter 4: The only escape from the condemnation of sin is to take on Jesus’ righteousness by faith alone.

Chapter 4 uses the Old Testament patriarch, Abraham, as an example of someone who experienced God’s ‘passing over’ of sin. How did that happen? Verse 3 says, “³ For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”⁴ Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. ⁵ And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness…”

If somebody has an incurable disease (like an aggressive form of the HIV virus), they will die from that disease, unless God intervenes. No amount of right living or healthy eating or pill taking is going to help once the disease has taken hold of a person’s body. They need a miracle.

In the same way, when there is a diagnoses of sin in our hearts, we will spiritually die as a result unless God intervenes. No amount of law-following, rule-keeping or sin-avoiding is going to cure us from the disease of sin. We need a miracle.

The good news of the gospel is that God provided the cure to the disease called sin. We have the opportunity to take on the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ. His record is unblemished and through faith in Him, we can cloth ourselves with His righteousness. We do that through faith alone, and not by doing more good works.

God in his perfect justice could not allow sin to go unpunished. On the other hand, God in His perfect love and mercy paid the penalty for our sin, Himself, by laying our sin on Jesus at the cross.

Chapter 5: In His grace, God was the initiator of this one and only plan of salvation.

Romans 5:6-8 is a passage I quote often. Every time I read it, it astounds me that God offered so much to me when I had nothing to give in return. Romans 5:6 says, “⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The gospel is God’s plan. There is not a second cure. In fact, the first cure for our sin was so costly to God that it would insult His holy character to ask Him for another way other than through Jesus. (“it is ok if we went the way of Buddha?” “What was wrong with my Son?”) To ask God for multiple methods of salvation would be saying to God that what He did on the cross was not good enough.

God’s plan of salvation on the cross was not only enough to cover a person’s sins and declare them righteous, but it also frees them from the bondage of sin.

Chapter 6: Once redeemed, a person is no longer a slave to sin. They are free to follow righteousness.

Chapter 6:15 says, “¹⁵ What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶ Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

Going back to the medical illustration, let’s say the man received the deadly diagnoses of an uncurable form of HIV. That man had contracted HIV from a dirty needle while he was taking drugs. The doctor saw the result of the test and he graciously decided to go to work. He worked day and night to come up with a cure. He sold all of his most precious possessions in order to fund his research for that man. He worked around the clock and then, just before that man took his last breath, the doctor comes running into the room with a cure.

The cure works perfectly and in a few days, the man is back to 100%. He is ready to go home. Now how do you think the doctor would feel if that man asked, “Hey do you think it would be ok if I went back to shooting up drugs with my friends? I have a cure for HIV afterall…” I think the doctor would be furious. He gave everything he had so the man could live. The drugs might not result in HIV anymore, but there are certainly other, serious consequences. The doctor treated this man in order for him to be free, and not in continued bondage to drugs.

Romans 6 indicates a similar attitude from God in relation to our sin. We have been covered with the righteousness of Christ, and we have been set free from the condemnation of sin. Now just because sin won’t condemn us any longer is no reason to run back to it. Sin still carries with it serious consequences and God has given us the power to avoid it. Remember Romans 2 says, “⁶ He [God] will render to each one according to his works:⁷ to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life…”

In that way, the law is still useful – even when we are saved. Our basis for salvation is faith in Christ, but following the principles in the law are still highly beneficial.

Chapter 7: Although the Law does not save, it is still good and right and helpful

Chapter 7, verse 5 says, “⁵ For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. ⁶ But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”

In other words, the law diagnosed our sin and showed us that, without Jesus, we were spiritually dead. It was very useful as a diagnostic tool, but it was not effective as a means of salvation. Jesus is the way of salvation. Those who put their faith in Him are set free from the bondage and condemnation of sin. They are free to follow Christ in everything he commands. The old way of the written code only pointed out our spiritual death. The new way of the Spirit releases us to fully serve Jesus as Lord.

The immediate context

That brings us to the end of Romans 7 which is the immediate context of the “therefore” in Romans 8:1. Paul is describing how, as a believer and as a leader in the church, he still struggles with sin. He knows that he is set free from sin, but sometimes he finds himself falling right back into old patterns. Does falling back into old sin patterns mean we are subject to condemnation again?

The mature believers I know are the people who battle against sin the most. When they honestly measure themselves against God’s standards of perfect righteousness, they fall tragically short. Sin just seems to be coming at them from all directions and it does not ever seem to stop.

The language in this section has moved to present tense. Paul seems to be describing the conflict with sin he’s having while he was writing the letter. His soul has been saved and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, but he is having to function in a very fallen world. (we can relate to that)

For a believer, sin is no longer master of their lives. We no longer need to obey its wishes and desires, but it sure puts up a good fight. Sin is constantly trying to tempt us and to drag us into its depths. The closer we get to God, the more we see our own ungodliness.

I believe that in Chapter 7, Paul is speaking about himself. He is speaking about the deep struggle of the heart and mind and conscience experienced by an Apostle (the ultimate mature believer). It is clear that the more Paul saw God’s holiness and goodness, the more he was grieved over his own wickedness.

• Paul’s own corruption was so disturbing to him that he confessed in 1 Corinthians 15:9, “⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”
• To the Ephesian church Paul said, “⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ…”
• Then to his young disciple, Timothy, Paul writes, “¹⁵ The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

A person who is a new creation in Jesus is constantly living with the tension that they now love God, but they used to love evil. Paul describes that tension at the end of Chapter 7 in verse 22-23, “²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³ but I see in my members [body, arms, legs, etc] another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”

Paul is experiencing a continual battle between the Law of God and the pleasure of wickedness. For the present time, a Christian’s body is a battleground. Our conflict is summarized in Galatians 5:17, “ ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

Mature believers desperately want to please Jesus, but they keep falling prey to the enemy’s attacks. No matter how spiritual a person becomes, everyone still struggles with sin. The apostle John wrote that if we deny that sin is present in our lives, we are deceiving ourselves, 1 John 1:8 says, “⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

In Romans Chapter 7, Paul is painting a picture of a person who is fully aware that there are still areas of darkness in his life. He is totally free from the utter control of sin, Satan and his own flesh. He is totally free from the eternal condemnation of sin but the lure of evil is still provocative and deceitful.

• Sin is a formidable foe and extremely tempting.
• Satan is still the Father of lies (John 8:44) and will stop at nothing to wrap a chain of sin around a believer.
• He describes it in verse 14 as being “sold under sin”(ESV) or “sold into bondage to sin.” (NASB)

Our battle with our own flesh drives Paul to say in verse 18, “¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”

Paul finds himself in a constant struggle to honor God’s commands and to stand firm against depravity. He also finds that he falls short in the struggle more often that he should. He hated it when he fell into one of Satan’s traps and he knows that when he fails, it grieves the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

Life Application

The continuing presence of evil in the life of a believer is universal. Lingering sin does battle with every good thing a believer tries to do. Verse 21 says, “²¹ So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.” In Genesis, Moses explains that immorality is crouching at the door and ready to pounce on us at any moment.

Verse 22 says, “²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being…”

Paul could not delight in the law of God if he was not a mature believer.   When Paul became a new creation in Christ, he began to have an appetite for righteousness. But, he is constantly at war with the unrighteousness that is trying to take him captive…

²³ but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.”

This war inside Paul leads him to utter frustration and anguish. Verse 24 he cries out, “²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” As God began to reveal more and more of His holiness to Paul, it drove Paul to see more and more of his ungodliness.

When we see our depravity like God does, it leads to humility. Deep humility is a characteristic of a growing, mature disciple of Christ. Paul, in his brokenness and humility, cries out for God to deliver him from his conflicted life.

You and I will continue to struggle with sin for as long as we are in this fallen world. The truth of Romans 8 is not that we will never struggle again, but that because of Jesus, sin no longer carries with it spiritual death. Sin still has consequences, but it no longer has condemnation.

Sin still has consequences, but (for the believer) it no longer has condemnation

Verse 25 says, “²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” But remember that the chapter designations were put in later. Paul continues to describe that basis for his hope in Jesus in Chapter 8. Let’s read the first 2 verses of Chapter 8.

Romans 8:1-2 proclaims, “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.”

Without Jesus, sin brings with it condemnation. In Romans 8, Paul declares that even though believers still struggle with sin and even through sin still carries with it consequences, it no longer brings about eternal condemnation.

Our new spiritual life is marked by the indwelling presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Romans Chapter 8 is a celebration of all we now have now that we and “in Christ” and set free from the condemnation of sin and given eternal life.