Romans 8:1

Now you could tell by the way of somebody that loves the Word of God they can't stop talking about it so Just want to Say that brother not only do

I Appreciate you, but I love you dearly all right for this morning now if you would take your

Bibles and turn to the book of Romans and the eighth chapter

Romans chapter 8 We're only going to read one verse this morning, and it's my desire

To attempt to open up a verse that has been opened up By so many much more capable than I and and and so many have preached this text

Romans 8 1 along with the rest of Romans 8, but even just Romans 8 1 there's so many that have sought to open this verse up to give understanding to it and so That is in a way

What I desire to do this morning and to ask God to bless it, but let us just read the first verse together

I will trust that you will read the remainder of the chapter on your own as we Conclude today and again if you don't know

I'm reading from the New King James So if it varies from your Bible just by a

New King James Romans chapter 8 verse 1 there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus Who do not walk according to the flesh?

But according to the Spirit and let's just ask God's Blessing again our

Father in God. We do come to you in that name the name of the only begotten Son We pray Holy Spirit that you would come now

And Lord that these words would not just be words that enter into our mind and our ears but do not go down into our heart, but that we would realize

Lord that this is This is such an amazing statement Lord It is so great

Even as we have sung of how great you are now Lord We pray that you would take your word that you would even as it said in the

Old Testament in in one Translation that you would roll up your sleeves Lord Work with us

Help us to see you high and lift it up. Help us to see you as you truly are not as we just perceive you are

So now be with your word be with our thoughts and make Christ be glorified in it all in his name.

Amen So as I said, this is to me one of the greatest statements in all the

Bible and as We look at it.

There are there are many times scriptures that Many would think we'd need some sort of supporting cast in other words there are certain scriptures in the

Bible and certain passages in the Bible that unless you really read a Full context you can get lost that you can misinterpret it

But I will say to you that this verse Romans 8 chapter 1 Romans chapter 8 and verse 1

I believe is one of those great verses because in many ways it could stand alone

It can stand on its own. It is of such clarity. Is it of such magnitude?

It is of such Clearness of thought that really if you want to misinterpret

Romans 8 and Verse 1 you have to do it willfully The statement the words the clearness of it all therefore there is now no

Condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh

But according to the Spirit now lest you

Expositors start throwing rocks at me that for what I just said that you don't in and of itself need a complete context for this

There is a context for it and certainly in Paul's letter to the Romans. He has spent the previous seven chapters if you will to build his his

Biblical argument to bring us to that point where he now says in this word of There being no condemnation.

So there is a context and I don't want you to think about That in any other way and and if you will there's a certainly an immediate context in Romans chapter 7 and and if I would and if I could

I mean just read to you the last two verses of Romans chapter 7 and and let me say this first The Romans chapter 7 is not the easiest chapter to interpret and the reason why they say that and and maybe some of you will understand is there are

There are basically two ways to look at what Paul is saying in Romans chapter 7 and I don't want to Go into that right now because it certainly will take a lot of time to do that But let me read to you the last two verses of the chapter

Romans chapter 7 where Paul says this Oh wretched man that I am

Who will deliver me from this body of death? I Thank God through Jesus Christ our

Lord so that with my mind I myself serve the law of God but with the flesh the law of sin and as I said, there are there are mainly two interpretations and I'm sure there's some other nuances of thinking but basically

Romans chapter 7 is interpreted in two different ways and and if you want we could talk about it after or you could talk to Mike because he he's my defender and sergeant -at -arms and Even me and Mike might not agree with this

Interpretation, but here's the thing that I do want to press for us and ask us to think about as we look at Romans chapter 8 and verse 1 that regardless of how you interpret

Romans chapter 7 when you come to those words that Paul speaks in verse 24

Oh wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death And I thank

God through Jesus Christ so that my mind I myself With my with the mind

I myself Serve the law of God, but with the flesh the Lord said that here's the thought regardless of interpretation.

He's talking about Deliverance. He's talking about being in in a sense underbonded he's talking about being pressed down and then as we come to Romans 8 we see what he has

Come to understand and it's important friends that we understand that Romans chapter 8 verse 1 is

Not just written by some professor in a college sitting in an in an air -conditioned office

But this is the Apostle Paul and this is not only the thoughts that God has put upon and put in his heart

But this pertains to the Apostle Paul himself Because that's what he says right in verse 24.

Oh wretched man who that I am So again, let us not just think this is some

Cold word, but rather it is the truth that has that Paul has been speaking about for the first seven chapters of Romans and Lest I spend all the time talking about Romans chapter 1 through verse 2 chapter 7.

Let us begin to Look at this. And so if you saw in your bulletin

There is a title for the message and the title for the message is no condemnation no

Condemnation for this morning for our thoughts

I almost had to stop already No condemnation for our thoughts this morning.

We will look at this under three headings for now and again it could be divided into a thousand messages and a thousand different ways to to bring out the same truth, but No condemnation in them point.

Number one will be We are free from condemnation

Point number two will be we are free from condemnation by Christ himself

And then the third point will be we are free from condemnation by Christ Through and by the power of the

Holy Spirit and that that power When we come out from condemnation will radically alter our lives and so that is the outline and Again remember,

I'm just to fill in so I don't do all the elaborate screens that Keith does. Okay Point one

We are free from condemnation And I thought to myself and I said, you know,

I wonder if let's just consider for a moment that Someone who has no knowledge of the

Bible or at best very little knowledge of the Bible and one day they per chance or Per poverty

Providence they decide to open up a Bible and they you know Cuz a lot of people do that a lot of people just say

I'm gonna read the Bible and they you know, they flip and okay That's where I'm gonna read.

Let's just say someone opened a Bible and came to this chapter 8 in the book of Romans and read the first verse and I wonder at times if someone would say in response to that as he reads this there is therefore now no

Condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus Perhaps he might come away with a thought something like this

Hey, wait a minute I'm not an a condemned person

I'm not one who is is Subject to a verdict that has been passed upon me why

I've never even been in jail Maybe someone could even claim as as I can claim

I've never even gotten a speeding ticket Not that I didn't deserve a speeding ticket, but I never got a speeding ticket big difference

But let's just say someone comes to that point and they look at this verse and and then they might say what is this whole?

thing about Condemnation There's no sentence against me.

I'm not a wanted man. I'm I'm not The result of of a verdict that's been charged against me and how would we answer that?

I Thought about the Jews themselves you remember that account where we're there the

Lord Jesus Christ is discussing truths with them and and Tells them that they're the slaves of sin and they were in bondage to sin and you remember what they did

They said wait a minute We've never been in we're not the slaves of sin. We've never been in bondage to no one

We're Abraham's kids. I wonder if people today

Think that way What is all this nonsense about condemnation? Anyway, we we don't have to worry about that well

What does the Bible say about it You see because that's what matters, right? Let God be true

But every man a liar and it matters what God says And so we need to go to the

Word of God to understand what God has said concerning this thought of condemnation in order to understand the

Importance and again as I said the magnitude of such a verse as Romans 8 1

Let me ask you to turn to a couple scriptures Well, look at too many but at least some to give us some understanding and the first one would be if you would

Turn to John chapter 3 Let's just see what the Bible talks about concerning condemnation and by the way, as you're turning there condemnation would be a

Sentence that has been passed upon you Right now.

I don't watch too many movies, but I would do remember the movie the Green Mile I don't know if you would remember that and one of the scenes in the beginning of the movie in the

Green Mile is This little prison guard who basically is a nuisance but there's this little prison guard and then he's walking through the prison and he there's a big giant man and he's in handcuffs and he's in shackles and and in this scene in the movie as They're walking through the prison this little prison guard who thinks he's in control of everything

He keeps continually saying as he leads the this Man in handcuffs and shackles into his cell.

He keeps saying dead man a walking There's a dead man a walking

What he was trying to emphasize is that this man had Been sentenced to death

He had been condemned to death for ultimately a crime He didn't do and that's as much

I want to say about the movie, but he his thought was this was a dead man a walking Well, let us read

Romans chapter John chapter 3 verse 16 and for a couple of verses

And read what God says it interesting. Isn't it in the context of? the great

John 3 16 But God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life

Well, God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world

Through him might be saved He who believes in him is

Not condemned, but he look at verse 18 friends He who does not believe is what he's condemned already the reason being

Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God and this

This is the condemnation that light is coming to the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil

Would it not be great at the billboard where we see John's 3 16? Plastered all over it also had enough room for John 3 17 18 and 19

It would change people or at least make them begin to think what is this truth about condemnation?

Because there are multitudes in this world even now right now

Who would say they've never been? considered as condemned And yet and yet the very

Word of God says he who believes not is condemned Already, and you know what it it pertains to not only people who lived in that day

And it not only pertains to people who live who lived

Millennium ago and It's not only to people who live today It in it is the truth of where everyone apart from God's redeeming grace is positioned and the reason being

Because of sin and you and I need to consider that it doesn't matter

Like I said, it don't matter whether you you're rich or you're poor or you're you're educated or you're uneducated

Or you've accomplished a lot or you accomplish next to nothing or whether you're a you lived in the days of Rome or you lived in the days of Babylon or you lived in the days of Methuselah You lived and live in the days of our country or Paris or wherever else

You see my friends the reality is this If you are not in Christ You're a dead man walking

What How dare you say that I didn't say it the Word of God declares it

That's why I said it doesn't matter what men think it doesn't matter how men react to the Word of God in one sense

It does but in truth Men's reaction to the Word of God doesn't change the

Word of God. Does it know? And if the Word of God says that the only way to come out from condemnation

Is to be in Christ Jesus Then that's the truth And so these are again as we look at these three points about Ultimately not being in condemnation because of Christ and because the power of the

Spirit It really is not effectual until we first understand our true state and that's really the problem, isn't it?

And I don't wanna get off the subject but you think about it as we who believe in in the doctrines of grace

And we'll even use the acronym of the tulip right and how we believe that It's it's just the truth.

What is always at the beginning? What is the the T stand for in tulip?

Total depravity. Well, that sounds like condemnation total depravity

And so as we see the words of the Lord Jesus Christ and as he's speaking I bet this

Conversation with Nicodemus blew his mind by the way Because so many in his day as they say we we're not in the conduct.

We're not under condemnation. Why we're not even in bondage. I Never even got a speeding ticket for taking my wagon and mule too fast down the road

I May ask you to look at another scripture and and we'll look at this one and that should suffice

Although I want to mention one more Turn to Romans chapter 3 Okay, so Paul's been building this argument up He comes to the point chapter 7 when he says

Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death. I Thank my

God through Jesus Christ and Then he goes into Romans chapter 8 verse 1

But I want to read this with you in Romans chapter 3 familiar And friends be careful about the scriptures that seem familiar because we'll have a tendency to just Read right through them read right past them never really consider

The depth of it or the reality of it or the truth of it Romans chapter 3 and listen to what

Paul says In verse 9 he's talking to the Jews how they thought they were so much better than the

Gentiles and he says what then are we better? Than they not at all for we have previously charged both

Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin They are all condemned apart from Christ There is run none righteous.

No, not one There is none who understands there is none who seeks after God they have all gone out of the way

They have together become unprofitable. There is none who does good.

No, not one Their throat is an open tomb with their tongue. They have practiced deceit the

Poison of get of asps is under their lips Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness their feet are swift to shed blood

Destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of peace. They have not known there is no fear of God before their eyes

Lest we become so Uppity in our thinking this was speaking and and it still speaks today, but this this was speaking about all of us before the grace of God Entered into our lives and changed our lives

None every person Who comes into this world as a result of being the descendant of Adam?

This pertains to them oh It might not be manifested in the same degree

But it's true And so when we read and when that person who opens his

Bible flips it open, he says therefore is now no condemnation There's a lot of thought in that isn't there?

I could mention to you Romans chapter 5, but I Already did just didn't mention to you

Romans chapter 5, but if you remember what it says in Romans chapter 5 Concerning that reality that all men being descendants of Adam because of his rebellion

It says in Romans chapter 5 verse 18. So then just as one man's trespass brought

Condemnation Condemnation my friend.

There are multitudes of people this morning Who will condemn that opening ceremony in the

Olympics and rightfully so And there are many people who will say how dare they do that and and what godless people they are and many of those people who will condemn that a

Behavior Will never once consider that in and of themselves in their heart because of their sin against God and their rebellions against God They are just as much a dead man a walking, but that's what the

Word of God says everyone anyone apart from Christ Is a condemned person

I Believe and go back to Romans chapter 8 for a moment.

I believe this. I In some way we can invert or Restate Romans chapter 8 verse 1 to something like this

If you disagree with me again, we can talk about it, but I believe we could rightfully in many ways say there's something like there is therefore now nothing but Condemnation to those

Who are not in Christ But walk only according to the flesh

And you know when I get a chance to stand up here, I like to talk to the kids Always asking you to figure out who the kid is, but listen kids

You're under a sentence You might not think so.

You might not even act in such a way that it's it's visible But listen, if you are not a follower a son or a daughter of the

Lord Jesus Christ Then you're a dead person of walking Then I might not go over well in a lot of churches

But it's still the truth Right, you can't you can't change truth

That's one of the definite that is the definition of true. It's always true.

It's true in every setting It's true in every civilization. It's true in every age.

It's true in every time if God says it, it's true And so we could dilute change malign

Misinterpret the Word of God to our own fancy It's still the

Word of God And so as you and I think about this this morning, I I wanted to at least get us to try to think about How men if they really knew

Their true state than someone or anyone or everyone who read

Romans chapter 8 verse 1 if they really had even the slightest of understanding they might begin to say

Wow, I never knew that about myself Well, maybe they did know and it just kept denying it, but that's the reality, isn't it?

I'll end this point and then we'll try to move on and that's why I didn't want to look at verse 2 because I Would never get to verse 2

But let's just think about this in the Old Testament You remember how there was so many that had leprosy right and leprosy was a disease.

It was boils on your flesh It was it was disgusting And do you remember what the law said concerning someone who who had leprosy

If they saw first of all, they had to leave the camp right they couldn't dwell in the camp They couldn't live amongst other people because they would spread that great disease

But it was another thing that they also had to do and it was that if if someone approached them

That they had to shout out after they put their hand over their mouth and they had to say unclean unclean

Well, let me say this to you if every person really understood their true condition before a holy

God apart from saving faith in Christ by the power of God the

Holy Spirit that they should walk around and say Condemned Condemned.

I'm a dead man of walking Now some might hear this message and they might say there you go.

There's you Calvinist again. You got nothing good to say It's all bad. It's all negative Well, listen my friends

Good news is truly good news in the light of bad news And if you miss the bad news the good news will really not affect you

And so that's my first point that when this Person who reads this and says no condemnation

That they would have to stop and think and that'll lead me to my second point. That is Let's just say perhaps that that person does that Well, or even someone listen,

I keep using some abstract person who's you know, maybe somebody in the churches

You know, not everybody that comes to church reads their Bible I Don't mean to shock anybody but let's just say someone really began to look at Romans chapter 8 and verse 1 and They began to understand that they truly are under a sentence a verdict

And and it's God's verdict, isn't it friends? You see there's no there's no negotiating away there's no

Plea bargain if you will. Well, there is but that's my next point And it's not even a plea bargain because God is who

God is the? Judge God is the prosecution. Oh, God is the jury and God is the executioner that would be as it would be similar to if someone read this and and began to see themselves in a state of Condemnation and and began to consider it they might do what they did if you remember the the first message of Peter in in in the mess the sermon at Pentecost and you remember how he basically just Laid it out before him that they had crucified the

Lord of Glory That they by wicked hands had put to death the

Savior of sinners that they were part of the plot to destroy and you remember when when this and I had to be to watch the

Working of the Spirit of God they came under conviction Remember what they said?

Man brethren, what must we do to be saved? Well Romans 8 verse 1

Gives us not only the sentence of death But gives us how to be out of that condemnation in the greater

God by the way God could have left us just the way we were God's not obligated to save What do you mean?

God's up? He's not God is not under any obligation to do anything Except what he pleases to do

But here's the reality this is why I say this verse is of such magnitude it's

Can't even can't even begin to hold a candle to it but it says there is therefore now condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus as Horrifying if you will of the words of being in the state of condemnation as as as sad as as dismal as that seems

Paul then takes us from from the the darkness of a

Tempest and hurricane that's sweeping over our souls and all of a sudden The Sun begins to come out because he begins to talk about how to come out from under the condemnation

Because listen my friends Either you are in Christ or you are in great trouble

That again, okay, either you are in Christ or you are in great trouble and Paul says

There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus You know, that's a that's a favorite term of Paul by the way in Christ and I know it is because I read through all

Paul's letters Just to add up how many times Paul says in Christ And he says in Christ over 80 times and That's not including the times that he says by Christ or for Christ, but just that term in Christ it was a favorite term of the

Apostle Paul and and we should realize why Because to be in Christ is is to be out from condemnation

And that's why I said either you are in Christ or you're in great trouble And my point is that there is and again familiar words

There is no other name under heaven given among men Whereby we what must be saved

Saved from what? Oh Just saved from from hell well

That is certainly true saved from the condemnation of God There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved and there are so many today who have the sentence of sin and the sentence of guilt and the sentence of condemnation upon them and The way out

Is not in a denomination It's certainly not under the law

It's not under What you can do It's not in under how smart you are

It's not in where you are in life in your position it's in Christ Isaiah says this

He says why do you spend money For that which does not satisfy

And how many people there are who have a sense by the

Spirit of God in the conscience that God is in stores that there is guilt that there is there's a sentence over them

There's that if you ever want to really read something take a few minutes and read sin is in the hands of an angry

God Huh, oh By Jonathan Edwards, it was

Jonathan Edwards, right? Yeah, read that and read the description of what he lays out before people where they are in One way or another he talks about being so close to falling into this this horrible cauldron that's that's just filled with heat and that and and that there is nothing really holding you up, but this this

Spiderweb that could give at any time and my friends listen the answer the answer to it all is to be in Christ it is only satisfied this this sentence of death can only be satisfied by the

God -man You see that's why he came

And all these people have all these different thoughts Well, he came to be a martyr and he came to be a teacher and he came to be a reformer

Hey, and I'm not saying there aren't applications that could be made in that But Jesus didn't come merely to be a reformer he didn't come merely to be a teacher

He came to redeem condemned people and he's the only one that could have

You think it's not? Essential of what we read that God was manifest in the flesh

You think the incarnation is just something to bolster the story?

It was an absolute necessity who else listen who else could satisfy a condemnation that comes from the eternal

Thrice holy God except God himself Why that would be as silly as this this person who

I talked about in and how he was led into his cell that that Somehow he could say well, you know what?

I know I realize I'm a condemned person regardless of the fact that in the movie He wasn't condemned He wasn't guilty, but it would be as silly as that person saying, you know what?

I've got a sentence of death against me, but I released my own condemnation. I Consider myself now to be free

Well whoopie do for you The electric chair still awaits you How could man remove his own guilt friends?

Can he educate himself out of it? Can a leopard change his spots

Can the Ethiopian change his skin how could you that are accustomed to evil do good

It's in Christ It's in Christ alone look look at verse 24 is what

I said Oh wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death.

I Thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. I Ain't a whole bunch of anything

I'm getting to be not only a one -eyed chubby old man

But I'm in Christ and though this body is going to decay so much faster than I would approve of I'm in Christ What thrills you this morning friends

What is the what is the anchor in your soul? What is it that that keeps you?

It's to be in Christ to be considered by this rightful

Indic God who's full of indignation to be considered with the righteousness of his son put to our account in Christ May I ask you go back real quick John chapter 5

This was to read a few verses Again, it really doesn't matter what

I say It doesn't matter what God says Romans chapter 4, I mean now John chapter 5 just read me a little bit verse 22 of chapter 5

For the father judges No, man, no one but has committed all judgment to the

Son That all should honor the Son just as they honored the father. He who does not honor the son

Does not honor the father who sent him Most assuredly I say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and Shall not come

Into judgment, but has passed from death to life Most assuredly

I say to you the hour is coming and now is When the dead will hear the dead will hear the voice of the

Son of God and those that hear will live For as the father has life in himself So he has granted the son to have life in himself

And has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the son of man Do not marvel, but the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth

Those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation

You know what the condemnation is

It it's rebellion against God and it's refusal to receive

Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior And we just read that because the father has what committed all judgment to the

Son And he who does not honor the son does not honor the father Well, are you saying that that the way to the true

God is that narrow yes it is I Don't care what the Muslim says.

I don't care what this group says I don't care what the Jehovah Witness says it doesn't matter a hell of beans

What anyone says it only matters what God says and God says his son is the

Savior of sinners Why don't we simply believe

God's Word? Why do we spend money for that which does not satisfy

Why do people go to up so so great absurdities in trying to come out from guilt

We could read about in the Old Testament, right some of them cut themselves remember the whole thing on Mount Carmel with the false prophets and and Eliza and I think that's kind of a cool story from the standpoint of less

Go first See what you guys could do Come on, maybe you got sleeping

And what did it cut themselves in it? How many people there are in this world today?

How many people there are this morning who are trying to come out from the sentence of death in a completely?

Disrespectful wrong way and yet Paul says

There is no condemnation To them that are in Christ Jesus That glorious Well, that's better than two hot dogs in a hamburger my friends to be in Christ Is to have everything that is needed for life and not just this life you see

Christ sacrifice Listen, listen Consider this think of this Christ sacrifice was of such worth

That it carries an eternal result with it Because of who he was

He didn't just come in in as I said in any old way his active obedience

Right in fulfilling the law of God Who could do that but God himself?

Which man wants to be a liar and say I've done that many people has tried to say that so his active obedience

Satisfied what was needed as far as obeying and fulfilling? So that there could be a righteousness

And then there's there I'll call it his passive suffering with a sentence of God Was passed upon him for you and for me

Let's just ask you this question How many times a day do you thank God? That you're in Christ I bet

I'll wager That you and I spend more time complaining and murmuring and disputing

Then we do thanking I Remember many many years ago

Many many years ago. I heard a preacher say That we ought to thank

God 10 ,000 times a day for our salvation. I Never forgot that guy

Because it's true. Are you thankful for a

Savior? Are you thankful that the sentence of death is gone

That the sins that you and I have committed against God By the righteousness of Christ Has been cast into the depths of the sea to be remembered no more

It's in Christ and it's in Christ alone

And I'll just say this before we move on to the last point real quickly

That doesn't mean listen And Paul if you want to read it read it in Romans 6 and 7 and 8

That doesn't mean that we are not at times sinners

And it doesn't mean at times that God won't bring if you will a sentence against us

But here's the great distinction friends and don't miss it if God Brings a sentence against us

It will be at the hand of a loving father Who because of the work of his son will do it in us to cleanse us to make us more like his son and Not the actions of a angry judge who solely does things by the law

There is now therefore there is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus In the anointed one in the

Son of Man in the Son of God and Then finally friends just for a moment It then says and I will put it out to you this way

Who do not walk according to the flesh? But according to the

Spirit, maybe you'll agree with me this way

God the Father in the eternal counsel of God And I'm gonna adjust that next week in part about God's eternality but in the eternal counsel of God as it appears to us in the scriptures as it's unfolded to us in many ways

God the Father purposed to save us God the

Son in obedience purchased what the Father had purposed in redemption and Then if you think about it particularly as we go from the book of Acts on God the

Holy Spirit is the one who presents it and makes it real in our lives Look what he says

There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the

Spirit to all who will walk according to the cost of this world

To the flesh to the workings of the law to this that and the other thing

You will always remain a dead man walking It is not until By the power of the

Spirit you come you come Individually, no one's gonna drag you.

No one's gonna bring it through the gate. No one can get you in the back door Until you come by the power of the

Spirit to realize your true condition and you flee and the

Spirit of God comes within us and Not only is he free us from the condemnation, but he grants us newness of life

Now I'll tell you if you want to read one of the most Uplifting chapters in all the

Bible just go read Jeremiah 31 Huh, just just read it read it in every translation you can find

Read commentaries on it Read it to yourself ten times a day That the work that would be wrought by this one who to bring us out of come condemnation by the power of the

Holy Spirit would take out what a heart of flesh and Give us a new heart

That's why I said to you. I'm not much And I just love

Augustine's statement, right I'm not what I Should be and I'm I'm not even what

I want to be but thank God ain't what I ought ain't what I used to be I don't know if he said ain't

You guys have ruined me being in the South for 30 years, but isn't that great

That the power of the Spirit comes in and could you imagine if someone just opened their

Bible and and and Came to Romans 8 1 and worked through this whole thought of condemnation and being under the sense of death

And then they came to understand that there was only one name and it was Christ Jesus by which they could be saved

And then by the power and the grace of the Holy Spirit all of a sudden they had a new heart

And listen friends if you have a new heart you'll live a new life None of this

See my flesh I almost wanted to say something I shouldn't say None of this garbage about Christ is

Savior and then at some other time he becomes my Lord That you and I are possessed by the

Spirit of God That you and I have a new worldview You know, you know what's been going through my mind all week and and ever since the assassination attempt on Trump and then

Biden dropping out and then this and then the Olympics and and all I kept saying to myself is isn't it great that God rules over all of it

Ain't it great that God's on the throne Ain't it great that the

Holy Spirit communicates to us in the depths of our souls be still and know

I am God The Spirit himself takes out that stony heart and he puts that new heart in there

It's a life -changing event Jesus said it this way. He said it's the

Spirit that gives life the flesh prophets nothing John 6 63 something like that.

It's the Spirit that gives life to the flesh Prophets nothing. You know what?

It says what Paul said. He said where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty Would not be great if you were under the condemnation of a sentence of death for someone to come to you and Tell you you've been liberated

You've come out from under that verdict and I Will be with you

To keep you to protect you to guide you to help you to carry you to the very presence of God How foolish for men to think that they can?

Get rid of their guilt and find peace in any other way You remember what

John what Jesus said in John 10? He was talking about the sheepfold and how he is the shepherd the great shepherd

The good shepherd he's the door. I mean he's that he's all -in -all, right? But but do you remember how he describes those who try to come any other way but by him?

He says that they're a thief And they're a robber You know what the

Spirit of God does In that sense. He he gives us a new heart and we no longer seek to be a thief or a robber

We seek only to trust in Christ Nothing in my hands.

I bring simply to the cross I cling My friends if you cannot by the

Spirit of God have that if you will in your heart

Then there might be a heart issue with you Spirit of God in Christ Jesus has set me free from what the law of sin and death could not do

Look at verse 9. I will end it but look at verse 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the

Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you now if anyone does not

Have the Spirit of Christ He is none of his You can't argue with that friends you could deny it

You can seek to twist it You can even try somehow to misinterpret it.

It still says what it says If any man have not the Spirit of Christ He's none of his

So let me close it this way friends There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus Who walked not according to the flesh but according to the

Spirit and it's the if the reality of that is not yours Then let me plead with you and I mean plead

Because we're still gonna have wars And we're still gonna have hate and we're still gonna have murders and we're still gonna have atrocities in this world and for you

If you're on the condemnation the only way out is for Christ to set you free and He will whom the

Son sets free Come on, smile who the

Son sets free is free indeed Are you a dead man walking?

Are you free in Christ? Come to the Savior Flee the wrath to come

Finding him your all -in -all. He will never disappoint you He alone is worthy of our prayers and may

God bless Not only the hearing of his word But the reality of it in our lives

So let's just close with a quick word of prayer as we come to the communion.

Let's pray Our Father in God again, we thank you for who you are

Lord. May we continually give thanks May it be the sacrifice of our lips to know that through Christ That condemnation no longer is against us, but we are free free indeed free to serve free to love free to know you

Lord help us and even as we come to the supper this morning Lord as a memorial of what was

What had taken place? May we view it in a right way and may we appreciate it in a way of worship in Christ's name.

Amen We've come now to a communion