Romans 8:1-4 (KJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The Law Cannot Save, But Once Saved By Grace
We Strive To Follow God’s Law

Last week we saw that the person who is saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is dead to the Law, but alive to God. The saved live to glorify the Lord Who save them. We learned that the Law is totally unable to save us. The Law is diagnostic – it shows us to be sinners in need of salvation. But the Law cannot save us. Believing on the death and resurrection of Christ, we die to the Law so that God’s Spirit can lead us.

A Christian is NOT lawless. A Christian, properly speaking, has undergone a spiritual transformation. God has written His Law on our hearts.

The Law is not defective or evil. We are born into this world defective and evil. We read:

Romans 7:12 … the law is HOLY, and the commandment HOLY, and JUST, and GOOD.

The Law of God was written by God, and since “there are none good but God” (Matthew19:17), the Law must be good and right. We all struggle with sin, struggle with our desires. The Apostle addressed this by saying:

Romans 7:18-21 (KJV) For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Every Christian struggles with desires toward evil. We know what is right and wrong, but in our own strength we have no power to defeat that. The Christian loves the Word of God, and loves the commandments of Christ.

No genuine Christian would say, “I know what God says, but I’m going to do it MY WAY because I and how I feel is MORE IMPORTANT than what my God wants.

We who are saved …

Romans 7:22 (KJV) DELIGHT IN THE LAW OF GOD after the inward man:

Illustrate: There was a group of false of pseudo-Christians who attempted to infiltrate the Church called the Gnostics. The Gnostics taught that, once saved, you were free to sin guilt free, for the Blood of Christ covered all sins. The Apostle addressed this in:

Hebrews 10:29-30 (NKJV) Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.”

God will AVENGE the lost Who mock His Law, and will JUDGE the saved who minimize His Law.

The Christian delights in the Law of God. Because we love Jesus, we love His commandments (John 14:15; 14:24). Though we struggle with the Law and our desires, we do not cast the Law away. The Law cannot and did not save us – Grace did. But the Law is still the Law, and is HOLY and JUST. Though the desire is there, we follow the Word of God, though we as Christians struggle with sin.

Christians Will Struggle With
The Old Sin Nature

Romans 7:23-25 (KJV) But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

There is an old sin nature in each one of us that beckons us to abandon the Word of God and move toward the flesh. But the Christian loves the Law, the Word of God. The Christian meditates on God’s Word. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 1:1-2 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

This is what Paul was saying in Romans 7:22, “I DELIGHT IN THE LAW OF GOD, in my INNER BEING”. This is what the Apostle John meant when God directed him to write:

1 John 5:3 (ESV) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

You cannot be saved by the Law, but by Grace. But once saved, you love the Law of God. God is your King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If He is NOT, then you are NOT SAVED. But do we struggle? Yes, because of the old sin nature still resident in our flesh. We understand that we will struggle, and at times fail. As the Apostle said at the end of chapter 7, “with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin”.

Illustrate: The Law of God is like a Spiritual GPS. It points us in the direction of the will of God. There have been times when I have followed my vehicle’s GPS, but when it told me to take a certain turn, I just knew it was wrong – so I went where my desire led me. What was the result? I was not where I wanted to be. I had to surrender my will to the GPS to get to my destination. God’s Word is like that.

Though the world will dispute God’s Word, and label it homophobic, patriarchal, misogynist, racist, out dated, impractical, intolerant, loveless, mean spirited and hateful – mocking it and you – the Law is RIGHTEOUS and HOLY. The only way to get where God is is to, by faith, follow that spiritual GPS.

Christians Suppress Godless Desires By Following
God’s Spirit & God’s Word

Romans 8:1 (KJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Is a “Cultural Christian” a “Christian”? No. God is very clear, the Christian is “in Christ Jesus”. The lost person is under the Law of God, and often seeking to please God by “being good” or keeping that Law. There were many lost Pharisees who followed after Jesus, finding fault with His ministry. Jesus told these Pharisees:

John 8:42-45 (ESV) Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

There are many people in America and around the world who have appropriated Christianity because they like portions of what it teaches. But Jesus tells us all, “If God were your Father, you would love me”. The Christian proper has fallen in love with God. We love Jesus. We love God’s Word. Though at times we may allow desire to guide us, this is not normative of a Christian. Jesus said of those who are Satan’s children, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.”

There are two states that every person can be in: CONDEMNED or UNCONDEMNED before God.

Word Study: To those in love with Jesus, there is “NO CONDEMNATION”. That word “CONDEMNATION” is the Greek katakrima (pronounced kat-ak’-ree-mah), literally means “a sentence of damnation”. When Adam sinned against God, his actions brought katakrima, that is “a sentence of damnation” on all his children. We are told:

Romans 5:18 (KJV) … by the offense of one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to CONDEMNATION (katakrima)

All are born in a state of condemnation. But Jesus has told us:

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only Begotten Son of God.

“He that believeth on Him is not condemned”. You can never be condemned or damned before the Great White Throne of God if you have trusted your soul into His hands. Jesus Christ took all of your condemnation on Himself on that Cross. The Greek text literally states “no, not one judgment against you”. The Father has placed all condemnation on Jesus for your sake.

My heart swells with gratitude to God when I think of this glorious Grace we who believe stand in. He has promised us that Christ has bore our sin on Himself. Jesus took on Himself two condemnations for you and for me. There was the condemnation of our willful sin against the Law of God. We do not need to blame Adam for our sinful estate. Yes, Adam sinned, and yes, Adam brought sin on all of his children. But we, just as sure as Adam, know the Law of God and willfully violated it. We were breakers of God’s Law, willfully and without care prior to our salvation. Then when we broke God’s Law we, like Adam of old, made fig leaves to cover our nakedness.

Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Jesus Christ had to die for our sins.

The Lamb of God was killed on the altar for us.
The Blood of the Innocent was placed on our lives.
The Law we violated was kept perfectly by Christ.
So that He could pay for our violations against God.
As the Ark lifted Noah and his family
above waves of judgment,
When you are IN CHRIST you are lifted
above just punishment.

If you are in Christ Jesus, there is NO CONDEMNATION. But note that it says “in CHRIST JESUS”. The order by which the Name of God’s Son is shown in Scripture matters. The word “CHRIST” or Cristos means “The Messiah, the King of God’s House”. Beloved, to be saved you must be “in CHRIST JESUS”. His name “JESUS” emphasizes that He is the Savior (Matthew 1:21). But His name “CHRIST” emphasizes that He is Lord of His people. Jesus is Lord of all (Acts 10:36).

Preach This: The phrase “in Christ Jesus” is found 40 times in Scripture. We are saved by being “in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). We are in God’s love because we are “in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:39). We are sanctified or set apart by God because we are “in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:2). We are born again by being “in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 4:15). We are children of God because we are “in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). We are new creatures because we are “in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 6:15). I could go on and on. The reality that Scripture presents is ..

The day a person surrenders the lordship of their life to Jesus, and falling in love with Jesus, that person becomes a “Christian”. There is no Christian where there is no Lord Jesus.

Under the Lordship of Christ, we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:1 (KJV) [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The desire of the Christian is to follow the Lord Jesus, not the world and the desires of the flesh. The Christian is someone who has been freed from one Law because another Law now rules him. We follow the Law of love. We love Jesus.

1 John 4:19 (KJV) We love {Jesus}, because He first loved us.

When we knew nothing of Jesus, He knew us. He died on Calvary for our sins. When we think of the MAGNITUDE of God’s Love. God knew that Adam would be tempted to sin, long before Adam did so. God knew that Adam would fail in the Garden of Eden. This is why the Bible says:

1 Peter 1:18-21 (ESV) … knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Jesus was “foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you”. When you unpack that statement you see the depth of God’s love. God knew Adam would choose to disobey – but made Adam anyway. God knew that Adam would bring the world to sin, and that Christ would have to pay for the sins, but “God chose us in Christ BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD” (Ephesians 1:4). Jesus was involved in the creation of this earth and all that is in it, knowing that one day He would have to go to Calvary to pay for our sins.

No Condemnation In Christ Jesus!

What a glorious truth this is! Jesus said, “Because I live, you shall live also” (John 14:19). Being in Christ Jesus means that we are led to God by His Word. Being in Christ Jesus means that

Psalm 37:24 (NIV) … though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

Being in Christ Jesus means that God has promised,

Hebrews 13:5 … I will NEVER LEAVE THEE nor FORSAKE THEE

C.H. Spurgeon clarified this thought by writing:

“This union with Christ is often mentioned in Scripture under the form of a marriage, but it is also described under other symbols: we are one with Christ as a BRANCH is one with the VINE, as a STONE is one with the foundation, and especially as a MEMBER of the body is one with the HEAD. Now it is not possible if I am a member of Christ that I should be under condemnation until He is condemned. Is my head acquitted? Then my hand is acquitted. So long as a man’s Head is above water you cannot drown his feet; and as long as Christ, the Head of the mystical body, rises above the torrent of condemnation, there is no condemning even the least and feeblest member of his body.”

It is God Who maintains my salvation. Not I, but God. However, if I am in Christ Jesus, then my walk has changed. I do not please myself, but Him Who is My Head!

This is the sense of our text:

Romans 8:1, 4 [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. … (4) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Jesus fulfilled the righteousness of the Law of God on Calvary, a Law we could not keep. But now, saved by being in Christ Jesus, saved by the Grace of Calvary, we walk according to God’s Word and God’s Spirit.

God did not save us so we could freely SIN. He saved us so that we could freely SERVE. We who are saved live to glorify Him Who saved us.

You are called of God to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. This is repeated twice in our focal text to emphasize it. The Christian saved does not cease to serve God. We are freed to serve God. The Christian saved ceases to perform in the flesh, ceases to try and satisfy sin and self. The lost, children of darkness, walk in the darkness of sin. The Saved, children of God, walk in the light of God’s Word. “Thy Word is a LAMP UNTO MY FEET and a LIGHT UNTO MY PATH” (Psalm 119:105). If you have no love for the Word of God and its directives, dear friend, you may not be saved. There are a lot of people who rejected Jesus as “Christ” but receive Him as “Savior”. Jesus is the Light of God, but the Scripture says:

John 3:19 (KJV) … Light (Christ Jesus) is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

There are many who choose to reject Jesus, to refuse to be in Christ Jesus. Being in Christ Jesus changes your way of life. We are told in:

Galatians 1:3-4 (NKJV) … our Lord Jesus Christ, … gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father

His death saves us from sin itself. Jesus delivers us, so that we can follow Him. You have been plucked out of this present evil world. You no longer live to sin, you live to be like Jesus. You walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. God is in you, dear Christian, and wants to work through your life. You have a purpose, a calling to walk like Jesus, to be like Jesus, to love like Jesus.

Everything that happens to a Christian, to the person who is “In Christ Jesus”, happens to make you more like a son of God, like THE Son of God. “God is working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). If you are “in Christ Jesus”, you may stumble at times, but you will never fully fall. You are a child of the King. You love Him, and seek to follow Him.

But if you are not “in Christ Jesus”, and living as the world lives, chasing desire and sin, then you are condemned already. Oh, how I pray that you would come to Jesus this very day. Beloved, you are either condemned already – or freed from condemnation. Which state you are in depends on whether you are in Christ Jesus – or not. May God touch your heart with these words, and lead you to say “yes” to the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.