8:2 Lesson 28c & begin 8:3-5 Lesson 29a
Romans 7:25--8 · Courtney Hemenway · Mar 10, 2019
Romans (2018-21), No. 56
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/49261914102525

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

We are finishing up Lesson 28. So I thought we only had two, but I think we have three questions left. Looking at it, I think we only got through Question 7. So I think we're in Question 8 of Lesson 28 of the Roman Study. Question 8. In verse 8-2, the word for is very important. Why? In verse 8. Therefore, there is 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 death. Why is for? What is the importance of for?

Just another word. What does it represent or what does it mean when Paul uses it? He says something and then he uses the word for. What does that imply? Could you say it's because in light of what all? What before this verse? Similar to when you have therefore, why is it therefore? You have everything before, now, therefore.

Very similar to that. It generally assigns a reason. So it basically gives you something and then here's the reason or what the outcome is. So it's used 17 times in chapter 8. So again, with the use of that word, for, and if it's basically something that says, let me pull this up, there's a reason. So if we look at verse 2, either one, verse one or two.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So what does that imply or what is the reason there? What comes from no condemnation? Who is that applied to? Believers. So it's very important that there's no condemnation to who? Believers.

So we said before, we talked about it I think in the last class, that When Christ went to the cross and paid for the sins, did he pay for just believers? The sins for just believers? The whole world. Everybody had their sins paid for. Past, present, future, all sins paid for. So, now he's saying there's no condemnation. Is that for everybody because the sins were paid for for everybody?

No. Why? Because if you don't believe, they aren't applied. Right. So now he's saying there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It's an important word because it distinguishes between those who are believers and not and the importance of that. Christ died for all sins, but unless you believe, you're still condemned. So now he's saying there's no combination what for who for believers.

So it's important to see that this word is used 17 times. So you think it's Paul's getting through a lot of important parts in 17 when he's going this is for this reason or assigns a reason to it. So, it's very important as you look through Romans 8, and we'll see this as we progress through it, that there are several important concepts or assignments of importance to things in Romans 8. So, just calling out in this question, as you look through Romans 8, the importance of that word and what it means. Like I said, as we go on through it, we'll explore that a little bit more as we get into the chapter. So, question nine.

What is the law of sin and death? And this comes from verse two. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. So, what is the law? Principle. Principle. Principle. Basically, it's a given principle acting uniformly. So a principle is what? How something works. Gravity is one. Is gravity a principle? Is it uniform? I think gravity is a law. Yes, that's right. It's a principle. It's a law. It's uniformly. Principles are not as strong as laws. Laws are absolute. As high as the world goes. Yeah, you can get into biblical or regular laws and different things like that. But basically, law is how something works.

Whether it's unchanging or universal or whatever, it describes something and how it works uniformly. So, you know, like I said, gravity is the best one just because it's a principle. It works all the time. you drop a penny and it falls. So it doesn't matter whether you're in Colorado or Texas or Mumbai, you drop a penny and it will fall. So again, gravity is a principle or a law. So therefore, what is the law of sin and death then? Death results because of sin. Others? Thoughts? We all have it from the beginning. Sam? Made there for a future of death. That's what we're born with. Yeah, if you...

Again, the for part, which is in verse 1. If you're a believer, you're out of that condemnation. And what it's saying in verse 2 is the spirit of life, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from this law of sin and death. So believers are now free from that law or that principle.

And as Cheryl said, sin brings forth death. So did we see that in chapter 7? And the power of that? The power of the sin in the flesh and how powerful it was, was Paul able to overcome that sin, the flesh, by his own efforts? No. No. So, again, we've been set free from that. We are now no longer in bondage to that. You know, we go back, and again, this is such an important section between chapters 6, 7, and 8. The importance of, in Romans 6, our identification, our co-crucifixion. How did we get separated from this fleshly body? By the co-crucifixion. We're now separated.

It's still active, we still have a sin nature in the flesh, and that's what was shown in chapter 7, where Paul is struggling with this. He's trying to do it on his own, but he can't. Then at the end, who will save me? Who will deliver me? Again, it's basically saying this law of sin and death, we are powerless against it, but we've been separated from it.

Bernard said, a principle is the way things work, a fundamental truth, or both. Same thing. A principle is how it works. It's just the way things are. Right. I'm trying to think of any law. We have thermodynamic laws. We have all sorts of different things, and that's how they work. It's just the law of the universe, it's just the way that God set things up to work.

Well this is, you know, because of the fall of Adam, we now have sin and death. So that is now the principle in the flesh. The flesh is now associated with Adam, and so that principle follows through. That's why, the minute you're born or conceived, you already have that law in you, that sin and death. And it's not because right off the bat you're sinning from cell development. It's because you're part of that sinful flesh.

That principle is carried through. And that will not change. And that's the principle of reproduction, like after like. So to say that's kind of another principle, like after like, you know, you're a human, your flesh reproduces flesh. So that's why from Adam all the way through every human being, that principle of sin and death is in every one of us. Alright, so then we get to question 10.

Better news, what is the law of life in Christ Jesus? Is this a written law? We have it written in stone somewhere? So what is it? This is just another, as we were talking about the law. It's not a written law, but a regular principle which exercises control over the life of a believer. So this is the principle of the life of the Spirit of Christ in us. This comes back to Paul crying out in chapter 7, who will set me free from this body of death? The who is Christ, for it is Christ's own risen life the believer now shares. But the life is brought forth through the Holy Spirit.

So again, the law, again, what is the law? Is it written? It's not a written law. What is it? It's a person. It's a who. So it's not like the Ten Commandments or anything like that. It is a person. And the important part about that is, do we regulate that? Who regulates that?

The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one that is the one who regulates the life of Christ in us. Again, that's why as we've gone through actually the study on the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is the one who does all this for us. And it's the one who is, in my prayer, convinces and convicts us of the truths. It's also the one, as we've talked about many times, is when we get into the battle between the flesh, is it the flesh and us, or is it the flesh and the spirit? The flesh and the spirit. It's the spirit's job. He's the one regulating this principle of the law of Jesus Christ in us. He's the one who does that. So again, The question I had too was, is the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus for new believers, old believers? All believers. All believers.

So, the minute you are saved, you are free from the law of sin and death, and you immediately have life in Christ. So again, the thought is, from the minute you're saved, that bondage is broken. However, the sin nature is still in our flesh, as we saw in chapter 7. Paul still has struggles with the flesh. So again, you're immediately saved and you're free from this, and you have the Holy Spirit exercising the life.

But who are you yielding to? The Holy Spirit or back to the flesh? That's the battle which is faith. Do you believe everything Christ or what the word says about you? Do you believe it? That you're free from the law? You have the very life of Christ in you? That's the fight of faith.

Again, that's the important concept. So, any questions? Otherwise, we can go to 29 and tag team here. Alright. Mike, I have good news for you. What? You sent through the right one, it's just mislabeled at the top. You're only half bad. Everybody have a 29? So talking about principles, there's another principle that is there that Courtney mentioned but he didn't refer to it as a principle.

What's the principle to implement this new life in Christ in my life? It's a principle. What is it? It's faith. Faith is also a principle. In order to appropriate for my life and your life, that's another principle. The way you appropriate this other principle, which is the life in Christ Jesus, is by the principle of faith.

That's how you do it. That's the appropriating factor, I guess is the way to say it. What's the word appropriation mean? Applying it. What's that? Applying it. Applying it? Okay. Or taking it for yourself. There you go. Yeah. If I come to your house and go in the refrigerator and take an apple, I've appropriated it. It's mine. I'm going to eat it. Okay, lesson 29. So we're working our way through, these verses have to do, or these questions have to do with verses 3 through 5. So I'm going to read them.

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, so 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.

So the first question is, what couldn't the law do? from the power. That's right, it couldn't. It was an impossible thing. But it also, there's another thing going on here. It's not only the freedom, notice the verse says, what did God do about the flesh? Crucified it. He condemned it, right? That's what the law couldn't do. It couldn't condemn sin in the flesh. It could convict you, and it could condemn you the person, but it couldn't condemn sin in the flesh. Do you see that? There's a distinction there. God condemned, and sin in the flesh, we're talking about source again.

What the law couldn't do was get to the source. It took God to get to the source. It was impossible for the law to get down to the source of sin and deal with it. The law couldn't do that. All the law did was expose sin and show you this other principle that you couldn't overcome it no matter how hard you tried. And it also aroused that sin. It did. I mean it did the very opposite. It did the very opposite.

You know, I marvel at the people who want to incorporate some or any of the mosaic system into their Christian life. If they understand the principle of what the law really does, why would you mess with it? And the thinking is, well, somebody's got to give me the rules, tell me what to do, so that I can appropriate those rules. Well, the appropriation is for faith, not the rules.

Do you see that? And the problem is that the minute you step into that water, it begins to inflame sin. Inflame sin. And I don't know how you overcome that. You don't. You don't. So why couldn't the flesh accomplish that task? Question two. God condemned sin in the flesh, a thing which the law couldn't do. condemn itself.

And sin isn't going to condemn itself. So the weakness of the flesh proves that overcoming sin, when you think about back in Genesis when Adam sinned and he became this thing called flesh, I don't think You get the grasp until you've been down the road a ways how powerful the thing that was and is. That it absolutely is a totally controlling principle. The flesh is. Animated by the principle of sin. How do you define sin?

The Lord Jesus Christ, he's the mark. And so when he enters into the picture here, God condemned sin in the flesh by expressing, expressed it by sending his son with a human nature. Not the sin nature, but a human nature. Now at what point, at what point in the life of the Lord Jesus was that his life used to condemn sin? At what point? Was it because he lived such a great life?

That's when he died. He died on a cross. What's that? He died on a cross. Because he died. But before he died, something had to happen there. And what had to happen? Christ had to be paid. What had to happen to Christ? He had to become the thing. Do you see that? He had to become the thing.

So what God does is He puts the sin nature, your sin nature and mine, on Christ. Identifies Him with it. There's that identification word again. We talk about identification in Romans 6 as being united to Christ in His death. Christ was united with our sin nature. Do you get that? He was made to think sin on our behalf.

We're not talking about the fact that he died to pay the penalty. We're talking about his identity with the nature. I was just going to say, you mentioned it was because he lived such a good life and that's the basis for the death being acceptable, right? So he fulfilled the law which made the death.

I mean, we can't die for our sin. No. We're not. We can't fulfill the law and become sin. We already are. So, it's the whole thing, right? But he became sin when he died on the cross, but he was only acceptable as the sufficient sacrifice because of the life that he lived. You know, I must... Yeah, I like that. I must explain this. 10 times a week. Why Christ? Why is he the only one that could do this? He's God. Because he's God. And why is that important?

I use the same example every time. If you come over to my house and my dog bites you in the knee, do you look to the dog for satisfaction? Why do you look to me? Why do you look to me to fix it? Because you're a human and I'm a human. The dog's not human. So in order for you to get satisfied on your level of existence, there's got to be somebody like you to do it. So God creates a man, Adam, and all men, and they sin against God. It's like the dog biting you. Man can't fix it because he's not God. Do you see that? So in order for this assault on God's character, this atonement, atonement is not a good word, propitiation is a word, to satisfy him about the insult that sin does against his character, it takes God to do it.

That's why Lord Jesus becoming a man is so critical with us. He's the only one that could have done it. The only one that could satisfy God about the insult of sin of the whole world. And in that light, he had to cover all the sins in order to cover the entire world. assault on his character. He couldn't let any go. So a Calvinist who says, well, he only atoned for the sins of those who were saved. Nonsense. What about the ones that they say weren't atoned for? There's still an offense against God.

Is he going to go through all eternity with this offense hanging over him? No, he's not. He has to be satisfied about the issue of sin, which is an assault against him. He's got to do it that way. There's no other way to do it. And sin in the flesh has to be condemned. And he's the only one who could do this. He identifies with us and our nature. He becomes sin and God condemns sin in the flesh.

See that? So it takes God to appease God. You know, who was it, one of those old last century saints, you could say, God's slaying of God, who can understand it? Because that's really what happened. Christ, you know, the Romans and the Jews didn't crucify Christ, the Father did.

And he did it to satisfy this insult against sin. It is interesting though that he becomes a man. Yeah. He didn't just satisfy it in the heavenlies. No. This whole union of God and man and Christ is a unique one-of-a-kind thing. For the specific purpose to condemn sin. That's why I did it. You see that?

Without Christ, we're all two of you. Because there's nobody to take up the mantle other than Christ. So if he didn't become a man, then we'd still be in our sin. And so God gives the law to man for man to think he could obey and become righteous. The problem is we still got sin in the flesh and that needs to be taken care of. And unless it is, all the rest of it is just noise.

The thing that amazes me about all this is the fact that this covenant was created before we were even born. to God is love. Because how do you do this? How do you create a creature that you know you're going to have to sacrifice your son for? His beloved son. I mean, God slaying God, as you said, that was all set up before Adam was even created. And yet he went forth with it. That's where I say, you know, God is love. There can't be a bigger demonstration of that.

Let me ask you a question. Is it stuffy in here? Do we need to open a window? No pressure. I'm sitting in the front row. That's why. Now, one more question here. Is God trying to tell us in Romans here that because Christ lived a sinless life, the power of sin is broken? It wasn't. Had to have punishment. Well, it had to have a condemnation. That principle had to be carried out. It had to be condemned. Now, you've condemned sin in the flesh.

Now, did God's plan use the law in any sense? Question three. Well, it says it's the schoolmaster that will lead us to Christ. So if you understand, go back to studying principle. The law is a principle. And it's designed to do one thing. What's it designed to do? J.D. talked about it. Cause sin to increase. Cause sin to increase. That's a principle. Overcoming that principle, grace super abounds over that, right? But here's another principle. There's no law involved in this condemnation process at all. At all.

Because God had to do it in Christ because Christ was the only one that was qualified. One of the things about a redeemer in the Old Testament, you had to be a kinsman. If I was going to redeem you out of some situation, I had to be one of your kinsmen to do it. In other words, I had to be like you to do it.

So God did the thing that the law couldn't do, God's plan, which we must remember is apart from the law and without the help of the law or without the rule. But the very opposite, it was to send his own son, who had a body prepared for him, and was born according to the angel's word in Mary, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High shall overshadow you, and wherefore also that which is to be born shall be called holy, the Son of God. So although the Lord Jesus was sinless and lived a sinless life, he was born in the likeness of flesh, likeness of flesh, meaning that he had the flesh but not the sin in the flesh until the cross.

Okay? So, question four. Did God forgive the sin of nature? No. He didn't? No. He condemned it. You guys are in trouble. What's the distinguishing here? The distinguishing point here? We have two issues. We have sins and we have sin. He forgave sins. He forgave sins by paying the penalty, the consequences of the acts of sin. But he got to the source, which is sin, singular, which we refer to as the sin nature, and he didn't forgive the source. Now, here's a problem.

If you don't get identification packaged in here, we still are identified or united to the sin nature, right? Do you see that? We're united to it. So a non-believer, the white house over here, the guy that owns that house, he's been my friend for 20 years.

He's not saved. When he dies, He's connected or married to or united with that sin nature. That sin nature is what? Condemned. So what's going to happen? When he leaves the planet, what goes with him? Or who does he go with? He goes with the sin nature to condemnation, right? You and I as believers, when we leave the planet, what happens? We're separated. So we leave, your sin nature goes to Arvada. Or somewhere, but you're not united to it. Say that again? It stays with the body, the body is... Yeah, I don't know where it goes. I know it isn't going with me. Yeah.

Because I'm united to Christ. So the condemnation of the sin nature has been accomplished on the cross, but I've been, because I was united with Christ in His death, His barren resurrection, I've been separated from it. I'm still active and running around inside of me. I'm trying to take control. But I'm not identified with it anymore. I'm now identified with Christ. Verse 1 says, I'm in Christ. So when I check out of the planet, the sin nature isn't hooked to me. So there isn't any condemnation. Now is your sin nature, because it's been condemned, inactive? No. It's very active. But it doesn't control you.

One of the biggest problems with spiritual growth for the believer is to actually view himself as not connected with the sin nature. Do you understand what I'm saying? Not connected with it. To begin to see yourself as in Christ only. The sin nature is there, but it isn't who I am. I'm going to talk about that at the Lord's table today. About how do you see yourself as a believer? Am I in Christ? Or am I a Christian who is fighting this sin nature all the time and it controls me but I got saved in the process? Is that what I am? No, I am in Christ.

So how I see things as I grow spiritually, one of the great things that happens is I begin to see things differently that I am free. That Romans 8, 2 and 3 is really true of me. That is who I am now. And that's how my frame of reference becomes that.

One quick thought, we talked about a little bit last week, or two weeks ago rather, in the main service, but the salvation from the penalty, salvation from the power, salvation from the presence of sin. And I think that's where verse 4 is pointing us to, is that second aspect of salvation. We've been saved from the penalty of sin that happened on the cross. But it is walking by the indwelling spirit that we are saved from the power of that sin nature. And once we are separated from our flesh, the physical death, the rapture, we are saved from that presence.

Yeah, when you leave the planet. Yeah, that's right. Sin nature, like I said, goes dark at it. You get to go without it. Being free from the power of sin has to do with information about how it happened, Romans 6, and now Romans 7, and into Romans 8, and what's the other principle that implements that in my life?

I believe it. For me. It's true of me. It is true of me, no matter what my mind might be telling me, or my experiences, or what my feelings are, or what my emotions are. It's true of me, and I trust God about that. Only because He says it. Only because He lays it out. So the work of the Spirit is not only to inform us and to teach us, but also to teach us to trust Him and rely on Him to practically and actually make us free from the powers of sin.

You see that? So, I keep trying to put my glasses on, I hit the microphone. Question 5. What are the two Great facts that Paul develops concerning Christ's work on the cross in Romans chapter 3 through 6. Two great facts. Let's see if you can come up with them. It has to do with sin. We've talked about it four or five times already this morning. The two great facts, what are they? J.D. just mentioned them.

All is sin. What's that? All is sin. All is sin. We all have a sin nature. Some are under the law, some are not. We're not under the law. That's even more basic than that. The first principle we learned back in Chapter 3 was that the blood was shed for us in punishment of our guilt. of committing sins.

Considering this, one always thinks of the righteous claims of God thrown against us and of their being satisfied fully, met by Christ's shed blood, and are being thus brought near to God. I have been a Christian over 40 years, but this week and every week Some thought comes into my head and here's the thought, are you sure God paid the penalty for that one? You know 30 years ago or 50 years ago you did and it was a horrible thing. You thought that was paid for? Has that ever happened to any of you or are you all much better than me? It happens to me all the time.

The accusation that I have done something or did something that the blood of Christ didn't cover. No? I didn't see anybody's hands shoot up in the air. What do you mean? We're more into the current sins. We're more into the current sins. Here's the other thing. This is an aside.

Why did God do all this? Why did he pay the penalty for my sins and do the second part which he was made sin for me? to condense it. Why did he do all that? Because he loves us. So what? So what? I know Donald loves me, but what does that mean? He demonstrated his love. What's that? He demonstrated his love. One more step. There's a relationship? Yeah, he wants us with him. He wants us with him for all eternity. And Ephesians 1 says that he determined that we would be holy and blameless.

Where? In the other room? Down the hall? Same building? No, before him, in love. Don and I live in the same house. We're before each other in love. That's what he's after. That's why he did all of this. Not only to satisfy his righteousness against sin, but he wants us with him. You see that? So he goes through the process of not only taking care of my guilt, which there's plenty of it, but also taking care of the source that performed the guilt, that performed the sin. Was that the second buzzer? Or the first? They're getting out of class early. You guys are in trouble. The wrong teacher.

The second thing that I wanted to fact is death with Christ. has made sin for us because our condition of sinfulness is connected with Adam and thus in the flesh. We die with Christ. We die with Him. When we believed upon Him, Christ became our Adam, our life. And God dated our history back not only to Calvary but back to eternity. And he reckons us free from Adam and united to Christ. We are in Christ Jesus.

All that we were in Adam has ended. It's over with. You are not in the flesh at all. At all. The flesh is in you, but you're not in it. My buddy across the street here, he's in the flesh. And the flesh is in him. I'm not in the flesh, but the flesh is in me.

Do you see the difference? I'm not united to it. Okay? Oh boy, the next question will take a while. Yeah, before we go on, I think the bigger struggle, I think, and the way to bring it out is the relationship he has and wants with us. You know, I go back to How about father, daddy? He wants that kind of relationship. I think the biggest struggle is, when you say looking back to your sins, I think the hardest thing is to realize, at least my struggle is, that because of Christ's life in me, I can have that relationship. I look at myself and think, how could God love me?

How about, you know... We know what you are, you don't have to... Well documented. You let me know it every day. But I mean, I think the struggle for believers is to really believe that you're able to be in that relationship. Yeah, it is. We look at our faults and our sins, you look back 20 years, I look back 20 minutes, you know, and we all look at that and go, how could I stand before him? But it's by faith, believing what's true of us. We're in Christ. That's who he sees. I mean, he sees us in Christ.

And that's, I think, the hardest thing to comprehend in that relationship, is that he wants us, and we can call him Daddy, we can have that relationship, even though we're still stuck in the sinful flesh and all those distractions. I think that's the hardest thing to really comprehend in that relationship. You find that it's... It's almost too easy to walk away from that.

Well, and that's the flesh. But God says, wait a minute, it's done. Well, the flesh is the one saying you're really not good enough, you need to do something. And that's when you realize. But it's hard to overcome that. The Holy Spirit is the one convincing us that we're in Christ. That's who receives us and that's the relationship. And that's the one that God wants. Right. The great thing about God's program is the third leg of it, which is the work of the Holy Spirit in us to persuade us. But more importantly, his job is to reveal Christ to us. So as we see him and behold his glory, we can conform to his image.

He doesn't have any problem believing any of this because it is him. Alright, we'll pick up next time at question six. It's closed. Dear Father, how we thank you. We thank you for the grace in all that you've done to make us acceptable in the beloved so that we might be before you, holy and blameless for all eternity. And we pray in your son's precious name. Amen.