The Best Result of Salvation
Romans 8:1-8
October 1, 2023
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I. Introduction
A. We now come to chapter 8 of the letter to the Romans
B. In chapters 4, 5, and 6 are some of the greatest truths ever written…
1. Romans 4:20-22 He [ABRAHAM] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. [ABRAHAM WAS MADE RIGHTEOUS BY HIS FAITH]
2. Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
3. Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
4. Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
5. Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound
6. Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
7. Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
8. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C. Then came chapter 7, and Paul explores just how depraved and ruined the flesh, and our sinful nature is
1. Romans 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? ...
2. But that is okay
3. Romans 7:25 …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.
4. Everything that is wrong with my flesh has been taken cared of by Jesus Christ
D. In chapter 8 Paul presents the brightest and best promises and truths probably ever written for the Christian
E. The apostle Paul begins to make a grand conclusion, summarising everything he has explained up until chapter 8!
II. Message
A. “No Condemnation” (Romans 8:1)
1. Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2. An Absolute Statement
a. Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation ...
b. Not a hopeful wish
c. But a present and eternal FACT
d. NO CONDEMNATION
e. Condemnation is a very serious word
1) It is a word used in a court of law referring to the conclusion of a judge that someone is not only guilty, but deserving of equal punishment for their crime
a) “the judicial act of declaring one guilty, and dooming him to punishment.”
b) Adam brought sin and death into the world
(i) Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned
(ii) Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; ...
c) All our sins have earned us is condemnation…
d) DAMNATION
e) Jesus speaking to the most religious people of His day, the Pharisees… Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
2) Listen to the words of Jesus
a) John 3:16-20 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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; [WE WERE ALREADY CONDEMNED]but that the world through him might be saved. 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. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
b) John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
c) Ephesians 2:2,3 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
3) The condemnation that Paul is referring to, and that Jesus is referring to is eternal punishment in hell!
a) Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
b) Under the judgment, condemnatio and wrath of Almighty God
3. Yet here are the words… FULL PARDON – no condemnation at all
a. Jesus
said we have been made free – my criminal, sinful record is “expunged”
My sins have been blotted out, by the blood of Jesus Christ, spilled for ME
1) Absolutely Pardoned – free from condemnation for sin – no record!
2) John 5: 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from [THE SENTENCE OF] death unto life.
3) Romans 4:6-8 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord WILL NOT impute sin.
4) Romans 5:1,2 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
5) Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
6) John 10:27,28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
7) 2Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
b. THAT’S WHY IT IS CALLED THE GOOD NEWS!
c. Thank God this statement is not only absolute, it is permanent! God can’t take it away from us!
d. Quick summary – the progressive removal of sin and death from the universe
1) Jesus freed us from sin’s penalty, when HE was punished instead of us – past
a) No sin we do now can dondemn us to the devil’s hell
b) Sins can only hurt our closeness to God, but not our standing with Him
2) The Holy Spirit in us is our freedom from sin’s power - present
3) One day we will be free from the very presence of sin – future, in heaven!
e. If you only want THINGS and money an happiness from Jesus, when what He most offers is a pardon, then you are missing the whole point of why Jesus came!
4. God’s Pardon Applies to Who?
a. Romans 8:1 … to them which are in Christ Jesus...
b. Anyone and everyone who are “IN Christ Jesus”
c. Pardon is applied to sinful people because of just believing in what Jesus did
1) Not because any of us have stopped sinning
2) Or because we have such great faith, or prayed such long prayers
d. But simply because we entered into a living union between the soul of a sinner and Jesus Christ!
e. We have moved OUT of an old way of living into a new life – into Jesus Christ
1) 2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2) 1Corinthians 15:21,22 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
a) We have all lived “in Adam” in his likeness, and will experience e his death
b) But all who get “INTO Christ” will experience eternal LIFE!
3) Ephesians 2:12,13 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
f. “In Christ Jesus” is how God sees the person who trusts Jesus Christ
g. Two Examples:
1) When a person is at an airport and season airplane take off from the runway, you might be able to barely see the face of someone sitting in the window looking out. That person is “in” the airplane.
a) If the airplane goes up, they go up
b) If the airplane turns, those in the plane turn also
c) If that airplane travels 15,000 km, and arrives in Sydney, Australia, then those IN that airplane will arrive in Sydney, Austrailia too!
d) Why? Because everything that happens to that airplane affects and applies to those sitting IN the airplane
e) The same is true as a believer, because the moment you were born again, you were placed into the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and everything He did in His life and death and resurrection applies to you now
2) Another example is an inheritance – applies to those “in the family” (Godfather)
a) Let's say that you have a father, who works long and hard all his life and earns a lot of money, and earns a very good reputation – has a good name…
b) When your father dies and leaves you all of his inheritance
(i) You get to enjoy the good name HE earned
(ii) And you get to enjoy the wealth that He saved up
(iii) All because you are IN his family!
(iv) You enjoy the fruits of HIS labours simply because you carry His name
5. A Spiritual Life Describes how Christians live now
a. Romans 8:1 …who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
b. Who walk NOT after the flesh – at least not constantly
c. But after the Spirit – a way of life now
1) Pursuing the Spirit of God! Like people pursue money, girlfriends, etc!
2) We will devote an entire Sunday morning soon to just these words!
B. We Are Free NOW From the Law’s Condemnation (Romans 8:2)
1. Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
2. This was unheard of – no one escaped the exactness of the Law of God – everyone ever born (other than Jesus Christ) has failed to keep the Law
3. The Old Testament Laws of God showed me just how sinful I really am as a human
a. Selfish, lying, lustful, rebellious, deceitful, hurtful, hateful – just plain evil!
b. The law shows that you and I have evil in us – every one of us do
1) Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
2) Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
3) Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
4) THAT is ME without a miracle! No matter how hard I try and do right!
c. All my sins were working death in me
1) Romans 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?...
2) When Paul thought of his flesh, he saw it as a “body of death”
a) A death trap
b) Something that was dying and was taking him down to the grave with it
3) That is so different than what the world wants to think of our flesh as… As beautiful; As good; As misunderstood; As full of potential
4) No. It is sinful. And when left to itself, it is wicked sinful!
5) Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing
6) And will end up as worm food one day when it dies and is placed in the ground!
4. Yet a sinner (even the worst sinner) can be free from eternal damnation – at least his/her SOUL is!
C. So, How does God free me from the grip of sin’s condemnation? (Romans 8:2-4)
1. A new law was revealed when Jesus came
a. Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
b. Not a new commandment
c. But a new, absolute truth, like a scientific law at work in a sinner’s life
d. The law of the Spirit of LIFE
e. That is found in the life of Jesus Christ!
f. It has made me FREE from the law, the rule, the dominion of sin and death!
g. It is called the new birth
h. Jesus us the one that said, “Ye must be born again!”
i. Because ONLY THEN is a sinner freed from sin’s power and condemnation!
2. The new law started when Jesus Christ swapped His life for mine
a. Romans 7:24,25 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
b. He started a work that delivers / saves sinners from their sin
c. Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
d. It always amazes me that most people want Jesus to save them from their problems and their sorrows, but never want Him to save them from the SOURCE of all this problems and their sorrows… from their SINS!
3. The commandments could NOT free a sinner – never will
a. Because sinners break God’s laws – that is what we do
b. Humans are weak, and unable to obey all the laws of God perfectly
c. In simple words… Sinful people, sin
d. And God’s Laws only condemn sinful people
4. So, Jesus Kept All God’s Laws FOR us
a. Romans 8:3,4 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: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
b. Jesus Christ took our place in death, Paying off all the sins of our past
5. Now, every believer is seen by God through the lens of God's Son
a. God sees the old me, my past, my sins, my failures as dead and gone now!
b. God sees the inner me hiding in Christ, who stood-in for me, became my substitute
1) Jesus died AS a sinner… God saw it as if it was ME dying
2) Jesus rose again from the dead… God saw ME as if “I” was alive now and forever
3) Jesus walked in the Spirit… now God sees ME living in the Spirit
4) Jesus never sinned… now God sees me as if “I” had never sinned!
c. What a wonderful way to be seen – as if I had never sinned, and as a son, instead of as a sinner!
d. A believer is treated by God now as a SON who sins instead of as a sinner who sins - ponder that for a little bit
1) Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are THE SONS OF GOD.
2) Galatians 4:6 And BECAUSE YE ARE SONS, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
3) Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, THE SONS OF GOD, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
6. It is because, Every believer is no longer stuck to their body
a. There are three parts of me: (THIS IS WHAT CONFUSES MOST PEOPLE)
1) My outer me – my body, flesh
2) My inner me – my soul – the real me
3) And my new me – my spirit – where Christ now lives, and where the Holy Spirit works on me!
b. My sinful flesh has been severed / cut away from my soul
c. The illustration of this was circumcision in the Old Testament
1) An operation deep inside a sinner’s life
2) Not done through baptism, or a priest, or a pastor
3) But by God Himself when a person repents and believes in what Jesus did
4) Colossians 2:10-13 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
5) ISN’T THAT AWESOME?
d. The body can now scream, and demand and pull us away from God, and we are free from its dominion!
e. We can follow after and pursue righteousness and life and peace and joy!
D. What Are YOU After? (Romans 8:5,6)
1. Romans 8:5,6 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
2. My OLD life is described as…
a. Minding the things of the flesh
b. Paying attention to what my flesh wants
c. Doing what my flesh wanted to do - Obeying the lusts of my flesh
1) Pleasing people; Pleasing myself
2) Drinking what I want, eating what I want, watching and saying what I want
d. Like giving in constantly to a spoiled brat!
e. The things of the flesh are all the things that my body wanted me to do and experience and enjoy, even though I know they are wrong to do
3. My NEW life is described as…
a. Minding the things of the Spirit of God
b. Living IN the Spirit now instead of in the realm of my fleshly desires
c. Pursuing the things of the Holy Spirit instead of my own spirit
1) Holiness (2Corinthians 7:1) Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2) The will of God (Romans 8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
3) A closeness to God (Romans 8:15) For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
4) Transformation – change [A CHRISTIAN WANTS TO CHANGE] (2Corinthians 3:18) But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. [NOT BY OUR OWN WILLPOWER AND EFFORT]
4. Look at those two lists:
a. You discover what you ARE by noticing what you WANT (what you are after)
b. If you have no desire for holiness, doing the will of God, you should be very worried
1) You are just living a lie – putting on an outward show
2) A waste of your time if you are not going to be serious and repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ enough for Him to be allowed to save your wretched soul!
E. Warning about “the carnal life” and “carnal mind” (Romans 8:6-8)
1. Romans 8:6-8 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
2. When your mind is on yourself, your past, your successes, your failures…
a. It all leads to DEATH
b. I don’t care HOW long you have been saved, if you go back into that old stuff Jesus freed you from, it is going to kill you!
c. The wages of sin is always death
3. But, When your thoughts and interests and hunger is for spiritual things, things that come from a walk with Christ, you will actually start to enjoy life, and peace!
a. Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
b. Isaiah 26:3 Thou [GOD] wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed [ANCHORED] on thee [GOD]: because he trusteth in thee.
4. There is a REAL Curse on the Carnal Life and Mind
a. Not just the carnal LIFE, but the carnal MIND – the way we naturally think!
b. It is at WAR with God – enmity means conflict – rebellion – at war
c. It will NEVER be subject, obedient, willingly submissive to the laws of God
d. A mind and life focused only on yourself, your hurts, your past and your dreams cannot please God – it is not possible to follow fleshly desires and please God
e. Many Christians live in conflict with the One who saved them – strange!
F. The Key to the Christian Life is the Holy Spirit of God (Romans 8:9-13), and we will look at it NEXT WEEK - the single most important truth you will ever learn as a Christian
III. Conclusion
A. What Best Describes YOUR Life?
1. What Are YOU After?
2. Pursuing the things of this world, and of your own lusts and desires? No time for the Bible, prayer, Church, Wednesday Bible Study time, soul-winning, family, serving one another and loving one another?
3. Or the pursuit of the Holy Spirit of God?
4. The answer to that question will determine your eternal destiny!
B. Are YOU “in Christ Jesus”?
1. You were not born that way – you have to be born again to get in
2. If you are not, you are in trouble with God
a. John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
b. God’s wrath is hanging over you and your life like a hawk, and will damn you
3. But, If you are in Christ, then are you FREE
a. Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
b. Jesus said, we are “free indeed”!
C. How does a person get into Jesus Christ?
1. Most people think all that matters is to be in a church or part of a religious organisation
2. Some people try to earn heaven by getting into water, into a religion, into an addictions programme, into counselling
3. But God says the only way for a Sinner to come unto him is through repentance and faith in just ONE perfect person, Jesus Christ
4. Ask Him to save YOU, and He will hide you behind Him, and place you IN Himself
5. THAT is salvation!
D. How would you like to hear those words… No condemnation!
E. It is only available to those who are IN Christ Jesus
1. That union / relationship brings you PARDON, removal of condemnation!
2. John 5: 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from [THE SENTENCE OF] death unto life.
3. Jesus Kept All God’s Laws all FOR you
4. Just accept His righteousness, His life, in the place of yours!
5. And then start walking WITH Jesus, casting all your care on Him, talking with Him, listening to His Spirit as you read His words, and obey His will!