Introduction
Last week we were studying verses 7 to 25 of Romans 7. And I said at the beginning that in the past I’ve always interpreted that passage as Paul describing his own experience as a believer, struggling with sin. So, as a believer, he loves God’s law and wants to keep it. He wants to do good. But often he found himself doing, not the good he wants to do, but the evil that he does not want to do. He loves God’s law and wants to keep it, but again and again he ends up doing what God’s law forbids. He did not understand why this was a case and he ended up by saying in desperation: ‘What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?’
That’s how I’ve interpreted that passage in the past and it’s the way lots of people interpret it. However, I said last week that I’m no longer convinced that Paul is describing the inner conflict he experienced as a believer I’m no longer convinced that that’s how we should interpret that passage. And I’ve changed my mind largely because of what Paul has already been teaching us about sin. In chapter 6, he taught us that when we first believed in the Saviour and were united to Christ in his death and resurrection, it’s as if our old life of sin died and we were raised with Christ to live a new life of loving obedience to God. Sin is no longer our master the way it once was before we believed. Sin’s authority over us has died. Or, as Paul says in verses 17 and 18 of chapter 6, we used to be slaves to sin. We used to be slaves to sin, but we have now been set free from sin and we have become slaves to righteousness. We used to be enslaved to sin so that we did what it wanted, but now we have been set free from sin.
And since that’s the case, how can Paul say in verse 14 of chapter 7 that as a believer he is sold as a slave to sin? How can Paul say about believers in chapter 7 that we’re slaves to sin when he’s just told us in chapter 6 that believers have been set free from sin?
And so, I’m now more inclined to go along with those who say that Paul is describing his own experience before he was converted to faith in Christ. And it’s the experience of Paul’s fellow Jews who loved God’s law, but who were unable to keep God’s law. And Paul’s experience before he was converted is similar to the experience of many unbelievers today who have good intentions. They have high moral standards and they want to do good. They want to do what is good and right and commendable. They want to live well. However, despite their good intentions, they find themselves doing evil. And what a wretched experience that must be! As I said last week, can you imagine the inner conflict? Can you imagine the despair and self-loathing? Can you imagine how people must hate themselves when they find themselves doing what they know is wrong? They must be so frustrated and angry with themselves. Why am I like this? Why do I keep doing what I know is wrong? Why do I keep doing what I don’t want to do? Why can’t I control myself and my desires? Why am I like this? Such people are wretched.
But the good news of the gospel is that God is able to deliver such people from the sin that controls them. He’s able to save them, because God sent his Son to save sinners from the penalty and power of sin. He saves us from the penalty of sin, because he gave up his life to pay for our sins and he shed his blood to cleanse us of our guilt. And whoever believes in him receives forgiveness and peace with God.
And he saves us from the power of sin, because whoever believes in Christ dies to sin and is raised to live a new life of loving obedience to God. And the Holy Spirit works in believers to renew us in God’s image and to bring us to perfection in the life to come.
Now, that doesn’t mean that if you struggle with sin, then you’re not a true Christian. I’m not saying that. After all, Christians are not yet perfect. We will continue to sin in this life and we will continue to fall short of doing God’s will. But there’s a difference between a believer who sins and an unbeliever who sins. And the difference is that, for the believer, sin is like a fly that is buzzing around us. A fly buzzing around us is annoying. And sometimes flies can be very annoying and they can be very persistent and they won’t leave us alone. But a fly cannot hurt us. A fly is annoying, but it cannot hurt us the way a wasp can hurt us by stinging us. And sin buzzes around us. And sin can be annoying and persistent and it won’t leave us alone. But, when it comes to our eternal security, sin cannot hurt us. Sin cannot hurt us because Christ has paid for our sins with his life and all who believe in him can rejoice because we know that God is willing to forgive us for our sins instead of holding them against us. When it comes to our eternal security, sin cannot hurt the believer.
But sin hurts an unbeliever, because sin, for the unbeliever, leads to condemnation and eternal life away from the presence of God and everlasting punishment. Sin cannot hurt believers because believers are justified through faith in Christ. But sin hurts unbelievers because for them, sin leads to condemnation and punishment unless they repent and believe in the Saviour.
Verse 1
And that takes me to today’s passage and to what Paul announces in verse 1. I’m saying that in chapter 7 Paul is describing the experience of unbelievers who want to do good, but who find themselves doing evil all the time. And they’re frustrated with themselves and angry with themselves and they’re puzzled. They don’t understand why they are the way they are and why they keep doing evil. They don’t understand that sin inside them is their master and it bosses them around and it makes them do what they don’t want to do. It’s a wretched existence. That’s what chapter 7 is about.
And chapter 8 is about the life of the believer. And this wonderful chapter opens with one of the most wonderful and precious statements in the whole of the Scriptures. Paul announces: ‘Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’
These are truly wonderful words for all those ‘who are in Christ Jesus’. And when Paul refers to those ‘who are in Christ Jesus’, he’s talking about believers. He’s talking about Christians. We are in Christ because we’re united with him by faith. We now belong to him. Do you remember the image I used a few weeks ago of the two giants. One giant is Adam and the other is the Lord Jesus. And hanging from Adam’s belt are all of his descendants: everyone who has been born in the normal way. And Adam and all his descendants are on the path of destruction. They’re headed for disaster. But then the Lord Jesus comes along and he reaches over and he takes this person and this person and this person from Adam’s belt and he attaches them to his own belt. And so, at the start, everyone who has ever been born in the normal way is attached to Adam. They belong to him. They are in him. But over time more and more people are removed from Adam and they’re attached to Christ. They now belong to him. They are in him. And they are the ones Paul is talking about. He’s talking about Christians who belong by faith to the Saviour. And for them there is now no condemnation.
And when Paul says that for those who belong to Christ there is no condemnation now, he means that now that Christ has come down from heaven to be the Saviour of the world, there is no condemnation for those who belong to him. Now that he has come down from heaven as one of us and has suffered and died on the cross to pay for our sins and to cleanse us of our guilt and to reconcile God to us, there is no condemnation for those who belong to him. Now that he has come down from heaven to be condemned in our place, there is no condemnation for those who belong to him.
But the word now points to something else as well. In the verses which follow Paul will distinguish between the flesh and the Spirit. So, he mentions the Spirit in verse 2 and he mentions the flesh in verse 3, although the NIV obscures it by referring instead to the sinful nature. And he mentions the flesh and the Spirit in verse 4. And Paul is drawing a distinction here between two ages. You know, historians talk about the Stone Age and the Middle Ages and so on. And for Paul, there’s the age of the flesh and there’s the age of the Spirit.
The age of the flesh is our present earthly existence, which is marked by sin and death because of Adam’s fall in the beginning. In Galatians Paul refers to it as ‘this present evil age’. And the age of the flesh will last until Christ comes again to renew all things.
However, now that Christ has died and has been raised, a new age has begun. And it’s the age of the Spirit. And it’s the age of the Spirit because after the Lord Jesus died and was raised, he ascended to heaven, where he received from his Father the gift of the Spirit. And he pours the Spirit out upon his people so that we now belong, not to this present evil age of the flesh, but to the new age of the Spirit. And the Holy Spirit raises Christ’s people to a new life of loving obedience to God. And he works in us to renew us in the image of God so that we’re able to what is good and right and pleasing to the Lord. The Holy Spirit works in the lives of Christians to bring us to perfection.
And now that Christ has introduced this new age of the Spirit by his life and death and resurrection and ascension to heaven, there’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ. There’s no condemnation for them, because Christ has paid for their sins with his life and they have the help of the Holy Spirit to live new lives of loving obedience to God.
Verse 2
Paul goes on to say in verse 2 that through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death. When he uses the word ‘law’ here, he’s referring to a ruling power in our lives. So, when we still belonged to the age of the flesh, we were subject to the law of sin and death. That is to say, sin ruled over us. It was our master. It bossed us around. It was a power in our lives which dominated us. Paul was describing its power over us in chapter 7, when he wrote about how he wanted to do good, but ended up doing evil. And sin leads to death and condemnation and eternal punishment away from the presence of God.
But now, through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life has come into our lives and has freed us from sin’s power and influence. And what Paul means is that, since we now belong to the new age of the Spirit through faith in the Saviour, a new power has come into our lives and it’s the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit frees us from the power of sin and death, because the Holy Spirit enables us to resist sin and to do what is good and right and pleasing to God.
And Paul refers to the Spirit of life, because the Holy Spirit is the Lord and Giver of Life and he gives us eternal life in the presence of God. Because of the power of sin in our lives, we were once destined for death and condemnation. But sin’s power over us has now been broken and we are destined for eternal life.
Verse 3a
And in the first part of verse 3, Paul is really going over what he’s said before about the Old Testament law. Because the Old Testament law is from God, then it is good. It’s holy. It’s spiritual. We can’t fault God’s law.
But, says Paul, God’s law was powerless. And it was powerless because it was weakened by the flesh. And what he means is that, until God saves us, then our ability to keep God’s law is weakened, because we belong to the age of the flesh. And when we still belong to the age of the flesh, our lives are dominated by sin and death.
And Paul says that, in that situation, God’s law is powerless. And it’s powerless in the sense that while it commands us, it can’t help us to do what it commands. The law makes demands on us, but it can’t help us to do what it demands. The law says: ‘Do this!’ But the law can’t lift a finger to help us.
Think of the Israelites when they were slaves in Egypt. Do you remember that story? They had to build homes for the Egyptians. But the Pharaoh, who was cruel, gave an order that the Egyptians weren’t to give the Israelites any bricks. And so, the Israelites first had to make bricks before they could build the houses. And the slaves drivers beat the Israelites to make them work harder. They were given an impossible task to do and the Egyptians gave them no help. And the law gives people an impossible task: Do this. Do that. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. It makes one demand after another on us. But the law gives us no help to do what it demands.
And that’s what Paul was talking about in chapter 7. He loved God’s law. He wanted to keep God’s law. But he was unable to keep it. He was unable to obey it. He found himself doing evil instead of doing good. The law made demands on him, but the law did not help him to do what it demanded. And because he still belonged at that time to the age of the flesh, sin made him do evil.
Verses 3b and 4
But look now at the second half of verse 3 and all of verse 4, where Paul says that what the law was powerless to do, God has done. The law was powerless to help us keep the law. It could make demands on us, but it could not help us to do what it demanded. But, says Paul, God has done what was necessary to condemn sin and to ensure that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us.
And God has done it by sending his Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. When Paul says that God sent his Son ‘in the likeness of sinful man’, he’s not saying that God’s Son didn’t really become one of us when he came down from heaven. He’s not saying that the Lord Jesus only looked like us, but he wasn’t really one of us. He’s not saying that. Christians have always believed that the Lord Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He’s is God and man in one person. And he became one of us so that he could suffer and die in our place.
And so, Paul is not denying the incarnation. He’s just being careful to make clear that the Lord Jesus wasn’t sinful like us. He was made like us in every way, except that he never sinned.
And because he was sinless, he could offer himself on the cross as a sin offering. In other words, he paid for our sins when he died on the cross. He took the blame for what we have done wrong. He was not paying for his own sins, because he had none. Instead he was paying for our sins and he suffered the punishment we deserve in our place. And so, because he took the blame for us, everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness and peace with God. No further payment will be required from us for what we have done wrong, because Christ has paid for our sins in full.
And so, God condemned sin. He didn’t disregard our sin. He didn’t shrug his shoulders at our sin. He didn’t treat our sin as unimportant. He didn’t do that, because that wouldn’t be right. Justice means that sin must be condemned and punished. And our sin was condemned and punished, but it was condemned and punished in Christ and not in us. He was condemned and punished in our place so that we might receive forgiveness and eternal life.
And so, he came into the world so that our sin might be condemned in his flesh or in his body, when he died in our place on the cross, suffering the punishment we deserve. And because of Christ, the righteousness requirements of the law are fully met in us. Do you see that in verse 4? Go back to the story of the Israelites and the Egyptians. The Egyptians required the Israelites to build their homes. And the Israelites were unable to do it, because they were weak and the task was impossible, because, as well as building the homes, they had to make the bricks. They couldn’t do it. Now, imagine if the Son of God had come down at that time and had done for them what they could not do. Imagine if he made all the bricks they needed to make and imagine he then built all the houses they needed to build. Imagine if he had done that. He would have done everything the Egyptians required and he would have done it on behalf of the Israelites.
Well, that’s what the Son of God has done for us. The law requires from us perfect obedience. But it’s an impossible task for us to fulfil, because we’re sinners. Sin inside us bosses us around and makes us do evil. We hear what the law requires, but we’re unable to do it because of sin inside us. We’re as wretched as the Israelite slaves. But then the Son of God came down from heaven to do for us what we could not do ourselves. He obeyed every one of God’s commandments. He did everything the law demands. In other words, he did everything the law requires. And he did it for us.
And so, the law says to us: Have you done this? And this? And this? And this? And we can say ‘yes’, because Christ has done it on our behalf.
And since the law also demands that sin should be punished, then Christ has fulfilled that demand as well, because he was punished in our place.
And there’s more. There’s more, because the Lord Jesus does all of this for those who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. In other words, he does this for Christians who no longer belong to the age of the flesh but to the age of the Spirit. And because we have the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ living in us, then we have his help to do what the law requires. The Holy Spirit helps us to keep God’s law and to do what it commands. The Holy Spirit enables us to walk in the ways of the Lord and to do good.
In chapter 7, Paul described an unbeliever who wanted to do good, but who was unable to do good, because of sin living inside him. And it was a frustrating life. But now, in chapter 8, he describes the experience of the believer who has the Holy Spirit living inside him. And the Holy Spirit enables the believer to do what the law requires more and more. He enables us to live new lives of loving obedience to God.
Conclusion
And so, we should give thanks to God for his kindness to us in Christ Jesus and for his over-flowing love towards us and for sending his Son down from heaven to pay for our sins with his life and to do for us all that the law requires and for giving us his Spirit to make us holy.
And as I said last week, when we present ourselves before God on Sundays to give thanks to him, the Holy Spirit uses the things we do here to renew us in God’s image. And so, the way to become more and more holy is to come before God on Sundays, where he has promised to minister to us and to renew us and all to the praise of his glorious grace.
Sermons and Stuff 