Free at last

Let me pray before we look at God's word together.

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for your spirit

who inspired these words for the Apostle Paul so long ago.

We pray that your spirit might take this word tonight,

enabling me to speak your word correctly and powerfully,

that your spirit might work in our hearts,

for we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, it's great that you're doing a sermon series on Romans.

It's a wonderful book in the New Testament

and written by the Apostle Paul to a Christian community.

Actually, there was more than one church in Rome.

You don't actually find the word church

in the opening invitation of the letter,

but to the saints at Rome.

But there are different churches and different house groups

you'll see when you get to the end of the book in chapter 16.

He's never been to Rome before.

He's writing to them to encourage them

in terms of his anticipated arrival.

He's writing to them to explain his gospel,

to expound it,

and to also encourage them

with regard to his ongoing mission work.

Now, you've been doing a series

where you've been jumping from mountaintop to mountaintop, I think.

I think last week was chapter 5, verse 1,

and we've just picked up the end of chapter 7,

and now really looking at 8, verses 1 to 4.

And these mountaintop experiences,

you've got the valleys filled in in 6 and 7,

but chapter 8, verse 1,

starts off with that word, therefore.

And the therefore is a way of saying,

this now follows from what I've said before.

You might think at first glance,

it follows from what's just happened in chapter 7.

But in actual fact,

it flows back to chapter 5.

So you've done very well in your sermon series

to sort of see 6 and 7 has got a,

in a sense,

it's like a digression.

6 and 7 is looking at what,

how the law affects

God's plan of salvation,

and in particular,

how Christ has set us free

from that law.

But the mountaintop of chapter 5,

if you'll recall from last week,

we've been justified through faith

and we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So in chapter 80 says,

Therefore,

there is now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

There's no condemnation.

You see,

there were Jews and Gentiles in Rome.

And a Jew would know

that the law was an oppressive regime

which was so demanding.

It was impossible

to keep the law sinlessly.

Lots of people tried,

but in actual fact,

it was their promising life,

but was unable to fulfil that

for the Jewish people.

It actually brought condemnation upon it.

It brought condemnation in a way in which

if you break just one aspect of the law,

then you've broken the whole law.

You know,

you can imagine a friend of mine

very close to me.

It was pulled over for speeding.

And I said,

sorry,

the friend said,

and that...

I said to the officer,

look,

I may have been going over the speed limit

a teensy,

weensy little bit,

but you know what?

All day,

I've been driving under the speed limit.

So I reckon you should take

all those kilometres per hour

I was driving under the speed limit

and then you can apply them to this

and you'll find that I haven't actually

broken the law at all.

That went down like a lead balloon,

I might add.

It's sort of one of those things,

if you break the law,

you break the law.

You can't say,

well,

look at all the good things I've done,

because when you break God's law,

judgment comes,

condemnation comes.

So the law brings condemnation.

What happens to Christians

with regard to the law?

You see,

in chapter 7,

you'll see that the person in chapter 7

is bound by the law,

dead to that which held it captive.

The man of Romans 7

can't keep the law.

He's unable to do so.

Some people think the man in chapter 7

is all about the Christian

struggling with sin.

I actually don't think

that's what it's talking about.

I think it's talking about

the unbelieving Jew

who is under God's condemnation,

wants to keep the law,

but can't keep the law

because he's out of relationship with God.

The law is actually good.

In chapter 7,

the law is spiritual.

There's a good thing about law,

but law has to be in relationship.

Unless law is in relationship,

you will always want to break it.

You know those signs

that you've seen on billboards,

you know,

don't look through this peephole here,

and you think,

hmm,

let me think.

Let me think.

Might as well just fix up this thing.

Yes.

And then by a sign like that,

you're automatically enticed

to look through the hole,

aren't you?

Or when it says,

bill posters,

we prosecute it.

Poor old bill posters,

he's always going to get prosecuted.

Anyhow,

so people put up posters there.

Now,

you look through,

when you get a law like that,

you actually want to break it.

But if you're in relationship

with a lawgiver,

it's very different.

We had a house we lived in,

had a very broken kind of concrete pathway

coming up the driveway.

And my wife has been saying to me,

look,

you know,

why can't you just fix this?

You know,

can't you fix it?

And,

you know,

I say,

well,

I'm not really,

I didn't do concreting 101

at Theological College,

so I'm not really,

I'm not really good at that.

And,

but then one day,

while she was out,

I hired a concrete man

to come and lay the path for me.

And,

because it would be all wet cement,

I put up a sign saying,

don't step in the wet cement.

Okay?

My wife comes home,

and she says,

goodness,

he's finally listened.

He's got the pathway.

And he's warned me by saying,

don't step in the cement.

Because I could easily have stepped in there,

not thinking it was actually newly laid.

The warning,

the law,

don't step on the cement,

wet cement,

is actually for her good.

Because she's in relationship with me,

she wants to abide by that law.

She wants to keep that law.

We've got an 11-year-old boy

who lives next door.

He's not really in relationship with me

like my wife is.

When he sees the sign,

don't step in the wet cement,

whoa,

let's go.

Let's do those little doggy marks.

Anyhow.

Or, you know,

so-and-so loves so-and-so,

or something like that.

Because he sees that law

as an invitation to break it,

because he's not in relationship

with a lawgiver.

That's how the law works for Christians,

you see.

We're in relationship with God,

therefore the law is not oppressive

for us as Christians,

we actually want to keep it.

I actually asked the candidates tonight

about the Ten Commandments.

And you passed.

Lucky Sam.

And then I asked,

how many of you actually keep

the commandments perfectly?

And of course,

no one can.

Except one man,

Jesus.

You know,

because Jesus has kept

the commandments perfectly,

prevents us

from being condemned

by the law.

I don't know if you've heard

in your classical education,

probably the older people

would have heard the phrase

Damocles sword.

For younger ones,

probably don't know it,

but it's a,

it goes back to a story,

the Mediterranean king.

And this king

had a courtier,

a courtier

by the name of Damocles.

And Damocles would have,

you know,

meals with the king

and he's one of those

sort of chatterboxes

that just talks,

talks, talks.

You have people like that

in your church?

Anyhow,

so people you might invite

for dinner

and they just chat,

chat, chat.

And he was just sick

of Damocles.

So he actually said to Damocles,

give me your sword

and I'm going to hang

your sword

over your head

and I'm going to hold it up,

I'm going to tie it up

by a horse's hair.

And then I want you

to come and have dinner

with me

sitting under your own sword.

Well,

Damocles of course

had to do what the king said.

So,

he came in fear

and trembling.

He could hardly

eat his dinner.

He had no appetite

and what's more,

he couldn't even start

a conversation up.

So the king was delighted.

It worked.

And so the phrase being,

having,

sitting under Damocles' sword,

Damocles' sword

hanging over your head

means the threat

of judgment.

When Jesus says,

people will come

from the east and west

and sit down

and feast with Abraham

in the kingdom of God.

Jesus is saying

that the feasting table

for the people of God

includes Old Testament saints

like Abraham

as well as New Covenant saints

like us.

Under the Old Covenant,

the law

was hanging

as a judgment

over the people of God.

It's like Abraham

and Moses

and the rest of the

Old Testament saints

were sitting at the

banquet table of God

but the sword

of God's law

was hanging over them.

Not by a horse's hair

but something

much more secure,

the thread

of God's promise.

They could feast

at God's table

because they trusted

that God

would not bring

the judgment on them.

When Jesus arrives,

he comes and sits

at the same

banqueting table

but the sword

of God's judgment

falls upon Jesus.

He actually satisfies

all that the law

requires and demands.

He keeps the

Ten Commandments.

He's perfectly

obedient to his

Heavenly Father

and what's more

than that,

he dies the death

that you and I

deserve.

So that as New

Covenant saints,

when we come to

the feasting,

banqueting table

of God,

we no longer

have the threat

of God's law

over us

with its condemnation.

That's what Paul

means when he says

we are not under

law but under

grace.

In Romans 8.1,

there is now

no condemnation

for those who

are in Christ

Jesus.

Why?

Because through

Christ Jesus,

the law of the

spirit of life

has set me free

from the law

of sin and death.

You see,

sin and death

hang over us.

Paul says

elsewhere in

1 Corinthians,

he says,

the sting of

death is sin

but the power

of sin is the

law.

It's a fascinating

thought,

isn't it?

The sting of

death is sin

but the power

of sin is the

law.

It's the law

that condemns.

It's the law

that judges us.

It's the law

that sends us

to our death.

And what Jesus

has done

has taken

that penalty

away,

has taken

the condemnation

that belongs

to us

as people

who sin.

You see,

our God

is a righteous

God.

He's a perfect

God.

He loathes sin

even in his

people.

And he can't

just turn a blind

eye to sin.

In order to

save us,

he has to deal

with our sins.

And the

only way

he could do

it was to

sin Jesus.

If there was

another way,

he'd have done

so.

Such as the

depths of

God's love

is that the

most excruciating

way,

the only way

in which we

could be freed

from the

condemnation of

the law,

is if Jesus

stands in

our place.

Imagine you

four

confidants

at the

day of

judgment.

Scary

thought.

Here is

God's

throne.

And God

has a line

of people

coming up.

And as each

person stands

before the

throne of

God,

Gabriel goes

off and gets

their DVD

of their

life.

You've just

seen Pol Pot.

Idi Amin,

a few other

awful chaps,

and you see

a video of

their life,

you don't

have to play

for very long,

and God

says,

judgment,

death.

Then

James,

you're next.

You're

alphabetically

ahead of your

sister,

you see.

And you

stand before

the throne

of God.

And Gabriel

goes off to

get James's

DVD.

You're

shaking in

your boots.

Every thought

that you've

ever had

is captured

in this

DVD.

Every

wrongdoing,

every act,

every

transgression

of the Ten

Commandments

is there,

even the

ones your

parents didn't

know about,

nor your

minister,

father.

But you

know about

it,

and God

knows about

it.

And then

up on the

screen,

the DVD,

sorry,

it's over

there,

isn't it?

Wow,

it's hot,

isn't it?

Up on the

screen,

comes the

Jesus video,

a DVD of

Jesus'

life,

and his

death.

faith.

And God

says to

James,

enter into

my kingdom.

Jesus has

done it

for you.

He's lived

the life you

could not

live,

and died

the death

that you

deserve.

That's

fabulous,

isn't it?

If you've

put your

faith in

Jesus,

then you

can stand

where James

stands.

You can

stand where

Jesus

stands.

and Jesus

has done

it all.

The law

that was

powerless

to do,

in that it

was weakened

by the

sinful

nature,

what the

law was

powerless

to do,

God did

by sending

his own

son in

the likeness

of sinful

flesh to

be a sin

offering.

That's what

Jesus did.

That's why

the law

is spiritual,

you see.

In actual

fact,

the law

does save

us,

because Jesus

has kept

the law

for us.

I was

talking to

the

Confirmese

beforehand,

I was

talking about

the Lord's

Supper,

when you

take Holy

Communion.

You

experienced

saints who've

taken the

Lord's

Supper for

many years

would know

why you've

got two

elements in

Holy

Communion,

the bread

and the

wine.

But why

do we

take the

wine?

Jesus said

I'm the

bread of

life,

he didn't

say I'm

the wine

of life.

So why

is there

bread and

wine?

And we

don't have

soap and

water in

baptism,

as you'll

see when I

baptise Ali

tonight,

it's just

water.

So why

bread and

wine?

Well the

bread is

Jesus'

life.

I'm the

bread of

life,

his life,

his perfect

obedience in

place of

my frail,

flawed,

sinful life.

But it's

not just

that, it's

also his

death.

The death

that I

deserve is

what Jesus

has undergone

for me.

So when

you take

Holy

Communion or

the Lord's

Supper,

think of

Jesus'

life and

Jesus'

death.

it will

help you

focus on

the truths

that Paul

is preaching

when he

says there

is no

condemnation

for those

who are

in Christ

Jesus.

For he

condemned

sin in

sinful man

in order

to the

righteous

requirement

of the

law.

I don't

know why

the NIV

has

requirements,

it shouldn't

be plural,

it's actually

a singular

in the

original.

The

righteous

requirement

of the

law is

the death

penalty.

He uses

that same

phrase

elsewhere

in chapter

2,

where he's

talking about

the death

penalty.

So here

Jesus has

taken the

death penalty

for us,

that's the

righteous

requirement of

the law,

in order

that we

then might

live,

not according

to the

sinful nature,

but according

to the

spirit.

So the

spirit of

Christ Jesus

has now

set us

free,

not only

from the

guilt of

sin,

but from

the power

of sin,

so that

we might

live as

Christ wants

us to

do.

Tonight is

not so much

a graduation

for these

four young

people,

but rather a

step along

the path.

They've been

nurtured in

Christian families

and we thank

God for that.

What a powerful

promise it is

for Christian

parents to

know that

their children

are covered

by God's

grace and

to bring

them up and

raise them

up in

covenant love

so that now

they can

profess before

you all,

not that you

had any doubt

beforehand,

but profess

before you

that they

have turned

to Christ.

And we're

going to do

that symbolically

tonight and

I'm going to

lay hands on

them as an

indication,

an ancient

sign of God's

blessing and of

prayer for these

people,

that they might

continue strong

in Christ because

God has

taken away

their sins,

as far as

the east is

from the west

so far as

God removed

our sins

from us.

The joy of

the Spirit

gives us a

desire to

follow him,

a desire to

be obedient,

a desire to

bring forth the

fruit of the

Spirit and the

obedience which

springs from

faith.

That's what

Paul is

concerned about

and elsewhere in

this book as

beforehand,

he talks of

the way in

which the

fruit of the

Spirit comes

forth by the

obedience of

faith and

that's the

work of the

Spirit in

us.

We'll never

be sinless in

this life.

We'll always

need to keep

repenting of

our sins but

there is growth

in grace and

so Paul elsewhere

prays for the

saints at

Corinth that

they might be

changed from

one degree of

glory to

another and

this comes by

the Spirit of

God's grace,

grace by the

Lord who is

the Spirit.

So tonight's a

great night,

great night for

you four guys

and for your

families,

parents and

godparents that

as you profess

Christ tonight

that you're

saying you are

no longer

condemned,

Christ has

taken that

penalty for

you and set

you free,

free to live a

life which

honors him and

which brings

others to a

knowledge of

the Lord Jesus

and if you're

here tonight,

perhaps you're a

friend of the

family,

don't normally

come to church

and you think

what is that

man talking

about at the

front?

Well you know

the best person

to ask is one

of these.

Ask them,

they've been

well prepared for

tonight,

ask them why

they're going to

stand up and

say to you,

I turn to

Christ and

ask them why

it's important

that you too

turn to Christ

because if you

don't,

God's

condemnation

will rest

upon you

and it

won't be the

Jesus video

but the video

of your own

life which

will not

stand the

test of

God's

righteous

judgment.

Only in

Christ are

we free

of condemnation.

Let's pray.

heavenly

father we

thank you

for the

inestimable

gift of

salvation in

Christ.

We thank you

for his life

and his death

on our behalf

and we pray

for these four

young people

that you would

as you have

brought them

safe thus far

that you would

continue to

strengthen them

as your

disciples to

the glory of

your name

for we ask

it for

Jesus'

sake.

Amen.