Justice Has Been Served

All right, well this morning is the first Sunday of May and so we want to spend some time reflecting on the gospel, on the good news of Jesus.

So we're going to push off 2 Timothy and our journey through that till next Sunday.

And we're going to spend some time looking at another passage of scripture this morning.

We're looking in the New Testament letter of Romans.

This is what we're working through as adults in Sunday school, just before the service every Sunday.

And we've already covered this passage here in Romans chapter 8, but I thought that it was worth spending a little bit more time on it and just drinking in the good news of Jesus.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

In case you're wondering, what we're about to read in Romans was written a good while before Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy.

It was written before Paul even ever made it to Rome, before his first imprisonment, before his second imprisonment.

And Paul's entire goal in the book of Romans is just to set forth the gospel, the good news of Jesus, so that the people there in Rome can understand it and live in accordance with it.

And he does it in a unique kind of way.

He doesn't tell the story of what happened with Jesus like all the events in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

And those people already know.

And so it's more of an explanation of what's the significance of it.

What has Jesus accomplished through his life and death and resurrection?

And we're just kind of parachuting today right into Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

But up until this point in the letter, Paul has already covered a lot of ground.

In the first three chapters of Romans, he's made the case that all people stand guilty before God because of our sins against him.

He's made the case that it doesn't matter whether you're a Jew or a Gentile.

We've all sinned.

None of us is righteous in God's sight.

We're all deserving of justice from God, punishment from God.

But the good news of Jesus that Paul's been explaining is that there is a way to be made right with God again.

There is a way to be spared and saved from that punishment.

And it comes through Jesus and what he has done.

And he goes on at length to explain that.

We'll get to hear more of that in just a moment here.

One of the big challenges that Paul addresses here in the church in Rome is the mixture of Jewish and Gentile Christians.

And I'm not going to press too far into this, but the Jewish people tended to view a good relationship with God as something that you had to earn by keeping the law,

by keeping the commands that God had given through Moses.

That's those first books of the Bible.

They saw that as the standard of living by which they could attain righteousness in the sight of God.

And this, of course, was just not true.

And Paul has been laboring throughout this letter to the Romans to make this clear.

Just one quick statement where he makes it clear.

Romans chapter 9, verse 31.

Romans 9:31

He says there,

The people of Israel who pursued the law as the way of righteousness have not attained their goal.

Why not?

Because they pursued it not by faith, but as if it were by works.

You cannot be made right with God by keeping the law, by keeping commandments.

We've already fallen short of that.

And as we'll see, the law does not even have the ability.

It doesn't give us the power that we need to live up to its demands.

And we'll see that in a moment here.

In chapter 7, Paul has got quite the discussion of this.

He talks about how the law is good, but how there's something going on inside of us that is not good.

Which makes the law almost like fatal to us.

And we'll see that in a moment.

But there's good news, says Paul.

And let's hear what he has to say to us in Romans chapter 8, verse 1.

Romans 8:1

Paul says,

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set me free from the law of sin and death.

For what the law was powerless to do, because it was weakened by the flesh,

God did by sending his son, his own son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, to be a sin offering.

And so he condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us,

who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

These are some of the most precious words in the Bible.

Paul's main point, God's main point through the apostle is simply this.

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

This is a place to pause.

This is a place to reflect deeply.

There is now no being condemned for those who are in Christ Jesus.

There is now no getting what we deserve for our sins for those who are in Christ Jesus.

There is now no death and hell as our final ultimate end for those who are in Christ Jesus.

There is now no punishment from God for those who are in Christ Jesus.

God is telling us that there is a remedy.

There is a way to be saved.

There is a way to be spared what we deserve.

There is a way to have our status with him changed from condemned to not condemned.

Who does this apply to?

Paul says it applies to those who are in Christ Jesus.

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Now you might be wondering, what does that mean?

What does it mean to be in Christ Jesus?

It's kind of a weird way of saying things.

What does it mean to be in a person?

Listen, Paul uses this phrase a lot in his letters.

And we're not going to go all over the place and see how he uses it without getting to all those passages.

To be in Christ Jesus refers to us being united to Christ Jesus.

It refers to a spiritual reality in which Jesus Christ lives in us by his spirit joining us to himself so that we are one with him.

So much so that it could be rightly said that we are in him just as he is in us.

And this is certainly not an easy thing to explain or to describe or to understand.

But this is the reality for those who are born again of God's spirit.

When we repent, when we believe in Jesus, we are born again of the spirit.

We are then united by Jesus through the spirit of God to him.

And if this has become the reality for you, says Paul, then there is now no condemnation for you.

You will not be condemned.

The punishment you deserve is no longer coming to you.

And the next three verses here is Paul explaining how that works and why.

Let's see this starting in verse 2.

He says,

In this verse alone, verse 2, there's two laws.

There's the law of the spirit.

And there's the law of sin and death.

And then if we go to the next verse, there's another law.

It's the law of Moses, the commandments.

But we'll get there in a minute.

Let's look at these first two laws that are mentioned.

The law of the spirit.

And the law of sin and death.

You could argue that the law of sin and death are two distinct laws.

But probably we can think of sin and death as together kind of making up one law.

Because they're very closely related, as we'll see in a moment.

It's important to notice here that Paul is not referring to a specific written law when he says the law of the spirit.

Or the law of sin.

The law of death.

He's talking about a binding principle.

A binding set of principles that always applies consistently and has no exceptions.

Think of the law of gravity.

So let's consider these two laws.

First, what is the law of sin and death?

Well, Paul has just introduced these ideas in the preceding chapter.

In chapter 7.

Let's just go back up and look at that for a moment.

And I'll read it for you.

Look back up to verse 14 of chapter 7.

This is Paul writing.

He says,

We know that the law, that's the law of Moses, the commandments, is spiritual.

But I am unspiritual.

Sold as a slave to sin.

I do not understand what I do.

For what I want to do, I do not do.

But what I hate, I do.

And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.

As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me.

That is in my sinful nature.

For I have the desire to do what is good.

But I cannot carry it out.

For I do not do the good I want to do.

But the evil I do not want to do.

This I keep on doing.

Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

And here it is.

So I find this law at work, he says.

Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

For in my inner being, I delight in God's law.

But I see another law at work in me.

Waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

What a wretched man I am.

Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

Now I know there is a lot there.

We could do probably a whole series of sermons right through that passage.

But did you catch Paul's statement about how there is a law at work within us?

It is a consistent binding principle that has us enslaved.

Where even though we know what is good, even though we know what is right, we do the opposite.

We have this gravity within us towards sin.

Away from obedience to God.

And it is powerful.

By this bent within us, we all sin just like Paul describes.

We all do the things that we know are wrong.

And we all fail to do the things we know are right.

This is the law of sin that Paul is talking about.

What is the law of sin?

It is the reality that we are inwardly bound to do that which makes us liable to judgment.

And the punishment for our sins is death.

And so the law of sin at work within us, it inevitably leads us toward that law of death.

That those who break the law will face the punishment that God has decreed for it, which is death.

But now, God has made a way for us to have no condemnation.

And how does it work?

He says,

It's the law of the Spirit.

And the Spirit of God gives life, he says.

Yes, we are hopelessly bound by the law of sin that's at work within us.

And therefore deserve the punishment of death.

But there's a counteracting law by which we can be set free from that.

And it's the law of God's Spirit.

God's Spirit who gives life.

And now Paul is going to explain what that even means.

What is this law of the Spirit?

How does it work?

How does it take away the condemnation that we deserve for our sins?

Well, let's keep going.

Verse 3.

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,

God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.

And so God condemns sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us.

So Paul now introduces us to this third law.

He's back to talking about the Old Testament law, the commands that were given through Moses.

All those centuries ago, God gave his law through Moses.

And Paul says here very clearly that the law given through Moses by God,

it was powerless to do something for us.

And we kind of have to skim down to the end of verse 4 to see what it was powerless to do for us.

You can see it there at the end in verse 4.

However, the law was powerless to make us meet its righteous demands.

Its righteous requirements.

So think of the Ten Commandments.

Just pick a commandment.

You shall not bear false witness.

Okay?

So don't...

You shall not lie.

Well, that does two things.

It describes for us what the standard of righteousness is.

Righteousness is never lying.

It's never bearing false witness, especially in a court of law.

And it's not just a description of what's right and wrong.

It's a commandment.

It's actually God telling us, you shall not do this.

You must not do this.

So he's calling us in the command to obey it.

But just calling us to obey it, there's no power in that to help us obey it.

And the reason why is because we have this law of sin at work within us that Paul has been talking about.

So he refers to it again here when he says,

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh.

So there's a bit of a metaphor in there.

It's not that the law somehow got weaker.

It's that its ability to produce the change in us that should have happened,

it was handcuffed, it was tied because there was this law of sin at work within us.

This propensity to disobey, to rebel, to go our own way.

And so he says,

What the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh.

And here's the good news.

God did.

So what the law couldn't do,

it could not give us a right standing with God.

It couldn't get us to meet its demands.

It couldn't make us righteous.

So God did that.

He made that happen for us.

How?

It says he did it by sending his own son

in the likeness of sinful flesh

to be a sin offering.

He sent his son from heaven

into our world

to become one of us,

to become like us.

And we have to read this carefully here.

It's not saying that he became a sinner like we're a sinner.

It's saying that he took on the likeness of sinful flesh.

We're the sinful flesh.

He took on the likeness of us

in that he became human.

He became a man.

He became one of us.

Not only that,

but he became one of us

to be a sin offering.

Some translations say,

and for sin.

And good translators recognize that phrase

that points back to the Old Testament

that was used in the sacrificial laws,

giving sacrifices,

offering them up to God for sin.

That's the same language here.

What God did by sending his own son

in the likeness of sinful flesh

to be a sin offering,

a sacrifice for us.

This is what the sacrifices

in the Old Testament law all pointed to.

They pointed to this reality

that God is just

and that sin must be punished.

In God's mercy,

for a long time,

he permitted the Israelites

to bring an animal

and sacrifice it

instead of themselves

having to die

for the sins that they had committed.

And that innocent animal

functioned as like a substitute.

It was like a stand-in.

It got what the man who brought it

truly deserved

for his sin.

That was provisional.

That was for a time.

All along it was pointing forward

to this day

when God would send

his own son

to be that sin offering

for us.

To stand in our place

and get what we deserved

for our sins

upon himself.

Listen to how Paul explains

the final details

of how this worked

in the case of Jesus.

Jesus.

And so God

condemned

sin

in the flesh

in order that

the righteous requirement

of the law

might be fully met

in us.

These words

are some of the most

amazing words.

And so God

condemned

sin

in the flesh.

What is Paul saying?

God did

condemn sin.

He didn't leave it

forever unpunished.

He did condemn sin.

He did punish

human sin.

He punished

a man

with flesh

like we have

for the sins

of humanity.

He condemned

our sins

in his

son's

flesh.

why?

In order

that the

righteous

requirement

of the law

might be

fully met

in us.

As we've

said,

the law

requires

punishment

for sin.

It requires

death.

And so God

gave the

punishment

that our

sins deserve

to his

son.

Who,

by the way,

was willing

to take that

upon himself.

It wasn't

a forced

thing.

God gave

the punishment

that our

sins deserve

to his

son so

that the

law would

be upheld.

So that

justice would

be done.

And so

Jesus,

the sinless,

spotless

lamb of

God,

received the

punishment we

deserve for

our sins

on himself

so that we

could be set

free

from what

we deserve.

deserve.

So that

God would

not have

to give

us what

we deserve

according to

his righteous

law.

One of the

amazing things

about this

truth is that

this was

God's plan

all along.

Hundreds of

years before

this,

this is what

God spoke

through the

prophet Isaiah

in Isaiah

Isaiah 53:4

chapter 53

verse 4.

Surely

he took

up our

pain

and bore

our

suffering

yet we

considered him

punished by

God,

stricken by

him and

afflicted.

But he

was pierced

for our

transgressions.

He was

crushed

for our

iniquities.

The punishment

that brought

us peace

was upon

him.

And by

his wounds

we are

healed.

We all

like sheep

have gone

astray.

Each of us

has turned

to our own

way and the

Lord has

laid on him

the iniquity

of us all.

That's what

the Lord

declared hundreds

of years before

this moment

when Jesus

came.

God

condemned

our sin

in Jesus

flesh.

He

satisfied the

just demands

of his

righteous law

for our

transgressions

in Jesus

death,

in Jesus

body

on the

cross.

And so

let's just

trace this

quickly back

up to the

main point.

if God

has already

condemned

our sins

in the

flesh

of Jesus

in the

death of

Jesus

is there

any

condemnation

now left

for us

who are

in

Christ

Jesus?

Jesus

think about

this.

In our

justice

system

today

every

crime

has its

punishment

or at

least

it

should

and a

good

justice

system

is one

in which

the

punishment

fits

the

crime

where you

only get

what you

deserve

no more

no less.

justice

means that

the criminal

the law

breaker

gets only

what he

deserves

no more

and no less.

So God

has sent

his son

and it

says that

he has

condemned

our sins

in his

flesh

and so

then is

there any

punishment

left

for us

who have

been united

with Christ?

No.

None.

There is

no condemnation

anymore

this is

Paul's

point

for all

who are

in

Jesus

who are

united

with Christ

the sentence

for our

sins

has already

been served

the penalty

paid

the suffering

that we

deserve

the punishment

it's already

been meted

out

and therefore

the law

of God

no longer

condemns us

it no longer

has

authority

or power

over our

lives

over our

future

over our

final destiny

this union

with Christ

that we now

have

by God's

spirit

becomes the

new controlling

reality in

our lives

it sets us

free from

that old

law

of sin

and death

as Paul said

back up in

verse

two

let me say

it another

way

God's

spirit

joins us

to Jesus

to Jesus

himself

making us

one with

him

and if we

are truly

one with

him

then in

him

and through

him

our

sentence

has already

been served

the condemnation

we deserve

it's already

been done

once and for

all at the

cross

which leaves

us no longer

liable to

punishment

of any

kind

from God

the power

of the law

of sin

and the law

of death

is broken

let's just

quickly glance

back up to

chapter 7

where we left

Paul a moment

ago

he said

what a

wretched man

I am

who will

rescue me

from this

body of

that is

subject to

death

thanks be

to God

who delivers

me

through

Jesus

Christ

our

Lord

this is

amazing

this is

wonderful

and what

we notice

here is

that we

did nothing

we did

nothing

to get

this

to deserve

this

to earn

it

I mean

you look

back over

these few

verses

here

in chapter

8

verse 1

to 4

and you

look back

over those

few verses

in chapter

7 leading

up to it

what did

we do

to save

ourselves

nothing

we were

prisoners

it says

we were

we were

like slaves

we were

guilty

we deserve

death

and God's

commands

his law

only helped

us to see

more of how

true that

is

we did

nothing to

fix this

for ourselves

God

did

what the

law

couldn't

do

for us

God

did

what we

couldn't

do

for

ourselves

out of

his own

compassionate

grace

and kindness

he sent

his son

to be the

sin offering

that we

needed

out of

his own

love

and power

he joined

us to

Christ

by his

spirit

so that

what Christ

did

on that

cross

would apply

to us

we

contributed

nothing

all we

do to

receive

this

amazing

gift

is

to

humbly

admit

to God

that we

have

blown

it

we

have

sinned

against

him

that

we're

powerless

that we

deserve

to be

punished

we admit

that to

God

and we

cast

ourselves

on his

mercy

asking

for his

forgiveness

and trusting

that he

will save

us as he

has said

and promised

and he

does

and so

back to

the most

important

question

are you

in

Christ

Jesus

this is

the most

important

question

no

condemnation

is for

those

who are

in

Christ

Jesus

are you

in

Christ

Jesus

all of

these

wonderful

things

Paul talks

about

here

and

throughout

the rest

of the

scripture

being

raised

to

life

someday

after

we

die

is

only

for

those

who

are

in

Christ

Jesus

being

adopted

into

God's

family

as

children

and

heirs

of this

wonderful

inheritance

that he

has

promised

his

eternal

kingdom

it's

only

for

those

who

are

in

Christ

Jesus

are

you

in

Christ

Jesus

or

are

you

still

a

slave

and

a

prisoner

with

God's

dreadful

words

of

punishment

hanging

over

you

if

you

haven't

done

it

I

want

to

urge

you

today

humble

yourself

before

him

admit

that

you're

a

sinner

ask

for

his

forgiveness

believe

be

saved

and

be

joined

to

Christ

and

be

set

free

forever

from

that

law

of

sin

and

death

as

we

come

to

the

Lord's

table

this

is

what

the

Lord's

table

is

meant

to

point

us

to

the

night

Jesus

was

betrayed

before

that

he

sat

down

with

his

disciples

and

he

broke

bread

and

he

passed

it

around

the

table

he

said

this

is

my

body

which

is

for

you

do

this

in

remembrance

of

me

in

a

similar

fashion

he

took

his

own

cup

with

the

fruit

of

the

vine

in

it

grape

juice

wine

passed

it

around

and

he

encouraged

them

all

to

drink

of

it

he

said

this

is

my

blood

of

the

covenant

which

is

poured

out

for

you

for

the

forgiveness

of

do

this

in

remembrance

of

me

what

was

Jesus

saying

in

all

that

he

was

saying

that

God

is

about

to

condemn

your

sins

in

my

body

in

my

flesh

my

blood

is

about

to

be

shed

to

atone

for

your

sins

and

they

watched

as it

happened

the

next

day

an

amazing

gift

of

love

that's

what

we

reflect

on

as

we

come

to

this

table

each

month

as

we

partake

of

the

bread

and

the

cup

if

you

are

in

Christ

I

invite

you

to

partake

with

us

as

we

remember

as

we

reflect

on

this

awesome

gift

if

not

please

refrain

we're

going to

wait

until

everybody

has

been

served

and

then

we'll

partake

all

together

in

unison

so

in

just

a

moment

I'll

invite

and

if

you

don't

want

to

participate

feel

free

to

just

signal

with

your

hand

and

they

will

pass

you

by

so

let's

go

to

prayer

and

let's

reflect

now

mood

into

or

need

to

take

okay

everyone

could

as

can

said

Oh

in

I

can

fly

to

I

can

get

big

I

we

can

go

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Father in heaven, we say thank you that you have done what must have been horrible in your own heart to do in one sense,

that you condemned your own son.

And caused him to suffer and punish him for us.

Thank you that you have put him forward, the sacrifice that we needed, so that we could be saved, so that we could be forgiven, so that we could have life.

How can we express our gratitude?

How can we express our love?

We give you praise.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.