8 0n 8

LESSON ONE

Verse 1

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

Last time we looked at Paul’s, the author of Romans, transformed life. So, we have confidence that Paul not only knows what he is talking about because the Holy Spirit has given him words to write, but also because he has lived it. Testimonies are powerful.

Let’s begin with verse 1.

Romans 8 is a summary of Romans 1-7, we will let Romans and Paul, from his other books, interpret Romans 8.

1. According to Romans 5:1:

How are we justified?

Faith in whom?

What is the result of this justification?

How does Romans 5:1 relate to Romans 8:1?

Read Colossians 2:13-14.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Imagine your favorite courtroom scene from your favorite lawyer TV show or John Grisham novel. The courtroom of God isn’t like that. He is the judge, prosecutor, and jury. In this courtroom there is only God, your accuser, yourself, and your lawyer.

Oh, and also, the law you have broken is God’s law. And the thing about it is — you are guilty.

Totally and completely guilty.

The Judge raps his gravel. All eyes on are him. But, it’s the prosecutor who speaks, “Judge, Bobbie Carnes is guilty of breaking all of your laws. You said if she broke one it was as if she had broken them all. She is a guilty sinner. Vile! Should receive the full punishment of the law! Death!

The Judge nods in agreement.

Now at this point, all your hope is gone. You have nothing to say in your defense. You stand there head down, waiting for the Judge to pronounce your sentence. But then, your lawyer, your advocate, your representative stands. He smiles at the Judge, points at you and says, “Judge, Father, (Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, your lawyer is the Judge’s Son.) She is not guilty. I took her punishment on the Cross. All of her sins”, He looks at the accuser, “were piled on me and I already absorbed all the wrath your holy law demands. Her sentence of death was paid by me and I will vouch for her. Please Father, set her free. Let her live. And also, Father, will you put on her record all the righteousness I possess? That way not only is her criminal record wiped clean, but it has all the goodness I have done written on it.”

The accuser is pulling his hair out and cursing because he knows what that means. If the Judge’s Son, sets you free, you are free indeed! And there is nothing the accuser can do about it.

The Judge bangs down his gravel again. “Acquitted!” He declares, smiling at His Son.

“Also, Father, may I take her home to live with us that where we are she may be also?”

“Yes, my Son! I will adopt her and be her Father, too.”

Bet you never saw a TV show like that before! But, what I have described is reality. It will happen and the outcome will be as I have described if your trust, hope and faith is in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

If not, the accuser will get his way and the outcome will be you are a lawbreaker with no defense. The outcome is eternal and spiritual death.

So, take a moment now and check over your spiritual criminal record. Is it wiped clean? Then thank Him. But, if it is indicting you as a breaker of God’s law, call upon the perfect lawyer, advocate, representative, redeemer, Jesus, to take care of it.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Based upon what we have discussed so far, who are the “those” and how did they get in Christ Jesus?

As a summary, read Romans 3:21-26 where Paul has already explained Romans 5:1 and Romans 8:1.

3. How do we know we are in Christ according to Romans 8:9-10? (Note: the Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, and Christ are interchangeable. There are not three different Spirits, but only one Holy Spirit.)

Why are believers (those in Christ Jesus) not condemned?

The Gospel.

We were helpless to make ourselves good enough to be in God’s presence. So, God sent His Son who lived a perfect life, died the death we deserved, rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father, who forever more makes intercession for us.

Okay, but how does this flesh out in practicality for me?

Whatever is going on in your life, dear Christian sister, you are under NO condemnation. You are at peace with God. You are forgiven! Be free! Free to love Him and those around you. Free to laugh at your washer that won’t wash because the King of Glory has your back and is working all things out for your good. Freedom starts in your spirit and works its way out in your thoughts and actions.

Freedom is from Christ. He came to give you abundant life with or without a washer.

Next time Paul will clarify in verse 2 what he has said in verse 1. He wants to be sure we get the incredible truth of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, In Christ alone.

You are loved

8 0n 8

Lesson 1

Preface

In 1998 and 2005 two women were executed in the state of Texas for murder.

Condemned. No reprieve. Guilty as charged. No mercy. None deserved.
Justice was served.

When you commit a crime and you stand before the Judge who speaks words of death into your life, and there is nothing you can do but spend years appealing for retesting, retrials, and finally commutation and mercy, and nothing works, can you imagine the helpless feeling? The regret? The sorrow? The pain? The fear? The rage?

Why am I starting this study talking about two death row inmates who according to the State of Texas received justice? I am trying to give us a sense of what it is like to receive such final, irrevocable condemnation in this life, because our justice system is but a shadow of the reality of what will happen when Jesus returns one day and every person born on planet earth will stand before the Judge of all the world and be found guilty. It won’t matter what they have done, or not done, said or not said, whether they did good deeds or were pickaxe murderers; they are guilty. They are condemned.

Condemned. No reprieve. No retrial.

At the end, all that is left for them is justified punishment. Jesus said, “Whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Both women, according to the State of Texas, took the life of another human being in cold blood. They were guilty and rightly condemned to death. Both professed Christianity while in prison, during those long years of waiting on death row. So, believing their professions that they were truly regenerated and received repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, what will happen when they stand in the Higher Court before the Righteous Judge?

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Not even for our two executed murders in Texas?

Not even for them if they are children of God.

We read about another murderer in the New Testament, the author of Romans, the Apostle Paul. I know this is a lot of reading, but it’s worth it to be better acquainted with the author of Romans.

Read: Acts 7:58; Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-5; 26:4-20; Gal. 1:13-14; Phil. 3:2-6; 1Tim. 1:12-15; 1Cor 15:9

We first hear of Paul, called Saul before his conversion, at the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7. The witnesses trusted him with their clothes. He was part of the mob stoning a powerful and important witness for Christ. God used Stephen’s stoning to scatter His church out of Jerusalem and into Judea and Samaria and from there to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Acts 8 starts with a blaring statement of Saul’s heart, “And Saul approved of his execution”.
Luke is giving us an historical glimpse of the pre-Christ man who God used to establish Christianity in the world through writing most of the New Testament, doing ground-breaking missions work, and church planting. Luke knows Acts 9 is coming and the great persecutor of Christians will become one of the most radically important Christians in history.

Paul sets out for Damascus as a fire-breathing dragon, but arrives as a sheep to be slaughtered (Romans 8:36). I am sure I can safely say your conversion wasn’t as dramatic as Paul’s, but it was nevertheless the same miracle. When God meets us on the road to death, He changes our hearts, opens our eyes and ears to hear and see Jesus as the treasure He is, breathes life into us, and grants us repentance and faith. That is what happened to Paul and that is what happened to you and me, if indeed the Spirit of Christ lives in us.

At the time Paul (Saul) set off for Damascus, he probably had a pretty good life. He was about 30 and most likely already a member of the Sanhedrin. He was on a career fast-track. Marriage, family, and a comfortable life persecuting religious cults were on his horizon. But, then God showed up. Sometime later Paul said he counted all that rubbish for the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:7-11).

So, Paul is redeemed by the Savior and given his mission. He uses his testimony, as you have read in the above verses, as a powerful means of evangelism. He tells it to “Brothers and fathers” in Acts22:1, the mob trying to kill him. In Acts 26, he tells it to King Agrippa and his wife Bernice, military tribunes, and the prominent men of Caesarea. He wrote it to the Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, and to Timothy. He edits it, shortening or lengthening according to the circumstances and audience. And so should we. Our testimony of our meeting King Jesus is the most powerful story we have to tell. Tell it often. Tell it with joy and thanksgiving.

In summary, as you read the dazzling graced filled truths of Romans 8, remember the author’s story. If anyone wrestled with not feeling condemned it must have been Paul. He called himself the foremost of sinners (1Tim. 1:15). During the times that we are overwhelmed with the grace God has showered on us, our sins seem all the more sinful and we can succumb to the lie of the enemy that we are to sinful to be God’s child.

Not true!

Recite to yourself Romans 8:1, “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Now that we know something about the author of Romans 8, next time we dig into verse 1.

You are loved

My Favorite Courtroom Scene

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Imagine your favorite courtroom scene from your favorite lawyer TV show or John Grisham novel. The courtroom of God isn’t like that. He is the judge, prosecutor, and jury. In this courtroom there is only God, your accuser, yourself, and your lawyer.

Oh, and also, the law you have broken is God’s law. And the thing about it is – you are guilty. Totally and completely guilty.

The Judge raps his gravel. All eyes on are him. But, it’s the prosecutor who speaks, “Judge, she is guilty of breaking all of your laws. You said if she broke one it was as if she had broken them all. She is a guilty sinner. Vile! Should receive the full punishment of the law! Death!”

The Judge nods in agreement.

Now at this point, all your hope is gone. You have nothing to say in your defense. You stand there head down, waiting for the Judge to pronounce your sentence. But then, your lawyer, your advocate, your representative stands. He smiles at the Judge, points at you and says, “Judge, Father, (Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, your lawyer is the Judge’s Son.) She is not guilty. I took her punishment on the Cross. All of her sins”, He looks at the accuser, “were piled on me and I already absorbed all the wrath Your holy law demands. Her sentence of death was paid by me and I will vouch for her. Please Father, set her free. Let her live. And also, Father, will you put on her record all the righteousness I possess? That way not only is her criminal record wiped clean, but it has all the goodness I have done written on it.”

The accuser is pulling his hair out and cursing because he knows what that means. If the Judge’s Son sets you free, you are free indeed! And there is nothing the accuser can do about it.

The Judge bangs down his gravel again. “Acquitted!” He declares, smiling at His Son.

“Also, Father, may I take her home to live with us that where we are she may be also?”

“Yes, my Son! I will adopt her and be her Father, too.”

Bet you never saw a TV show like that before! But, what I have described is reality. It will happen and the outcome will be as I have described if your trust, hope and faith is in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

If not, the accuser will get his way and the outcome will be you are a lawbreaker with no defense. The outcome is eternal and spiritual death.

So, take a moment now and check over your spiritual criminal record. Is it wiped clean? Then thank Him. But, if it is indicting you as a breaker of God’s law, call upon the perfect lawyer, advocate, representative, redeemer, Jesus, to take care of it.