Church Sermon - March 10, 2002

IN CHRIST THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

Old Testament Lesson; Hosea 5:15 - 6:2
Gospel Lesson; Matthew 20:17-28
Sermon Text; Romans 8:1-10

E. Stanley Jones was a missionary who went to serve in India in 1908. He once told of a young boy from Holland who had come to India seeking inner peace. Jones says the youth sat for 15 days and nights on the mountain- top, doing the whole Eastern routine:

fasting, mediating and staring at the Himalayan peaks, with their unmelting snow.

"He vaguely hoped that in his mediation, the white purity of the snow would enter into him and release him from condemnation."

His meditation, however, did not bring the inner peace he hoped for. It only left him colder than the snow.

Finally, he pulled out his Bible and read from the

New Testament. He read the first words his eyes fell upon. He had opened up his Bible to Romans, Chapter 8 and read the first verse,

That was the inner peace he was looking for all along!

Our text for today is a powerful one, because the hope of every Christian rides on its very truth. Today, we will look at two things, as we look at this statement:

"There is no condemnation

for those who are in

Christ Jesus."

Ø We look at the source (the one who brings no condemnation).

Ø We look at the sequel (what should follow in our life).

The source, or the one who brings to us a sentence of freedom and no condemnation is none other than Jesus, himself. The book of Hebrews states first of all that Jesus became our brother. "Since the children have flesh and blood, he (Jesus) too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is the devil…For this reason he had to be made like (us) in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the world."

Hebrews 2:14,17

Jesus also became a sin offering for us. In the Old Testament God gave very specific commands to the High Priest. Every year on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest was to offer up a young bull as a sacrifice for his own sins and the sins of his family. He also was to offer up a male goat, on behalf of the sins of the people. The High Priest sprinkled the blood on the Atonement Cover. He also sprinkled the blood on the Horns of the Alter. The High Priest did this every year. This was to cover over the sin of the people. "Those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Hebrews 10:3-4

That is why Jesus died on the cross.

It was the

once and

sin offering and

that sin offering

once and

paid for the sin of the

We will not be condemned, because Jesus has delivered us from the dreaded verdict of guilty! By our sin we had deserved death. But in Christ, we receive God’s declaration of forgiveness!

This removal of condemnation was not something that we had earned. It is there for all in Christ. Just as by the law, sin and death came to all, now in Christ, all are declared righteous!

When the message of no condemnation in Christ is heard, look at what happens inside of us. There is a huge battle that takes place. It is a battle of death and life. It is a battle of evil and good. Now that this message of no condemnation has been given to us, it changes our outlook. Our text says,

"Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."

"The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace."

Paul tells us why nothing but God’s new, creative power will suffice. By nature we are absolutely unable to please God. By nature the mind of man is God’s enemy. It does not submit to the law, but instead rebels against the Lord and the law. It earns for itself the wages of sin, which is death.

The situation that the apostle Paul describes is desperate. There is absolutely no hope. We cannot by nature please God.

When we serve in some capacity at church, is our underlying motivation, "What is in it for me?" Do we become jealous of fellow members because of the recognition they receive? The Lord knows our thoughts. The wage we deserve is

death,

but the message of no condemnation brings

This means the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who brings the message of no condemnation, changes our whole self. Did you notice the tremendous contrasts that Paul gives in the verses of our text? Just as by the sinful nature there was nothing but rebellion, hostility and death, so by the Spirit’s working there is the desire to live in accordance with the law. There is peace and life.

The Christian is no longer controlled by the sinful nature but by the Spirit. While there is still the inherited sinful nature, the mark of the Christian is that the spirit is dwelling in us.

A Churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. The man wrote, "I’ve gone for 30 years now and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I am wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs, by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until, someone wrote this clincher:

"I have been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

A sign of the Spirit dwelling in us is the desire to hear God’s Word. A sign of our sinful human nature asks, "Do I have to go to church?" That’s a big contrast, but one we now have with the Holy Spirit.

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." If you remember nothing else from today’s sermon, I pray you will remember that. Satan can rant and rave all he pleases. He can and will lie to us, but for those who are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation. We are useful. We are not under an adverse sentence because

As the Apostle Paul used the word condemnation, he meant it to mean an adverse sentence. When I came across that word I wondered, "What kind of sentence is not adverse? How can a sentence not be adverse or against me?" Then I remembered that a judge can find a defendant not guilty and in that finding, a sentence has been declared. The judge could logically say, "I’ve reviewed all the evidence, I’ve heard all the testimony and I declare you not guilty, not under any condemnation." God our Heavenly Father has pronounced that sentence on us. He said and continues to say,

"I find you not guilty!

You are to live in peace and joy

in My Kingdom

forever and ever."

The Dutch boy was not able to find inner peace through fasting and staring at the Himalayan Mountains, but he was able to find the peace that is located in God’s Word. We too have peace, because there is no condemnation for us, who are in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

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