THE ULTIMATE LIFESTYLE

Living without Condemnation
Romans 8:1-4
March 7, 2021

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Many Christians misunderstand how God responds to them when they sin. As a result, they avoid God out of fear and find it hard to feel close to Him most of the time.

I. What is “condemnation”?

A. You feel GUILTY.

B. You feel FEAR.

C. You feel SELF rejection.

Romans 8:1 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…

Romans 7:15 - I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

Romans 7:24 - What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

II. Truths to let into your *HEART.*

Romans 8:1 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation…

A. The reality of freedom - no condemnation.

B. The reason for freedom - justification.

Romans 8:1b-2 - …for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

C. The route to freedom - substitution.

Romans 8:3 - For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man…

D. The result of freedom - sanctification.

Romans 8:4 - … in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

III. How God responds to me when I sin:

“No condemnation” means …

A. God does NOT REJECT me when I sin.

John 6:37 - All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

1. His LOVE is unconditional.

Romans 9:15 - For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

2. Our acceptance is NOT based on our performance.

Romans 9:16 - It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

3. Our acceptance is based on our position IN Christ.

Romans 8:1 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…

Romans 3:21-22 - But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

B. God does not PUNISH me when I sin.

(Punishment is payment for past sin.)

Romans 5:18 - “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men [one man – Adam – blew it and everyone paid the result: sin came into the world and we had a fallen nature] so also the result of one act of righteousness [Jesus] was justification that brings life for all men.” One man, Adam, caused the problem. One man, Jesus, brought the solution by taking the penalty.

1 Peter 3:18 - For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

Psalm 103:9-12 - He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

IV. What does happen when a Christ follower sins?

Romans 6:1-2 - What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

A. Sin brings CONVICTION from God.

John 16:8 - When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment…

Acts 2:37 - When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Condemnation says: I’m not good.

Conviction says: What shall I do?

B. Sin BREAKS our fellowship with God.

Relationship and fellowship are two different things.

1 John 1:6-7 - If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Psalm 51:12 - Restore to me the joy of your salvation.

C. Sin limits our USEFULNESS to God.

John 15:4 - Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

D. Sin brings LOVING discipline from God.

Hebrews 12:5-6 - And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

V. What should a Christ follower do when they sin?

A. CONFESS your sin.

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

B. ACCEPT forgiveness and forgive YOURSELF.

1 John 3:19-20 - This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Hebrews 9:14 - How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Next Step:
Spend time this week meditating on #II, “Truths to let into your heart