That's what faith is. Mary, she gives us a flash of that.
When she says, do what he says. It's just a flash of, I trust him. He has the answers. And when God said, this is my beloved son, hear him, he wasn't joking around, he was very serious about that. Sin must be condemned in our own hearts. And if it's not, your very salvation could fall into question.
To be in Christ is to hate sin, its purpose, its presence, its power, its penalty. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the Book of Romans.
Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the Book of Romans, chapter eight, as he begins his message, Worth an Introduction. We're in Romans chapter eight. And if you have your Bibles, we will take verses one and two, and that's as far as we will probably get. And if you know anything about this eighth chapter in Romans, you know it is one of the great chapters of the Bible. And so if you are ready or not, Romans chapter eight, we will take the first two verses. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Very difficult to speak on grace sometimes, especially if you have immature or up to no good people that are listening, because they will look for an excuse for sin, and that is certainly not what is happening. On the other hand, you may have those who have sinned and are genuinely devastated, and you don't want to crush them as the Lord is ministering. So this chapter, it begins with the thrill of salvation and the security that goes along with it.
And it ends the same way, very unique in that way. Critical doctrine resides in chapters six, seven, and eight concerning the Christian and the life, dealing with sin and trying to be obedient to God. But especially in this eighth chapter does that critical doctrine just fly right off the pages. Romans eight is action-packed. It is dominated by God's love for sinners. I am a sinner and I want that love.
From a sovereign God, I need that love. And it is this eighth chapter, it is a book within a letter. That's why it's going to take some time to go through this eighth chapter. Now the personal pronouns have almost disappeared entirely from this man in this eighth chapter. He is now hidden with Christ. That's how Paul has been presenting the Christian life. Again, chapters six, seven, and eight. And it is in the presence of Christ that he now finds himself receiving the finished work of Christ.
And let me kind of illustrate to you or lay this out a little bit more. In Romans seven, the personal pronoun I showed up 32 times. The pronoun, personal pronoun me, six times. My, me, five times. My, six times.
43 times. We have personal pronouns in chapter seven. But now in chapter eight, it is the Spirit that shows up 19 times. God six, Jesus four, and Christ ten.
There's a shift that's taking place. Interestingly enough, the title Lord is relaxed. It doesn't show up in this chapter since the emphasis is on the finished work on his salvation, which can only come if he is Lord. And these little things that are in the scriptures I think are very beneficial. Luke chapter 10 verse 20.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Now to bear out this idea of trivializing sin, which finds its ultimate expression in rejecting Christ. When the Lord recited those words, when he said those words to the apostles, Judas was in that number. Had Judas died that day, it would have been a good day for him. But he went on to live, and he went on to betray the Lord, and he went on to forfeit the very thing.
He went on to have his name blotted out of heaven. So let's just be upfront with the grace of God, nothing like it. But God is not to be trifled with. And we who love him, we know that.
We enjoy that about him. We love that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. But do we go around condemning others?
Many Christians do make it their business to look for an opportunity to condemn instead of restore. Our sanctification, which is sanctification in Scripture, has in it also justification. When we are saved, we're justified, but at the same time, we're set aside.
We're in a new category now. We're saved. But the second part of sanctification is the development of that saint. You know, conversion is the miracle of a moment. But to become a matured Christian, it's the task of a lifetime.
It continues on. And so, understanding a little bit more about our sanctification, it is right now, it is past, it is present, it is future, it is ongoing, and it is final, all at the same time. And now, Paul, he had just finished explaining the spiritual laws which can hold a Christian in bondage. That's chapter seven. Now, in chapter eight, he explains the spiritual laws that give the Christian victory over the sin that is too big for him, over a devil that is too strong for him. And so, we love this safe chapter because we all know we need, we need to hear this coming from the mouth of God. And so, the first verse, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Well, there is, is inserted by the translators to help the ease of reading. But we can start this eighth verse that says, starts off with therefore because it's on the heels of chapter seven, verse twenty-five. I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God but with the flesh, the law of sin. Therefore, now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. So, that therefore functions as an answer to the terror that is expressed in chapter seven, verse twenty-four.
A wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? Well, he goes on to point out Christ, verse twenty-five, and then he continues. Therefore, because of Christ, he's answering. He's saying Christ is a solution. Jesus Christ has hunted down and slain my lost state.
That's what he has done. And it is said throughout the scripture, but we'll just take this one from Colossians, chapter two, verse thirteen. And you, being dead in your trespasses, and the uncircumcision of your flesh he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross, having disarmed principalities powers.
He made public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. I hope you're getting this. I believe many of you, if not most of you are, but I fear that there are some that don't understand what's going on in the pulpit when you're getting verse-by-verse instruction that that pastor will take for granted that he has invested himself into every word as best he can, as time allows.
Every jot, every tittle, he has looked over. And the cross references and the points made, they count. And the reason why I bring this up is because you put so much into sermons only to have people ask you questions that you have been hammering so much that you say, boy, I'm beating this to death. I've got to lighten up. But then you find someone is just not getting it. Why not?
Has someone told you it's too difficult for you? Pay attention if you haven't been. If you take notes, think about what you're writing. Get this into you. This is God's word and it matters. Jesus Christ, again, has hunted down and slain my lost state. In return, all believers must do battle both with the presence of personal sin and the power of sin. And the power of sin packs a punch and it not only hits me, it hits those around me.
It's serious business. So knowing full well that Christ delivers and has delivered us from the penalty and the power of sin, otherwise if we don't know that, if we don't know he's delivered us from these things, we begin to think our labor is for nothing, that our work is in vain. My beloved, 1 Corinthians 15, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Anything you do for Christ is noticed by Christ. None of it is trivial to him. It might be to you.
That just expresses your flesh, your carnality, your immaturity. If you are serving the Lord, you've got to know this is what he's looking for because he tells his apostles to pray to the Lord of the harvest, to send workers. The harvest is plentiful, the laborers are few.
Pray to the Lord of the harvest that he might send workers. And so if you're one of those workers, you've been sent by him. You're not just acting on your, hopefully, out of some sense of mere decency, but it is motivated by the Holy Spirit in you. He says, therefore, now no condemnation. In other words, no hell for believers. That's the meaning of that. This great eighth chapter begins with no condemnation and it ends with no separation.
See, see when I paused a moment ago and said, are you getting this? Because if you look at this chapter, in the end, he says, nor height nor depth nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ratifying the first verse. No condemnation. My concern is, of course, that there might be some who will not believe what they're reading, what they're seeing, what they're hearing in black and white right there in front of them. Another concern is that there will be those who will misapply the verse and think that it gives them license to sin. Both of those are tools in the devil's hand.
If you give it to him, then expect the consequence to that. When God cancels sin, he wills it out of existence. Not only forgiven and forgotten, but annihilated.
It's gone. John, gospel, Jesus said this to his disciples. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my words and believes in me, believes in him who sent me, has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Well, you've got to ask yourself, do you believe that?
That's what he asked Mary, or Martha, pardon me. I am the resurrection into life. Do you believe this?
Do you believe it? Well, what has God done with my sin? I said, well, he's annihilated.
He is gone. Well, let's look at some Old Testament verses that talk about dealing with sin. Psalm 103 verse 12, as far as the east is from the west, so far he has removed our transgressions from us. How far is that?
How far is east from west in this universe alone? He has cast them away, Isaiah 38 17. Indeed, it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness, but you have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption.
You have cast all my sins behind your back, all of them. This is King Hezekiah, a good king, and he became very sick, and he tells that he was bitter in his sickness. He wanted God to heal him, and because God wasn't healing him, he was bitter. Well, God does heal him, and he writes about it. Indeed, it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness.
My eyes were on me. I wanted the peace from this sickness, and because I wasn't getting it, I was bitter, and yet God still healed him. That's not a positive confession, is it? For those who believe in that nonsense, you've got to name it and claim it, brothers.
Clab it and grab it, squeal it and steal it. It's nonsense. It's unbiblical, and you're telling people lies if you believe in that. Sometimes you've just got to suffer the loss. Well, our sins are forgotten.
I just went on that little tie road. Those of you who might not know, there are teachings out there that want you to prosper in this life. Never mind the next one. This is the one to grab it, and yet if you don't get what you're asking for, it's because you're not positive enough. It's positive thinking and false Christian garb, and it is gobbled up.
They have very big churches and very big payrolls. But anyway, coming back to this, our sins are forgotten. Isaiah 43 verse 25, I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. But yet, Christians can't constantly remind God.
Isaiah 44, 22, I have blotted out like a thick cloud your transgressions, and like a cloud your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Now, all mankind is redeemed. They're just not saved. If you win, if you play the lottery, I want to be your friend if you win.
But if you play the lottery and you win, if you don't go and collect, you don't get it. The price has been paid for humanity, but if you don't come to Christ, if you don't confess him of the Lord, you don't benefit from the redemption. He has thrown our sins overboard. Micah chapter 7 verse 19, he will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. So when Paul comes in line and says that there's now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, there's a foundation for these things, of these teachings. In spite of these words, many confessed believers live their lives looking over their shoulder, waiting for judgment to bust them.
It's theological paranoia. You can't really serve effectively if you don't understand the grace that God offers. Revelation 21 6, and he said to me, it is done, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. There's the sovereignty of God. I will give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
He will give it freely. I should add, everything about God is sovereign. His love, his judgment, his grace, his companionship, his wisdom, everything about God is coming from one who is in total control. You couldn't give free will to humanity if you weren't sovereign. It would take over, it would ruin everything, but he is sovereign, and he knows how to work with those who have a free will, which would be all of us. And so the salvation that is offered in its final analysis, it protects us not only from the fire, but also from the smoke of hell.
That's pretty thorough. I know I've preached all of these things before, but it's time to say them again. We have this illustrated in the book of Daniel when the three nice Jewish boys were cast into the furnace. Now here's an interesting thought. There are those that say, well, you know, I don't believe that.
I think that's a myth. Well, then how do you explain his prophecies? Because the prophecies of Daniel are unmatched in any outside of scripture.
They are extraordinary. The details that he gives to ancient kingdoms and ancient rulers and future kingdoms and future rulers and how he ties them in, you cannot make that up. You cannot be that righteous of a man and then lie to people about the stories going on in your lifetime at the same time. This Daniel when he wrote, he said about when these three nice Jewish boys were put into the furnace and they did not burn, here's what they said about the whole thing. The king's counselors gathered together and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power. The hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected and the smell of fire was not on them.
They weren't even smoky. The deliverance was so thorough there was no evidence of a trial. That's going to be our end result as believers. New Testament grace is not given to make the sinner feel good about themselves or about sin. New Testament grace is given that we would recognize that the demonstrated love of Christ for sinners is real. That goes back to chapter 5 in verse 8 where it says in Romans, God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. You can answer it and say, why aren't you in church?
That's the answer. Unless it's an emergency, why are you calling me on a Sunday morning? Now, it happens to all of us and I don't feel too bad but I feel a little bad because you can't help it. But now I'm showing grace.
And you are too by not throwing the phone at me for calling you out. So here we go. Anyway, John chapter 3, he who believes in him is not condemned. So Paul didn't just think this up.
I say that because there are groups, they're small, little sex, that say well we believe in the Bible just not anything Paul said. They want to escape. They want to be homosexual and go worship at the same time and somehow be accepted. And they're not struggling with it.
That's the problem. They're advocates of these things. And there's other groups too. Then what do you do with Peter who says, listen, Paul's writing is a scripture. As they twist the other scriptures, they twist Paul's words too. So there are those out there that want Paul to go away. Well, Paul is quoting Christ here where Jesus says he who believes in him is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And there's the commentary on the life of Christ and what he is to mean to those who come in touch with him. So I trust Christ to deliver me from the curse of sin in spite of me because he said so.
That's why. That's what faith is. Mary, she gives us a flash of that when she says do what he says. This is a flash of I trust him. He has the answers. And when God said this is my beloved son, he or him, he wasn't joking around.
He was very serious about that. Sin must be condemned in our own hearts. And if it's not, your very salvation could fall into question. To be in Christ is to hate sin.
Its purpose, its presence, its power, its penalty. Four P's there. I didn't pop one of them. Anyway, thank you. So he says here in verse one to those who are in Christ Jesus. People are either in Christ Jesus or out of Christ Jesus.
There's no middle ground. Yeah, there are those that may be on the verge of conversion but they're not there yet. They got to make that confession. Hebrews 9, Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many to those.
Well, that's what it just says here. To those who are in Christ Jesus here in verse one of Romans 8 and then in Hebrews chapter 9, to those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time apart from sin for salvation. Well, who are those that eagerly wait for him? Those who love him. No condemnation in Christ, no salvation outside of Christ.
A very basic formula. In Christ, now no condemnation in Christ. It doesn't say, now there are no mistakes in Christ. It does not say there are no failures in Christ. It does not say there are no sins in Christ. But no condemnation. Those things are there and God knows how to handle them without hurting the believer. The consequent of sin and condemnation by sin are not the same thing. There can be a consequence to sin that you've been forgiven.
That's David. David and Bathsheba. They committed sin, there was a consequence to it. But there was ultimately no condemnation. The mercy of God.
I hope we Christians, when we hold the world accountable to sin, that we never apologize for the terms that God gives. Thanks for joining us for today's teaching on Cross-Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia.
We're currently going through the book of Romans. If you're in need of hearing this message again or want to listen to others like it, head over to crossreferenceradio.com. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast too, so you'll never miss another edition. Just go to your favorite podcast app to subscribe. On our website, you'll be able to learn a little more about the ministry of Cross-Reference Radio. So make a note of it, crossreferenceradio.com. That's all we have time for today, but thanks so much for listening. Pastor Rick will be back next time in the book of Romans, here on Cross-Reference Radio.
