Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
1Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus, the ones walking not according to flesh, but according to spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus set me free from the law of the sin and the death, 3for [what was] the impossibility of law, in which it was being weak through the flesh, God condemned the sin in the flesh, sending His own Son in [the] likeness of flesh of sin and concerning sin, 4in order that the righteous act[s] of the law might be fulfilled in us, the ones walking not according to flesh but according to spirit.
Well, here we are. Romans chapter 8. This chapter has been called “the pinnacle of the Bible.” It doesn’t get any better than this. I would happily agree. Not to be cynical or negative, but the simple fact is life is really hard. “Brutal” might be a more fitting epitaph. For me, just to stay sane, we need some kind of hope that rises far above anything this world has to offer. This eighth chapter of the book of Romans is exactly that otherworldly hope my own heart craves.
Interestingly, the Greek word for spirit (here usually Holy Spirit) appears twenty times in this chapter. It only appeared four times in chapters 1-7 and it will only occur another four times in 9-16. Nowhere else in all the Bible is there so much emphasis on spirit, and particularly the Holy Spirit. It is no coincidence that the greatest chapter of hope in the entire Bible is also literally inhabited by the Holy Spirit!
As I lamented earlier, it doesn’t seem to me that the power and/or presence of the Holy Spirit has been what it ought to be. I’m looking forward to studying this chapter for just that reason. If somehow I’m not embracing Him or somehow I’m not availing myself of that power and presence, I certainly want to do whatever I can to remedy that problem. Obviously, along with the Son Jesus and His saving work on the Cross, the Holy Spirit is the best gift we can receive from God. I want to make sure I’m enjoying that gift as much as I possibly can!
So here would be my thoughts from these first four verses: This, of course, is quite a statement to start with, “There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” I would say most of us, if we’re born-again believers, can easily shout, “Hallelujah!” We make much of the fact that we’ve been saved, that heaven is our eternal home, and that we have been forever delivered from the condemnation and judgment of our sins! And we should.
However, I would suggest there is far more hope in these words than perhaps they are often afforded. Paul’s problem in chapter 7 was not that he was struggling under the penalty of sin. That would have been struggling with what we would call the question of justification. “What must I do to be saved?” No, it was not the penalty of sin that he was addressing, it was the power of sin. The earlier chapters of Romans have clearly established the doctrine of justification by faith alone. The problem for Paul (and us) is that, though we may now know we’ve been justified, yet sin still seems to possess an almost overwhelming power in our lives. “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out…Oh, wretched man that I am!”
This statement, “There is, therefore, no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus,” is not just about our justification; it also concerns our sanctification! It is not just referring to the guilt of our sins, it is also referring to their power. It’s not just about whether or not we’ll go to heaven, it’s about our daily lives. “There is no condemnation…” If we ponder that thought, I’m guessing most of us would feel we need to respond with something like, “But, but, but…my sins are still really, really bad!” I would suggest we all need to ask ourselves, “Can I really step out into the light of God’s love and say of myself, ‘There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus’”?
God goes on in verse 2 to tell us that “through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Then in verse 3, He specifically heads back to the source of our problem. It is “the Law.” He knew right where we would all run, when it came to this matter of “condemnation.” The Law. The rules. We have to keep the rules, right? Yes, I’m saved, but now my main job is to “keep the rules.” The problem, of course, is that just lands us back in chapter 7: “…the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing!” No, no, no. A thousand times no. The Law will not save us. Rule-keeping is not the answer.
Consider vv. 3,4 together: “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, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Ah, we see we’ve circled back to the Spirit. Once again, our hope is not in being better rule-keepers. It is somehow tied up in the Spirit!
Jesus clearly said, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23,24). And what do we learn later in Galatians? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Against such things, there is no law. And why not? Because rules will never create love in people’s hearts…or joy or peace or patience.” Those things must come from our hearts. And, once again, therein is the problem. It’s my heart. It has always amused me just a little when the woman at the well told Jesus, “But the well is deep and you have nothing to draw with!” In fact, she had no idea just how deep the well was! And she certainly didn’t realize the infinite power of Jesus to draw for her the water of life! Yes, my heart is a very deep well. It’s much too deep for me. Way down there somewhere is this sad reality that it is “desperately wicked and deceitful above all things.” Only this indwelling of the very Holy Spirit of God can rescue me.
I for one certainly want to know more of this freedom God has given me. I hope as I continue to study through this chapter in Romans that the Lord will in fact open my eyes to whatever I may be missing.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free!”
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