Freedom to Obey

You’d think that people who have been Christian for a while would understand the Gospel pretty well. And some do. But then again, some don’t. And one reason for this is that those who don’t have been misled by well-intentioned teachers. Those teachers really wanted to help them live the Gospel faithfully. But those teachers weren’t as helpful as they wanted to be because there were parts of the Gospel that they themselves didn’t understand well enough.

For example, Gospel facts are sometimes presented as commands from God. So, instead of just enjoying the blessings that God has already granted, some Christians have been told to work hard to gain those blessings. Or to mention something closer to home, some Christians have been taught more about what the Spirit of God no longer does instead of being helped to enjoy what He actually still does.

Bottom line: there are too many Christians who aren’t living with as much Gospel power as they might. And that’s really not good. It’s not good for individual Christians and it’s not good for the life of the Church.

Today, we begin a new section in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. It is clearly tied to what went before, but Paul will be introducing a new element to the Gospel that he has been writing about. In this new section Paul will explain something of the role of the Spirit in making the glories of the Gospel ours. This has been an area of the Gospel that has been confusing to some. So, I’m hoping that I will be able to provide a little more clarity. And what I am aiming for is not just that you would have a greater understanding of the Gospel. I’m also aiming for you having a greater understanding of yourselves. One of the most important questions for you to answer well is this: Who am I? I want you all to understand well who you are so that you will flourish, so that you will make more progress in becoming whole people. Our world is in dire need of whole people. And I like to think that you can do something to meet that need.

Let’s start with this. Paul wrote,

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2

Many people will talk about freedom, but relatively few actually understand what freedom is about. That’s true when it comes to politics, and it’s true when it comes to the Gospel. So, let’s spend a little time exploring this.

First, you need to be clear on this question: Freed from what? You have been freed from sin and death. Now, don’t hear that as some church words that only affect that narrow slice of life labelled ‘religion’. Sin and death are about every aspect of every day. So, think family, friendships, chill time, job, expectations, hope, problem-solving and lots more. The Gospel teaches that you have been set free from sin and death in all of that.

This will make more sense when you connect it to what we saw back in chapter five. That’s where Paul wrote about Adam’s first sin and its effects on us. Paul was quite clear that ‘many died through one man’s trespass’, and that includes you. Adam’s sin caused you to be cursed with death. Not death as in when your heart stops beating. Death as in the ruin of every aspect of your existence. Here, go back to that list that started ‘family, friendships, chill time,’ and all the rest.

Paul also taught that ‘by the one man’s disobedience the many [again that includes you] were made sinners’. So, it’s not just that you became guilty by Adam’s sin. No, it’s also that sinning became an inherent part of your life, your dominating motivation and the answer to the question: Who am I? I am a sinner.

That’s just a small taste of what the Gospel means by sin and death.

That’s the bad news, and you really need to know the bad news. Without a clear understanding of the bad news you will never really grasp and appreciate the good news. This bad news describes everyone, starting from their very beginning in their mother’s womb.

Now, it’s with that in the background that Paul wrote,

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Good News, indeed!

Now, what is the result of this freedom?

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

This is magnificent. It is something to revel in. But understand that it assumes that at one point you actually were condemned. There is now no condemnation for you. But there had been.

Here, let’s pause for a definition: condemned. What does that mean? Think about some building that has been condemned. It’s been inspected and declared to be unfit. It is no longer worthy to be considered a building that people can use. And what happens to such a building? It is destroyed, torn down, reduced to rubble to be carted away. That’s ‘condemned’, both the declaration - unfit - and the subsequent destruction.

That is the verdict that was applied to each of you: condemned. You had been inspected and declared to be unfit. You were considered no longer worthy of life. Destruction began.

Please note what I just said. Many think that destruction happens later. Life is to be lived now. We’ll worry about hell and how it destroys later. Ah, but destruction starts now in this life. Every condemned sinner is right now being destroyed, sometimes slowly, sometimes rather quickly. Sometimes the destruction is hidden within the soul until it breaks out in some dramatic act. But whether slowly or quickly, hidden or obvious, the process of destruction grinds on every day.

That’s what it means to be condemned. It was true of each of you. And it is still true of every person who is without Jesus.

And that is what makes Paul’s words so glorious.

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

But it’s also important that you hear the rest of the story. What did God condemn instead? Listen again to what Paul wrote.

God … condemned sin…  Romans 8:3

Do you see what Paul is getting at? There is now no condemnation for you - and thanks be to God that that is true! Instead, it is sin that is being condemned. The sin that so profoundly defined who you were has been declared unfit and is in the process of being destroyed. Your sin has been condemned and is being destroyed. That’s also a part of the Gospel. And again, thanks be to God that such is a fact about who you are.

Now, how has this come about? Paul is quite clear. First, there’s this.

God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. Romans 8:3

Did you catch that? Law-keeping cannot deal with sin. And bear in mind that we’re talking about the keeping of God’s Law. Did His Law fail? Absolutely not! The problem wasn’t with God’s Law. The problem was with your sinful nature, what Paul calls ‘the flesh’. Remember that Adam’s sin made you a sinner. And because you were such a sinner, law-keeping could never bring about your freedom.

But God brought that about. How? Listen again.

By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh… Romans 8:3

This is the familiar part of the Gospel. The Father sent Jesus to deal with your sin problem. But His mission wasn’t just about providing forgiveness by the Cross. Now, forgiveness is wonderful. And every day provides an opportunity for you to be grateful for it. But what good is forgiveness if you haven’t been changed? What good is forgiveness if you remain that sinner that Adam made you into? What good is forgiveness if you are still held by the law of sin and death? Your life would still be one sin after another. How could that lead to becoming a whole person? More is needed than forgiveness. And more is what God provided. This is where the Spirit comes in.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2

The Father sends Jesus with a mission. Jesus pursues that mission, with its climax at the Cross. The forgiveness of sin. But then, the Spirit is sent and pursues His mission. He comes to change all whom Jesus has rescued. Their lives, or I should say, your lives are dramatically changed.

And how does Paul describe you after this change? He describes you as those

who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:4,5

That’s you. You live according to the Spirit and set your mind on the things of the Spirit. Please note: this is not a command, something for you to make happen. This is a Gospel fact that is already true of you. It is a fundamental change in who you are. You are no longer that sinner that Adam made you to be, dominated by sin in every aspect of your existence. No! You’ve been changed, changed by the Spirit because of what Jesus has done. Or to use the language that we saw in chapter six, you are now dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. You walk in the newness of life. Freedom.

Now, what is it that God intended in all of this? What’s the goal God was aiming at in first sending Jesus and then the Spirit? What’s the goal of this freedom? The Bible answers that in different ways. But how does Paul answer it here?

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4

Please notice the phrase, ‘in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us’.

Now, there are two ways of understanding this. You can see it as a burden and tell yourself, ‘Great! Now I have to try to obey all those rules. Thanks a lot!’ If that’s what Paul means, then we should all be responding like that. What a weight to carry. And sadly, too many Christians see their lives exactly like that, bearing the awful weight of trying to obey impossible rules.

But that’s not what Paul is saying. That’s not what the Gospel is about.

Paul’s point is not that we have to obey God’s Law. It’s that we can obey it. And obedience is not a burden but a joy. If you don’t believe me when I say that obeying God’s Law is a joy, then maybe you’ll believe this.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. Psalms 1:1-3

God’s Law is not something that you have to obey. It is something that you are now able to obey. And it is as you obey it that your life works. That’s when you prosper and bear good fruit. It’s as you obey it that you become a whole person.

Now, connect all of this with what I told you last week. I said that you can get rid of your sins, one by one. Isn’t that just another way of saying that you can obey God’s laws, one by one? So, think of the sins that dog your steps, sins that trip you up time and time, again, sins that shame you and bring you grief. When you sin you are not obeying God’s Law. But you’ve been changed. What can that mean but that you can be freed from those pesky sins? You can obey and live.

All of this explains what Paul means when he writes,

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2

You are now free to obey, free to live, free to become whole.

Now, what are you to do with this? The answer is obvious. You believe it. You believe this part of the Gospel. You’ve been set free. You can get rid of your sins. It’s a Gospel fact. So, believe it. The idea that you just might become a truly godly person, someone whom the Father can use to touch the lives of others in profound ways - does that seem impossible? The Gospel says otherwise. Believe it.

There are still more details to come. And Paul won’t disappoint. In the meantime, consider areas where you’re not believing this part of the Gospel. Pray that you would learn to hope based on the Gospel.