No Condemnation for Those in Christ Jesus

In one paragraph

Pastor Mike opened Father's Day morning by walking First B through Romans 8:1-18, a passage the church has been approaching slowly through its daily email devotional. His central concern was what it actually means to be free from condemnation, and what that freedom requires of us day to day. Romans 8 opens with "therefore," and Pastor Mike was careful to say that word carries the weight of...

Read together

1. Romans 1 the irreligious pagan is guilty
2. Romans 2 the religious are also guilty
3. Romans 3 reiterates that we are all guilty
4. Romans 4 hits the guilt note again, offers a little hope
5. Romans 5 while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us
6. Romans 7 the things I want to do I don't do, oh wretched man that I am
7. Romans 8:1-18 the main passage preached through
8. Romans 13 owe nothing except to love one another, love is the fulfillment of the law
9. 1 Peter 5 the devil is like a roaring lion, your adversary
10. Ephesians union with Christ through faith is what it is all about
11. James 2:10 if you have broken the law at any one point, you have broken the whole law
12. Micah 6:8 what God requires, love mercy, walk justly, walk humbly with the Lord
13. 1 John you cannot simultaneously love the things of God and the things of the earth
14. Colossians 3:1-3 keep on seeking the things above, set your mind on things above, not on things of earth
15. Matthew 16:21-23 Peter rebukes Jesus, Jesus says get behind me Satan, you are setting your mind on man's interest not God's
16. Galatians 5:19-23 works of the flesh listed in contrast with the fruit of the Spirit
17. 2 Corinthians 4:17 our light affliction which is but for a moment is working a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory
18. Hebrews 13 benediction, the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus

Talk about it

1. Pastor Mark walked through Romans 1 through 7 as the buildup to the 'therefore' in Romans 8:1, showing that both the irreligious and the religious are guilty. How does understanding that long buildup change the way you hear the words 'there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus'?
2. Pastor Mark used the contrast between the law of gravity and the law of flight to illustrate how the law of the spirit of life works. What does that picture bring up for you about the difference between knowing what is right and actually being empowered to live it out?
3. Pastor Mark explained that the phrase 'the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us' uses a subjunctive, meaning it is contingent on our will cooperating with God's. What does that say about the relationship between what God has given us and how we actually walk day to day?
4. Pastor Mark pointed to the moment Jesus told Peter 'get behind me Satan' as an example of a believer setting his mind on the things of man rather than the things of God. Can you think of a time when you recognized that your own thinking had drifted in that direction, and what brought you back?
5. Pastor Mark closed with the thought that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us to forgive someone who wronged us, to be generous, to come alongside someone who is hurting. Which of those feels most difficult to you right now, and what would it look like to depend on that power rather than trying to do it on your own?