"Free at last, free at last; thank God Almighty we’re free at last." It’s been 37 years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Washington Monument and uttered those words in his famous "I have a dream" speech. Next Monday we’ll be celebrating Dr. King’s birthday, and the birth of the Civil Rights Movement here in America. During the last almost 40 years the Civil Rights Movement has taken lots of twists and turns.
In many ways, we’re better off than we were in the 1960s, with lots of laws changed, much more opportunities for minorities, and a different attitude toward diversity among many people. Yet racial hatred remains, and it seems unlikely that the Civil Rights Movement will be able to root out the kind of hatred that dwells in the human heart. In fact, it was only five years after that famous "I have a dream speech" when Martin Luther King, Jr. was gunned down.
Although we should continue working for freedom in our world, the reality is that only God can offer genuine, lasting freedom. Jesus himself once said, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). What kind of freedom was Jesus talking about there? Freedom from foreign oppression? Freedom from discrimination? Freedom from despair? I once heard one of our state elected officials quote these words of Jesus, and then apply them to his political party’s agenda, as if his political career were the fulfillment of Jesus’ words.
No, the kind of freedom Jesus is speaking of is freedom from sin. You see, according to the Bible, sin lies at the heart of our human lack of freedom. By "sin" I don’t much mean specific actions like lying or hatred, but I a condition of being in sin. You see, the Bible pictures sin as first and foremost a condition of isolation and alienation from God, a condition of helplessness and hopelessness. This awful condition is universal, effecting every person on the face of the earth. This is what lies at the heart of all forms of human oppression. The reason racists hate people is because of the power of sin in their lives. The reason why governments oppress their citizens and exploit the poor is because of the domination of sin. The reason why assassins murder people, the reason why parents abuse their children, the reason why teenage kids take ecstasy to escape from reality is because of the power of sin.
God knows that to truly deal with a problem like racism or hatred, we need to get at the root issue. I think of my AA sponsor for the first several years of my sobriety. Although he hadn’t abused alcohol for 25 years, he had developed a gambling problem. Instead of hitting the bars he now hit the poker games. He’d often gamble away his entire paycheck, leaving he and his son living on almost nothing until his next payday. Although he was free from his addiction to alcohol, he wasn’t truly free from the power of addiction.
Freedom indeed is freedom from the root problem, not just the symptom. Today we’re going to look at how God sets us free from our sin. How does God break the chains of sin, so we can deal with the root issue of what lies at the heart of racism, violence, and so forth?
We’ve been in a series through the New Testament book of Romans called GOOD NEWS FOR OUR TIMES. In the first three chapters of Romans, Paul painted the human condition in very bleak terms, as he showed that all people are helpless under the power of sin. Religious and non-religious, church goers and non-church goers, moral and immoral, Jewish and non-Jewish, all people have been chained in the prison of sin. Paul’s conclusion in Romans 3:23 was, "All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory." We’ve seen the last few weeks that God’s law (the ten commandments) is unable to break the power of sin in our lives. Although God’s law shows us God’s standards by defining right and wrong for us, it can’t help us meet that standard. Last week we saw what happens when a person tries to meet the standard of God’s law while that person is still captive to the power of sin. We saw that this kind of person finds him or herself unable to obey God, inwardly torn between good and bad, and living a miserable life of spiritual defeat.
Today we begin looking at what God has done to answer that condition. Specifically we’re going to find three kinds of freedom God offers us from sin. These three kinds of freedom correspond to the three persons of the holy trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
1. Freedom From the Penalty of Sin (Romans 8:1-4)
The eighth chapter of Romans is one of the most profound chapters in the entire Bible. Some have called it the "high water" mark of the New Testament. Few chapters in the Bible have as much significance for living a victorious, fulfilled spiritual life than this chapter. That’s why we’re going to spend four weeks going through this chapter together.
Let’s look at the first four verses. The words "therefore" and "now" in v. 1 signal a transition from the miserable condition that was described in the previous chapter. If you were here last week, you might remember that there’s debate among Bible teachers as to whether the horrible struggle described in Romans 7 is intended to describe Paul’s experience as a Christian or his experience before becoming a Christian. Whichever view is accurate, Romans 7 certainly applies to any person (Christian or non-Christian) who attempts to meet God’s standards on their own. But instead of the horrible struggle described in chapter 7, here we find something new.
For those who have trusted in Jesus Christ, there is now no condemnation. The word "condemnation" here describes a person who’s judged to be guilty of a crime and thus liable to penalty for that crime (Louw and Nida 56.30). It describes both the verdict and the penalty. In the context of Romans, Paul’s talking about our guilt for sin and the death sentence we deserve because of our sins. For those who’ve trusted in Jesus, there’s no longer a guilty verdict or a death sentence.
How can that be possible? Well, Paul tells us that what God’s law--the ten commandments--was unable to do, God himself has done by sending His Son. Again, God’s law was never intended to be the solution to sin. Just as the California penal code can’t rehabilitate a criminal, God’s law can’t rehabilitate the sinner. Just as the California Penal Code condemns the lawbreaker, so God’s law exposes our sin and condemns us. Instead of relying on the law to rescue us from our plight, God sent his Son into our world.
The phrase "the likeness of sinful flesh" indicates that God’s Son became truly human. He wasn’t just half human or part human, but he was fully human, totally identified with our condition.
Jesus became a genuine human being to be a sin offering, a sacrifice for offered on our behalf. This means Jesus willingly took upon himself the consequences and penalty of human sin on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross, sin was judged and condemned, even though Jesus was innocent. Jesus didn’t deserve to die, but he willingly took the condemnation of our sin upon himself.
Jesus did this so the righteous requirement of God’s law could be met in us. You see, God’s law required a perfect life, a life totally free from failure and sin. So Jesus lived that kind of life, a life that never rebelled against God, a life that never broke God’s law, a sinless life. I find it troubling that George Barna’s study of Christian beliefs in America last year found that 29% of Christians believe that Jesus committed sins during his lifetime. If that’s true, then the righteous requirement of God’s law can’t be me in us, because it wasn’t met by Christ.
According to Romans, because of Jesus’ sinlessness, when we trust in Jesus, our condemnation is transferred to him and his sinlessness is transferred to us (Moo 486). Thus, when God looks at us, he no longer sees our sin and the condemnation it deserves, but he sees Christ’s perfect obedience. Jesus lived the life we failed to live and died the death we deserved to die.
Here we find the first kind of freedom God offers. JESUS CHRIST’S DEATH ON THE CROSS SETS US FREE FROM THE PENALTY OF SIN.
Both the verdict and the sentence have been taken away by Jesus Christ. But this isn’t simply a pardon, like our president offered to several people last month. On November 24 President Clinton pardoned Walter Orlinsky, a former Baltimore City Council president who was convicted of bribery . Mr. Orlinsky had pleaded guilty and served four months for his crime. But when the president issued a pardon, it didn’t erase the conviction. Mr. Orlinsky is still a convicted felon, still living under the shame and scandal of his failure (from CNN.com).
What God offers us through Jesus isn’t merely a pardon, but it’s a vindication. Not only are our sins forgiven, but they are justly forgiven because God’s Son freely suffered for in our place. Not only are we restored to innocence, but Jesus Christ’s own perfect life is applied to us.
This kind of freedom is uniquely related to Jesus Christ, God’s own Son. It was through his birth, his perfect life, his willing sacrificial death on Good Friday, and his victorious resurrection on Easter Sunday that makes this possible. And although God the Father and God the Holy Spirit are involved in this process, the instrument of this freedom is Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
The moment we place our trust in Jesus Christ, we are completely set free from the penalty of our sins. We will never be more free from the penalty of our sins than we are at the moment we trust in Jesus Christ. This freedom includes freedom not only from our past failures and our present struggles, but even freedom from our future failures as well. Christ lived and died to free us from the penalty of all sin, which includes both our past sins and our future sins If you’ve trusted in Jesus Christ, then you are as free today from the penalty of all your sins as you will ever be.
2. Freedom from the Power of Sin (Romans 8:5-9)
Yet being set free from the penalty of sin doesn’t mean we stop struggling with sin in our daily lives. Although our status before God is settled, and God sees us through the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus, we still struggle to live consistently with our new status. We often find ourselves stumbling and falling, falling back into old habits and patterns. We find ourselves free from the penalty of sin, but still struggling with the power of sin in our lives.
Look at how Paul answers this struggle in vv. 5-9. Now wherever the New International Version has the phrase "sinful nature," the literal Greek is "the flesh." Both translations have the potential of being misleading. The phrase "in the flesh" might lead us to think Paul is talking about our physical bodies. But the phrase "in the flesh" has nothing to do with our bodies. The NIV’s translation "sinful nature" runs the risk of making us think there are two natures inside of us, like the old good angel and devil on each shoulder, whispering in our ear. But that’s not what Paul is talking about here either. We saw back in ch. 5 and ch. 6 of Romans that the phrase "in the flesh" is simply a way of talking about human life lived from a purely human perspective, without reference to God. Living "in the flesh" is human life lived in Adam, the head of the human race.
So Paul is not contrasting two different natures inside of the Christian, but he’s contrasting two different kinds of people: The Christian and the non-Christian.
First Paul talks about the non-Christian, humanity still in Adam. The realm this person lives is "in the flesh," that realm of life that pays no attention to God and God’s desires for the human race. The outlook of this person is a "flesh" worldview. Again "flesh" has nothing to do with our bodies or with sex, but it’s talking about life lived from a purely human perspective. The word "mind set" in v. 5 is more than our thinking, but it refers to our outlook, our worldview, our way of interpreting reality. Where the believer sees a miracle, this person sees only a coincidence. This person’s worldview is purely human, refusing to take God into account. The attitude of the non-Christian is hostility toward God. We see that in v. 7. This hostility might be an active anger at God, or it might be passive indifference to God. But either way it’s hostility. The potential of the non-Christian is limited: he or she cannot please God. Even if this person somehow wanted to meet God’s standards, they lack the resources to do it. In fact, I suspect that this is the condition Paul described back in chapter 7. The destiny of this person is death. This isn’t just physical death, but it’s also spiritual death and ultimately eternal separation from God. Death in all its horrible dimensions is the destiny that awaits a person who is still under the power of sin.
But then Paul talks about the Christian, the person who is in Jesus Christ. The realm this person lives in is "in the Spirit." That doesn’t mean this person is perfect or doesn’t struggle anymore, but it’s simply a new realm. I think this is the same thing Jesus meant by God’s Kingdom, that realm where Jesus is the king and where God’s Spirit works. The outlook of the Christian is a "Spirit" worldview. Again, this doesn’t mean we’re perfect, but it means we’re able to take into account what God wants. We look at our lives through a spiritual lens now, as we see how our actions as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, friends and coaches, workers and employers relate to God’s will. Where the unbeliever sees a coincidence, the believer sees the hand of God. The attitude of the Christian is at peace with God. While the non-Christian is hostile to God, the believer has found peace with God through Jesus. Again, this doesn’t mean we don’t struggle anymore, but it means we’ve made peace with God, that we’re no longer in a state of war against God. As Paul said in 5:1, "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The potential of the Christian is now that he or she can please God. Finally, the destiny of the Christian is now "life" instead of death.
We know Paul is contrasting Christians with non-Christians here because in v. 9 he literally says, "You however are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." Paul was confident that all of the Roman Christians (not just the spiritually mature ones) are in this new realm.
The sign of a person being "in the Spirit" is the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. In fact, if a person doesn’t have the Holy Spirit living inside of him or her, that person isn’t a genuine Christian.
Now at this point, I want to pause and mention that there are some Christians out there who tend to emphasize different experiences with the Holy Spirit that come later. Some call these later experiences "the baptism of the Spirit," while I would call it "being filled with the Spirit." But whatever subsequent experiences we might have with God’s Spirit, we must remember that the indwelling of God’s Spirit begins at the moment we trust in Jesus Christ. God’s Holy Spirit will never be more inside of you than he is at the moment you trust your life to Jesus Christ. Anyone who tells you that you don’t have the Holy Spirit living in you yet because you don’t have a particular experience contradicts what Paul says here. Every single follower of Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit living inside him or her. We might grieve that Holy Spirit, we might have subsequent experiences of being freshly filled with the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and so forth, but God’s Spirit comes to make his home in our hearts at the moment we trust in Jesus Christ.
Now why has Paul gone to all this detail to contrast the life of the Christian with the life of the non-Christian? He’s done it to show us the second freedom we have from sin. JESUS CHRIST’S PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT SETS US FREE FROM THE POWER OF SIN.
Without the Holy Spirit, we’re like a helpless insect caught in the spider web of sin. We can’t free ourselves no matter how hard we try, not matter how much will power we muster, no matter how much energy we spend. We’re powerless against the web of sin in our lives without God’s Spirit.
But with the Holy Spirit, we can be empowered to resist the power of sin. We can begin to change our habits, conquer addictions, and find freedom from character traits that break God’s heart. Now don’t get me wrong: It’s not easy or effortless. Often this is a bitter struggle that lasts a long time. In fact, elsewhere in the Bible it’s described as an actual war, but it’s a winnable war because of God’s Holy Spirit in us. I have certain areas of my life that have been a battle for years, and I suspect that these battles won’t stop raging until I’m with Christ face to face.
Now what should we do when we blow it and fall back into the power of sin? We simply remind ourselves that we’ve already been freed from the penalty of that sin. God knew we were going to commit that sin when he declared us free from condemnation. Both the guilty sentence and penalty of death were taken away by Christ on the cross.
Then we confess our sin to God, not to be freed from its penalty, but to be restored to intimacy with God. When the Christian confesses his or her sins, it’s not to God in his role as a judge, but it’s to God in his role as a Father. We confess our sins to be restored to intimacy, not to have the penalty taken care of all over again.
Finally, after confession and repentance, we ask God’s Holy Spirit to empower us to do better next time. We take God’s promise by faith, that through his Holy Spirit we can move forward. No matter how hard we’ve fallen, God’s Holy Spirit offers us new resources, new power, new victory, if we’d only ask. God’s Spirit’s not going anywhere, so we can continually rely on the Holy Spirit to move forward in the spiritual life.
While God the Son was the key to freedom from the penalty of sin, God the Holy Spirit is the key to freedom from the ongoing power of sin in our lives.
3. Freedom from the Presence of Sin (Romans 8:10-11)
Yet no matter how much progress we make in the spiritual life, we’re still surrounded by sin and its consequences. We still live in mortal bodies that are decaying, getting sick, and growing old. Physical death still awaits us, no matter how free we are from the penalty of sin and how much we grow in our freedom from the power of sin. And we’re also still surrounded with people who sin against us, both friends and enemies. We still live in a society dominated by sin, as we see people oppressed, hungry people starving, innocent people hurt, and so forth. The presence of sin is still all around us, within our own physical bodies, as well as in the lives of those around us.
Look what Paul says about this in vv. 10-11. Even though we’re completely free from the penalty of sin and growing in our freedom from the power of sin, our body is still mortal, and exposed to the presence of sin. Because of sin and its consequences, our bodies grow old and diseased, tired and sick, weak and corruptible. Freedom from sin’s penalty and progressive freedom from sin’s power doesn’t stop this. Yet even in the midst of our mortality, our spirit is alive, free from sin’s penalty and in the process of being freed from sin’s power.
Then Paul reminds us of Easter, that day when Jesus Christ rose again, conquering death for all time. The "him" in v. 11 is God the Father. God the Father is the one who raised Jesus from the dead on Easter Sunday, and the promise here is that he will also bring our physical bodies back to life through the Spirit on the day of resurrection as well. The fact that God’s Spirit lives inside of us is assurance of this promise, evidence of this anticipated event.
So although we’re not yet free from the presence of sin, we have a wonderful assurance given to us here. JESUS CHRIST’S RESURRECTION ASSURES US OF FUTURE FREEDOM FROM THE PRESENCE OF SIN.
On that day, sin will be locked out forever, cast into the lake of fire. No longer will people around us sin against us, no longer will we grieve or die, no longer will we get sick or battle disease. When that day comes, sin will be locked out forever.
Notice the emphasis here is on God the Father. Although Jesus and the Holy Spirit both play a role, the emphasis is on God the Father giving new life to our mortal bodies. Only God can confer immortality on mere mortals like us.
With this assurance, we’re able to live in this life, surrounded by sin. We’re able to face disease and sickness with faith and courage, knowing that our future is secure. We’re able to forgive people when they sin against us. We’re able to face pain and tragedy, fear and despair. We’re even able to face evil with courage, as we are filled with assurance of our future freedom from the very presence of sin.
Conclusion
If Jesus sets you free, you will be free indeed. "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we’re free at last." Not just free from the symptoms of sin, but genuinely free. Free from the penalty of sin through God the Son; progressively free from the power of sin through God the Holy Spirit; and ultimately free from the very presence of sin through God the Father.
What wonderful freedom God promises. No wonder it’s called "good news." Even though sin is a difficult topic of discussion, a negative and sometimes pessimistic thing to talk about, the ultimate goal is the good news. This is the message God has given us to share with this community. This is the message we’re going to celebrate now in worship and praise.
Sources
Cranfield, C. E. B. 1975. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. 2 Volumes. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
Schreiner, Thomas R. 1998. Romans. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Books.
