No Condemnation. A New Power.

Good morning, everyone. If we haven’t met, I’m Matt VanCleave, one of the pastors here at Blue Oaks.

Last week we ended with Paul asking a question that I think every human being eventually asks in one form or another.

After describing this exhausting struggle between the person he wants to be and the person he sometimes finds himself being, Paul finally cries out:

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:24)

I love this question. He doesn’t ask:

“What book should I read?”
“What’s the right morning routine?”
“Is there an app for this?”

Because, honestly, there probably is.

There’s an app to help you sleep.
An app to help you wake up.
An app to help you eat.
An app to remind you to breathe.

Which I thought my body had been handling pretty well on its own.

But eventually Paul realizes the deepest problem in his life isn’t going to be solved by another technique.

So he doesn’t ask: “What will rescue me?” He asks:

Who will rescue me? (Romans 7:24)

And his answer is:

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:25)

That’s where we ended last week.

But it leaves us with another question — How? How does Jesus actually change us?

Because Paul has just spent an entire chapter telling us what doesn’t work.

Knowing what’s right isn’t enough.
Wanting what’s right isn’t enough.
Having God’s law isn’t enough.
Trying harder isn’t enough.

So if I’m not capable of transforming myself through my own determination, how does transformation actually happen?

That’s the question Paul begins answering in Romans 8. And Romans 8 is one of the great chapters in the entire Bible.

There are chapters of the Bible that contain a verse you put on a coffee mug. Romans 8 contains about six of them.

Paul begins with:

“There is now no condemnation…”

Then he tells us:

“In all things God works for the good…”

Then he says:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

And he ends with:

“Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul has been building toward this chapter. And he begins with one word that changes everything.

Listen to Romans 8:1-4:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

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 requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)

There may not be a better word in the Bible than that word — Therefore.

Because “therefore” means Paul isn’t changing the subject. Everything he’s been saying has brought us here.

Romans 7:

“I do not understand what I do.”
“What I want to do I do not do.”
“What I hate I do.”
“I can’t rescue myself.”

And Paul says — Therefore…

Not: “Therefore, try harder.”
Not: “Therefore, do better.”
Not: “Therefore, God is extremely disappointed and would like to schedule a meeting.”

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

Notice Paul doesn’t say there’s now less condemnation. He doesn’t say God has reviewed your file and decided to reduce the charges.

He says: No condemnation. None.

And I think we need to understand what that means because a lot of followers of Jesus live as though this verse says: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… provided you’re having a pretty good week.”

We know intellectually that God has forgiven us.

But then we lose our temper.
Or fall back into an old habit.
Or say something we regret.
Or do the thing we promised God we weren’t going to do again.

And suddenly something changes inside us.

We don’t just think: “I did something wrong.” We begin thinking: “There’s something wrong with me.”

That’s condemnation.

Condemnation doesn’t simply say: “You failed.” Condemnation says: “You are a failure.”

It doesn’t say: “You sinned.” It says: “This is who you are.”

And those are very different things.

Because God still confronts sin in our lives. The Holy Spirit still convicts us. Sometimes following Jesus means having to face things about ourselves we’d rather not face.

But conviction and condemnation are not the same thing.

Condemnation says, “Look what you’ve done. Stay away from God.”
Conviction says, “Look what you’ve done. Come back to God.”

Condemnation attacks your identity.
Conviction calls you back into your identity.

Now here’s what’s interesting — Paul doesn’t say God simply decided sin wasn’t a big deal.

Look at verse 3:

For what the law was powerless to do… God did… (Romans 8:3)

That sentence takes us right back to last week.

The law wasn’t bad. Paul said the law was holy… and righteous… and good.

The problem was that the law could tell us what was right, but it couldn’t give us the power to become right.

The law could diagnose the problem. It couldn’t cure it.

It’s like the X-ray we talked about last week. The X-ray can show you exactly where your arm is broken.

But if the radiologist hands you the X-ray and says, “Good news. We’ve identified the problem. Have a great day,” you’re probably going to want a little more medical care.

Diagnosis matters. But diagnosis isn’t healing.

And Paul says that’s what God did for us in Jesus.

“What the law was powerless to do… God did.”

I love those two words — God did.

What you couldn’t do.
What the law couldn’t do.
What human effort couldn’t do.

God did.

He sent his Son.

And notice what Paul says God condemned.

Not you.

Sin.

God condemned sin in the flesh so that there is now no condemnation for you.

That’s the great reversal.

God doesn’t save us by pretending sin doesn’t matter. He saves us by dealing with sin decisively in Jesus.

Which means if you’re in Christ, you don’t wake up every morning waiting to find out what God’s verdict is going to be that day.

The verdict has already been announced — no condemnation.

But here’s where Romans 8 goes even further.

Because God doesn’t simply change your verdict and then leave you alone to figure out how to live differently.

Remember the question we started with:

If knowing isn’t enough…
If wanting isn’t enough…
If trying harder isn’t enough…

where does the power to change actually come from?

Paul has already given us the answer several times in these first four verses.

Maybe you noticed it. The Spirit.

And now, for the first time in Romans, Paul is going to open up that idea.

Because the good news isn’t simply that God has changed your standing. God has given you a new power.

Listen to verses 5 through 11.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.

And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:5–11)

Listen again to the contrast Paul makes.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5)

And then verse 6:

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6)

Notice how often Paul talks about the mind.

What your mind is set on.
What governs your mind.
What occupies your attention.

Because transformation has something to do with what repeatedly captures our minds.

And I think we understand this more than we realize.

Have you ever decided you might want to buy a certain kind of car?

Maybe you’ve never noticed that car before. And then suddenly… they’re everywhere.

You’re around town seeing them everywhere — “Oh, there’s one. There’s another one. Wow, apparently every third person in the Bay Area owns this car.”

The cars didn’t suddenly appear. Your attention changed.

Psychologists sometimes call this the frequency illusion — once something becomes significant to us, we begin noticing what was already there.

And Paul obviously isn’t talking about buying a car. But he understands something profound about human beings —

What we repeatedly give our attention to begins shaping what we notice… and what we desire… and eventually how we live.

That’s why he says:

Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5)

Now, I want to be careful here. Because after everything Paul has just said in Romans 7, it would be strange if his solution were: “Okay, everyone. Think harder.”

That’s not his point.

The Holy Spirit isn’t a Christian version of positive thinking.

Paul isn’t saying: “If you can just get your thoughts under control, you can finally transform your life.”

He’s saying something much bigger has happened.

Look at verse 9:

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit,

How?

if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. (Romans 8:9)

That’s it — “the Spirit of God lives in you.”

Think about how extraordinary that claim is.

The God who created you… the God who raised Jesus from the dead… doesn’t simply give you instructions from a distance.

He comes to live within you.

Christianity isn’t God standing on the sidelines shouting better instructions.

“Try harder!”
“Do better!”
“Come on, Matt, we’ve talked about this!”

God gives us his own Spirit.

And that’s the piece Romans 7 was missing.

Remember the words Paul kept using last week:

“I know…”
“I want…”
“I desire…”
“I try…”

And still: “I can’t.”

Cognition isn’t enough — knowing isn’t enough.
Volition isn’t enough — wanting isn’t enough.

Because Christianity isn’t simply a matter of educating your mind or strengthening your will.

You need a power you don’t possess on your own.

And Paul says — You have been given the Spirit of God.

Now that raises a very practical question. What does it actually mean to live by the Spirit?

Because we can use language like that without having any idea what it means.

Someone says: “You just need to walk in the Spirit.”

Okay… how? Do I walk differently? Is there a particular speed? Should my arms be doing something?

What does that actually look like on Tuesday afternoon when I’m frustrated with someone?

I think one mistake we make is imagining the Spirit’s work is always dramatic.

We think living by the Spirit means constantly having extraordinary spiritual experiences.

And sometimes God works dramatically. But much of the Spirit’s work in us is quieter than that.

The Spirit begins changing what we notice…

what we desire…
what bothers us…
what gives us joy…
how quickly we recognize something in ourselves that isn’t loving…
how willing we are to apologize…
how we respond when someone else succeeds…
how we treat someone who can’t do anything for us.

Sometimes spiritual growth looks surprisingly ordinary.

You notice you’re becoming a little more patient.
You realize something that used to make you angry doesn’t have quite the same power over you anymore.
You catch yourself before saying the thing you would have said five years ago.

And occasionally you catch yourself after saying it. We’re still growing… but even then, maybe you recognize it faster.

You apologize sooner.
You make fewer excuses.

That’s the Spirit at work.

And I think sometimes we miss what God is doing because we’re waiting for transformation to feel spectacular. We want God to change us overnight.

God often seems more interested in changing us over a lifetime.

Little by little.
Choice by choice.
Conversation by conversation.

Until one day you realize — “I’m not responding the way I used to respond.”

That’s transformation.

And this is where I think Paul’s language about the mind becomes incredibly practical.

Because although we can’t transform ourselves, we can cooperate with what the Spirit is doing in us.

We can direct our attention toward what is true.
We can immerse ourselves in Scripture.
We can pray.
We can worship.
We can choose relationships with people who make us want to become more like Jesus.
We can pay attention to the quiet conviction of the Spirit instead of immediately explaining it away.
We can create space in our lives to actually hear God.
And we can become more intentional about what is forming us… because something is always forming us.

Every day you’re being shaped by something —

The voices you listen to.
The people you admire.
The things you watch.
The stories you believe.
The things you repeatedly think about.
The things you repeatedly do.

None of us is spiritually neutral. We’re all becoming someone.

And this is one reason our phones are such powerful formation devices.

Most of us carry around a machine specifically designed to discover what captures our attention… and then show us more of it.

You watch one video about how to organize your garage… and suddenly the internet has apparently concluded: “This man has a serious garage problem.”

For the next three weeks, that’s your life —

Shelving systems.
Storage bins.
Epoxy floors.
A guy in Minnesota whose garage is cleaner than your kitchen.

The algorithm learns what holds your attention and keeps feeding it to you. And eventually what you repeatedly see begins to feel normal.

That’s not just true of garage organization.

It’s true of outrage.

Comparison.
Sexuality.
Materialism.
Fear.
Politics.
Success.

Our attention is being discipled all the time.

Which makes Paul’s words remarkably relevant:

What is your mind set on?
What are you allowing to shape your imagination?
What are you feeding?

Because living by the Spirit doesn’t mean trying to manufacture spiritual feelings. It means increasingly orienting our lives toward what the Spirit desires.

And what does the Spirit desire?

Ultimately, to make us more like Jesus.

Not to erase our personalities.
Not to turn every follower of Jesus into the same person.
Not to make you a more religious version of someone else.

But to restore you toward the person God created you to be.

I love that… because following Jesus isn’t about becoming less yourself. It’s about becoming free from all the things that have distorted who God made you to be.

Fear.
Shame.
Pride.
Comparison.
The need for approval.
The need to control.
The need to prove yourself.

Those things can attach themselves to our personalities so deeply that eventually we begin thinking: “That’s just who I am.”

Maybe it’s not.

Maybe that’s who you’ve learned to be in order to survive.
Maybe that’s who you’ve learned to be in order to feel safe.
Maybe that’s who you’ve learned to be in order to feel significant.

But Paul says there’s another power at work in you now — the Spirit of God is restoring you.

And look at how far Paul takes this in verse 11:

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you… (Romans 8:11)

Just stop there.

The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you.

Paul’s answer to Romans 7 isn’t: “Dig deeper.”

It’s: “Resurrection power has taken up residence in you.” The same God who brought life out of death is at work in you.

Which means no pattern in your life gets to say: “This is just the way you’ll always be.”

No failure gets to say: “You’ll never change.”

No part of your story gets the authority to determine who you will become.

Because the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is still in the business of bringing dead things to life.

And then Paul makes another turn.

Because if the Spirit lives in us, our relationship with God has changed in an even more profound way than we’ve talked about so far.

We aren’t simply people God has forgiven. We aren’t simply people God is transforming. Paul says we’ve become something else.

Children.

Listen to verses 12 through 17.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.

And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:12–17)

I want you to notice something.

Everything we just said about the Spirit changing us could leave the impression that our role is basically to sit around and wait for God to change us.

Apparently not.

Paul says: “By the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body.”

That’s strong language — “Put them to death.”

Paul doesn’t say:

“Manage them.”
“Keep them under control.”
“Try to get them down to a reasonable level.”

He says: Kill them.

Which means there are things in my life that I shouldn’t be negotiating with.

There are desires I shouldn’t be asking: “How much of this can I get away with?”

There are patterns I shouldn’t be managing.

There are things the Spirit of God is saying: “That needs to go.”

And notice how carefully Paul says it.

He doesn’t say: “You put to death the misdeeds of the body.”

He says: “BY THE SPIRIT you put to death the misdeeds of the body.”

There’s our partnership again. The Spirit supplies the power. We participate.

I think sometimes we fall into one of two extremes.

One says: “It’s all up to me.”

I need more discipline.
More willpower.
More rules.
More accountability.
Maybe another spreadsheet — because nothing says spiritual transformation like conditional formatting.

The other extreme says: “It’s all up to God.” God will change me when God wants to change me.

And Paul refuses both.

You cannot transform yourself. But you’re also not passive in your transformation.

The Spirit supplies the power… we respond to the Spirit.
The Spirit reveals something in me that needs to change… I tell the truth about it.
The Spirit convicts me… I repent.
The Spirit prompts me to apologize… I make the phone call.
The Spirit exposes something I keep feeding… I stop feeding it.
The Spirit shows me something I need to walk away from… I walk away.

That’s what cooperation with the Spirit looks like.

And then Paul tells us something about our relationship with God that may be even more extraordinary than everything he’s said so far.

Verse 14:

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. (Romans 8:14)

And then verse 15:

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; (Romans 8:15)

There’s one way of relating to God.

Fear — I obey because I’m afraid of what will happen if I don’t.

I perform because I’m afraid I won’t be accepted.
I try to be good enough because I’m afraid that if God saw what was really inside me, he might not want me.

Paul says: That’s slavery. And that’s not the Spirit you received.

Instead:

rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. (Romans 8:15)

Adoption.

Paul could have stopped at verse 1 — “No condemnation.” That would have been enough.

Think about the courtroom image we’ve been using in Romans.

You’re standing before the judge.
You know the evidence.
You know what you’ve done.
You know the verdict you deserve.

And the judge looks at you and says: “No condemnation.” You’re free to go.

That would be incredible.

But Romans 8 says God does something even more extraordinary.

The Judge steps down from the bench… walks across the courtroom… and says: “And now I want you to come home with me.”

That’s adoption.

And when Paul’s original audience heard that word, they would have understood that adoption wasn’t merely about affection.

In the Roman world, adoption established a genuine new family relationship. A person who was adopted received a new legal status within a new family.

They belonged. They became an heir.

Which is exactly where Paul goes in verse 17:

If we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:17)

Paul isn’t reaching for a sentimental illustration. He’s describing a change in identity.

A change in belonging.
A change in inheritance.
A change in future.

You don’t just have a different verdict. You belong to a different family.

And this word — adoption — is very personal to me.

Most of you know that two of my children, Amryn and Ezra, were adopted from Ethiopia.

And I’ve been thinking about this passage all week.

Amryn, would you come up here for a minute?

[AMRYN COMES ON STAGE.]

[I HUG HER AND DON’T SAY ANYTHING IMMEDIATELY.]

When Amryn became my daughter, she didn’t become my daughter because she had proven herself. She didn’t earn her way into our family.

We didn’t bring her home and say: “Okay. Let’s see how this goes…

If you perform well enough…
If you make good enough decisions…
If you keep your room clean enough…

[LOOK AT AMRYN.]

We’ve decided not to make that one a condition.

[PAUSE.]

She became my daughter. And that changed everything.

She had a family.
She had a home.
She had a name.
She had a future with us.

And nothing she has ever done since has made me say: “You’re not my daughter anymore.”

[LOOK AT AMRYN.]

You’re my daughter. I love you. And you belong with me.

[HUG HER.]

[AMRYN RETURNS TO HER SEAT. PAUSE.]

That’s what I want you to hear in Paul’s words.

The Spirit you received brought about your adoption… (Romans 8:15)

You don’t obey God hoping that eventually he’ll decide to make you his child. You learn to obey because you already are.

Adoption means your behavior happens inside a relationship that has already been established.

When Amryn makes a mistake, she doesn’t stop being my daughter.

We deal with the mistake because she’s my daughter… not so that she can become my daughter.

That’s an enormous difference.

And I wonder how many of us are still trying to obey God so that he’ll accept us.

If I could just become more disciplined…
If I could get control of this habit…
If I could be more patient…
If I could pray more…
If I could read the Bible more…
If I could finally become the person I know I’m supposed to be…

Then maybe God would be pleased with me.

Paul says: You’ve got it backwards. You’re not trying to get into the family.

You’re learning how to live because you’re already in it.

And that changes the motivation for everything.

I don’t obey because I’m terrified that God might throw me out. I obey because this is my Father.

That’s why Paul says:

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; (Romans 8:15)

And then he gives us this extraordinary little phrase:

By him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)

Abba was an intimate way of addressing a father.

Paul is describing closeness… relationship… access.

You’re not standing outside trying to get God’s attention. You’re his child. You can call out to him.

And then Paul says:

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:16)

Notice where Paul has taken us.

We started Romans 8 in a courtroom — “No condemnation.”

And now we’re in a family — “God’s children.”

That’s the gospel.

God doesn’t merely forgive you for the life you couldn’t live. He gives you his Spirit so you can begin living a new one.

And he doesn’t simply say: “You’re not guilty. You can go.”

He says: “You’re mine. Come home.”

So maybe the most important question for some of us today isn’t: “Am I doing enough?”

Maybe it’s: “Am I learning to live like someone who knows they’re already loved?”

Because those are very different lives.

One is driven by fear. The other is formed by love.

One is constantly trying to prove: “I’m worthy.”

The other begins with: “I belong.”

And from that place, the Spirit begins changing us.

Not so that God will make us his children… but because he already has.

Pray with me as the worship team comes to lead us in a closing song.