Judgement is Done.

By Bobby Blakey on May 5, 2019

Romans 8:1

AUDIO

Judgement is Done.

By Bobby Blakey on May 5, 2019

Romans 8:1

This is a rush transcript.

[00:00:01] I invite you to open the Bible and turn with me to Romans 8, on page 944 if you got one of our books here this morning and what we are going to see clearly in this text of scripture is a before and after picture of the Christian life. Have you seen the before and after pictures before on a commercial, on social media?

[00:00:28] Somebody has a picture of, hey, this is what I looked like before my diet, before my fitness program. Here's what I look like now. Right. You've seen that commercial where somebody has got acne and blemishes on their face and then they started using this product and now look at their skin after. Right. One of the most exciting before and after pictures here at our church is the home remodel, before and after pictures. I see those all the time. People are pumped up like, hey, look, when my house looked like, look what it looks like now. This is exciting after the remodel.

[00:01:02] What we're going to study in Romans Chapter eight today is a clear who you were before you were in Christ and now who you are after you are in Christ. And so hopefully you can see here Romans Chapter A.. They are there with me at verse one. And I invite you to stand for our scripture reading here today. We're going to look at four verses from Romans, eight Romans eight one through four. Let's give these are full and undivided attention here together this morning. These verses right here, a tone you who you are in Christ Jesus Romans eight, verse one.

[00:01:40] There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death for God has done what the law we 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. That is the reading of God's word. Please go ahead and grab a seat. And what is going to happen here in Romans eight? In fact, what happens in a lot of the letters of the New Testament is he's going to teach Christians how to think about ourselves.

[00:02:33] OK, so if you're coming in here today, like, hey, I'm a Christian, I already know what it means to be a Christian. I want you to consider something that the a lot of the New Testament letters written to churches, written to believers spend a lot of their time teaching believers how to think about the reality that they are in Christ. So the New Testament doesn't assume that because you're a Christian, you already know everything about being a Christian. It actually goes out of its way to make sure that you understand all the implications of your salvation and what it means to have this new creation in Christ. So that's what we've been studying in our done series. God has done what we under the law could never do. He has placed us into Christ. And the moment that you're in Jesus, you're a new creation. The old you is gone. The new has come. And if you were here last week, we saw that that means you've died with Christ, you've been crucified.

[00:03:33] We've Christ to your old life of sin and you now no longer even live. It is Christ living in you. And if you look back at Romans eight, verse one, he says there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Here's what the after picture looks like. If you're in Christ, there is no condemnation, no judgment.

[00:03:58] You have been declared by God because you're in Jesus you have been declared not guilty. Is that good news for anybody here this morning? Yes, I need everybody here, no matter how long you've been a Christian, new Christian, been a Christian for decades.

[00:04:14] I need us all to be open that maybe I need to learn more through the word of God about who I am in Christ. Maybe I don't fully have it all understood yet. And we see this in life. When people go through major transitions in life, I think we can all agree it would be helpful for them to have some teaching about it, to have someone talking them through it, to understand it. For example, when our young people go through puberty, do we think somebody should give him a talk, too?

[00:04:43] Is that what we all think? I think it's I think you parents should talk to your kids before, during and after they go through that traumatic time of life. You know what I mean? I mean, I think there's a lot to explain, a lot to talk about when people get married and praise the Lord, we've got people getting married at this church, young people. Who are abstaining and repenting of sexual morality and honoring marriage among everybody, young people that God is joining together as one. Should we just throw them into marriage or should we, like, sit down and do some counseling with them about it? What do you think? Is that a transition in life where if somebody teaches you, hey, here's what a husband does. Here's what a wife does. Just because you become a husband and wife doesn't mean you know everything about it. Even some of us who've been husbands are wives for decades. We've got more to learn about it. At least that's what our spouse would probably think about us. You know what I mean? How about if God blessed you not only in marriage, but he blessed you with it with a child. He blessed you and your your spouse. And now you're going to have a baby. What do you think? Should people just go willy nilly into into having kids or should they learn something about it? Anybody go to like some childbirth classes before you had kids? Anybody read a book like what to expect when you're expecting or something like that? Right. I mean, I went to a childbirth class, I remember before our first born, and I was like, wow, this is gonna be fascinating. What are they going to teach us about this? And we spent most of our time learning how to breathe in childbirth class, going back to the basics, the fundamentals, you know. So people all of a sudden become Christians and they think, boom, I got it.

[00:06:12] I got it all figured out. I know what it's like. The way it happened to me is clearly how it goes, probably for everybody. I've got it all figured out.

[00:06:19] No, we need to be taught. We need to be open to having to talk about what it means to have no condemnation in Christ Jesus. Maybe it's possible there's more for us to learn.

[00:06:31] I mean, we're so desperate to have these kind of talks today. I was at the bank this week literally at the bank. There's this full size poster in color, like this big picture of a of a mom talking to her like adult daughter.

[00:06:45] And it's like the bank with the question. Have you had the talk yet? Have you had the money talk yet? Like, can you imagine how bad society's getting when the bank is like, please, somebody tell somebody how to balance a checkbook. We can't handle it anymore. It's out of control. What can somebody pass on? Financial responsibility? Parents, help us out a little bit. Right.

[00:07:05] We're gonna have that talk here this morning together from Romans eight about what does it mean to be in Christ Jesus? And it says that in Christ Jesus. Here's how you need to think about yourself in Christ Jesus. There is no condemnation. Now, the original language that the New Testament written in is the Greek language. And if you ever have the privilege of learning Greek, which is the New Testament language or Hebrew, which is the Old Testament language, what a blessing it is to be able to read the Bible in the original languages. Now, if all you know is the English translation, it's a good translation. It's accurate. It's coming from the original manuscripts. You're learning what God says in the English. But sometimes when you go back to the original languages, you can see something that you may not may not completely translate from one language to another. And in Romans eight one, if you and I were reading in coin a Greek, you would see that it says here, not one. Therefore, of those who are on Christ, Jesus is condemned. So you might even want to write that down if you're taking notes. You might even want to write that in your Bible, because the emphasis here is on No one.

[00:08:20] Not one. All of us who are in Christ Jesus, not one of us is condemned. Not one of us will be judged when we die. Not one of us is under the sentence of condemnation right now if you are in Christ. Here's something we know you are not. You are not condemned if you are in Christ.

[00:08:41] OK. Now I got like to a men's on that and I clearly raised my voice and I was looking for something. We need that. We need to do a time out right here, right now, OK?

[00:08:51] Because I'm the crazy kind of person that doesn't believe that Easter is a day on the calendar. I think that Jesus is alive right now.

[00:08:59] That's what I believe. See, now your panel, NFA and I, you're getting how it goes here. All right. So I know how it works in American church. Like, we celebrated Easter. We got all excited a couple of weeks ago. Everybody showed up on that Sunday. Right. He said he is risen and everybody shouted.

[00:09:17] Nothing has changed in the last two weeks, my friends. OK.

[00:09:21] We should be having that excitement about the reality that many of us are in this in this room are in Christ Jesus. And that means that we will never, ever be punished for our sins, not now or later. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we're talking about here. OK. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, so the before and after picture is condemnation vs. justification.

[00:09:49] Now, if you're taken notes, we're going to look at two ways to think about the before and the after in Christ from Romans eight. The first one is condemnation vs. justification. OK. Before you are in Christ, you are under condemnation. But in Christ there is no condemnation, only justification. These are opposites of each other. And Paul talks about them a lot here in the Book of Romans. Now, if you've got your hand out and you are taking notes and I love it when you do take notes, you'll notice we have a common typo with the word judgment there at the top of the handout. There is no E in judgment because judgment is not for everyone. Because if you're in Christ, there is no condemnation. So if you could just cross out that e I would greatly appreciate. Yes, I am. One of those people were things like that really bother me. All right. So go with me to Romans, chapter five, verse 16. OK. Because this is where he uses this word for condemnation. It's a rare word only used here. Enrollment's Katta Kareema in the Greek language, and it's here in verse in Romans five, 16 and 18. But let's get the context in Romans 512. So he's this statement, therefore, now not one is condemned in Christ Jesus. That's kind of a climactic statement that he's been building towards in Romans eight one for a while. Look at how he was building his case here in Romans, chapter five, verse 12. Start with me there. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin. And so death spread to all men because all sin. So let's go back to the beginning. Sin came in and it came in through one man. And who was the man that sin came in through? What's his name? Adam. We know him as Adam. The name is actually Hebrew. The word for man is Adam. So the man was named man. That's really how it worked in the Hebrew language.

[00:11:47] We know him as Adam in English. And Adam was there when there was the fall into sin as Satan and the serpent deceived Eve and Adam and Eve took of the fruit and aid of it. And that was the fall of sin. And there was a curse of sin. There's now consequences of sin. Sin is now going to lead to death, and all of us inherit that. We all inherit as human beings a sinful nature. And if you think, well, that's not fair, how come we all have to be sinners? Because Adam sinned while it goes on to say here in verse twelve that death spread to all men and all sinned, that all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. OK. With that foundation now go to verse 16, because it's going to contrast the one man, Adam, that led us all into sin. And then it says here, and the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin for the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation. There's our word. But the free gift following many trespass is brought justification for it because of one man's trespass.

[00:12:58] Death reign through that one man. Much more will those who received the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men. So one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

[00:13:22] You think, well, hey, that's not fair. One man's sins and now we all inherit sin. We'll be glad it's not fair because one man was righteous and now we can all receive the free gift of righteousness.

[00:13:34] And this one man is Jesus Christ. And so we're all born in atah. And what we all need in this life, the salvation of our souls. And which is when we are placed into Christ and when we are placed into Christ, we receive a free gift of his righteousness. It is an abundance of grace. And at that moment that you transfer your trust to Jesus and you believe in him and God saves you, you are declared in heaven by God, not guilty. And you go from under condemnation, under Adam to under justification in the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's get some working definitions down. Condemnation means you're going to be judged for your life. That's what condemnation means. You're going to be judged according to what you have done. You will be held accountable by God for your sin and you will be punished according to your sin. That's what condemnation is judged for the life that you have lived. Justification means you are declared righteous. Through Jesus life. Righteous through Jesus life. So the question comes to every one of us. Do you want to be judged for your life or do you want to be judged for Jesus life?

[00:14:55] And when you transfer your trust to Jesus and his perfect track record of righteousness, being the one from God who took on flesh, but he perfectly fulfilled the law of God, he measured up to the glory of God.

[00:15:10] When you trust in Jesus is amazing, transaction takes place where God judge Jesus for all of your sin. He treated Jesus as you deserved. And then he gives you all of Christ's righteousness and he treats you as if you were his son. Jesus Christ.

[00:15:31] So that is the before and after. Right there we go from being condemned in the line of Adam because of our sin. We're all going to die. And then we are placed into the line of Christ. We are declared righteous by God in heaven. We are not guilty. We now have this righteousness and we have eternal life in Jesus Christ. That's the before and after of every single Christian person here in this room. And he's really been build in this case. He he has been taking a lot of time to explain condemnation. He uses multiple words that are all translated condemnation in English. He uses different words here in the Book of Romans in the Greek language, because he's been trying to help us see we're all condemned in our sin. The only way out of sin for anybody is to get this free gift of righteousness in Jesus Christ. This legal declaration of God that you are justified. You are not guilty.

[00:16:30] So I got to ask you, when you live your life, even when you sin, even when you remember sins of the past, even when you sin in the present. Do you know that you're not guilty, that God has already justified you, that if you're in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation in your life?

[00:16:49] Where do you start putting back on that old guilt, start wearing around that old shame, start letting those doubts and those fears creep in? When you think about dying or you think about meeting Jesus, maybe if he returned.

[00:17:02] If you consider some kind of day of judgment to, you know, right now you're not guilty, you'll never be condemned.

[00:17:09] Or do you sometimes wonder how this is all going to work out? The Bible is teaching you who you are in Christ.

[00:17:16] And it's saying if you're in Christ, here's what you should think. No condemnation.

[00:17:19] Not one of us in Christ is under any sentence of condemnation.

[00:17:25] Now go back to Romans Chapter one and look at verse 17, because this is the theme that he's building towards. He wants to teach us how to be righteous. And the way that we're righteous is by faith in Jesus Christ. The only way to be justified is through our faith. And he says that right after Romans won 16, where he says he's not ashamed of the gospel because it's the power of God to save us. He says enrollment's 117 four in it. The righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith as it is written. The righteous shall live by face. What he is going to do in this letter is he's going to teach us the good news of Jesus. And if you believe in Jesus, if you trust in him, you will be declared righteous. You will be right with God in a relationship with him. Now, before he gets to that, he spends a lot of time in Chapter one, Chapter two and Chapter three convincing us that we start out in this life under condemnation.

[00:18:28] That's who we were before Christ.

[00:18:30] And then after Christ, we experience being not guilty in justification. And so in Romans one 18, look at it. He says, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. Against all on godliness and unrighteousness of men. Hey, let's just make it very clear. This is how it works. People are living their lives in sin, in open rebellion against what God has said in his word. And God's wrath is definitely coming against unrighteousness. There is judgment that is coming. We have not seen it yet. We have not seen the full manifestation of the judgment of God. But God is keeping track of everything that everybody is doing. And there is punishment that is coming. The Bible is clear about this. And he says here a one of the ways you can even see the judgment of God is watch that slippery slope that happens in dissin. And he describes it here in Romans one. And if you read Romans one versus 18 to 32 and then you compare it to the last one hundred years of American history, you can see it has happened in America. What it says will happen here in Romans one. The first step is people will stop believing in God. They'll turn away from a faith in God and an understanding of the reality of God through creation. And they'll deny the glory of God and they'll start to worship the creatures rather than the creator. That's a first step. Then you'll see God give people over to their luss. God give people over to their sexual morality. Then you'll see God. And now these people, they're in sin and they're acting like it's right. They're acting like it's fine. Instead of being justified in Jesus, they're justifying themselves in their sin and watch. Gotta give them over to homosexuality. That's what it says here in Romans one. And then finally, he'll give them over to a debased mind where they don't even know how to think right and wrong. They're just thinking completely opposite of the way that God designed life to be. And he describes this whole process. And he says, you're going to see it play out in the way that people go as they turn away from God. And then he says this enrollment's to verse one. Look at this. You gotta see this. This is a this is a key part of condemnation, understanding the before of condemnation. It says Romans two one. Therefore, you have no excuse. So, man, every one of you who judges for in passing judgment on another, you condemn yourself. Because you, the judge, practice the very same things. Wow. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, oh, man. You who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God. You see, what what Paul does here in his letter is it's masterful. It's a great work of writing here. He describes people who are living open lives of sin.

[00:21:30] And he knows how the Jews of his day, maybe the church people of our day, conservative people, people trying to live moral lives. We're looking at people out there in the world and the way they're living, celebrating evil, having pride about sin in their lives. And we're thinking, yeah, that's wrong. And notice how he just flip the script right on us. And he says, oh, you can judge other people. Guess what that proves about you.

[00:21:52] You know, right and wrong. You know, a sense of evaluation. Oh, you know that there are things that God does expect us to live.

[00:22:01] And here you are evaluating other people and seeing they fall short when look, you fall short yourself. When you live a life of judgment on other people, you condemn your self. That's what he said.

[00:22:15] Let's get that down as one of our dashes here. That's something we need to see from the Book of Romans about condemnation.

[00:22:21] If you judge others, you condemn yourself. See you, you admit that you see the standard.

[00:22:28] You see how it works, that God has a design for how we're supposed to live. And people aren't living up to it. And guess what? You don't live up to it either.

[00:22:37] So there's a strong warning here, a strong statement about judging others when you're when you're going around her and driving around, when you're seeing people at the restaurant. When you're watching what's going on on the news and you're tempted to start throwing a lot of shade at other people for the way that they're living, just remind yourself that means that, you know, right and wrong in the person that you should be evaluating is yourself.

[00:23:03] Not other people.

[00:23:05] In fact, there's a lot of hypocrisy. He's point now here that people are quick to judge others. People can easily see the sin in their spouses life or their children's life or their coworkers life. But why is it so hard to see the sin in our own life?

[00:23:21] And saying, hey, that's a side of people who are under condemnation, they're spewing out judgment, not even fully realizing they are under judgment themself. So it's a strong word against that, that even the people who might seem moral or might consider themselves righteous, even those people are condemned before God's standard. And then in Romans three, verse 10, look at it, enrollment's three, verse 10 as it is written.

[00:23:51] Non is righteous.

[00:23:54] No. What does it say there? No, not one.

[00:23:58] OK.

[00:24:00] Now, there was a great pastor and preacher who died this last week, and his name was Warren Weir's be anybody heard of Warren Weir's be before? If you haven't heard of him, but you've gone to church. You've probably heard one of the things that he taught. I mean, this guy preached all over the place. He wrote so many books, a lot of pastors, a lot of preachers have read his commentaries, read his books, have said what he said without probably ever quoting him. And this guy, he was a real man of God who really made an impact in the Church of Jesus in what he said about Romans Chapter eight, verse one is the reason we needed and not one is going to be condemned in Christ is because we had a not one is righteous here. Enrollment's 310.

[00:24:45] And so under under condemnation, under the way we are born in our sin, there is not one who is righteous. Even if we compare ourselves in judging other people, no one lives up to the standard of God.

[00:24:58] But now that we're in Christ Jesus, after we've been justified, declared righteous, not guilty, there is not one of us who will be condemned.

[00:25:10] That's the message.

[00:25:11] So he, Paul, works to establish that there's not one who is righteous. And then he talks about how to be in Christ and then the after. What we're looking at today is that if you are in Christ Jesus, there is not one of us in Christ who will experience condemnation. Not now and not on the day of judgment.

[00:25:33] Thrown with me to Romans, Chapter eight. Let's go back to that and look at some of the verses here. And let me just try to encourage you here this morning. If you're one of the people who's not sure what's going to happen to you on on Judgment Day, well, if you have trusted in Jesus, if you've put your faith in Jesus, if you've asked God to save you through his son, Jesus Christ, well, then who is going to judge you on that day? Who actually has the authority to condemn?

[00:26:03] And Romans eight brings these questions up here in versus 33 and 34. Look at what it says here. Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

[00:26:12] So let's think this through the day of judgment. Who is going to judge you on Judgment Day? Well, God definitely has the authority as the creator. He can judge the heavens and the earth that he has made. Well, is God who's going to bring any charge against God's elect?

[00:26:26] It is God who justifies if God has declared you in Christ right now, here today, to be not guilty. He's not going to tell you you're guilty when you get there.

[00:26:38] Look what it says in verse 34. Who is to condemn? Who's gonna. Who's the one who's really going to pronounce the sentence of condemnation? Who's the one that sits on the great white throne? Well, if you read Revelation, Jesus Christ is the one who sits there on the throne to judge while Christ Jesus is the one who died.

[00:26:56] More than that. Who was raised? Who is at the right hand of God? Who indeed is interceding for us.

[00:27:03] Do you think that Jesus is going to judge you and condemn you someday when actually he's the one who died on the cross and he shed his blood to pay for your soul when he is the one who rose from the dead and left that empty tomb behind so that you could have a new eternal life right now?

[00:27:21] Jesus is at the right hand of God. He's claiming you personally to be one of his people. And every single time that you pray, Jesus intercedes for you, claims you as his own so that your prayer gets heard by the father in heaven.

[00:27:35] And he answered here on earth, Jesus has been claiming you ever since you got saved. He's not going to deny you on the day of judgment. If God has said you're righteous and Jesus died so you could be righteous, there's nobody left to condemn you.

[00:27:52] That's what it says here. God wants you to know this.

[00:27:57] He wants you to know that there is no condemnation in your life. There is only righteousness through faith in Christ. God wants you to know the next time you sin when your or your past comes back to haunt your present. God wants you to know in your heart that you are not guilty.

[00:28:17] It doesn't want you spending time in the penalty box.

[00:28:20] He doesn't want you getting back out. That guilt and shame. He doesn't want you questioning and doubting your salvation. God wants you to know that if you're in Christ.

[00:28:29] Look, let's talk about that after let's talk about what that really means to be a Christian, because in that place, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. That's where we got to learn to think about ourselves. That's the way we got to see ourselves.

[00:28:45] God sees me as righteous Jesus died so that I could be given his free gift of righteousness. That's the way that God sees me. And nothing in this world can change that. God holds me in his hand. He will never let me go.

[00:29:02] And no one can snatch me out of the father's hand. I can't even get myself out of that hand. If God said that I'm not guilty, then that is how it is. And that's what Romans, a one, is is trying to encourage you with this one. It's trying to make sure that that's how you think about yourself.

[00:29:23] Now, it doesn't stop there, though, what it says here in these next few verses is amazing. Look at versus two, three in four. Let's continue to see here the flow of thought. And let's just end with that last dash there, that last dash of the first point. Right. No one will judge you if you know Jesus. We want you to know that, you know, Jesus, that you've put your faith in him. I want you to know that that's one of my great desires. One of my great prayers for every single person who's saved here at this church. I want you to know that, you know, Jesus that he knows you on that last day. You are not going to hear Jesus say, depart from me. I never knew you. You're going to hear Jesus say welcome in good and faithful servant. And you're going to know that you've known Jesus for a long time before that day where you actually meet him, stand before him that day of judgment. And when you know, you know, Jesus, who's left to condemn you, that's the encouragement we're trying to hand out. Now, look at how it gets even more specific here in verse two for the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus. So we know verse one talks about those who are in Christ Jesus. Now, verse two is explaining to us what it means to be in Christ Jesus, that we have the spirit of life that has set us free from the law of sin and death.

[00:30:46] Now, this is what our series is all about, verse three. God has done what the law.

[00:30:52] Weakened by the flesh could not do, OK?

[00:30:55] That's what we're here to celebrate. That's how we want to think.

[00:30:58] God has done what we in our flesh, in our sinful nature. Trying to keep the law being under the law.

[00:31:05] God has done for us what we could never do by ourselves in what is God done. Look at this statement right here. By sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh.

[00:31:24] OK, so you will not experience condemnation because God has condemned sin in the flesh. Now, I don't know if you really thought that through sin.

[00:31:36] Got condemned in the flesh when God took all of that wrath, all of that wrath that he was storing up for the day of judgment.

[00:31:45] See, see, that's what how. That's how condemnation works when you do sin. It's all being stored up for this great day of wrath. And sometimes you'll hear the eighth year, you'll hear the skeptic they'll throw out. Well, if there's really a God and there's really saying, why doesn't he just strike me dead? When when he since. Well, that's not how God works. Praise God. That's not how he works. Or I don't know who would be here at this service right now. Right. God doesn't judge us right away when we sin. No Romans to talks about. It's the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. It's the forbearance where he overlooks sins. It's a patience of God, where he has long suffering and he endures or sin because God doesn't want people to perish. He doesn't want them to be judged. He doesn't want them to be condemned.

[00:32:29] God actually wants to save people. And so he gives people an opportunity not to perish in their sin, but to repent of their sin.

[00:32:39] And it's God's kindness that is giving people that chance to turn from their sin and to trust in Jesus. How long did God put up with your sin?

[00:32:53] How how long was the before before there was an after in Christ in your life? How much patience did God have? Maybe you knew you were in open Sindel whole time. Maybe you were deceived thinking you were fine with God when really you were not four years of your life. How long was God patient with you?

[00:33:13] And instead of getting that wrath that you deserve for all that sin that was being stored up. God actually took all of that wrath and he poured it out on his one and only son, Jesus Christ. And he when Jesus took on Flush. He condemned sin in the flesh when he judged Jesus instead of you. So your sin had to be condemned, but because you're now in Christ, where God has already done what the law could not do.

[00:33:47] He condemned sin in the flesh through his son that he sent Jesus. You are now out of condemnation because Jesus experienced that wrath of God on your behalf.

[00:34:00] Jesus was judged so you would never have to be.

[00:34:04] I mean, this is an amazing thing that it's saying here by sending his son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. He condemns sin in the flesh. Now, verse four, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.

[00:34:21] OK, so here's here's how human history worked. God creates us. Everything is good. Adam falls into sin. Now death reigns as the consequence for sin. And if you read Genesis, it's kind of brutal to read because a lot of it's just a story. And this guy lived for this many years and then he died. I mean, it's just a story of death. Like, yeah, this guy lived. And then he died. And this guy lived. And he died. Nobody's cheating death in the whole book of Genesis. In fact, if you read through Genesis 50 chapters long, everybody dies. That's the home story of the book. There's only one character who survives the entire book of Genesis. All the different generations. All the time. Who's the one character who survived?

[00:35:00] God himself. And so then he gives the law to Moses.

[00:35:03] And what the Lord does is the law reveals. Why are we have sin and why we die? Because we're falling short of God's glory.

[00:35:11] And then what God does is he reveals his son, who is the one who actually comes to perfectly fulfill the law. The one who actually dies in our place. So now we can be saved from death and having to keep the law ourselves.

[00:35:25] He's condemned sin in the flesh. And then it says that righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled now in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the law.

[00:35:39] So let's get that down for a second before and after picture here.

[00:35:42] It's flesh versus spirit, flesh versus spirit. OK.

[00:35:48] And this is what he's he's saying, hey, you don't have any condemnation in Christ because in Christ Jesus, God already has done what the law could never do. And he condemns sin in the flesh. Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law.

[00:36:04] He established that perfect fulfillment of the law. He also satisfied God's wrath when he died on the cross, when he was judged for our sin. And so now you have this spirit, the spirit of Christ, the spirit of life in you. And you don't have to live according to the flesh, according to your sinful nature, always trying to do the work of the law but never able to do it. You can actually now live by the spirit and have the life of God. The life of Jesus is now in you.

[00:36:34] That's what it means to be in Christ Jesus.

[00:36:38] So what I'm about to say here may not be what you were thinking walking in through the door. I just talked to somebody after the last service and it's clear what they've heard. And what we're about to read here in scripture are two different things. And here's what we have heard as Christians in Southern California in the year of our lord. Twenty nineteen. What you have probably heard if you've been at church for a while, is that we cannot go back and forth in our life from being in the flesh to being in the spirit, almost like kind of a light switch that can be turned on and off.

[00:37:11] And sometimes the light is shining and sometimes it's darkness. Sometimes you're living in the flesh and sometimes you're living in the spirit.

[00:37:20] We've heard that we kind of go back and forth in different days, even different hours of different days. We're kind of walking in different ways. Let's see if that's actually what the scripture says here in Romans Chapter eight. Let's see if that's actually what it says. Look at verse five here says, 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 for to set the mind on the flesh is death. But to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law.

[00:37:56] Indeed it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

[00:38:05] You, however, are not in the flesh, but in you see what it says there. That's different than what I've heard. What I've heard at church.

[00:38:18] It says, hey, before the picture of somebody, before they're in Christ, that's a picture of someone in the flesh. The picture of someone after they're in Christ.

[00:38:28] That's a picture of the spirit. Verse nine. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. And then he brings this up, if, in fact, the spirit of God dwells in you.

[00:38:44] So two things that we need to learn. This is how Paul writes in and we're reading through Galatians. OK. You want to talk about the the contrast between the flesh and the spirit. If you're reading through our scripture of the day, you're reading through the New Testament with us. Tomorrow we're going to read Galatians five together. Go and read about the contrast that you're either in the flesh or you're in the spirit.

[00:39:05] It's one or the other.

[00:39:07] And so he's writing to teach us who we are in Christ. But now here's a second thing that we need to see. Not only do Christians need to be taught to really understand what it means to be in Christ, but he's not assuming that everybody here is even a Christian. He's not assuming that everybody in the church or in Rome is really in Christ.

[00:39:26] Now, he definitely thinks this is a church of Jesus and there's believers there. He has a hope at the beginning of Romans to come and see them because he wants to be encouraged by their mutual faith. But look what he says here. If, in fact, the spirit of God dwells in you, anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you.

[00:39:49] So not only do Christians need to be taught who they are in Christ, but some who gather together with Christians may not really have the Holy Spirit.

[00:40:01] He doesn't assume that everybody at church has saved.

[00:40:05] This is how the Bible talks. This is how the New Testament letters are written, they're trying to clarify all the time what it means to be in Christ so that we as Christians can really know it and live it out.

[00:40:16] And so that those who are here among us who are not Christians can see clearly that they are still in the flesh. And if the church is going around saying, hey, we all go back and forth, flesh and spirit, flesh and spirit, how confusing is that, everybody?

[00:40:31] Do you. Does that explain the American church where there's all kinds of people claiming to have the power of God but not really able to live by the spirit working in them?

[00:40:42] Because we're not saying what the Bible says.

[00:40:45] We're not acting like we need to be taught and we're not acknowledging the reality that the New Testament church mentions throughout the books of the New Testament that not everyone who is with us is really of us.

[00:40:58] And this is one of the clarifying things. Are you still living according to the flesh? Or are you now living in Christ according to the spirit?

[00:41:06] Are you still, by your own willpower, trying to live up to the law? But never able to get there by what you could never do? Or have you trusted in what God has done, the fulfillment of the law in Jesus, the sacrifice of his death to pay for sin? And now you have the spirit of God in you. Who causes you now to walk according to the power of the spirit, not your own natural life, but the spiritual life that God has put in you by the Person of the Holy Spirit.

[00:41:39] Look what it says here in verse 10. Look at how it describes you. It says, But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness.

[00:41:50] If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit. Who dwells in you?

[00:42:03] This is the reality of being in Christ. That Jesus promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to in the world to live in.

[00:42:11] All of us who are in Christ.

[00:42:15] The way that you are able to live as a Christian is not you trying to do it. It's actually the spirit working and bringing the life of God in you. That's how it happens. It's awesome to see believers, new Christians, whose lives are really changing. It's one of the great privileges of my life of getting to be the pastor here with you. When you see people who get saved. It's almost like they're like, can you believe I'm even able to do these things?

[00:42:43] Can you believe I can say no to that sin? Can you believe I can finally tell that person the gospel of Jesus? Can you believe what God's doing in my life? And it's almost like they're they're realizing I'm not doing it. God is doing it in me.

[00:42:57] It's the power of his spirit. Working in us. That's the only way any of us are able to live this life that God has called us to. Now I really need you to see versus 12 to 17 here, because what we want to get into now is assurance of your salvation. How can you know?

[00:43:20] This confidence that there's going to be no condemnation and you're not guilty. The spirit is going to be the key to your assurance. Look what it says here in Romans. Eight twelve. So then brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. Don't think you owe your sinful nature anything. Don't think you have to keep giving in to that sin.

[00:43:42] Don't think that way. Oh, nothing to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will. What does it say there? Die.

[00:43:51] That doesn't sound likes the hope of salvation and eternal life. But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the spirit of God, are sons of God, for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.

[00:44:11] But you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry. AABA father. The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. So you don't know anything to the flesh. You don't have to keep living that old way. Stop thinking that way. No, by the power of the spirit in your life. Put to death those deeds of the body. Put to death. That way you used to live and walk now be led now by the power of the spirit. And everybody who has the spirit working in them all, who are led by the Spirit of God, are Sons of God.

[00:44:59] So that means you've been adopted into the family of God.

[00:45:02] And you can now call on our father in heaven who loves you, who gave his son for you, and you now are a co air with Christ, that the inheritance that the father has to give to his son is also going to be given to you. You're going to experience the riches of grace that is in Jesus Christ. The eternal inheritance of heaven will be yours in Christ and the spirit. This is the key verse 16. The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit.

[00:45:36] You want to know how you can have assurance of salvation.

[00:45:39] You want to know how you're gonna be able to know that you're no longer living in the flesh, but the spirit of God is now the one living in you. The spirit is the only one who can give assurance to your spirit.

[00:45:53] So a lot of people want assurance of their salvation. And that's a good thing to want. That's something that I would desire for every single one of us.

[00:46:02] This rock solid confidence that I will not be judged because in Christ, I am not guilty. I want everybody here to know that. And really, we are the one group of people that has the chance of knowing that.

[00:46:18] I mean, if you want to call us a religion, whatever you want to call those of us who have our faith in Jesus Christ, other religions do not offer confidence for after you die or when you meet God on the day of judgment.

[00:46:32] No other religion offers assurance of salvation in this life.

[00:46:39] I mean, if you want to talk about religion, it's like like let's talk about Buddhism that happens right down the street here in Little Saigon, that everybody come in from Vietnam. That's their their cultural background. That is where they end, whether they believe in Buddhism or not. And I've met some people who are devout Buddhists and they are working so hard to be good to follow the way of Buddha. And they're hoping that in the next slide, they're going to move up. They're hoping that in the next life they might actually achieve nirvana. And I've talked to Buddhists and I've asked them and they've told me Buddha promises me nothing. I mean, these people are working hard every single day to try to spread love and do the right thing.

[00:47:19] And they have no confidence of getting anything for it in the next life. They're just hopeless. They're working so hard but having no hope.

[00:47:29] Let's talk about Islam. Let's talk about Muslims all over the world. There's the five pillars of Islam. There's these things that you have to do if you're going to be in paradise. It's totally based on what you do. Let's talk about all the Colts, all of those who would claim to be Christians. But instead of just believing in Jesus Christ and being justified by faith, they add works and they say, you got to be baptized like this. You've got to be a part of the church like this. You got to do all these things.

[00:48:00] There is only one group of people on planet Earth that can have a confidence of what's gonna happen in eternity. And it's us.

[00:48:08] The spirit will give assurance to your spirit. It's spiritual.

[00:48:15] I mean, even that smug atheist who acts like they know nothing happens after that, after death. No, they don't know that.

[00:48:24] You can't know what is going to happen in the spiritual realm unless you have the spirit of God in you, giving assurance to your spirit, first of all, making you alive. And then leading you.

[00:48:39] So don't go looking for assurance anywhere else than the Holy Spirit. We have him. He can give it to us. But still, I see Christians trying to think, what have I done the right things to know I'm saved.

[00:48:52] And I see people looking for assurance in some prayer that they prayed when they were a child.

[00:48:57] I see people looking for assurance in some event that they went to where they walked in. I'll add some event that past experience that happened in their life and they're hoping that they're saved today because something that happened in the past. No, the Bible tells us that God has done what we could never do. If you're hoping that you did something to get saved, you'll never have assurance.

[00:49:18] That's how it works.

[00:49:21] There is no assurance and anything that we've done because there's nothing that we've done to get saved.

[00:49:28] You know where a lot of people are looking for assurance today, they're looking for it and other people. Lance, the people, what they think about if they're saved or not. There's only one kind of assurance that you can get from other people. False assurance. She only kind of assurance other people can give you. It doesn't really matter what somebody else's opinion about your soul is, they don't really know your soul.

[00:49:56] Now, now, now going to get. Let's just be very clear about this, you talk to other people and they use the word of God and the truth of God to not express their personal opinion, but to declare authoritatively what God says it means to be in Christ or not in Christ. The Holy Spirit could use those words in somebody else help. And you get in the word. The Holy Spirit could use that to give you assurance. But what's going on? A lot of times today is people just telling you what they think.

[00:50:25] People just immediately acting like, oh, of course, you're a Christian, of course you've been saved.

[00:50:31] People say that all the time. Of course, you're safe.

[00:50:35] And I've seen a lot of people led astray because somebody, maybe even one of their parents, maybe even one of their family members said, no, you are saved. And they're believing that they're saved because so and so said. So the only person that you want to listen to telling you you're saved is the Holy Spirit of the living God. I mean, if you haven't experienced it yet, you will if you stick around the Church of Jesus Christ long enough here on Earth that there is somebody, you would have you would have been sure you would have been like 100 percent. That person's a brother in Christ. That person's a sister in Jesus. Like, we're going we're charge in the pearly gates together. We're gonna walk on the string streets of gold. We're gonna be singing praises to Jesus forever together in heaven. And all of a sudden it becomes revealed that there are things going on in their life that you never even knew about.

[00:51:26] And am I talking to anybody here?

[00:51:29] And we were just seeing what they wanted us to see, there were secrets that they kept in the privacy of their own heart, that no matter how many questions or how much love we poured out on them, we could have never pried into.

[00:51:42] Because they're spiritual things.

[00:51:46] So I want to encourage you to not seek approval from other people as to whether you're saved or not. And I want to encourage you not to give your personal opinion about what you think about other people.

[00:51:58] Because there's a work of the spirit is what the scriptures saying. I mean, look at it there in verse sixteen. The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. That's where assurance comes from, not anything we've done.

[00:52:13] Not anything that other people say assurance comes from God himself as his spirit is working in us. Let's get this down for our first dash.

[00:52:23] Assurance is found in the adoption of the father.

[00:52:27] Assurance is found in the adoption of the father, the spirit will convince you that you are a child of God, that you have a relationship with the father in heaven, that you really have experienced the love of the father through his son, Jesus Christ. And you are going to be there with the father. You're going to inherit all things in eternity. The spirit is the one who will convince you.

[00:52:51] Okay, so the spirit uses the truth, the word of God, that he inspired men to write and he illuminates us to understand it. And the spirit is the only one who can really convince you about the state of your soul. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. He's the only one who can show people that they are not saved and they are in their sin in the flesh. And they are trying to do what cannot be done by live up to the law of God, the spirits. The only one who can open people's eyes to see the glory of the gospel in the face of Jesus Christ.

[00:53:30] And in the same way, for us who are believers, the spirit is the one who gives us assurance of our salvation.

[00:53:38] He will use this word to either convict us of sin and show us that we need to be saved, or he will use this to assure us of our salvation and lead us down a life of righteousness. The spirit uses the word in a profound and spiritual way.

[00:53:55] And so if you're confused about where you're at with God. Yes, I would recommend talking to somebody, but only with Bibles open as they explain to you what God says from his word. That's how you're going to find assurance. Over to first, John, Chapter four, look at what it says, and first, Sean for 13. All right. First, Sean is written so that those of us who believe in Jesus, churchgoing folk like us here at this service here today, that we could know that we have eternal life. OK, so. So let's talk for a second about assurance of salvation. And let me talk to my brothers and sisters who are tempted to have fear about the coming judgment or tempted to doubt their salvation in a present sense.

[00:54:41] OK, because it said in Romans eight, hey, we have not this slavery to go back to fear. It's going to talk about fear here.

[00:54:49] And first, John, for 13 to 18, there is this fear that can come upon people who really have been saved and they are in Christ. But then they're tempted to be afraid of judgment or afraid of death or to doubt if they're even saved. And a lot of times the way it can work is somebody is walking around and they're under the sentence of condemnation, but they think they're fine. They think they're right with God. They're live in their life. They don't see their sin for what it is. And then maybe they hear a sermon like this one or they see the word of God come alive in front of their eyes. And all of a sudden they realize that they're still in sin and they need God to save them. And they cry out for his mercy and grace. And please don't judge me in my saying, please give me that new life in Jesus Christ. And they experience salvation. But for so long in their life, they were just assuming they were fine with God. And now when they really are fine with God, they're tempted to all of a sudden bring some doubt or some fear with them.

[00:55:50] And they're tempted to think, what did I really do enough to get saved? Has my life really changed enough? And they start to evaluate what they do when they go up to other people at church and they're like, hey, how do you really know if you're safe? Do you think I'm saved? And so if you're one of those people, hey, let me encourage you. That's something that believers can struggle with. They can do. They can have this sensation of fear. And the way that you're going to grow out of that, the one who's going to help you out of that is the Holy Spirit. And you got to look to him for help. Look what it says here at first, John, for 13 says by this, we know that we abide in him and he and us. So this is talking about this kind of assurance, this kind of confidence. You want to know how you know that you have a relationship with God, that he's your father, that Christ is in you and uring Christ says here because he has given us of his what? So once again, when it's talking about assurance, who does it direct us to? The spirit. That's where you're going to find it.

[00:56:55] Verse 14, and we have seen and testify that the father has sent his son to be the savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God. God abides in him and he and God. Now, John's rightness as an eyewitness, because he actually got to see the grace of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He actually got to see the glory of God put on flesh. He saw Jesus. It is glorified state. He saw the resurrected Lord Jesus after he saw him die on the cross. I mean, John was an eyewitness.

[00:57:24] But what's amazing is he says whoever confesses, whoever can see that Jesus is the son of God. If you really can believe in Jesus, if you know the gospel to be true. And I would testify that for many of us here in this room this morning that I've never seen Jesus with my eyes. I didn't see him die on the cross. I didn't I didn't see him after he got out of that tomb. But I can see that Jesus is alive. Can I get any man from anybody on that?

[00:57:50] I mean, I have an Easter mindset and I don't know how I got it, except for the spirit of the living. God opened my eyes to see it, and he revealed the gospel to me.

[00:58:02] And he came in and now he and dwells me.

[00:58:05] There's no other way that I would really know that I know God, that I would really be able to confess. Jesus to be the son of God and thank my entire eternity and give my entire life to trusting in Jesus unless the spirit did that.

[00:58:22] And it says here in verse 16. So we have come to no one to believe the love that God has for us.

[00:58:29] God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him by this is love perfected with us so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear for fear has to do with punishment.

[00:58:54] And whoever fears has not been perfected in love. Let's get this down for our last dash here if you're taking notes. Perfect love casts out fear of punishment. If you're if you're tempted to have fear of the day of judgment, if you're tempted to doubt your salvation as a believer in Jesus Christ, what you're going to grow in, what you're going to mature Maturi, what's going to help you out of that is not anything that you've done or anything that anybody else says.

[00:59:25] It's the reality that God loves you.

[00:59:29] And the only one who can assure your spirit of the love of the father and that you're one of the children of God, that you've been adopted by his love, that you're now a co-chair with Christ is the Holy Spirit.

[00:59:42] And so as you grow, as you mature in your relationship with God, not as you try harder or do better in your life. Now, as you see the spirit really working in your life, really teaching you about that relationship that you have with God, the father in Christ, Jesus, the son, as you come to understand how much God loves you. That love of God will cast out that fear in your life. You know, there's a group of Christians that are going around in the American church and they're referring to themselves as Dout filled believers. And they're saying that we as Christians should embrace the doubt that is common to human beings and we should embrace that part of your life.

[01:00:28] I want to strongly encourage everybody here. Don't be a doubtful believer.

[01:00:33] Be a spirit filled believer. Because the spirit will give you assurance. And when the spirit does his work to convince you that God loves you, you have a relationship with the father.

[01:00:48] That knowledge of the love of God. That is what's going to cast out that fear and doubt in your life.

[01:00:57] So there will be believers here among us who will overthink things, and when they sin, they will go back to doubting if they have ever been saved.

[01:01:08] And as you understand, the love that God has for you and that he did all of the work to save you when he already condemned sin in the flesh and he already poured out that wrath on Jesus, as you hear sermons like this one, you will become more confident in the love of God and you will have less fear in your life.

[01:01:30] You know, there's that classic scenario, and I don't know where it comes from, it doesn't come from the Bible, but there's that picture of the pearly gates and St. Peter's there. And it's like the question, why should you get led into heaven? Has anybody heard that one before? I don't know why St. Peter is all of a sudden put as the judge of of your soul. Right. Poor guy. Right. Being put in that position. Right.

[01:01:53] I don't know why we always pick up St. Peter's at the gates. Why should he let you win?

[01:02:01] The reality is you can know the answer to that right now, you can know it with confidence that there would be in your heart, no fear of death, no fear of meeting Jesus that you would know that in Christ there is no condemnation in Christ. I have the spirit. The spirit would give you a sense of assurance if you were standing before some hypothetical Pearly Gate interview with St. Peter and the question was brought to you, why should you get let in?

[01:02:28] You should be able to say with rock solid confidence in your soul. I should not be let in.

[01:02:35] There's no way that I should be here. There's nothing that I could ever do to get here. But let me tell you that I am in Jesus Christ and Jesus died to pay for all of my sins. And he rose again to give me a new life.

[01:02:48] And there's no way I could not be here because I'm not guilty in Jesus as we everyone you can know that right now, we don't need to wait till Judgment Day to find out where you're at.

[01:03:03] The spirit will reveal it to you right here today. And he will give you assurance that God loves you and will welcome you in as one of his kids ready to receive the inheritance of the father or the spirit will convict you. And you realize that all you've got is that before picture. All you've got is a picture of judgment and a walking in the flesh. The spirit is the one who reveals it. See, God sees differently than you and I do. So when I'm looking at you right now and you're looking at me, all we see is the external experience appearance, all we see is what's on the outside the eyes of the Lord run to and fro over the earth.

[01:03:41] And he sees past your flesh and your bones. And he sees straight to your soul. And God can see everybody in this room right now. And there are only two types of people here. There are those who are still in their sin in the flesh. And there are those who are in Christ, in the spirit, and God knows where every one of us is. And there is no middle line, there's no somebody who's close. There's no somebody who's kind of there. There's no somebody who's gonna go try a little harder and get a little closer this next week. No God has done in Jesus what you will never be able to do.

[01:04:16] Do you know which side you're on?

[01:04:19] Because if you are in Christ. The Bible is very clear, the Holy Spirit wants you to know that you are no longer guilty of your sin. And you are no longer under any kind of judgment and that you now have the love of God poured out on you, that you have the spirit of God in you, that you are now in Christ. And that means, for all of eternity, not guilty.

[01:04:45] Judgment is done for you.

[01:04:49] And if you feel like, oh, I don't know that I'm there. Well, don't leave here. Just wondering about. I encourage you. Let's let's sit down and let's talk through Romans eight. Let's talk through Galatians five. Let's let the spirit. Convict you of your sin and make it clear to you that you need Jesus Christ? Or let's let the spirit assure you that you are in Christ. Because when we get to heaven, it's not going to be a day of a fear. It's not gonna be a day of wondering what is going to happen when we get to heaven, when we all get to heaven. What a day of rejoicing that will be. See, the day that you die or the day that Jesus returns and you meet Jesus and you are made like him, that will be the greatest day of your life.

[01:05:36] That will be the day that, you know, finally. Fully. What it really means to be in Christ.

[01:05:44] And even now, you can look forward to it. You can long for it. The Bible says that God doesn't want anybody to perish. He's patient with sinners. He wants them to repent. But the Bible also says precious to the Lord, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints, his righteous ones, those he has justified.

[01:06:06] God loves it when the not guilty die, because then they get to experience the fullness of who they are in Christ, in the presence of the father forever. Now, when we all get to have. We are going to have such joy because in Christ there will be no condemnation and the life, the spiritual life, the life of the age to come, the life that we have through the spirit now in us will be experienced to the fullness of ourselves. You should look forward to this day because you are in Jesus. Let me pray for you. Father in heaven, can we confess that too often we think we already know what it means to be a Christian and father? We confess that too often we just assume that everybody's a Christian. And we thank you for this passage in Romans eight that could give us such clarity. It could really renew our minds and transform our thinking that the spirit could really be doing his work in us and God.

[01:07:08] I know sometimes people feel condemnation. Some part times people even put through an experience on themselves of condemnation. But God help us to believe here today that in Christ there is no condemnation.

[01:07:21] God help us to hear you declare us righteous, not guilty. Because we are now seeing. In the righteousness of Christ. And he's already paid for all of our sin, it's already been condemned so that we will not be condemned. God, I pray for all my brothers and sisters that your spirit would do a mighty work here among us.

[01:07:43] And I pray that you would give them assurance of their salvation.

[01:07:48] God, I pray that they would know the full joy of being safe. Full joy of having a relationship with you. That when they call you father, they can know it's true and they can know that you may discipline them in your love, but you will never punish them.

[01:08:04] Because you are their father and you've adopted them to be your son and your daughter. God, I pray for those who can see clearly right now that all they have is the before Christ. Picture.

[01:08:17] But they're still under that sense of judgment that they're still walking in the flesh. God, I pray that even now they would cry out to you for salvation in the name of Jesus Christ that they would turn from. They're saying to you and especially father, that they would trust that there's nothing they could do. But they would trust in what Jesus has already done to save the.

[01:08:39] We know that the angels in heaven rejoice when even one center here on earth repents God, we pray that you would save a center right now here among us, that somebody would repent here in this service this morning and that this room would be filled with rejoice, that we would be able to say here today when we all get to have what a day of rejoicing that will be, we pray this Jesus Amen.

RELATED

[bibblio style="bib--split bib--row-4 bib--font-arial bib--size-18 bib--wide bib--image-top bib__module" query_string_params="e30=" recommendation_type="related"]