SERMON SPOTLIGHT * 6/28/26
No more condemnation! AMAZING! Now we live according to the Spirit. But what does that look like? Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.
SERIES: Romans: The Power of God in the Gospel of Christ
TEXT: Romans 8:1-13
TITLE: Life in the Spirit
PREACHER: Tim Lambros
BIG IDEA: The indwelling of the Holy Spirit brings freedom, transformation & life.
POINTS:
I. True Liberation
II. Spirit Powered Transformation
III. The Spiritual Life
SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.
”Romans 8:1 is a popular memory verse, a fighter verse for many people. It should be. It’s a powerful truth that we can all surely benefit from. Notice Paul’s logic in this brief put powerful truth. THERE IS THERFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION… Therefore is the connecting word to the all the truths previously unpacked. Read Romans 7:6. But pay attention to the word NOW. If there is NOW no condemnation - that implies previously there was. This echoes the same way Paul began Romans 5:1.”
“NOW those who have put their trust in the law, put their trust in their good works were formerly condemned. Those who have received Christ’s righteousness are no longer under the law but under grace – THEREFORE NOW there is no condemnation. Those who have been liberated from the works of the law are now not under the condemnation of the law. The operative word here is now. As we will see in this passage this is not a gospel benefit that is stored up for us after Christ returns. We benefit now.”
“Who benefits? Look at the remainder of this verse. FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. If you are in Christ Jesus, you are not condemned. You are not under the wrath of God – not on that treadmill trying to earn God’s favor with your works. YOU ARE FREE – YOU HAVE NOW TRUE LIBERATION!”
“But what does it mean to be IN CHRIST JESUS? This is one of Paul’s favorite terms. This is Paul’s shorthand on those who are united with Christ. We saw this in Rom. 6. Those who are in Christ are those who are united to Christ. Everything thing Christ did while living in a human body is ours. We are so united with Christ that His righteousness is our righteousness!”
“QUESTION – Tim the no condemnation is great and all but what about that war within us we heard about last week? Who here couldn’t relate to the battle we have within as you listened to Paul in his confusion and frustrations. It was barely 24 hours after last week’s sermon and I was in the “oh wretched man reality” because I submitted to sin again.”
“Yelling at the kids - road rage - wandering eyes today - yelling at the kids AGAIN. Judging my spouse AGAIN. Telling that joke AGAIN. Flipped the bird in traffic AGAIN. One too many drinks AGAIN. Lied to co-worker AGAIN. Caved to gluttony AGAIN. Resenting my pastor AGAIN. Placed that bet AGAIN. Church, this is so important. Look at V. 2. SEE THE CONTRAST? Those who are in Christ Jesus have been liberated from the law of sin and death and now live to a new law – the law of the Spirit of life. How does it all work?”
“In the moment we fail. For Christians, the law of the Spirit of life brings a liberty in the moment we fail. Any other religion has one response when you fail. YOU MUST DO BETTER. As believers, the moment you fail, you sin, the law of the Spirit of life is there to work in your life. Did you sin, yes. Do you need to repent, yes. Are you condemned, no!”
“PONDER this for a moment. How many of you have ever shared a tender moment in your CG that sounded something like this “I am filled with condemnation.” Let me be blunt with you. If you are in Christ Jesus you aren’t filled with condemnation, you are filled with PRIDE.”
“Here’s where it’s important in our experience to distinguish between conviction and condemnation. The law of the Spirit of life will bring you conviction of sin. Feelings of condemnation are usually your pride disappointed you didn’t “perform” better. The humble person RUNS to repentance when convicted and clings to the truth from Romans 8:1-2.”
“Notice Paul explains how all this works in V. 3-4. God does this. Not us! Look at each of these actions God did.
- He sent His own Son
- He sent His own Son – He incarnated Himself in human being
- He sent His own Son to be a sin offering
- He sent His own Son as a righteous way to condemn sin in the flesh.”
“Of course, God sent His Son so we could be justified but much more than that – God wants this to be lived out in His people! Every Christian and every local Church are God’s display that the righteous requirements of the law can be filled in us – imperfectly in this body – but fulfilled by believers who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. This is God’s ultimate reason for liberating all those who belong to Him.”
“Paul opened this chapter with the life transforming contrast between being condemned and being liberated. Truly free. Now Paul will argue an additional contrast about what that liberated life looks like. As we will see in this part of the passage, REAL CHANGE only comes by the Spirit. Human beings can grow in their skills, their education, progress in their workplace, etc but when it comes to REAL CHANGE that matters – GROWING INTO CHRIST LIKENESS – this can only happen when gospel power brought by the Spirit comes to bear in our lives.”
“THE FLESH – not our human skin, not really our human appetites or instincts but more the sin dominated self or our fallen ego-centric self. INDWELLING SIN -sometimes called remaining sin. We have been liberated from condemnation but not fully liberated from the presence of sin. Penalty, power and then presence. SANCTIFICATION – Growing in actual holiness. We saw in earlier chapters in Romans that God saves us and DECLARES US RIGHTEOUS. Sanctification is the process where believers who have been “declared righteous” grow in actual righteousness.”
“Scripture does not give a flattering view of us before we come to Christ. To SET YOUR MIND ON THE FLESH is to live for your desires, your wants, making it all about you. Paul contrasts that with what happens when we come to Christ and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. V. 5 – but those who live according the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. V. 6 -to set your mind on the Spirit is LIFE AND PEACE.”
“One way of life – setting your mind on the flesh – leads to death. When the Holy Spirit indwells us and we set our mind on the Spirit – LIFE AND PEACE. What does it mean to set your mind on the things of the Spirit? Setting your mind on the things of the Spirit simply means giving yourself to all that God has revealed in His Word. It’s not complicated. LIFE AND PEACE are walking according to the way God intended it in the garden. Walking according to His Word.”
“It’s simple and it’s not complicated but it’s not easy either. The Chrisitan life IS NOT a walk in the park. It’s a war, it’s a battle zone.”
“There is work to be done. YOU PLAY A PART IN YOUR SANCTIFICATION. YOU HAVE WORK TO DO. There are battles to fight. Indwelling sin lurks and desires to seize the moment when you let your guard down. This what is meant to live by the Spirit - to be indwelt by the Spirit – to set your mind on the things of the Spirit. God has an agenda and the end goal is to continually grow you into holiness and Christ likeness.”
“When you come to Christ God not only justifies you but gives you the Holy Spirit to dwell in you. To have the Holy Spirit live in you, lead you, guide you. Oh, you don’t do all things right, you still live in this body that hasn’t been redeemed yet. You will fall, you will sin but the Spirit of God is in you. As we submit to God’s Word, we will make progress. We will weaken the power and temptation of indwelling sin.”
“When grace shows up it’s in the form of God Himself taking residence in our lives by the Spirit. No longer do we live for the flesh, set our minds on the things of this world. Now we live according to the Spirit. But what does that look like?”
“Look at V. 9 THIS IS A HUGE identity statement – you are in the Spirit. You are a spiritual person! You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. This is the truth about you. Believe it. Build your life on it!”
“Verse 9 - Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him…the same power that raised Jesus from the dead can liberate you from the law of sin and death. No longer will you wonder about “if” the Spirit of God dwells in you!”
“The reality is that Christians will die. We only die once. Then we are in the presence of the Lord. We will have a new body fit for the new heavens and the new earth. Not so for those who don’t have Christ. Those who are not in Christ, those who don’t have the indwelling Spirit will die an earthly death then face the second death. The Bible speaks of the second death as the permanent separation from God in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.”
“The same power that raised Jesus from the dead, that liberates God haters into righteous people in His sight is available for us as we live this life in our mortal bodies. Notice how it works for those who are indwelt by the Spirit. READ VS. 11. The same Spirit, the same power that raised Christ from the dead is the power that gives life to our mortal bodies. This is the Spirit indwelt life.”
“We are debtors not to the flesh but to the Spirit. We are debtors to work at putting to death the deeds of the flesh. That’s every Christians calling. Holiness. Sanctification. Growing in actual righteousness not just declared righteousness. How do we do that? ILLUSTRATION: Jerry Bridges’ airplane of dependant discipline.”
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Romans 5:1
Ephesians 2:1–3
Titus 3:3
Philippians 2:12–13
APPLICATION:
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: “The Discipline of Grace” - Jerry Bridges
Examine your sanctification perspective. Is your sanctification perspective more like the guy sitting on the couch eating potato chips thinking “well if God is going to sanctify me I’m just going to hang out till He does the work” Is that you? You have an obligation according to V. 12 If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live”
Examine your practice of setting your mind on the things of the Spirit. According to this text we have an obligation, a call, a claim on our life.
Examine your relationships. God gives us His Word, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the Church. Relationships, fellowship. Yet we can easily walk out our Christian life content with surface relationships, prayer requests always about the kids, work, etc and never allow much transparency about what I set my mind on. Are you content to live this Spirit indwelt life, but no one really knows you well?
QUOTES:
John Stott - “God judges our sins in the sinless humanity of His Son, who bore them in our place.”
ESV Study Bible Notes - “Since the bodies of Christians are not yet redeemed, they still die, even though they are freed from the condemnation of sin. Yet the presence of the Spirit within believers testifies to the new life they enjoy because of the righteousness of Christ that is now theirs.”
SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION:
Romans 6:8-14
SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Come Praise And Glorify
Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
Spirit Of God
And Can It Be
Jesus I My Cross Have Taken
O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Romans 8:1-13
THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:
CLICK BELOW TO PURCHASE OUR BOOK OF THE QUARTER:
“Encouragement: How to See and Celebrate Evidences of Grace” - Jared Mellinger