I hope some of us, or all of us, have been following the words of the hymns that we've been singing this evening. They have all been carefully chosen and several of them are, as we've had today, are quite unusual. We've never had the opportunity of singing them before, or they have been overlooked. If you have been paying attention to the words that you have been singing, you may have found some surprising expressions. Take for instance in the hymn just concluded, number 359, How can a sinner know his sins on earth forgiven? How can my gracious Saviour show my name inscribed in heaven? He goes on to answer that question and answer it in a very, very practical and scriptural manner, in a helpful way. And yet some of us might have thought that the occasional hymn writer has slipped up and has overplayed his hand or overstated the case. When we read whate'er our pardoning Lord commands, we gladly do. And guided by his sacred word, we all his steps pursue. His glory our design, we live our God to please. And rise with filial fear divine, to perfect holiness. You say, well, I didn't think that that had much to do with assurance of eternal life. making rather bold claims for poor Christians who are heavily beset by foes without and within. You have felt for a long time perhaps that Christian life is a very hard life to live. Well take these words from our text this evening which you will find in the 8th chapter of Romans chapter 8, verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. It's all there, isn't it? They who are in Christ Jesus walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Now no doubt that raises problems, especially in view of what we were reading of the experience of the Apostle Paul last week, as described in the 7th of Romans, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? If he goes on immediately to say, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh. but after the Spirit. How can it be that a man who walks not after the flesh but after the Spirit can still complain about the burden of the flesh and say, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? There is seeming conflict between the verse in Romans 7 and the one that we have in Romans 8. And so vivid is this apparent conflict that good men have assured us that two different kinds of Christian experience are in view. We have, in the second of Romans, described the defeated Christian life. And in Romans 8, the victorious Christian life. Very easy to use adjectival words which sound very plausible indeed. And so easily solve problems. As we may be assured that there is nothing in these interpretations which set up a conflict between these two chapters. Men are very well meaning indeed, of course, as we mentioned a week ago, regarding these statements of the Apostle Paul. They feel that we cannot allow it to be thought that such a man as the Apostle Paul could ever say of his advanced Christian experience. Oh wretched man that I am. And so they say this belongs to a former period of his life. But we know more about the life of Paul than the life of almost anyone else in the New Testament or in the whole of the Bible for that matter. And such as we might, we cannot put our finger upon any spot in the Apostle's life his Christian life from its onset to its end, which would indicate to us that at the time he wrote Romans he was in any different condition spiritually than what he was from the very very beginning of his Christian life. He tells us that from the very beginning he said, I was not disobedient to the heavenly That's the vision he saw on the Damascus road. He never went back on that. He was never disobedient to the heavenly vision. He was always at full stretch in his spiritual life. Others have sought to get out of their difficulty by saying, well Paul really wasn't talking about himself at all when he said, oh wretched man that I am. He was only using a kind of dramatic language clothing it with the human person as though he were just a mere symbol or type of other men who weren't making the Christian life so well. I don't think that will stand up either. I don't think you would suppose it stood up. That Paul should speak I, I, I and me in verse after verse and yet never intended to be understood of himself but of somebody else who didn't even vaguely resemble him in his experience. To such difficulties do men put themselves when they are not content merely to take the scripture as it comes but always trying to fit it into their pattern and their scheme. They have a sort of a spiritual axe to grind. They stand for certain values. Be they true values or false or artificial values that might be a matter of dispute but this is what they stand for. And so all the plain statements of scripture have got to be worked into the pattern of their scheme. All seeming contradictions ironed out in this way until everything works out according to their plan. But they have another rock upon which to bark their sins and to cause their theories to stumble for in Romans 8 and verse 1 the chapter which they think portrays the victorious Christian life carrying all before us there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirits So evidently it is elementary to being in Christ at all that we do not walk after the flesh but after the spirit. Now a hymn is right after all. So the only way they can get round this difficulty is to say that these words aren't in the original text anyway. The famous Dr. Scopio in his Bible will tell you that the latter part of our verse, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit, is interpolated, that is, it's put in where it ought not to be. In some Bibles it is printed in italics, not in mine which I have before me now. But in some Bibles it is printed, those words are printed in italics to show that they are interpolated words. They have been put in for some purpose or other. And so these friends, they say that the text really does not tell us that all who are in Christ Jesus walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. because those words are not in the original. Now it's always a dangerous thing to play around critically with the text of Holy Scripture, especially when there's some grounds for suspicion that the words are questioned as to whether they should be there or not, largely because they're inconvenient. and do not fit in with the pattern that we have in mind. But then you see there is no dispute that verse four is genuine. All parties agree with that and the same words occur that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit And to show that this is the normal Christian life and not some higher sort of life which is portrayed before us, we read, for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh. For they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is death. That is to be fleshly minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind The minding of the flesh is enmity against God. It is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So now to establish their point, they must say that there are some Christians who must be fleshly minded. But the apostle says if such creatures do exist, then this is death to them. And they have no claim at all upon eternal life, therefore they're not Christians at all. And so they appear to be weaving a web for the downfall of their own theories who treat this passage on this wise. But let us just look at our text with simple mind. We trust with the mind of the Spirit, who always makes himself known, even in the profoundest things, with great simplicity, so that the poor sheep of Christ may not miss their way. That the way of holiness shall be to them a clear and plain path because of the enemies which abound. As the Psalmist says, lead me in a plain path because of mine enemies. And we will endeavour to give what we have long been persuaded is the true interpretation of our text by dividing it into three obvious parts. The first is the statement, there is therefore now no condemnation. There is a state of the soul, therefore, which may be described as a state of no condemnation. Secondly, There is how this state comes about. They are in Christ Jesus. And thirdly, there's the proof that the soul is in this condition, that it walks not after the flesh, but after the spirit. These three things. There is a state of known condemnation. It belongs to those who are in Christ Jesus and it is proved by the fact that they walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. So our whole text hangs together and it makes all things quite clear and plain. No one needs to be confused in the slightest. What has been necessary for me to state some of the opinions which go around about these because no doubt some of us have encountered them as I did myself as a young Christian and I wouldn't like to tell you how many years I spent before I came to a settled conclusion regarding the meaning of the eighth chapter of Romans. I wouldn't like to tell you how many years passed over my head before I was sure of the meaning simply because of the confusion which had been created in the minds of a young man early in his Christian life, when he was only in process of learning the elements, sometimes in the most painful of ways. And so it might be that other people have been confused, besides the one who is talking Indeed, at the time of which I speak, some 40 years ago or more, the whole world, that's the evangelical world, the whole evangelical world, with all the conventions, conferences, platform performances and everything, seemed to go in that direction, dividing Christians into two parties. The defeated ones and the victorious ones. I live to discover that those who made the greatest song about being victorious were perhaps the most defeated of all. Very often the case, isn't it? And those who were always moaning about their defeats, that these were the ones who were really living nearest to the Lord. It's a matter of being honest with oneself. and not merely jumping to conclusions however convenient these might be. Now let us take these three points as rapidly and plainly as we can. There is a state of no condemnation and if you found this word in any of the books in the Bible I would certainly have counseled you to throw it in the back of the fire where it belongs. Because all men are condemned. We are condemned in our consciences. We are condemned day by day. We condemn ourselves, don't we? When we find ourselves coming short even of our own standards, let alone the divine standards. Somehow or other, to be honest with ourselves, we are not what we ought to be. and we're none of us satisfied with our own spiritual attainments. Indeed, that's putting it too lightly for a good many of us. We might use much more powerful language and say that sometimes as we look upon ourselves we wonder whether we've ever begun to live the Christian life. So much is within which gives us the same feeling of wretchedness which Paul endeavours to express. O wretched nun as I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? But on that very account he goes on to say there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. On the very account that human experience is so unsatisfactory. On the very account that in ourselves we cannot make the grave. We cannot measure up to our own rule, never mind the divine rule. On that very account there must needs be a state of soul in which there is no condemnation Because without that we are lost. Without that we have no hope. No confidence at all. Especially when life has gone on and on and on. Not only for a decade, but for decades after decades. Let's make our language clear and plain. A decade is ten years. In case some of you didn't know. A convenient way of measuring time. And if life goes on in decade after decade, our years rapidly multiply upon us, and still we find the enemy within. Still we cannot say of ourselves, I am satisfied with what I am. find those deeply moving experiences within which cause us to say, O wretched man that I am, Paul, you've given us the right words, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Then it is that we know the consolation of these glorious words. There is therefore now no condemnation. Now I don't know what other people may think, but for myself I can only say that this is the state of soul at which I desire to arrive. And I believe I did arrive at it long, long ago. Despite all the doubts and fears which may have accumulated, especially in the early days of the Christian life, to know that there is no condemnation What does that mean? It means that God, the eternal judge of all, looks at my record and finds it absolutely clear and clean. It is let him pass, no condemnation. And see what I mean when we say that if this word were not in the Bible, It was in some other book, but the Bible, we'd throw that book into the fire where it belonged. But being the Bible, we can't do that. It must be true. Strange, wonderful though it may be, it is true. A sinful soul can reach that point where God in heaven, the Holy God, no longer condemns. There is therefore now no condemnation. And in view of the fact that Paul uses the words therefore, this verse is a consequence of something which went before. And what went before is the whole of the first eight chapters of Romans, in which Paul has been dealing with human sin and condemnation and set him over against it, the gospel, in all its wonder, its majesty, its glory. Beginning with the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, as he says in the first chapter, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord. which is made of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. One of Paul's majestic, grand, incredible sentences in which there is everything of time and eternity packed in through a handful of poor human words. He goes right back there for the promise of life in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Tells us who Jesus Christ is concerning his son Jesus Christ made of the seed of David according to the flesh. Wasn't he the seed of Adam? Of course he was. And why the seed of David who came so long after Adam? Because this refers to his kingly office. It refers us back to the prophecies concerning David and the great king who was to come. who should reign forever and forever. And he can only reign forever and ever as he is able to restore the kingdom which was lost by human sin. And so Christ came to establish a kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Therefore he was made of the seed of David, the great king, according to the flesh. but not made the Son of God with power but declared to be because He was never made that which He always was. He never needed to be made the Son of God. He never needed to be born the Son of God because He was eternally born. Eternally issuing from the Father's love. Being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made. declared to be the Son of God with power according to the resurrection from the dead. That is, the resurrection of Christ from the dead declares him to be the Son of God. For nobody else could rise from the dead and conquer death. It wasn't a mere matter of resuscitating a corpse. It's all that went behind that corpse being resuscitated. being animated once again with the breath of life for before that could take place there had to be a reckoning with that cause which causes death and that is sin God could just as easily resuscitate a corpse As he could make a man, as he did make a man, the first man by taking a handful of the dust of the earth and forming it into the shape of a man and breathing into the nostrils the breath of life so that man became a living soul. That's a small matter with God. But the greatest matter in the universe and the greatest work of God is that sin which caused death should be overthrown. in the frailty of human flesh. That he who yielded himself to death and laid not hold of the advantage that he was God, but became a servant, a servant's form he wore and in his body bore our dreadful curse on Calvary. And that the acceptance of him by the Eternal Father and Judge of all the acceptance of his work, of re-establishing that which he took not away, of overcoming sin in his own mediatorial work by atoning for it and reconciling man to God in himself. He was declared to be the Son of God when the Father raised him again from the dead and placed him at his own right hand. in heavenly places and declared, this is my son, today I have begotten him from the dead and raised him to the highest. All this had to be done before God could raise man from his state of sin and death. And because it has been done in Christ, therefore there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. So that the burden of our condemnation, dear friends, is only removed insofar as we are in Christ Jesus. If you are not in Christ Jesus, if we are not in Christ Jesus, then are we under the burden of sin and condemnation. And if we take that with us to the judgment seat, we shall be eternally under condemnation. We shall never know a state where there is no condemnation. But the misery and consequences of our sins shall be with us for all eternity. And of this the book of God and does not speak with ambiguous language, but makes it clear and plain. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and for his angels. We wend our way from the judgment seats. Indeed, we are eager to go. For we cannot endure the light, the intense light of that condemnation which we have earned and deserved, which lies with a heavy burden upon us, a weight of lead upon our souls for all eternity. A specific condition, therefore, annexed to this state of no condemnation, it is to those who are in Christ Jesus. What does it mean to be in Christ Jesus? Well, as he was in my flesh, as he was partaker of the human name and of the human nature, yet without sin. It pleased Him to descend and take my part and take the burden of my condemnation in His own flesh, in His own body on the tree. So I can be in Christ Jesus. So I can be made anew in His likeness and in His nature. You may ask, well what is this thing that we call faith? It is something which comes with repentance. It is never separate from it. Repentance is the desire we have to forsake our sins and to lay hold upon eternal life. We are tired of sin and straying lords. We are tired of our own way. We are tired of the burden that we carry. We want to know the favour of God. We want to be right with God. We want our conscience to be in order before Him. We are prepared to go to any length that this might be so. There is nothing in this world we desire so much as to be right with God. That's repentance. Repentance in itself doesn't say, but it brings us immediately to that place where the eyes are opened to behold the one who died and to suddenly grasp the simple truth which always escaped us hitherto, that He in fact bore my sins and carried my burden of condemnation, that He is my Saviour, that when the Lord says, look unto me and thee saved all the ends of the earth, this is what He meant. And when the Lord Jesus said, come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, I will give you rest, this is what He meant. This by faith coming to Him. This by faith looking to Him and being saved. My chains fell off, my heart was free. I rose, went forth and followed Thee. People have spoken about the scales falling from their eyes. Suddenly they saw what they'd never been able to see before. I must speak about the light breaking in. Why suddenly everything became light and I saw for the first time clearly and plainly in the light of day how that Christ had dealt with my sins upon the cross. That God was reconciled. The Father accepted the sacrifice for me. And he received me in the sacrifice, in his only begotten Son. And I passed from death unto life, from condemnation, so that I am justified by faith. And there is no condemnation, therefore, to them which are in Christ Jesus. This is what our text means. This is what Paul is trying to prove. Well, you may say, so far so good. But what is the proof that I have taken this step? Is there anything to show in view of the fact that I am more aware of my sins now than ever I was before? The coming of this glorious light has only shown me how much of a sinner I was, and still am in myself. What about this consciousness of sin, this old wretched man, old wretched woman that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Well, says the Apostle Paul, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. He goes on in Romans chapter 8 to tell us that we await the fulfillment of that which has only begun. And the day of resurrection will put an end to all our sins. And we shall not carry them beyond the boundary of death, the boundary of this present evil world. They shall not be there to confront us in eternity. Here we struggle. Here we wage warfare, the spirit against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit so that he cannot do the things that he would, says the Apostle Paul. But he says that nonetheless, despite this apparent conflict and this very real conflict of sin, which we wage day by day, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. Ah, this is the proof of it, this is the outworking of it, that all those who are truly converted They walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. Now what on earth can this mean? It means quite clearly and plainly, dear friends, that we are on a journey. We walk. But how do we walk? Not after the flesh but after the spirit. That is our whole standard of values has been changed completely by the light which is poured in upon our souls. We have seen what we wear. We have seen what Christ has done for us. Our whole standard of values is changed. This world is a vain thing and all men in it And we live no longer for this world, but for the world it is to be. We don't live to pursue our own way or our own desires. The Christian definitely does not live just for his own desires. If he does, he isn't a Christian. So that whatever his experience may be, his desire is for Christ. By desires I mean his fleshly desires, his own selfish desires, living for himself. The Christian doesn't live for himself, he lives for Christ. He lives a new life in Christ. He has new desires. Desires after the spirit, not after the flesh. And although he finds within himself, as Paul found, a conflict within his own person of sin and righteousness, of death and life, of law and grace, nevertheless as touching the real man that you are, the innermost core of your soul, you do not live except for God and Christ and the world that is today. And so, in a remarkable way, although we sin We are kept from much sin. Though like David we fall seven times a day, yet we do arise seven times a day and return to our God. We rejoice in Christ Jesus. We rejoice in praising his name. We are found in our place on the Lord's day. Not that churchgoing ever saved anybody. Not that it is in itself a proof of anything. The world is never short of churchgoers. And the key to the kingdom of heaven is definitely not the key of the chapel door. But nonetheless, you will find the true Christian in his place, worshipping the Saviour whom he adores. and the God of all grace without whom he cannot live. And walking in the Spirit brings him to the house of God. He may meet there many others who are only there as a mere matter of formality, but that doesn't matter to him. It's what he is there for that matters. It's why he is there, what he does when he is there. how he eagerly listens to the voice of the preacher, just in case there might be something for him. It might be the preacher isn't a very competent man. Very few preachers are all that competent. And this one must be careful not to place himself in a higher category than the one he belongs to either. He only knew how many times he went home on a Sunday night and almost cursed the day that he ever started preaching. Wondered however he could ever have thought that he could ever be a preacher. And he ought to have stopped before he began. And I've compared notes of other sincere men and you'd be surprised how many sincere preachers have felt the same about it. And it felt like going home at the end of the Sabbath day and ending it all sometime. Ashamed to meet their people again because they feel that they're neither worthy, fit, nor competent. And yet somehow or other the word of God gets through. Some word is spoken. Some little sentence at times when all else is forgotten. All else didn't matter. But that one word that came home was the word of the living God, a living word in the soul. When somebody goes home with their hearts abounding with joy, with confidence, the renewal of life, which that word has meant. God meant it for me, you'll hear them say. God meant it for me. It passed over the heads of everyone else, that particular word, but God meant it for them. Maybe some word is to have spoken this night and God means it for you. It's intended for your comfort, for your strength. It might be a word of rebuke, I don't know. Some word which this preacher never intended to say when he set out from home this evening, but somehow or other, as his thoughts wandered on, He managed to say something which mattered to some poor weary soul. I said, ah, that answers my question. This often happens, you know, when we're in the way of believing, the way of repentance, the way of grace. When we come to the house of God, we say, I'm going to concentrate on the hymns. I feel sure there's something here for me. or upon the reading of the word, or upon the preaching of the word. To give earnest heed, says Paul, to the things that we hear, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels, that is the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect if we neglect, not reject, but neglect. So great salvation, which first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by the then that heard him. And this is the word of the Lord, spoken with great graciousness from his presence. through the mouth of his apostle, to all those who are weary of sin, to all those who in the Sabbath of Romans feel the wretchedness of their sin. But you can look up. This isn't the end, it is only the beginning. Soldier on, dear soul. Never give in. Never let your footsteps flag. You're on the way that leads to glory. You may have many a setback, many a time of shame, many a time of wretchedness in your soul, but we're sure to win in the end. We're on the way that leads to glory. We're in Christ Jesus, and He is in us. And after we've suffered a while, and fought a while, and battled on for half a lifetime or for a whole lifetime. We shall be comforted by these words. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Because God knoweth that in our innermost souls it is righteousness, truth, holiness, light, peace, glory that we seek. It is to be with Him for all eternity. It is to dwell with Him in the only home that we ever desire to attain to. Heaven and home. In the presence of the glorious angels and partners in the very throne with Him who is the Lord of glory. Behold the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him. He who is the heavenly bridegroom comes to greet his bride and he knows well how to bring her through this world so that at last she looks back over the journey and she understands now. She sees all her deliverances. She sees the long warfare against sin and Satan. and against the flesh and she says it was all necessary in order that my soul might be refined in its drafts and looking back I perceive that all the time despite all my failures there was that one guiding principle of my life just like the needle of the compass all sorts of disturbances arise when you see the compass swinging around from side to side covering a great many degrees sometimes in a few seconds but always as things quieten down it reaches the true north once again there's a pull within a magnetic influence which insists that that needle should always come back to the true north and all the powers that are, cannot prevent it because it's written into it's very metal, in it's very molecules, it's very atoms, it's got to be so. The greatest power in creation is illustrated in that frail needle of that compass because as creation moves so does that compass needle move by the same majestic laws which must be carried out God has placed a law in the heart of the believer which must be carried out. It's the law of the new creation. And this is it. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Verse 2. Did you ever hear a verse like that before and understand it? There are two laws in the universe. as touching the moral nature of things. There's the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. He's rising from the dead. And there's the law of sin and death. That's the law that's inscribed in my heart. That's the law of the Ten Commandments. The law of sin and death. It's called the law of sin and death not because it isn't righteous but because it shows my unrighteousness and shows my liability to sin and death and pronounces my condemnation and curse. It's the law that says thou art a sinner and thou must be judged worthy of death and death must be passed upon thee. But the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus comes along and looks the law of the ten commandments in the face and says be quiet there, be quiet there I have fulfilled thee thou hast nothing against this man because I rose from the dead having endured the curse which thou didst pronounce therefore let this man go free and so I am entitled to say I am not under condemnation any longer for the law of the spirit of life In Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death and so my compass needle faces true north and day by day it wags about like that sometimes when it's pulled by the world on this side and the flesh and the devil upon the other side but by the end of the day when the disturbances have quietened down it finds its true north it must do because the law of the spirit of life is in the soul the soul of all who are in Christ Jesus. And so not only are they released from condemnation but there is that implanted in them which must tread that road and which will never, never, never depart from Christ and his way. However much we may be dissatisfied with ourselves there is that within us which will bring us safely to our journey's end, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Come now, let us sing, 342. Come, holy celestial dove, to visit a sorrowful breast. my burden of guilt to remove, and bring me assurance and rest. Thou only hast power to relieve a sinner overwhelmed with his load, the sense of acceptance to give and sprinkle his heart with the blood. Every line of this hymn is marvellous and wonderful, and I hope that we'll sing it, and we're going to sing it to that unpronounceable Welsh word, trwyn, or whatever it may be. Anyway, that was it. And we shall have it to that tune, 342.