And before we begin and as you are turning your Bibles to Romans chapter 8 verse 1, I just want to take a moment to speak to my church family and to say thank you. Thank you for loving Marcy and I and making us a part of this sweet fellowship. I cannot express enough to you how much we truly love you guys, how much we love the brethren here at Grace Community Church, and just how grateful to God we are that He allowed us to cross paths and to serve in this family of faith. I've not been bashful around here about my love of Sunday mornings. From the drive down with my beautiful bride, pulling into the church parking lot, the greetings in the hallway and at the church entrance, Karen or Kyle smiling face up front, John or Richard and the worship team, even Phil moving the microphone. I love all of the worship experience and I'm not ranking one higher than another, but the highlight for me, the apex of the morning is the preaching of God's word. It is through the preaching and the hearing of the Word that the most ultimate expression of love imaginable is found through the Gospel of Jesus Christ." These are words that lead to eternal life. These are words that lead the spiritual dead into spiritual life. And so it is with that understanding of the gravity of what takes place from this pulpit that I would like to thank Pastor Ross and Pastor Ted and the elders for allowing me the opportunity to share from God's Word this morning. And so with that, I invite you to stand with me for the reading of this one small but powerful verse from Romans chapter 8 and verse 1. And we'll have it on the screen as well. I'm normally an ESV guy, but I really preferred the transitional nature, the way that NASB captures that in this particular verse. So hear the Word of God, Romans chapter 8, verse 1. Therefore, there is now No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let's pray. Father, you have assembled everyone just as you ordained it to be. No one is here by any accident today. For these words are your words, therefore they demand our attention. And in every respect, they also demand our response. So Holy Spirit come, minister amongst us today, encourage us, convict us, and do your work. Lord, we ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. So a confession. I think at times I may be somewhat of a gospel romantic. Now, that doesn't mean that I just sit around and think whimsical fairy tales about this gospel. What I mean by that is I was thinking of this verse, pondering it, and living with it for a while. You begin to get this image, this picture, that when you stand up here and you read it aloud, that all of those in Christ, all of those who have been born again, all of those who have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, that because of the immense intensity of the truth of these words, that we would all fall to our faces and weep with joy and thanksgiving and send praises towards the heavens at the hearing of these words. That as we heard these marvelous words and the truth of the freedom that has been secured for the faithful in Christ, condemnation removed, that we just couldn't contain ourselves in inexpressible joy. Now don't misunderstand me. I'm not suggesting that just because you didn't or don't do that, that there's something wrong with your salvation. That somehow you don't love Jesus correctly. but I am suggesting that we, me included, that we don't ponder, that we don't think, that we don't meditate thoroughly and thoughtfully enough on the gospel of Jesus Christ. That at times we have lost the awe and the wonder and the power of the cross of Christ and what has truly and completely been accomplished for those who are in Christ Jesus. At the same time, my heart aches for those who hear that same verse, and they have no certainty of where they're going after they die. They have not trusted in Christ for them to be made right with God. That why upon the hearing of these words, you do not fall on your face and seek relief from the terrible fate that awaits you. that upon hearing these words and learning that if you are not in Christ Jesus, that only condemnation awaits you, that you cannot wait to be made right with God through Jesus Christ. So my friends, that is what I hope to accomplish in our short time together. That by taking some time to dive into this one small but powerful verse, that you ponder deeply and richly who you are, who Christ is, and most importantly, in which camp do you stand this morning? Where do you stand with Jesus at this very hour? And how you answer these questions will determine your eternity and greatly impact and influence and motivate how you will live your lives, evangelize, respond to life's trials, spend your energy and resources in even how you will love one another. And quite frankly, I can't think of a more important subject to talk about. I don't know what is going on in your life this morning, what pain you're going through, what bad news you just received, even the status of your marriage, how many bills are piled up before you, what anguish a lost child or loved one is putting you through, or what medical report you may have just received. The understanding of the meaning and implications behind this verse brings hope and purpose and direction to whatever it is that you have brought with you through those doors this morning. So let's begin with a thousand-foot view of a fundamental basic truth about our text and our time together. In a spiritual sense, in a kingdom sense, and really the only sense that matters, there will only be two types of people that will leave this place this morning. those who have the condemnation and holy wrath of God that they rightfully deserve, transferred and applied to the atoning work of Jesus Christ's substitutionary death on the cross, or those who are indifferent and choose to willfully disobey the command to repent and believe in Christ and will leave here this morning with God's just condemnation and wrath upon them. It's really that simple. It's really that basic. those in Christ and those who are not, those who are the children of God and those who are the children of Satan. I know that may sound harsh, but that is the spiritual bluntness behind this short but potent text. That is why I've titled this message, The Gospel Condensed. This verse is truly good news, and I have three main points for our consideration this morning, three R's and a bonus R, if you will. We're going to look at the reality the result and the remedy. And then there's going to be a final R, a bonus R that we'll save for the end. So let's start with the reality. What is the reality that has brought us to this point? Seven chapters and then a therefore, in view of everything I have just said statement. What is the truth already presented that has brought us to this part of our text? So Paul has reached a conclusion based on something that he has already taught. And so now we need to understand, therefore, what? What is it that has led us up to this point? Well, in the first three chapters of Romans, Paul makes powerfully clear the doctrine of sin and judgment. He has told us that there is none righteous, no, not one. He tells us that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Paul tells us that we are not as good as we think and that this failure is a worldwide epidemic that has affected all of humanity, that no one escapes God's judgment. Jews and Gentiles alike are all under God's wrath. all under God's condemnation, which is described from chapter 1, verse 18, all the way through to chapter 3, verse 20. In those opening chapters of Romans, Paul is very blunt in his diagnosis of the sinfulness of man. He has no problem laying out the helplessness of all of mankind. He speaks clearly about man's inability to save himself by deeds of the law or works of the flesh or by ceremony or sacrifice or self-goodness. Paul uses the opening chapters of Romans to awaken the listener to the reality of the intense wrath of God and the terrifying future condemnation that is going to fall upon every single sinner, and that left to themselves, there is nothing they can do to change that outcome. I suppose if you were to come to me and ask me to summarize Paul's early thoughts here, I would probably have said, we are all doomed. And so while we live in a time where people only enjoy talking about God as some jolly guy floating around in the clouds who just loves and adores everyone, who if you just try your best, He'll ignore your sin and accept everyone just the way you are, the first few chapters of Romans paint a very different picture. In these first few chapters, you cannot escape the reality of mankind's hopeless condition of how we are exposed to the just judgment of God and His wrath against our sin. But since God is, in fact, also loving and gracious, He does not leave us in despair. And if after reading the first three chapters you still had a pulse and had any sense of urgency of what Paul is declaring, then we should already be asking a most important question. Given the fact that there is none righteous, given the fact that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, given the fact that we all stand condemned before a just and holy and righteous God and cannot remedy ourselves, How then can a sinner like me ever be found in a right relationship with God? I mean, that's the greatest question we can ask. How is it possible for a sinner to be made right with God? How is it possible for God, who is just, justify the sinner? Well, it's great that you're asking that very question because Paul answers that by exposing us to the gospel of grace. Chapters 3 through 7 of Romans showers us with God's love and grace and mercy. Paul tells us how Christ's work in our faith provides the no-condemnation status before God. How the righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. He explains to us how we are justified, how being made right with God comes by God's grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forth as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. He tells us how we can have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He tells us about how Christ died for the ungodly and how we have been justified by his blood and saved by him from the wrath of God, having received reconciliation through Christ. How by Jesus' obedience the many will be made righteous, leading to eternal life through Christ Jesus. How we have new life in Christ and how sin is no longer our master. Not being slaves to sin, but slaves to God. How we are no longer in Adam, but in Christ. How through Christ we are released from bondage to the law into the bondage of sin and death. How salvation can only be found outside of us and not from inside of us. That through faith in Christ, the charges against us are dropped, the penalty paid, and we are now dead to sin and alive in Christ. God's condemnation of our sins unleashed on the cross upon Christ and not on us. God's full wrath discharged on Jesus. Jesus' full righteousness applied to those who believe. So seven chapters of the reality of condemnation, side by side with the love and mercy of God, seven chapters about a holy God and sinful man, seven chapters about the coming wrath and a perfect Savior, Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, seven chapters about justification and sanctification by faith, And now Paul sums up the message of Christianity in this epic opening verse in chapter eight. Therefore, in view of this reality, there is now a result, which brings us to the second point, no condemnation. So after all the talk of our sinful position with God, how hopeless we would be if God left us to ourselves without a Savior, all the explanation of God's method of rescue and grace through an individual's faith in Jesus Christ, then this breathtaking statement, therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The gospel condensed. Right when it's beginning to look hopeless, the judgment, the wrath, just like that, through God's Redeemer, Jesus Christ, God has provided a way of escape and a declaration of no condemnation. As a result of the gospel and those who repent of their sin and put their faith in the finished work of Christ, no judgment, no hell, no guilty verdict. No condemnation. Zero condemnation. None. Complete condemnation removal. What an incredible thing to think about. not that you will have perfect skin and white teeth, not that you're going to drive a nice car, not perfect health or live in Beverly Hills, not the Packers will win Super Bowl every year, not any more issues with your children, co-workers, and neighbors, not that you will have a perfect marriage and bliss the rest of your days, not that you will make straight A's without studying, not an expensive paid vacation for six months. No. No. It's much greater than any of those things. It's that Jesus Christ will rescue you from hell, that Jesus will save you from your sins, that Jesus will declare you to be made right before God and will remove the condemnation that your sin deserves. Friend, this is not just some okay news. This is the greatest news ever. Well, it is true that you were born into sin and condemnation. Well, it is true that you could not save yourself. You don't have to stay in that condition. Here at the beginning of chapter 8, we learn that there is no condemnation to those who have been justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This is Christianity 101. that the great I AM, that God, who is the most precious, supreme, glorious, marvelous, powerful, beautiful being in the entirety of the universe, and we, His fallen creation that does not honor Him for who He truly is, and are therefore guilty of sin and under His wrath, That He has come to rescue us from this condemnation, which He alone can cure through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, for everyone who calls upon His name in repentance and faith. That's the core message of Christianity. That's the central foundational message of God to the world. I know that many of you have taken Elder Dale's evangelism classes, and some of you have gone out to the fair with Brother Jared and local events to pass out tracts and to evangelize. And when you do that, this is exactly what you are proclaiming. This is why you risk your comfort and harassment and your embarrassment to communicate to the nations and neighborhoods. Hey, I got a newsflash for everybody. There's no condemnation in Christ Jesus. That's what you're doing. It is the message that God poured out on His Son, the condemnation that we deserve, that I deserve, that God condemned sin, my sin, in the flesh, Christ's flesh. And now that everything has been done that had to be done to absorb the wrath of God, now, finally, there is no condemnation. When God sent His own Son to bear our sins on the cross, The verdict that was handed down on that dark and dreary day on the hill in Golgotha in 1833 was not guilty. No condemnation. What a precious gift. What a precious gift. And because of Jesus, there is no maybe involved here. Paul does not say that because of Jesus Christ, therefore, there is now a 50-50 chance of condemnation removal. Paul does not say that because of Jesus Christ, we are now closer to being condemnation free. He doesn't say because of Jesus Christ, we can now hope we are good enough. No. Paul says factually, there is no condemnation. And as to when this condemnation removing power happens, Paul says now. Therefore, there is now no condemnation. It is current and it is complete. The moment I put my faith in Christ, at that very moment, now and forevermore. The verdict is not less condemnation, it is no condemnation. Listen, that means if you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, your standing before God has not just been slightly improved, it's been completely transformed. Changed from complete condemnation to a status of no condemnation. When Jesus was pierced on the cross, He bore the full wrath of God, which you deserved. But now with your trust completely being in Him and not in any good works of your own, You stand before God with no condemnation now and forevermore. And so for the Christian, there will be no condemnation, no sentencing, no eternal punishment for the sins that believers have committed or will ever commit. And it's important for the Christian walk to understand and believe this properly because maybe there are those that are present this morning that they're in Christ Jesus that will benefit from hearing this. Maybe there are believers here this morning that when they fall into sin, they emotionally beat themselves up to a point of depression and spiritual joylessness. They feel that they can bounce back and forth between condemnation and no condemnation in a constant state of spiritual suffocation. And I think we allow ourselves to get to this place because to some degree, I believe we're all like little recovering Pharisees. We love our doctrines of grace, and we love to preach hard against a work's righteous salvation, yet we seem to want to practice it more than we realize. There are those who, when they wake up in the morning, everything is fresh. All is good between you and God, and you have no problem believing the status. You are confident. I am a Christian. I am in Christ. There is no condemnation. But then life begins. We remember yesterday's argument, and we get that call from so-and-so, and we go to work, and we say things, we think things, we do things, we sin. And we want to place ourselves back to a state of condemnation again. So you make a plan to fix it. You set out to do a little better. You tell yourself that you're not going to miss a Sunday at Grace for two months straight, that you're going to read your Bibles more frequently. You even decide to sing the worship songs instead of just lip-syncing. And ah, all is well between you and Jesus, and you are back to no condemnation again, and you might be good for a few days. But then we sin again, and we slip back into a state of condemnation, and we set out to do even better things this time, and we plan to love Jesus even more, and we up our quiet time from 15 minutes to 30 minutes this time, and then we settle back into a state of no condemnation again. Brother, sister, that is not correct thinking. That's a works-righteous mentality. That's the Pharisee inside of you at work. The Bible says that if you are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation. Yet I still sin. I fall short of God's glory. Even though I have come to Jesus Christ, I have put my faith and trust in Him, I continue to sin. I fell short yesterday, and I still fall short this morning. Even this very minute, I fall short of the glory of God. But I am in Jesus Christ. I am resting in Him. I am trusting in Him. I have confidence in Him only. And the Bible says there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. And yet because of the little residual little Pharisee inside of us, I know how our minds think. You hear me saying this and you start thinking, Brother Doug, isn't this a license to sin because I can sin and still be in a state of no condemnation? Listen, if you have truly been saved and gripped by God's grace and mercy through Jesus Christ, restored to a right relationship and a right standing before a holy and perfect God, wrath removed and relationship restored, and the first thing that comes to your mind is, now I have a free pass to sin, then, friend, you need to examine yourself. You need to test yourself to see if you're in the faith, because wanting to abuse grace in such a blatant and obvious way is clearly not a sign of a true Christian. There should be only one response from those in Christ Jesus, and it should be one of overwhelming thanksgiving and overwhelming gratitude and overwhelming worship and love towards God, because He has found a way to justify a sinner like me. So for the Christian, this truth should have the opposite effect. I don't want to sin against God. I desire to be more like Jesus out of a joyous and thankful heart for what He has done for me. So please don't add to this or get confused. But at the same time, do not deny what the text teaches. Paul is not talking about granting unchecked and unrestrained sin as now being acceptable to God if you are in Christ. He is not approving reckless behavior and living a sinful lifestyle and then telling you to go stand on the rooftop and just claim, hey, there's no condemnation for me. In fact, if you think that way, then you know nothing of the gospel. You abuse and distort the gospel of grace. What Paul wants you to hear and understand, my dear brother or sister, is that if you are here this morning, and you are truly in Christ, and you are struggling in some particular area, then he wants you to know that while you are waging war, that there is no condemnation. He wants you to know that even though you are struggling in your marriage or family issues, that he does not condemn you. He wants you to know that if you have made wrong choices in the past, he does not condemn you. that if you have a criminal record, He still does not condemn you. Young people, you're trying to figure out how to handle peer pressure and not do what everybody else does. You're trying to fit in and make it right with the crowd. Who cares what they think? There is no condemnation, and that's so much better than fitting in. So yes, confess it to God. Repent of what you did or you are doing. If necessary, get guidance from the pastors or elders or someone that can provide godly counsel and accountability. But Paul, at the same time, wants you to live and embrace this truth that even though God may discipline you, that there may even be consequences for your actions, that he may chasten those who belong to him, that your condemnation has been thoroughly and completely removed. What better motivation do you need not to sin against such a loving and kind God? John Owen, speaking to believers, said it this way, sin is a burden that afflicts us rather than a pleasure that delights us. So Paul wants you to take it face value and hold on to those precious words from Romans 4, 7 and 8. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. So just to bring this point to a close, Paul is confident that the preaching of the gospel of grace, the no condemnation in Christ message, that it will not lead the follower of Christ to irresponsible living, because the Bible says that as Christians, we're not only dead to sin, but we're also alive to God in Christ Jesus. Not only does sin no longer reign in death over us, now grace reigns through righteousness. Not only have we been rescued from the dominion of darkness, we have been brought into the kingdom of God's dear Son. So friend, there is the great motivator to deal with the sin in our lives. The truth that our sins are forgiven and the dominion of sin is broken because of our union with Christ. So yes, sin as a reigning power has been defeated in the life of a believer, but that doesn't mean it's ever going to surrender and the battle is over. Sin will continue to harass the follower of Christ and desire to sabotage our Christian lives the rest of our days here on earth. But there is a big difference between an unbeliever who is living happily in sin and a believer struggling against sin. There is a big difference between surviving sin and reigning sin. So let's move on to the next R. And I don't want to be Captain Obvious by restating this, but it's painfully clear of the flip side of what Paul is saying. Namely, that if you are not in Jesus Christ, then there is condemnation for you. Spurgeon said it this way, if you are not in Christ Jesus and are walking after the flesh, you have not escaped condemnation. So it's critical that we understand how it is that we avoid this condemnation. What, or better stated, who is the remedy? And that is our third and final point, our third R, if you will. So it should be very clear that everyone is born into condemnation. It is our captor and we are its hostage. And our text this morning makes it very clear that there is a mandatory condition that you must meet in order to escape Because if you miss this, then you miss salvation. See, Paul is not preaching that everyone is going to heaven. Paul doesn't say that there is no condemnation and then he just closes his thought. Paul isn't a universalist here. He doesn't say that God is giving all of creation a free pass on the basis that Jesus was simply born. Rather, it is exclusively reserved for those who are in Christ. That means that not everyone can say, there is no condemnation over my life, because that declaration of freedom from God's wrath is exclusively reserved for those who are in Christ Jesus. Many or maybe even most people would prefer to look at a text like this and read it this way, there is now no condemnation, and end it right there. Therefore there is now no condemnation and period. Close the book, end of verse. Oh happy day, let's move on with life. And they will tell you this is true because of how their God is so kind and merciful and how He would never condemn. That He is only full of grace and mercy and He would never judge. How He is full of compassion and sympathy and would never rebuke. How their God is too loving and kind to send anyone to hell. There are many who say that today. There is no condemnation. And they just stop. They just end it there. But friend, Paul doesn't say that. In fact, Jesus doesn't say that, nor does the Bible say that. This Bible makes it very clear that there will be God's wrath upon the transgressions of man's sins. It is the gospel of Satan that whispers in your ear this morning and says to you, you don't need to listen to this guy. Don't bother. Don't worry. There's no condemnation for you. God doesn't mean this for you. He means it to the person next to you. You're fine. You're good on your own. You just keep doing the best and trying harder. You don't need this Jesus. but the Scriptures declare just the opposite of what the world and Satan tell you. The Bible declares that outside of Christ there is nothing but condemnation. In fact, the Bible says that there is the condemnation and the judgment and the wrath of God everywhere except in one place, except in one refuge, except in one person. There is no condemnation only to those who are in Christ Jesus. Only to those who flee to the cross of Christ will find their refuge and strength. Only in Him will they find salvation and peace and eternal life with God. Since the Bible declares that the wages of sin is death, the real issue then is who's going to die? Either I do or somebody else does. Either I must pay the penalty with my life or somebody else does. Ephesians 2, 4 and 5, But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He had loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved." Don't you see? Christ has done it for us. He took our penalty. He took our place. He died in our place. In Christ, we face no condemnation, no death, no judgment. Only in Christ do we stand before a holy God, accepted, cleansed, forgiven, justified, saved. Because without Christ you are in self, and in self you are lost and you are condemned. But when you repent and you trust your soul to Christ, when you commit your life to following Him and His ways, when you are in Him, then the lostness gone, the condemnation gone, the wrath gone. You are safe and secure and saved only in Him. That's the hope and the promise. That's the gift of God. Eternal life in Christ Jesus. Looking to Him, not to your church attendance, not to your baptism, not to your good works, not to the keeping of the law, not to the obeying of the commandments, but to Christ. Loving Him, obeying Him, walking with Him, spending time with Him, believing in Him. It's Christ. It's Christ. It's only Christ. In Romans 5, 12-21 and Romans 6, 1-11, we read that there's only two categories of people. Those who are in Adam and those who are in Christ. Those who are in Adam are under God's just condemnation and face His full wrath for all their sins. And then there are those who are in Christ who have been clothed with His righteousness, His death paying the penalty for all their sins, so that God can be both just and the justifier, the one who has faith in Jesus. So if you desire to say that there is no condemnation for me because Jesus suffered it for me, then the text says you must be in Jesus. If you are in Him, then what happened to Him, in essence, happened to you. And so on the flip side, if you are separated from Him, Then, my friend, you have no authorization. You have no right for saying that what happened to him happened to you. You can't go around claiming that all is good between you and God if you are not in Christ. But Jesus invites you. He commands you to come, to be in Him. Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who wishes to take the water of life without cost come. The one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out." But therein lies the issue. What if you don't come? What if you don't believe? What if you don't receive the free gift? Well, Jesus answers that very question from you. From John 3.36, actually it's going to be one of our Bible memory verses. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. The wrath of God, the condemnation of God is only taken away in Christ, not outside. Simply stated, what Christ has accomplished for us on the cross needs to be internalized. It needs to be made personal. You need to be brought into a relationship with Jesus Christ. You simply need to agree with God that you know you are a sinner in need of rescue, and you need to repent that has turned from your sin and put your trust in what Jesus did on the cross by dying in your place. So this morning, right here in this sanctuary at Grace Community Church, right from your chair, There is available to sinners like you and me an ability to be made into a right standing, into a right relationship with our glorious Creator, so that we can confidently say, there is no condemnation for me. That once we were condemned, once we were all under the curse of the broken law, once we were sinners facing the condemnation of God, but no more. This morning you can stand in a relationship which all of your sins, the darkest, blackest sins, can be covered and forgiven, blotted out and removed as far as the east is from the west and to the deepest parts of the sea, and there be no condemnation for you." And you can say this because when you trust in Jesus as your Savior, then in essence your life is joined to Christ by faith. You have a union with Him. You have a oneness with Him. You are joined to Him in such a way that you have died with Him in His death, and you rise with Him in His resurrection. You are in Christ, and sin is paid for, and there will be no condemnation. That's John 3.18. That's what we read this morning. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. It's John 5, 24, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but is passed from death to life.'" Jesus became a man in order that he might die in a man's place. He came as our likeness. My sin was paid in full, and that's why legally there is no condemnation, because Christ paid the penalty for me. That's the point to 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. He, Jesus, who knew no sin, was made sin on our behalf that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Pastor MacArthur said it this way, Christ's life without a sacrifice couldn't save. He had to die. But a sacrifice without a perfect life couldn't save either, for he would have needed a Savior himself. He had to be holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, a lamb without spot and blemish to take our place. That's the gospel. If you are in Christ, if you are a Christian, this is what we believe. Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, coming into the world, living a righteous life, dying a perfect death, bearing our sin as the spotless Lamb of God, and taking upon Himself the full wrath of God. Not only did God pour out our sin on Christ, but He puts Christ's righteousness on us. Our imperfect life was put to His account and brought about His death. And His perfect life is put to our account and brings about our life. That's the gospel. That's the cure. That's the remedy. And so now we've come full circle. We understand the reality of the situation that we're born into. We have seen the resultant condemnation that we are all sentenced to, and we have just looked into the remedy for the condemnation that God has provided through repentance and faith in His precious Son, Jesus Christ. That leaves just one more question, one more bonus R of eternal importance. What will your response be to all of this? It is no trivial matter, then, that we close our time together with the most important question that I need to ask every single one of you. Are you in Christ Jesus? I told you at the beginning how much I love this church. And now, out of love, I ask with all sincerity, as you sit here this morning, have you fled to Christ as your only refuge from God's judgment? Right now, are you trusting in anything other than Jesus Christ for your eternal destiny? Because if you are in Him, then the Bible says you are safe from the judgment to come. But if you're trusting in anything other than Christ, then you're under condemnation. You don't need religion, you need Christ. You need the cleansing blood of the Lamb and the new birth. You need that which Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, 6, and 7. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, you must be born again. You see, it's not about being spiritual or religious, because religion in itself, it has no power, it has no ability to deliver anyone from the power of sin and death. All the good deeds in the world will not set you free. To be set free, you must be born again. You need new life and part of which only comes by being in Jesus Christ. If you are here this morning and you have not come to repentance and faith in Christ, Then I beg you, I plea with you to bow the knee to Him. If you are here today and depending on anything other than the finished work of Christ, I want you to know that there is no hope for you apart from Christ. You need to run to Him. You need to receive Him. You need to repent of your sin, repent of your independence, repent of your trust in self, repent of your feeble attempts to find sufficient righteousness in doing the right thing. Repent. If you are believing that you are going to get by because God is going to grade on a curve because you're better than somebody else, repent. Repent. Christ died for sin once and for all, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us back to God. And if you believe in anything other than His death will suffice you, that is blasphemy. It's blasphemy, because you believe that you can do a better work that is more sufficient in the sight of God than the death of His only begotten Son. You must repent, turn from that, receive Christ, and rejoice in Him alone. So again, I ask you, where are you? In Christ or outside of Christ? Free from condemnation or under condemnation? You don't have to stay outside of Christ. Jesus speaks to every sinner in this room this morning and says, come, trust me, enter into my rest and I will be your life. I will be your righteousness because I have been your condemnation. you know, in a few hours and if the rain holds off, we're going to be enjoying some sweet time together, something that many of us look forward to this time of year. The church picnic is a great time of fun and to relax and to hang out and to spend some time to eat some food and talking to and encouraging one another, running around, playing some games and probably looking for the Advil later on tonight. but as fun and sweet as the picnic can be, nothing can come close to the reality that today you can have your condemnation removed and be made right with God through Jesus Christ. There is no greater message, no greater possession, no greater anything than Jesus Christ can save you. There is nothing that I have to offer you any better than Jesus because there is nothing better than Jesus. Now, that doesn't mean the rest of your days and life in general is going to be free from struggle or pain or bad news. And if you don't believe me, just ask another follower of Christ. I'm very confident that they will tell you that they still face problems and issues and pains. They will tell you there is still hardship and brokenness that invades their lives and marriages. They will tell you they still have to deal with rebellious and wayward children. They will still tell you they received the unwanted medical diagnosis, but they will also tell you that for whatever the problems that this world brings upon them, whatever issues, whether it be finance or medical, whatever abuse and pain has fallen upon them, that the greatest remedy, the highest hope, the best words you will ever hear, that in Jesus Christ there is now and forevermore no condemnation for you. And one final thought to those of us who call Grace Community Church home, to my brothers and sisters. I pray you have also found encouragement and hope in these words today. I know that we all have lost family and friends. They may even be with you today. And you love them. You care for them. You're concerned for their souls. Friends, we have hope because we have a King who reigns and a gospel to preach, and the gospel is a power unto salvation. And so you continue to hold out hope as you continue to hold out the gospel of Christ and never lose hope. I also want to challenge each and every one of us in how this no-condemnation reality should affect the way we live as a local body, a family of faith together. my brother, my sister, because of this reality, because we are no longer God's enemies but his children, we should be the most joyous, smiling, caring, pleasant people on the face of this planet. And this reality should greatly impact the way we live with and love one another. This truth should guide the way we treat one another and listen to one another and care for one another. It should motivate us to pray for one another, reach out to one another and serve one another. It is this no-condemnation truth that prefers others over self, that doesn't gossip about one another or slander, that builds up and does not tear down, that is controlled and not reckless. Our no-condemnation status should be seen in everything that we do and everywhere we go because it's in our very DNA. Those who are out there should be looking into the front door of our homes and into our church saying, I want what they have. I want the joy. I want the hope. I want the peace and the kindness and the security and the love and the forgiveness and the encouragement that they have. I want Christ. I want Jesus. And they should want Jesus because it is being in Him that causes us to love one another properly and to speak kindly to and about one another. It is being in Christ that causes us to look out and care and pray for one another. It is being in Christ that causes us to have peace and rejoice even in our trials. This no-condemnation truth changes everything for the one that follows Jesus. Everything. So one last time. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let's pray. Father God, we give you thanks for this message, Lord, for the hope that it contains. I pray now, Holy Spirit, you would come and minister to maybe a lost soul that's in here this morning that have put their trust in anything other than Jesus Christ. And Lord, you'll draw them to yourself this very hour, redeem them, save them, and so that they too can say, there is now no condemnation for me. And for my brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray they would be encouraged and find hope and strength in these words to get through the hard and difficult days that lie ahead until you come to bring us home to be with you. In Jesus' name, amen.