The Spirit of Christ gives eternal life.

 

Sermon for Lent 4, 2025

Grace and peace to all of you who are in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Romans 8:1-10  So then, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  ²For in Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.  ³Indeed, what the law was unable to do, because it was weakened by the flesh, God did, when he sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to deal with sin. God condemned sin in his flesh, ⁴so that the righteous decree of the law would be fully satisfied in us who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.  ⁵To be sure, those who are in harmony with the sinful flesh think about things the way the sinful flesh does, and those in harmony with the spirit think about things the way the spirit does.  ⁶Now, the way the sinful flesh thinks results in death, but the way the spirit thinks results in life and peace.  ⁷For the mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God, since it does not submit to God’s law, and in fact, it cannot.  ⁸Those who are in the sinful flesh cannot please God.  ⁹But you are not in the sinful flesh but in the spirit, if indeed God’s Spirit lives in you.  And if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Christ.  ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but your spirit is alive because of righteousness. (EHV)

The Spirit of Christ gives eternal life.

Dear brothers and sisters made alive in Christ,

            Since the introduction of DNA testing, and its application in fighting crime, numerous criminals have been brought to justice after many years of evading punishment.  At the same time, there have been a number of people who spent years and decades in prison, and even on death row waiting for the ultimate justice to be applied.  Many of those had protested their innocence, but it is well understood that most convicts claim innocence.  Yet, some were eventually proven not guilty and released.

You and I have a different story.  We, too, were once imprisoned in a spiritual death row, bound in the chains of sin and unbelief—however, in your case and mine, the conviction was appropriate for God’s Word declares, “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)  We had no legitimate defense for the sins we had committed, and therefore, we deserved the death sentence on our heads.  Yet, like those previously mentioned, our death sentences have been overturned—however, in our case, not because we were innocent—and not based on a technicality of the law—no, we were set free from the penalty our sins had earned, because God sent His Son, Jesus, to take that penalty of death for each and every one of us, so that instead, The Spirit of Christ gives eternal life.

Immediately before our sermon text, Paul lamented the fact that sin still affected him even though he had been set free from its penalty.  Paul recognized that as long as we live in this world, we have to deal with our sinful flesh on a daily basis.  Thus, as a reminder of the power of Christ in our faith, Paul wrote, “So then, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 

Because of sin’s curse, the sinful flesh is often tempted to take the salvation of our Lord very lightly, and sometimes, we are tempted to take advantage of Christ’s forgiveness by thinking it is okay to sin, if just a little.  However, Paul is not in any way saying that sin is acceptable.  In contrast, he addresses the guilt we feel because of the sins that daily creep into our lives, sins which make us feel outside of God’s grace.  When we become conscious of our sins, our consciences accuse us, and we feel guilty, unloved, unwelcome, and unforgiven by the merciful Lord who gave His life for all.

To fight those feelings that lead to despair, and the devil’s taunting, the Holy Spirit had Paul remind us that because of the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus, all our sins were taken away, not just the sins of our past, not just original sin, not just the big ones, and certainly not just the little ones, but all sins were laid on Christ.  When a person is made a child of God through faith in Christ, all guilt is removed.  We no longer must walk in condemnation.  The Christian is not controlled by what the flesh desires; rather, the Spirit of Christ now reigns in our lives.  By His gift of faith in Jesus, “the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” 

We saw this on the day of Pentecost, for the people were cut to the heart by the apostles’ preaching, and they asked, "Brothers, what should we do?”  Peter answered them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:37-38)  The gift of the Holy Spirit is faith in Christ Jesus.  Through Spirit-given trust in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, your sins are wiped from God’s record, and you are set free.  All the condemnation is gone; your deserved death sentence revoked.  “For in Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set [us] free from the law of sin and death.”

The spiritual death sentence under which we once lived and were under Satan’s control was removed by Christ on the cross, and the freedom He won is given to you by the Holy Spirit bringing you new life through faith.  What the law could not enable us to do, Jesus did.  What we had no power to do on our own, Jesus accomplished for us.  He lived the perfect obedience required.  He died the innocent death.  By God’s grace, His perfect righteousness is now credited to you and me.  By the Holy Spirit making us alive through faith in Christ, you and I are counted completely righteous before God.

Paul wrote, “Now, the way the sinful flesh thinks results in death, but the way the spirit thinks results in life and peace.”  When we were controlled by the flesh, the devil was our warden, and we were dead in sin.  That spiritual death kept us afraid of the future.  The sinful nature often fears what will become of us when our bodies are laid in the dust.  Until Christ enters our lives, we can only wonder with terror, how dare we stand before God’s judgment?  Who or what will defend us against His righteous anger?  The world and our sinful flesh had no answer. 

However, The Spirit of Christ gives eternal life.  Now that we have been brought to faith in Christ, we don’t need to fear the future or the judgment, for we have been given life that lasts forever.  Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)  He said, “My sheep hear my voice.  I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.” (John 10:27-28)  Before He left this world, Jesus comforted His disciples saying, “Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)  Jesus’ own resurrection from the grave proves that God’s promise of eternal life and peace for you and me is certain and sure.

Later in this chapter, Paul wrote, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things to come, nor powerful forces, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)  That is the confidence faith in Jesus gives to the believer.  We have everlasting life.  What can the world do to us?  Take our physical life?  That only sends us home to be forever with our Savior.  Steal our property?  So what!  Our real home and all true wealth is “in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20)

Throughout this section of his letter, Paul contrasts our old sinful existence and our new life of faith.  He wrote: “To be sure, those who are in harmony with the sinful flesh think about things the way the sinful flesh does, and those in harmony with the spirit think about things the way the spirit does.  Now, the way the sinful flesh thinks results in death, but the way the spirit thinks results in life and peace.  For the mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God, since it does not submit to God’s law, and in fact, it cannot.  Those who are in the sinful flesh cannot please God.” 

The world continually tries to deny it, but before receiving faith in Jesus, nothing anyone does is good in God’s eyes.  Sin corrupted every part of our being.  Even when we wanted to do good things, we did them for the wrong reasons, so it was counted as sin.  There was not one good thing in us, just as Isaiah confirmed, “We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” (NKJ Isaiah 64:6)  Even the very best things we might do on our own were corrupt and offensive to God’s righteous judgment.  However, all of that was changed by Christ Jesus and the gift of the Spirit, for Jesus prayed of His heavenly Father, “Sanctify them by the truth.  Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

To reassure fellow believers of the blessings of Christian faith, Paul wrote: “But you are not in the sinful flesh but in the spirit, if indeed God’s Spirit lives in you.  And if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Christ.  But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but your spirit is alive because of righteousness.”  Separated from Christ, we could do nothing, but those who believe in Him are now credited with all righteousness.  Not only that, but we now can serve our Lord.  We are now enabled to do good things in God’s eyes.

It is important to note, here, that you don’t have to do things that are great and mighty in the eyes of the world to be counted as righteous before God.  He requires simple faith in Jesus.  The monks that beat themselves, starve their bodies, and do all kinds of works and rituals to please some imagined command have nothing on you.  Those who give away fortunes to ease their guilty consciences gain nothing if it is done outside of faith in Jesus.  But what great joy is ours, that even though we once couldn’t do anything to please God, now everything we do in faith and love of God is counted for our glory.

All other religions teach ways they think will earn God’s favor, but none can achieve it.  In fact, Paul wrote to the Galatians, “You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law are completely separated from Christ.” (Galatians 5:4)  All those who teach a salvation of works, or righteousness by obedience of law, keep people locked up in Satan’s death-row prison.  Faithless works have no meaning to the Triune God, and anything done to please any other god is only idolatry. 

Dear friends, Jesus left this world saying to His disciples, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)  As the body of Christ, true believers in God’s Son live to grow His spiritual body.  That is an ability no one else on earth possesses, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, we rejoice for the ability and the opportunities to increase His kingdom by sharing the Good News of what Jesus has done for us, and for all, to rescue people from the pit of despair which is that path to hell.

The faithful Christian lives as a beacon of light to draw lost sinners to the saving arms of Jesus.  The great commandment says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)  We love God when the Holy Spirit gives us faith to believe in His Son, Jesus.  We love our neighbors when we share Christ’s salvation with them.  We love our neighbors when we live the good example of the faithful Christian: walking in faith through good times and bad, making worship and praise of our Lord the priority of our lives, serving unselfishly as we reach out to both friends and enemies with the forgiveness Jesus won for all. 

Now, you probably don’t feel like you are always serving the Lord.  Like Paul, you probably lament your sinful nature that finds you breaking God’s commands and neglecting Him in many ways.  Certainly, any sin is regrettable and could lead us away from faith in Christ.  Therefore, we never want to minimize the reality of our sinfulness.  Rather, we lay it all before Jesus in sincere repentance.  We study God’s Word to learn faithful obedience and to grow in His grace.  Then, dear friends, walking in true faith, we live in the Spirit.  Connected with Christ through Baptism, we live trusting that Jesus has paid for all our sins.  Living in that faith, we don’t serve Him out of fear; we serve because of humble thankfulness that The Spirit of Christ gives eternal life.  Amen.

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless in the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and to all eternity.  Amen.