Two weeks ago, we looked at just the first two verses of this remarkable chapter - Romans 8. And the main point was that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. This is the reality. There is not now, nor can there ever be condemnation - guilt and the associated punishment that comes with real guilt. No condemnation. And the place we landed was focusing on the relief and joy of having as the banner over your life a triumphant “No Condemnation”. And if you are in Christ, it most certainly is. 

The Christian must be assured of this. Not all Christians are. But this is the privilege we have - to know that there is no condemnation. You cannot be wishy washy on this issue. If you are, you will go through life fearful, anxious, and with a nagging sense of guilt. And why? Because you do not know the favor of God. You don’t know the rich acceptance that he gives you through the Lord Jesus Christ. But you can know this. And God means for us to. So that’s what we talked about last time. No condemnation. 

Almost in passing, I mentioned something that is of immense importance. It is this: It is the Spirit who sets us free. That is the all important issue we need to look at today. It is the Holy Spirit who sets us free. Verses 3-4 unpack this more for us, but we see the statement made plainly in verse 2,

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 

Who is the instrumental Person involved in setting us free? It is the Holy Spirit. This is a great truth! The work of the Spirit in setting us free. This is not merely a positional freedom, like being set free from punishment because of what Christ has done for us. This is speaking of an inner work of freedom the Holy Spirit does in the heart. This is a work of freedom that is to be experienced in our life. 

In verse 2, we see this in the use of the word “law”. It’s actually used twice. The law of the Spirit of life sets us free from the law of sin and death. I think the way Paul uses the word law here is different from the way Paul uses law most of the time in the book of Romans. Paul usually uses the word law to refer to the Mosaic law with its list of commands. Here I think it refers to a principle or power. Perhaps you have heard of the phrase “the law of attraction”, referring to the power of principle of attraction. That’s how Paul uses law here, I think. The law of the Spirit refers to the power of the Spirit. The power of the Spirit who gives life. And what have we been set free from? The law (or power/principle) of sin and death. 

What I want you to see is that this is a work of the Spirit doing something in us. I think there is an important distinction to make at this point. The Christian life is one that begins inward and works out. It never can begin on the outside and work in. External commands can never produce an inward change. It is an issue of root and fruit. Fruit flows from the root, not the other way around.

And I believe this is truly the grandest thing about the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost - the inward work he does. In the OT, we see the work of the Holy Spirit. He would come upon individuals for service. Bezalel, Oholiab, Gideon, Samson, Saul, etc. But you don’t see the Holy Spirit coming in and dwelling in a person. And remember Jesus said this to his disciples. He said about the Holy Spirit, “You know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.” He will be in you. He is not yet, but he will be in you. So we need to see the inward operation of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. I think verses 2-3 really highlight here. How does it work? What does he, the Holy Spirit do? That’s what we need to look at today. But we need to take it step by step and see how this truth - the powerful inward work of the Spirit - is built upon the foundation of another. Let’s look at verse 3:

For God has done, what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

What could the law not do? The law can give commands. The law can show us our sin. The law can show us what pleases God. The law can show us the nature and character of God. The law can show us the path of obedience. All of that. What can the law not do? The law cannot change our hearts. The law cannot provide inward renewal. The law cannot provide the power to do what it commands. So God did something. And this is good news. This is gospel truth. I have quoted a short poem by John Bunyan many times, but it is fitting this morning. 

Run John run, the law commands. But it gives us neither feet nor hands. Far better news the gospel brings. It bids us fly and gives us wings. 

Okay, the law cannot change the heart. So what did God do? TWO STEPS. One is the result or outcome of the other. This is really important to see. Let’s look at verse 3 in its entirety:

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. 

So God something. Because the law was incapable of producing a changed heart, God did something. He sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. This is an important statement. Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh. God the Father sent him in the likeness of sinful flesh. He did not come in sinful flesh, but in the likeness of it. What’s the distinction? Remember, not only did Jesus never actually sin. But he did not possess a sinful nature either. If he did, he could not be the perfect offering we need for our sins. But we know that he went to the cross as the sinless, spotless Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. 

So the Father sent him in the likeness of sinful flesh, “and for sin”. The Father sent Christ into the world for sin. In order to condemn sin in the flesh. This brings us back to two weeks ago. What is the basis of no condemnation for us? God condemned sin in the flesh of Jesus Christ on the cross. Your sin. My sin. The sin of all who trust. This is our justification - our righteous standing before God. We are not “guilty”, but rather “justified, righteous, innocent” in God’s sight. And the basis is what Christ has done on our behalf. Our sins were counted against him. He was treated as a sinner in our place. He bore our punishment. He took away our condemnation. 

And I just want to pause for a moment. This is all important. Do you know this? Are you assured of this? Many Christians, I fear, are not. But you can be. It makes all the difference in the world. Are you relying on Jesus Christ for your right standing with God or do you rely on your emotions, your thoughts, your performance of certain religious activities? The only way of consistent assurance before God, is to rely on Jesus Christ entirely. 

So that is step ONE in this inward change. God sent Christ into the world and did something for us. Now I said that step two is really the outcome of step one. Now we get to the outcome, which takes us from what God has done for us through Christ, to what God does in us through the Holy Spirit. What is the outcome of this? This is so important. Verse 4 begins with “in order that…” This signals to us that what comes next is the result or the outcome of what we just looked at. Verse 4:

In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 

Remember the main point is that it is the power of the Holy Spirit setting us free from the power of sin and which leads to death. And the first step was God sending Christ into the world to deal with our condemnation, by condemning sin in the flesh of Jesus Christ. And now we see the result of that. What is the result? Well, I want to argue that the power of the Spirit sets us free from sin… to love. Here’s the connection between verse 3 and 4: The outcome of our condemnation being taken away is Spirit-empowered love for each other. Let me put it another way. With condemnation removed, the Spirit sets us free from the power of sin and death and FOR love. This is the mighty, inward work of the Spirit. There is nothing greater than this! I want to show you why I think this is what Paul is saying the Spirit sets us free from sin and death, for love. 

Notice the statement, “the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled.” What is that? What is the fulfillment of the righteous requirement of the law? Well, someone might say, it is to do everything the law requires. Yes, that’s exactly right. But what does the law require? Well, I submit to you that the entire law is fulfilled by love. Let me prove this to you, and press home that I think this is precisely what Paul wants to drive like a stake into our minds and hearts. Listen to Paul in Galatians 5:14:

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Later in this book of Romans, chapter 13, Paul says the same thing. We studied this Thursday night:

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Roman 13:8-9)

What is the fulfillment of the law? It is to love one another. At least that's what Paul says. But is it just Paul who says this? Maybe he had some strange doctrine on this point. No, the apostle James said. 

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

Finally, just for good measure, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself said this. In fact, no doubt the apostles got this from Him. In Matthew 22:

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-40)

So what is the righteous requirement of the law? I think clearly in Paul’s mind (and James and Jesus), it is love for one another. Love for my neighbor. 

Notice that this is something that is fulfilled “in us”. And I want to emphasize in us, not for us. It is true that in a sense Jesus obeyed the entire law perfectly for us. And his perfect obedience is counted as ours. Amen! That is justification. And we glory in that! But I believe this is talking about something else. This says that the law, which is summed up in love, is fulfilled in us. And it is so by the powerful, inward working of the Holy Spirit who is producing the fruit of love. 

And so putting together verses 3-4, we see that the outcome or result of Jesus Christ bearing my penalty and taking away my condemnation is that we bear the fruit of love in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit sets us free from the power of sin and death and sets us free to love one another and thus fulfill the law of Christ. And here is what I think happens. One way that original sin is described comes from Martin Luther, and I think it is really helpful at this point. He described original sin as a life “turned inward on self”. Self-absorption. Self-interest. Narcissism. And in one sense, this is not hard to see. Every parent has seen this inclination in their children. 

We laugh, and with a 3 or 4 year old it is funny and cute. But we see what happens in the life of someone who has never had that curbed, either by common grace, or even better, the gospel. It can be disastrous. But this is the deep work of the Spirit. Who comes into our hearts and wrenches us free from sin (being curved in on ourselves) and frees us to love. Have you ever noticed how you are the most free from sin and the most free to love others most when you are thinking about yourself the least? When everything is not self-referential - what are people thinking about me, how does this affect me? Me, me, me, me! This is the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is “love”. 

Now listen, I want the power of the Spirit to be upon me and I want him to be powerfully upon you - for ministry to one another. But we must always remember that the way of love is “the more excellent way” that we must never overlook. 

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

This is the mighty work of the Holy Spirit. Producing this love. But there is one more phrase that we need to make sure is included so we don’t misunderstand this. This law is fulfilled,

In us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

This is a work of the Spirit. But it is not apart from us. It is not as though this is something that happens automatically. The righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us “who walk according to the Spirit.” It is a walk. No doubt, there is an initial freedom that comes in conversion, when we are born again by the Spirit. But then we learn to walk according to the Spirit and gain more and more freedom from sin and more liberty to love. So we bear the fruit of love in the power of the Spirit as we walk by the Spirit. So the Spirit sets us free from sin to fulfill the law, which is love. And this is true for those who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. This is a good place to land this morning. 

How do we walk by the Spirit? Well, the most obvious place to start is here. You can only walk according to the Spirit if you have the Spirit. You can only walk by the Spirit if the Spirit is in you. We will look more at this next time. But for the Christian who is relying on Christ alone, you have the Spirit!  And so to walk in the Spirit is to live moment by moment in the power of the Spirit? Now I am going to give you a couple of things that I find helpful in how to do this, but please know that you cannot nail down precisely something like walking in the Spirit or living in the life-giving power of the Spirit. It doesn’t work that way. When we are talking about walking in the power of another Person, you cannot make it a mechanical thing. However, I do think there are a few general exhortations to give. 

To walk by the Spirit, we need to be Intentional. Recognizing my need, the Spirit’s presence, and his willingness to help. We need to intentionally do this, because it is a walk. The Holy Spirit is a Person who dwells in our hearts. Yet how often is he completely ignored, or worse grieved and quenched. I say this to my own shame. O, how we need to cultivate a dynamic walk with the Spirit. And this dynamic walk comes from intentionally relying on him.

To walk by the Spirit, we need to be obedient. He is God. Love is manifest as we do what the Spirit says, relying on his strength. Love is more than sentimental feelings. And so the Spirit directs us to act in love. I do not want to discount the direct leading of the Spirit. No doubt, the Spirit leads and guides us. But I do have in mind the explicit commands of scripture. Sometimes we look for other ways for the Spirit to lead us instead of obeying the commands we see on the pages of scripture. We can be assured that as we seek to obey the Spirit, relying on his help, we are most certainly walking by the Spirit. 

To walk by the Spirit, it is a walk of faith. In other words, walking in the Spirit is walking by faith and not by sight. We are walking the strength of another Person, who happens to be God, and we cannot see him. But Jesus said it is to our advantage that he go away and we receive the indwelling Spirit. It’s a faith walk. This is not pretend, but it is in the spiritual realm, and we need to grow in this. And by his grace we will.

So, it’s the Spirit who sets us free from sin and death to fulfill the law of God which is love.