“The Righteousness of the Law Fulfilled in Us” (Romans 8:1–4)

“The Righteousness of the Law Fulfilled in Us” (Romans 8:1–4)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, January 28, 2018

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4, NIV)

Summary of vv. 1–2:

1. Believers in Christ are not condemned and will not be condemned.
2. Believers in Christ are free—free from the penalty of sin and free from the power of sin because of the work of Christ and the gift of the indwelling Spirit of God.

Verses 3–4 are meant to address the question of how verses 1–2 are possible:

1. The good and righteous Law was hampered by the inability of our flesh to perform it (3a).

2. God accomplished our salvation for us by sending His Son Jesus Christ to be our representative in life and death (3b).

3. Jesus Christ won the victory over sin and death and fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law for us (3c–4a).

4. As beneficiaries of this grace of God, believers in Christ Jesus now live under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and not under the pull of our sinful flesh (4b).

Main Idea: We can’t keep the Law, so Christ fulfilled it for us in his life and death, so that we might now live without condemnation in the realm of the Holy Spirit.