The Lutheran Hour
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"Freedom in the Spirit"
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Text: Romans 8:1-11
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Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, we who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah!
Listen to what Paul says. Ready? “Now, there is no condemnation for those in Christ.” No condemnation. How does that sound? I know what it would sound like for Bill.
Before I tell you about Bill, let me ask you, “Do you know someone who’s been in jail?” If you do, remember them in your prayers, right now. For no matter what a person’s done, jail is a terrible reminder that things can get even worse. And, even there, people need to know that there can be salvation; there can be a changed heart; there can be an eternal future in spite of the justice of time served!
So remember them, remember them. That’s what I’m doing right now. I was especially thinking about someone right now. Let’s call him Bill (now that’s not his real name). Bill is a fellow Christian. A few months ago, he called a friend of mine, a fellow pastor. He called and said that he was in a tough jam. He had no place to stay. He had no money. No job. On that phone call, Bill confessed that he had addiction problems, drugs, but he really wanted to get clean. He needed, actually, more importantly he wanted help. He started going to this recovery group at church, he seemed to be walking down the path of getting well but then things changed, something tripped him up, it landed Bill in jail.
I’m not only thinking about Bill in prayer right now, but I’m also thinking about all kinds of people out there who are like Bill and they don’t seem to have anywhere to turn. Maybe, if there was someone who could have helped; someone they could have talked to; maybe they wouldn’t have given in to temptation, fallen off the wagon, maybe they would have never done whatever they did to get them in jail in the first place. But now, in jail, after the fact; maybe if there still was someone to turn to; maybe their testimony, maybe their assistance might even help Bill and people like him, get them through the day, through the sentence, or maybe help them yet go free; if there was just someone who would go the extra mile for them.
But who would do that? When you are incarcerated, you are cut off; you are out of reach of every hand that’s ever been extended. Parents, friends, family; so many times, even if they wanted to help, it may be beyond their means, beyond their influence, beyond their best efforts. And when you are cut off because of all the things you’ve done, you wonder who would even care anyway.
Now listen, most of you listening today, you’ve never been in jail. You have never had that feeling that comes when the door of the cell clangs shut, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve never felt like you are all alone, outside of the reach of anyone who cares. That doesn’t mean that you haven’t felt deep inside that you are trapped, not sure where to turn or who to turn to.
And that’s why this Bible verse today is so special, so powerful, so practical for everyone of us today.
Let’s just say it again, ready? In Jesus Christ, because of Jesus Christ, there is no place beyond His reach and because of Him, there is right now, “no condemnation for those who are in Him. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” That’s a freedom beyond your troubles, a freedom that overcomes your sin. That’s a freedom from all shame and all bondage. That’s a freedom God wants you to have in His Son’s Name, right now.
Let those words ring in your ears today, “There is…no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” How does that make you feel? I know that guilt can weigh me down. I know the feelings of shame that all of us feel at times in our lives. Oh, what a feeling to know that those things can be overcome; they can be put in the rear view mirror.
But, the good news of this verse today is that this freedom is more than a feeling. This freedom in Christ is very real, tangible, and it’s based on the reality of just Who this Jesus was and Who He is for us.
It’s right here right now in front of your eyes. Paul says it this way. In Jesus, “God has done what the law could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, we who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4).
So who is He? Who is this Jesus Christ? Well He is God in human flesh at work for you. It’s what God has done and you get the blessing of what He has done. Why, because He offers it to you as His gift of grace. Period. You can’t earn it, you can’t do it, you can only receive it. And, it is as certain as Jesus Himself.
I was thinking about how to illustrate this and, I’m sorry if this is a little silly illustration, but it just came to my mind because the Masters is on this weekend. It’s a tournament that I used to watch with my grandfather, and we saw great comebacks, great falls from grace, and great competition throughout. One of these years, I want to go to that tournament and I want to see the blades of grass myself.
Anyway, thinking about golf, there was a tournament I played in several years ago. And, on this one hole, they had hired the longest-driver champion to hit our drive for us. Let me say that again. He would hit our drive as if we had hit it. Now listen, every one of us stepped up to hit our own drive and we thought wouldn’t it be great if we hit it farther than he did? One of our players in the foursome actually crushed a drive, right down the fairway. Wow. It was down there a long way. But, then this guy stepped up, and folks, I have never seen anyone hit a ball that far, that straight, than that day. He almost drove a par 5. He almost hit a golf ball 500 yards; all the way to the green; in one shot. But, his drive was our drive. Now, you know it wasn’t by grace though, because we paid! We paid that hole to get what he had done.
But you know, in life, we need more than a drive down the fairway. When it really matters, we can’t even hit it off the tee. If you are honest, you know what it means to be overwhelmed with your inabilities, especially when people are really counting on you, when you are in need of something beyond your best; and Paul says Jesus stepped up, not to a tee box, but to a cross where sins were to be punished, where sinners pay the price for their sins. Jesus stepped into your life at that moment and He nailed it. And on Easter Sunday, in golf terms, He miraculously drove the green. It was a hole in one.
And today, He offers you the blessings of His work as a gift of His grace; tangible, real, as real as Jesus Christ Himself is.
God has done it, Paul says. God has done it for you.
The problem for so many of us; we keep trying to make it all our work on our own terms. We still think we can do it, we think our efforts are all that’s needed. We want to be the difference maker. We’d like to be important to others. And, we’d love to be successful. Or, to put it into terms for someone sitting in the slammer, we’d like to clean our act up ourselves. We want to hold down a job. We’d like to make our family proud. We’d love to live differently as if we were the very power of God in our lives on our terms.
Listen to Paul again. “No, God had to do it and God has done it for you.” God covers all our bases. In fact, simply saying it this way, He covers us. He wraps around you His arms of love and grace so you don’t feel all alone.
The Bible says, “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, He condemned sin in the flesh, 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.”
What has God done for you? He has done what the law, weakened in the flesh, what the law could not do.
He has done what no amount of primping, posturing, or wishing could ever do. He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for every single bit of humanity’s sinfulness. All of it! And in Jesus Christ God makes you and me new. That is the confidence that is now yours because of what God has done. He declares you a new man or a new woman in Jesus Christ.
Now, just like your wardrobe needs to be updated regularly or your house needs a fresh coat of paint, so it is that you are I are in need of a mindset that breathes with the freedom of the Spirit. Why? It is because our old selves only too easily fall back into their own ways. We are sin-sick or shame-bloated and quite probably guilt-ridden. It takes work to update old stuff and our old selves. In fact, a new pair of clothes or shoes don’t really make the man in you or create the woman in you, do they? Not at all.
The Scripture verses from Romans here help us to realize the need for constant care, Christ’s constant care and keeping. Paul says, “For those who live according to the flesh, they set their mind on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh, that’s death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Remember my friend, Bill? It turns out that some really great people at church did post bond and did get him out. He’s free; well, physically. He knows that he’s got a long way to go emotionally and spiritually, but he’s getting support. People are working with him in a program. One day at a time he’s battling, staying sober, no drugs, no alcohol; but he’s not doing it on his own. He’s already seen where that got him. One day, hopefully soon, his treatment program will allow him the freedom to get a job, earn a livable wage, and live freely.
That’s a little bit like the struggle of living in the flesh, by the power of the Spirit of God in Jesus Christ. But there’s one big difference. We live by His grace, not just His help. And His grace and help is eternally powerful compared to even our best helpers’ best efforts. Even though, we all struggle with temptations, with weakness, with problems; we struggle with all of that by faith in the One Who has already overcome all things for us.
So today, start to put your mind on the things that God tells you are already true for you in Jesus Christ. No matter your circumstance, no matter your struggle, because He will have the final word in your life and mine.
So many today worry about important things like their identity, esteem, their purpose in life as if it is built on our sinful best efforts alone. When you do that, you neglect the new identity that God has for you in Jesus and you either think too little of yourself or you think way too much of yourself, and worse, you miss the whole point.
God wants you to think of yourselves with an identity, a power, and a purpose that comes through the gift of God’s righteousness bestowed upon you and me by Jesus Christ.
Romans 8 goes on to say, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. If the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.”
Because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, freedom from the guilt of sin, freedom from the shame you sometimes feel about your own flesh and blood, and freedom from mental anguish is yours.
Don’t take your life into your own hands; rather, fall into the hands of the One Who stretched His hands out for you on the cross, Who stretches His hands out to you right now all the way from heaven to where you are.
His hands are power to lift you when you are fallen, to enfold you when you are all alone, and to strengthen you with a grip of grace that will see you through whatever you are facing right now. In fact, He will see you through death itself to life eternal.
That’s His gift, that’s His promise, that’s His new identity for you, straight down the middle when it matters most!
Freedom is a big word in the Bible. I know it’s a big word for many people in our culture too. But if you need freedom, the Bible says, that the real deal is from Jesus to all who believe. And there is nothing like living in that freedom, now and forever. That’s a freedom to be the person that God created you, redeemed you, and is even now calling you to be, every day.
Bill has a glimpse of that, right now. He knows what it’s like to be set free. But, I’ve talked to people who are still behind bars who’ve come to know Jesus as their Savior who tell me they have never been freer than they are even now; because they know Jesus as Savior. So, wherever you are, this side of heaven, the struggle continues, but the God Who placed Jesus on the cross, through His gifts of baptism, His words of the Scripture; He can literally put Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit into your hearts and into your lives.
And what does the Bible say about that? “Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.” That’s a power of the Spirit’s promise, in the very Name of Jesus. And that is life now, that’s freedom now, and that’s life forever to all who put their faith in Him. Go ahead; live in the power of the freedom of the Spirit! You’ll be glad you did!
Amen.
Action in Ministry for April 02, 2017
Guest: Rev. Leroy Johnson and Vince StanleyANNOUNCER: You’re listening to The Lutheran Hour and this is Action in Ministry. God forgives sins, but sins do have consequences.
SELTZ: Yeah, Mark, and we’ve all had to deal with consequences from our past mistakes but even then we can know we can still have true freedom in Jesus Christ. That’s true even for those decisions that may have landed some of us in jail.
ANNOUNCER: Literally.
SELTZ: Yeah.
ANNOUNCER: We have two special guests with us today. The Rev. Leroy Johnson has written a resource for us titled The Journey Home. And also here with us is Vince Stanley, Chaplain at the St. Louis County Jail.
SELTZ: Pastor Johnson, Vince, it’s wonderful to have you. Thank you for being here with us today.
JOHNSON: Thank you for having us.
SELTZ: Pleasure. Pleasure. Now, Pastor Johnson, tell us why you decided to write this study.
JOHNSON: At that time I had been studying and teaching on the Prodigal Son. One of the things we found was so many individuals had been incarcerated is that they’re rejected by not only society, their family, and even sometimes the church. And this is a perfect example of someone whose self-esteem had been taken to such a degree he didn’t think his father would even accept him back as a son but as a servant. And it just went from there.
SELTZ: …went from there.
JOHNSON: So many men who have not had good fathers or fathers who rejected them because they didn’t come up to their standards. Well, right here we see the son thinking how his father is going to receive him, but, yet, his father wanted him.
SELTZ: Yeah, couldn’t wait.
JOHNSON: Couldn’t wait. In the same way it is a lesson to fathers to those daughters and sons who have not done what they wanted, to receive them. Because as men, especially, I’m 65, I was brought up in an age you didn’t cry, you didn’t show no emotions, you were hard, and you didn’t forgive. Well, right here it shows what a…
SELTZ: …man can do.
JOHNSON: …what a man can do.
SELTZ: Some of the things you were just talking about there, there is so many of these issues especially that are acute in people that are behind bars, but they’re in all of us too in a certain way too, in that sense that even God doesn’t love us, and God doesn’t want us back. Suddenly all of that turns around when you realize this is Who God really is and He really does love you. Vince, you actually work in the prison system and you’re there every day. Tell us what you do and tell us about what you see when you encounter individuals.
STANLEY: I go into St. Louis County Justice Center every morning and the first thing I do is I go up…and I’m the Chaplain for the whole facility so I can go anywhere. I make my rounds. I go into the pods and I have the officer open up the interview room and announce that the Chaplain is here and people come in and bring their issues. Most of the people that are in the Justice Center are there because they’re broken from drug addiction and the consequences of it, and the family issues that drive them to drug addiction. So they already know that the law’s breaking them. One of the things that I do is just allow them to speak. It’s amazing that when you have a loving, listening presence, how you can win that trust right away. They see that you are really interested in what they have to say because they’re told what to do 24/7.
SELTZ: Right.
STANLEY: I give them the chance to talk and share and then I bring the Gospel into that. Whatever their needs present, I go to a Scripture or just bring some prayer and some healing.
SELTZ: How open are the folks to you too because they’ve got to be suspicious a little bit, right?
STANLEY: Yeah. It depends on where they’re at.
SELTZ: It takes time.
STANLEY: Yeah, and sometimes it does take time, but it’s amazing. They know if you are for real or not.
SELTZ: This power really is available to everybody listening today because I was telling both you guys about John who was a prisoner down in Angola who became kind of a missionary inside the prison and how he was actually…when he first was sent to death row, that the guards made fun of him and the prisoners made fun of him. “Hey preach, what are you doing here? We don’t need you.” They stripped him naked. They treated him like nothing and he kept coming back. He kept coming back. He kept saying, “Have this mind in you which is in Jesus.” He thought Jesus did this for me; I’ll do this for them. I think it was about four months later; and John, if you are listening, God bless you; four months later they started saying, “Well, leave your clothes on, preach.” And then some of the guys on death row said, “Hey, can I talk to you because if a God is willing to send a guy like you to me, I’ve got to get to know this God.”
ANNOUNCER: It’s a fascinating conversation we’re having today and we’re also thankful to have this resource that Pastor Johnson has written for us. It’s one that can be shared with those who are incarcerated or perhaps someone you know who’s living in rebellion against God but might be open to hearing about this hope and freedom that we have through faith in Christ. We want to thank both of you for joining us today.
SELTZ: And that’s our Action in Ministry segment today; to bless, to empower, and to strengthen your life in Christ for others.
ANNOUNCER: And for your free copy of The Journey Home, go to lutheranhour.org, click on Action In Ministry. Or call 1-855-john316. That’s 1-855-564-6316.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for April 02, 2017
Topic: What Do You Say to a Jewish Person to Help Them See Their Need for the Messiah Jesus?ANNOUNCER: We’re back once again with Pastor Gregory Seltz responding to questions. I’m Mark Eischer. Today’s question is, “What might you say to a Jewish person to help them understand their need for Jesus?”
SELTZ: Mark, that’s an important question especially as we enter into Holy Week.
ANNOUNCER: Why is that?
SELTZ: Jesus was ethnically Jewish. His early disciples were Jewish and even some of His enemies were Jewish. So, we are going to hear a lot about Jewish leaders and Jesus this time of year in the Bible.
ANNOUNCER: And that’s another connection between Jewish people and the Christian Church. Even today, Jewish people would regard what we call the Old Testament as God’s Word, right?
SELTZ: They do; and some are still even waiting for the Messiah, though others think differently about such things.
ANNOUNCER: Now the writers of the New Testament; St. Paul, Matthew, Mark, and others, they understood the Old Testament as their Bible and that also the Jewish people were a significant part of God’s plan of salvation for all.
SELTZ: For many, Jesus was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises and prophecies; which is one reason the early churches were filled with Jewish people who believed that Jesus was the Messiah.
ANNOUNCER: Did they consider Him the “Jewish” Messiah?
SELTZ: I don’t think they would have said it that way. He was the world’s Messiah, Who came from the lineage of David, of Moses, and of Abraham; a promised people from whom would come a promised Messiah, Savior, though, for all people.
ANNOUNCER: Well, Jesus is indeed the fulfillment of all that’s prophesied in the Old Testament. How might that help us talk with a Jewish person about their need for the Messiah and that Jesus is that Messiah?
SELTZ: Well, in reality, I just answered the second part of your question that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises of the Old Testament. One good way to share the good news about Jesus with a Jewish person is to go back to the Old Testament and examine those prophecies and the issues that God Himself was to fulfill in their lives.
ANNOUNCER: I suppose you are talking here about the promise made to Abraham in Genesis, chapter 12.
SELTZ: Yes, just like that. Abraham was blessed for a reason; to be part of God’s plan to bless, to redeem, and to restore all people. He was blessed to be a blessing.
ANNOUNCER: All people need the Messiah and Jesus is God’s plan for us all.
SELTZ: And the Jewish people were the honored choice of God to bring all that to fruition. We all need the Messiah, because without Him, we are separated from God just like Adam and Eve.
ANNOUNCER: The Old Testament also teaches that sacrifices and offerings were to be given in order to reconcile us to God?
SELTZ: Yes, there was power of that promise in the Messiah, Jesus, Who was to come. So, in a manner of speaking, God made certain provisions for salvation pre-incarnate, pre-Christmas Jesus. Those gifts of God in the Old Testament, the sacrifices, the Passover, the temple, God’s gifts granting salvation and forgiveness, their power was in, finally, the Messiah, Jesus, Who was to come.
ANNOUNCER: And when Jesus came, He died for our sins which means that the sacrifices of the Old Testament are no longer required in order to receive forgiveness.
SELTZ: Because their power was in the Messiah Who was coming. Now that He has come, those old things give way.
ANNOUNCER: That means that Jewish people who don’t believe in Jesus don’t really have what God wants them to have.
SELTZ: But that’s true for them, yes, but it’s true for all of us. When people try to worship God without Jesus, they are missing the whole point of Who God is and what He has done for us. Jesus Himself says it this way, “If you want to know God the Father, ‘He who has seen me, has seen the Father!'” Jesus makes these claims that sound so incredible to us.
ANNOUNCER: What’s so special about Jesus?
SELTZ: He is more than people expected. He is not just the royal Son of David. He is not just the Prophet Who teaches the truth about God. He is not just the One Who lived a perfect life. He’s God in the flesh. He is the perfect Sacrifice for all sins. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus, the God/Man in this world, paid for the sins of the world.
ANNOUNCER: So, we all need a Savior because of our sin.
SELTZ: Yes, Jewish and non. In fact, the early Church, they were a Jewish people who believed they needed a Messiah, and in Jesus they believed they had found Him.
ANNOUNCER: Even as the Bible speaks of a special favor for Jewish people, it all culminates in Jesus for them and also for us!
SELTZ: Absolutely!
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Seltz. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“My Song Is Love Unknown” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)
“Not All the Blood of Beasts” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)