LIVING IN THE ‘GET AGE’

6 - LIVING IN THE ‘GET AGE’ 

November 19,1961

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

Galatians 6: 6 – 10 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. 

God has said here, if we are spiritual if we walk in the Spirit, we are going to treat these folks who have gotten into sin with kindness. We are to share one another’s burdens. Then, in the 6^th vs. he tells us that we are tot bear our own burdens. There are no contradictions here. This is a different Greek word for burden than the one in the 2^nd verse. This word, here, is responsibility, or a task, or a service. We have services that we must render unto God if we re going to be spiritual. 

And then He gives us an example in the next few verses, from 7 – 10 and it is on giving. Those who are spiritual will now how to give of their financial and material wealth. And then, God also puts a warning in, for He says, whatsoever a man soweth in his giving, that will he also reap. And then, he talks about sowing to the flesh, rather than sowing to the Spirit. So one who is a Spirit-led Christian, a Spirit-controlled Christian, will be one who will give—his pocketbook will be open to the Lord’s work.

1/  To walk in the Spirit means that He will endeavor to teach us to give. You’ll notice exactly what you are doing. In verse 9 it says, soweth to the Spirit. In other words, the money that you give is given to the Holy Spirit, through the agencies that He is using to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

2/  The word, communicate, is coin-oh-knee-ah, and it means to share—it means to have fellowship.

3/  Let us notice, sow to the flesh. We may seek only selfish desires. All that God has permitted us to earn, to have, we give to ourselves, we shower it upon ourselves, and those we love, and we forget all about the work of God. 

     A study was made of Christians—those who claim to be saved and in that study, fully 72% of all adult Christians in the United States give $1.00 or less per Sunday. Do you know what that figures out to? That is less than 1% of their income, and they think they are giving to God. It is appalling. 31% drop only their small change—that is the pocket change into the collection. If they don’t have any small change, they let the collection plate pass. This is appalling but it is true. And God shows the folly of sowing to the flesh, because He uses an agricultural figure of sowing and reaping. Sowing involves activity and the activity means it is bound to bring forth some result. So with your finances—with what God has given to you, if you use it all for the flesh, you will reap corruption—not spirituality, but carnality, fleshliness. Throughout the whole Bible, we have this idea of sowing and reaping.

4/Judges 1: 7 And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. 

    Adonibezek (A – do ‘-eye – bee - zeck) He had developed the habit of amputating the thumbs and great toes of his victims, those he had captured. Finally, he met the same fate at the hands of victorious Israelites, and he suffered the loss of these members, and he said as I have done, so God hath requited me. 

    And then we also have this brought out to us in Numbers 32: 23 The children of Rueben, and the children of Gad came to Moses, requesting an inheritance in the land of Gilead, promising that if they were given this portion they would fight with their brethren for the subjugation of the land. Do you know what Moses said to them? If ye will not do so, ye have sinned against Jehovah, and be sure your sin will find you out. 

    All about us in this world, we have the principle, the law of sowing and reaping and working in human lives. 

    Numbers 32: 23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. 

5/Those who take everything they have and just use on themselves and give just a small portion to the Lord are having a Dead Sea kind of experience. It is said that nothing can live in that body of water, because it has no outlet, and though millions of tons of fresh water pour into it every week, evaporation and mineral deposits make it so bitter, it cannot sustain life. 

6/How should Christians give? This is an important thing. God is speaking all this time about giving to the Church…Giving to the work of God. How then should men give? The rule for giving under grace is different, than that under law. 

    The normal giving for the Christian, or the doctrine for Christian giving is found in II Corinthians 8: 9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.  

    And you will notice, in these chapters, nothing is said about tithing. Tithing is an Old Testament Law, rather than a New Testament rule of giving. Under the law, the Israelites were commanded to give not merely 1/10^th, but much more. 

    First, there was a tithe—that is 1/10^th of all they had. The Levites then received this tithe, and they in turn paid 1/10^th to the high priest. Then there was a second, additional tithe of field produce alone. This was used for celebrating the sacred feast each first and second year, and to be celebrated at Shiloh or Jerusalem, and every third year at home. Some scholars tell us there was also a third tithe for the support of the poor, but this is denied by some who hold that the second tithe on every third year was for the Levites and the poor.

7/All this was required. It must be done to obey the Law. Whatever he desired to bring to the Lord above that was a free-will offering, and it was the complaint of the Old Testament prophets that God’s people robbed Him—not only of tithes, but also of offerings. 

    Malachi 3: 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings? 

8/These two chapters are wonderful in II Corinthians, for actually they are just like windows in which we can look into the conditions prevailing in the early church and see just how they behaved, and what God had to say about their behavior. These people here had made a pledge to God through the Apostle Paul, but you know, I don’t believe in making pledges to the church, but nevertheless, I’ll say this—we do believe in making pledges, except to God. 

    We all make pledges—we make a pledge to the landlord when we promise to pay him so much a month, or if you are buying a house, you make a pledge to the bank or the building and loan that you will pay so much a month. If you are running a bill down at the hardware store, or perhaps at the department store, you are pledged to pay so much on the installment plan, you make a pledge. If you buy a car, and you pay so much a month, you make a pledge, but my, how people rebel at making a pledge to God. In this day and age, I don’t believe in that myself, but I think too often, people do not stop and think about the Lord’s work and what they owe to God.

9/They said to Paul—we will do something when you come back. These people down in Jerusalem are starving, there is a famine there and we will want to help, and Paul said, You keep that pledge when I come back, and they did.

10/Did you ever know that giving is the way of grace people behaving towards God? Grace is God bestowing or giving to us, everything for nothing, and as a grace people, we want to be graceful—actually the word for us is giving—grace of giving—so we give back to God. 

    Notice what God says here. He has four expressions that are interesting. 

    II Corinthians 8: 2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. 

    First of all, great trial of affliction. Secondly, abundance of Joy, thirdly, deep poverty, and fourthly, riches of liberality. They were going through a great trial—a great trial of affliction. Out of the abundance of their joy—they had joy, even though they were in affliction, they gave. Out of their deep poverty, they gave, and it abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

11/Did you ever stop to think that God’s way of estimating gifts is different from ours? He estimates our gifts not by the amount we give, but by the amount we have that is left. 

    If a man is a millionaire and he gives a thousand dollars, that does not count as much as one who has an income  of a dollar a day and gives a dime. 

     Luke 21: 4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath   cast in all the living that she had. 

    He said of the poor widow—she has cast in more than they all, for she gave of her poverty, all the living that she had.

    A church was talking about its problem one day, and they were in deep financial trouble, so the members of the board spoke among themselves, what they would do to meet this need, so they all said they would take up a collection that night among the board to help pay the bill. There was one brother there who was known to be worth about $100,000. The others were just average wage-earners. Of course, that is quite a bit of money. So one brother leaned over to this man who had the $100,000 and he said, “Brother, how much are you going to give?” Well he said, “Brother, I’ll put in the widow’s mite” and then he got out his pocketbook and pulled out a dollar. The brother who had asked him the question jumped to his feet and said, ”brothers, we have all that we need—this brother is going to give $100,000”. He was going to give the widow’s mite, and to do so, he would have to give all that he had.

13/But these poor Macedonians gave out of their poverty and they gave with joy.

14/Two Christians were talking about the need of missions. The missionary fund was in trouble, so the one brother said, I think we ought to give to this missionary budget, so that the missionaries will be taken care of. He said, I have just been trying to think how much I can give. How much can you give? Oh, the one fellow said, I can give $10 and not feel it. “Brother” said the first man, “make it $20 and feel it.” The blessing comes when you feel it, when you give out of your poverty. These people gave until they felt it, and that is the way we are to give to God.

15/Paul was a man who knew how to bear other’s burdens. II Corinthians 12: 15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. He said, I will very gladly spend and be spent for you—that should be our attitude one toward another.

16/II Corinthians 8: 9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Vs 9 tells us our great example in giving is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich. Notice again II Corinthians 9: 6 that the one who gives the offering will reap his reward in proportion to his giving. He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he that soweth bountifully shall also reap bountifully. 

17/The offering must come out of a purpose of heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. II Corinthians 9: 6, 7 God loves a hilarious giver, and so do you. If someone were around you and they became good friends with you, and your birthday came around and they gave you a birthday present—beautiful gift, and you learned afterward that they only gave that gift, because they felt there was a necessity in doing it, they gave it grudgingly, they didn’t feel they wanted to do it. You would want to give it back to them, wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t want to keep it, you wouldn’t want any part of it. That is exactly the way God is—God doesn’t want our gifts when we give grudgingly and say, “Well, I have to, I guess I’d better had.” God doesn’t want that at all. Let’s remember that God has a sensitive nature, too.

18/In some churches there is a chart in the vestibule with the names of all the members and the chart keeps up every week showing whether the member is paid up in his subscription. God doesn’t want that. That is a way of shaming people into giving, but that is not good. 

19/Folks say, that is the only way we can get money. If we don’t do that, you know what the answer is. The answer is not shaming people into giving money, but actually the answer is in getting them spiritual, to walk in the Spirit, and they will give through the Spirit, and they will see that the needs are met.

20/Of course, our giving ought to be systematic and in proportion to what we have. 

     I Corinthians 16: 2 where Paul says, upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him that there be no gathering when I come.

21/The important thing to remember is the great motive for giving is love. Do you remember the thrill when you brought your first gift to your sweetheart, the one you fell in love with? And when you brought that gift—it may have been flowers, it may have been a box of candy, she could see in your eyes, your shining eyes, that you were giving something you wanted to give to her—you were anxious to give to her so like the candy, didn’t matter very much, she knew you were giving because of who she was, and what she meant to you--because you loved her. With God it is the same way, it’s not the money. God can get along without your money. He’ll raise up His money. But, the sad thing is, you are the one who is missing out. You are the one who is losing.

22/Sacrificial gifts are the gifts that really count. There was the woman with the two mites—the Lord said she had given more than all the rest. There is a strange problem in mathematics—work it out if you can. See how it works out. She only gave two mites, and these others gave out of great abundance of money, but yet God said she gave more—figure it out someday, but that is the way God works. 

The Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest giver of all…He gave His life for us.

AMEN

Ref: 11/19/1964 / KULP - 6 - LIVING IN THE ‘GET AGE’ / June 12, 2020

THE BELIEVER’S JUDGMENT DAY

Overview of the City of Bukau, D. R. Congo

     284 – THE BELIEVER’S JUDGMENT DAY

     JANUARY 10, 1965 

     PASTOR HENRY KULP

Romans 8: 1 - 4 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

We have come to this marvelous portion of Scripture that opens with no condemnation, no judgment day, and ends with no separation. Several years ago, a famous preacher asked a number of outstanding Bible teachers and preachers what their favorite chapter in the Bible was—he realized that asking them to make a choice was something like asking a father to choose his favorite child—nevertheless, he preachers were asked this question. If each of them were to be wrecked on a dessert island, and if there was to be but a single chapter of the Bible washed up in the wreckage, what chapter would they like it to be? Five out of the 20 who replied choose the 8^th chapter of Romans. Perhaps it is your favorite, for it is a marvelous portion of Scripture, and we want to study it very carefully.

1/  God, in Chapter 6 tells us because of our position, what and how we are to live. He tells us in Romans 6: 12 that sin is not to reign in our mortal bodies. We are not to yield our members as instruments of unrighteousness, as military arms or weapons of unrighteousness unto sin. Then He says in the 14^th vs. “Sin shall not have dominion over you,” and then in Chapter 7 Paul shows us that we cannot have this position, we cannot walk this certain way, because the believer is harassed by his inability to keep the law. In Chapter 7 the Holy Spirit is not mentioned, but the sinful, first personal pronoun, I, the carnal man, fills the scene. 

Notice Romans 7: 15 “For that which I do, I allow not, for what I would not, that I do. But what I hate, that do I.” I, I, is throughout this entire chapter but when we come to the 8^th Chapter the picture is entirely different. In the 8^th Chapter over and over again we have the Holy Spirit, and He is named twenty-seven (27) times--He is mentioned or referred to directly, or indirectly in this one chapter. What a contrast between chapter 7 and 8. From defeat to victory. From despair to hope. This is the Holy Spirit’s message for us today.

2/  Notice, to start with, there is no condemnation, and last week we changed that word, condemnation, to judgment. So, there is no judgment day ahead for the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. His judgment day was 2,000 years ago on the Cross of Calvary. The Greek is most startling in its declaration. There is a double negative in this Scripture. The negative is much stronger than the ordinary word used for “no” or “not.” It is interesting to notice that there are two common words in Greek for the negative, OU and ME and in this Scripture, we have here, we have both of these common words for the negative. 

There is a double negative, making it strong. There are times, however, when both of these words are used together—OU and ME—and in the Gospels, this double form of absolute negative form is used five times on the lips of men, and if we study those five times, we will find that in each instance the men were mistaken. It was a verbal negative that Peter used in Matthew 16: 22 when he told the Lord that He should not die. This shall not be unto Thee—but it was. Matthew 26: 35 again Peter used this double emphatic negative when he said, “I will not deny Thee.” But he did. On the other hand, our Lord Jesus Christ used this double negative on 46 occasions and in all 46 passages you will see that everything the Lord prophesied in these instances was absolutely true. 

For instance, Matthew 24: 34, 35 where He said, “My Word shall not pass away,” and we know that His Words have not passed away, nor will they ever pass away. And when Paul says here that there is therefore now no condemnation, and he uses the double negative—we cannot possibly land in condemnation. We cannot possibly ever come before a judgment day, before sin.

3/  But you say, isn’t it possible that you will sin and do something that will cause you to lose your salvation and cause you to come into condemnation and you will have to appear at the Great White Throne Judgment? No, for all my sins have been paid for—past, present and future. 

There was a little girl who applied for membership in the church she was attending. She had to appear before a group of dignified elders who questioned her about her faith. One of them said, “What are you trusting in for salvation?” The little girl replied, “I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He died for my sins, and that He rose again for my justification.” The elder stroked his whiskers and asked again—“You have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, but does the devil ever knock at your door?” The little girl, with a look of assurance answered, “Yes, Satan knocks at my heart’s door, and when he does, I say to Christ--and you know He lives in me, the Lord lives in me, and I ask Him, “Will You open the door?” And when He goes to the door, and Satan sees Him, Satan always says, “Pardon me, but I knocked at the wrong door.” It is Christ who opens and closes the door of salvation.

4/  But in Vs. 2 – 4 we see two laws in contrast. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Here the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Life, because He is the One Who creates in the sinner, new life in Christ Jesus. He is the One Who gives us deliverance by giving us life. Do you remember Paul agonizing in prayer—“O, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?”  Here is the answer—the Holy Spirit—the One Who gives life.

5/  The other law is the law of sin and death. We have been talking about that for quite a while now. The law of sin and death is not the Mosaic Law, although the Mosaic Law can be placed in here if you want to, but the law of sin and death started in the Garden of Eden. When man sinned, death came upon all men—and so the law of sin and death is operating in every believer. You can’t help sinning, and you certainly can’t keep from dying. Sooner or later, death will reach out and claim you.

6/  This law of sin and death is operating, as we said, in everyone’s life, but when one turns to Jesus Christ as his sin sacrifice, a new law is brought into being—the law of Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. So, it is the law of life. It is the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus that has made us free from the law of sin and death. So, therefore, there is no condemnation.  

7/  An illustration can be drawn from the passage of the children of Israel through the Red Sea. 

Exodus 14: 21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

The law of gravity was working to keep the waters of that sea in their bed. When the moment came for the Lord to show His deliverance, the new principle of the blowing East Wind entered the picture. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong East Wind, all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. The law of gravity was pulling these waters down just as much as ever. The law of gravity was still working. But the law of the East Wind made the children of Israel free from the law of gravity which could put the waters over them, as it did the wicked Egyptians. 

So it is, that the law of sin and death in our lives can pull in but one direction, and that is to death. But the moment we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, blows its force against the law of sin and death, and we are free from it, and there is no condemnation to us who are in Christ Jesus.

8/  The other day I thought of another good illustration. I started to the hospital to make my calls, for we have a number of our folks in the Altoona Hospital, and as I got out of the car, I saw a small plane flying above me, and since I have always loved planes and flying, I looked at myself, and I looked at my foot, as I picked my right foot up, put it down, picked my left foot up, put it down, and I said, My, I would like to be up there, but the law of gravitation kept me on the ground. Then I went into the hospital, hung my coat up on a rack there, I entered the elevator, pushed the button for the fourth floor, and the elevator took me up. The law of gravity was still working. But there was another law, a greater law now working—the law of electricity. This law was stronger than that of gravity, it overcame, it nullified, it counter-acted the law of gravitation. So, it is, as a sinner, I am bound by the law of sin and death, it has been passed down to me in Adam. But the moment I receive Christ as my Saviour, the law of the Spirit of Life counteracted, overcame, was stronger than that of sin and death, and now there is no condemnation, no judgment day for me in Christ Jesus.

9/  I thought yet of another illustration of this truth, perhaps this illustration will help. There is on the ground a little worm crawling—we call it a caterpillar. It has freedom to crawl about, but it has no power to rise up in the air. It cannot lift itself above the ground, it has to stay there because of the law of gravitation. But after a while, it encases itself in a cocoon, then after a certain period, that little caterpillar that went in there came out and it became a beautiful butterfly—it spread its winds, and it didn’t have to stay on the earth anymore. It mounted up, and you say, what ever became of the law of gravitation? The law of gravitation is still there. But another law came in. It was the law of those little wings, that have the power to propel it up into the air, so it could have the power to rise above the earth, and so another law has come into being. We were like that caterpillar, wicked, corrupt, calling out, “O, wretched man, what can I do?” Absolutely nothing, but we became saved, and we were put in Christ and we became a new creation, and now we are heavenly bound, and all our condemnation is gone—a new law has taken place in our life.

10/  Now notice, the fact about not having condemnation. Why don’t we have a judgment day? Why have we been made free from the law of sin and death, and how have we been made free? The answer is in the 3^rd vs. “God sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” 

Notice, first of all, that God sent His Son. I know we pass over that little phrase so often—God sent His Son. But it was so important that Jesus said, “I did not come of Myself”, and 40 times in the Book of John He said, “My Father sent Me.” He was the Sent One.

11/  Have you ever noticed, John 17? He tells us five times that He was sent by His Father. His Father said, Go, and He went, and, of course, it meant Calvary. The Father could have kept Him in Heaven. He was in the bosom of the Father and all the love of God was on Him—but the Father said, Go, and He went.

12/  Then, notice, God sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. You will notice the word, likeness, God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. His flesh was not sinful. He was like us in everything but sin. He was infinitely holy. 

I Timothy 3: 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

It tells us, great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh. That is a mystery—how the Son of God could be born into this world as we are born, apart from sin, I cannot understand it, But I accept it as truth.

13/  Luke 1: 35 The angel is talking to Mary, and the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore, also that holy Thing. 

That little body that was born was a holy Thing. It was infinitely holy. His flesh has no taint of sin. But will you notice, He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh.

14/  God sending His Own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. And you will notice, that means, as an offering for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. He became an offering for sin. Where? In His flesh. He had flesh without sin, we have flesh with sin.

15/  Where does God judge sin? We are told right here—in the flesh. We, of course, have sinned, and if God judges sin in our flesh, then we are lost forever. 

Revelations 20: 11, 12 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Notice this great judgment day of the unsaved. They are resurrected from the dead, and they are judged in their flesh. But we will not be here to be judged, because we will not be judged for sin. Our judgment day is passed.

16/  Our judgement day is passed, because Jesus Christ was judged in the flesh for our sins. 

I Peter 2: 4 Who His own self, bare our sins, in His own body on the tree.” Notice, it isn’t the preposition “on”, but it is the preposition “in”. Who His own self, bare our sins in His own body. He took our sin that was in our flesh, and it was put in His flesh. In His flesh, He suffered for us.

17/  He had to have a body of flesh, and God gave it to Him, and in that body, He was judged for our sin. 

18/  Deuteronomy 21: 22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:

Here it says, If a man hath committed a sin worthy of death, he shall be put to death, and Thou shalt hang him on a tree. His body shall not remain all night on the tree, but thou shalt in anywise bury him that day, (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Christ was handed on a tree—He was accursed of God; it says this here. If a man has committed a sin that is worthy of death, there is no other punishment that will suffice but death. And he was to be hanged on a tree and buried the same day, less he be a curse to the land, and that is exactly what Jesus Christ became. He took our sins in His body and bore the curse, and so now we do not have to face any judgment day. Our judgment day was on the cross of Calvary 2,000 years ago. 

AMEN

Ref: 01/10/1965 / 284 – THE BELIEVER’S JUDGMENT DAY / 06/07/2020

THE BELIEVER’S SANCTUARY

Dawn on Lake Kivu

     283 – THE BELIEVER’S SANCTUARY

     JANUARY 3, 1965

     PASTOR HENRY F KULP

Romans 8: 1 – 4 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

As we come to this wonderful portion of Scripture that opens up with no condemnation, and closes with no separation, we have a marvelous truth in the first verse, and I want you to understand it in all its beauty.

1/  I believe that the division of chapters here would have been far better, if they had had the first four verses of chapter 8 in with chapter 7. I am going to change the word, condemnation to the word, judgment, for it is translated from the same word that we get the word, judgment, and you get a better idea of the verse if you say, there is therefore now no judgment to those who are in Christ Jesus. Did you know that your judgment day is passed? There is no judgment day for you if you are saved. Your judgment day is gone. You say, no judgment day for me? That is exactly what this verse is teaching. There is no judgment day for the believer.

2/  Let me ask you a question. How can there be judgment for those who have been justified? I repeat so that you might remember this—justification—IS AN ACT OF GOD WHEREBY HE DECLARES AN UNGODLY MAN TO BE PERFECT WHILE HE IS STILL UNGODLY. Romans 4: 5. ”But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Romans 4: 17. “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” God counteth the things that are not as though they were.

3/  Now notice a time-word in our text. It is the word, now. There is therefore now no judgment. To think that there would be no condemnation, no judgment for us in the future would be wonderful. But the truth of the text is that we have no judgment at this present time. At this very moment, there is no judgment against us. Do you realize it is impossible for God, Himself, to find a flaw in the righteous position of any believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? 

If a stumbling drunkard went into a rescue mission an hour ago, and was made alive in Jesus Christ by receiving Him as his Savior, there is no judgment for him in this moment. He may have his headache, and it may continue for some hours—but there is no judgment for him at that present time. 

Take the Philippine jailor—the instant he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, there was no judgment against him. Even though he had held a suicide sword just a few moments before. 

Acts 16: 27. “And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.”

4/  When you come to a full realization of this truth it should make you shout for joy. Did you ever watch humanity on TV, perhaps 100,000 strong, as a member of a team they are rooting for, runs for a touchdown in the last 30 seconds of a football game? And wins it, as the stadium goes up in one great mighty roar of approval and of joy. If it can happen for a mere thing like a football game, what should this do for us? Or did you watch the TV on the last election evening, when a candidate won, the people around him would scream for joy. How should we scream for joy when we know there is no judgment for us. I have never gone to a racetrack, but I can imagine how people will shout for joy when they win $50 on a horse race, or if somebody realizes some money has been left to them, the ecstasy that is in their hearts. This should be a great motivation, there is no judgment for them who are in Christ Jesus.

5/  This first verse in the Greek is almost startling in its declaration—the negative is much stronger than the ordinary word used for “no” or “not”. It is an emphatic form—rendered even more emphatic in that it is the word used for the beginning of the sentence. It is also interesting to note that there are two common words in Greek for the negative. “ou” and “me”. There are times in the Bible when both of these words are used together—ou and me. In the Gospels this double form of absolute negative is used five times on the lips of men. And each time we see that men are mistaken—

Matthew 16: 22. “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” 

Here Peter told the Lord He would not die, but He did die. Again, Peter used this double, emphatic negative when he said, I will not deny Thee. 

Matthew 26: 35. “Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.” 

But he did. However, when the Lord Jesus Christ uses this double negative, and He uses it on 46 occasions, we can be sure that what He says is true. When God says a thing is positive, we can be sure that it is positive. 

Matthew 24: 34, 35. “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” 

Jesus said, My Word shall not pass away, and they shall not pass away. How vain it is on the part of man to deny the words of Jesus Christ, and these words of Paul in Romans 8: 1. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” These are the words of Jesus Christ.

6/  Notice why there is no judgment for the believer. Because we are in Christ Jesus. Just as this morning, we are in a building, in the building called the Altoona Bible Church, and it is a place, just so, everyone who is saved is in a place, and that is in Christ.

7/  There is absolutely nothing for you to be judged. Because your sins were judged in Christ. In Christ, you are in a place where judgment has already fallen. It cannot fall again. It is your safety in Christ. God judged Jesus Christ, He judged Him as He was made sin, and God is not going to judge that sin a second time, and when you are in Christ, you are in a place of judgment, where judgment has already fallen—in past tense. And you cannot be judged again.

8/  Let us look at this matter of Christ being judged for our sins. Paul is the Apostle of the Cross. I don’t know whether you have ever noticed or not, but the word, cross, does not appear in the Epistles except in the Pauline epistles. 

When Peter speaks of the crucifixion, he says, He bare our sins in His own body on the tree. I Peter 2: 24. “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 

Notice in the Book of Acts. Acts 5: 30 and Peter answers, “The God of our Father raised up Jesus Whom ye slew and hanged on the tree.” And then Acts 10: 39. “And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:” Acts 13: 29 where they said, they took Him down from the tree. “And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.” 

But Paul uses the word, cross, and strange to say, Paul doesn’t tell us anything about the cross. That is the literal cross. Paul tells us nothing of what happened at Calvary. He does not speak of the five wounds of Christ, He does not speak of the crown of thorns, the last seven words of Jesus Christ, that are peached so much in the Easter season, Paul never mentions. The salvation of the thief, Paul doesn’t tell us about him. He gives us nothing of the details of the cross, and yet, he preaches the cross. He is the Apostle of the cross. Because the cross to Paul was not a piece of wood, with which the cross was made. The cross to Paul is that which Jesus Christ accomplished when He died, and that is what the Apostle Paul tells you about.

9/  But now we have an important point. Nevertheless, But Paul tells you what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. The four Gospels give you the record of the crucifixion, but not one of the four Gospels tells you what it meant. It is Paul who tells us the meaning of the cross, and the cross to Paul is what Christ accomplished when He died—not the literal cross. The literal cross has been brought into prominence, they put a cross up in the churches. They make gold crosses and women hang them around their necks, but that isn’t salvation. Salvation is what Jesus Christ did at Calvary—what He accomplished. To worship the literal cross is wrong. To make the literal cross the prominent thing, is wrong. It is idolatry.

10/  In the Old Testament when people were dying by thousands in the camp in Israel, God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it on the pole, and everyone who looked on the serpent of brass was healed immediately. 

Numbers 21: 4, 5, 6 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. ⁵ And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” 

The people spoke against God, and God sent the fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people and much people of Israel died, then God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole and everybody who looked on that serpent of brass was healed immediately. 

Numbers 21: 8. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.” 

But the people kept that serpent of brass—they kept it for 800 years. They worshipped it, and there was no man in all Israel for 800 years, who dared to tell them about their idolatry—that is, until Hezekiah came. Hezekiah took that serpent of brass and he ground it to powder, and he strewed it upon the waters, and he said, it is Ne-hush’-tan, which means, nothing.

11/  II Kings 18: 4. “He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.” 

You dare not put anything between yourself and God. What we need to know is what Jesus Christ did. Even many who call themselves Fundamentalists do not understand what Jesus Christ did. He bore the penalty of sin, He accomplished something, because he was judged for us that we might not be judged. There is no judgment left unto us.

AMEN

Ref: 01/03/1965 / 283 - THE BELIEVER’S SANCTUARY / June 7, 2020