No Condemnation: What It Really Means to Be "In Christ"

Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30-minute walkthrough to scriptures teaching in -depth Bible truth that change people's lives. Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. Okay, it's good to have everybody back again, and we always like to let our television audience know that we take four programs in succession, and these folk come in from hither and yon, and we're always so appreciative of the fact that they come in and become a part of this program. For those of you out in television, again, we like to remind you that all of our past programs, my, it'll soon be five years completed, that are available on the videotapes, and we've made them as nominally in price as we can possibly make them, because we don't attempt to make anything from this ministry for ourselves. In fact, Monty just pointed out that that was the whole idea, the Apostle Paul. He said, I never seek yours, I seek you, and I guess that's my whole mentality. We're not in this to make a dime, we're not in this to elevate ourselves, but if we can just get folk into the book and to see the Lord glorified through it, that's all we care for. And again, the little booklets are available. They have been transcribed off the videotape, and they are making their little niche, and a lot of folk are using them in Sunday school classes and what have you. So if you're interested, you give us a call on the 800 number or drop us a note, and we'll send you an order blank and a brief description of what's on every tape. I think that's all for sake of announcements. Again, we're going to jump right in where we left off, and that would be in Romans chapter 8. We finished chapter 7 in our last program. And now as we come to what I think is one of the greatest chapters in all of the Scripture, and in the midst of this probably the greatest book in all of Scripture, the book of Romans, which Martin Luther called the masterpiece of Scripture, and which I like to refer to as a multi -carat diamond gemstone. It just has the fire of a diamond in it. And then as I've already alluded to, this chapter 8 is a gemstone in itself. And so as we look at these things, I trust that all of you, not only here in the studio, but all of you even out in television, will take advantage of this tremendous book. In fact, I was thinking the other day, just mulling this over, you know, the politicians are alarmed, the religious community is alarmed, that America just cannot keep going in the direction we're going. And the politicians think of this kind of a program, if only they had money for that, and more prisons, and more this, and more everything. Some say, well, we need a third party, some think we need something else. And listen, all America would need if they would do it. Now I know this is hypothetical, it would never happen, but if, if every American from the age of 12 up, regardless of their denominational or religious handle, if every American from the age of 12 up would read this book of Romans once a week, for six months, you'd see things happen in America. That's how much I can put on this book of Romans. And if every American would read chapter 8 once a day, that might even speed it up a little bit. Because this is so apropos, it is so practical, this isn't pie in the sky. This, this is the Word of God brought right down to the level of every human being. Yes, even 12, 13-year-old kids can comprehend this. And so now as we look at chapter 8, I'm going to stop with what would ordinarily be the very first word, therefore. Now Paul has got it in a little bit different setting than he normally uses the word therefore or wherefore. But whenever I see it in any other place in Scripture, and as I'm teaching my classes, I always tell them, now whenever you see that word wherefore or therefore, what does it do? Well, it sends you back to why he's saying therefore. Now, I am not a user of commentaries. I don't even own any. I've been warned a long, long time ago to beware of the commentaries. In fact, one wag put it this way. He said, now don't put too much on the commentaries, because after all, they're nothing but commentators. And commentators are just commentators. Now, of course, you have to be a, you have to be a Southern individual to appreciate that. But anyway, I do happen to have a couple books that have been given me by two great theologians, one a British individual and another one an American. They're both gone now to be with the Lord, and they were both used of God. But it was interesting as I looked at what they had to say about Romans chapter 8, and especially this word therefore, the one gentleman, and of course these are both PhDs, the one gentleman says, well, now this therefore does not take you back to chapter 7 that you've just come out of. It takes you back to Romans 5 verse 1, where again, Paul uses the word therefore, being justified by grace, by faith, being justified by faith, we have that peace with God. And that's what he thinks this therefore. Then I read the other one, and he just totally opposite says, now some say that this therefore takes you back to the earlier chapters in Romans, especially chapter 5 verse 1 and so forth. But he says that's not the case at all. It takes you back to chapter 7. Well, I'm going to do totally opposite of both of them. I'm going to maintain that this therefore takes us back to the very first verse of the book of Romans. And if you'll remember as we've been studying it, those first three chapters, what did God do through the Apostle's pen? He proved the whole race as being utterly sinful, utterly rebellious, utterly opposite to the things of God. And he finally came to that great conclusion that in chapter 3 verse 23, "...for all have sinned and come short in glory." Remember that? As he built the case against the gross immoral person, and then the moral person, and then the religious person, and he put all three categories together, and says there's no difference. They are all unprofitable for all have sinned. And then you go on into chapter 4, and he begins to lay out justification by faith, for as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, and then he came to chapter 5, "...therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God." And then he came on into chapter 6, and he enlarged on justification, that it was all accomplished when Christ died on that cross, was buried, and rose again, and we spent quite a little time on that chapter 6. And then we came into chapter 7, the last few programs at least, and now Paul is explaining the dilemma. Oh wretch that I am! How can I be delivered from this body of sin? And you remember what his problem was? The things I would, I don't. The things I don't do, or shouldn't do, I do. What's going to be the answer? Alright, what follows? Chapter 8. And so that's where I think this therefore is referring to. Everything that we've learned in these previous 7 chapters now, is going to be all wrapped up in what we're going to learn in chapter 8. Alright, let's read on. So therefore now there is no condemnation. Oh there are a lot of people who claim to be Christians, and I'm not saying they're not. But oh they can't buy this. They say there is no such thing as this kind of security. You've got to work, and you've got to strive, and you have to be careful or you're going to lose it. Well like I told someone just the other day, how are you going to know which one it was that took you out? How are you going to know what sin cast you out? Well they don't know, so what do they have to do? They have to live a life of perpetual insecurity, because no one has the wherewithal to hang on of our own. And so I come back to these promises of Scripture. There is therefore, because we've been justified by faith, because Christ has died and been buried and risen from the dead, because all of this has been accomplished as an act of God, in which we had nothing of our own energy. There was nothing in all that that we could do in the flesh. It was all the work of God. And that being the case, that we're justified by our faith, which is something that's invisible. It's something that you don't work at. So since we're justified by faith, now you see God can come back to this apostle and say, "...therefore there is now then no condemnation." And I will over and over, with qualifications, I had one gentleman call more than once. He just didn't like the idea of my teaching this kind of an eternal security. And I said, well now listen, I always qualify this. I'm not talking about any haphazard church member who just happened to have walked an aisle and joined the church or whatever. I'm talking about someone who has had a genuine faith in the Gospel and has had a genuine salvation experience. Now it came up the other night in one of my classes, an individual came and said, well now, I've never had that great experience that somebody talks about. I've never seen a great white light, and I haven't had that tremendous emotional upheaval. Does that mean I've never been saved? Well of course not. Of course not. The Scripture doesn't say that you have to experience some emotional high. The Scripture doesn't say you have to go through a prescribed set of rules. In fact, I've been toying with it for the last several weeks in our Tulsa class a few weeks ago. Some of you were there. Someone asked a question sort of like this, and I said, well let's just see what the Scripture says. And so we went through all these verses in Romans, and my, we just had a blast. Well the next Wednesday night, before I had time to start, the whole group on the front row said, Hey, will you do that all over again that you did last week? And I said, well of course, if that's what you want. And so we did it again. And boy, we had just as much of a blast. Well then the other night in Muskogee it came up, and so those of you that were in that class, we went through those same verses and again to show people from the Scripture how to know yourself that you're saved, or how to lead someone that is seeking. And we may do that before the afternoon is over. I haven't decided yet. But one thing I do want to get out of this first verse is that when God has finished the transaction of our salvation, then yes, we are secure. We have been crucified with Christ. And listen, you can't take yourself off that cross. You can't put yourself on the cross. We've covered all that. That crucifixion was the kind of a death that no one could do but themselves. It took the work of someone else to nail Christ to that cross. And the same way when we come into this salvation experience, it's an act of God that places us in the person of Christ. It's an act of God that resurrects us from darkness into life. And so consequently, God Himself is the one that says it. I don't. No denomination can say it. But God says there is now therefore no condemnation. But to whom? To those who are where? In Christ. Now again, I think it was just last night when we were talking about some of these things in the class. What does it mean to be in Christ? You know, that's an easy prepositional phrase to just roll off our lips, but what does it really mean to be in Christ? Well, I think one of the places that we can probably use for a little bit of an explanation of that, come back with me to Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5. Now, we'll probably teach some of Ephesians on the air someday. I don't know how much of it. But you see, Ephesians is again a deeper level of Christian experience, or a higher, however you want to look at it. Because Paul will bring things out in Ephesians that he doesn't even bring out in Romans and Galatians and the Corinthians. Because this is higher ground. This is deeper water. But now in Ephesians chapter 5, he comes down to, oh, verse 25, a verse that I like to use so often anyway, because I think it's a verse that should speak to every specially newly married couple. And that is the responsibility of the man in that marriage relationship. But you see, what Paul is bringing out here by inspiration is that Christ's relationship to you and I, as members of the Body of Christ, is identical with the relationship of the husband and wife. Now in a marriage relationship that is made in heaven, that husband and wife are two people, but they become what? One. And now many of your wedding ceremonies point that out, with the blowing out of the two candles and lighting the one. And that's exactly what it's supposed to be. Now it's the same way when we become in union with Christ. We're two separate entities, of course. But once we've entered in and have enjoyed this position now in Christ, what do we become? Like husband and wife. We're one with Him. Now that's a deep concept when you understand that it's all in the realm of the spiritual, and the only way we can comprehend it is by faith. That's what the Book teaches. And if the Book teaches, we have to believe it. That's what God expects. Remember the verse I always like to go back to in Deuteronomy 29? 29. For the secret things belong to the Lord our God. See? But once they're revealed, they belong unto us and our children forever. Why? Now it's the same way here. God is revealing a relationship, not just between the husband and the wife, but a relationship between Christ and you and I as members of His body. And it's the same thing. Alright, now look what He says. Verse 25. "...Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it," that is the body of Christ, of which you and I are members, "...with the washing of water," oh, not baptismal water, but what kind of water? The water of the Word. See? This Book is the cleansing agent. And then verse 27. "...that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." And then He comes down to verse 30. Now this is impossible for me to comprehend, except by faith. It's what the Book says. "...for we are members of His body," we are members, I'm repeating the subject matter, "...we are members of His flesh, we are members of His bones." In other words, in the realm of the spiritual, what have we become? We've become totally integrated with Christ Himself. We're in Him. And the Scripture also teaches, not only are we in Christ, but He is where? In us. See, it's a two-way street. The moment we're saved, yes, we're placed in Christ. But He also comes and dwells within us. And so this whole marriage relationship, that's why Paul uses it. Alright, for verse 32, still in Ephesians 5. "...this is a great mystery." Now you know, that's one of Paul's words. One of those secrets that God has now revealed to this Apostle. And again, you never saw any of this anywhere else in Scripture. You never saw this kind of a relationship, even between Israel and God. You didn't see this kind of a relationship between Abraham and Jehovah, or between Moses and Jehovah. But oh, look what ours is. Come down now again to verse 32. "...this is a great mystery," or a secret. "...but I speak concerning Christ and the church." See, how that like a husband and wife come together and become one. So Christ and this body of believers become one. We are just totally integrated. Alright, let me take you back to 1 Corinthians for a moment. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. And again, here we have the other direction. Not only are we in Christ, but He is in us. Now the world knows nothing of this. And I suppose if they hear me just by accident, as they're flipping through their channel, they'll think, what kind of a kook is this anyway? What's he talking about? But you see, for those of us who love and know the Word, hey, it's as plain as day. It's so believable because it's practical and because it's experiential. We know it has happened. Alright, look at 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and come down to verse 16. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 16. Now look what it says. "...know you not, or don't you know?" In other words, it's expected that we know. "...don't you know that you are the temple or the dwelling place of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" Now when we say Christ dwells in me, of course we know Christ is bodily at the Father's right hand, and He cannot leave that bodily. So when we speak of Christ being in us, now it has to be in the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Alright, read on over in the same book of 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Remember, I'm always emphasizing that when the Scripture repeats something in short order, it is emphasizing. It's making a point. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 19. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 19. "...what know you not?" See, what Paul asks, don't you know that your body, this body that we're living in right now today, don't you know that your body is the temple or the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have of God? See, you don't buy Him. You remember Simon tried to do that up in Samaria. He tried to buy the gift and the power of the Holy Spirit, and Peter says, "...your money perish with you." And so it's a gift of God that the Holy Spirit now is in us, and we're not our own. It isn't because we've deserved it or earned it, but what is it? Verse 20, "...for you are bought with a price." But not with our money, not with anything that we have, but with the blood of Christ, as Peter puts it in his little epistle, "...therefore glorify God in your body," because it's the body that is the indwelling Spirit, and they all, of course, belong to the Creator God Himself. Well, I could use many more. I'm going to use another one. I've got time, I think. Come on over to Colossians chapter 3. Now I left you in 1 Corinthians. Just come on to the right a few pages through Galatians, Ephesians again, and come on over to Colossians chapter 3. It's a verse we've used before on the program, but not often enough, I trust, to run it into the ground. But now in Colossians chapter 3. What a tremendous statement. And if it weren't for faith, we couldn't comprehend it. But it's what God says, and we believe it. Verse 1, "...if you then be risen with Christ." Oh, hold it. What did we learn back there in chapter 6? That when Christ died, I died. You died. When He was buried, we were buried. That is, in the mind of God. Now then, we didn't stay in the tomb any more than He did. So what happened? We were resurrected out, and we too were given new life. Now we're going to see that a little later in chapter 8, the word life, and it's eternal life. We're going to live forever in His presence. You know, and I've told young people over and over, just stop and think. Even if you could live a whole lifetime of 70, 80, got someone here? 88? If you could live that whole 90-year spectrum of life and live it up like a 25 or a 30-year-old, now that's a hypothesis, isn't it? That's hypothetical. But if you could live 90 years at the speed and the enjoyment of a 25 or 30-year-old, what is even that compared to the billions upon billions upon billions of years that are going to be eternity? That's eternity. And listen, it's coming. It's coming. That's why this book has been left with us, to prepare us for that eternity that's coming. But I think we're living in a time when the materialism and the good times and so forth are just keeping our young people in the dark. Now that doesn't mean you have to stop enjoying life. My, Len, I think I've enjoyed life as much as anybody can, and I've never had to get drunk to do it. Never. My, I used to tell guys in service, look, what in the world are you gaining? You don't even remember what you did. You call that a good time? Well, I had good times and I can remember them. But anyway, here we have it now in Colossians chapter 3, verse 1. If you be risen with Christ, in other words, you've died with Him, you've been buried with Him, and now we've been risen with Him, there's going to be a result. There's going to be a change in our appetites. There's going to be a change in our desires. Then we're going to seek those things which are above, which are eternal. How did the Lord Jesus put it back there in His earthly ministry? Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all these other things will be added unto you. But priorities, I've tried to drill that into young people, even my own. Hey, get your priorities straight. That doesn't mean you have to go into a monastery and become nothing but a monk, but you can enjoy life to the full. God has given us all these blessings to enjoy, but priority speaking, heaven is where we have our first interest. So seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, and not on things on the earth. You know, we're living in a society where all we can think about are things. Let's see, things perish. You know, I've noticed over the years as I was young, for a long time I wanted a particular make and model of car. And I finally got it. And then what? Hey, I've learned a long time ago, and I'd like to think it's original with me. Anticipation is a lot more exciting than realization. Because once you realize it, it's just blah, you know. But you see on these eternal things, anticipation is great, but the realization is going to be greater. Alright, let's read on. Colossians chapter 3, and now verse 3. For you are dead, that is in your old Adamic state, you are dead, and your life, now it's that eternal life as well as this life, and your life is hid with Christ, and where? In God! And God and Christ, of course, are one and the same in reality. And so again, when Romans 8 says, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ. Here we are. And when we're in Christ, we're hid in God. We are wrapped up in the Godhead. Nothing can touch us. And you know, Jesus put it in a real, real simple form. No one can pluck them, what? Out of my hand. Well, that was almost a simplistic understatement compared to this. Here we have the full ramifications that if we have entered into this salvation experience, and we're going to be looking at it more in depth as we go through Romans 8. If we have truly entered into it by faith without any merit of our own, then we can stand on this promise that indeed we're dead to the old Adam, and Christ, who is now our whole life, verse 4, and when He shall appear, and He's going to, one day we think not too far into the future, and when He shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him, how and where? In glory. See? In glory. What a prospect. What a prospect. Now I've got it good. I'm not wealthy, I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but I live in a little portion of Oklahoma that's beautiful and all that, but the glorious part is still to come. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick. Through the Bible is a partner-supported ministry. If this program has been a help to your study of the Scriptures and you'd like to see others enjoy the teaching, your support would be greatly appreciated. Write to us at Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, OK 74552, or call 1-800-369-7856. 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