What is Sin?
Sin is defined as falling short of the glory of God – missing the mark of God's standard of holiness. Sin is the common human condition. Even Paul the apostle sinned as he wrestled with his sin nature (see Romans 7:14-20). If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you can relate to Paul’s struggle with sin.

As believers, when we sin, we are convicted of sin. In fact, if we don’t sense the conviction of the Holy Spirit, there is a good chance that we are not saved, we don’t know Jesus (see 1 John 1:10).
If we know sin is missing the mark, what is the mark?

What is the Law?
We have the Ten Commandments, as clear, concise set of regulations for relating to God and to our fellow man. But Jesus took the Law and raised the bar in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5:21-28). Jesus stated that sin is born in our hearts; we are all guilty of thinking and saying things about other people that are sinful.
Romans 8:3 states, “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.”

The nation of Israel was given the law of Moses. Remember, Paul is writing to a mixed audience. Some Jewish believers grew up with the law of Moses, while Gentile believers knew very little about the feasts and the sacrificial system.
Paul didn’t say that the Law was bad or that it failed; it was weakened because human beings could not do what the Law required. We may follow all the rules and regulations, but our thoughts will still drift into sin, and we break the law.

What is the Gospel?
The law couldn’t save, but God provided a way: He sent His own Son, born of a virgin, who lived a common life as a carpenter. Jesus looked and spoke every bit like a Jewish boy growing up in the first century. Paul wrote this to combat a heresy that taught that Jesus was fully God, but he was never a human; he only appeared to be human. Jesus had to be fully man to be the perfect sin offering for our sins. If he were not a human, the cross would have been meaningless.

But Jesus was perfectly human, and he was the final and perfect sin offering for the sins of mankind. The verse clearly states that Jesus died for sin. But more than dying for sin, God the Father condemned sin in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).
God not only made Jesus to become sin; God made Him bear our sin. He also condemned that sin; Jesus was judged and punished for our sin. It was a transfer of guilt, a sentencing, and an execution by God the Father.

But why did Jesus have to die? Paul explains in 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.”

When laws are broken, there are consequences. The Law of God points out sin, and when we sin, the righteous requirement of sin is death. But the Good News is that Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law. We who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ as our savior will never die; we will live eternally in the presence of Jesus.

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In Romans 7, Paul writes about the Law God gave Moses, which had become a point of tension in the church in Rome. The Judaizers wanted everyone to follow the Law, and the Gentile believers wanted everyone to be led by the Spirit. In Chapter 8, Paul highlights the freedom that believers have in Christ through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 8 can be summarized in three phrases: no condemnation, no obligation, and no separation. We will begin by looking at the first phrase.

No Condemnation
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1.
No condemnation and justification mean the same thing. If you have repented of your sins and asked the Lord Jesus to forgive you, your sins are forgiven. We are justified and made to be in right standing with God because of our faith in what Jesus has done on the cross. He died, shed his blood, and rose again so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (see John 3:16).

But what does condemnation mean?
These verses conclude the argument in chapter 7, where Paul addresses the personal problem we all face in dealing with our own sinful nature. Paul cries out in Romans 7:24, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
In the Bible, the word condemnation is synonymous with damnation, judgment, punishment, destruction, and verdict. In its strongest sense, condemnation means “the banishing to hell all those disobedient to the will of God.” Remember, Jesus spoke frequently about hell and the eternal punishment awaiting all who reject him.

The Law of Moses pronounces every person guilty because it shows us what sin is. Before Christ, everyone had to offer animal sacrifices every year, as a reminder that God punishes sin but also offers forgiveness through repentance. However, animal sacrifices were just a temporary method of dealing with man’s sin until Jesus came to deal with sin forever.

Jesus made it clear that without Him no one can enter the kingdom of heaven (see John 14:6). We all know John 3:16, yet two verse later Jesus said, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18).
Though the Law condemns all mankind, we as believers in Jesus Christ have this glorious promise, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).

But does that mean we can go on sinning without consequence? Not at all, in Romans 6, Paul addresses this very question (see Romans 6:1-3). In both these passages, Paul uses the phrase, “In Christ”. When we believe in the name of Jesus for salvation, we receive the Holy Spirit, and we are in Christ. Those who are in Christ are set free from the condemnation of sin.

In Christ
I doubt we grasp the depth and the breadth of those two words. Paul uses this term about 164 times in all his letters. To be in Christ is the heart of Christianity. Baptism is our public profession of faith in Jesus. It is us publicly declaring that when Christ died, our old man died, we are aligning ourselves with his death. It is total surrender to the new life in Christ.

Paul explains that when you become a Christian, you move into a realm of new life in Christ, and you come under new management. How can we still desire and walk in the ways of our past life? (see Galatians 2:20).

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One of the richest chapters in the Bible is Romans chapter 8. Paul wrote the letter we know as “Romans”, to a blended church in Rome, made up of Jewish and Gentile believers. Many of the Jewish believers held on to the Mosaic law and taught that to be a true Christian, you needed to follow the Law in addition to faith in Christ. While the Gentiles came from many different pagan religions and held to faith in Christ alone.

Paul wrote to a church that struggled with unity, giving them a theologically rich letter on which to establish the growing church. We need this letter as much today. Paul wrote a letter to the church in Philippi, where he stressed the unity that believers have in Christ.

Encouragement in Christ
Philippians 2:1 begins, “If there is any encouragement – In Christ…” Being in Christ is our position as Christians, our standing before God. Being In Christ is one of the primary ways Paul describes what it means to be a Christian. This is our vertical resource; we experience encouragement because of communion with God through the Holy Spirit. This is the first and primary position for unity in the Church.

Comfort in Love
“…if there is any comfort from love…” When you become a follower of Jesus, your attitude changes towards other people. The first Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22 is love. Love is the natural byproduct of a life controlled by the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for love used here is a love that is governed by a willful decision to seek the highest good of the other individual.

Participation in the Spirit
“…any participation in the Spirit…” This is fellowship that is more than simply sharing a meal together, this is unity because we are united by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we become followers of Jesus we are baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12:13).

Affection and Sympathy
“…any affection and sympathy”. Because of the tenderness, mercy and compassion that we have received from Christ, we display this to one another. To not have concern for others, is a very clear indication that a person is not in a right relationship with Jesus Christ.

Joy through Unity
In Philippians 2:2 we see that the first result of unity is joy. Paul was overjoyed by their response because he knew that as the Philippian church grew in unity, they would become more effective as a church, being used by God to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Paul was joyful because he knew that they would be like-minded. This unity is not temporal, based on feelings and situations, rather, we remain in unity, because the message of the Gospel is what binds us together. We have a common message, we have the same Holy Spirit, thus we have unity.

This does not mean that we never have disagreements. It is quite normal to expect differences of opinion on certain methods of church activity, but we never compromise on the essentials of our faith and the truth of the Word of God. When we have differences of opinion, the governing principle must be love, the preferential love that always seeks the highest good of others.

In Full Accord
“…being in full accord and of one mind”. To be in full accord and of one mind means that the church knows their purpose and mission. At Grace Point we have the Four Pillars that we come back to; Worship, Word, Mission and Compassion, this is what we exist to do. The mission of the church always superseded our personal preferences, that is Holy Spirit unity.

Avoid Selfish Ambition
Paul gets to the heart of the matter in verse 3, addressing issues that destroy unity. The first sin he attacks is selfish ambition, “

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