No Problem!

4th Sunday in Lent, 3/22/20
Romans 8:1-10


No Problem!
I. God has no problem with you.
II. You have no problem serving God and others.


You recently sent a friend or loved one a text message, stating your regret over something. You might have even stated that you’re sorry for your mistake or your failure. And their text message reply is simple, cryptically so. “NP!” And that’s the end of it. What you were so concerned about gets settled with two letters. And if there’s any doubt about it on your part, the exclamation point is meant to drive every doubt away. Everything is fine in your relationship with this friend or loved one. They told you so with this now universal, “NP!” which is text messaging shorthand for “No Problem!”

And the fact that you have it in writing, albeit a text message that literally took two seconds to create, is your rock-solid assurance. You messed up, but you’ve been assured, “NP!”We have before us this morning a far more solid “NP!” This one is not simply a digital communication coming from a fellow sinner. This one is written on the pages of God’s holy word. It is the word of God from God himself. This is your God’s message for you today, “No problem!” Do you know what I’m talking about? Perhaps not. Let me try to make it clearer.

God’s word for us today is from Paul’s Letter to the Romans, chapter 8. These are the opening words of that chapter, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” God tells you this morning, “No condemnation!” “No problem!” Let’s see what he means and what that means for us. As we do so, may he give us that confidence and the power it generates in us for glorifying him!

Part I.

Regarding the above text message, I won’t comment on the author’s sincerity. I assume they meant it from their heart. But there are times when you wonder, when you don’t know. Did they reply, “NP!” just because they were busy and wanted to put an end to this text message communication? Or, worse, did they reply “NP!” because they figured your attempt to apologize, while inadequate, was the best they were going to get from you? Even if they had stood in front of you and stated verbally, “No problem!” might you have read something in the expression on their face or in the tone of their voice that would lead you to believe there still was a problem? Unsettling, isn’t it?

And yet that’s God’s message to you this morning. If you are in Christ, in other words, if you trust in Jesus as your Savior from sin, there’s no problem between him and you. Great news, right? As sinful human beings, that’s the most precious statement we can hear. But are there times in your life when you wonder if he means it? Our media bombards us with messages that people think we want to hear, but we know some of them, maybe many of them, aren’t true. Could this be one of them?

Well, when tragedy strikes, we wonder. When we’re on one of life’s losing streaks, we wonder. When the people we count on most fail us miserably, we wonder. And just exactly what do we wonder? “Lord, what have I done that you’re punishing me like this? What do you have against me?”

But imagine if that were true. Imagine if God had decided that you failed him in some way so offensive to him that he decided to cause you to suffer. He decided that he was going to make your life miserable. He determined that he was going to watch over you to harm you, not to bless you. Just imagine if that were the case.

If all or even any of that were true, then we haven’t seen anything yet as far as punishment is concerned. If that were true, then our days or months or even years of suffering here on earth are but a blip on the divine punishment screen. If our God is in the business of punishing us for our sins, then there is only one final destination—the one God originally intended only for Satan and his hellish henchmen. Hell. Eternal separation from our God and all of his blessings.

Your God calls on you to set aside your profoundly inaccurate assumptions about his relationship with you and hear these comforting, soul-resuscitating words, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION! In other words, NO PROBLEM! But how can I be certain of that? Because your relationship with the holy God doesn’t depend on what you do, it depends solely on what your God did. In these words, Paul points you to Christ and all he did for you. Yes, without a doubt, the punishment for sin is the worst suffering, far worse than anything we ever have or could experience on this earth. It’s eternal hell. But Jesus suffered it for you. He endured the punishment for your sins on the cross. Not only that, but his holy life was lived in your place. His life and death were all for you so that God could declare to you with a divine smile on his face, “No problem!” and mean it from the bottom of his heart that loves sinners. In fact, it’s what he wants you to know and believe with all your heart.

Your God declares to you today, “No problem!” God has no problem with you.

So, it’s my high privilege to share with you the glorious truth that God has no problem with you. There is no condemnation for you who trust in Christ. I pray the Holy Spirit is convincing you of it right now through his word.

But, are you still condemning yourself? I’m going to guess that I don’t have to beat you up spiritually because you’re already doing a fine job of that on your own. I challenge you to give me one vocation of your life—one of the callings in life that God has given you—in which you are convinced you have always done and are doing a stellar job. Oh, we put on a good façade. We even let others know that we’re doing well. But we know the truth. I have failed. I could have done better, so much better, but I didn’t. And the guilt crushes us. It squeezes the joy out of our lives and the sleep from our eyes. How close am I to being accurate about you? I know it’s true about me. And it eats me up. What should I do? What should you do? Flee to Christ! “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The reason Jesus came to this earth is so that he could do the work of taking your condemnation for sin on himself. That’s what his death on Good Friday was all about. And the guarantee of it is his empty Easter tomb. Because Jesus is risen, there is no condemnation. No problem! People of God, take that message to heart! The problems in your life are not God’s judgment on you. Contrary to what some people are saying today, COVID-19 is not God’s condemnation on you or anyone else. The trouble we face in life, even COVID-19, are all evidence that we live in a sinful world gone terribly wrong. But God has a better world in store for us—heaven with him. You can be confident of it because God looks at you and declares, “No problem!”

Part II.

Today’s worship theme is “Life in the Spirit.” But what does that life look like? When I see such a person who is living his or her life in the Spirit, how will I know?

Well, contrary to what some Christians believe, it’s not limited to when a person is engaged in tongue-speaking babble. And their implication is, if you’re not doing the same, then your life is not in the Spirit like it should be. Life in the Spirit is not a demonstration of miracles of healing in front of others intending to impress them. It’s not even trying to find God in every ray of sunshine, every drop of rain, or every pleasant moment of shade under a tree on an otherwise hot day.

So just what is life in the Spirit? Paul describes it this way, “Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. Your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” There are many aspects to life in the Spirit, but the following ones are the two I’d like you to focus on. Life in the Spirit is very practical for your daily life. It means you can say, “No problem!” No problem to what? To living a life that serves your God. In other words, it’s every aspect of your Christian life. It’s no problem because God the Holy Spirit brought you into that life when he brought you to faith in Jesus, and now, every day, he empowers you to produce the fruits of faith. Every day as a Christian you are doing the things God wants you to do in your life. And it’s no problem because that’s who God made you to be. You live to serve him.

And you live to serve others. Think about it, Christian. As a Christian you are free to serve others. You aren’t serving in order to earn points with God. You can’t earn points with God. You don’t need to because you already have eternal life with him by faith in Jesus. So now you are free to show the love of Jesus and expect nothing in return. That’s what your God wants you to do and that’s what you want to do because Jesus served you. Only the Christian does things with that motivation. How liberating! In a world which only serves itself, you are free to serve others. And it’s no problem! Because God gives you the power to do it.

Tragedies are terrible things to endure. We’re living in one right now. But they are also tremendous opportunities. There are tremendous opportunities right now to show the love of Christ to others. First, share God’s truth about our sin and what Jesus did about it with his death and resurrection. People need to hear that message more than ever. Then, go out of your way to help others. Make a phone call. Comply with the directives our leaders are putting in place during this pandemic and encourage others to do the same. Love your neighbor! In short, be a Christian! And’s it’s no problem because that’s who your God made you to be. Glorify him with all that you say and do. Amen.