First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi

Today, as we turn to the second verse of Romans chapter 8 the metaphor changes. We’re no longer thinking about a judicial sentence pronounced over us. Now, we’re thinking about freedom from the bondage and the shackles of cruel slavery and that changes the entire trajectory of our lives. Verse 2 says we have been “set free from the law of sin and death.” So verse 1 is about justification. Verse 2 is about sanctification. Verse 1 is about God’s gracious verdict with regard to our legal standing before Him. But verse 2 is about God’s gracious work within us with regard to the way we live before Him. Verse 1 happens in the courtroom of heaven. Verse 2 happens, as it were, in the slave market of our own hearts. Verse 1 is about removing sin’s damnable pollution. Verse 2 is about destroying sin’s debasing power.