There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. As Romans 8, 1 is one of the great texts of the Bible for the Christian, our justification in Christ is life-changing. And this declaration from the courtroom of God is meant to free us and to change our lives from top to bottom.

Our marriages, our jobs, our lives as students, everything we do and everything that we are is impacted by this glorious declaration that our lives are now free from condemnation. And a life lived in this glorious reality will be free, as Pastor John explains in this sermon clip sent to us from Joel, a college student in Atlanta.

Here's Pastor John applying Romans 8, verse 1. What about no condemnation in marriage difficulties? Is that practical enough? Anybody have any problems in your marriage? Suppose you're this morning disappointed. I mean maybe some of you are really big time, life-long disappointed. It isn't what you bargained for at all.

How are you going to find the emotional and moral power not to return evil for evil? To return good for evil? To be kind and forgiving and loving and tender-hearted when you feel so unjustly handed by God? Answer, you're going to remind yourself day in and day out, I'm a sinner.

I'm an ungodly, undeserving, hell-deserving sinner. And there flies over my life a blood-bought banner. No condemnation. I swim in a reservoir of free grace, and I will manage a lifetime of buckets for my wife. I don't care what she does. That would save a marriage. Maybe God would step in and make it good.

I know the testimonies. It does happen, folks. But you know what? If it never happens, that's okay. You got 85 million ages of years when there is no more marriage or giving in marriage but only our husband. The sweetest, deepest pleasures you will ever know. Dip into the reservoir of no condemnation.

Pour them out on husband. Pour them out on wife. And what if your kid is breaking your heart? And your own conscience is quite adequate to tell you you're the problem. It's your fault. It's your fault. How are you going to stay above water? How are you going to just keep on with the other kids?

Or how are you going to keep on with that kid? How are you going to keep loving? How are you going to keep coming back? You know what? You will never sort out how much is your fault and how much wasn't. Ever. Ever, ever, ever. You will never sort that out.

So, you come to me for counseling on that issue and say, "Can you help me sort this out? You know what I'm going to say?" "No." "My next sentence is going to be, 'Nor do I care, nor need you care.'" You'll never sort that out. I've got good news for you.

You're standing with Almighty God and the moral resources that you can appropriate for living on your face in humility before that kid don't depend on whether you blew it or not. Because there is, therefore, now no condemnation for any parent in Christ Jesus. So, that's practical. Here's what might happen.

Living, swimming in that ocean of no condemnation grace. You know what will happen? You will be so humbled. This is the mark of whether it's really happening or not, by the way. We've got a lot of people who hit people over the head with their doctrine. The evidence of whether glorious doctrine like this is taking any effect in people's lives is how humble it makes them.

If you humble yourself under this child so that you go to this kid, 5 or 50, and say, "You know, I don't know how much is me and how much is you and how much is your sister, brother, dad, or friends. I just know I've got a lot of responsibility here, and I am so sorry for my failures." Where does that freedom come from?

Out loud, not feeling it only, but saying it. Where does that come from? It comes from Romans 8, 1. And on and on we could go, but I guess stop. We could talk about sexual temptation and no condemnation. We could talk about ministry and no condemnation. We could talk about peer pressure.

A lot of young people in this. Let me say a word about this. Just a teeny word. Teeny word. A lot of college students, a lot of high school students in this room. Peer pressure. Is my hair right? Is this the way it's supposed to be on the first day of school?

Oh, nobody else has hair like this. Or how do you carry your books this year? Is it like this or like this? Do you use briefcases? Oh, what a nerd. Shoes? Ah, they were in last year. Shoot, I should have gotten around this summer. I mean, come on, get a life.

Where are you going to get free from that kind of bondage? Jellyfish. Teenage jellyfish. Everywhere. I want a few dolphins in this church. Against the tide. Who cares? Good night. And I'll tell you how you get free from that kind of bondage. There is therefore now no condemnation over your head.

You've got a Father in heaven whose approval of you is 10,000 times more important than what Mary or Joe think about what you're wearing. Or whether the right kind of cool word just came out of your mouth. Or you saw the right TV program or the right movie or like the right group or wear the right shoes or get the hair twisted just right.

Come on, let's be free. Christianity is about freedom. And then I'll close by saying, you know, all this freedom that I'm talking about here, all this no condemnation, liberty is not to free you up to be a fat cat American consumer. Well, the pastor, he dumped on social action this morning.

So I'm free. Go back to my nice suburban house in my three or four cars with my two cabins and my boats and my whatever. And because I don't have to worry about housing. I don't have to worry about poverty. I don't have to worry about drugs. I don't have to worry about broken families.

I don't have to worry about 10,000 people a day who fall into eternity in lands that have no church. Because he said it's about me and God getting right with each other. That's the devil talking. You talk to me like that. I said, you didn't get it at all.

You are free to die. You are free to become radical. You are free to serve. And I could preach another message here, but we got lots more years. God willing, let's pray. So good. This next clip is from John Piper's sermon on Romans 8, 1 titled "No Condemnation in Christ Jesus." No condemnation in Christ Jesus.

The sermon was preached on September 9, 2001, just two days before the infamous day of 9/11. Incredible. This clip was sent in to us by Joel, a college student in Atlanta. This is such an encouraging clip he wrote about the practical effects of holding to the truth of no condemnation.

In Romans 8, 1, from marriage issues, parenting issues, to teen issues and more. The dolphin and jellyfish metaphor is quintessential Piper. It sure is. Thank you, Joel, for that. Thanks for listening to today's sermon clip. All our clips are now crowdsourced. You tell us what bits of Piper's sermons changed your life.

And we share that clip with the APJ audience. If you have one, email me. Give me your name, your hometown, the sermon title, and the timestamp of when the clip happens in the audio, and how it impacted you. Put the word "clip" in the subject line of an email and send it to me at askpastorjohn@desiringgod.org.

That's an email address. Askpastorjohn@desiringgod.org. Well, is the COVID-19 vaccine the mark of the beast? No, it's not. But we are living in a time when there are all sorts of Christian conspiracy theories about. Should we buy into them? Why or why not? It's an important topic coming up next time.

I'm here with Tony Reinke. We'll see you back here on Friday with Pastor John back in the studio. We'll see you then. . . . .