No Condemnation for those in Christ Jesus

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Romans is considered by many to be a book of basic Christian theology. Many of the concepts have been used to understand systematic theology. Romans chapter 8, in my opinion, is the axis on which the Christian faith turns. It is what must be understood to go from a non-Christian to a Christian. Over the next couple of weeks, I want to outline what this pivotal chapter tells us about the Christian faith and how it can encourage Christians and welcome those who are not Christians to understand what they are missing. With one sentence Paul sets up the definition of what it means to be a Christian. “There is, therefore, no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.” This is clarified and expanded upon in the rest of the chapter, but it is the lens to interpret the rest of the chapter.

As a Christian, it should make us bold to know that God is not condemning us—He is for us. Along with this comes a freedom that Paul will expound upon in the next verses, but it shows us that God is not condemning us because we have received Jesus Christ and His life-saving grace. It does not matter what we have done, what we are doing, or what we will do. He is not condemning. Condemnation is this idea that we have messed up beyond forgiveness. How many times have we felt, as Christians, that we have gone too far He cannot take us back? This simple sentence shows us that this is not the case, we can always come back to Him. Sin no longer causes death row for a Christian but an opportunity for God’s forgiveness to be shown.

For those who are not in Christ, it is a welcome sign from God showing the easy path set before us. It does not matter what you have done or how you feel because the sacrifice of Jesus covers it all and God wants all to come and experience the same freedom from condemnation experienced in Jesus Christ. For those outside, how much worse is it for those that are part of the community and fail to live up to the standards of God and yet they are not condemned. The simple call is to come and experience the same freedom and lack of condemnation. Come to Jesus who can save you.               

The next passage shows the contradiction between spirit and flesh, or in simpler terms, between God and those that are not of God. This will grow and crescendo into not only the basic benefit of accepting Christ, but the inheritance involved as heirs and all the benefits that being an heir of God entails.