Romans 8, part A

life without condemnation

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

It is difficult to imagine living without condemnation; the sentiment is often heard, but, for anyone truly looking, the truth is plain enough to see. Those who most boldly proclaim freedom from condemnation are most commonly those that struggle with the deepest agony. The Church is saturated with shame; and, as should be apparent in Paul’s letter to the Romans, it always has been. But shame is not the Truth.

We want to live into this new reality, the Truth of the Gospel, a life without condemnation; but, in the muck and mire, crowded in the cold trench mud, we stare into the fog of no man’s land straining to hear that we have not been forgotten, struggling to believe that we are clean. This is the description of the raging battle between spirit and flesh from the seventh chapter of Romans; a war has engulfed our world, and we are losing. Moreover, throughout this war, we have proven ourselves to be wretched, poverty stricken, and incapable. Paul, however, ended that section with a declaration of praise for the goodness of God. In the next breath, Paul wrote one of the most significant statements in the Bible: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

The war is over! But the language is important; Paul did not say that those in Christ stand released from a condemned state or that those who stand condemned will escape just punishment. He stated that there is no condemnation. But, Paul did not end the conversation here; he pushed the discussion into a controversial and miraculous topic: Christ died in the flesh (and was raised in the flesh) to redeem the flesh. Our bodies matter, and Christ did not come for us to abandon our physical selves—He came to restore us completely!

“For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 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.” (Romans 8:2-3)

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:6-8)

Again, the problem is not with the law but with our refusal to submit to the law and our incapabilities to fulfill the spirit of the law; the problem is found in our willingness to serve and obey our sinful desires. The problem is sin; the problem is found with us. So Christ did what we could not. The Word became flesh (John 1:14), resisted the allure and power of sin (Matthew 4:1-11), and fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17-20) that we may have life in abundance (John 10:10). And, condemnation is not tolerated within the life that He provides.

Furthermore, as if this was not already enough, Paul added to this hope and good news by claiming the completeness and security of this salvation: the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of eternal resurrection had made His home within you—physically! All that was once powerless, wretched, and condemned can no longer even be considered as such; for, the Spirit is holy, and that Spirit dwells within us.

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)