"No Condemnation"
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
—Romans 8:1
There seems to be general agreement in broader Christendom that Paul’s epistle to the Romans is one of the most spectacular pieces of early Christian writing. It is rightfully included in the scriptural canon, and it stands strongly among the great discourses in all Scripture. The eighth chapter of Romans is the very pinnacle of the entire epistle which means that it strikes at the very heart of Christianity itself. In March, our preaching will be focused on the eighth chapter of Romans.
For generations, Christians have learned about the “Romans Road” to salvation which is just a way of explaining the good news of salvation using just verses from Romans. A simplified version of the Romans road would begin with “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) showing that we have all sinned and done things that are displeasing to God. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)
One would next understand that our sinful lives have consequences. “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Death is the punishment that we deserve and not just a physical death but eternal death. But even though we are sinners “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Sending His son was a great gift of mercy and grace. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Jesus died for all. He willingly died in our place. He suffered the justice that we deserve. God then raised Him from the dead accepting Jesus offering on our behalf.
We come to a knowledge of this great gift through preaching. Knowing what Jesus did creates hope and faith. “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:14-15) This newfound belief and hope and faith is expressed in our testimony. The words of our mouths expose what is now found in our hearts. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
Confessing Jesus causes the believer to want to be like Him and to do what He asks of us. To put off the old person and become new. So, we bury that dreadful, awful, sinful person “beneath the wave” in the cleansing power of baptism and rise out of the watery grave as new creatures. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)
Washed away now is the guilt and penalty of sin. We are set on a new course with a new purpose. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1) God did not save us from the world, He saved us for the world. We were created in His image so that we could reflect His glory through our new person. The problem of sin wasn’t just that we become guilty and deserve God’s wrath. It is that we fail to be effective God reflectors. Sin entered in and marred God’s image in us causing all creation to fall into corruption and decay. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead, now lives in us so our walk in life must now fully reflect His glory.
As we journey through life, our new walk can at times be fraught with the continued tension between our old fleshly desires and our new life. Paul uses stronger language and calls this tension a war. “But my members are warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” (Romans 7:25) He stresses that we must continually battle this enemy of our souls. “And if I subdue not the sin which is in me, but with the flesh serve the law of sin; O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:26) Thankfully the power to win and overcome is now in us. “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord, then, that so with the mind I myself serve the law of God.” (Romans 7:27) To endure in the spirit requires that we examine and weigh every thought.
So, the struggle is real, but in some respects, the struggle is just a reminder to us that we are on the right path. There is not even a suggestion in scripture that we must pay for our glory with difficulty or that our place with God is somehow purchased with our suffering. In the course of history, some well-meaning Christians have literally beaten themselves with rods and whips in the hope of overcoming the flesh and gaining for themselves more Spirit. We do not need to go and look for suffering. As we endeavor to live under the mantle of God’s Spirit, we do so under the tyranny of a fallen world. Tribulation is often part of the Christian experience, but it will pale in comparison to the “glory that shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18) The blessing and promise is that while we wrestle, the Sprit will continually affirm our place in God’s family as one of His children. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” (Romans 8:28)
As we strive to walk in the Spirt and not after our old fleshly ways, we can walk in peace. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) None of the tribulations of life, none of the distress that we encounter, nor persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword will ever be able to separate us from the love of our God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35, 39) He is there with us every step of the way of our new life in Him.
This month explore in your own prayer, study and contemplation what it means to be “in Christ” and what it means to walk “after the Spirit.”
Walk in the light, and thou shalt find
Thy heart made truly his.
Walk in the light, and thine shall be
A path, though thorny, bright.M
For God, by grace, shall dwell in thee.