No Condemnation

Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Now, I know what you're thinking, I didn't post the entire verse. Apparently, the latter part of the verse is not part of the original text, it was added several hundred years later. As such, it is viewed by some as an error. If added, it contradicts the previous chapter. So I post it like this.

There is NO condemnation to those who are in Christ. Are you in Christ? Then you cannot be condemned. Stop condemning yourself!

What does it mean to be condemned?

1.

to express an unfavorable or adverse judgment on; indicate strong disapproval of censure.

2.

to pronounce to be guilty; sentence to punishment: to condemn a murderer to life imprisonment.

3.

to give grounds or reason for convicting or censuring: His acts condemn him.

4.

to judge or pronounce to be unfit for use or service: to condemn an old building.

5.

U.S. Law . to acquire ownership of for a public purpose,under the right of eminent domain: The city condemned the property.

6.

to force into a specific state or activity: His lack of education condemned him to a life of menial Jobs.

7.

to declare incurable.

I see words like judgment, guilty, unfit, incurable. These words don't apply to you, if you have accepted Christ as your substitute, your Savior.

Condemned in this verse means that you are found guilty and must pay the penalty. The penalty for breaking God's law is death. Christ became sin for us. Sin was judged for all time in Him, on Him. He died, because that was the penalty of sin. He never did sin, but He took our place and became sin, so He had to pay the penalty. The good news is, He rose from the grave, three days later. He's not still dead. If you accept the work that He did, you will never stand before God as your judge. (You will stand before Christ and that is a different thing, I will explain later.)

Hebrews 9:11-15, 10:1-2, & 10-14 are all passages that teach us of Christ's work and how it was once for all time, for all people (people do have to accept this gift, however).

We question this verse in Romans because we do sin and we do feel guilt. This is where you have to recognize the difference between spirit, soul, and body. It is our spirit that is recreated brand-new at the new birth. It is perfect, it is sealed by the Holy Spirit, sin cannot defile it. It doesn't need to grow, it has already been created in Christ's image, in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). And God is Spirit (John 4:24), so He looks at you as a spirit. He sees you as righteous (because you're clothed with Christ's righteousness) and holy (that means set apart, He has set you apart for His purpose).

When you get ahold of that revelation that God is not condemning you every time you disobey (He will correct you, but out of love, He will not condemn you), that He loves you unconditionally, you will have such a desire to serve Him and obey Him that you won't struggle with temptation any longer.

Read through the first eight chapters of Romans and see what the Holy Spirit teaches you.