There is therefore now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus

has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Romans 8:1-2

One of the key words to watch in reading Paul is the word therefore. When you read it you are in the main point he is driving at, in this section he speaks about “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Condemnation means a guilty verdict in the legal system. A condemned person serves the sentence rendered by the judge according to the prescribed penalties. This is the framework used by Paul to explain our relationship with God in his letter to the Romans. So he speaks about the law – the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus and the law of sin and death. Trained as a Pharisee and at the same time a Roman citizen, Paul knew how the legal system works both in religious and civil affairs. In those days’ people had to know the legal implications in day to day living from prescribed offerings in the temple to the tax system that everyone had to comply. As the old maxim says, “ignorance of the law excuses no one.” So explaining our relationship with God in the legal framework would be easy and simple for them.

It is quite a challenge for us today to go into this framework in explaining our relationship with God. A friend of mine said to me; “what’s my case all about? What did God accuse me of?”  Well, this is not a specific case against us personally. This is like a corporate case against humanity. As Paul wrote earlier, “all have sinned…” and each of us have to account this sinfulness expressed in the way we live our lives. So I suggested to my friend that if we are in a court, he can file a case proving that he is not a sinner and he does not deserved condemnation. We can imagine this scenario as a lawyer arguing for a client claiming he or she is sinless or we can be the client itself explaining to our lawyer our case. But this is not the way our case is portrayed in the Bible. The story begins in the heavenly courts with all of us already found guilty of being sinners.

We have to understand this framework to appreciate its merit. In the heavenly court, all of us, including Paul himself were found guilty of sinfulness. So it is but proper that we will be judged, we will be condemned but the good news which is Paul’s main point is that there is no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus paid the penalty for us. Notice the word, there is therefore now no condemnation. Not tomorrow but now, instantly! We don’t have to wait for a while we can begin living as a forgiven condemned-person.  We are set free, now and we can get out to the world to live life anew.

Prayer

We were condemned yet you redeemed us O Christ.

Teach us to value and take care of this redemption. Amen.

[Like a seed planted in the soil, it is our prayer that God's Word will grow in us as we nurture it in our hearts. Allow the seed to germinate. Your reflections and responses are welcome. Please click on the Add a new comment icon below.] Past Daily Devotions are archived at the bottom of the Sermons page.