There are times in our lives when we fall short of our expectations and the expectations of others. If we dwell on our failures, this often leads to self-pity and discouragement. Some people will intentionally put us down so they can feel better about themselves. The situation is compounded when we condemn ourselves for our failures.

God’s law reveals our weaknesses and shows us our need for a Savior. The only person who completely kept the law was Jesus. You do not need to bear the crushing weight of condemnation in your life. This was the Apostle Paul’s response:

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

Paul was emphatic in his declaration as the force of this word for no may be translated as absolutely no condemnation whatsoever.

The implications of this declaration means that although we sin and go astray at times; God does not condemn those who are in Christ. Others may condemn you and you may condemn yourself, but God does not condemn His children. Are you going to listen to the voices of others or are you going to choose to believe what God says is true?

When God saves us, we don’t automatically stop sinning. We have the ability not to sin, but there are times when we choose to sin. God does not reject us when we sin. As finite beings, we will sin at times:

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)

God’s wonderful promise stands firm. The word condemnation conveys the idea of a severe judgment, but there is no judgment for those who are in Christ because our sin has already been judged in the substitutionary atonement of Jesus. Paul lamented of his sin in Romans chapter seven, but he realized that Jesus had set him free from condemnation. We must realize that we have been freed from the penalty of sin:

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

You are also free from the power of sin since Jesus has condemned sin in the flesh:

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3)

Paul then revealed how we may appropriate the truth of this passage:

so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:4)

A hallmark of Pauline theology is that we are in Christ. Our identification with Christ reveals that we are united to Him by faith and we experience freedom as we walk in the power of the Spirit.

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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