No Condemnation

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

For the most part, we undervalue the truth revealed in this verse.

Jesus came to suffer and to die for our sake. Because Jesus is God and because God is holy and infinite, sin causes God to suffer in ways we cannot comprehend. The Mel Gibson movie “The Passion of the Christ” probably approximates as well as anything what it must have been like for Jesus to suffer on his way to the cross. I’m convinced, however, that no movie can depict the suffering he actually endured in his spirit.

God has lavished his grace on us through Christ (Ephesians 1:7-8). The idea of God having lavished his grace on us presents us with a picture something like someone throwing huge bucketfuls of water at us, one after another... so much so that we cannot possibly conceive of how much water has been "dumped" on us. We cannot comprehend the extent of God’s grace towards us in Christ. And one of the reasons we cannot is because we cannot perceive the depth of our sin. Lavish grace is required because we have sinned so deeply, so profoundly, so lavishly. We will begin to understand the extent of God's grace when we begin to understand the extent of our sin. We will begin to understand the extent of our sin when we begin to understand the extent of God's holiness. We will begin to understand these things if we will give ourselves to deliberate thought - meditation - to our Lord hanging on the cross.

That there is “now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” is far greater than we can comprehend with a surface recognition for the reality. The problem sin created is more than just the problem of what we do. It created a problem in the very core of who we are. The now trite phrase “I'm just a sinner saved by grace” does not even come close. It’s one thing for a person who murdered another to be forgiven and no longer condemned. It’s quite another thing for a pedophile/murderer to be forgiven and no longer condemned. Our natural response to the idea that such a person has recieved pardon forgivenenss is that it’s not fair, that’s not justice! Yet that is the same kind of position each of us is in before God, yet God because Jesus suffered and died for our sins (every bit as heinous to God as a pedophile murderer), through faith in the person and work of Christ, we are forgiven and no longer condemned. The difference between human forgiveness and God's forgiveness is that we humans cannot change a person's heart - but God can... and does.

No, it’s not fair that the innocent holy God should suffer for our corruption and sin… but he did… by his own choice. Why? So that He could enjoy fellowship with those whom he created... so that he could have fellowship and intimacy with you.

Look at Jesus on the cross. Hear him speak, "Father, forgive..."