Fighting the Flesh #1: No Condemnation!

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”—Romans 8:1

For the Christian, outside of John 3:16, there is no greater verse than Romans 8:1. For within those words, encased in letter’s penned by the Holy Spirit is a promise to our soul that no matter what may come, no matter what we may encounter, if we truly believe in Christ—God will not condemn us. It is a promise, an assurance and declaration from the highest and most supreme authority—God Himself. It is a succinct encapsulation of Jesus words,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”—John 10:27-29.

No one can snatch us out of the comforting clutches of the Triune God. There is no devil, demon, device, or declaration that could pry us from His hand. We are safely secure, certainly cemented, firmly fixed, and resolutely rooted in God because of Jesus Christ and what He accomplished at the cross. He is the one who procured salvation—not us. He is the one who paid the price for our sins. He is the one who willingly laid down His life for us. He is the one who suffered. He is the one who was crucified. He was the one who died and was buried. And He was the one and only one who ever rose from the dead of His own power. Therefore, the salvation we possess in no measure depends upon us, no more than the earth rotating on its axis depends on us. We are saved, not on the basis of what we have done, but what He has done, which is why salvation is entirely upon grace, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”—Ephesians 2:8-9.

For those who have unequivocally, unashamedly, and irrevocably placed their faith in Christ, there is no condemnation. What a sweet and precious promise that is, beloved! No matter what may come, no matter what sin we fall to, no matter what obstacle we encounter, God will never let us go! As Paul wrote,

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”—Romans 8:38-39.

Far too many believers continually think they ping-pong back and forth between salvation and condemnation, in the foolish belief that each time they sin; it volleys them to the court of condemnation. Those who believe such things find themselves steeped in worry, guilt laden, and psychologically insecure. It need not be! To trust in Christ means to trust and participate by faith in a salvation whose work has been finished, waiting for the day of its culmination, when we are glorified and the perishable puts on the imperishable (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:53) and we see Jesus, our Savior, Lord, God, and King, face to face. Amen.