SPIRIT-LED: A LIFE WITHOUT CONDEMNATION

Mejie Constantino
As you journey in your relationship with God, it is important to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in your life. It is He who resides in us and conforms us into the likeness of the Son. Thus, it is important to understand that we, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, should always desire to be driven by the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever felt condemned because of the sin you committed?
How did it affect your life and your perspective, especially in your relationship with God?
The book of Romans started with the word "therefore" in Chapter 8. It concludes the preceding statements that the apostle Paul discussed in chapters 6–7, which are about the sanctification or application of our salvation as we live here on earth.
Therefore, as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are already free from condemnation because of His finished work that He exemplified through His resurrection.

Condemnation has no place for those who are in Christ. Now, the apostle Paul is describing the facts as to why condemnation has no place anymore for those who are in Christ. The word condemnation is negated by the word no, which means there is no place or area of judgment.

Let's look at this text.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4
Why is there no more condemnation?

The Apostle Paul provided three reasons for this.
  • First, Christ freed us from the Law (v.2);
  • Second, Christ already condemned the Law (v.3); and
  • Third, Christ already fulfilled the Law (v.4).

There is a law of life and a law of sin and death, which the Apostle Paul discussed in chapters 3–7 (go through these chapters during your bible reading). Christ freed us from the law through his zeal and as the guarantor of our freedom in Christ, who is the Holy Spirit who brings life. The Spirit of life in Christ freed us from the law of sin and death, in which we were formerly imprisoned. Further, in contrast to the preceding statement or description of the law, which is the law of sin and death, the Spirit of life gives us a clear picture of our true status before the Lord. This points us to our freedom from sin and death, which happened when we received the Lord Jesus Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Now the question is, what is it that the law cannot do? The law cannot free us from sin and death. That’s why the Lord Jesus Christ incarnated and became like us—sinful men—to free us from the law and to condemn the law of sin by giving His own life as an offering or propitiation (propitiation means an offering for sin or that He was given as a sacrifice on account of sin). After condemning the law of the flesh, Jesus Christ must fulfill it so that the requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us who believe in Him (v. 4).

As Augustine of Hippo said, “Grace was given that the law might be fulfilled," and the grace of God that we received through the favor that God gave us must affect our lives to love Him without hindrances.

In application, Christ freed you from your past and from all your negative thoughts, behaviors, histories, and backgrounds. He never condemns you but always invites you to have a meaningful and fruitful journey with Him. He wants you to experience a life led by His Spirit, which is the guarantee of your faith in Him. No matter how you feel right now, you can come to Jesus, and He will not condemn you. He will not push you away; instead, He will come to you as you draw near to Him.
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