During this series of devotionals we are considering Romans chapter 8 verse 1, where it says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. In part one we established that there is a struggle in the Christian life. However, that struggle is without condemnation. Remember? “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” That verse can be understood as the topic verse for all of Romans 8, since everything Paul says all the way through to verse 39 is simply defined as “No condemnation”.
It’s interesting to read this verse in Greek. When Paul wrote it, he used a different word order. When the New Testament writers wanted to emphasize a particular word, they would put it at the beginning of the sentence. That was their way of saying: “This is important. Notice this. Pay attention to it.” In the Greek, the first word in this verse is the word “no.” That’s the fifth word in our translation, but in the original Greek, because Paul wants to emphasize in the strongest possible way that there is no condemnation, he took the word “no” and moved it to the front.
Is Paul saying: “There is, therefore now, no failure for those who are in Christ Jesus”? Is he saying: “There is, therefore now, no struggle for those who are in Christ Jesus”? Is he saying: “There is, therefore now, no stumbling for those who are in Christ Jesus.” No. What he is saying is: “There is, therefore now, no condemnation – no punishment, no coming into judgment – for the follower of Jesus.”
When Jesus saved us, he didn’t say he would take away all our problems. We may stumble, fall, make a thousand mistakes, sin and get off the path and have a multitude of problems, but for the believer in Christ, there is no condemnation because God has said so. You can struggle, fall, trip, stray off the path, but you are not condemned, because God has said he will not condemn those who are in Christ Jesus.
When Jesus saved you, he didn’t say he would take away all your problems, but he did say this: “In your problems, struggles, failure, going astray, there is no condemnation. This is Good News for Prodigal Sons. God is not going to reject you just because you struggle.
Most of us know the story of the Prodigal Son. He was in his father’s house and went off to the far country where he had a wild time and spent all his inheritance and ended up eating with the pigs. He hit the very bottom. The son who had it all went from top to bottom. Left his family squandered his inheritance and was now living with the pigs.
Someone once asked: “what’s the difference between a pig and a man in a pigsty?” The answer was given. “The pig just keeps on eating after a while, the man says ’I will get up and go to my father.” God already knows everything you’ve done. Where was the father when the son returned home? Not in the house. He was out on the road coming to meet him. It’s a picture of our experience as believers. There is no condemnation or rejection for those who are in Christ Jesus. Even those who wander, even those who stray, even those who have been living for a long time in the far country and are embarrassed because they have squandered their spiritual inheritance.
You may be scared to turn back because you think God’s going to condemn you. But the moment you say: “I will get up and go to my father”, in that very moment he will say: “Kill the fatted calf. Let’s have a party. My son who was lost has been found. Now he’s come home.”
We need to believe what God has said through Paul in Romans 8 verse 1. Let me tell you, Christian growth does not happen by behaving better, but by believing better – believing bigger, believing deeper and believing what Jesus has already secured for us. Charles Spurgeon says it quite simply. “If our debt was paid, it was paid, and there is an end of it. A second payment cannot be demanded.”
Also, there’s no punishment. There’s discipline and there’s correction, which may be very painful, but there’s no punishment.
Many years ago when I was young, we had a man called Steve Romans who used to teach all the kids in my street to play rounder’s. It’s like a Welsh baseball.) He used to spend hours teaching us how to play. You would be standing there holding this piece of wood or stick and the ball would come six feet over our heads and we would be swinging at it. Then a ball comes right down the middle and you would just stand there. Then Steve would say: “Stay!” And you start running. Then he would shout: “Run!” and you stayed put I don’t know how he had the patience.
I remember we were playing a game one Sunday morning against a load of kids from another street over in Evanstown we were fielding first. And Steve said to one of the boys on our side: “Move up closer! Come on!” The boy didn’t want to. He was only seven. So Steve went over to him and moved him closer. You could see the terror on his face. Then someone from their team took this mighty swing and … “BOOM!” There went the ball. And the boy Steve had moved closer was petrified. He couldn’t move and the ball passed right through his legs. So he started crying. And Steve went up to him and said: “That’s OK! Nice try.” And we all said: “What do you mean nice try? He didn’t even move?” And Steve said: “But at least it didn’t hit him in the face.” He said: “Nice try. You’ll catch it next time.” And the little boy started to smile as if to say: “Yeah. I did pretty good, didn’t I?”
That’s what God does when we fail. He helps us back up, he tells us where we went wrong and he puts us back in the game. That’s what Paul meant when he said there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. Some Christians go through life with a heavy load of guilt. not just because they struggle but because they feel like God hates them. But he doesn’t. Even when he has to discipline us or move us up, he does it for our own good. I don’t know of any truth more important or more satisfying than the great truth that for those who know Jesus there is no condemnation.
Why? Because Jesus paid it all. Because your sins are gone. Because Jesus condemned sin by his death on the cross. And if he condemned sin by his death on the cross, then God will never condemn you.
I can’t think of a better, more encouraging spiritual truth that I could share with you. There are a few things that remain true in the middle of your struggles. You are eternally secure. You can never lose your salvation if you are a believer in Jesus because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You are eternally free. You’re not bound any more. You don’t have to perform well in order to earn his grace. It is a gift, freely given. You are positionally perfect. When God looks at you, he sees Jesus and he credits you with all that is said about his Son. When it comes to salvation, there are only two places you can be. You’re either outside of Christ or you’re in Christ. You are either outside of Jesus and on your own, or you are in Christ and you are saved.
So if you’re reading this and you’re not sure where you stand, run to Jesus and embrace the cross. I Can assure you that when you come, you will discover the most liberating truth in the world – that in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation.