There is Now No Condemnation (Romans 8)

 

There is Now No Condemnation

“Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe Him as personal Lord and Savior] “(Romans 8:1 Amplified)

For many years, as a Christian I could not relate to this verse because I was still living with guilt.  I must have been living my Christian life in the chapter 7 and still under the Law.  No Christian should live under the Law and yet many do because many feel a constant guilt being under Satan’s trap.  If you live your life in chapter 7 you will feel guilty but once you cross into this chapter 8 and live by the Spirit, the condemnation is gone.

There is a need for more teaching in the Church about guilt and conviction.  You can be convicted by the Spirit about your sins, but you can feel guilty about them as well.

When you live by the Spirit, he will head your life if you are honest with him about your sins.  If you are hiding from him, you are in trouble.  Confess your sin and get them over with.

Life by the Spirit should be normal for the Christian who wants it all.  Hold back on your life in your relationship with the Holy Spirit and you will lose it.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:5-6 ESV)

In other word, you cannot produce the things of the Spirit in following the flesh.  It does not work; it is like planting potatoes and expecting beans in their place.  There is a law of the Spirit that needs to be practiced in order to get Spirit "work".

In the same way, if in a church we do and are everything “just right” and shows everyone else how good we are we are not living in the Spirit but under the Law and Pride. We must be true to one another.  It is Okay to have a bad day!

Often our lives are not as they appear on the surface, and we need to bring it out.