NO CONDEMNATION!
No condemnation now hangs over the head of those who are "in" Christ Jesus. For the new spiritual principle of life "in" Christ Jesus lifts me out of the old vicious circle of sin and death. Rom. 8:1, 2, Phillips.
"That's a tall list," the young man gasped. "Who could ever live up to all that?" He was studying the personal standards of his church; his youth pastor had been reviewing what the Bible requires in the areas of personal conduct, moral values, recreation, friendship, diet, dress, the media, use of time, and financial responsibilities. He was both bewildered and overwhelmed, because he was certain that until he had learned to embrace all these details he would be continually guilty of violating God's will.
He was expressing a familiar feeling: that we spend our life growing toward the security of freedom from guilt, rather than growing within that security. He shared the too-common perception that the only reason God could think of to get people to live by high standards was as an escape from condemnation. Therefore, in his mind, if God were to pronounce His people free from condemnation, they would start misbehaving all over again. At the same time, however, the thought of continually staggering under condemnation hardly seemed appealing.
So his pastor began to unfold to him the meaning of Romans 8:1. He pointed out that we bear a burden of guilt when we are outside of a relationship with Christ. Indeed, the broken relationship is itself the guilt-inducing sin, and being reunited with Christ is the desired remedy. The young man's eyes began to widen as he recognized that it is the union with Christ, not the dread of condemnation, that is the new motive power in the believer's life. Were Christ continually to hang the threat of condemnation over the growing believer's head, it would shift the focus away from Christ Himself. It would confuse the motives for obedience, offering self-centered escape from condemnation in the place of Christ-centered love for truth.
Oh, how much we need to grasp that guiltiness has no place in the life of one in union with Christ! Yes, we may stumble en route to wholeness in Christ. And we shall feel remorse for hurting others and for misrepresenting our Lord. But we must not let Satan push remorse into feeling condemned and rejected by God, for "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (R.S.V.).
No condemnation now hangs over the head of those who are "in" Christ Jesus. For the new spiritual principle of life "in" Christ Jesus lifts me out of the old vicious circle of sin and death. Rom. 8:1, 2, Phillips.
"That's a tall list," the young man gasped. "Who could ever live up to all that?" He was studying the personal standards of his church; his youth pastor had been reviewing what the Bible requires in the areas of personal conduct, moral values, recreation, friendship, diet, dress, the media, use of time, and financial responsibilities. He was both bewildered and overwhelmed, because he was certain that until he had learned to embrace all these details he would be continually guilty of violating God's will.
He was expressing a familiar feeling: that we spend our life growing toward the security of freedom from guilt, rather than growing within that security. He shared the too-common perception that the only reason God could think of to get people to live by high standards was as an escape from condemnation. Therefore, in his mind, if God were to pronounce His people free from condemnation, they would start misbehaving all over again. At the same time, however, the thought of continually staggering under condemnation hardly seemed appealing.
So his pastor began to unfold to him the meaning of Romans 8:1. He pointed out that we bear a burden of guilt when we are outside of a relationship with Christ. Indeed, the broken relationship is itself the guilt-inducing sin, and being reunited with Christ is the desired remedy. The young man's eyes began to widen as he recognized that it is the union with Christ, not the dread of condemnation, that is the new motive power in the believer's life. Were Christ continually to hang the threat of condemnation over the growing believer's head, it would shift the focus away from Christ Himself. It would confuse the motives for obedience, offering self-centered escape from condemnation in the place of Christ-centered love for truth.
Oh, how much we need to grasp that guiltiness has no place in the life of one in union with Christ! Yes, we may stumble en route to wholeness in Christ. And we shall feel remorse for hurting others and for misrepresenting our Lord. But we must not let Satan push remorse into feeling condemned and rejected by God, for "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (R.S.V.).
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