Hello! My name is Ball. Today, I’m going to start working through Romans 8. I pray you’ll join me in seeing how amazing the life that God gives us is.
Before we dig into the opening verses of Romans 8, let’s take a quick look at the context this chapter appears in.
The apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans to the church in Rome as a manner of introduction. Though he had never met the Roman church, he intended to use it as a future base of operations for his missionary work. That is why he introduced himself to the Roman Christians by writing them the book of Romans.
Because he had never met these Christians before, he wanted to lay a firm doctrinal foundation before meeting them. As a result, Romans deals with all matters of doctrine, from sin to salvation to God’s plan for the Gentiles.
In chapter 7 of Romans, Paul talks about how the purpose of the Old Testament Law was to reveal our sin to us (as well as our inability to save ourselves from it). He then talks about how Christ has freed us from the Law so that we are no longer slaves to sin.
Here is where we pick up in Romans 8:
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
English Standard Version
You see the word “therefore”? That’s the key to understanding this verse (and the reason we just spent so much time working through Romans 7). Because Christ freed us from the Law, we are free from condemnation.
But what does “no condemnation” mean? Surely, when we sin, there are consequences, right?
Certainly, there may be earthly consequences for our sin. If I lash out in anger at a family member, I’m hurting his or her feelings and damaging my relationship with him or her. If you are lazy and put off work until later, you’ll end up being stressed later on. For any of us, lying, stealing, and any other sin can—and nearly always do—have consequences in this world.
However, this is not what “no condemnation” is referring to. “No condemnation” is talking about the real, eternal punishment for our sin.
Each of us—you, me, your neighbor, and every other person on Earth—have sinned against God. Each of us continue to sin against God daily. The proper, just punishment for this sin is eternal suffering and anguish in Hell.
But, God loves us so much in spite of our constant rebellion against Him that He came and bore our punishment. On the cross, Jesus bore the full wrath of God, the full punishment for our sin. He died as the perfect sacrifice for all who believe and trust in Him, paying the price for their sin in His death and proving His victory over sin in His resurrection.
Because He paid the price for our sin, God freely offers complete and total forgiveness to whoever puts his or her faith in Him.
If you have put your faith in Him for your salvation, you do not need to live in fear that you’re “not good enough” for God. Even though you were in open rebellion against Him, He has paid the price for all your sin. If you truly believe and trust in Him, there is no condemnation for you because God already bore it on Himself.
Don’t miss out on Freed From the Law of Sin to get the full meaning of this post.
