December 15th

No Condemnation

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

The Forgiveness of Sin

There is no condemning sentence or verdict against those who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus has paid the price for our sins, and we are able to go free from the bondage and condemnation of them. It’s the forgiveness of sin, the redemption we have in Christ Jesus. We have peace with God, the Bible says, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Law of Sin

This statement, made by the Apostle Paul, follows a discussion in the previous chapter about his struggle to do right and not sin, and his failure to accomplish that aspiration because of what he calls the law of sin operating in the members of his body, or in his flesh.

The Desire to Please God

And many Christians do struggle in their attempt to live sin-free, and to be pleasing to God at all times. We desire to go deeper into our life with God, but are often pulled in a direction we would rather not go. Yet we do go the wrong way sometimes.

The New Man in Christ

We struggle is between walking after the flesh, or, that is, according to what the flesh wants, and after the Spirit, or according to what the Spirit wants. Actually, the word “Spirit” should not be capitalized in this passage, because it refers to our born-again human spirit, who is joined by the new birth to the Holy Spirit.

Flesh and Spirit

The Holy Spirit does not struggle with the temptation to do things that are not pleasing to God. But our reborn human spirit does. The struggle is between our newborn spirit and our flesh. We struggle between walking after the desires of the flesh and the desires of our born-again human spirit.

The good news is that we are not condemned when we miss the mark, if we follow after the spirit and ask God to forgive us. We can get back up and go on with God, Who loves us and does not condemn us, if we will come to Him for forgiveness and cleansing. If we don’t ask forgiveness, then our own heart will condemn us.

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If you are feeling condemned today as the result of missing the mark in your walk with God, take time to go to Him in prayer and ask Him to forgive you. The Bible says that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to make us clean from all unrighteousness. When we sin, we should run to God, not from Him. Let’s pick ourselves up and go on with God.