No condemnation ... what the heck does that mean? Romans 8.1

Here we go—another ‘tion’ word in Romans. 

Condemnation – the state of being condemned

Justification – the act of being made right with God

Sanctification – the process of the Holy Spirit working in us to make us more like Christ.

We have just gotten 'up close and personal' with Paul as he struggled with his sin condition, and then we turn the page, and he tells us that, in spite of our sin, if we are in Christ, we are not condemned … we are not doomed.  (key words: IF we are in Christ )

It was Labor Day weekend and as we often do, many of my neighbors headed down to our favorite local beach, T-Street.  It is kind of our end-of-season, school is starting, ‘let’s watch the sun go down over the Pacific’ tradition.  It was about 5 o’clock and I was talking to a couple people, when all of a sudden, something struck me in the throat, and knocked me right off my feet!  It happened so fast—first, I was standing there, and then I wasn’t—in fact, the object hit my windpipe just right, took my breath away, and definitely startled me.  People went into action: someone went to get the lifeguard, and another went to investigate from whence the projectile object, (turned out to be a huge, launched water balloon), had come.  It wasn’t long until the culprit was apprehended—‘turns out, he was a teen-aged boy, trying to hit his brother with a water balloon, AND he was my neighbor!  His dad was embarrassed, the boy was in tears, and so was his mom  . . . all I could think was, ‘he didn’t mean it’!  See … I wasn’t angry with him; his action might have been foolish, but it hadn’t been malicious … therefore, I had no desire to condemn him. 

No c o n d e m n a t i o n because of our relationship.

"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus."  Paul’s words, recorded in Romans 8.1

I had no desire to condemn my buddy, Zach, because of my relationship with him.  See, I knew him, and I knew his heart … therefore, I had no desire to condemn him.  Much more importantly, you and I are not condemned because of our relationship with Jesus. 

Here’s another illustration:  ‘Remember the riots which took place in South Central Los Angeles?  Buildings were burning and stores were being looted. During all the confusion, an unsuspecting truck-driver named Reginald Denny made a wrong turn and ended up in an area of some of the worst rioting. Millions of people were watching as a news helicopter filmed what happened live. Denny was pulled from his truck after the window was smashed with a brick. Two men pulled him from his cab and threw bricks at him, beat him with a broken bottle and kicked him in the face until he lost consciousness, permanently damaging him.

Somehow he lived through the ordeal. When the case came to court, the men who had beaten him were hardened and belligerent. They showed no sign of remorse. Once again, the media was filming live as they panned the courtroom. Reginald Denny’s face was still swollen and distorted from the merciless beating he took. The nation watched as Denny got out of his seat, against the protests of his attorneys, and walked over to the mothers of his assailants and hugged them as he told them he forgave their sons. They returned his hugs, and one of the mothers said that she loved him. Whether or not his actions had any affect on his attackers we do not know.

The behavior exemplified grace. The men in the courtroom did not deserve forgiveness; they did not ask for it, and they had done nothing to deserve it, but it was offered without condition.  Denny let the mothers and their sons, his attackers, know that he did not condemn them; wow, how powerful!

The Christian life is a relationship with God. Because that relationship is marked by love and trust, God can and will forgive us, releasing us from condemnation.  With no condemnation, we are free from guilt--free to live, free to love.

Christine, no longer condemned

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