Romans 8:1-2

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [who did not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit,] because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

In chapters 1-7, we saw God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, the coming and even now present wrath of God, the perfect Savior given by God in Jesus Christ, and justification and sanctification by faith in Christ. Previewing chapter 8: In v1-4, Paul addresses how it is that we are able to grow in grace despite indwelling sin and how we can retain an absolute sense of our assurance even as we continue to wrestle with the patterns of sin. In v5-11, he deals with how we can tell the difference between worldliness and godliness in ourselves. In v12-17, Paul tells us how the Holy Spirit shows us that we are children of God. Then in v18-25, he explains how is it that our present sufferings, trials, tribulations, and difficult circumstances are used by God to work for our future glory. In v26-27, he deals with how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. In v28-30, Paul explains how a believer can be certain that God’s promises to him or her will be fulfilled. In v31-32, Paul explains how we as believers can understand how much God is for us. In v33-34, he explains how we can be secure in God’s justification of us. Finally in v35-39, Paul addresses how we who feel like sometimes we’re limping along, as if the world is going crazy, our hearts being broken every day, are more than conquerors. The main theme of chapter 8 is the Holy Spirit working in the justified to sanctify.

How is that you can be sure that you will not be condemned when you stand before God on the Day of Judgment? How can a person who has seen his own sin, who has cried out with Paul in Romans 7:24, “Wretched man that I am!”, how can he have the kind of absolute confidence of Romans 8:1, “There is now therefore no condemnation for me in Christ Jesus”? How can he have that kind of confidence? Paul suggests that there is more than struggle with sin; there is more than battling our conflicting desires. Believers war against sinful desires with spiritual desires, but that’s not all there is. There is the Spirit of life indwelling each believer, and Paul is saying that the story of this battle with sin is not only the battle between renewed desires and sin. It’s the battle between God the Holy Spirit and sin.

Even struggling believers can be assured of their justification because of two realities: First, our justification was accomplished by God and not by ourselves; secondly, it is God Himself, God the Holy Spirit Who is working in us. God is working in us. Think about that! Condemnation is the opposite of justification. And Paul’s theme is the complete and irreversible nature of God’s justification. When God justifies you, He gives you the final verdict. And so Paul glories in that fact that there is no condemnation. When? Already now, and finally now. “Finally now” is seen in v3. After all these years of promise, it was finally realized in time. The “already now” won’t be seen clearly until v33-34. No one can bring a charge against God’s elect, because they’ve been justified in Christ. It’s already done. Now there is no condemnation. When a person is in Christ, and when Christ is in a person, there is no condemnation. In Christ Jesus, God is always for you. This is where Paul will go in Romans 8, once we get to v30-39.

This can be hard to believe sometimes. But notice 1 Corinthians 11:28-32 (Sometimes we get sick…) “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” When we are judged, with weakness or sickness or even death, we are, Paul says, being disciplined by the Lord so that we would not be condemned with the world. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, even if their sickness is a token of God’s fatherly displeasure and discipline.

But how can believers have comfort? How can believers be confident? Paul says, “The law of the spirit of life through Christ set us free from the law of sin and death.” In other words, God has justified us, and God the Spirit is working to sanctify us. Justification and sanctification are the grounds of our freedom and our sense of freedom. Do not take confidence in your feelings, your law-keeping, or your circumstantial blessings; rather take confidence in God, because of what He has done and is doing. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in us (Ephesians 1:18-20). In Luther’s classic hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, we read, “Did we in our own strength confide our striving would be losing.” That’s true for both justification and sanctification, so our trust for assurance is in God Himself.

Notice the connecting link between v1 which speaks of no condemnation, and v2 which speaks of Spirit-empowered liberation. The verses are connected by the word “for” or “because.” Now there are two possible meanings for that word “because.” It could mean that practical sanctification and liberation from sin is the basis for my justification, so I have to defeat my sin in the power of the Spirit first in order to be justified; but I don’t think it does. Rather, I think it means that the practical sanctification and liberation from sin is the evidence of my justification. So I am justified (forgiven, pardoned) first, and then I give evidence of this reality by living it out in practice. V1 is a declaration of no condemnation, of our justification; v2 is a description of practical transformation. First, we can say that being united to Christ by faith makes His pardon and righteousness ours, so there is now no condemnation. Second, we can say that being united to Christ by faith makes His power and authority over sin ours, so the law of sin and death can be defeated. In Christ we get pardon from sin and power over sin. V3 offers another example of this, and we'll examine it next time.