Romans 8:1 - Now No Condemnation
Romans 7:19-25 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
The great dilemma of the ages: where do I receive victory in my Christian life? In my flesh I cannot please the Lord nor live the way He wants me to live. On my own, I cannot even fulfill the Law's demands. The battle the Apostle Paul describes in Romans 7 seems well-nigh hopeless, futile, vain - but there is hope! The conflict doesn't end there. The same God who inspired Romans 7 also gave us Romans 8, the Victory Chapter. This chapter is what many theologians refer to as the Jewel of the New Testament. And the truths contained within these verses gleam brightly for all with eyes to see, and ears to hear!
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.
The key to daily victory is to abide in Christ. When you came to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from sin, fully trusting in His death, burial and resurrection, your account was credited with the perfect sinless righteousness of Jesus, the only person who has ever fully fulfilled the Old Testament Law. When our Heavenly Father looks down from Heaven at His children, He sees only the righteousness of the spotless Lamb of God, not our blemishes and sin-stains. Right here and now (not just after we die), all God's children are free from condemnation! From the moment I placed personal faith in Jesus Christ, He delivered me from the wrath of God for my sins (eternity in Hell) - because He has already borne my penalty for them when He died on the cross of Calvary. The lightning of God's wrath will never strike the same person twice - either we accept Jesus' payment for our sins, or we bear the penalty ourselves in Hell. If you are reading this and you don't know Jesus as your personal Saviour, I plead with you to accept His payment for your sin. Come unto Jesus for forgiveness and cleansing, and let Him make you a new creature!
The hymn writer, Philip Bliss, said it best in his song Once For All:
No comments:
Post a Comment