NO CONDEMNATION

Transcript

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Hello everyone. This is Pastor Dean Thompson with a word of hope. No condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Romans chapter eight verse one. The therefore here reaches back through seven chapters. Paul has just chronicled in the seventh chapter the agonizing experience of every honest believer, the gap between what we want to do and what we actually do actually do. The word between flesh, the war between flesh and spirit, ending in the cry, Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Chapter seven verse twenty four. Then he answers, I thank God through to Jesus Christ our Lord. And then in chapter eight verse one, he plants the great flag. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Take each word. It is not promised, it is announced, not deferred, declared. Therefore, because of everything Paul has just argued, justification by faith, chapter five, union with Christ in his death and resurrection, chapter six, the failure of the Lord to save, chapter seven, and the work of the spirit to come. Chapter eight verse two and following. Now while you are still struggling, while the war in chapter seven is still raging, not when you have finally arrived at sanctification summit. No. No condemnation. The word is katakrima, katakrima. It does not merely mean a verdict, it means the punishment that follows the verdict. Cranfield observes that this is courtroom language. The judge has ruled. The case is closed. To them which are in Christ Jesus. The phrase in Christ is the teeth is the dearest in Pauline theology. It occurs more than a hundred and sixty times in Paul's letters. It means united to him by faith, hidden in him as Noah was hidden in the ark. The judgment that searches for you must pass through him first, and on him judgment has already been spent. Martin Luther wrote of this verse When the devil throws our sins in our face, we should answer Yes, I have done these things, but Christ has borne them. He has paid for them. Now they are his and not mine. End of quote. John Convin called Romans eight verse one the peak of the entire epistle. If your conscience accuses you today, do not deny what it says. Confessing. Then look up. Christ has borne the sentence. The judge is also your father. The verdict has been issued in your favor. The accuser may shout that he has no juris the accuser may shout, but he has no jurisdiction here. You are in Christ. The condemnation is gone. O Lord Jesus, when accuse accusation rises, please remind us of the verdict. We are in you. So there is no condemnation. Hallelujah. Amen. God bless you, brothers and sisters.