The King's Pardon (Romans 8:1)

A single sentence from Romans 8:1 can feel too good to be true, which is exactly why we slow down and read it like a royal decree: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We follow Paul’s logic from the reality of sin and deserved judgment to the shock of a full pardon that is not earned, not delayed, and not reserved for “the really mature” believers. The promise is present tense. The word “now” means you do not have to wait until heaven to find out whether you’re accepted by God.

We also tackle why that kind of grace is so hard for people to accept. Penance shows up everywhere: dramatic rituals, religious checklists, and the everyday American version of salvation by “good deeds outweigh bad deeds.” Even our best intentions can become a quiet attempt to pay God back. We unpack why the gospel refuses that system, pointing instead to the blood of Christ, justification, and the finished work of the cross as the only foundation for forgiveness and assurance.

Then we dig into the phrase “in Christ Jesus” and use Noah’s ark as a vivid picture of eternal security: safety is not about hanging on harder, but about being placed inside God’s refuge while judgment falls on the substitute. We close with two practical results of the king’s pardon: guilt about the past loses its voice, and anxiety about the future loses its grip. If this gave you clarity or comfort, subscribe, share it with a friend who feels stuck in spiritual fear, and leave a review so more people can find the message.

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Transcript

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When you come to Christ, you brought everything about you to him, both past and present and future. You brought it as it were to the living ark, and it was dismissed at the door. And the perfect judge will not condemn you because you are safe in him. And so Paul can deliver centuries after that event in the book of Genesis, this pardon that's for all of us. There is therefore now no condemnation to

The King’s Pardon In Romans

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them who are in Christ Jesus. That is the King's promise. That is the King's pardon. Chapter 8, verse 1, where we have received, as it were, in the mail, a direct letter from God, the King's pardon. As you're turning, I want you to know as we approach this chapter, it is a great chapter. It is a great chapter. It has been written of with sterling commentary. There are many who believe that chapter 8 of Romans is the greatest chapter in all of the Bible. I don't know if we could say that. Maybe at the end of our study, we'll know. But one man put it this way: He said, If the Bible were a cluster of precious jewels, the book of Romans would be the diamond in the middle, and chapter 8 would be the sparkling tip of the diamond. The chapter begins with the words, no condemnation, and ends with no separation. In verse 1, where I want to turn our attention this morning, the king's pardon is revealed, where we read, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Now immediately the glittering gospel is very evident and apparent to us all. He says, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. The religions of the world could never conceive of such a statement, of such a pardon. Surely this couldn't be true. We have already been told in this letter that we're all sinful. There is no unrighteous, no, not one, chapter 3, verse 10. We have been told that we are all without any excuse, chapter 2, verse 10. We have learned that we have all sinned, and because of that we fall short of the glory of God. He says in Romans 3, 23, that the wages of sin, the penalty of sin is death in chapter 6, verse 23, and we have discovered our propensity to sinning in chapter 7 is wrapped around us like a decaying, corrupting corpse. And in the last verse of chapter 7, we are faced with the reality that sin will literally dog our heels for our entire lives. You come to the end of all of that, and you would expect to read, there is therefore guaranteed condemnation for everybody. Surely mankind can't get off the hook without some sort of payment. The natural mind of man would demand there can be no such thing as pardon without penance. You've got to do something. You've got to do something for God. This week, in preparation for this, I studied the theology of penance, which is literally in every religion around the world. Every religion. Webster defined penance as punishment or suffering undergone to atone for sin. Penance, as many of you probably know, is one of the sacraments of Roman Catholicism who, along with the Orthodox Church,

Why Penance Feels So Natural

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which you may not know, also teaches that penance is the act whereby the sinner can atone for sins committed. It might be praying a certain number of prayers, it might be doing a certain number of good deeds. In other countries I learned, and in other religions, people do all sorts of things to earn a sense of pardon. Surely eternal pardon, the pardon of a king, could not come without doing something. At least spend a little time in jail, at least go through a thorough application, at least wait. Surely you can't get it simply by asking. And so the mankind's mind has come up with all sorts of things. I read one news report from San Fernando, Philippines, where ten men and one woman were voluntarily crucified in a bizarre ritual of penance. They were eventually taken down off the crosses, but I read close to a thousand residents and tourists from all around the world watched under the hot sun as eleven people staggered into a fence knoll where neighbors dressed as Roman centurions, awaited with wooden crosses and hammers and four inch nails. One man named Cheeto Sangalang grimaced as the nails were driven into his palms and feet as he was nailed to the cross. The cross was hoisted aloft for the crowd to see. This is the fourteenth year in a row that this man has had his hands and feet nailed to a cross. One American tourist said, It's amazing to see people sacrificing themselves for their sins. I wouldn't call it amazing, I would call it tragic. From Thailand, I read where the Blau's are about to head with the gospel of this pardon. The value of penance is received by abstaining from food. One major religion that I encounter that I can't even pronounce, I'm sure the Blau's will be able to one day and tell me more about it, but they teach that the luminaries in the sky are gods. They believe the gods receive their superiority, that they are shining with great joy because they fulfilled the conditions of penance. Without a doubt, they teach, quote, through penance, the very status of Godhead may be acquired. I found this theology and religions located in Japan and China and India. Hinduism is rifled through with this thought and belief. Every twelve years, millions of Hindus flock to one particular city where they believe that dipping in the Ganges River will cleanse away the sins they committed that year, and hundreds of people are literally killed in the rushing of the mob to the edge of the river. You might say, well, they don't do that in America, although they're building a Buddhist or a Hindu temple at the rate of about one a week now in this country. At least they're not rushing to the river yet, right? Well, they don't go to Jordan Lake yet, at least not from what I know. However, that sounds very similar to the Jordan River. It won't take somebody very long before they'll attach some sort of mystical experience to bathing in his waters. I can remember watching one televangelist selling water from the Jordan River, telling those who watched him that if they'll just give their gift and get their money to him, he'll send them the water, and it has mystical power. He didn't realize how close his mysticism was to Hinduism and what a false teacher he was. For the large part, in this country, millions of people do penance other ways. They believe they can atone for their sins primarily by attaching to their sinful living good things, good deeds. Muhammad Ali recently, in an interview, I think summed up this view very well when he said, This one day we're all going to die, and God is going to judge our good deeds and our bad deeds, and if the bad outweighs the good, you go to hell, but if the good outweighs the bad, you go to heaven. Unfortunately, that is the typical view of religions not only around the world, but certainly in our country. And let me give you one more illustration. A magazine article told of a 67-year-old man who had donated over a hundred pints of blood over the years. No doubt many people owe their lives to this man's incredible kindness and self-sacrifice. When asked by a reporter why he did it, he responded with these words When the final whistle blows and God asks me, What did you do? I'll say I gave one hundred pints of blood. And then he added, That ought to get me in. How tragic this man is counting on the giving of one hundred pints of blood to get him into heaven. He's going to discover one day he has depended and trusted in the wrong blood. The Apostle Paul has already declared in Romans 5, verse 8, but God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us much more than having now been justified, made right with God by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him. He wrote to the Ephesians in chapter 1, verse 7, in him we have redemption through his blood. The sacrifice of Christ alone delivers

Modern Examples Of Earning Heaven

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us. So Paul can come to this point in chapter 8, verse 1, and deliver this incredible statement. There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I want to take the remainder of our time and take a closer inspection of this verse by looking at five key words or phrases. The first one simply begins with the words, There is, therefore. These are words of summary. In other words, based upon what Paul has taught, not just in the previous verse, not just in the previous chapter, but in the previous letter that he has written, that man is sinful, but Christ is the savior of sinful mankind. That man cannot save himself, but can be saved by Christ alone. With all of that in mind, he begins the pardon by saying, now, based on that, there is therefore a word of summary. There is therefore now. This is the word of safety. By the way, you ought to know the words there is are not even provided in the original language. They're implied and given by the translator to make sense of the phrase for the English reader. Simply read or translated, it would read, therefore, now. And I like that. It has a little bit more punch. Therefore, now. No condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Now, the Greek word noon. It's a word with reference to time in the present. In the present time, you could actually amplify Paul's words to read, therefore, at this very moment, or therefore at this present time. That's what he's saying. And it's incredible. Paul is actually emphasizing the fact that you do not have to wait until you get to heaven to find out whether or not you're condemned. There are a lot of people running around saying they hope to get into heaven, but they don't know for sure they're going to wait until they see him. You don't have to wait. Right now, the pardon is going to be yours. For those who've placed their faith in Christ alone. For those who've received from him the free gift of salvation, you are safe now. Now you are safe. Think for a moment with me. Your eternal life does not begin when you go to heaven. It began when you accepted Christ. You already have eternal life. This mortal body will pass away. It won't last. You'll be given an incorruptible body, but your spirit has been granted eternal life now. Therefore, now you are safe. And I can't help but but see the comprehensive sweep of this phrase. He doesn't say, therefore, to those who are mature, you can know you're not under condemnation. Or to those who have their spiritual ducks all lined up, you can rejoice in this pardon. No, he implies, everyone who is in Christ Jesus, we would act that way. We would expect God to withhold this sweeping pardon and let only the really godly children of his in on this truth, right? Only the good ones find out. It's the way I'm tempted to be at times, right? As a father, let the good kids of mine kind of get in on the good stuff. You may remember the story of the businessman who was called up front of an audience of businessmen and women who'd gathered to hear a lecture on motivation. The lecturer asked, he pulled one man up and he had a steel beam lying across the stage, and he asked the man if he'd be willing to balance himself and walk across that beam for $20. And the man said, sure. And so he got on that beam and he walked across it and he received his $20. Then the man said, Now, if I took that beam and I placed it at the very top of 40 story high skyscrapers, balanced them between the roofs of those two buildings, would you be willing to walk across that beam for $20? And the man said, Of course not. And now the lecturer pressed his point. He thought, aha, I have them here. He doesn't have enough motivation.

Therefore Now The Present Safety

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And so he said, Well, what if I had on top of one of those buildings one of your kids? And I said, if you don't walk across this beam, I'm going to push your child over. What would you do now? Would you do it? And the man thought a second and then asked, Which kid do you have? God is entirely motivated toward the safety of every one of his children. No matter who you are. He is not only entirely motivated, but he is eternally motivated toward your spiritual safety, and he wants you all to know it. If you are in Christ, you are safe now and forever. The next word is the word no. Therefore, now no. This is a word that communicates certainty. And it's a very strong negative term, negative adverb. In fact, in the Greek New Testament, this adverb appears at the very beginning of the sentence. And the Greek writers would do that to emphasize their point. Absolutely no. One translator wrote it this way: no, not even one little bit of condemnation for them in Christ Jesus. No, no way, not a chance. That's what Paul is trying to communicate. It is a word, a wonderful word of certainty. There's absolutely no possibility of condemnation. So we have a word of summary. We have a word of safety, a word of certainty, and now a word that demands substitution. Therefore, now no what? No condemnation. You know that word only appears in the letter to the Roman believers, and only in chapter 5, in

No Condemnation Means No Sentence

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addition to chapter 8. It relates to the sentencing of a crime, especially to the penalty that the verdict demands. Here's Paul's point. He is in effect saying there is no penalty for crimes against God. I can't imagine it. Religion could never conceive of such a thing. This is an amazing declaration. There is no sentence to serve. Would you notice the Bible does not say there are therefore no grounds of condemnation? There are no grounds of accusation. Paul does not say there is nothing in us that deserves condemnation. There is. There are grounds of accusation. There are plenty of grounds of condemnation. He simply says there is no condemnation. How could God ignore the grounds of our deserved guilt and condemnation? How can God not deliver a sentence at least for a day, maybe an hour, or a week, a month, maybe a year? How can he not demand some sentence against his holiness? So how can Paul say there is not one little bit of condemnation in the mind of God? It is the next phrase that explains how. Therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. These are the words of eternal security. You see, being a Christian is not simply having an outward identification with Christ, but becoming an inward part of Christ. So Jesus, Christ was condemned. He satisfied the wrath of God. He satisfied the judgment

In Christ The Ark Illustration

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of God. For those who come by faith to him, we are no longer within the reach of God's wrath, for we rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Let me give you an Old Testament event that illustrates this New Testament mystery. You remember the story of Noah. And Noah's what? Ark. He built that ark, and it took him more than a hundred years after the barge was completed. God commanded Noah to cover it with pitch, within and without. That tar-like substance that would keep the water out. It's interesting that the word for pitch is the same Hebrew word used in other places of the Old Testament, translated atonement. The ark would become a symbol of atonement. And if you would, it would face the wrath of God. It would endure the sentence of God on earth. It would face his wrath. And all those on the inside of the ark would be safe, out of reach. And those outside would face the wrath and judgment and condemnation of God. They wouldn't come to that which represented atonement. You probably remember after Noah and his family built the ark, you probably remember that God never said, Now go take eight long nails and hammer them on the outside of the ark, and you go out there, and when the rain starts, you hang on. You strap yourself on. You hold on as best as you can. And if you can hold on, you'll be saved. No, he never told them to do that. In fact, they went inside the ark, and Genesis chapter 7, verse 17 says, God shut the door behind them. The security for them was the hand of God. They were within that which represented atonement, sacrifice for their sin. And then the wrath of God fell, and those within were saved, and those outside the ark were lost. What it meant for Noah and his family to be inside the ark, it means for us to be inside Christ. Christ, our secure atoning ark of salvation, has against him the wrath of God been poured, and we in him are safe forever. What a pardon. Now, what about the unbeliever, the one outside? Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 1:7, the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels and flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction. Why? Because they were not in the one who paid for that destruction to take place against his own body. And they will be removed, it says, from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. The Lord Jesus warned of this himself in Mark 16, 15. He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. And as you're going, keep this in mind. Keep this thought in your mind. He who has believed, evidencing that belief in baptism, shall be saved. But he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. So the world is divided into two classes, no matter what religion, no matter what system, no matter what theology, those outside of Christ depending on themselves, and those inside of Christ depending upon him. Those on the outside trying to pay for their sins themselves by a number of different means, and those whose sins have already been paid for in Christ. My friend, if you're outside the ark today, we've already been told that judgment will come against you, and one day, if you are outside of Christ, it will be eternally too late. And so I offer you what Paul offered me. Romans chapter 8, verse 1. This is the King's Pardon. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Let me quickly wrap up our study by offering a couple of wonderful benefits that comes from the King's pardon for those who've received it. There are hundreds of them, and it was hard to whittle it down, but I've whittled it down to two. Number one, the king's pardon silences the guilt of your conscience concerning the past. It silences the guilt of your conscience about the past. Isaiah refers to Satan

Outside The Ark And The Warning

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as an accuser, and we give him plenty to work with, though, don't we? He accuses the brethren. The Lord intercedes for us. We saw in Job how the accuser went into the presence of God accusing someone on earth. We have every reason to believe he does that today. I can imagine him accusing, whispering in the ear of Peter, Peter, remember the courtyard. To David, remember that day with Bathsheba. To Paul himself, remember the murder of Stephen. You were part of it. What does he whisper to you? What does he accuse you of? Remember that thought. Remember that adultery. Remember that lie. Remember that abortion? Remember that plan. Remember that word.

Guilt Quieted About The Past

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God says in his word, and I want you to listen. Very carefully, I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will remember your sins no more. Isaiah says. Those who are in Christ, our transgressions have been wiped away, and God says, I will remember your sins no more. God chooses, as it were, to forget. So, ladies and gentlemen, when that old liar comes up and whispers in your ear, I recommend you take him to Mount Calvary and you point to the cross and you remind him that God has forgotten. Amen. You remind him of why. You don't have to drag a big rock along a path, as one man I saw a picture of him lying on his back, chained to his ankle, wrapped around a big boulder, inching his way on his back to another city to pay for his sin. You don't need to repeat a dozen prayers that jog God's memory. You don't have to feel the pain of nails in your own hands and feet to impress God. The Son has already taken the pain and the punishment for you, and there is nothing for you to do but open the mail, as it were, and with your heart believe the king's pardon and receive it. It's free. It is staggering to be so. And minds of men could never conceive of it. But God delivers it. Number two, the pardon of the king subdues the anxiety of your heart toward the present and the future. Paul wrote to Timothy these words Listen, when we're faithless, he will remain faithful. For he cannot disown himself. You're in him. To disown you would be to disown his son. God cannot disown himself if you are safe in him now and forever. John wrote these words. This is how

Anxiety Subdued For The Future

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we set our hearts at rest in his presence. Whenever our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1 John 3, 19 and 20. I love the fact that he adds that at the end. He knows everything. That ensures that we won't stand before him, and one day he'll say, Oh, I didn't know that about you. Oh, I didn't see that in you. Oh, I didn't know you'd said that. I didn't know you'd you'd heard that. I didn't know you'd planned that or did that. No, he knows everything about you, and he knows everything about your sin. And when you come to Christ, you brought everything about you to him, both past and present and future. You brought it, as it were, to the living ark, and it was dismissed at the door. And the perfect judge will not condemn you because you are safe in him. And so Paul can deliver centuries after that event in the book of Genesis, this pardon that's for all of us. There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. That is the king's promise. That is the king's pardon.