No Condemnation - Pastor Sam Simoes - July 12, 2026

Pastor Sam Simoes message for Sunday July 12, 2026.

Welcome to the Northwest Church of the Nazarene podcast, where we share the heart of our church’s mission: discovering and engaging in a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ through inspired worship and intentional ministry. Each episode brings you sermons, insights, and messages that challenge and encourage spiritual growth. Whether you are part of our diverse, multicultural church family, or listening in for the first time, you’ll find a community that loves Jesus and welcomes everyone with open arms. Join us online at nwnaz.org or in person in Columbus Ohio, as we journey together toward a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Jesus and each other.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Every Sunday at Northwest Church of the Nazarene in Columbus, Ohio, our congregation is challenged to grow spiritually. This podcast shares the sermons, insights, and messages that encourage our congregation to mature spiritually.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Today I wanted to have this uh video and these words because uh today we're going to be talking about condemnation. And the problem with condemnation is that when we hear the word condemnation, we accept it as a part of life. Accept it as part of what we have done and the results of not only our sin, but sometimes of our actions. And we think of condemnation as something that we deserve. And that is what the world tells us. Well, today we're going to be talking about no condemnation and what scripture says about condemnation. What scripture says about when we feel that we are not worthy, that we feel that even though we believe that God has died for our sins, there are things that I have done that I don't think God's going to forgive. We are going to be talking about how sometimes when we feel that we may feel in a way that is that is something that the Bible is against, and we just think, oh, maybe I'm not going to be accepted. Maybe God has no use for me. Maybe God cannot stand me. Maybe God is disappointed with me. And we think of this condemnation, and we think of this verdict that we have nothing else left except probably trying to do things like going to church and trying to read more of our Bibles, trying to express more of our of our of our feelings with with others. And maybe maybe if if we if we just do more, if we just be better, maybe we may be accepted by God because I know the sin. And I know that I once prayed, and I know that I I am saved, but I'm not always sure. And I look at myself and think, am I even worth it? Does anyone care? Does God care? Because I have done things that I have done that have been done against God's will. I have done things that sometimes I wonder, am I too far from where God wants me to be? And this condemnation comes into our lives. And sometimes some comes sometimes daily. Other times it just happens every so often. But when this condemnation comes to our lives, what we do not realize is it's a lie. It is a lie and it's a lie that the enemy uses. It's a lie that the enemy uses to take us away from the love and care and embrace and grace of Jesus Christ. It's lies that the enemy uses to bring us down, to make us feel that we are not worthy. And when we feel we're not worthy, we stop looking at God because of his light and we go into darkness and the enemy wins. So today we're not going to be talking about God, you know, letting us live with sin. We're not going to be talking about God, you know, dismissing our sin. We're talking about what God has done with our sin that we are no longer condemned. We're going to be talking about the church. It's a church in Rome, and the church in Rome is quite an interesting church. It was started after Pentecost. So after Peter preached, many of the Jews who heard him went back to the city of Rome in Italy, in present-day Italy. And when they got there, they built a church. And for 20 years they they grew the church, and the church became a church where the word of God was spoken. Now Paul wanted to visit them, but never had the opportunity. And he wanted to go to Rome so he could prepare for his trip all the way to Spain. So, or what we what is present-day Spain, but Iberian Peninsula. So as Paul hears about what's going on in the church of Rome, he finds out that there's a few things that have happened in the few years between the church being started and Paul writing the letter to the Romans. You see, in 49 AD, the Emperor Claudius got into the throne, and the first thing that he did is like he did not want any Jews in the city of Rome. So he expelled them. And they all left, and the church that was started that began with the Jews, with the Jewish people, began having the Gentiles running the church. And they started to share about Jesus to other Gentiles and the church for five years until Emperor Nero allowed the Jews to return to the city. For five years the church was being run and growing with the Gentiles. Well, the Jews come back in, and when they got to the church, things were different. Imagine that. Imagine that. They left the church for five years, and when they came back, things were different. Who are you? We don't know you. We we don't know what kind of theology you have, we we don't know what you believe. And they started to have issues with the new Gentiles, and they were starting saying, Well, you're not a true Jew, so you you can't understand the significance of the Messiah. And they're like, we don't care about the significance of the Messiah. We understand that Jesus died for my sin. Whether he's the Jewish Messiah or not, it doesn't matter because my sin is the one that he took care of. And they start praising God because God has saved them and they were living under the Spirit. So Paul writes to them and said, Hey, hey hey, hey guys, you know, easy, easy on the way you're treating others, easy on the way you are approaching those who are coming to faith just because they are not as well versed as you are in Jewish literature and Jewish customs, they still live with the Spirit. So he writes them the letter to Rome while he's in Corinth and writes the letter to Rome to explain the theology and the doctrine of what it means to be a Christian. So he starts the book of Romans or the letter, the epistle of Romans throughout throughout the book, he speaks about not only in how to live, but also how to approach one another and how to understand what Jesus has come to do and what Jesus has spoken, and he speaks about the relationship that we have with God and our neighbor. So today we're gonna be talking about no condemnation, and as we uh consider this book, we also considered the setting. See, the the Romans were people that were always under condemnation. You see, they had soldiers in the street, always looking for anyone that was doing anything that could uh affect the health of the state. So they were always under condemnation. So if they were gathering and doing something that wasn't an approval of the emperor, like like worshiping a god outside of the emperor, they could be condemned and go to prison. That's why Paul was in prison all the time, and that's why they were living under condemnation every day, not only with the courts, but also with the social status. And they knew that whoever they were, or however they grew up in, or what family they belonged to, they already had condemnation under them. There was nothing else they could do, they were free to roam about as long as they followed the law, so they were completely bound by condemnation, and that's why this passage is so important for us today. Would you stand with me as we consider the word of the Lord and as we ask him to speak to us, as we ask him to allow us to experience what he has for us today? And we're gonna uh read out of the book of Romans, chapter 8. We're gonna read verses 1 to 11. You can follow along with me. Therefore, there is now no condemnation, amen. For those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit, who gives life, has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do, because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. Now those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires. But those who live in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death. But the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God, it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, talking to those who are Christians, are not in the realm of the flesh, amen, but are in the realm of the spirit. It isn't the spirit of God in you. And if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead, we also give life to your mortal bodies because of his spirit who lives in you. Father, we pray that you speak to us. We pray that your word would transform us. Father, we don't want to just feel good, we don't want to just feel justified or or feel loved. We want to be transformed, we want to be new creatures, we want to be like you. So speak to us today, sanctify us, and we pray these things in your Son Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. We find in this passage that no condemnation, that the work of the spirit, that the dwelling of the spirit, and that the ministry of God in our lives is not about us having eternal life, is not about us feeling good, is not about us having the ticket stamped and saying, okay, I'm going to heaven now. It's not about us even being a part of the body of Christ. The reason why we have no condemnation, the reason why Paul told us that there is no condemnation is that because that will provide transformation. It's about transformation. And when we are not transformed, we're not being renewed. If we're not being transformed, we are not changing. If we're not being transformed, we are not doing what the spirit is doing because it's the spirit that keeps changing us. Why? Because we're human beings. We have the propensity, we have the ability to desire sin because many times we live in a flesh. We are trapped by sin and nothing can address it. And Paul speaks in chapter 7 about how sometimes we can look at sin and try to fix it and try to address sin. But he says, nothing, the law cannot take care of sin, nothing can take care of sin except of Jesus. We cannot in ourselves, in our own accord or in our own power or in our own success, be able to address sin. Only Jesus Christ can. But in spite of sin, we read in ver in verse 1, therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And when we look into this passage about condemnation, we have to look a little bit of what condemnation means. I'm sorry, katakrina. Katakrina is a word that's only used three uh times in the entire scripture, and and all three times in the book of Romans. And he uses this term as a term to express um the displeasure, to uh provide uh or to uh pronounce a sentence, and also uh a sentence that's against, or also it's a word that used for unfit for use. So during that time is a little bit more in depth than condemnation. When we think of condemnation, we sometimes just think about a verdict that says you're guilty. But he was a little bit more than that in the Greek understanding, means that you're no you're of no use, means that you you you you're being discarded to the society, that's why you're going to prison. You have caused great displeasure to the society, to to the situation, and that's why you are going to be condemned to a a punishment. And the punishment could be prison, could be death, could be anything. So condemnation was the end, was the end of their life, was the end of what they've known. It was irrevocable. Now, in today's world, we we live in a time where the the the world have appeals and they do a lot of appeals and they keep appealing. You know, and and every time someone pronounces a sentence and we read on the news, uh, we always hear, oh, this person is appealing. Or sometimes we hear, oh, the they have heard the appeal and they have you know commuted the sentence or or or whatever have done in today's world or in today's legal system. But during that time, if a sentence was pronounced, there was nothing anyone could do about it. So when Paul says that you are no longer, that you are not condemned, and the way he put it, for there is no condemnation, is saying that the pronouncement, the sentence that you have is no longer yours. Now, and it doesn't mean that we do not deserve condemnation, it doesn't mean that we do not deserve to receive what we to receive the the punishment. It does not mean that we do not deserve for what we have done. What it means is that Jesus Christ has taken the punishment, the death for us. It doesn't mean that what we have done is no longer uh we have no no no longer to to to to be accountable for it. We are very much accountable, we're very much understanding what we have done, but at the same time we see that the price for what we have done was paid on a cross, not paid by us. So the word says that we have no condemnation because God sent his son to took the weight, to take the weight of the verdict from our shoulders. So it's about transformation, and the weight of the verdict is taken because we have the work of the Holy Spirit, and the work of the Holy Spirit is something that transforms. Again, we go back to the word transforming. You know, I am fascinated with uh uh genealogy. Uh a couple years ago um I was talking with someone and they said, Hey, have you ever looked into your genealogy? And I said, No, but I think that it would be interesting. And then I try to find out my own genealogy and find out that I have a big problem with the Portuguese genealogy. In 1755, there was an earthquake uh in Lisbon, and that earthquake, uh, many of the buildings fell down and and you know and burned to the ground during the earthquake, and one of them was our National Depository of History. So all the books and all the registries and all the names of everyone that has ever lived was in one building. And on that building, on that day, that building came down. And all the history of our nation and the history and the and the and all the names of the people have been lost forever. So the only way anyone can know anything about uh a time before the 1700s is hopefully the the church has written baptisms and marriages and so forth. So it's a very difficult thing to find. Now, fortunately, because of those records, I was able to find from my grandfather's side all the way down to the 1600s, I believe. Now, I found out that Joanne is a little bit different, so I did a lot of research on Joanne and find out through her parents and and grandparents and and all of her lineage, I went, I was able to go down to the 1200s and find out the lineage that she went all the way down. And and something to note, she uh she's a descendant of William Wallace from Braveheart, you know, the guy that was fighting. Um uh, I think was his brother that that she's descended. I'm not sure if it's exactly him, uh the historical figure. But, you know, that's as far as as I found out. But what's interesting is that uh she came uh and when we talk about genealogy, she found out she has people that she's related in this congregation. People that she's probably cousins and and and descendants in different places. And that's fascinating, it's interesting to know about where we come from, you know, about about about our lineage. But I also have spoken with people who found out that their lineage had some very, very dark history, history of slavery, history of crime, history of of things that they're very embarrassed about. And they wonder, do I have those traits in me? Am I going to be doing the same kind of things? What kind of a shame am I carrying from my family? And many times we just think, well, my parents did this, so I am carrying this. My grandparents did that, I am carrying this. And what the word of God says is that when the Spirit comes, we're no longer carrying the things from our past. But Jesus has given us a new present. And the new present means that the past doesn't mean that we are not accountable for it. It just means that we have a new present. We are no longer in condemnation for our past. So many believe that they still struggle. And then the struggle is because God must be disappointed. I am struggling. I'm having a difficult time with this. I'm having a difficult time with that. I am having a time in which I am trying to figure out what is God doing in my life? Is God disappointed with me? Do I matter? Have I lost? Have I lost the ability to see God in this? And what Paul is saying is the complete opposite is that the spirit is working in us. We don't have to work harder. We don't have to try harder. So when we are looking into the condemnation that the lies of the enemy are feeding into our hearts, we are reminded that is no longer us, but Jesus Christ. But that's difficult to do. And why is it difficult? Because we live in a time where the presence of God is something we have to work with. It's a relationship we have to work with. It's a daily dying to self. That's not easy. And that's difficult for us as Christians because that means that we have to continually die and continually working on making sure that our relationship with Jesus Christ is in place. It's not us trying harder, he's letting the Spirit. So what are we to do? We see that it's about transformation, we see that it's about the work of the Holy Spirit. Well, the passage tells us in verse 5 and 6. And verse 5 tells us those who live according to the flesh have their minds set with the flesh on what the flesh desires. But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their mind set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God, does not submit to God, nor can it do so. But those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. So the way that we do not please God is if we act according to the flesh. But we as Christians have the Holy Spirit. But many times the flesh just creeps in. And if we are living by the flesh, according to this passage, if we're living by the flesh according to this passage, we're disappointing God. We're bringing God's not pleased with us. So we have to continue to be filled with the Spirit, to live by the Spirit, because every time we choose to live by the flesh, we're not pleasing God. So we have to be filled. So when I think about a cup full of air, there's only one way for us to get rid of the air in this cup. Actually, there's two ways, but one of them requires us to have one of those compression machines to remove air. But I'm just gonna talk in regular ways. There's only one way for us to completely remove air out of this cup, and that is by filling it. There's only one way for us to remove the flesh, to remove sin from our life, and that is by filling it with the Holy Spirit. You know, so there's some bubbles in there, but see, there's no air in that cup. And when we live filled, filled with the spirit, there's no sin. Where do you put the sin? You can't because the spirit is filling. But then there's a problem though. Oh the flesh. The flesh. Loves it. Oh the flesh. Every so often the flesh comes and just you know, we just want to to do our own way, you know, because of the the you know, there's a few things that we really like, and the spirit is just like it's not as much fun, I guess. And the flesh comes and just does its own thing. And the problem with the flesh is that the more attention we give to the flesh, the less of the spirit we have. And the problem is when we lose the spirit, air fills in. So what the scripture says we have to do. Well, that's the spirit to fill us completely. So there's no place for sin. So the flesh, the flesh is what takes the sin, is what takes the spirit out of our life, and that's why Paul is saying, those who have the spirit please God, but those who live by the flesh and just want the the sin, they're not pleasing God. By the contrary, so there is consequence to sin. He's not saying that if we sin, we everything's going to be fine because you have no condemnation. No, the condemnation means that Jesus died for our sin. But if we continue to sin, if we continue to go against the will of God, then only the spirit can fill. And once the spirit fills, there's no sin. So we recognize that sanctification, the sanctification can be this. No? Say, Lord, I really need to work on this. And the spirit comes in. The sanctification means that every time the flesh comes in, we're like, Lord, I cannot live like this. I'm seeing, I'm seeing a little bit of air. I need the spirit. And it's that daily walk, that daily growth, that daily journey, that daily dying for the flesh, so the spirit can fill. So the presence of God in our lives is not just so we feel better, is that the transformation of the spirit not only transforms our lives, but others will see and recognize it. Is noticeable, it's a new identity. Because a cup filled with water is very different than the cup filled with air. There's something special, there's something amazing about it. So we live in the spirit. So this is what the passage is saying that those that live by the spirit, those that live by by the law of God bring pleasure to God. But those who don't bring condemnation on their lives. That's why we have to make a choice. Am I being filled with the spirit or am I being filled with the flesh? And you know what's the problem? The problem is that we cannot be in the middle. There's not a third element. It's either we live by the spirit or we live by the flesh. But the only way we can live by the spirit is through the spirit of God. So what are we to do? We live by the spirit, but we also accept God's verdict. In today's world, there's appeals. And God is calling us to saying, there's no appeal. I'm not appealing. I'm just saying that your sentence, that your condemnation is on me. I am the one that condemns or not. And my judgment, my pronouncement on you is on my son. My son, not on me. So when we feel that we are condemned, it's not the word of God. Because the word of God is saying that Jesus Christ has taken the condemnation from our sin. John brings the idea that Jesus is the Lamb of God. And that's how he explains it. That Jesus is the Lamb of God that was sacrificed in the temple. Mark explains it differently. He says that Jesus paid a ransom because we were worth, we were worth a ransom, and Jesus paid a ransom with his death. But Paul brings a different idea for us to understand what Jesus has done for us. He used a representative combat. In those times, they had a representative combat. If two entities had something to fight about, had something to discuss or something to figure out, instead of having an all-out war with both armies, they would just find a representative from each army to fight each other. And whoever won, then that army being represented by that by that soldier, by that fighter, would then be the victor. And then they will solve that situation. And it's called representative combat. And the biggest example of that we have in scripture is David, who was representing the people of Israel, and Goliath, who was representing the people of the Philistines. It's a representative, and whoever wins is Victor. And when Paul is saying that, he's not saying it because we are gonna have to go fight. Amen. We don't have to fight, we don't have to die, we don't have to battle. The battle belongs to Jesus. We don't have to try. You have to keep being filled with the spirit. Because if you don't have the spirit, then you are not going to win that battle. The spirit is what keeps us in journey, is what keeps us holy. As the scripture says, as I am holy. Don't we want to be holy as Jesus is holy? What a beautiful thing it is, and that's why we as a church speak of sanctification. But we Christians tend to confuse many times conviction, which means this is wrong. This this is not right, God is not pleased with this. That's conviction with condemnation. That means you're not worthy, that means you're done, which means God cannot accept you, which means that grace is not sufficient for you. That's a lie. Because the condemnation is on Jesus, He already died, and we are no longer condemned. There is no condemnation on us. And this passage and this book of Romans was what led John Wesley, is what led Martin Luther to look at the scripture and say, you know what? We no longer have to do A, B, C, and D and fulfill the law. It is by the Spirit. And that's why they started the Reformation, that's why they started Methodism, that's why they started the church that we are a part of today. Because it's not about what we do, it's about the Holy Spirit and about being sanctified and living a life that there is no sin. And that is something we believe we can accomplish. But we can only accomplish with the Spirit, not our own. I know the time's coming, but I do have a challenge for you. This week, I'm not gonna ask you to do something with your one back. I'm gonna ask you to look into your life and identify one condemning thought that you've been carrying. A thought that you have been holding on that to think that God is not going to accept you because of that. A thought that you believe that you cannot receive God's love because of that, a thought that you believe that that is keeping you away from God, a thought that you believe that you're not worth it, a thought that you believe that that you you're not acceptable, a thought that you believe that you are not a part of God's plan, a thought that you believe that you cannot be a part of God's will. Identify that thought and ask the Spirit to fill. Ask the Spirit to come, ask the Spirit to dwell. Identify one thought that you've been carrying and find a place where God wants to extend his grace and accept the grace. Accept the grace. I don't know where you are in your walk. But if you're anything like me, I can only go if Jesus is a part of it. But every time I let the flesh in, I find myself veering away. But I struggle with thoughts, things that I have done, things that I have thought of, things that I have considered. Then I'm thinking, how can God accept me? Or personality traits or or or thoughts, and I can just think, well, maybe I am not worthy. And I forget that the enemy uses lies. So if you're struggling with uh with thoughts that you're not worthy, if you're struggling with thoughts that God cannot accept you, if you're struggling with thoughts that that you are beyond redemption, if you're struggling with thoughts that that you're not worth it, then those are lies. Because the Spirit wants you to fill completely, take away those thoughts and remind you that the love he has poured on you, has accepted you in spite of your sin, in spite of your flesh. So if you're struggling today, I want you to let me know. And I want to pray for you this week. If you want to come to the altar, you can do so. But this is a time that we cannot leave this place and saying, Lord, I want to be transformed, but I can't be transformed because I don't know if I'm worth it. But if today is a time and a place where you can identify those things, I will pray with you and for you this week. That God will reveal Himself to you. So if you bow your heads and if you want to raise your hand, I will commit to pray this week for you. Before we I see the hand. I see that hand. I see that hand. I see that hand. I'll be praying for you this week. I'd like to uh pray and then I'm gonna ask Pastor Prison to come forward. Father, in heaven, we are so thankful that we have no longer condemnation, that we are no longer condemned, and that you have accepted us in spite of our sin, in spite of our past. So today, Father, I pray that you would speak to our lives, speak to our souls. And Father, we pray that you fill us with your Holy Spirit, that the desires of the flesh do not keep us away from you, but make us aware of the need of your spirit. And we pray those things in your Son Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 41:01

As it is known in our community, Northwest Church is committed to discovering and engaging in a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, with inspired worship and intentional ministry. People from all walks of life are welcome and received as family members. Our family is diverse, multicultural, and although not perfect in love with Jesus. Join us online at nwnat.org by visiting us at Corpus Ohio. God bless you.