No Condemnation For Those In Christ

One of the more popular verses within Christianity is Romans 8:1

Romans 8:1-2

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

Great verses, I agree... but let's take a deeper look into them, as I don't think to many Christians realize just what and who these verses are really about. 

Let's look at the word condemnation, ok... what is Condemnation? Condemnation simply put is guilt... if you've been a Christian for any length of time, you've no doubt felt condemned by something a pastor or preacher has said in church. Like when they tell you... You're a Christian now so you can't smoke, can't drink, can't look at porn, don't lie, etc... and then you do whatever they tell you not to do. You instantly feel guilty, fall to your knees and beg God for forgiveness and promise you won't do that ever again... but you do it again, and go through the same "ritual" over and over again.

While this scenario plays out, you feel condemned inside... you feel scared that God is gonna get you... and sooner or later you just give up and many walk away from God. We've all been there... every last person Christian has gone through this.

Ok, so now we have a clear understanding of what Condemnation is and what it can do to our walk with God / Jesus. This scenario is also what is meant by "walking according to the flesh" in the verses above... trying to be right with God based on our self efforts. This is what the Law did to the ancient Jews, as well... it's why they sacrificed animals and did all the other religious rituals they did. It's not that God needed animals to be sacrificed really, but rather that through the sacrifices the guilty conscience of the people was made clean, so they wouldn't walk around condemned.

So when we read Romans 8:1-2... there is now no condemnation for those in Christ who walk not according to the flesh (self efforts to be perfect in God's eyes), but according to the Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you (them - those under the Law that brought condemnation) free, from the Law of sin and (spiritual) death. 

Something to ponder... before you became a Christian... did you feel guilty for doing all the things the church tells you not too? Most likely not... why??? Because you weren't trying to obey a set of rules and Laws... it is by the knowledge of the Law that we feel guilt / condemnation... not by the "sin" itself!

So who are these verses talking too? They are talking to those who felt condemned... ie... religious people!!! The Jews specifically, because they were the ones in covenant with God at the time and obligated to the Old Covenant Law!

While I'm all for walking by the Spirit... God's changing us, as opposed to us trying to change us... the fact of the matter is that you are not under the Law... even the Jews today are not under the Law... here check this out:

Ephesians 2:14-16

 ¹⁴ For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. ¹⁵ He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. ¹⁶ Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

There's the Gospel in a nutshell... the true Gospel, not the fake one taught in most churches! 

STOP trying to please God... an interesting thing happens when we stop trying to please God through our own efforts and we stop judging other people based on how good or bad they are... God starts changing us inside and we grow in love for God and all other people, which in turn is actually the true meaning of obeying the Law in the first place! Don't believe me... look at what Jesus said:

Matthew 22:37-40

 ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Stop letting religious minds make you feel condemned... God doesn't condemn, He loves... for rules and Law never changed anyone, but rather LOVE changes our perception and as a result changes us... and God through us, changes the world we live in!

Go in PEACE!

Who under the Old Covenant?

Seems like some pretty important information to know, considering Hebrews 9:15 says that Jesus died to set THEM free from sins committed under the Old Covenant. 

In my understanding, only the ancient Hebrews / children of Israel were under that covenant, so it was THEIR sins that Jesus died for, NOT ours!

Which in my opinion makes alot more sense in light of these verses below which talk about God not counting sin against those who were not under Law, nor God counting sin against anyone since the cross... jmo, what's your thoughts? 

Romans 5:13 - To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.

Romans 4:15 -  because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

2 Corinthians 5:19 - that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

If these verses are accurate, then it's safe to say that Jesus didn't die for our since because none of us are 2,000 years old, nor have any of us been under that Old Covenant Law. 

Not to take glory away from what Jesus did do, but perhaps restore some of the glory to the Father and also help Christians see that they shouldn't judge unbelievers for perceived sins, when God Himself isn't judging them. 

Kinda nips that self-righteous crap right in the bud... as the saying goes. 

"Sin" Doesn't Separate Us From God

By Bob King
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001504554577

I've been seriously considering how or in what way or why "sin separates" mankind from God. I too grew up with the message that "God cannot be in the presence of sin" - and therefore the purpose of Jesus was to deal with the sin-separation problem for us.

If "sin" has the same effect on us as it did with Adam, then it very well may be that the separation is entirely because of our self-image. It very well may be that sin separates us from God, not from God moving away, but from our "turning our back" to God. The separation may TOTALLY be a perspective thing. It may be totally and only a result of our image of ourselves.

I've come to the conclusion that we are under NO law today and that because we are under no law today, we do not sin today. We may "feel" separated until we come to this understanding, but in God's eyes, there isn't any separation.

By Bob King

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001504554577

Repentance By Ed Burley

By Ed Burley

http://Talk-Grace.com 

Adam and Eve were created naked, but were not ashamed. Once they ate of the tree of knowledge, their eyes were opened and they saw their nakedness. This led to shame...and work to hide that shame. Eventually, when God showed up, He found them hiding behind some shrubbery (thanks to Monty Python for the word). 

We are often told by religious folks that "God cannot be in the presence of sin." Oftentimes this ridiculous notion is used to claim that while Jesus was hanging on the cross, the Father turned his back on him. We are also told that this is why we feel so alone when we "sin," because God doesn't dwell with sinners. I propose that this is false. Truth be told, every time someone sinned in the bible, God showed up. 

So what "separated" us from God? According to Paul, nothing; but, humanity's natural reaction to God is to hide due to shame. Religion shames us, giving us a standard that we cannot attain. We always fall short, woefully short; and this causes us shame. We hide from God. We "turn our backs on God." It is due to shame. 

So, what is repentance? It is when God tells us to "turn around." Note that OUR natural reaction is facing away from God. That is NOT his natural reaction. His natural reaction is to "call us to 'repentance'" which literally means "to turn around." God calls us to turn around, to be unashamed, to receive the mercy and love that He is offering to all. 

The Law shamed God's people. God never left His people. They just needed to turn around (repent) to see Him. They feared Him, but He loved them that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us..."

So turn around...taste and see that the Lord is good...all who are thirsty, come to the water... 

By Ed Burley

http://Talk-Grace.com 

Did Adam's Sin Really Separate Him and Eve From God?

An excerpt from a friend of mine (Ed Burley) on this topic...

Prior to their eating, they were naked but unashamed. After eating, their eyes were opened and they felt shame - so they hid. Again, it was humankind who felt alienated from God...they were not living, they were "dead in their trespasses and sins."

The NT says that "though death reigned from Adam to Moses, their sins were not imputed to their account for there was no law." After Moses, law empowered sin, which resulted in death (it was death's sting).

Paul taught that before the Law, he didn't know what coveting was, he was alive...then he heard the commandment "you shall not covet" and he then coveted (his eyes were opened to his nakedness) and he died.

Go back to Sinai...God talks to Moses (thunder, lightning, etc.). He tells Moses to go get the people. they say "NO, just find out what he wants us to do and we'll do it." Yeah, right! God tells Moses to tell the people not to come up, not to even touch the holy mountain until they hear the ram's horn. Later, the ram's horn is heard, and God tells Moses to go have the people come up; Moses responds, "NO Lord, you told them not to even touch the mountain." The next thing we see is God giving Moses the Law - writing it with God's own hand on tablets of stone.

Moses takes it down to the people, and they are frolicking (what was that about doing what God said?). Moses "breaks the law," and ends up going back up on the mountain to rewrite the commandments with HIS hand this time. This is symbolic of man's sad attempts to hide themselves with religion and rules. What God wanted all along was relationship...

That's what Jesus brought. Death was non-relationship (but it was all man's perception of things) while LIFE was abundant, it was and still is relationship with God.

Credit to Ed Burley
http://Talk-Grace.com