Do you struggle with your sin nature? When the book of Romans says there is “no condemnation,” it means three things that will blow your mind!
Romans 7 discusses the inner conflict in the hearts of many believers. Paul says he feels torn between two desires. On the one hand, are the desires of sin, which are external to him as a believer. On the other are the desires of his spirit, which has been transformed to be like Christ. Verse 15 says, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
Internal Conflict
Contrary to much of Church teaching, Paul indicates that we do not have a sin nature. Instead, we have a Christlike nature because we have been transformed into the image of Jesus. Notice here that Paul says I do not do what I want. This is because his Christlike nature knows what it wants—Christlike action. The internal conflict is not between a good nature and a sin nature dwelling inside one person. It’s between the intrinsic Christ nature and extrinsic evil influence. That makes a big difference!
No Condemnation
The first verse of Romans 8 says, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This one sentence has three distinct meanings, each of which is significant. It isn’t a question as to which is the correct interpretation. Christians need to grasp all three nuances to wrap their brains around this teaching and move toward a better life.
1. God Doesn’t Condemn You
This is generally the first significance that Christians recognize when they read this passage of scripture. If this were the only impact of this verse, it would still be a lot. God doesn’t condemn you—that’s huge! Jesus made this point clear when he exonerated the woman brought to him by hypocritical accusers. John 8:3-11 says:
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and, making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”
It’s important to note here that Jesus forgave her before he cautioned her. An improved life was not a requirement for her forgiveness. Instead, an enhanced life should naturally result from receiving divine grace.
2. We Shouldn’t Condemn Ourselves
The second meaning is that since God does not condemn us, we shouldn’t condemn ourselves either. Too many Christians go around with an attitude that says, “God declares me righteous even though I’m really not.” This makes God a liar. It’s not that God overlooks your unrighteousness and acts as if you’re good enough anyway. Instead, (get this) Jesus declares you righteous! So, you should agree with him!
What if the woman Jesus rescued hadn’t completely internalized the message of God’s acceptance? She would have gone around saying, “I’m nothing but an adulterer.” Or, at best she would have said, “I’m just a sinner, saved by grace.” By repeating that to herself she would have consistently reinforced to herself the lie that she’s just a sinner, with grace being an afterthought.
So many Christians today do the same thing. In seminary, I was introduced to various forms of Christian meditation and contemplation. One of these is the Jesus Prayer. While I love Christian mantras, I have abandoned this traditional prayer which simply says, “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” That’s because I’ve come to believe it’s unhealthy to constantly repeat to yourself that you’re a sinner, which you aren’t. That’s not your nature.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!” You are not a sinner. God doesn’t condemn you—so quit condemning yourself. God saved you from the deception of sin so you can walk in your Christ nature, not so you can go around telling yourself that you’re wrestling against some imaginary sin nature. You are not a sinner saved by grace—you are a little Christ.
3. We Shouldn’t Condemn Others
The third sense of Romans 8:1 stems from the first two understandings. Not only does God refuse to condemn us, and not only should we refuse to condemn ourselves, but we should also refuse to condemn others. What if the woman had gone home and berated her daughter for whatever she perceived to be the girl’s sins? You would say the woman was a hypocrite. You would be right in comparing her with the unforgiving servant in another of Jesus’s parables (Matthew 18:21-35). Having been set free herself, a hypocritical believer might try to make herself feel better by condemning the actions of others. Yet, she isn’t truly free if she remains in this mindset.
Unforgiveness harms us more than it hurts others. According to Quote Investigator:
Luskin likes to quote anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela when he talks about forgiveness. Mandela once said that hatred is like drinking poison and then waiting for it to kill your enemy, Luskin says. It’s the same way with refusing to forgive.
How many Christians end up like the folks who brought this woman to Jesus, full of condemnation? We say we are free, but then we turn around and condemn others. Instead, Jesus calls us to be like him—and declare amnesty for all, even before they repent.
It’s time to free ourselves from the responsibilities of sitting on the judge’s bench. Stepping out of the judge’s seat, we find ourselves encumbered by the judge’s robes. Eventually, we find that we are free to throw off everything that so easily entangles us, especially our obsession with sin that weighs us down (Hebrews 12:1). Pretty soon, free of such encumbrances, we’ll be free enough to run!
No Condemnation in Christ Jesus—What Does the Bible Mean?
Jesus said, “You judge by human standards; I judge no one (John 8:15).” Since Jesus doesn’t judge, and he asks Christians to act like him, it ought to be obvious. Yet, we often accept the first meaning of “no condemnation” without moving on to the second and third implications.
Christians need to accept that God doesn’t condemn us for our sins. This should be mind-blowing, especially once we realize that God’s non-condemnation comes before (and not after) our repentance. After that, believers should fully internalize this divine acceptance by learning to forgive ourselves. When we can quit identifying ourselves as “sinners, saved by grace,” we will feel immense freedom. Finally, Jesus’ followers must extend that same grace to the rest of the world. It’s hard to call ourselves Christians unless we act like Christ, who refused to condemn.
Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” That means there is no condemnation at all. No condemnation for us. No condemnation in us. No condemnation from us. When we embrace all three of these things, we will experience freedom.
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