No
Condemnation
"(There is) therefore now no condemnation." The eighth chapter
of the epistle to the Romans concludes the first section of that
wonderful epistle. Its opening word "Therefore" ("There is" is in
italics, because supplied by the translators) may be viewed in a
twofold way. First, it connects with all that has been said from
3:21. An inference is now deduced from the whole of the preceding
discussion, an inference which was, in fact, the grand conclusion
toward which the apostle had been aiming throughout the entire
argument. Because Christ has been set forth "a propitiation
through faith in His blood" (3:25); because He was "delivered for
our offences and raised again for our justification" (4:25);
because by the obedience of the One the many (believers of all
ages) are "made righteous," constituted so, legally, (5:19);
because believers have "died (judicially) to sin" (6:2); because
they have "died" to the condemning power of the law (7:4), there
is "therefore now no condemnation."
But not only is the "therefore" to be viewed as a conclusion drawn
from the whole of the previous discussion, it is also to be
considered as having a close relation to what immediately
precedes. In the second half of Romans 7 the apostle had described
the painful and ceaseless conflict which is waged between the
antagonistic natures in the one who has been born again,
illustrating this by a reference to his own personal experiences
as a Christian. Having portrayed with a master pen-himself sitting
for the picture--the spiritual struggles of the child of God, the
apostle now proceeds to direct attention to the Divine consolation
for a condition so distressing and humiliating. The transition
from the despondent tone of the seventh chapter to the triumphant
language of the eighth appears startling and abrupt, yet is quite
logical and natural. If it is true that to the saints of God
belongs the conflict of sin and death, under whose effect they
mourn, equally true is it that their deliverance from the curse
and the corresponding condemnation is a victory in which they
rejoice. A very striking contrast is thus pointed.
In the second half of Romans 7 the apostle treats the power of
sin, which operates in believers as long as they are in the world;
in the opening verses of chapter eight, he speaks of the guilt of
sin from which they are completely delivered the moment they are
united to the Saviour by faith. Hence in Romans 7:24 the apostle
asks "Who shall deliver me" from the power of sin, but in Romans
8:2 he says, "hath made me free," i.e. hath delivered me, from the
guilt of sin. "(There is) therefore now no condemnation." It is
not here a question of our heart condemning us (as in 1 John
3:21), nor of us finding nothing within which is worthy of
condemnation; instead, it is the far more blessed fact that God
condemns not the one who has trusted in Christ to the saving of
his soul. We need to distinguish sharply between subjective and
objective truth; between that which is judicial and that which is
experimental; otherwise, we shall fail to draw from such
Scriptures as the one now before us the comfort and peace they are
designed to convey. There is no condemnation to them who are in
Christ Jesus. "In Christ" is the believer's position before God,
not his condition in the flesh. "In Adam" I was condemned (Romans
5:12); but "in Christ" is to be forever freed from all
condemnation. "(There is) therefore now no condemnation." The
qualifying "now" implies there was a time when Christians, before
they believed, were under condemnation. This was before they died
with Christ, died judicially (Galatians 2:20) to the penalty of
God's righteous law. This "now," then, distinguishes between two
states or conditions. By nature we were "under the (sentence of)
law," but now believers are "under grace" (Romans 6:14). By nature
we were "children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:2), but now we are
"accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). Under the first
covenant we were "in Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:22), but now we are
"in Christ" (Romans 8:1). As believers in Christ we have
everlasting life, and because of this we "shall not come into
condemnation."
Condemnation is a word of tremendous import, and the better we
understand it the more shall we appreciate the wondrous grace that
has delivered us from its power. In the halls of a human court
this is a term which falls with fearful knell upon the ear of the
convicted criminal and fills the spectators with sadness and
horror. But in the court of Divine Justice it is vested with a
meaning and content infinitely more solemn and awe-inspiring. To
that Court every member of Adam's fallen race is cited. "Conceived
in sin, shapen in iniquity" each one enters this world under
arrest--an indicted criminal, a rebel manacled. How, then, is it
possible for such a one to escape the execution of the dread
sentence? There was only one way, and that was by the removal from
us of that which called forth the sentence, namely sin. Let guilt
be removed and there can be "no condemnation." Has guilt been
removed, removed, we mean, from the sinner who believes? Let the
Scriptures answer: "As far as the east is from the west so far
hath he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). "I,
even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions" (Isaiah
43:25). "Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back" (Isaiah
38:17). "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more"
(Hebrews 10:17).
But how could guilt be removed? Only by it being transferred.
Divine holiness could not ignore it; but Divine grace could and
did transfer it. The sins of believers were transferred to Christ:
"The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6).
"For he hath made him to be sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
"(There is) therefore no condemnation." The "no" is emphatic. It
signifies there is no condemnation whatsoever. No condemnation
from the law, or on account of inward corruption, or because Satan
can substantiate a charge against me; there is none from any
source or for any cause at all. "No condemnation" means that none
at all is possible; that none ever will be. There is no
condemnation because there is no accusation (see Romans 8:33), and
there can be no accusation because there is no imputation of sin
(see Romans 4:8). "(There is) therefore no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus."
When treating of the conflict between the two natures in the
believer the apostle had, in the previous chapter, spoken of
himself in his own person, in order to show that the highest
attainments in grace do no exempt from the internal warfare which
he there describes. But here in Romans 8:1 the apostle changes the
number. He does not say, There is no condemnation to me, but "to
them which are in Christ Jesus." This was most gracious of the
Holy Spirit. Had the apostle spoken here in the singular number,
we should have reasoned that such a blessed exemption was well
suited to this honored servant of God who enjoyed such wondrous
privileges; but could not apply to us. The Spirit of God,
therefore, moved the apostle to employ the plural number here, to
show that "no condemnation" is true of all in Christ Jesus.
"(There is) therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus." To be in Christ Jesus is to be perfectly identified
with Him in the judicial reckoning and dealings of God: and it is
also to be one with Him as vitally united by faith. Immunity from
condemnation does not depend in any-wise upon our "walk," but
solely on our being "in Christ." "The believer is in Christ as
Noah was enclosed within the ark, with the heavens darkening above
him, and the waters heaving beneath him, yet not a drop of the
flood penetrating his vessel, not a blast of the storm disturbing
the serenity of his spirit. The believer is in Christ as Jacob was
in the garment of the elder brother when Isaac kissed and blessed
him. He is in Christ as the poor homicide was within the city of
refuge when pursued by the avenger of blood, but who could not
overtake and slay him" (Dr. Winslow, 1857). And because he is "in
Christ" there is, therefore, no condemnation for him. Hallelujah!