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             Therefore, there is now no condemnation 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. (Romans 8:1-2) 

          “Therefore, there is now no condemnation…” No condemnation. NO condemnation. Can you imagine that. I can’t, and when it comes down to it, I suspect none of us can really wrap our minds around it for more than a split second. When we do, it blows our minds. If there were nothing else to inspire our awe of God, that would be enough.

          But while there may be no condemnation from God for those who are in Christ Jesus – and while that should be all that matters, we’re still stung by the condemnation of others and by our condemnation of ourselves. There’s an old condemnation leveled at Christians, that we claim  “God loves you, so I don’t have to.” I reject that notion, but this verse tells us we can turn it around. “God love me, so you don’t have to.” Or more properly, your love for me, while nice, is unnecessary. I can live without it. I can live without live without loving myself, and have done so for years. Most of us have (because loving ourselves doesn’t mean liking ourselves and we spend our time trying to like ourselves.)

          What would life be like if we believed what we claim to believe – that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus?  Or that someone else’s condemnation and hatred of us (even our own) is ultimately meaningless?

          The other part of this is that it isn’t that we don’t deserve condemnation. It’s not that we don’t do anything wrong. When we do something wrong, we still need to deal with ourselves and with others about it. But we are not condemned, even if the action is.

 

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