Skip to main content

No Condemnation

             Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,…  (Romans 8:1)

 

The other day at work, I was dealing with anxiety that had nothing to do with work, and everything to do with HU!NY! The idea of memorizing Scripture (always a good idea) came to mind, and the verse that trailed behind it is one I clearly already memorized. I repeated the verse many times that day, and more since then. Let’s take a closer look.

Therefore - because of God’s deliverance through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:25)

There is now - present tense. Not someday in the future, not back when you were innocent, but now, no matter how dark now might feel

No - nada, zilch, zero, none

Condemnation - an assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix, + damage "to harm, damage." More needs to be said here. The com- prefix can intensify the part of the word to which it’s attached, but it also means “together, with.” It’s the second half of the word that hits harder. My mother taught me it was wrong to damn someone or something because we are not God and didn’t have the right to cast someone into hell. That’s one good way to look at it.

But there’s more. Damnation isn’t just casting into hell. It’s seeking to harm or damage. It’s attacking someone with the intent to hurt. It’s casting someone out even if it’s not into hell.  It is hating someone, and bringing back what Mom said, it may be especially doing so from a self-righteous pedestal onto which we/they have climbed.

And the picture that comes to mind is Jesus when they brought the woman caught in adultery to Him. He refused to stand with them. He refused to damn her with them. Even more, He refused to damn her to give the pharisees power to damn Him, because John makes it clear that she was a victim solely to make her a weapon.

For those who are in Christ Jesus - this isn’t a universal reality. It’s a universal possibility. God is willing to not condemn, but it’s only a reality for those who are in Christ Jesus at whatever “now” we happen to be in.

So what this looks like is Jesus standing by us when Satan damns us, when those folks who don’t like us damn us, and even when those who are supposedly our friends damn us. It also means that Jesus stands by other Christians when we damn them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more