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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.

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