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1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus Romans8:1
Condemnation.
A word that carries cold-chills with it.
It implies that guilt is proven and punishment is pending.
Unfortunately for many of us the word "God" carries the same set of emotions and vibes as the word "condemnation" does.
But while it is true that God is holy and that He morally hates sin and while it is true that we are guilty of sin, what is not true is that punishment is a foregone conclusion.
The punishment for the sin of every human being has already been paid in full on the cross. Jesus Christ, aka the Son of God, aka the Word made Flesh, aka the Lamb of God died on the cross and completely and utterly dealt with sin and guilt. Put another way, He was condemned in our place.
When we are IN Him, when we are clothed in His grace, when we rely on His forgiveness, when we ask Him to be our Representative, Advocate, Intercessor, Rescuer and King or, to use the classic terminology, when we ask Him to be both Saviour and Lord, we are free of condemnation.
The principle of double jeopardy says it is impossible to be tried twice for the same crime - so why do we come into God's presence with an air of condemnation about us? Jesus was tried for our guilt, the punishment has been served! Sure we need to take sin seriously and we need to strive to be holy, but why behave like the condemned?
Lift up your heads!
Shake off your chains!
Shrug off the darkness and gloom!
In Christ there is no condemnation!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
