“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
As we come to Romans 8:1 Paul is drawing a majestic conclusion to all that has come before. The weight of seven chapters feeds into this glorious sentence. There is now no more condemnation for us. That is a far more precious truth that any of us can begin to imagine. But, before we talk about the fact that there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, we need to understand why. The word “therefore” is loaded with 7 chapters of truth that answer that question. While it’s impossible to fully summarize seven chapters of Romans in this format, we need to at least understand the main ideas Paul was driving toward as he came to this point in his letter.
Paul begins Romans by establishing the reality that all of humanity stands under the righteous judgment of God because of our sin and rebellion. We cannot escape this judgment through obedience to the Law. Instead, the Law only condemns humanity. Therefore, if we are to escape this condemnation we must be given a righteousness outside of ourselves. By God’s free and undeserved grace to us, Romans 3:21 tells us that the righteousness of God was manifested apart from the Law; the righteousness that comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus provides us the very righteousness he demands from us.
Not only does he provide us with righteousness through Christ, but 3:25 also reminds us that God put Jesus forward as a propitiation (a substitute) on the cross. As a propitiation he bore the wrath of God in our place. He paid for the sins of all who trust in him, past, present, future. Therefore, the only path to righteousness has always been through faith, even for Abraham himself. We are freed from the condemnation of the law and are put at peace with God through faith alone in Christ alone. Romans 5:1 tells us: “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” And, in Romans 6:23 we have one of the most well known and glorious verses in the Bible: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Therefore, because we are declared righteous , because Christ bore the wrath of God in our place, because we now have peace with God and have been given eternal life – because of all this – there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Think about that for a moment. We deserved to suffer for all eternity in Hell under the wrath and judgment of God. But, now, because of what God has accomplished for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ there is NO condemnation left for us. There was an eternity of condemnation awaiting us and now there is none. And, it’s all because of Jesus.
When 8:1 says no condemnation, it means NO condemnation. Even when we continue to struggle with sin, God doesn’t punish us with wrath. Instead, he disciplines us with grace. There is no wrath and condemnation left for you, it was all poured out on Jesus on the cross. Praise be to God for his indescribable gift!