No Longer Condemned

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Christians are truly humble when they genuinely feel their sin and recognize that they are worthy of the wrath and judgment of God and eternal death. So in this life, Christians will be humbled. At the same time, however, they possess a pure and holy pride, which makes them turn to Christ. By turning to Christ, they can pull themselves out from under this feeling of God’s wrath and judgment. Christians believe that any remaining sin is not counted against them. They also believe that they are loved by the Father. Christians are loved, not for their own sake, but for the sake of Christ—the one whom God loves. From this it becomes clear how faith justifies us without works. It becomes clear why we still need Christ’s righteousness credited to us.

The sin, which God thoroughly hates, remains in us. Because this sin still remains in us, Christ’s righteousness must be credited to us. God gives us that righteousness for the sake of Christ—the one given to us, the one we grasp by faith. Meanwhile on this earth, we still have sin and godless people. Even believers continue to sin. That’s why Paul, in Romans 7:23, complains about how believers still have sin within them. Yet Romans 8:1 says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Who can reconcile these diametrically opposed statements: that the sin in us is not sinful, that those worthy of condemnation will not be condemned, that the wicked will not be rejected, that those worthy of wrath and eternal death will not be punished?

The only one who can reconcile these is the “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). As Paul says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther