No Condemnation in Christ

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

I have known a few Christian friends who would sincerely and humbly comment from time to time, “God is punishing me.” They believe – and maybe some of you reading this today believe – that sometimes, sometimes, God allows something bad to happen to us, or He takes something good away from us, as a means of punishing us for some sin of ours.

Oh, dear friends… This is not actually so. It is misguided theology and an incorrect perspective on the nature of God to believe this.

Listen. Let me share with you the good, good news of the Gospel.

Our sins eternally damned us, but God in His compassion initiated a means of rescue. Jesus, God’s very Son who is Himself God, became man and entered our world. He willingly chose to die the death of a criminal by the brutality of flogging and crucifixion – a form of death so outrageously painful and violent that by it we derive our word “excruciating.” Christ’s act was what we understand to be a substitution: He died the death meant for a sinner, in our place. The damnation, this punishment our sins brought upon us was ultimately, once and for all, paid for by Jesus Christ.

Think of it as a kind of exchange… We gave Jesus the punishment our sins earned us… He gave us life. We definitely got the better end of the exchange – and what a testament to the kindness of our God.

So God has already dealt with every sin of every person who would call on His Name, through Jesus Christ on the cross. Indeed, every sin was placed on Jesus, and He was punished in our place. And what Jesus finished on the cross is enough to cover every sin we have ever commit and, yes, will ever commit.

Isaiah 53:5 – such a beautiful classic – proclaims, “The punishment that brought us peace was on Him…”

By the blood and death of the Son, we who believe are so far removed from our sins! To feel that God is punishing you for a sin is to inadvertently assume that somehow what Jesus completed on the cross wasn’t actually enough. But we know that it is. Christ’s sacrifice was enough, is enough, and will always be enough!

This is why the believer can triumphantly and with thankfulness shout, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1)!

Friends, if you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead after the crucifixion, then you are free. There is no punishment, no condemnation, no fear left for you. You are covered – you are paid for! Our Lord Jesus is faithful to His word… when He said, “It is finished,” it really was!

Of course hardships come. Of course there may be natural consequences to mistakes that we’ve made. Of course we mustn’t neglect spiritual disciplines. But condemnation? Fear? Punishment? No. There is love. Forgiveness. Grace. Laughter. Peace.

This is the Gospel. This is good news. We are made fully alive and totally free because of Jesus.

All my love,
Josh

P.S.
It is such an enormous honor to share the finished work of Christ. The amount of love He has for you and me is astronomical… and I pray that you find the words in this post to be words of freedom. There is freedom in the truth. Friends, maybe you stumbled onto this blog and you’ve been cut to the heart. You know you haven’t made your peace with God, and there is weight on your shoulders from guilt and fear. Listen… in Jesus is freedom… in Him is peace. Open your heart to Him and let Him make you into a new person. The person you’ve been doesn’t have to be the person you’ll be. If you have questions, I would love to connect with you and answer your questions the best way I can.