Recently, during a Bible study, this question prompt was asked: “Is
there anything in your life that awakens an awareness of the eternal or a
desire for Heaven?”
I immediately recalled sweet memories of unconditional love and wide-open
arms of love from my childhood. My sweet Daddy, Eston Willis, went home to be
with Jesus in 1989. He was such a powerful influence in my life, he loved
Jesus, his family, and sharing his faith with others. He led me to a saving
faith in Jesus, I watched him prepare for his Sunday School lesson all week and
learned so much from his teaching.
When our son, Jason, was born in 1991, two years after Daddy went home to be
with Jesus, I longed for my children to know him like I knew him. One night in
1992, I had a dream, so real, so vivid, I can remember every detail. Daddy was
walking toward me, smiling his big, warm smile, with his arms outstretched for
a hug, but younger than I ever knew him. No glasses, no wrinkles, so alive.
Then suddenly, we were sitting in a living room, he was holding Jason and
rocking in a rocking chair I remembered from my grandparents’ home, and then my
dream ended. But when I woke up, I was inspired. I wanted to capture memories
of Daddy for my children to read. I mailed letters to everyone I could find in
our friends and family network. I asked them just to write what they remembered
about Daddy. I collected all those letters in a book we still have today.
My precious Daddy, Eston Willis, was born on July 30, 1919, and went
home to be with Jesus in 1989. He loved us so much, I remember his warm hugs,
his big smile, and his passionate love for Jesus Christ and His Word. I
remember a Bible study my Daddy taught on Romans 8, in which he had us repeat
several times at the beginning of each session these opening words: “There is
therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans Chapter Eight is uniquely the
chapter of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is mentioned in Romans 8 no less than 19 different times. No
other chapter in the New Testament contains as many direct references to the
Holy Spirit. Romans 8 is also the chapter of Christian assurance. As theologian
Frédéric Louis Godet said, Romans 8 begins with "no condemnation" and
ends with "no separation,” which draws me to a word study of the word,
condemnation.
Romans 8:1-3 . . .
Amplified Bible: Therefore, [there is] now no
condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus,
who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates
of the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus
[the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death. For
God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh
[the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the
guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the
flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that
sacrifice].
NLT: So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to
Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving
Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of
Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So
God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the
bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control
over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
Phillips: No condemnation now hangs over the head
of those who are “in” Jesus Christ. For the new spiritual principle of life
“in” Christ lifts me out of the old vicious circle of sin and death. The Law
never succeeded in producing righteousness—the failure was always the weakness
of human nature. But God has met this by sending his own Son Jesus Christ to
live in that human nature which causes the trouble. And, while Christ was
actually taking upon himself the sins of men, God condemned that sinful nature.
So that we are able to meet the Law’s requirements, so long as we are living no
longer by the dictates of our sinful nature, but in obedience to the promptings
of the Spirit.
Wuest: Therefore, now, there is not even one bit of
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit, that
of the life in Christ Jesus, freed you once for all from the law of the sinful
nature and of death. For that which is an impossibility for the law, because it
was weak through the sinful nature, God having sent His Son in likeness of
flesh of sin, and concerning sin, condemned sin in the sinful nature, in order
that the righteous requirement of the law may be brought to completion in us
who, not as dominated by the sinful nature are ordering our behavior but as
dominated by the Spirit.
Young’s Literal: There is, then, now no condemnation to
those in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to
the Spirit; for the law of the Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus did set me
free from the law of the sin and of the death; for what the law was not able to
do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, His own Son having sent in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, did condemn the sin in the flesh.
Condemnation from the Greek word “katakrima.” It comes from katá which means
against or down, and krino, which means to separate from which the idea
of discriminate, distinguish, and then to judge or pronounce sentence against.
This word appears only in the book of Romans. The idea literally is of judgment
coming down on someone. The Apostle Paul says God’s judgment is not going to
come down upon us as believers, not now, not ever! Those in Christ are not
condemned, because Christ was condemned in our stead. There is no punishment
for us, because Christ bore our punishment. The word condemnation may also be translated
judgment. There is no judgment for those who are in Christ because sin has
already been judged in the substitutionary atonement of Jesus.
Katakrima means to judge someone as definitely guilty and thus subject
to punishment, which accounts for the literal translation of "adverse
judgment and resultant punishment." It is a legal technical term for the
result of judging, including both the sentence and the execution or the
sentence followed by a suggested punishment (The suffix -ma makes it the
result of judgment). Katakrima is always an adverse verdict. Stated
another way, katakrima (condemnation) relates to the sentencing for a
crime, but its primary focus is not so much on the verdict as on the penalty
that the verdict demands.
Pastor F. B. Meyer explains katakrima
this way, “Our standing
in Christ is present: "Now." If we are in Christ, we need not wait in
doubts and fears for the verdict of the Great White Throne. Its decisions
cannot make our standing more clear, or our acceptance more sure. We can never
be more free from the condemnation of God's righteous law than we are at this
present. There are some who live on a sliding scale between condemnation and
acceptance. If health is buoyant and the heart is full of song, they are sure
of their acceptance with God; but if the sun is darkened and the clouds return;
when the heart is dull and sad, they imagine that they are under the ban of
God's displeasure. They forget that our standing in Christ Jesus is one thing;
our appreciation and enjoyment of it quite another. Your own heart may condemn
you; memory, the recorder of the soul, may summon from the past evidence
against you; the great Accuser of souls may lay against you grievous and
well-founded charges; your tides of feeling may ebb far down the beach; your
faith may become weak and lose its power and grip; your sense of unworthiness
may become increasingly oppressive--none of these things can touch your
acceptance with God if you are in Christ Jesus.”
During a recent hurricane in the Gulf of
Mexico, a news report
highlighted a rescue device used on the oil rigs. In case of fire or hurricane,
rig workers scramble into the bullet-shaped “bus”
and strap themselves into their seats. When the entry port is shut, the vehicle
is released down a chute and projected away from the rig. The seat belts
protect the occupants from the impact with the water. The capsule then bobs in
the sea until rescuers come to pick it up. The device parallels the theological
truth of Romans 8:l—There
is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
Justification does not mean our world always stops falling apart. The rig still
may topple in the hurricane. The storm will take its course. The welfare of the
workers depends on whether they are in the rescue device—those in the right
place, whether a rescue module, or spiritually, believers in Christ, will
weather the storm and be carried safely to the shore. Praise His Holy Name!
Lord Jesus, thank You for placing me in the arms of my
precious adoptive parents, Eston and Frances, they loved unconditionally and
led me to Your Cross where I received Your gift of salvation. Thank You for
this encouraging Truth that Daddy taught me from Your Word, that there is
therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Thank You for
the free gift of salvation, that we are justified on the basis of Your finished
work on the Cross. Thank You that, right now, we are under the completely
sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ. Because we have placed our trust in
the finished work of Jesus Christ, we are redeemed by Your precious blood. The
threat of failure, judgment, and condemnation has been removed. Knowing that
God’s love for us and approval of us will never be determined by our
performance is the most encouraging promise to which we cling. We love You,
Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Look Up—meditate on Romans 8:1-3 … pray to see
what it reveals about the character of God.
Look In—as you meditate on Romans 8:1-3 … pray
to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing
questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I
will_____________."
Look Out—as you meditate on Romans 8:1-3 …pray
to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature
of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.
