One of my favorite scriptures has always been Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…” What a sense of relief I felt when I read this. But there is a qualification – those who are in Christ Jesus. You have to be His before you are no longer condemned. There is a further qualification that comes after the comma – who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. However, the important consideration is: are you His? John 3:17 tells us that: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Again, the qualifier – through Him. Most children of my generation grew up memorizing John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” In Him seems to give us the necessary information. Without our acceptance of the gift of life in Christ we are outside. So often we seem to disregard logic when considering scripture and use our emotional response as the basis for ‘truth’. Scripture is typically quite clear and it certainly is when you consider condemnation. Escape from that status is simple – you have to become Christ’s and walk according to the Spirit. In case these scriptures aren’t enough to convince you that your escape is to accept Christ as your Lord then Acts 4:12 puts a period to this question of condemnation and salvation: “Nor is there salvation in any other (referring to Jesus – vs 10), for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” We can live condemned or live saved.
