Life in the Spirit
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
While many wiser minds have sliced and diced these verses, I'm going to add my 2 cents worth. Why? Because that's one of the great things about blogging. I can write on the same subjects as great men like John Piper or Emil Turner or even what Martin Luther published. Of course, my stats show an important truth about my writing, but that's ok too. I write, hoping I'll be read, but also for my own edification. It is funny, though, to see all the emails telling me how to make money from blogging. Right. That's really going to happen.
So, Romans 8:1-2?
I. Notice the now
If there is now no condemnation, then there was condemnation then. And it's gone. If you are in Christ Jesus, the condemnation that was is no more.
That doesn't change the reality that there remains condemnation that those not in Christ Jesus have to face. We could bicker about whether that's fair or not.
Or we could tell the world about Jesus and let them make up their own mind. Start with the person next to you at breakfast today.
II. Notice the who
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It's about individual people. Christ does not remove the condemnation for businesses, nations, organizations, or even churches. This is about people.
Not that those organizations are inherently bad (except, perhaps, Congress) but rather that they cannot be the be all and end all of our effort. If we labor to remove the condemnation from our nation without leading individual people to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we're pushing a rock that will not move.
III. Notice the law
We as believers are still bound to a law. This is not a popular idea, but it's a true one. While we are freed from the law of sin and death, the law that crushes, we are made free to follow the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
This means we are free, but not to just bounce about and do whatever we choose. We are, rather, free to do what we were made for in the first place! God created us to worship Him with all we are. We were made for eternity, and this law frees us to live for that purpose. We ought not reject it.
Where do you live? Are you on the right side of now? Are you focused on who? Are you living in the right law?
Doug
No comments:
Post a Comment
To deal with SPAM comments, all comments are moderated. I'm typically willing to post contrary views...but I also only check the list once a day, so if you posted within the last 24 hours, I may not be to it yet.