You Are Not Condemned!

SCRIPTURE



Romans 8:1-11 (NRSV)

Life in the Spirit

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law - indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.



DEVOTION

I can never read Romans 8 without tears streaming down my face. I have always been profoundly moved by Romans 8:1 which states, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!”

When we really get a hold of the meaning of this verse it is transformative!

So many of us spend the majority of our lives beating ourselves up over one mistake or another.

Our internal voice reprimands us time and again saying things like, “You really messed that one up. You never get things right. I knew that you couldn’t do it. No wonder she doesn’t love you. Nobody has ever cared about you. You’re a screw up.”

I would hazard to guess that if we could record and playback our daily internal conversation, most of us would be horrified to “hear” how we talk to ourselves.

We certainly wouldn’t verbally abuse anyone else like that; so why do we do it to ourselves?

Today’s scripture reading reminds us that when we are in Christ we are no longer condemned. Because God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life, we have been set free from the law of sin and death.

When we became Christians, the Holy Spirit of God took up residence inside of our hearts. As a consequence, we are the inheritors of eternal life and peace.

My dear friends, I need to speak Truth into your life today.

You are somebody. You are full of love, joy, and peace. You are capable of accomplishing great things for your great God!

You are not an accident. You are not a mistake. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are extraordinarily beautiful and you are a beloved child of God.

Anything else you may have heard inside of yourself—or from others—is a lie from the pit of hell.

I pray that God will rebuke that lie out of your life right now in the Strong Name of Jesus Christ!

If you have been living with low self esteem and drowning in the quicksand of self-condemnation and doubt, today you are set free!

The Holy Spirit is alive and at work in your life, raising your self esteem, granting you life and peace, and speaking The Truth into your heart and mind—Jesus loves you this I know, for the Bible tells me so!

Won’t you please pray with me?

Holy God, I come to you battered and broken by my own fears and condemnation. I never really believed that I was worthy of your love, forgiveness, and salvation. Today I recognize that you do love me and that there is nothing that I can do to outrun, outfox, or out-sin the love that you revealed to me through Christ Jesus! Today, I am placing all of my hope in you. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and I believe that he rose again on the third day. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit and with your love, joy, peace, and eternal life. Please allow these blessings to overflow out of my life and into the lives of others. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.


SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! Let me encourage you to tell a Christian friend that you just put all of your hope in Jesus. Ask him or her to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand and to find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your Christian journey!

I would be honored if you would take a moment to click “YES” in the poll located in the upper right hand corner of this blog in answer to the question, “Did God save you today?”

Congratulations and Happy Re-birthday! Your salvation is our GOOD NEWS, please go and share this GOOD NEWS with others!