Thank God I'm Free!
Today’s Verse:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ~Romans 8:1
In criminal law, a man found guilty of a crime must be punished. The severity of the crime dictates the severity of the punishment. A capital crime, such as a murder, places the guilty individual under the penalty of condemnation, which can be the death penalty. Being a condemned person is very serious and sad. However, if that person can find mercy from the judge and the people, he can obtain pardon and release. Imagine the happiness of knowing no condemnation! In our devotion this morning, we see the happiness that a saved man should possess, knowing that he has been saved.
We see the reason.
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). We are all born into this world with a sin nature. No one can bypass the fact that those born with a sin nature are automatically under the sentence of condemnation. This condemnation is death: physical and spiritual. Death is a separation from loved ones. Spiritual death means eternal separation from God. This separation will be a judgment into Hell fire, where the unsaved will be forever in torment for rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Jesus said, “He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Rejection of Christ as Savior will result in eternal condemnation.
We see the redemption.
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh….” Jesus Christ, God’s sinless and holy Son, became our sin for us by the shedding of His blood and dying on the cross for our sins. The law cannot save a man. It can point at him and tell him that he is a sinner, but it offers no hope for his soul. Jesus’ death on the cross paid our sin debt in full and saves us from the wrath of God. Jesus condemned sin in His flesh for every sinner through His sacrificial death.
We see the release.
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” In Romans 8:1, it is a declaration of the full release and pardon of the sinner who trusts in Jesus to be saved. Two things stand out. First, there is exoneration. The sinner is completely pardoned and absolved of the penalty that was against him. Second, after salvation, the Lord looks on each person just as if he'd never sinned. In our criminal law, we refer to these judicial actions as exoneration and expungement. To have your crimes expunged means there is no written record of them: they have been forgiven and forgotten.
We see the resolve.
Our identity in Christ secures us as sons of God who have been forgiven, are eternally secure, and have a new life. Our new life in Christ exhorts us to no longer walk after the flesh but after the Spirit. This is a sticky point for many believers who desperately want to hang on to habits, practices, and dislikes of the old life. In living for the flesh, we are not under the control of the Spirit. We must walk after the Spirit so that the lusts of the flesh are not satisfied. Walking in the Spirit means we have submitted ourselves to the Holy Spirit, have crucified the flesh, and are living a changed and transformed life that is under the power of the Spirit. If you are saved, thank God that you are free! Live no longer to the flesh but in the Spirit.
Have a Spirit-controlled God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Joshua 16-18