Our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with ... There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
~ Romans 6:6; 8:1 (NKJV)
~ Romans 6:6; 8:1 (NKJV)
But we preach Christ crucified.
~ 1 Corinthians 1:23 (NKJV)
~ 1 Corinthians 1:23 (NKJV)
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin... If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen ...
~ John 15:22-24 (NKJV)
~ John 15:22-24 (NKJV)
If I could choose only one chapter from the New Testament from which I could share, it would be Romans 8, arguably the most powerful passage of the entire Bible.
Having set the scene in his case for Christ, Paul now pulls out all the stops with three more exhibits. The greatest one is Christ Himself and His crucifixion.
Christ attested to Himself with His words and works. He spoke wisdom (and wit) greater than any man. He performed miracles utterly impossible for anyone else. His greatest work was accomplished in being crucified, and thereby overcoming the sin responsible for all injustice, all human suffering, all affliction and disease.
Once a person feels the weight of condemnation for sin, it is a burden too heavy to bear. Christ shouldered that crushing load at the last supper, evidenced its horror at Gethsemane, and did away with it at Calvary. The "body of sin" is an encumbrance we are no longer meant to know.
When we go to the cross with Jesus Christ, allow ourselves to be covered with His blood, and become identified as His, God stamps us "NO CONDEMNATION." We may not fully achieve God's perspective of such a thing in this life. We may continue to lay claim to sin which is no longer ours. We may cower under the oppression of knowing the harm our sin has wrought. Nonetheless:
We
are
not
condemned.
We
are
not
condemned.
If this is not a case for Christ, what is?
Father God, we are frail children of dust. We hear the words which say we are not condemned, we perhaps believe them with our minds, but we cannot fathom how to make them real in our hearts. Please enable us to see ourselves as You see us—no better, no worse. Thank You for Your Son—Your beloved Lamb—and for His precious blood.
Feedback appreciated! Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Lord, give me Your eyes so I may see.
ReplyDeleteAnne,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your wonderful post today. After reading Isaiah 5, I needed the reminder that though the days be short, in us there is no condemnation! Thank you for directing me once again to read Romans 8. It's like a tiny, rich nugget of dark chocolate in the Bible: dense and delicious. :)
"Christ shouldered that crushing load at the last supper, evidenced its horror at Gethsemane, and did away with it at Calvary."
ReplyDeleteWow, awesome, thank you...
I just had to stop, throw my hands in the air and say, "holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty, you are worthy to be praised, I love you."
Thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus.
That has been something I've been learning to do for a long time...seeing myself as Christ sees me. I love Romans 8!
ReplyDelete~ Wendy
Denise, that prayer is right for ALL occasions.
ReplyDeleteGwen! "Dense & delicious" is perfect for Romans 8. I could spend a month here. I'll limit myself to four days.
Doug, you could not bless me more than to use these words as opportunity to praise Him.
Wendy, can you imagine when we get to heaven, and know Him as we are known?