In the second century, a Christian was brought before a pagan ruler and told to renounce his faith. “If you don’t do it, I will banish you,” threatened the king. The man smiled and answered, “You can’t banish me from Christ, for He says, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ ” To this the king angrily retorted, “Then I will confiscate your property and take all your possessions.” Again the man smiled and said, “My treasures are laid up on high; you cannot get them.” The king became furious and shouted, “I will kill you!” “Why,” the man answered, “I have been dead forty years; I have been dead with Christ, dead to the world, and my life is hid with Christ in God, and you cannot touch it.” In desperation the king turned to his advisers and asked, “What can you do with a fanatic like that?”¹ The answer to this is nothing. You can do nothing to a man who knows his position in Christ. To this end Paul, in Romans 8:1 gives us a phenomenal ‘In Christ’ truth. There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

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Romans 8:1 (KJV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Looking at Romans 8:1 Word by Word

The Word ‘Therefore’ in the Phrase ‘There is Therefore Now No Condemnation’

• Romans 8:1 begins with the word therefore.
• The old adage is if you see the word therefore, find out what it it’s there for.
• “Therefore” is a linking word.
• It links what Paul is getting ready to say in chapter 8 to everything he has already said in the previous seven chapters.
• You simply can’t enjoy the benefits of chapter 8 until you walk in the understandings of chapters 1-7.
  • That is, you must accept the gospel.
  • That is, you must come to Jesus by faith.
  • That is, you must not depend on any good works to gain access to God’s favor.
  • And with it all, you must realize your righteous standing before God.
  • And because you have accepted God’s free gift of righteousness by faith apart from works… therefore there is no condemnation.

[Tweet “You can’t enjoy the benefits of Romans 8 until you walk in the understandings of chapters 1-7.”]

The Word ‘Now’ in the Phrase ‘There is Therefore Now No Condemnation’

• Romans 8:1 is an outstanding verse. Many believers have it in their scriptural arsenal and quote it as the need arises.
• But are they quoting it in the right context? When you quote a single Bible verse are you doing so with a proper understanding of its setting?
• Generally, how is the word ‘now’ taken out of context? How is it used? What does ‘out of context’ sound like?
• There is therefore now…
  • Now that we have salvation.
  • Now that we have received Jesus as our personal Savior.
  • Now that we have become members of the family of God.
  • Now that Jesus has died and risen again.
• All of these general statements are absolutely true statements but you lose part of the way Paul intends Romans 8:1 to mean if you throw out the context of chapters 1-7.
• Specifically, with regards to the context of Romans chapters 1-7, ‘now’ means…
  • Now that we have been justified and have peace with God (Romans 5:1), there is no condemnation.
  • Now that we have been crucified with Him and the body of sin brought to nothing (Romans 6:6), there is no condemnation.
  • Now that we have died with Jesus (Romans 6:7), there is no condemnation.
  • Now that we are divorced from the law (Romans 7:6), there is no condemnation.
• Now that I am free to serve the law of God (Romans 7:25), there is no condemnation.
• ‘Now’ is a big word. Paul is saying ‘now’ that all of this which I have talked about in the first seven chapters is true, there is therefore now no condemnation.
• If you keep things in context, you’ll have a richer specific application of God’s Word for your life.
• It may sound like splitting hairs but really it isn’t.
• Read the Bible contextually. Always ask the question, What’s the context?

The Words ‘No Condemnation’ in the Phrase ‘There is Therefore Now No Condemnation’

DEFINITION: condemnation/κατάκριμα/katakrima – condemnation, punishment, penalty, sentence.

• The word references judgment towards unbelievers.
• The word does not mean bad feelings of conviction.
• When we hear the word ‘condemnation’ in the twenty first century, that’s what we hear, conviction or bad feeling on the inside.
• Judgment here includes all legal aspects containing the pronouncement of guilt as well as the penalty for the transgression.
• The word ‘condemnation’ is a legal word.
• ‘There is, therefore now, no guilty verdict or death-sentence imposed upon those who are in Christ Jesus’.
• The death sentence, the guilty verdict, we all deserved – every human person on planet earth deserves this verdict because all have sinned (Rom. 3:23).
• Your guilty, as the judge strikes the gavel down on the table.
• Note the scripture does not say the believer possesses sinlessness or perfection. No condemnation does not mean you are perfect.
• What it means is no verdict, judgment, or punishment awaits you.
• That’s good news.
• No matter how badly you have lived in life, the coming of Jesus coupled with the coming to Jesus eradicates this condemnation.
• We were in deep weeds my brother and sister because of sin. There was no way out. You couldn’t work your way out of it.
• You now have a clean slate.
• People often say, ‘You know if I had the chance to do it all over again…’ or ‘If I had another shot at it…’ Well, here’s the glorious truth about ‘there is no condemnation’. Your record has been expunged. You have your second chance.

The word NO in the phrase ‘there is NO condemnation.’

• The word ‘no’ in this verse carries emphasis.
• In the Greek language, emphasized words hold the first position in a sentence. It’s how the Greek functioned as writing. In English, it’s subject, verb, direct object. Greeks would write their sentences differently.
• Illustrating this the phrase written in Greek reads, ‘‘NO therefore is there any condemnation.’
• Written this way the word ‘no’ is a loud ‘no’. NO condemnation. Or ‘No way, can there be any condemnation or as the Wizard of Oz said to Dorothy ‘not no way, not no how’.
  There is NO condemnation.

The Word ‘In Christ Jesus’ in the Phrase ‘to them which are in Christ Jesus’

DEFINITION: in/ἐν/en – in, one with, in union with, joined closely to.

• In Christ Jesus means to be in union with Christ Jesus. Or, you could say it this way, ‘in Christ Jesus’ means to be joined with Christ Jesus.
• What are the possibilities of such a union?
• What are the possibilities of such a joining?
• At times on the world, we hear of person who married into money. How did their life change, when they came into such fortune?
• Think of it. Jesus is the Son of God and you are in union with Him. What are the possibilities of being in union with deity? God is number one. There’s no higher than He. And now because of the gospel, you are hooked up with number one.
• When you are in union with Jesus, you are in union with number one.
• God’s number one in finances. Wall Street is not number one in finances – God is. You are connected to money. He’s number in areas of health and healing. The Mayo Clinic is not number one – God is number one. You are connected to the greatest physician. You are in union with number one.
• If you look further into the New Testament, you will find approximately 140 in union with Christ scriptures.
• These verses are positional truth verses.
• They highlight what you have because you are in union with Jesus. These verses speak of what we have ‘in Christ’ or what we have because of Christ’s substitutionary work.
• I like to call these positional verses or truths ‘What Happened to You the Day You Were Saved’.
• Because when you said yes to Jesus, when you came into with Him, when you allowed Him to be your substitute for sin that you might be set right with God, all of these 140 some odd verses were immediately true concerning you.
• It’s like you got 140 presents under the Christmas tree. That’s a big haul. You hit the jackpot coming to Jesus.

[Tweet “What are the possibilities of being in union with deity? God is no 1. There’s no higher than He.”]

Union with Jesus Scriptures

• In Christ
  • Romans 3:24, 8:1, 8:2, 12:5, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1:30, 15:22, 2 Corinthians 1:21, 2:14, 3:14, 5:17, 5:19, Galatians 2:4, 3:26, 3:28, 5:6, 6:15, Ephesians 1:3, 1:10, 2:6, 2:10, 2:13, 3:6, Philippians 3:13–14, Colossians 1:28, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 5:18, 1 Timothy 1:14, 2 Timothy 1:9, 1:13, 2:1, 2:10, 3:15, Philemon 6;
• In Him
  • John 1:4, 3:15–16, Acts 17:28, 2 Corinthians 1:20, 5:21, Ephesians 1:4, 1:10, Philippians 3:9, Colossians 2:6, 2:7, 2:10, 1 John 2:5, 2:6, 2:8, 2:28, 3:3, 3:5, 3:6, 3:24, 4:13, 5:14–15, 5:20;
• In the Beloved
  • Ephesians 1:6;
• In the Lord
  • Ephesians 5:8, 6:10;
• In Whom (KJV) – In Him (ESV)
  • Ephesians 1:7,1:11, Colossians 2:11;
• In Whom
  • Ephesians 1:13, 2:21–22, 3:12, Colossians 1:14, 2:3, 1 Peter 1:8;
• By Christ
  • Romans 3:22, 5:15, 5:17–19, 7:4, 1 Corinthians 1:4–5, 2 Corinthians 5:18, Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 1:5, Philippians 1:11, 4:19, 1 Peter 1:3, 2:5, 5:10;
• By Him
  • 1 Corinthians 1:5, 8:6, Colossians 1:16, 1:17, 1:20, 3:17, 7:25, 13:15, 1Peter 1:21; By Himself – Hebrews 1:3, 9:26; By His Blood – Hebrews 9:11–12, 9:14–15, 10:19–20, 1 John 1:7;
• By Whom
  • Romans 5:2, Galatians 6:14;
• From Whom
  • Ephesians 4:16, Colossians 2:19; Of Christ – 2 Corinthians 2:15, Philippians 3:12, Colossians 2:17, 3:24; Of Him – 1 John 1:5, 2:27,
• Through Christ
  • Romans 5:1, 5:11, 6:11, 6:23, 1 Corinthians 15:57, Galatians 3:13–14, 4:7, Ephesians 2:7, Philippians 4:6–7, 4:13, Hebrews 10:10, 13:20–21;
• Through Him
  • John 3:17, Romans 5:9, 8:37, 1 John 4:9;
• With Christ
  • Romans 6:8, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:20, 3:1, 3:3;
• With Him
  • Romans 6:4, 6:6, 8:32, 2 Corinthians 13:4, Colossians 2:12, 2:13–15, 3:4, 2 Timothy 2:11–12;
• By Me
  • John 6:57, 14:6;
• In Me
  • John 6:56, 14:20, 15:4–5, 15:7–8, 16:33;
• In My Love
  • John 15:9;
• In His Name
  • Matthew 18:20, Mark 16:17–18, John 14:13–14, 16:23–24, 1 Corinthians 6:11

Union with Jesus Breakout

1. We were justified and made righteous – Rom. 3:22, Rom. 3:24, Rom. 5:17-19, 1 Cor. 1:30, 2 Cor. 5:21, Phil. 3:9, Gal. 2:16
2.  We are filled with the fruits of righteousness – Phil. 1:11
3. We have redemption and forgiveness – Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14
4. We are free from judgment – Rom. 8:1
5. We are free from sin – Rom. 8:3, 1 Jn. 3:5, 1 Jn. 3:6, Col. 2:11, Heb. 1:3, Heb. 9:26
6. We are part of the body of Christ – Rom. 12:5
7. We have His wisdom – 1 Cor. 1:30, Col. 2:3
8. We have access to the abundance of His knowledge – 1 Cor. 1:5, 1 Cor. 4:5
9. We have an abundance of utterance – 1 Cor. 1:5, 1 Cor. 4:5
10. We were sanctified – 1 Cor. 1:30
11. We were anointed – 2 Cor. 1:21, 1 Jn. 2:27
12. We always have the victory – 2 Cor. 2:14
13. We have revelation concerning the New Covenant – 2 Cor. 3:14
14. Our spirits are re-created in Christ 2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 5:16
15. We have been reconciled to God – 2 Cor. 5:18, 2 Cor. 5:19, Eph. 2:13, Eph. 3:6, Col. 1:20
16. We have salvation – 2 Tim. 2:10, 2 Tim. 3:15, Eph. 1:7, Heb. 7:25
17. We have a ministry of reconciliation – 2 Cor. 5:18
18. We have liberty in Christ – Gal. 2:4
19. We are related to God – Gal. 3:26, Eph. 1:5
20. We have been joined into one race of men – Gal. 3:28, Eph. 1:10
21. We are free from the Old Testament Law – Rom. 7:4, Gal. 5:6
22. We have every spiritual blessing available to us – Eph. 1:3, 2 Cor. 1:20
23. We have all our need supplied – Phil. 4:19
24. We have spiritual authority over the devils, demons, and evil spirits – Eph. 2:6
25. We are God’s handiwork – Eph. 2:10
26. We have been called to a high calling – Phil. 3:13-14, 2 Tim. 1:9
27. We are mature in Christ – Col. 1:28, Col. 2:10
28. We are resurrection material– 1 Thess. 4:16
29. We have access to His grace – Rom. 5:15, 1 Cor. 1:4, 1 Tim. 1:14, 2 Tim. 2:1
30. We have access to the faith of God and the love of God – 2 Tim. 1:13, 2 Tim. 3:15, 1 Jn. 2:5, 1 Jn. 5:14-15, 1 Peter 1:21
31. We have a living hope – 1 Peter 1:3
32. We have good things in us – Phm 6
33. We have zoe eternal life – Jn 1:4, Jn. 3:15-16, Acts 17:28
34. We are chosen ones – Eph. 1:4
35. We have the ability to walk out positional truth – Col. 2:6
36. We are rooted and built up – Col. 2:7
37. We have the capacity to walk as Jesus walked – 1 Jn. 2:6
38. We have the same truth in us as in Him – 1 Jn. 2:8
39. We abide in Jesus – 1 Jn. 2:28, 1 Jn. 3:24, 1 Jn. 4:13, 1 Jn. 5:20
40. We abide in the Father – 1Cor. 8:6
41. We are created by Him and for Him – Col. 1:16
42. We consist by Him – Col. 1:17
43. We are accepted and loved – Eph. 1:6
44. We are light – Eph. 5:8
45. We are strong in Him – Eph. 6:10
46. We have an inheritance – Eph. 1:11
47. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit – Eph. 1:13
48. We are God’s building – Eph. 2:21, 1 Peter 2:5
49. We can worship God – Col. 3:17, 1 Thess. 5:18, Heb. 13:15, 1 Peter 2:5
50. We are a holy priesthood – 1 Peter 2:5
51. We are inhabited by God – Eph. 2:22
52. We have access to God the Father – Eph. 3:12
53. We have a relationship that spans past the human part of life – 1 Pet. 1:8
54. We reign in life – Rom. 5:17-19
55. We are called to glory – 1 Peter 5:10

Call to Action:

It’s always good to monitor your thought life and your conversations to see if they line up with the scriptures. How you are doing in these areas with respect to ‘there is therefore now no condemnation?’ What about these ‘in Him truths?’ Does your life match these words?

Episode Resources

You can find more information on Roaming through Romans by visiting the following posts:

1. #S2-020: How Romans Can Add Value to Your Life [Podcast]

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Question: How has knowing there is no condemning judgment awaiting you changed your life? Please leave your comments in the comments section below.