No Condemnation

Romans 8:1–4 NIV

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Road-to-Damascus Moment

Have you ever had a Road-to-Damascus moment? A moment when you receive a lesson or insight that transforms your beliefs or attitudes. The term is based on the experience of Saul of Tarsus. While on his way to Damascus to arrest and persecute Christians, he encountered the risen Christ.

Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer, was starting his law studies when he decided to visit his parents. On the way back he was caught in a terrible thunderstorm. Lightning struck near him and he was thrown to the ground by the air pressure it created. Luther promised to leave the study of law and join the Catholic priesthood.

Charles Colson served time in prison for his crimes in Watergate back in the 1970s under President Nixon. During his time in prison, Colson became aware of what he saw as injustices. He left politics and became known for his ministry to prisoners.

For me, my dad provided one of those moments when I was in 4th or 5th grade. We visited church friends where there were boys my age. They had a ton of Matchbox cars. To me they were rich. I figured they wouldn’t miss two of them, stuck them in my pockets, and took them home. As I was playing at home a couple of days later, my dad asked, “where did those two cars came from?” I confessed and in trouble. Being in trouble with dad wasn’t enough. He made me take the cars back and apologize to my friend’s parents. Ouch. I didn’t do that again! I learned my lesson. I changed my attitude and behavior.

Meet the Risen Christ

Saul’s life changed when he met the risen Christ on the Road to Damascus. He was a zealous Pharisee. The Pharisees were 1% of the Jewish people. They knew God’s law backward and forward and weren’t afraid to tell others about how much they knew and the righteous life they lived. Paul was attempting to destroy the followers of early Christianity (see Acts 9:1–2).

We read in scripture Paul’s words:

Acts 22:20 NIV

And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

Acts 26:10 NIV

And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

1 Timothy 1:13 NIV

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

He found that mercy on the way to Damascus. A light from heaven flashed, he fell to the ground and heard a voice.

Acts 9:5 NIV

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.

Saul encountered the risen Christ on the way to persecuting members of the early church in Damascus. He must have wondered if Christ would destroy him in a quick and painless death—just as he deserved. But his Road-to-Damascus moment was full of grace!

Ten verses later we learn that the Lord told Ananias that Saul—later called Paul—would become the great voice of the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul’s experience gave him a new understanding of God’s grace, and in our scripture today he teaches us that there is “no condemnation” in Christ.

Our Situation

++God is holy, perfect, and without sin.

++We are all sinners both in nature and behavior.

++Our sin separates us from God.

++Good works and being good can’t save us.

++Being better than others can’t save us

Let’s Look at our situation:

++God is holy, perfect, and without sin. Habakkuk 1:13 says to God “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing” .

++We are all sinners in nature and behavior. David says in Psalm 51 “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5 NIV).

++Our sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59:2 shares “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2 NIV).

++Good works and being good can’t save us. Paul wrote to the Ephesians “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV).

++Being better than others can’t save us. Paul in Romans reminds us “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:11 NIV).

Our situation was hopeless.....

A Way out through Jesus

++The curtain was torn open

++God came to us

++Paid our sin debt

++No division, separation, or condemnation.

..... but God provided a way out through Jesus.

++When Jesus died, the curtain in the Temple was torn open as Jesus took his last breath on the cross. The curtain that separated the people from the Holy of Holies where God’s precense would come. A place where only the chief priest was allowed to enter once a year.

++We could not reach God, so God came to us. Jesus said in Luke 19 - “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10 NIV). Ephesians 2 states, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4–5 NIV).

++Jesus has removed all that separates us from God. Christ completely paid our sin debt to God by dying in our place.

In Romans 3 :25 “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished” (Romans 3:25 NIV).

In 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV).

++There is no longer any division, separation, or condemnation.

John wrote “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV).

Paul said to the Corinthians “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV).

In John 3:17 - Jesus told Nicodemus, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Romans 8:1 NIV

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

In our scripture today - “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NIV).

God does not give us what we deserve,

which is mercy ;

but he gives us what we don’t deserve,

which is grace!

Paul experienced this firsthand. He must have thought he was a goner on the Damascus road when he met the risen, all-powerful Jesus. But God made him a missionary. He later referred to himself as “the apostle to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13 NIV).

What those parents showed me as I returned those two Matchbox cars I had stolen was mercy. They accepted my apology. I could still be friends with their sons. They didn’t kick me or my parents out of church.

Months later, at Christmas time, those parents had a gift for me. When I opened the gift I found brand-new, in the box, the Matchbox cars I had stolen earlier in the year. They had already given me mercy - that gift was grace.

As I look at what my life is at times I am so glad for God’s mercy. I am even more grateful for His grace.

God does not give us what we deserve. I’m glad he doesn’t.

He gives us what we don’t deserve. Isn’t grace wonderful?

What Road-to-Damascus moment have you experienced?

Do you experience simmering guilt for the things you’ve done and how you’ve treated God and God’s people?

1 Timothy 1:12–14 NIV

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Paul certainly did. He regretted his life as a persecutor of Christians. He told Timothy, “ I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (see 1 Timothy 1:12–14).

Paul learned there was no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Nothing—no matter how horrible it is— separates us from God.

Do you have this hope for yourself?

Do you have this hope for the loved ones in your life? For your neighbors?

Do you believe God wants to show grace to you and to others?

Have you accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior?

Through Jesus, God accepts you

Through Jesus, God accepts you, and calls you to Him through His grace, love, and forgiveness.