May 9 - No Condemnation

Read Romans 8:1-11

Context: Continuation from yesterday

Text:
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in sinful man,[d] 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man[e] is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind[f] is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. (NIV)
Footnotes:
Romans 8:1 Some later manuscripts Jesus, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit,
Romans 8:3 Or the flesh; also in verses 4, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 13
Romans 8:3 Or man, for sin
Romans 8:3 Or in the flesh
Romans 8:6 Or mind set on the flesh
Romans 8:7 Or the mind set on the flesh
This whole section of Romans has always been a little confusing to me. It seems like Paul has gotten onto his soapbox and he is so excited and passionate about what he's trying to say that his words run together. The Baker Commentary on the Bible says that it is typical Jewish and Hellenistic sytle to alternate between themes. While today's text relates to yesterdays text, it really links back to Romans 6:1-7:6 where he talks about being dead to sin and slaves to righteousness.

The word 'condemnation' in verse one means (in the Greek), damnatory sentence. All who try to follow the law will fail, and that failure results in a sentence of death. But since we are Christians and the Spirit of God dwells in us, our failures don't mean death because Jesus has already taken our punishment.

This doesn't mean that we can go on sinning, though. As Christians filled with the Spirit, we are free from the legalism of the law, but we are to be controlled by the Spirit, doing what He leads us to do. Paul says in Galatians 5:13 "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love."

We will always sin because we are human, but if we follow the Spirit's leading we can please God.