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No Condemnation (2 of 4)

It was a young earth when Paul wrote to the Romans, but it had been a long, long time since the night of sin had besieged mankind. Under the condemnation of sin, all men of conscience could scarce lift their heads during some of their blackest times. The best that any could do was to look longingly toward the promised Messiah (Genesis 3.15), and wait for the day when the head of the serpent would receive a fatal blow from the heel of the Son of Man. The weight of such condemnation was such that even men of penitent spirits saw their sins ever before them and longed for the time when the slate would be wiped clean by God's hand of grace.

Israel certainly had a reason to hope, but it was not in the law! After all, the law only served to point out the great sinfulness of sin and to force men of honest hearts to cry out, “I cannot make it alone!” It was this great burden that Paul felt when he wrote, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7.24). Paul was speaking for the honest of heart; deliverance could be had when the time was right. However, those who lived under the law and were not of honest hearts had absolutely no hope. It seems that these were the most outspoken proponents of the law during the day's of Jesus earthly ministry. He frequently spoke in what must have seemed like unmerciful terms to them, calling them whitewashed sepulchers, generation of vipers, and other equally uncomplimentary terms. Yes, the world was under condemnation. Jews, even the most faithful of them, had no hope apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Likewise, the Gentiles as a group of people, had failed miserably in serving God. The picture was indeed bleak!

With that backdrop, think of the impact of Paul's statement, “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. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8.1-2). In his famous I Have a Dream speech of a few decades back, Martin Luther King quoted the words of an old spiritual when he said, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank GOd Almigty, we are free at last!" King looked forward to the day when his dream of racial equality would become reality. Without any intention of making his dream less than it really was, the freedom that Paul wrote about causes King's dream to pale by comparison! The dream of which King spoke was of a future day, but Paul's state of "No Condemnation! was a present day reality. For hundreds of years, men who desired righteousness had pillowed their heads at night with the fond hope that the morrow might usher in the morn of Messiah. Paul wrote of that bright hope-filled day. Furthermore, he wrote in th present tense! “There is therefore now no condemnation...” he said (emphasis mine; jeb).

This time of which Paul wrote was what he called the “fullness of times” (see Galatians 4.4). It was a moment for which all of heaven waited. It was likewise a moment for which every knowledgeable believer in Jehovah had longed. This time was the time of Messiah and it was the time of every human being! Freedom from sin – freedom from condemnation – was at long last a reality!

Questions:

1. Prior to the coming of Messiah, who was under condemnation?

2. Why did men of honest hearts long for Messiah? What alternative did they have in lieu of Him?

3. Who decided that it was the fullness of time? What part did He have in the unfolding of events that led to the coming of Messiah?

4. Why type of freedom did Jesus come to bring? What greater type of freedom is there?

"Word from Scotland" from Sandy Shaw

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