Today is
Martin Luther King Day. Having reread Romans 8 today in my devotions, I have
decided to repost this blog. Rejoice and take rest in these thoughts.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Oh, Hallelujah! The work of the
cross of Christ is so absolutely complete, the blood so overwhelmingly
efficacious that the believer who is following Christ walks scot free!
The lawyerly Apostle Paul lays
out the case of the believer’s innocence out so efficiently, elegantly and even
dramatically that even OJ's Dream Team would be reduced to admiring tears.
Chapter 7 closes with utter
frustration. The apostle finds himself crying out in desperation, "Oh
wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" He had just expressed the
infighting of his dichotomous nature; the flesh verses the spirit, the old
nature battling the new. It almost hurts to read aloud Romans 7:15-20. We take
solace that if this inward battle ravaged the greatest Christian life ever
lived, then we know that we pusillanimous believers are in good company.
However, the final lines of
chapter 7 introduce us to the majesty of the Bible’s Mount Everest chapter,
Romans 8.
Here is
the inkling: Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the
mind I
myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
A Savage war exists within our
members but Jesus Christ our Lord be thanked for dropping the capital charges
that were against us, allowing us to savor the free air of complete
exoneration.
Legalists will do their best to draw you back into their guilt-ridden world of do's and don’ts, thou shalts and thou shalt nots. Their extreme misery desires wretched company.
But those living to please their Savior through loving relationship no longer take each step with an eye on their past and wondering when the hammer is going to fall.
Clean, forgiven, unshackled,
uncondemned! That is how eternity, from the moment of salvation and going
forward, is meant to be for the blood-washed child of God.
Are you still looking over your
shoulder toward an ungodly past? Are you hopelessly struggling against your
ever-resurrecting flesh?
Stop warring and start enjoying
the winning that is already yours. As Jesus often said to those He touched and
healed, "Go and sin no more." Did they ever sin again? Of course. But
then, one must realize his/her error, the blood's power, complete forgiveness
and move on, uncondemned once again.
From Don Francisco:
Sittin'
by my window on a rainy afternoon
Everything inside my head was playin' out of tune
I was thinkin' of the fool I'd made of me the night before
In front of God and everyone I'd sinned and sinned some more.
I thought of all the things I'd done, I winced at things I'd said
I wallowed in self-pity, I hung my worried head
Right when I was so far down that even up looked wrong
That's when Jesus gave to me the chorus of this song.
He said, "Satan the Accuser has been whisperin' in your ear"
You just tell him you're forgiven and he's got no business here
'Cause it doesn't matter what you've done
It matters what you'll be
There is no condemnation when the Son has set you free.
Now I could say that right away the sun burst through the clouds
And I just started singin' on the chorus right out loud
But actually I moped around and blew another day
Before I let myself accept the words I'd heard Him say.
He said, "Satan the Accuser has been whisperin' in your ear"
You just tell him you're forgiven and he's got no business here
'Cause it doesn't matter what you've done
It matters what you'll be
There is no condemnation when the Son has set you free.
Everything inside my head was playin' out of tune
I was thinkin' of the fool I'd made of me the night before
In front of God and everyone I'd sinned and sinned some more.
I thought of all the things I'd done, I winced at things I'd said
I wallowed in self-pity, I hung my worried head
Right when I was so far down that even up looked wrong
That's when Jesus gave to me the chorus of this song.
He said, "Satan the Accuser has been whisperin' in your ear"
You just tell him you're forgiven and he's got no business here
'Cause it doesn't matter what you've done
It matters what you'll be
There is no condemnation when the Son has set you free.
Now I could say that right away the sun burst through the clouds
And I just started singin' on the chorus right out loud
But actually I moped around and blew another day
Before I let myself accept the words I'd heard Him say.
He said, "Satan the Accuser has been whisperin' in your ear"
You just tell him you're forgiven and he's got no business here
'Cause it doesn't matter what you've done
It matters what you'll be
There is no condemnation when the Son has set you free.
So
I can't criticize you now if you want to take your time
And cling to all your problems just the way I clung to mine
But now you've got the answer Jesus wanted you to know
He'll take your sin and guilt away if you'll just let them go.
And cling to all your problems just the way I clung to mine
But now you've got the answer Jesus wanted you to know
He'll take your sin and guilt away if you'll just let them go.
He
said, "Satan the Accuser has been whisperin' in your ear"
You just tell him you're forgiven and he's got no business here
'Cause it doesn't matter what you've done
It matters what you'll be
There is no condemnation when the Son has set you free.
You just tell him you're forgiven and he's got no business here
'Cause it doesn't matter what you've done
It matters what you'll be
There is no condemnation when the Son has set you free.
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