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No.14.
8: 2 - 11.
pp. 109 - 113
The glorious fact of "no condemnation" does not await the day of glory, it is true of
the believer here and now--"there is therefore now no condemnation" are the words of
Rom. 8: 1 and this results from the work of the "spirit of life":
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made us free from the law of sin
and death" (8: 2).
In II Cor. 3: 17 we are reminded that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty" and we have been called to liberty (Gal. 5: 13). This freedom is from the
domination of "the law of sin" which is in our members (Rom. 7: 23). It is good to
realize what we have NOW through the redemptive work of Christ, "Now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested" (Rom. 3: 21). "Being now justified
by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath" (Rom. 5: 9). "By Whom we have now
received the reconciliation" (Rom. 5: 11). "But now being made free from sin . . . . . ye
have your fruit unto holiness" (Rom. 6: 22). These present assurances are for the
believer to enjoy now through faith. We are acquitted now; we are free from
condemnation now. Nothing we can do of ourselves can ever set us free from
condemnation. It has all been done by our Saviour and Lord and because we are for ever
united with Him, condemnation has gone for ever. This does not mean we are free to
please ourselves, but rather we are free to please and serve Him faithfully. In other words
it leads to experimental sanctification. But let us not confuse sanctification and
justification. It is our acquittal (justification) which ensures our freedom from
condemnation and Rom. 8: 3 goes on to teach us that this is wholly dependent upon
the work of Christ and not on the walk of the believer.
"For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,
God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering"
(N.I.V.).
This epistle has made it abundantly clear that sinful man cannot rise to the standard of
God's law and that law was therefore powerless to produce a life of holiness. However
what the law could not do, has been done by God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ
Who came in the "likeness of sinful flesh", giving His life as a sin-offering on behalf of
His people. The words are carefully chosen here. Christ did not come in sinful flesh for
had He done so He would have had the taint of sin, and so would have needed a Saviour
himself; He could never have been the Saviour of others. The Apostle Paul and the N.T.
generally, absolutely insists on the sinlessness of Christ, the One Who "knew no sin"
(II Cor. 5: 21).
"He was made to be sin (or a sin-offering) for us Who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor. 5: 21).