Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesusbecause through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 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. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in 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. (Rom.8:1-4)

This blog is dedicated to helping people find freedom in Christ through the power that is inherent in the kingdom of God. The foundation of that freedom is always found in the Word of God and one of the great sections in the entirety of scripture is Romans 8. As we launch this new year, I want to take a few blog entries to dissect this chapter to see what it has to say about the power of Christ to set us free and to overcome the power of the enemy.

Paul begins this chapter by reinforcing the truth that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. It’s my experience that we must know where we stand with God before we can stand against the enemy. Paul says that where we stand with God is a “condemnation free zone.” The key knows that Jesus became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor.5:21). Because Jesus died for our sins, the Father relates to us on the basis of our position rather than our condition.

Many believers assume that God’s evaluation of them is based on their performance as a Christian and most of us find our performance lacking. Because of that, we assume that God is not generally pleased with us and, as a result, he is not quick to answer our prayers or deliver us from the trouble that attaches itself to us in this world. Satan fuels our assumptions with feelings and thoughts of condemnation so that we feel disqualified to serve our God in significant ways or to receive his blessings. As a result we pray with little faith that God will hear our prayers and less faith that he will act on our behalf. We ask for little and expect little because we assume that we are always in God’s disfavor. When we have that mindset, we feel helpless against the enemy and the troubles that come our way. Our testimony fails and so does our courage.

That is one of Satan’s greatest lies. God’s view of us is not based on our performance but on the cross. The covenant that we have with God was not established by our sterling character and righteous works but by the blood of Christ. We are in Christ, covered by Christ, and carried by Christ. We have a position of righteousness before the Father even though our condition does not match that position. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way: “Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb.10:14). In other words, God counts us perfect based on the sacrifice of Jesus (our position) while he works on our condition. God is not indifferent to our sinful or weak condition but his promises come to us by faith not performance. It is all about his goodness not ours.

As a result, we can walk in the knowledge that our heavenly Father does not reject us or hide himself from us when our lives have some tarnish. As long as our hearts are turned toward him he sees us as sinless and is more than ready to answer our prayers and work through us. We still walk in the authority of the king and the enemy must still answer to us as long as we submit our imperfections to the grace of God. In Christ, there is no condemnation and any whispers to the contrary are lies. When condemnation begins to sap out strength and our confidence, we can call the enemy a liar and command him to be silent because in Christ we are the righteousness of God. Romans 8 begins with that great assertion and builds on that truth. It is a truth on which everything in our life with Jesus stands and a truth that we should ask the Holy Spirit to write on our hearts with indelible ink!