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.”

Martin Luther suffered greatly from a guilty conscience. As a monk, he was constantly seeking out his priest to confess his sins.  Even the slightest infraction will send him to confession.  “Father forgive me for I stepped on an ant and I did it in anger.”  His priest finally said; “Martin Luther, why don’t you go out and kill your grandmother so you have something decent to confess.” Then one day he was reading in the Book of Romans in the original Greek and Aramaic and discovered Romans 8:1, “There is now, therefore, no condemnation.”  Those words “therefore no condemnation” really struck him. For one thing the Greek word ara – therefore shows a connection to anything remotely preceding the next statement. In other words, the finished work of Jesus Christ.  Because of this work of Jesus Christ, those who are in Christ Jesus face no condemnation.  Martin Luther realized He had accepted the offer of salvation from Jesus Christ so why is he feeling so condemned?  Why had the church not taught this?  All he had to do was just rest in Jesus Christ and his sins were covered. 

We just need to live by faith that the work of Jesus Christ has removed our sins and that any sins we commit are covered by the blood of Jesus. We live by faith and our love for Jesus.  Our love for Jesus is what keeps us from sin, not fear of condemnation. If you love someone you do not want to do anything that will offend them, hurt them or break their heart.  Your motivation to refrain from sin is not fear of condemnation, but fear of breaking the heart of God.  A man who loves his wife will not commit adultery because he fears his wife’s wrath or that she will divorce him and take half or more of what he owns.  He will not want to commit adultery because he loves his wife and would never deliberately do something to wound her heart.

For some reason the church did not understand this, even today most churches do not understand this. Instead, they must put the “fear of God” in people to keep them from sinning. I call it the Jessie James form of salvation. Threaten them with hell, fire, and brimstone, horrible punishments, God will get you if you sin, to keep one on the straight and narrow. My earthly father never had to threaten me with the woodshed to keep me on the straight and narrow. He would just have to look so hurt and disappointed in me that I almost wished he would administer some form of corporal punishment, anything so he would not be so sad over my behavior. We never need to be afraid of what God will do to us if we sin, what we need to fear is what we will do to the heart of God if we sin.  Have you ever had a broken heart? You would not wish that upon your worst enemy.  Why would you want to break the heart of the God who loves you and sent His Son to die for you? If you do, then you only care about your own gizzard and you deserve hell.

So, what is the condemnation business? When I hear the word condemnation I think of, you know the preacher’s favorite saying: “You sin, you are condemned to hell.” Not that this statement is untrue but we are missing the point of condemnation.  The word condemnation in Greek is the word katakrima which means punishment after condemnation, penal servitude, and/or penalty.  However, in the Aramaic, it is a little less dramatic.  It is the word chivuta’ which is owing a debt. In ancient times when you owed a debt and could not pay you ended up being enslaved until that debt was paid off.  Our debt to God is sin, the sin that broke His heart. We owe Him big time. He created us, gave us this world to live in, provided all we need, and surrounds us with the beauty of the joy of His creation what do we do, we abuse it all for selfish reasons.  We were turned over to the collection agency run by the devil himself.  He is demanding payment of our debt and only blood will do as his currency. No amount of good works, church attendance, worship services, or paying tithes will be accepted as payment. The only blood that is our life. The death of Jesus upon the Cross and the shedding of His blood was offered as the payment for that debt.  Of course, we must be willing to offer this as the payment of this debt. If we accept the offer of payment from Jesus, we are no longer chivuta’ – indebted or condemned if you wish to call it that. Now we are debt free.  

Tell me, if someone pays off a large debt for you, say the mortgage on your house, will you turn around and slap that person in the face? Of course not. If Jesus paid off your debt that would enslave you to the enemy, would you turn around and slap the face of Jesus?  That is what you would be doing if you continued to sin. You would not want to sin once He has redeemed you. You will slip and fall but He understands and will be ready to forgive you as you will be repenting and repentance will touch his heart.  

Hi there! Thank you for reading this Daily Word Study. Can I ask a favor? Share this Daily Word Study with your friends on Facebook and Twitter by clicking one of the icons below.

Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!