DAY #235: Romans 8:1-25

There are times in all of our lives when we feel condemned because Satan uses past guilt and present failures to make us question what Christ has done for us. No matter how we may feel, there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Because we have been rescued by Christ, we are not condemned.

To belong to Christ Jesus means to have put our faith in him, becoming a member of his body of believers. Jesus said in John 5:24, “I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life”.

The life-giving Spirit is the Holy Spirit, who was present at the creation of the world as one of the agents in the origin of life itself. He is the power behind the rebirth of every Christian, and the one who helps us live the Christian life. The Holy Spirit sets us free, once and for all, from the power of sin and its natural consequence, death. How did this happen?

Christ took on humanity in order to be a sacrifice for our sins. Because Christ was sinless, his death passed the “death sentence” on sin for all of us, destroying sin’s control over us.
In Old Testament times, animal sacrifices were continually offered at the temple. These animals brought to the altar had two important characteristics: they were alive, and they were without flaw. The sacrifices showed the Israelites the seriousness of sin: innocent blood had to be shed before sins could be pardoned (Leviticus 17:11).

But animal blood could not really remove sin (Hebrews 10:4); and the forgiveness provided by those sacrifices, in legal terms, was more like a stay of execution than a pardon. Those animal sacrifices could only point to Jesus’ sacrifice that paid the penalty for all sin. Jesus’ life was identical with ours, yet unstained by sin. So he could serve as the flawless sacrifice for our sins. In him, our pardon is complete. The tables are turned so that not only is there “no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus,” but also the very sin that guaranteed our condemnation is itself condemned by Christ’s sacrifice.

The requirement of the law is holiness (Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7); but the law is powerless to make us holy because of our innate sinfulness. Only through Christ’s death and the resulting freedom from sin can we no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit and thus fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. The Holy Spirit is the one who helps us become holy. The Holy Spirit provides the power internally to help us do what the law required of us externally.


SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

after reading this passage today, I am reminded of the old hymn which asks the question - "What can take my sin away? - Nothing but the blood of Jesus."

We have two enemies in this life. One, Satan seeks to destroy us (John 10:10; 1 Peter 5:8) and he will continue his assault on your life until he is defeated or until you go home. The other enemy we have is us.

Many times, we are our own worst enemy. Watchman Nee, the great disciple of Hudson Taylor said this - "Anyone whoever desires to live for Christ will soon discover that the greatest hindrance to living for Christ is not others, but himself." How many of us can relate to that statement. I certainly can.

My point is simple. Many of us have an innate understanding of the sinfulness which lives in each of us. We have seen the destructive power of our words and actions. We have seen the devastation of our selfishness and pride. Yet, Christ blood washes away our sin and there is now no condemnation.

What if we could really comes to grip with that truth? How would it change the way we live? Freedom to live as God would have us, as opposed to daily regret over what we haven;t done our all our shortcomings.

Oh Lord, free us up today from self-condemnation and let us see ourselves like you see us. Lord, draw people to COV this morning and use Your message to inspire and encourage and where needed, convict. Change lives this morning.