There is Therefore NOW

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. – Romans 8:1

This past week I have been cycling this verse through my mind again and again. The natural bent of the human heart, and the root of all my sin is self justification. I think I am an independent creature and can satisfy my soul apart from anyone or anything. But the law is a mountain, constantly crushing and exposing my work for the terrible evil it is. I constantly struggle within myself, the redeemed son seeking to do one thing, and my sinful nature opposing and countering that trust. I reach the place of Paul in Romans 7, crying out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

Romans 8:1 is, right now, my favorite verse in the Bible.

“There is therefore…” The ‘therefore’ here refers to the victory over sin and death in Christ Jesus that Paul has been drawing out and building since chapter 3. It is a summary and conclusion; “Because of what I have explained to you about the nature of Christ, this is so.” The promises of God are as sure and concrete as they are glorious. Christ has accomplished all that my independence has failed and cost, THEREFORE I am not condemned.

There is always something in my life condemning me. I don’t live up, I don’t accomplish, I don’t love, I don’t care. Sin seeks to keep me in bondage to the slavery of condemnation. I think the hardest thing about the entire gospel to believe is that I am not condemned. I have lived my whole life in condemnation that when I am free of it, I have nothing to take its place and turn back to it just to fill the void. But Christ is constantly along side, scooping out the condemnation, reminding me that I am justified in him and that his peace fills the void. Justification is a legal standing; once given it is truth and reality, and cannot be revoked. It is a marriage covenant with the most faithful Being. He never rescinds or annuls his promises.

My favorite part of this verse is the word ‘now’. I can believe in a theoretical justification later, when I have my life together or when I am finally in heaven, but to think that I am justified NOW even in the midst of my sin is staggering. Christ’s atoning sacrifice covered all my sin: past, present, and future. He started the work in my heart and carries it to consummation. I am as justified now as I will be a billion years from now when I live in perfect communion and relationship with Him. This is Truth, Christ is Truth; He is the way, the means, the end. Everything is bound together in him, including us. We can cry with Paul, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” NOW... There is nothing so lovely in the entire universe.