Reflections
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:1)
Either this verse is the Truth or it is a lie. And if it is the Truth, then it is entirely the Truth: There is never any condemnation – never any judgment of God against – those who are in Christ Jesus.
Here are the only two options: There is no condemnation EVEN when we sin. Or: There is no condemnation EXCEPT when we sin. If it is the latter – if we are never condemned EXCEPT when we sin – then when we sin we ARE condemned. But then we are right back under the law — our works determine whether we are condemned.
The Truth is: There is no condemnation for the saint EVEN when we sin. That is good news because if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves. But does this mean we are to continue in sin because grace abounds? No. And if we have repented of sin and come to Christ, Paul tells us why we will not want to continue in sin because we know grace abounds: We have died to sin in Christ.
None of this would make sense if all we were talking about were doctrinal issues and legal truth. But we are really talking about what happens when a person is born from above and has Christ in them. These are living Truths of a changed nature.