Condemnation vs. Justification

Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"

What does this mean? What is your standing in Christ? Are you a Christian? Are you "In Christ"? There are only 2 classes of people in this world: Christian and non-Christian. Sooo if you are a Christian you are "In Christ". If we are saved, washed by the blood, living & walking with Him then you are NOT living under condemnation. No matter what anyone says - God's Word says otherwise. God's Word says we are free.

Condemnation is not a feeling. Condemnation is a standing. The opposite of condemnation is justification.  Justification is also a standing. We are either condemned to hell or we are 'justified'.  Condemnation = GUILTY!  Justified = INNOCENT of all charges!!

Imagine two chairs sitting across from one another. One one side you have the seat of "Condemnation". On the other side you have the seat of "Justification".  IN the middle between these two chairs is THE CROSS OF CHRIST. To get from the seat of "Condemnation" to the seat of "Justification"... the person needs to go through the Cross of Christ!! Thank you Jesus for shedding your precious blood so we can live eternally with you!!

However we are imperfect, and apart from the grace of God, all we do is sinful and falls short of God’s glory - we are not condemned. The Christian who falls & commits a sin...  This is when the Holy Spirit will make us feel 'conviction' for the wrong we have done against God. This IS a FEELING. And a feeling we should be thankful for! Thank God He sends His Holy Spirit to convict us of our wrong doing and set us on the right path again. Again this conviction is a feeling - unlike condemnation which is NOT a feeling. No Christian should feel condemnation. We are free!! We are JUSTIFIED!! We are INNOCENT of all charges!! Thank you Jesus!!

Romans 8:2 goes on to explains this: Paul writes, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” He explains that because of the certainty of this awesome reality of life in Christ by God’s grace, the condemnation of sin that brings death no longer holds us captive. We are free. When we grow in grace, the grip of fear has less and less hold upon us.

It makes me angry when 'preachers' tell a whole congregation they are on their way to hell because they slipped up & sinned. For years I feared every move I made during the day. I was in prayer 24/7 repenting 'just in case'. I was living in fear and had NO JOY in my life. I was no taught about God's love & His grace. My kids were taught the same. They were taught that they would miss the rapture if they had a sin unrepented of. They also were not taught about God's grace. I have seen so many poor souls walk in church, get saved, and walk back out into the world - never to be seen again. That life is a miserable life. It is a life of constant condemnation. No joy. No peace. Why bother? It's too hard? No one can live under law. When living under law we are living under the death penalty. No one has successfully lived under law except Jesus. He came to fulfill the law. Put an end to it. We are now under His grace. I do not take sin lightly. Sin has no place in a believer's life. However, we do have Jesus. He will never leave us or forsake us. We can always call on Him!!