"Therefore, there is now no condemnation, no adjudging guilty of
wrong, for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the
dictates of the Spirit ... He who believes in Him, who clings to, trusts
in, and relies on Him, is not judged. He who trusts in Him never comes up for
judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation, he incurs no
damnation. But he who does not believe, cleave to, rely on, and trust in Him is
judged already: He has already been convicted and has already received his
sentence because he has not believed in and
trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. He is condemned for
refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.” (Rom. 8:1; Jn. 3:18, Amplified Bible)
The key to having no condemnation before God is not a
sinless perfect life. The key is being “In Christ”, which enables living and
walking after the dictates of God’s Spirit. Ninety times scripture uses this
phrase “In Christ” to describe those who have been baptized into the Body of
Christ, baptized into His Death… Burial… Resurrection… Ascension! (Rom. 6:1-14) This baptism is reciprocal
in nature for our bodies become the temple of the living God who indwells us by
His Holy Spirit. (1 Cor.
3; 16, 6:19-20) And since the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are “one” (1 Jn. 5:7), to be indwelled
by the Holy Spirit is to be indwelled by the Father and the Son as is clear
from Rom. 8:10 (Amplied
Bible) and
numerous other passages: “But if Christ lives in you, then although your
natural body is dead by reason of sin and
guilt, the spirit is alive because of the righteousness that He (God) imputes
to you.” This passage (Rom.
8:1-17) goes on to say that God will restore to eternal life the mortal,
short-lived, perishable, sin laden bodies of those who habitually put to death
the sinful deeds prompted by the body, “For all who are led by the Spirit of
God are sons of God.”
People who are “In Christ”
are indwelled by the Godhead, led by the Spirit of God, and adopted sons and
daughters of God with His imputed righteousness… and No Condemnation!
The “sinful deeds prompted
by the body” are the passions and desires of Self, our fleshly carnal nature,
which must die so that Christ’s nature can be formed in us. So, in a sense,
death of Self is a fruit of the “In Christ” lifestyle.
People who are “In Christ” habitually
put Self to death embracing transformation into Christlikeness, submitting to
the Lordship of Christ.
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