Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:1)

THE TYPICAL COURTROOM SCENE often involves condemnation. The defendant, having been proven guilty, faces the judgment of the court. The judge may indicate that the defendant is sentenced to a certain number of months or years in prison, or perhaps life in prison. Occasionally the defendant is condemned to death.

However, in God’s courtroom, although we have been found guilty, we are not condemned. Why? Because condemnation is what the law prescribes. But “through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set [us] free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). The fact that Jesus died for our sins changes everything. Once we receive Him and His forgiveness, He puts His Spirit in our hearts. The Spirit brings a new law that declares us free from condemnation.

Any censure you feel does not come from God. It may come from the enemy, who wants you to remember your sins and ignore God’s forgiveness. Or a feeling of blame may come from your own spirit, if you have been unable to forgive yourself.

Either kind of condemnation keeps you in bondage to your past. However, life in the Spirit releases you from such denunciation and enables you to live in freedom. Don’t wallow in your past. Receive the freedom that comes from life in the Spirit.

Thank God throughout the day for freedom from condemnation.

Ron McClung lives in Fishers, Indiana, with his wife Carol. He has written his weekly column, Positive Perspective, for more than twenty-nine years.

© 2018 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.