Contingent Freedom from Condemnation?

At one time we believers were ‘condemned’ sinners, lost and without Christ. But now, having believed into Christ we can rejoice in the Pauline truth of the now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1a, below).

“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7:24-25)

Paul continues… There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 (so) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 7:24-8:4 (KJV)

However, there are those who use one of the ‘modern corrupted Bibles’ (NIV, ESV, NASB, etc.) who hasten to point out that there seems to be a contingency involved when we read the last 10 words in Romans 8:1b (KJV). They draw from this the idea that … this promise of “no condemnation” applies only to those “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Then they say the last 10 words in Romans 8:1 are not in THEIR Bibles and that the words do not belong as it would mean; ‘You’re not condemned only if you “walk not after the flesh. And, if you falter you are to be condemned.’ According to them this would mean you can lose your salvation based upon that ‘contingency’ that requiresnot walking after the flesh so as to not be condemned.

But we know the revealed grace truth. For every believer is Saved ‘Securely’ solely by God’s Grace through Faith Alone… in Christ as savior… saved totally apart from any works-based performance requirement. (Read Ephesians 2:8-9).

These four verses below tell us how that we were saved…by faith(v5), without (good) works(v6) … and that God no longer even takes account of our unintentional sins at all (read v8)!

5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute (count his) sin.” (Romans 4:5-8 (KJV)

The truth of “no condemnation” comes to light only when we look at the context, noting the first word of Romans 8:1, “Therefore,” which relates to Paul’s Romans 7 dilemma of Self-Condemnation. Then we will see that the “no condemnation” is not about loss of salvation. Realize that Paul had already dealt with the issue of salvation by grace through faith alone in Romans 4 and 5. So, Paul is not referring to one’s salvation in Romans 8:1, where he is actually writing about successful, victorious, Christians livingwithout condemnation when we sometimes fail (as we all will at times).

The “condemnation” Paul is actually referring to the earlier self-condemnation that he suffered as described throughout Romans 7, when Paul was mistakenly heaping condemnation onto himself due to the failures that he noted were due to the power of “Sin in the flesh.” So actually, Paul had lost sight of his real spiritual identity in Christ as a ‘new creature in Christ’ (2 Cor 5:17).

Paul had already written about this new life that had flowed to him out of his co-death and his co-resurrection with Christ when he first believed on the road to Damascus. That death and new life “in Christ” brings liberty from the power of “Sin in the flesh” (v7) as seen here in Romans 6:3-7, and also liberty from ‘the Law’ that empowers Sin, as seen in Romans 6:14 and 1Cor. 15:56.

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death (cf. 1Cor. 12:13)? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, (so) that the body of sin might be destroyed (Gk. kartargeo, made of no effect), (so) that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin (freed from Sin’s dominion).” (Romans 6:3-7 (KJV)

 

The fact is that Paul had for a time left (in his mind) the position of ‘pure grace “in Christ” and reverted back to looking at himself and his ‘failure to performunder “the law.” He had for a time lost sight of Christ’s vicarious performance at the Cross for him, and us alike.

Thankfully, by the end of Roman 7, Paul comes to the light of the truth. Romans 7:24 describes the culmination of his utter failures and his hopeless inability to live the Christians life, making him a “wretched man.” Paul then continues with the revealed truth of his words in v25.

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord (indwelling master).

So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7:24-25)

Paul saw that he had a mind problem concerning victory over the flesh problem. Essentially, here above we see that Paul ‘came to himself.’ Paul recognizing the problem of his “mind” being set upon his self-effort, which … activated “the fleshthat was empowered by “the law (1Cor. 15:56).

“… the strength (Gk. dunamis, power) of sin is the law.” (1 Corinthians 15:56 (KJV)

The answer to empowered “Sin in the flesh” is to remove its power source.

“For Sin shall NOT have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Rom. 6:14)

Now Paul saw that the remedy for failure and self-condemnation… is to stand on “the knowledge of the truth (in his mind), not to fight “Sin in the flesh.” Paul knew and wrote that “Sin in the flesh” was “condemned” by Jesus at the cross (v8:3b) and rendered to be of no effect toward them who believe (Rom. 6:7).

Paul then knew to maintain a proper mindset based upon the grace truths that God had earlier revealed to him, that of being unconditionally “accepted in the beloved” (Rom. 5:1), and being forever in union with Christ as His life (Gal. 2:20-21, Col. 3:4a). Paul in Romans 7:25 had recognized the ‘new way of living’ as a new creature in Christhaving his mind set upon the things of the God-revealed truths that he wrote in his thirteen epistles for us even today.

“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit (mind) the things of the Spirit.” (Romans 8:4-5 (KJV)

Paul had then recovered the way of victorious Christian living (without condemnation), which is by way of the Cross of Christ and His “Spirit of life” (8:2). The Spirit of life in Christ” applies to us… all that Christ has done for us at the Cross, and … all that His life can and will do within the believer’s soul… by faith in the righty divided “word of truth” (2Tim. 2:15).

So yes, we as believers enjoy total freedom from the ‘condemnation” that our failure at righteous living had once heaped upon us. This freedom is based upon the Pauline grace truths that we are to ‘hold in our minds.’ We learn all this from Paul’s Romans teaching and his willingly shared personal experience as seen in Romans 7-8:7.

Holding the truth in faith then permits the power of “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” to bring us to righteous living… and no condemnation for our failures along th