No condemnation

Are there any more beautiful and meaningful words in scripture than these: "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong in Christ Jesus?"

Think of it, if only for a moment. No matter what you've done, I've done, we've done together, there is NO CONDEMNATION if we've found Jesus and added his magnificent beautiful capacity to love to our lives.

If any readers out there think this is a bit of a "in the by and by" promise, think of it this way. Just a few verses before Paul wrote the above line in a letter to the church in Rome, he wrote this: "I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. The power makes me a slave to sin that is still within me."

Did I mention that Paul, the apostle, the church-planter supreme, wrote that in one of his final letters? If Paul felt that way, what hope do I have? Plenty.

We all have problems, woes and worries. We all fall short of God, Paul told us.

So why are we not condemned for such actions?

Paul tells us: "Because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has FREED YOU from the power of sin that leads to death."

The Spirit makes us no longer bound to sin, even if the occasional sin pops up or even the DESIRE to sin still exists in us. We no longer are bound to activate that desire or act upon it, though.

We've been washed clean of all sins past, present and future by a loving Christ. Jesus pounded on the doors of the sin nature we were born with and eventually made the door open so that he could clean house.

Understand that even with a clean house, though, the occasional dust bunny pops up. But the owner of the house isn't condemned for that, you see.

That's who we are, for those who love Christ. Paul finishes in the 8th chapter of Romans, "Letting the sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace."

Oh, come Holy Spirit, come. To each who reads this add your blessings of life and peace.