Romans 8:1, NAS: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
WOW!
Are you aware, as I am, that a seemingly good message from the pulpit can mess up your relationship with the Lord? For years? I'm not saying "separate you from the Lord" . . . but simply put a crimp in what should be a wrinkle-free relationship?
Years ago . . . I'm guessing ten or fifteen . . . I listened to, and absorbed, a message from a young evangelist. After a vivid portrayal of exactly what our Lord went through the day he was crucified, down to the last horrid detail, this young man went on to the 'meat' of his message.
Now, I'm a firm believer everyone should be aware of exactly how much our Lord suffered in our stead. If you aren't up to speed on how great His sacrifice, you should make it a point to study up on it, and let it soak into your heart and soul. So this is not the part of the message from the pulpit that disturbed my spirit for years to come.
The evangelist went on to say; when a Christian sins (and we all do) we literally drag Jesus back to the cross to suffer again to pay for that sin. I may be oversimplifying, but this was the crux of his message.
I cry regularly when I think of what He suffered for me. But this revelation brought such sorrow to my heart I could barely endure it, thinking that I, personally, had caused Him to return to the cross . . . again and again. My pleas for forgiveness were overshadowed by the thought that I had no right to come to Him again. And I could never know the complete freedom of forgiveness because this shadow of guilt hovered over me.
I've been under the weather for about a month. I spent an inordinate amount of time in bed, unable to sleep. I spent a lot of time talking to the Lord. So it was just this past month He reminded me of this disturbing message. He brought it to my mind so that He might personally refute it!
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." No condemnation! He does not go back to the cross each time we sin. It was paid for . . . past, present, and future . . . when He went to the cross over two-thousand years ago. Because He knew, even then, that the flesh is weak. He knew that even those who'd given their hearts to Him would fail from time to time. He paid for ALL of our sins. Every last one. The black ones from our unsaved past, the ignorant ones we commit from day to day, and every other sin we might dream up in the future. He has saved us from them . . . just as long as we hold onto Him as our Lord and Savior.
He does not come back into the realm of time to suffer again. He is in eternity, sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Interceding for us. His family.
I have had a burden lifted from my heart with this word from the Lord. I would that every person who sat under that well-meaning, but mistaken young evangelist could read this message and be freed from a burden of guilt.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!
Live it. Believe it.
Remember, Satan doesn't want you to have a wrinkle-free relationship with Christ.
Because . . . The Battle is Real.
