Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

   On the nightly news we are hearing more and more stories of people who have been wrongfully convicted of crimes, but due to DNA testing they are being cleared and set free. They go from condemned criminal to free citizen overnight.

Paul made a staggering statement in his letter to the church in Rome. There is now no condemnation. Before Christ died on the cross of Calvary and before He rose again on the third day, we were on death row. The law we could not keep perfectly, condemned us. We were sentenced to death.

But now. Christ took upon Himself the penalty for our sin and paid it in full on the cross. Unlike those who have been wrongfully convicted, we deserve to be punished. Unlike those who submit to DNA tests for release, we need only to stand under the blood of Jesus and submit to His Lordship.

It seems too good to be true because we all still struggle with sin and will continue in that battle until we reach heaven. Although His grace is never to be interpreted as license to sin, the truth remains: there is no condemnation. “Do you know what that means? We may stumble, we may fall, we may trip, we may make a thousand mistakes, we may sin (and we do), we may get off the path, we may go astray, we may have a thousand problems, but for the believer in Jesus Christ, there is, therefore now, no condemnation because God has said it is so.” Pastor Ray Pritchard

Lord Jesus, You were perfect and yet You took my sin. And somehow, You gave me, an imperfect sinner, Your righteousness. I don’t understand it, but I gratefully receive it.