Now No Condemnation Questions
08 Jun 2010
1. Thinking on the back of Romans 7, does this understanding of it lead to the possibility for the Christian not to sin i.e. never to sin again?
1 John 1:8 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
No one is without sin. And there is no biblical precedent to suggest that any Christian will ever experience ‘perfection’ before Christ’s return...far from it! Paul in his own words was “chief of sinners”; John, in writing his epistles, was evidently aware of his own struggle with sin. However the Christian experience should be one of “victory over sin” and not constant defeat by sin. Romans 8 is a wonderful discussion of life in the Spirit and how the Spirit helps us “put to death” the sin that remains in us. This should not be a lonely battle we face: we have a new master now, one who leads us in righteousness, one who fought the great battle of sin and death which he gloriously won at the cross. We have in us the very same power that raised Christ from death to life. This is the “Spirit of life” that “has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2) No Christian is without sin and we won’t ever be until we are met by Christ upon His return:
“When he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
An interpretation of Romans 7 that suggests a Christian should be totally without sin is dangerous and not biblical! However, Romans 7 does show us that in our own strength we will never be able to meet the demands of the law and that we will be left in constant defeat because the law is powerless to help us. Yet “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord” who has set us free from our bondage to sin and given us His Spirit so that “we are more than conquerors through him who loves us.” (Romans 8:37).
2. Does this mean that the Christian should not experience guilt?
For the Christian there is “now no condemnation”, that is, there is no punishment for sin. Our penalty Christ paid, our punishment he bore, our guilt he took. So no, there is no guilt before God for our sin. The pronouncement over us has already been made: ‘Not Guilty!’, praise God.
There can be moments when we have feelings that we would associate with guilt, but I would want explore what is behind such feelings. It may well be regret or remorse for a sin, it might be conviction of sin or it might be feelings of shame for having acted in a particular way. It is important to explore this as it will help us to move into a direction of freedom and joy. Conviction of sin is a good thing if it leads us to repentance. However feelings of guilt and/or condemnation are not God given: he does not and will not condemn you, because you are “In Christ”. Your sin was punished in His flesh, so that you will never be punished because of your sin. When we sin now as Christians, as Lloyd Jones puts it, “we sin not against law but against love”. We don’t spoil our relationship with Christ, for once ‘In Him always ‘in Him’. As C.S Lewis put it, “Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen in Narnia.” However, by sinning, we do affect our enjoyment of our relationship with God, which is why we must be quick to repent of our sins.
Tim
 
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