Therefore

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Those are sweet words to the ears and hearts of those who believe in Jesus Christ!  And the adverb "therefore" causes us to ask what came before it.  Paul is basically saying, "In light of all that, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  Why is there no condemnation?  What is his basis for making such a statement?

Praise God that he does not make this statement based on the works of man!  Paul makes abundantly clear in chapters 1-3 of Romans that all men have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, whether the be the atheistic/polytheistic rejector of the one true God (1:18-32) or the religious rejector of the one true God (2:1-29).  Paul concludes, echoing the Psalmist, "None is righteous, no, not one..." (3:10)  No man stands right before God, no man even seeks God.  And there is no law, even the perfect and beautiful Law of God, that can change a man's heart.  Law exposes our hearts, the depth of sin and depravity that lurk within them.  Even for the person who believes they can strive to follow God's Law and thereby attain His favor, an honest evaluation leaves you feeling nothing but condemned.  "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." (3:20) 

Condemnation is all we feel (rightly so) when we rely on our works to make us pleasing to God.  We have no peace, we try to sing ourselves to sleep with falsehoods that we do good enough, we are good enough, we are not as bad as so and so...but this line of reasoning simply will not stand up to the examination of the holy God of the universe.  He deserves perfection in our worship of Him, in the lives that we live before Him.  And we barely even care to think upon Him, our "good works" are really done to soothe ourselves, and we continue to feel the sentence of death in our bodies. 

If God judged you by your merits, condemnation is all you would have to expect.  But praise God, that is not the end of the story! "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law....the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." (3:21) "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (5:1-2)  "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (7:24-25)

Praise God for a way to be set free from our slavery to sin and our condemnation because of our sin!  Praise God that this freedom is not attained by our effort or striving, because even our best efforts at righteousness are but filthy rags before God's perfect righteousness!  Praise God that this freedom comes entirely from outside of ourselves, this lifting of the sentence of death is an act of grace by God Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ!  We are not called to strive for righteousness in our flesh but to believe in the perfect righteousness of the One who laid down His life for us.  We are not called to justify ourselves by works of the law, but to trust Him who justifies the ungodly, who was raised for our justification! 

Because of the finished work of Jesus, because His life was truly perfect and righteous, because His death atoned for the sins of His church, because His resurrection assures the justification of his church, because His ascension to the right hand of god ensures that He is making intercession for His church, there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!  Praise be to God!