By Reggie Lamityi
It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that this lockdown hasn’t been easy for most of us. Some of us have struggled with: (a) extreme loneliness and depression, (b) anxiety over health (ours and that of our loved ones) and the economy, (c) secret sin as our fight against it has been weakened in the age of virtual meetings, (d) suffering in our world i.e., racial tensions and inequality and (e) lack of patience with our kids and balancing being present for them while working at home.
What we often won’t admit is that these struggles can be so overwhelming that they can cause us to wonder whether God is still for us. Paul, who was a student and messenger of Jesus, reminds us in what is called the greatest chapter in the Bible that none of these struggles can separate us from the love that God has shown us in Jesus. So for the next six weeks we will marinate on six lessons that Paul offers to us from Romans 8.
Lesson #1 An undeniable freedom
In the preceding chapter, Paul lifts the curtain into his own heart and allows us to see his own struggles (the war that wages within him): he wants to obey God but his sinful desires pull him away from that (7:13-25). Moreover, he actually realizes that on his own he doesn’t have the power to choose and do what is right.
We would expect, that having said this, Paul would condemn himself and wallow in guilt and shame. After all, that’s what most of us do, right? We beat ourselves down to a point where we gravely misinterpret this self-inflicted punishment as remorse and repentance from sin. But in actual fact, this is a pseudo-repentance.
Paul shows us that the path to true repentance and living in a way that pleases God (according to the Spirit) is stimulated and energized by understanding the undeniable freedom we have in Christ. So he doesn’t condemn himself, rather he says in verse 1, “no condemnation exists for those in Christ Jesus.” How is this possible? What is this undeniable freedom?
To answer these questions, we must first consider the word “therefore” which Paul begins verse 1 with: what is “therefore” there for? It is a reminder to us to review all that Paul has said up to this point. So what has Paul said? For now, let me share two overarching points:
- All of humanity has offended God in our actions, is born with the desire to rebel against God, and so deserves God’s judgement (1:18 – 3: 20)
- But God, instead of justly condemning humanity, shows his love by condemning his Son in the place of his enemies so that those who believe in the work that Jesus did are reckoned as right before Him (3:21 – 5:21)
Now, that is wonderful and momentous news! “This is the gospel: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” Tim Keller
Paul is aware that his right standing before God is all God’s work. He didn’t do anything to get himself right and accepted by God, and in the same way he can’t undo the work that God has done. God has eternally changed the position or status of Paul from being “guilty and deserving of condemnation” to “made right with no condemnation that exists because he is in Christ” (verse 1-3). Those who are bible scholars refer to this work as “justification through faith”.
So, because we are eternally justified before God by believing in Jesus, we can have the assurance that we have an undeniable freedom: we are free from the wages (death and judgement) of our sin. So, whatever you are struggling with today, be reminded of this, if you have put your faith in Jesus then God is still and will eternally be for you. It is when we are aware of this that we will readily admit and confess our sin and turn from it, not because we want God to be for us, but because he is already for us.
It is this undeniable freedom that is the greatest motivation in our fight with our daily struggles. Be encouraged and continue fighting during this lockdown!