There is now no condemnation. Romans 8:1 (NIV)
This means at one point there was condemnation. Some people find this hard to believe. Our natural instinct is to either feel we are so bad that we cannot imagine our condemnation ever being removed: How could God possibly love a person as bad as me? Or we feel we are so good that we cannot imagine ever being condemned: How could God possibly condemn a person like me?
All human beings are born alienated from God, in rebellion against God, and guilty before God—so we are under the condemnation of God. It’s true of all of us. That’s why we need to be rescued. That’s what we need to be rescued from.
David says, “Surely I was sinful at birth” (Psa. 51:5), even though God describes him as “a man after God’s own heart.” This is not unique to David. It crosses every racial and ethnic barrier. Paul puts it this way: “Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin” (Rom. 3:9). Notice the phrase “under sin.” We are in a predicament that we can’t get out of, except through the rescue.
John says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:36). John does not say God’s wrath will come on the person who rejects his Son. He says God’s wrath will remain on that person. It’s already there. By default, we start out under God’s wrath. The question isn’t whether God’s wrath will come on us, but whether it will remain on us.
Do you tend to feel you’re too bad for God to love or too good to be condemned?
