Romans 8:1 reads, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It’s Paul’s blatant statement that, for those who are in Jesus, condemnation no longer exists. A similar (albeit opposite) point is made by John in his gospel when he writes, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). Both Paul and John are dealing with man’s standing before God in respect to their relationship with Jesus. John says that those who reject the Son have the wrath of God (condemnation) remaining on them and Paul says that condemnation no longer remains on those in Jesus.
The key then for both writers (Paul and John) is a person’s union with Jesus. The condemnation of God remains on those not united to Christ but it no longer exists for those who are united to Christ.
The non-existence of once real condemnation is often the most difficult for us to grasp. We’re good at reckoning with the fact that if we do not sure up our relationship with God then his wrath will still be against us—we remain condemned (John 3:36b). We’re not as good with realizing that if we are in Jesus then we are freed from the wrath of God—we are no longer condemned (Romans 8:1).
When Paul wrote Romans 8:1 his point was to ensure his readers that they have been set free from condemnation. He was not telling them that they have to keep achieving a certain standard in order to be free from condemnation; he was telling them that their standing in Christ is the thing that has freed them. And their standing in Christ was nothing that they contributed to in the first place—it is the gift of God for God’s glory and their good (and your good!).
We have been set free in Christ and our freedom is built on the fact that we no longer stand condemned. Do you believe this, Christian? If you believe in Jesus, which means you have been chosen, called, regenerated, and given faith, then there is no condemnation for you. You have been set free to live by the Spirit and thus live a life of freedom.