What does First B Jackson teach about no condemnation?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on no condemnation begins with the word that opens Romans 8: 'therefore.' Pastor Ray has come back to this passage more than once to press the point that the 'therefore' carries the full weight of seven chapters behind it. Paul has already established that irreligious people are guilty, religious people are guilty, and every one of us falls short. That is the ground on which the declaration lands: there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The phrase 'in Christ Jesus' is not decorative. Union with Christ is what makes the difference, and that union is the thread the teaching returns to every time.
The freedom declared in verse 1 does not come because the law of sin and death has been abolished. It comes because, as Pastor Ray and Pastor Mark have both explained using the same illustration, a superior law overcomes it. Gravity still applies to a bird, but what God built into that bird allows it to rise above gravity. The Spirit of life in Christ does the same for believers. What the law could never do, God did by sending His own Son to live a perfect life in human flesh, offer that perfect record on the cross, and condemn sin in the flesh. The purpose of all of it, as the 'so that' of verse 4 states, is that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in those who walk by the Spirit. That requirement comes down to what Jesus named as the two great commandments: loving God and loving people.
The teaching is also honest about a real danger. Being free from condemnation does not mean a believer is automatically oriented toward the Spirit. Paul's warning in verses 5 through 7 is addressed to people who already belong to Christ, and the pastors at First B have been direct about that. A believer can set their mind on the things of the flesh, and that mindset is hostile toward God and leads toward death. Pastor Ray pointed to Peter's rebuke of Jesus in Matthew 16 as the clearest example: the same man who had just confessed Jesus as the Christ was told, within ten verses, that he was not setting his mind on God's interests. The command in Colossians 3 to keep seeking the things above exists precisely because it requires an ongoing, deliberate choice. The condemnation is gone, but the choice of where to fix the mind is ours every day.
Taught from Romans 8:1-18 · Colossians 3:1-3 · Romans 13 · Matthew 16 · Hebrews 13
The passage taught · 1 Peter 5
1 Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed.
2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly;
3 neither as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock.
4 When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- June 16, 2024 No Condemnation for Those in Christ Jesus Romans 8 shows that because of Christ, believers are free from condemnation and empowered by the Spirit to love God and love people as God designed.
- June 16, 2024 Union With Christ Is What It's All About Romans 8 shows that union with Christ, not self-effort, frees believers from sin and death and makes it possible to truly love God and others.
- July 3, 2016 No Condemnation for Those in Christ Jesus Romans 8 reminds us that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in every believer, freeing us from sin and death to love God and others.
- July 3, 2016 Falling Feels Like Flying for a Little While Romans 8 shows believers they are free from sin and death, equipped by the same Spirit who raised Jesus, and called to set their minds on God's love.
- October 7, 2015 WWW Be Right (32) Romans 8 shows us we are not condemned, not slaves to sin, and not alone. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us as we walk by faith toward glory.
Mentioned along the way
- November 20, 2022 Neither Do I Condemn You John 8 shows Jesus facing a trap: condemn a sinful woman or defy Moses. His answer challenges stone-throwers and offers mercy without excusing sin.