Scriptures with Stipulations-There is no Condemnation

December 5, 2024

Scriptures with Stipulations-There is no Condemnation

Throughout the entire Word of God there are so many amazing promises that the Lord has allowed us to take advantage of. He wants us to live a life of abundance with the ability to receive anything that we would ever need, John 10:10. Unfortunately most Christians do not take full advantage of God’s promises because they fail to implement them correctly.

Most of God’s assurances come with stipulations attached to them that we tend to overlook. If you don’t read the Word of God for yourself you will miss the prerequisites that need to be fulfilled so that you can see the Lord’s promises manifesting in your life. A lot of people think that going to church on a Sunday morning once a week is enough to sustain a healthy Christian life. That is far from the truth!

The Word of God is abundantly clear that we are to study to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15), to meditate on the Lord’s Word day and night (Joshua 1:8), and to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Every one of these verses of Scripture requires action on our part and has nothing to do with depending on another person to spoon feed us the Word of God.

This is how a lot of us fail to put the Scriptures into proper context which also leads to us leaving out vital information. Two things that I do that helps me interpret Bible verses is first I ask the Holy Spirit to give me the clarification and then I will read the passages that come before and after the primary verse that I am trying to understand. This helps to put verses of Scripture into proper context.

What that does is allow you to see the full picture of what the Lord is revealing to you regarding a particular passage. I am going to go over an example of a verse of Scripture that contains a stipulation so that you can see what I’m talking about.

Romans 8:1

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

Paul’s letter to the Romans was extremely powerful and this particular passage lets us know that we don’t have to feel shame and guilt for the way that we use to live our lives before we came to know Jesus Christ. There are so many passages of Scripture that reveal to us exactly what the Lord thinks about our past sin.

For example

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Hebrews 8:12 “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Micah 7:19 “He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

Paul is letting us know that there is no more blame for repentant and confessed sin for those that born again believers of Jesus Christ. In fact the Lord wipes it from His memory. Then the Apostle Paul reveals a very important prerequisite attached to the passage of Scripture that I am highlighting.

He lets us know that this particular promise given to us requires that we walk according to the Spirit of God and not by our flesh. What does that look like? There perfect passage of Scripture that I would highly suggest that you get into your spirit is found in the book of Galatians.

Walking by your flesh:

Galatians 5:19-21

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Walking in the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

These verses of Scripture are essential to understanding the difference between walking in the flesh and walking by the Spirit. Make no mistake about it; the Lord takes your walk with Jesus Christ very seriously. He expects His children to follow His commandments and lets it be known that those that choose to walk in their flesh will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Now let’s take a closer look at the passage of Scripture that I am highlighting in the book of Romans.

The word “condemnation” being used is the Greek word “katakrima” which means: damnatory sentence (or eternal punishment in hell). Remember that the Lord no longer remembers your past repented and confessed sin when you are walking by the Spirit of God.

What the devil will do is continuously bring up your past sins and throw them in your face. One of his goals is to make you feel like you can never be forgiven for your past. What that does is make you say “why should I stop sinning if I will never be forgiven anyway?” That is exactly what the enemy wants you to think!

If you are not casting down those thoughts that are contrary to the Word of God, those thoughts will begin to oppress you and build strongholds in your mind. That is not the will of God for your life. Jesus died to set us free not to keep us bound. He doesn’t want you to feel chained up when He already paid your entire sin debt with His own life.

That is why this passage out of the book of Romans is so significant because it tells us definitively that there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ. So if you are hearing thoughts of criticism, blame, and shame you know that they are not from God.

In your Christian life you will fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and that is why it is imperative that you walk by the Spirit of God. The work of the Spirit of God and the Power of God give you the strength to overcome sin and temptation. We are still responsible for abiding by God’s law and taking accountability for our own actions. One of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to lead you into all truth, John 16:13.

The second part of the primary passage of Scripture that I am highlighting in Romans 8:1 reveals to us the key to ensure that you are successfully implementing this particular promise. It states, “…who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” In other words you are continually walking according to the Holy Spirit abiding by the commandments of God.

If you are walking in your flesh: doing what you want to do without feeling convicted, living your life in habitual sin, and not caring about God’s plan for your life then you can expect to feel condemnation. The devil will use every open door that you give him to wreak havoc in your life including oppressive thoughts of your past transgressions.

The Lord will approach your mess-ups in a different way and that is with correction and love. Hebrews 12:6 makes it clear as it reveals, “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” The words “He chastens” being used is the Greek word “paideuō” which means: of a father punishing his son.

Just like your Earthly father will punish you and correct you when you get out of line, your Heavenly Father does the same thing. It feels much different to get correction form the Father versus condemnation from the devil. The Lord’s goal is to align us back to His Word so that we can stay out of harm’s way.

Conclusion

Jesus died so that we would no longer be slaves to sin or the effects of sin. This is part of our inheritance as believers of Jesus Christ. The problem is a lot of Christians do not build their spirit focusing on the things of the Lord. This makes it easy to walk in the flesh and not of the Spirit of God preventing you from receiving the Lord’s promises.

It is so important that each one of us take the time to study and meditate on the Lord’s Word for ourselves. What that does is allows the Holy Spirit to reveal key information that can aid in successfully implement the Lord’s promises.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Scriptures with Stipulations-He is Your Peace

Scriptures with Stipulations-You Will be the Head and not the Tail

Scriptures with Stipulations-Resist the Devil

Scriptures with Stipulations-Trust the Lord with all of your heart

Scriptures with Stipulations-Seeking God’s Kingdom

Scriptures with Stipulations-No Weapon Formed will Prosper

Scriptures with Stipulations-All Things Work Together For Your Good

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds

What are Spiritual Strongholds?

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 2

The Spiritual Laws of God-Restoration

The Spiritual Laws of God-The General Principles

The Spiritual Laws of God-The Power of Your Tongue!

The Spiritual Laws of God-Having an Understanding

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