Not Guilty

Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

I have heard it said a time or two by well-meaning Christians that they finally found true freedom in the Christian life by not feeling guilty all the time. Should a Christian ever feel guilty? Does the devil make us feel guilty, or is it the Holy Spirit?

Anytime a person is guilty they should feel guilty. It is actually a blessing to feel guilty. Paul said in II Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” It is true the devil can make us feel guilty when we are not. This kind of false guilt or sorrow does work death. The Holy Spirit has the job of convicting us of sin, however.

The thing that every Christian needs to know is—where do I stand? Can we have assurance that we are right with God? Should we just relax and not worry about it? With our eternal destiny in mind, we need a solid answer from God’s Word.

Romans chapter 8 follows a long discussion about this very thing. Some read chapter 7 and come to the conclusion that we are all wretched, and will not be delivered from this dilemma until we die. In Romans 8 we have a clear answer that gives us true peace of mind.

Romans 8:1 talks of a people who are not condemned. This is a wonderful condition to be in. It is a blessing from the Lord. There are two parts to this position. These people are in Christ Jesus. They are also walking after the Spirit. To be in Christ Jesus is to have a relationship with Him. In that relationship, He is the Savior and we are the saved. This comes about when we meet Him at the cross. He takes our place—He dies in our place. Death is the punishment for sin. We should die for our sins. If we by faith accept this replacement, we shall have it. We must believe and trust that it is real. With this believing and trusting we must repent or turn from our sinful life. Jesus not only wants us to be free from death, but to be free from sin. If we continue to sin after this meeting at the cross, we nullify the salvation that we had. The only hope is that we can come to the cross again and find his death to replace our death.

Any sin, any time always requires the death penalty. The one that stands not condemned, or not guilty, is not only in Christ, but is walking after the Spirit. A continual walk keeps us from sinning. This walk is called the way of holiness (Isaiah 35:8). God created man holy, and does everything needed to return him to holiness.

A further study of Romans 8 supports these thoughts. Verse two tells of the Spiritual life in Christ Jesus. Verse three condemns sin in the flesh. Verse four says that we can fulfill the righteousness of the law by walking after the Spirit. We can be righteous or holy. Verse six talks about the carnal mind and the spiritual mind. Verse thirteen tells us there is a continuous life experience of walking after the Spirit, where the Spirit helps us mortify, or kill, the deeds of the body. Verse sixteen says that the Spirit affirms to us that we are children of God. 

Be in Christ! Walk after the Spirit! The result: NOT GUILTY!