In this piece we are going to look at something very serious, something very important. And I want us to open our hearts to what God wants to share with us. We are going to be considering the “Law of Condemnation.” These two words are combined together in a manner that could be scary. But let's look at it; is it something to be scared or something to be excited about?
When we look at the word law, we are familiar with it. It talks about the rules. It talks about something that cannot be bent. When you see a ruler, for instance, the ruler is straight; you can’t bend it. One of the reasons that makes it a ruler is that it is something that establishes order. Now, we are combining it with a strange word that is called Condemnation. When you condemn, it is different from when you criticize.
Usually where you criticize, you can just complain about something that somebody is doing or some people are doing that you're not happy with. You just pass your opinion. But when you condemn, you pass judgment. Condemnation is a strong disapproval. It's almost like sending someone on a journey of no return; you damn the consequences, why? The person or the activity is condemned by you. So, tonight, we want to look at the law of Condemnation. And we start from a very familiar Scripture to all of us in the Book of Romans chapter 8, And we'll read from verse 1 and we will stop in verse 3. The Bible says; “There is therefore now”, in other words; at this moment that we are speaking, not 23 years ago; at this moment that we are reading this, it has been said that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, it’s not just what has been said that you hear and hear, it is what is being said at this time that this matter is being discussed.
The Bible says; “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 Spirits, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus as made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak, through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin, He condemned sin in the flesh. He made sin of no importance or no significance in the flesh.”
Now, we will appreciate what Apostle Paul shared with us in verse one to verse three, if only we can begin our meditation, maybe from chapter five. We read chapter six, chapter seven, and then we have a good background for what Apostle Paul was sharing in chapter eight, verse one. Having taken us through an experience of his own life, his own experience growing as a as a believer, as a disciple of Jesus, he came to a point that he concluded that there is no more Condemnation, because I would like us to read Romans chapter seven, the last few verses, maybe from verse 21, so that we appreciate what Apostle Paul started with in chapter eight verse one. Apostle Paul wrote, he said; “I find then a law that is evil”, no wonder we are looking at Condemnation not as a matter but as a law. Not as perhaps an issue. But we are looking at it as a law.
He said, ‘I find then a law’, that evil is present with me– the one who wish to do good. He said; “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members, O wretched man that I am, who we deliver me from this body of deaths. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, with the mind, I myself, serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin.”
He then came to chapter eight verse one and said; “There is therefore now no Condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Christ, Jesus was instituted by God as the means of stopping Condemnation for any human. Without Christ being applied upon a man, a man is in a Condemnation already. A man is subject to Condemnation– the law of the Condemnation without Christ. What excuses us from Condemnation is not our age or how long we have been saying, there is one God. It is not about how much of school or education we have accumulated in life. It is about Christ. It is in Christ that there is no Condemnation.
Now, there is a reason why I wanted us to see that. We'll come back to this Romans, chapter seven, chapter six, and chapter eight will be our basic text. But let's go to one or two Scriptures before coming back to the basic text. John, chapter three. Another Scripture that many of us read over and over when we were much younger. John chapter three, and I will read from verse 16-17. It says; “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the ward to condemn the world.” Please do we remember where the Son was sent to? Remember from where we just read now? The Son was sent to the world. The Son was not sent to the church. Do we get that? The Son was sent to the world, it was the world that was in need, that the Son was sent.
Like everyone was condemned, prior to the emergence of Jesus. Prior to the coming of Jesus, everyone was subject to the law of Condemnation. Do we see that? And then the Bible says, “For God, so loved the world”, and because God loved the world, see what verse 17 says; “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world.” God actually sent his Son to the world, but the purpose was not to condemn the world. So, when the world is condemned, it is not the primary purpose of Jesus. Assuming, you know, they say when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable.
If you don't know the purpose of Jesus in your life, you will abuse Jesus that is in your life. The coming of Jesus in your life is not to make your life in a way miserable, or condemnable. It is not so that you can be condemned. Jesus was not sent to you, your family, whatever you are into, because God wants to condemn you. The coming of Jesus is not for your Condemnation that’s the point. It says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the World, But that the world true Him, that is; through Jesus might be saved.” Look at it in John chapter three, we are reading from verse 18, downward. It says, “He who believes in Him is not condemned.”
If we ask ourselves this question; Do I believe in Jesus as the Son of God? The Bible says, If I do, I am not condemned. There are some strong words that I hope will come later on, not to make us feel bad but to help us but I trust the Holy Spirit to make them happen. ‘He says he who believe’, without putting or removing anybody's name. It says, “He who believe in him is not condemned. But who does not believe is condemned already. Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the Condemnation, that the Light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than the lights.” ‘This is the Condemnation. But if you don't want to be subject to the law’. Can you begin to see why we call Condemnation a law. He says, if you believe! Do we know how laws are presented? There could be a law that says anybody that is younger than 35 years, must never become the president of a nation.
So, you are 34 or 33 and then you pretend to be 35. And then you apply. And then they vote you in, and then somebody now finds out that you are not 35, you are 32. I'm not mentioning somebody's name or any situation, and then they take you to court, they subject your life, your activity, what you have done to the law. And so, this is what has been written that should be done or acceptable. But this man has lied and has not done it. Therefore, disqualify him.
So, when the person is disqualified, it is the law that disqualifies not the people that took him to the court. So, it is the Lord that determines our experiences. If the Lord dictates what we should do, we are not expected to do otherwise. So, there are conditions. For Condemnation there are conditions for it. You can't just get condemned because somebody wants to condemn you. The point is, somebody cannot say I don't love you. You are condemned. I love you. You are not condemned. People can appropriate Condemnation on you. This is how a man get condemned, this is how a man is free from Condemnation. It says; He who believes in Him. That is; the one that the Father sent is not condemned. But he who does not believe in Him, is condemned already. The law of Condemnation takes effect on that man.
There is no need for an assembly to be called. There is no need for voting. There is no need for any consideration council. Let's deliberate, we want to deliberate whether we should condemn or not. No! What condemns him is that he does not believe in Him. It is not subject to council decision. It is not subject to the association of elders. The elders cannot sit and say we condemn you. What condemns you is that you don't believe in Jesus as the Son of God. Now, if you believe in Jesus as the Son of God, you are not condemned. Now, there's a Scripture where a woman was found in the very act of adultery. You know, a preacher recently said, and people have said it actually many times, like where was the brother, when they caught the woman? They say it takes two to tangle. But you caught one woman, and you say in the very act of adultery, okay.
Now the law of Moses says, when you find somebody like that stone the person and kill, so they expected Jesus who said He is the Son of God, and they know Moses was a servant of God, to also execute the judgment of God. So, they brought him to Jesus.
And I think this is where the mistake comes from. You know, they should have sentenced her on their own. Where the mistake started from is that they brought her to Jesus. Have we realized where Jesus says; any one that comes to me shall in any wise be castaway. All that you brought to me; I have kept except the son of perdition. So, they brought her to Jesus and said; This is what the law says, what do you say? And we all knew the story, Jesus bent down, and he was writing on the ground and ask them, any one of you who has not committed a sin, let him be the first to condemn her.
And Bible says from the eldest, the scholar, to the least, the ignorant people. They all started going. And when there was no one left, Jesus said, where are your accusers? Those who condemn you? She said, she can't find them and Jesus said neither do I condemn you. Because when you condemn something, then it means you have terminated its existence. This thing shall no longer be useful for anything again. So, it is condemned. Have you ever condemned a bulb in your house before and then suddenly, the bulb finds itself maybe in your house again? Once you condemn something, you trash it, you destroy it, you throw it away.
So, when you are condemned, that means it is assumed that God does not have any use for you again. Jesus said, neither do I condemn you. Without Jesus, for that woman, she was doomed. She was meant for Condemnation. She was caught in the act; the law of Condemnation would ordinarily take effect on her life. But, the difference from her life from any other life was that she was presented to Jesus. Because we must understand the responsibility or the duty of Jesus in our lives. There has been God across generations. The Son of God never came in the form of man until Jesus came. So, what was the essence or why was that done? Every time people sin in those days, God will judge them. Many of us today we get agitated when we see corruption around us and we wish for the days when Jesus has not come to the earth. How long did it take God to punish people in those days? A sin was found in the camp by one person. The nation is defeated in front of their enemies. Do we still remember the story of Achan? There is so much see now in our churches in our societies, and we still think we are fine. Some of us are desiring those days.
The issue is that Jesus had come. Look at it, John 3:16, It says; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in that Son, what will happen? Will not perish but will have what? Everlasting Life.” Another word is shall be saved. The question is; saved from what? Saved from Condemnation. Without Jesus being sent into our lives, we are meant to be condemned. It's just a matter of time we would have become like chicken, that people just feed. I'm sure we know that in prisons where condemned, prisoners are, they still give them food, they give them food, awaiting the date of their execution. One day they will kill them. But before that time, they eat and go, they drink water. They don't allow them to go out.
Sometimes they send other prisoners to the forest to cut bush to do labor. There are prisoners they sentence to several years in prison with hard labor, have you seen prisoners that do painting? They do all manner of jobs. But they don't allow the condemned to do anything because they can escape. When somebody is condemned, the person is just merely surviving until death, because it’s a death issue. So, whether we were meant to be dead, the consequences of our sins, Jesus came as a means to save us from that Condemnation.
So, you can't be in Christ, at the same time, be crying condemned. You can't be in Christ at the same time be feeling condemned, otherwise there is something wrong with the Christ, that you have received or that you are in. If it is the Christ, don't forget, Jesus said, false Christ will come. Then there will be different people that will call themselves Christ, you could have believed those other things. But if it is Christ, the Son of God that you have believed, there must be no Condemnation for you.
Now, before we go back to that Romans, let's look at 2 Corinthians, we'll read chapter five, and from verse 16 to verse 21. See what the Bible says, “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet, now we know thus no longer Therefore, if anyone is in Christ; does that mean everyone is in Christ? He says, “‘if’”, it is a conditional word, if anyone; it doesn't matter, his age, or her age, it doesn't matter education, it doesn't matter everything. It doesn't matter where the person is working. He says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, including the Condemnation. Behold all things have become new.”
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us who are been reconciled the ministry of reconciliation, that is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them and as committed to us, the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors of Christ, as though God was pleading to us. We implore you in Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him; in Christ Jesus. If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old things are passed away, by what means, by what power? by Christ Jesus.
So, therefore, if any man is not in Christ Jesus, He is not a new creation, the old things have not passed away, nothing has become new in his or her life. So, your difference is not just that you go to church, your difference is Christ your difference is that you are in Christ. And I want to ask a very brief question and I want us to give the answer as quietly as we can. How many of us here is a member of Dangote family? How many of us here is a member of Adeboye family?
So, if we begin to count, we can count up to 1 million names and we will still say no. Why? We are not a member of their family. If you are not in Adeboye family, you are not in Oyedepo family, you are not in Kumuyi family, you cannot wish it. Therefore, if anyone is not in that family, such a person cannot behave like those people in the family. Is it understood? Another thing is important. The fact that Adeboye, Kumuyi or any other families’ children or member of the family behave in a manner that is not okay. And they do mistakes or commit error or they are very stubborn, they don't listen quick; does this stop that member of the family from being a member of their family?
How many of us when we were growing up, we never wronged our parents? I'm like we do it almost every week or every day, but did we lose our sonship because of that? What can make the Williams family to delete, deregister or disown a member of that family? Sincerely and practically; on what basis can a member of the William's family maybe a son or a daughter stop being a son or a daughter of that family? On what basis will such a decision become legally binding?
Stopping your membership in a family comes by public renouncement of your membership of that family. So, how many of us have publicly renounced Jesus? To get out of Jesus is not something so simple. Until you do that, you are not condemned. You can do mistake. Jesus can appear to you in a dream and give you a direct instruction and you don't do it immediately. And then the third day comes to you and say I told you last week to do this. How comes you have not done it? He will never stop being your father because you didn't listen to him. The devil has given us the impression that when we are walking and we mistakenly hit our leg and we fall down that stops our membership of Christ. That you fail does not stop you from being a son. That you messed up your body does not stop you from being a son. I'm sure we know that when people grow up very well, they stop bedwetting?
Have you never heard of any adult that mistakenly bed wet? It doesn't happen often but you mistakenly did it. Will the father of that daughter or that man say, you bed wet at 22 I stop to be your father from today. It doesn't work like that. Let the devil not play on our minds that it is so quick to get out of Christ. It is not so quick. And as long as you are in Christ, you believe in Jesus, like you can die for Jesus, you can live for Jesus, you believe that Jesus is not just a man somewhere, He is the Son of God. So, believe that you are not condemned.
Can we remember the story of Peter? If we compare Peter to Judas, we will see somebody that publicly denounced Jesus. Judas went to those people and said those things you were talking about; you need Jesus? How much will you pay me to give you Jesus? It was a council meeting. So, he did it in public. What does it mean to betray somebody? It means to disown! The person is existing but you are breaking your affinity with the person. He said, how much do you pay me to renounce my membership of Christ? They said 30 shekels of silver. He collected it and he took them to Jesus and they arrested Jesus.
Once Jesus was arrested, was he thinking he will still continue to follow Jesus? No. He who brought the prosecutors to Jesus was not thinking that he will continue as a disciple of Jesus. Actually, the moment he betrayed Jesus he discontinued his discipleship, he discontinued his membership of Christ; It’s like forget me, count me out of Jesus. Anytime they are calling Jesus Please don't call my name again. What did Jesus do for self? So, he made it public.
Now, when Peter did his own, I think it was in public. What's the difference? The message is clear. These two scenarios are very obvious. Two of them did it in public, right? But one did it with the intention to terminate membership of the family. The other one, when he was asked why he did it, he will tell us he was really afraid. As a member of a family, it is possible for us to be afraid, and we do something stupid? So that still means when we make mistakes like that, it doesn't stop our membership of Christ. Because Jesus had already told him, Satan is seeking you. He wants to sift you away. But I've prayed for you. And when you return, strengthen the other people.
Just as Jesus told him, that before the cock crow, you will deny me three times. The moment he did it for the third time and he heard the sound. Immediately he came to himself; what my LORD said, has come to pass. Did you see something like that in Judas? So, one was not planning to terminate relationship, the other one terminated it. I think that's the difference. That's why for you to be condemned. There's so much involved; it’s not just that you commit an error. There must be an intention in you that you don't want to have anything to do with God again, God has disappointed you enough. You want to be your own god. Do we understand?
So, in case we do something mistakenly don't begin to sit down on that error and say because of this reason, God has no plan for you again. It’s not true. God has plan for you. You are the only one that can delete that plan. You go to the public or you make it known. By saying You people never link me to God again. Until you do that you are link to God and you're a member of the family of Christ. And if you are in Christ Jesus, you are a new creation. The power of God we continuously be at work in you, making you to live a life that is above the law of sin. There's so much that is written in Romans chapter seven.
Apostle Paul was complaining about the experiences but he concluded by saying, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ. So, the solution for him to live a life that is not subject to the law of sin and death was Christ Jesus. His escape was Christ. Because when Christ is at work in you, as long as you are in Christ Jesus, the Spirit of Christ will be infusing you with the life of Christ. You will not be struggling to sin, because Apostle Paul was like, can we continue to sin and say grace should abound? From chapter six. And he began to talk about how he didn't even know anything about sin until the law came. He said I didn’t know anything about covetousness, until the law says do not covet. But now instead of him to take advantage of the knowledge of the law, sin began to walk in him. Let's paint a scenario. You just got a job in CBN and you are a brother. And as a brother, you just believe the right thing is the right thing.
Then suddenly some people now came to meet you and say you are brother, please don’t steal money. It’s against Jesus that you steal money. So, please don't steal money in this CBN. Of course, before you came you knew that you were not supposed to steal. But since they told you, every time you now see money, you remember what they said; it’s not God, it’s not the Holy Spirit telling you. It is what they said that comes to haunt you. And then from that ‘don’t steal money’, the devil begins to enlarge, magnify, subtract and delete and do this before you know it. You that You never thought about money as a believer. It is now that you are beginning to think about money. That's why law without the spirit is deadly.
Some people did research I think the white people, they said sometimes when you want to tell your children not to do something, tell them to do it. When you say don't touch it. They don't understand ‘don't touch it’ so they touch it. So, sometimes some people will find it convenient. Just tell them touch it. What you tell people not to do, that’s what they want to do.
That's why law on its own does not produce righteousness. It is because the law is weak. That is why Christ was sent. Otherwise, we will be fine with the law. But that woman that was caught in the very act of adultery had the law, she knew the law. She never screamed, please save me I never knew it’s a sin or its unlawful. she didn't say that, she was quiet. So, the knowledge of the law does not stop you from sinning. It doesn't help you. How many criminals today in Nigeria that commit criminalities, how many politicians that steal, how many criminals that do armed robbery, kidnapping, who does not know the consequences when they are caught? Some sins in Nigeria comes with life imprisonment, people will still do it. So, that there is law does not stop people from doing things.
There's a way Apostle Paul puts it here in Romans chapter eight, verse two. He says, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, it looks like a long phrase, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life. It is a spirit but the Spirit of life. And that Spirit of life is located in Christ Jesus, and it’s a Spirit that produces life. It makes me to live.
The law says don't do, the law of the Spirit of life makes you to do the right thing. The Holy Spirit doesn't go about telling you the 91 things you must never do today. He tells you the three things you will do today and He will help you to do it. So, let's look at when we were yet sinners and immature members of Christ. We used to go to churches in those days, maybe Anglican Church, Methodist church and we were like 17, 15 years of age, all those times. And when we come to children church, like me myself in those days, Sunday school starts by 9, I'll get to church by 11 and then the service will finish by 1 Sometimes, they will take all manner of offerings, the entire church will dance forward, and then they'll come back. They will do it for all the offerings. So, we come by 11 and leave by 12 and the entire one hour we talk and laugh in the church, we get out of the church, we'll go to one place where they are doing movie, we will start watching a film, we pay money, and then we will come back home.
So, we were Christians, in those days, we knew the things that we're not supposed to be done by us. But the truth is, did we stop doing them? No! So, having the knowledge of the law, and calling yourself I am a member of Christ and in reality, you are not in Christ. It doesn't produce ability to live above sin in you. You will know the sin and you will still commit it. But when you come into Christ's, that's why the Bible says. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, the old things have passed away. When you read Romans, chapter seven, chapter 80, it will show you how you can no longer sin again, because you are no more a slave of sin. You are no more obeying sin to do the lust of the sin, you are now a slave of righteousness. You now obey God.
Apostle Paul said there is a law that is working contrary in him and another law that is working for him. But when Christ Jesus is at work in you it produces the life that God expects from you. You are no more sin conscious. You're walking in the newness of life. Thanks be to God, through Christ Jesus. Without Christ, we are helpless, condemned and doomed. In Christ Jesus, we are not condemned. Although the Bible says a righteous man falls seven times, he rises up again. When there is Condemnation, there is no rising up. Nobody rises up from Condemnation.
If you condemn a child, you have broken all the self -esteem of that child. When you tell your child I know you can do it, I know you made the mistakes, don't worry, you'll do it better the next time. So, next time when you get to this point, don't do this, do this and it will help you but all you just do is to be condemning. If you come to southwest or you come to southern part of Nigeria or the west you will see people that condemned their children.
I don’t easily hear Condemnation in the north. It’s like northern parents don't curse their children. If you come to some southern parts of Nigeria, any small thing, it is curse. Some people we go beyond Cursing children, they will still curse their children, curse their husbands, curse their wives. Like nothing good can ever come. Nothing good will come. You said it.
So, does it mean that people will not disappoint you or fail you or wrong you? They will but you are not to condemn them otherwise, don't expect anything good from those who have condemned. Once you condemn you forget, you delete? Do we understand? In the same manner God does not condemn you in Christ Jesus. He gives you the benefits of second chance. He tells himself that you will do better next time.
The Scripture says in Habakkuk 3:17, says “Though the fig tree may not blossom nor fruit be on the vine, though the labor of the olives may fail and the fields yield no food. Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no stead in the stores. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
Do we see the Spirit of those two verses? It says the fig tree. So, in our relationships, there may be no fig tree. There could be somebody in your life that is not blossoming. It says though the labor of the olive may fail. Some people may be failing you in their efforts. There may be no results to show for certain things, but the Bible says yet you are expected to rejoice. So don't condemn somebody rejoice over the person.
So, your husband has done something that is not impressing you, instead of condemning him, that you will never impress me ever in your life, Rejoice! Do we understand? So don't give up, rejoice! There are certain things that you thought I could not do. Rejoice. Although my beginning may be small, my latter end shall greatly increase. Do we understand? That's how God is seeing us. Today we may be making little mistakes. God knows tomorrow we will be great in his hands. So, God is rejoicing over us. And as God is rejoicing, the strength of the Lord is supplied to us, we're able to go further.
