Have you ever had an accusing finger pointed at you? If not, you havenâ..t been reading Romans closely, for Paul does nothing if not point out our sins. But while with one hand he points an accusing finger at us, with another, he points at the Savior.Â

Today, weâ..re going to look at Romans 8.1-4. To interpret these verses correctly, we need to remind ourselves of the question Paul asks and answers in Romans 7.24-25: â..Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to Godâ..through Jesus Christ our Lord!â. Remember, throughout Romans 7, Paul highlights the inability of the law to do anything but make our sin â..utterly sinful,â. as he puts it in verse 13. Since we cannot rescue ourselves by perfect moral obedience to Godâ..s law, our salvation must come from outside ourselves, from beyond our own efforts. Romans 8.1-4 points us to our Savior, Jesus:Â

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. The first few words of this passage are all-important. â..there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.â. Although at one point in our lives, the accusing finger rightly pointed at us, now it does so no longer. Why? Because through faith we are â..in Christ Jesus.â. Through faith, each of us has a B.C. and A.D. life: â..before Christâ. and â..after [his] death.â. Before Christ, when measured against the yardstick of Godâ..s law, we came up woefully short. But â..after [Christâ..s] death,â. we measure up, if we put our faith in him.Â

Christ, you see, is not merely a wonderful human teacher. He is Godâ..s â..own Son in the likeness of sinful man.â. In other words, he is God Incarnate, â..in the flesh.â. As God-in-the-flesh, Jesus willingly became a â..sin offeringâ. for us. He died for our sins and in our place. This death effected a great transfer: our sinfulness to him, his innocence to us. So, Paul can say, â..now no condemnation.â. Christ is uncondemnable, and so are we, if we are in Christ.Â

Paul also highlights Godâ..s other gift to us. Not merely his Son, but also his Spirit. Through Christ, â..the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.â. Also through Christ, we no longer live â..according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.â. Christâ..s death takes away the accusing finger pointed at us. But Godâ..s Spirit works within us to progressively eliminate the sin that still contaminates us.Â

No condemnation. No contamination. All because of Christ.