We are Not Condemned

Victor Hugo, in his work, The Last Day of a Condemned Man, writes the story of a man sentenced to death, awaiting execution. It opens with the words of the prisoner, “Condemned to death! These five weeks have I dwelt with this idea: always alone with it, always frozen by its presence; always bent under its weight…I am a captive! Bodily in irons in a dungeon, and mentally imprisoned in one idea. One horrible, one hideous, one unconquerable idea! I have only one thought, one conviction, one certitude: Condemned to death! Whatever I do, that frightful thought is always here, like a specter, beside me, solitary and jealous, banishing all else, haunting me forever, and shaking me with its two icy hands whenever I wish to turn my head away, or to close my eyes.” 

“Condemned to death.” He was tried, convicted, and sentenced. The damnatory sentence has already been pronounced. No appeals. No future court dates. Condemned to death. It consumed him because he lived under the weight of that terrible sentence. How awful, condemned to die. Did you know there is already a sentenced passed on you? In Adam, we died. In Adam, we sinned. The damnatory sentence is already passed upon all humanity. Men do not wait to stand before God at the judgment to determine their eternal destiny. You may know John 3:16, but do you know John 3:18 where Jesus said, “that believeth not is condemned already.” The sentence is passed. You are guilty and already convicted. 

But did you know there is a pardon? “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1. There is pardon available. Now. Not to wait and see, not to labor to it. Not to perform community service for God by good works to make up for it. There is free and full pardon. How? In Christ. The first part of  John 3:18 tells the tale, “He that believeth on him is not condemned.” The blessed doctrine of justification by faith, that the Lord Jesus died in the place of sinners, to pay our debt to divine justice, that we may stand, pardoned, our sins paid for, and receive his righteousness as our own. Our sins gone, and we may leave the dungeons of our wickedness, free and clear. There is now, at this present time for the Christian, no condemnation in Christ.  

We are not condemned. Chastisements are not judgments, for we are not condemned. Afflictions are not judgments, for we are not condemned. Trials are not a foretaste of Hell, but mercy in our sanctification. We may be sick, but we are not condemned. We may be poor, but we are not condemned. We may be hungry, but we are not condemned. We may be lonely, but we are not condemned. We may be hated, but we are  not condemned. We may be betrayed by brothers and forgotten by friends, but we are not condemned. 

But doesn't that do harm to justice? It's wonderful news for the condemned man, but what about righteousness? In the book, as far as I can recall, you are never explicitly told what he did. You feel for him. You feel sorry that his young daughter didn’t recognize him the last time he saw her dad. You feel for him as the crowds are lustful for his decapitation. It’s hinted he killed a man in cold blood for no reason. But hey, that’s beside the point Hugo was trying to make. He was against the death penalty and he wants you to think twice about what is happening to the condemned man when he’s about to die. Whether he knew it or not, he was against more than capital punishment. He was also against justice and righteousness. When you fail to punish the guilty, you punish the innocent.

The condemned murder suffered because the weight of his execution was at hand, and that was dreadful —  it was also dreadful for the widow, also sitting home alone, suffering because of the weight of her grief over her murdered husband. It’s sad to think of the condemned man’s little girl — but what if the murdered man also had a little girl and what will that do to her for the rest of her life? What would it do to the little girl to know the man who murdered her daddy was set free to live his life because Victor Hugo was against justice? His book wants to do away with the consequences of sin. Yes, it’s sad a man has to die. But it’s also sad for the murdered man’s family. For society. For justice.

God pardons. God forgives. God sets free. But God also loves justice. God doesn’t let sin slide by. When God forgives, he doesn’t do harm to justice. He doesn’t fail to punish evil. Exodus 34:6-7  tells us the Lord is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,  keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Amen and hallelujah!  God is merciful. God forgives sin! And if you keep reading verse seven, it says the Lord “will by no means clear the guilty.” That’s not good news for sinners, because sinners break God’s law, and are guilty. So how does God forgive sin AND not clear the guilty? The cross.  Jesus died on the cross and took all the guilt and sin of his people. The Father then dealt with Jesus like he was a sinner. Instead of dealing with me like a sinner and punishing my sin, Jesus took my sin and took my place and the Father and punished my sin in Jesus. God didn’t do away with justice or let sin slide. The sinless Christ was my substitute. He bore my sin and sacrificed himself so I may live. On the cross, Jesus paid my debt to justice in full (Psalms 85:10).

No Condemnation

From Octavius Winslow's book, No Condemnation in Christ Jesus

"Christian! There is NOW no condemnation for you. Be yours, then, a present and full joy. “Christ has made atonement and with it God is satisfied. And if so, well may you be satisfied — delighting yourselves greatly in the abundance of peace, going forth even now in the light an liberty of your present enlargement. 

In Christ they were chosen — to Christ they were betrothed — with Christ they were united — by Christ they are saved — and sitting with Christ on His throne, they shall reign with hi for ever and ever. 

It is a mutual in-dwelling — Christ in us, and we in Christ. Here is our security. The believer is in Christ as Jacob was in the garment of the elder brother when Isaac kissed him, and he “smelled the smell of the raiment, and blessed him and said, See, the smell of my son I was the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.” He is in Christ, as the poor homicide was within the city of refuge when pursued by the avenger of blood, but who could not overtake an slay. He is in Christ as Noah was  enclosed within the ark, with the heavens darkening above him, and the waters heaving beneath him, yet with not a drop of the flood penetrating his vessel, nor a blast of the storm disturbing the serenity of his spirit.  How expressive are these scriptural emblems of the perfect security of a b believer in Christ! He is clothed with the garment of the Elder Brother, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Who is unto all, and upon all them that believe.” On that garment the Father’s hands are placed; in that robe the person of the believer is accepted; it is to God :as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed” the blessing of the heavenly birthright is his — and for him there is no condemnation. Pursued by the avenger of blood the threatenings of a condemning law, he has reached the city of refuge, the Lord Jesus Christ. Fearful and trembling, yet believing and hoping, he has crossed the sacred threshold, and in an instant he is safe — and for him there is no condemnation. Fleeing from the gather storm — “the wrath which is to come,” — he has availed himself of the open door of the sacred ark — the crucified Saviour — has entered, God shutting him in and for him, there is no condemnation. 

Yes, Christ Jesus is our sanctuary, beneath whose shadow we are safe. Christ Jesus is our strong tower, within whose embattlements no avenger can threaten. Christ Jesus is our hiding-place from the wind, and covert from the tempest; and no one drop of the “wrath to come” can fall upon the should that is in him. O how completely accepted, and how perfectly secure, the sinner who is in Christ Jesus! He feels he is saved on the basis of a law, whose honor is vindicated; through the clemency of a righteous Sovereign, whose holiness is secured; and through the mercy of a gracious God, the glory of whose moral government is eternally and illustriously exhibited. And now is his head lifted up above his enemies round about him; for there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.  

Reader, are you in Christ Jesus? Is this your condition? We repeat the solemn declaration, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Are you that new creature? Prove, examine, and ascertain. For if you are not born again of the Spirit, be well assured you are still under the curse and sentence of the law. And while condemnation, in dark and gloomy characters is written upon the brow of every unbelieving sinner out of Christ, Christ has said of all who have fled out of themselves to him, He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.” 

Marvel

A marvel is something that stops you and  captures your attention, something that astonishes. The interesting thing about being marveled is it says just as much about the person who is astonished as it does the act. There is quite a bit of marveling in the Scripture.  John 3:4-10, “Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? … Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. … Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?”

Jesus preached truth about regeneration, the new birth. Nicodemus jaw dropped and couldn’t believe what he was hearing, you must be “born again?”. He was astonished. Jesus said, “marvel not.” Jesus in turn, marvels at Nicodemus. “You’re a teacher and you don’t know these things?” The dullness of men and their attitudes toward truth marveled the Lord. In Mark 6:1-6, Jesus traveled with his disciples back home to Nazareth and on the Sabbath, taught in the synagogue. When people heard his message and teaching, they were astonished. Not by the truth. Not by God’s Word. Not by the doctrine. But by Jesus. “That’s a good thing, right?” Sadly, not in this case. They didn’t marvel at the glory of Christ, but found it incredulous that Jesus, of all people, was preaching this truths. “Where did he learn this? Where did this wisdom come from? This carpenter’s son?” Their attitude was the reason why Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” The Lord left Nazareth without doing very many works. Verse six said, “And he marveled because of their unbelief.” The Jews marveled at Jesus preaching and Jesus marveled at their unbelief.

In Matthew 8, a Centurion came to Jesus to ask if he would heal his servant, who was sick in a bad way. Jesus said he would come to his house and heal him. “No need! I’m a man of authority and if I tell my servant to do something, he does it. I’m not worthy to have you enter my home. Speak the Word, Lord, and he’ll be healed. In verse 10, it says, “when Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”  The Lord marveled at the Centurion’s faith, not because he was surprised, but because it was true and Jesus gloried in truth. Grace caught his attention and glorified His Father and rejoiced at the obedience and the worship of this Gentile man. What captures your attention and makes you stand in wonder? Do you marvel at grace or are you suspicious of God’s power to save lost sinners? Many marveled or worshiped the Lord (Matthew 8:27; 9:8; 9:33; John 5:20; 5:28). Some marveled at his doctrine (Mark 12:17; (Luke 20:26). Still others marveled of low expectations (John 7:14-15) or because Jesus because he did something they did not expect him to do, because they expected Jesus to act like themselves (Mark 15:5; Luke 11:38). What is it about the Lord that captures your attention?

In John 4:27, "And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?" 

What the disciples didn’t say says a lot. They didn’t ask the woman what she wanted. They didn’t ask the Lord why he was talking to her, even though they were thinking about it. It arrested their attention and they were astonished. Not by grace but because the Lord’s actions were not what they expected, and not in a good way.

When Jesus didn’t wash his hands before dinner, the Pharisee  marveled. Why? Because Jesus didn’t meet his expectations. The Pharisee had expected to the Lord Jesus to act like he acted. The Pharisee thought washing before dinner to be of the utmost importance and Jesus didn’t do it, so it astonished him. Pilate was used to men groveling and begging and pleading their case not to be executed. But when Jesus, a clearly innocent man didn’t answer, he was shocked. This kind of wonder is what the disciples had. They were shocked by the Lord Jesus. Shocked that Jesus would talk to this woman. Shocked that he had any dealings with her. Shocked because that’s not what they thought the Lord should be doing. 

Rather than marveling at the truth we often will be astonished just when things happen against our expectations. Either someone exceeds our expectations for them or someone doesn't live up to them. But either way, our expectations are the standard. We should follow the Lord’s example and marvel in what is true -  that should be the standard and it should arrest us as sad and incomprehensible when someone rejected the truth of Christ. The disciples marveled that the Lord would even talk to the woman, let alone save her soul. What do you think their reaction was to that? Shocked, no doubt. Are you shocked with the Lord works in someone's life? The disciples didn't expect the Lord to save that woman, or anyone in that area, otherwise, they would have brought others to Jesus, like the woman, when she marveled at the grace of God. 

Repent

I never thought I would read a pro-repentance piece in the New York Times. I suppose repentance is acceptable as long it's from the right sin and to the right god.