“NOW” No Condemnation

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. … For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. … The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Rom. 8:1,14, 16)

Having no guilt before the judgment seat of God is not earned by being obedient to a set of by-laws and constitutions, or by believing a prescribed set of religious dogmas, nor by joining oneself to a church covenant. “No condemnation” before the eternal Judge can only be pronounced when one is found to be “in Christ Jesus.” Only under the cover of the blood of the Lamb of God is one beheld guiltless through the eyes of the Father. When is one discovered with “no condemnation”? “NOW”!!! The second he is under the blood there is “no condemnation” upon him. It is not some future, maybe, hope so, wait and see date. It is right now present tense.

According to Scripture “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” (I Cor. 15:50) This old fleshly man cannot enter into the heavenlies because it is born of sinful Adam. Thus, the heavenly Father must give birth to a new creature out of Him and possessing His nature. This is why Jesus told Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.” Well, what is born out of the Spirit of God? It is not the fleshly man, but the new creature wrought through the innocent sacrificial blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not of flesh and blood; it is out of the grace of the Father, through the sacrifice of the Son, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. This new creature has none of the sinful fleshly nature of man. It is all of God.

Therefore, it is written: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, … Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (I Jn. 3:2, 9) Who does not commit sin? It is he that is born of God, not the fleshly man but the spiritual man. Since the spirit man is born out of God in the present, he is NOW the son of God; and since he that is born of God (the inner man) cannot commit sin, he is found NOW in the present with “no condemnation.” He is of the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and walks after the Spirit. How is all this possible? It is because he is “in Christ Jesus,” who was obedient unto death.