On what basis is there no condemnation for the believer?
There is no condemnation because the believer is justified by faith, because Christ died, was buried, and rose from the dead, and because this was accomplished as God’s work, not by human energy. It rests on what God did, not on fleshly effort or works.
Les teaches that chapter 8 follows the struggle of the previous seven chapters, where the cry is, 'How can I be delivered from this body of sin?' because the things he would, he does not do, and the things he should not do, he does. Les explains that the 'therefore' gathers up everything from those chapters, and the conclusion is that there is now no condemnation. He notes that many professing Christians cannot accept this kind of security; they say you must work, strive, and be careful or you will lose it. But Les points out that this leaves them in perpetual insecurity, since no one has the wherewithal to hang on of himself. The basis is that we have been justified by faith, that Christ died and was buried and rose from the dead, and that all this was accomplished as an act of God. We had nothing of our own energy in it, and there was nothing we could do in the flesh; it was all the work of God. Faith is invisible, something you do not work at.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
More Questions
On what basis is there now no condemnation for those in Christ?
There is no condemnation because we have been justified by faith, because Christ died, was buried, and rose from the dead, and because all of this was accomplished as an act of God in which we contributed nothing in the flesh.
Why do some Christians reject the teaching that there is no condemnation for believers?
Many people who claim to be Christians cannot accept the security of "no condemnation"; they insist you must work and strive and be careful or you will lose your salvation.