Romans 8:33,34 “Freed”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

³³Who will bring a charge against [the] elect of God? God [is] the One justifying. ³⁴Who [is] the one condemning? Christ is the One who died, rather even was raised from death; who is also to the right hand of God; who also is interceding on behalf of us.

Before I move on, there is one application of these verses which I have found enormously helpful over the years, and which I’d like to share in the event it might prove helpful to someone else. These two verses take us back to our opening verse of chapter 8: “There is therefore no condemnation to them that in Christ Jesus…” No condemnation. From who? From God Himself. No condemnation.

And once again, why is that important to know? Because we have the devil himself accusing us day and night, we live in a world filled with judgmental, critical people who would suck the very blood out of our existence, and then we have to live under the endless torture of our own consciences constantly reminding us of all our sins and failures.

I have tried to say often how important it is for us Christians to be deliberate encouragers, specifically because the people we work and live with are instead barraged constantly with criticism, sarcasm, and outright putdowns. For most of them, it is a very rare experience to have someone actually acknowledge them for the things they do right, the things they do well. Christians of all people ought to be the ones who can, like Jesus, look past people’s failures or weaknesses and actually value the person themself.

However, most importantly right now, I want to think about how that same critical, sarcastic world affects you and me. Basically, can we all be honest and admit that where it leaves us is constantly being tempted to worry “what do they think of me?” We worry about what others think of what we wear, which car we drive, what kind of house we live in, what kind of vacations we take. When we walk into a room full of people, we worry about whether they “like me or not.” I would suggest it is generally true, the reason why most people don’t like public speaking is for exactly this reason, that we worry to much about “what they think of me.”

Now consider our verses again: “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God who justifies. And who is he that condemns? It is Christ who has died, moreover who has risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, interceding for us.” So, when we turn to the Bible, we find this truth, that “God is for us.” We find that “There is therefore no condemnation to them that in Christ Jesus…”

Jesus stepped down into this condemning world and John tells us, “God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (3:17). The entire Plan of Redemption coming down from the heart of God is to save you and me from condemnation. As v.34 is reminding us, in Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and intercession, we are “accepted in the Beloved.”

In this same condemning world in which you and I live, what did Paul think all of this meant for him? Consider his words in I Cor. 4:3,4: “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” Paul took no account of others’ accusations. And not only that, he took no account of his own! “It is the Lord who judges me.”

Paul actually believed what he is writing to us in Romans 8:33,34. “There is, therefore, no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” This truth that “God is for us” allowed Paul to live in this condemning world, but to rise above it. Notice even what he says in the words, “I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” What is he saying? As far as he knows, his conscience is clear. As far as he knows, he’s “caught up” acknowledging his sins. However, all of that does not make him innocent. None of it means anything when it comes to this condemnation business. And why? Because “the Lord is my judge.”

The Lord knows it all. He sees it all. He knows the absolute truth of who we are and what we’ve done. He is the only One who truly knows whether we are “innocent” or not. And who is He? “It is God that justifies.” He is the very One who has declared you and me to be righteous in His eyes – not because we are, but because Jesus paid it all. Jesus took our condemnation.

So now, it isn’t a matter that I don’t fail. It isn’t a matter that somehow I need to hide from God and the world all my sins and failures. It is a matter that, in my relationship with God, His response is not to condemn me. No, His entire intention, as we learned in vv. 28,29, was that “we should be conformed to the image of His Son.” As Jesus said to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” Like any good parent and their child, even correction itself is not about condemnation, it is about redemption. Jesus didn’t come to condemn us. He came to fix us. Even His discipline is intended to “Yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness, for those who are exercised by it” (Heb. 12:11).

So then, God is my judge. Not the devil. Not other people. Not even myself. What matters is what God thinks of me. As far as my sins, He doesn’t “condemn” me for them, He would help us rise out of them. And back to the pig and the lamb; although pigs may love to wallow in mud, sheep do not. Sheep may fall in the mud. Perhaps on a hot day, they might for a brief time even enjoy the cool mud, but they cannot stay there. A sheep is not a pig. And so it is with us.

These wonderful truths would actually liberate you and me from all of the condemnation of this world, including even our own, even the truth of our sins and failures. All of it. So then, what shall we do with this, “What do they think of me?” It.does.not.matter. What matters is what God thinks of me.

I find all of this gloriously liberating! Years ago I was asked to speak to a Rotary Lunch group. I told an older Christian man that I was definitely nervous about it. His response was, “That’s because you’re worried about what they’ll think of you. You need to put all of that out of your mind and focus completely on what you give to them. Give them the best presentation you know how and leave it up to God what they think of you when it’s over.” I took his advice and really did enjoy the speaking. I hope they did too, but then, that doesn’t matter! For several years after that, every time I was asked to speak, I would have to invest some serious prayer in asking the Lord to help me forget myself and just give the people the best message I could. Somewhere along the way, I actually completely lost any fear at all for public speaking, and, to this day, can honestly say I enjoy it.

Now, when I walk into that room full of people and I’m tempted to worry “What do they think of me?” I can instead just say, “Lord, help me to love these people. Help me to be interested in them. Help me to forget myself and just be what You want me to be.” And time and time again, He does just that. He does help me. I can walk away later and actually be glad for the conversations I had, and that not because I think I did a good job, but rather because the Lord helped me. Once again, though, what would enable you and me to live above ourselves is knowing that, no matter what, God loves me and He’s for me. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus!

May you and I every day learn to more and more concern ourselves with what God thinks of us, not anyone else. In II Cor. 5:15, it says Jesus “died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and rose again.” May the assurance of His love free us to be people of love!