We belong to Christ, and not to sin.

 

Rom 8: 1 – 2: 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.

 

Those who love and follow Jesus are always aware that it remains a struggle to be obedient to Christ. For some this struggle is so disappointing that they become frustrated, and it takes the joy from their walk with the Lord.

 

For everyone who is aware of this challenge, the comforting message is: You do not belong to sin. The Bible teaches that, those who come to Christ, are forgiven. We are now free. We may be sinners, but we do not belong to sin! For us, there is no condemnation.

The word for condemnation in Rom 8: 1 does not only refer to judgment. It can also refer to a piece of land on which there is a “land-claim” by some other than the current owner. Our struggle against sin may cause us to feel that although we confess to only belong to Jesus, sin still has a claim on our lives. Sin is struggling to reclaim ownership of our lives.

It is exactly against that experience that Romans 8 speaks and teaches. Paul says that we do not belong to sin, because Christ has set us free. The law that gives power to sin no longer has any jurisdiction over us. We belong to Jesus and not to a law. We belong to Jesus and not to evil or the evil works of darkness. If I belong to Jesus, I am free from the claims of darkness in my life.

I have been united with Christ. Because I belong to him, God sees me as someone who belongs to Christ and not as a slave of either sin or the law. God says, if you belong to my Son, my Son has set you free – he carried your punishment and he claims ownership of your life. God says, if you belong to my Son, I claim you for myself!

This is why we are God’s sons and daughters, with all the privileges associated with being God’s children. We know Jesus as Saviour and God as Father. We know that we do not belong to sin. We take John 1:12 seriously: “But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name.”

Christ has set me free. This is the truth of God’s Word. What we still need is a new self-image based on the truth of God's Word, and not one based on what we feel. It does not matter what I feel, and how helpless I sometimes feel because of my old nature that will taunt me till the day I die.

My self-image is based on what God said about me, and not by what I feel about me.

And God says I do not belong to sin. I do not belong to evil. I do not belong to the law. I belong to my faithful Saviour, Jesus Christ. I am free, because Christ has set me free, and he only may claim ownership of me!

May we remain joyful and glad in the certain knowledge that we belong to Christ.