Sin condemned in the flesh (Romans 8:1-4)

These are some of the clearest verses of how God saves His people through His son, Jesus Christ. We could arguably say that for the last seven chapters of Romans, Paul has been leading up to these next four verses in Romans 8:1-4 where we see there is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus. And Paul goes on to explain why this is the case that we have been saved and changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, even from in chapter seven where the Spirit had changed Paul’s relationship to the Law and made him run to Christ. Now Paul lives by the Spirit and through his faith in Jesus Christ there is now no judgment, no separation from sin between he and God. And as he goes on, he shares with us that this happens because God had punished and placed the consequences of sin on His own son, condemning sin in the flesh by the broken body and blood of Jesus, in order that we can be set free and released from those things that we have done in our body which are not of God. Jesus being punished in our place as we see very clearly with Barabbas at the sentencing of Jesus by Pilate. We give God glory and praise for what He has done – this great love and maintaining His justice that sin was not just forgotten or swept under the rug, but it was wholly and completely dealt with in Jesus. Now we live in the reality of no condemnation, no separation, no consequence for sin because Jesus paid it all. And we receive this by faith and live a life empowered by the Spirit.