Romans 8 contains a treasury of four outstanding promises that should bring peace and assurance to anyone who lives in relationship with Christ Jesus. In my early years as a professional, I had the opportunity to represent the State of Oklahoma as a prosecutor in Oklahoma County. During my 4 years as a prosecutor, I led the prosecution of a variety of cases ranging from driving under the influence of alcohol to premeditated murder of a wife by her angry husband.
Prosecuting criminals taught me that when one is found guilty of a crime, that criminal’s act follows him for the rest of his days. In my last jury trial, I tried a truck thief. He made a career of stealing vehicles and salvaging the parts to fund his nefarious lifestyle. After presenting the original case to the Jury, I had one juror who was adamant that the well dressed and clean-cut man at the defense table could not have done something so wrong.
She was prepared to stand up against the other 11 jurors even though the evidence was very clearly pointing to this man’s guilt. Finally, after 7 hours of deliberation, she caved and voted guilty and convicted the man. It was then my duty to read the second page of the defendant’s profile.
I spent the next several minutes recounting to the jury the seven other convictions this defendant had acquired over the last 10 hears. The juror who had fought so diligently on the defendant’s behalf grew ashen. She was appalled and now enraged at the way she had been duped. The defendant was sentenced to a very long prison sentence and admitted to hundreds of additional thefts he had been involved in.
In Romans 8, Paul gives us the first great promise. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, We will not have a page 2 of our life profile. Dikaioutai is the Greek word for Justified. By definition, it means wiped clean—just as if it was never there. In the verse, we are wiped clean, set back to factory defaults because of the price paid by our Savior. I recently took ownership of my former company’s computer. Before I was able to take ownership, however, the tech staff had to remove any trace of the company from it. They set the computer back to the factory defaults and “viola'”, the computer was in the same condition it had been in on the day it was originally taken from its packaging.
When we accept Christ Jesus as Lord, We are set back to factory defaults–The way the manufacturer intended. We have no faulty programming; none of life’s viruses or spam. We are perfectly set to be exactly what our Father and Lord intended us to be.
God’s original plan is reinstated in our lives, and we can walk in confidence that when accused by the enemy, our slate will be clean, and our lives now prepared to spend eternity in God’s presence. God’s spirit is constantly working in our lives to justify, sanctify, and eventually glorify us as children of the Almighty God. We are found not guilty, and therefore, not condemned to suffer the consequence of spiritual separation from a loving but Holy God.
God Bless You
8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness.
Walking With God 