Daily Manna · Day 283 · October 10
No Condemnation
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
We all know the voice. It comes late at night, when the house is quiet, and it sounds so much like justice that arguing with it feels proud. It goes something like this.
The voice says: You did that.
You answer: Yes, I did.
The voice says: You would do it again, if you had the same evening and the same weakness.
You answer: Probably, if it all happened again the same way.
The voice says: Then that is what you are.
You answer: No. That last step does not follow, and it is the very step the voice wants you to take.
Paul does not tell you to argue with the first three. He tells you that the verdict has already been given, and it is a different one from the one being read to you: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." The word "now" means the case is not still waiting to be decided. And notice what the verdict stands on. It does not stand on your record, which is exactly what the voice keeps quoting, and quoting accurately. It stands on where you are: "in Christ Jesus." Paul goes on to describe those people as the ones "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." So this verse gives nobody permission to keep on sinning. It tells you which way your life is now pointed.
You can tell the two voices apart by where they send you. Conviction says, "Do something," and it points you to a door. Condemnation says, "Be something," meaning be this failure for good, and it points you at a wall. So tonight, when the replay starts, take the step conviction is asking for: the apology, the phone call, or the different route home. Then stop. Because you are in Christ, there is no sentence left for you to serve.
Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year two reading for day 283 is Every Breathing Thing (Psalm 150:6).