Condemnation in Crisis

There’s something about the COVID-19 pandemic that breeds guilt. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been feeling guilty that I’m not sick, guilty that I’m not a healthcare worker, guilty for the food in my cart, the money in my bank account, the time I have, the time I’m wasting. The difference between those who are significantly affected by this virus and those who, like me, are only affected by having to stay home is stark. It can seem like every day there’s something new for which to feel guilty—even if that guilt is for simply not being grateful enough.

Being in isolation has only increased my identification with Paul’s experiences in Romans 7. This is perhaps Paul at his most relatable.

“For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells, for to will is present with me, but to work out the good is not, for I do not do the good which I will, but the evil which I do not will, this I practice.”

I’ve always loved Romans 7 because, even though it provides a bleak picture of powerlessness in the face of sin, it also reminds me that my experiences are not unique. Paul—the apostle who wrote the majority of the New Testament!—also wanted to do good and realized he could only fail. When I sit down to write a paper and waste two hours because I can’t find the motivation, or intend to catch up on my Bible reading only to go through the day without having ever even looked at a page, or forget to pray for a friend working in a hospital even though that’s the least I can do, it’s comforting to know that my failures aren’t much different from Paul’s.

A Powerful Plot Twist

I also love Romans 7 because it contains one of the best plot twists in the entire Bible. By verse 24, Paul has explored the failure of his flesh to such an extent that he can only say, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” Yet the very next verse begins with the startling exclamation, “Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!” How did Paul go from being trapped in a cycle of anguish and guilt to praising God in the space of one verse?

The answer lies in Romans 8:1, which says, “There is now then no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”

This verse is an incredible relief from the crushing sense of inadequacy in Romans 7. And its placement between chapters 7 and 8 indicates that there are two types of condemnation in the Bible: objective condemnation under the law is the first, while subjective condemnation is the subject of this verse.

Identifying Condemnation

Objective Condemnation

Objective condemnation is what Paul speaks of in Romans 5:18, which says that one offense brought “condemnation to all men.” This is the result of human sin, which rendered us unable to meet God’s righteous standard. If you feel weighed down by the condemnation of sin, the answer lies in the second half of Romans 5:18: “one righteous act” brought “justification of life to all men.” Because of Jesus’ righteous act (His death on the cross), we no longer need to be under the objective condemnation of God. Instead, when we believe in His death, “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin” (John 1:9).

But by Romans 7, Paul has already explained that the death of Christ frees us from objective condemnation. So why does he say again in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus? This is because the focus of Romans 7 is not objective condemnation, but subjective condemnation.

Subjective Condemnation

If you feel like you can never do enough or be enough—like no matter how hard you try you will never attain the level of goodness or productivity or spirituality that you want—that’s subjective condemnation. It’s the feeling that sets in when you try to keep the law by yourself, with what Paul calls the law of the mind. The law of the mind wants to do good.

Given the current circumstances, the law of the mind might want to buy food for the elderly, sew facemasks, or just read more of the Bible during our time inside. We know exactly what we should do, and yet, even for the most capable and knowledgeable of us, our ability eventually runs out. We grow tired, we lose motivation, we fail. In the wake of that failure, guilt overtakes us.

The awful, inescapable condemnation of not doing what we know we should is the condemnation Paul longed to escape in Romans 7:24. And this is the condemnation that, in Romans 8:1, disappears in Christ Jesus.

Freedom in Christ

Even as Christians, we can still try to keep the Bible’s requirements with our flesh’s natural ability rather than with Christ’s divine life, and we can still be defeated in our attempt.

But the law of the Spirit of life that rules in our human spirit spontaneously dispels all of our subjective condemnation (Romans 8:2) . Not only does the life of Christ have the power to actually keep the law, it also frees us from the guilt that ensues when we try and fail. His demands are not the world’s demands, and they are not designed to entrap you in the feeling that you should always be doing more. In Christ Jesus, we are freed. Freed not to inactivity and excuses, but to a deeper source of ability and peace that we can’t find in ourselves.

That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. (Romans 8:4)

The next time you’re scrolling through Instagram, Twitter, or the news, and you’re overwhelmed by the feeling that you aren’t doing nearly enough to rise to the moment of the current crisis, remember that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. I don’t mean to say that we shouldn’t do good things. If the Lord is leading you to respond to the pandemic in a specific way, following that leading is the best thing you can do. But remember, how ever He calls you to respond, He intends for you to do that in the freedom of union with Him. Feeling guilty for what you can’t change or for not being good enough is never from the Lord. Guilt isn’t how He operates. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, even during COVID-19.

By: Ellie Windsor