No Condemnation: Your Identity as God's Heir

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh An heir is someone who inherits all that came before, all that was owned and won. In Christ we own freedom! It is our right and our God-given legacy.and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”Romans 8:1-4 I have learned that my habits, both good and bad, are not who I am. Just because I’ve struggled with something doesn’t mean I’ve become something. Nor have you or anyone else you’ve meet. We can’t stand in judgment over ourselves and reject someone who God accepts. But we need to understand that beating our habits is not as easy as “just saying no” either. Saying no requires us understanding the roots of our problems. You with me?We do need to face our past and find out why we do the things we do and why we can’t seem to shake them. When we come to know Jesus, we no longer have to live lives characterized by disgrace, fear or shame. We become free from the ugliness and slavery of sin and death. Our passage above from Romans 8 reminds us that there is no condemnation for us, not even a little bit man. It speaks to us of our forgiveness and that we are made righteous in God’s sight. I know some people who have been damaged in the past who choose to continue to carry that bitterness and rage around with them. You know the people I’m talking about. You meet them, you meet their anger. You chat with them and you hear some of the ways in which they are still hurting, stuck with their bad habits and enraged.This is not the inheritance of those who are filled with the Spirit of Jesus.Romans talks about heirs to Gods glory, these pissed off people didn’t inherit the Spirit of Jesus. But they need to find it. An heir is someone who inherits all that came before, all that was owned and won. In Christ we own freedom. It is our right and our God-given legacy.Be nice. Grace wins.