Re:Verse passage – Romans 8:1-4 (day seven)
“Therefore there is now no condemnation”
When I talk with our young people about reading scripture, I tell them anytime there is a “therefore” in scripture, we must ask “what is the ‘therefore’ there for?” This will help us understand the context surrounding this verse, and therefore, understand the passage at hand more clearly.
What is this “therefore” there for? Paul is pointing us back to three things that he has covered thus far in Romans. One, the passage immediately prior to this in 7:23-25 where there is an exclamation of victory “through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Which also connects us secondly to 7:6 where Paul first outlines for us that we are released from the old law to “serve in newness of the Spirit.” Lastly and more broadly, it points us back to chapters 3-5 where Paul in detail explains salvation in Christ.
Therefore, entering into chapter 8, we can read the next several verses with a foreknowledge of the argument to be laid out. We are free in Christ Jesus because of the work He has done on the cross and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
