Pardoned

 

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 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 ESV).

 

For decades U.S. presidents have been presented with Thanksgiving turkeys, and – at least in recent history – those turkeys have received a presidential “pardon,” sparing them from the dinner table. The two turkeys here received their “pardon” from President George W. Bush in 2007. They were sent to the Ten Star Ranch in Dubois, Indiana, where Pilgrim Mickey Mouse unveiled them to the public. Those turkeys went on to become the grand marshals of the Walt Disney World Thanksgiving Day Parade in Florida. The birds were transported aboard a United Airlines flight that was renamed to “Turkey One” to mark the occasion. They went on to live out their lives free-roaming the ranch and entertaining visitors. They were indeed free.

 

That’s a small illustration of what Paul is saying in our reading today. We need to remember what he has said in the preceding chapters. That’s what the “therefore” is there for. Paul has said that sin is a problem not simply because it is wrong but because its wrongness poisons who we are with God. We try to do good, but evil is right there beside us. At times we don’t even understand why we get stuck in it. But we belong to Jesus. That is both the starting and the ending point in this discussion.

 

I belong to Jesus, and regardless of the battle, or the reality of evil and sin in my life, or the damage it does, or what I do, or how well I understand myself, I still belong to Jesus. That is why I keep going to him for guidance, strength, confession, and forgiveness. Who I am is not about the battle in which I find myself; it’s about whom I follow.

 

This statement is crucially important: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (v. 1). When I am called by God to the grace He has secured through the death of Jesus, it doesn’t matter if Satan or anyone else points a finger. In fact, in place of condemnation, God gives me the Spirit by which I am to live. I didn’t get a “presidential pardon,” as good as that may be. I got an eternal, divine pardon. That pardon extends to my past, present, and throughout eternity. That’s my focus, my freedom. It’s a new day. Thanks be to God, who says it’s true!