Now No Condemnation
Romans 8:1
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” -Romans 8:1
There is a significant shift that takes place here based on what Paul has previously argued. Therefore connects his words of consolation in 8:1 to what has already been established in 7:6 (“the new way of the Spirit”).
Furthermore, it should be noted that Paul moves back to using first and second person plural (vs. 2) instead of the rhetorical “I” he picked up in his argument made from 7:7-25.
The rhetorical “I” in that section denoted how the Law-follower, try as one might to follow the Law, was a transgressor of the Law because sin in the Law-follower was awakened by the Law and betrayed any attempt to obey the Law by making war against the mind of the Law-follower, and taking him captive. It is a wretched condition that can only be remedied by the gospel of Christ.
This switch in perspective means that Paul is now beginning a new argument—really an extension of the previous argument—based on this new condition in Christ he introduced back in 5:9, 6:22, and 7:6:
“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” -Romans 5:9
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” -Romans 6:22
“But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” -Romans 7:6
Now no condemnation means the Law can no longer touch the one who is in Christ Jesus. This is not a legal fiction; it’s a real condition and one we can rejoice in.
To be clear, it does not give us a license to sin, as some suppose. Christians are not antinomians. God’s Law forever remains good, just, and holy. But being in Christ Jesus—united to him in his death, burial, and resurrection—means we are safe from the Law’s condemnation, beyond its jurisdiction (7:1-3). Moreover, it also means that our nature, our disposition toward God and sin, has changed—which is what verse 2 is about to explain.
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well put.