The Most Important Word
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1
No – Greek has no exclamation marks. So, in order to put emphasis on the most important word in a sentence, Greek often places the word first. Of course, it doesn’t make good English but unless we know the order of the words in Greek, we can easily miss what the writer considered the critical thought. For Paul, the phrase “There is therefore now” is secondary. What matter most is the word “no“. But even this is not enough. This thought is so radical that Paul chooses a very special Greek word meaning “no”. He uses ouden. It is literally, “not one thing” or “nothing”. It is the first thought in this verse. Not one single thing condemns us.
We are creatures of calculation. All of our lives we work on the measurement scale. How well are we doing? Are we making the grade? Are we better than the next guy? From certificates to finances, from titles to possessions, we measure our worth. It is a useless game. The only true evaluation, the only one that counts when it is all over, is God’s evaluation: the expectation of holiness. And on that scale, we all fail!
This natural habit of measuring has no place in the world of grace. Paul has to knock it right out of our thinking. When it comes to earning righteousness (and always discovering that we fail to make the grade), Jesus changes everything. There is not one single thing held against me when I respond to His grace. All the measuring sticks are broken. All the scales are undone. NO condemnation.
Can you handle such a radical revision of the human condition? Are you really ready to live without the measuring sticks? Can you picture your life without the scales of worthiness? Jacques Ellul often suggests that the real issue of freedom is not civil and political. It is our inner decision to embrace the power of grace, to untie the bonds of money, power, time and sex that grip our souls in constant comparisons.
“No” is the first word of real freedom. Is it your word? Or are you still playing the measuring game?
