23 November 2025

LIVING LIFE IN THE SPIRIT

(Biblical Teachings on The Christian Life.: BTCL 9)

We have a great promise in Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (NKJV). There is “now no more condemnation” – great news for all those “who are in Christ Jesus”. No condemnation means no judgment of Hell but “accepted in the Beloved” of God’s Son (Eph.1:6- KJV). The term “in Christ” speaks of a vital relationship of faith in Christ, like the branch being connected permanently to the Vine (John 5:5). Such a believer is not condemned because he has “passed from death to life” (John 5:24).

Some preachers and people jump to the wrong conclusion that this means “once saved always saved”. This is true only when one acknowledges the Lordship of Christ in his life (Rom.10:9) and walks in holiness (Heb.12:14b). You can’t say you have faith in Christ and live a worldly and unholy life and expect to be saved forever. That is a deception because those born of God cannot go on living a sinful life and yet claim to be a child of God (1 John 3:9-10). We must always check what the Bible says, just like the Bereans who did not give respect to the great Apostle Paul’s teaching, but “searched the Scriptures daily” to check whether what he said was true (Acts 17:11). This is what every Christian must do – check with Scripture.

To be assured that we have “no condemnation” we need to do the following:
1. We need to acknowledge Jesus as Lord in our life. Notice that Paul says “to those who are in Christ Jesus”. This term “Christ Jesus” emphasizes the Deity and Lordship of Christ. In other words, one must believe that Jesus is God and is therefore Lord. Only then one can we be saved (Rom.10:9). We cannot say “Jesus is Lord” and still live a carnal and worldly life and doing our own things. That is walking “according to the flesh” which shows that we are not “born again”. Those who walk in the flesh are carnal and they cannot please God because they are enemies of God (Rom.8:7-8).

2. We must be “in Christ”, meaning that we have a vital spiritual relationship of faith with Christ. It means daily in life we have a close walk with Jesus, depending on Him and doing what He tells us. It is called abiding in Christ which results in fruit bearing that glorifies God (John 15:5-8).

3. We must “walk according to the Spirit” – i.e. we are controlled and led by the Spirit so that we will not “fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal.5:16). This is the Spirit-filled and Spirit empowered life, resulting in Christlikeness, which is holiness.

False preachers only use the first part of the verse: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ” but they leave out the second part – those “who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit”. So let us beware of such faulty preaching! We need to diligently search the Scriptures to ensure we believe is right.

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