Journal Review: There is no Condemnation
Chuck Lowe, in his article “There is no condemnation,” has tried to answer the question he has raised in the beginning of his thesis: Why is there no condemnation for those who are in Christ? He felt a danger in merely drumming into new believers that there is no condemnation because Christ has justified us before God. Lowe has answered why there is no condemnation in Romans, despite commentators’ struggles with the question. The theme of Lowe’s article is that people have not escaped condemnation solely through Christ’s justification, but the fruit of the Spirit that leads to righteous living also plays a significant role.
Nonetheless, Chuck says that ‘no condemnation’ certainly retains its forensic and eschatological sense. He works his way through the ambiguities of whether ‘condemnation’ refers to the eschatological judgment due to sin or to the enslavement of sin experienced in this age. Further, he also clarifies whether ‘condemnation’ is averted by the alien righteousness or by transformational righteousness in union with Christ.
In his summary of Romans 1-5, he concludes that condemnation is “clearly the eschatological judgment of sin, which is escaped only through the alien righteousness of Christ” (233, Lowe). This applies equally to non-Christians and Christians as well. The first five chapters have the same prominent theme of Christ condemning sin and justifying through his alien righteousness. Then he asserts that the recurrence of “condemnation” in Romans 8:1-2 is understood against the backdrop of Romans 5:12-21. However, the concepts of sin, judgment, and vindication in 6:1-23 have distinctly different associations.
There begins a shift from non-Christians to Christians such that Christians who are under grace live a righteous life through Christ’s sanctification. Where this transformation has not occurred, “slavery to sin persists and death ensues,” Lowe adds. Thus, condemnation in Romans 1:18-3:20 and 5:12-21 is the sin and corruption of humankind, which provokes the wrath of God. However, in Romans 6:15-23, the focus is on the sin committed by professing Christians. In both cases, death is the sentence of disobedience.
Lowe states that the most comprehensive argument regarding the interpretation of ‘no condemnation’ emerges from the relevant phrases and concepts found throughout verses 8:1-2. The phrases are 1) in Christ, 2) in the Spirit of Life, and 3) set free from the law of sin and death. Each of these terms, Lowe says, “clearly connects freedom from condemnation not with forensic justification but with sanctification” (238). He goes on to explain each phrase that results in the transformational righteousness of sanctification. Evidently, Lowe concludes that the ongoing sanctification through being in Christ and His Spirit that is indicative should not be disquieted but applied as an imperative.
Reading Lowe’s article reminded me of the popular televangelists who had built for themselves mansions and accumulated enormous wealth. Could this have resulted from their presumption that Jesus’ act of justification absolved them of sin and condemnation? As Lowe pointed out, this has been a common mistake that populist evangelism has emphasized at the expense of the latter. As a result, they are reaping Christians, per se, but Christians without character.
The reaction that Lowe has presented affirms both the textual and theological aspects. He has not simply bashed populist evangelicalism. Rather, his exegesis and eisegesis of Romans have stressed the importance of the proper study and application of Pauline teachings. His work reminds us that the Scripture is full of mysteries. Scripture has to be studied coherently. One verse that is applied incorrectly can affect the health of the entire ministry. For evangelists, it is very comfortable to share the good news that Jesus’ death has paid the ransom that you owed to God as a sinner. You are freed. However, they consider it challenging to express that this means they must transform their lives. People who have heard the gospel live responsibly on earth, knowing they have escaped condemnation. Lowe does not separate the concept of forensic reference from the ongoing process of sanctification, affirming Paul’s teaching that a Christian life is an ongoing work of sanctification grounded in substitutionary atonement in Christ.
The fact that my faith is active and that I am in Christ and that His indwelling Spirit renews me every day is very valuable to me and my ministry. I agree with Lowe when he says that the final judgment is grounded in (at least) three acts of God: substitutionary atonement in Christ, personal transformation by the Spirit, and the ongoing intercession of Christ. These are three grounds that Paul points out in Romans 1-8. The latter two have been highly neglected because people have been complacent and comfortable with just the first aspect. The other two require discipleship and prayer.
I am not entirely against short-term mission trips. I believe that God can use any opportunity, and it is possible that one seed sown during those trips could have a significant impact on missions in that person’s local area. Yet short trip missions are not entirely what Jesus meant in His Great Commission. He did not simply say, “Go and share the justification through faith.” Instead, He said, “Go and make disciples…teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded.” Paul teaches what Jesus taught in the book of Romans, which he wrote before the Gospels. The life of holiness was an imperative for even Jesus and for Paul. This principle is important to my faith and ministry: that I model a life of holiness, which is not possible through a 2-week trip to a different culture. Jesus modeled a life of righteousness through living closely with his disciples. What evangelists focus on is that the gospel is spread. It is easier said than done. We read about televangelists who were apparently preaching the gospel but not applying its teachings in their lives. I wonder how many blessings we have lost for misusing such enormous ministries.
Thus, Lowe’s critique is honorable. His passion to balance salvation and sanctification is evident in his work. His focus and passion is that evangelists and Christians truly understand Pauline teachings that align with Jesus’ teachings.
