When a crime is committed and a person is charged, he or she is innocent until proven guilty. There is always a presumption of innocence, regardless of the evidence. Now once the person is tried and he or she is found guilty, then the person is sentenced.
People who commit heinous crimes such as murder, kidnapping, rape, or armed robbery, etc. may receive a life sentence, or a life sentence plus added years, or the death penalty. Seemingly, these individuals have no hope. However, there is such a thing as a pardon. A pardon is an act of forgiveness by a state governor or a U. S. President. The governor of the state may issue a pardon which sets the person free. The president of the United States may issue what is called a presidential pardon. In each situation, it is a legal release from the penalty of an offense. Then the crime that was committed is no longer held against the person. The person is free to go.
A pardon exempts someone from punishment for a crime. There are different types of pardons. Pardons can be full or partial, absolute or conditional. A full pardon unconditionally absolves the person of the conviction and all of the crime's consequences. A partial pardon only relieves the person from some of the crime's punishment or consequences. An absolute pardon is granted without any conditions. A conditional pardon has some conditions that must usually be fulfilled by the person seeking the pardon and it must occur before the pardon takes effect.
When it comes to God there is a similarity in the pardoning process. Jesus made it possible for us to be pardoned and forgiven, even before committing a crime or any moral injustice. Over 2,000 years ago, on an old rugged cross, the sins of humanity were nailed to the cross. Though Jesus was without sins, yet He died that we might live.
My point that I am trying to make is, Jesus Christ came from His regal room of heaven, to earth. He walked these old dusty roads, endured the transgression of men, was crucified, but yet He rose from the grave with all power in His hands. By His death, we have been pardoned and we no longer face damnation with the rest of the world. When we sin, we may be chastened, but we are not condemned.
Paul in the Book of Romans, makes it very plain and clear that sin had its dominance over the people of the Old Testament. Looking at Romans 3:10, it appears that there is no hope for us, but Paul states, "As it is written, 'There is none righteous, no, not one.'" He further states, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18). Paul then closed the door on anyone who thought he or she was without sin, by saying, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Therefore he concludes that man is justified by faith plus nothing else. Coming to God is not by works, good deeds, or anything else, it is wholly by faith.
I praise God for His grace and mercy. For Scripture tells us, "Therefor being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:1-2). And, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly'" (Romans 5:6).
Paul, the great orator, and theologian, opens the door on his personal life in Romans chapter 7, just wide enough for us to see the struggle he experienced with sin. Listen to these words, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep doing" (Romans 7:18-19). Then in the 24th verse he cries out, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
Now in Romans 8, after Paul acknowledging his sin battle, he then concludes that there is a way out. For Jesus Christ has made available to all sinners "A Divine Pardon." Paul clearly states, "There is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1).
Paul makes it very plain and clear that there is no divine condemnation upon us. He talks about those who accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior, because those that are in Christ, do not walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Being in Christ we are free from all condemnation, although we may suffer the consequences of our sinful actions.
In Christ, we are "not guilty," because He paid the price for our sins. Therefore, we are able to go free. What would those words mean to you today, if you were on death row? The truth of the matter is, without Jesus the whole human race would be on death row, justly condemned for repeatedly breaking God's holy law. Without Jesus, we would have no hope at all. But thanks be to God, He has declared us not guilty and has offered us, "A Divine Pardon" from sin and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to do His will.
Believers may be chastened by the Lord, but will not be condemned with the world. Paul gives us hope and all humanity, with such comforting words. From the valley of despair and defeat, the Apostle Paul now climbs the heights with such a triumphant shout, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Please remember this victory that Paul is talking about, because it is not in of ourselves that we are saved, but the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
Now when you accept this Scripture as the truth and the living Word, you are now walking upright, and no one has the right to condemn you. Too many Christians are allowing others to hold them hostage for something they have done in the past. We may slip and fall sometimes, but those who are in Christ, have been forgiven. I am not speaking of practicing sin, but mature saints of God slip-up sometimes, and upon repentance they are forgiven. Stop letting people remind you of your past. We all have a past. Our past have been covered by the blood of Jesus. According to Scripture, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Free yourselves from the guilt and recognize that the blood of Jesus "cleanses us from all unrighteousness." "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
We, the children of God have received "A Divine Pardon." How? Through Justification! It is through the shed blood of Jesus that we are justified. We are justified by His blood. He did not come in sinful flesh, for that would have made Him a sinner. He came in the likeness of sinful flesh, as a man. He bore our sins in His body on the cross. There we were exonerated of all offenses and now we are justified by faith. "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God" (Romans 3:24-25). Jesus did absolutely everything necessary for our salvation. There is nothing you can do to earn it. It is a FREE gift from God.
We have "A Divine Pardon!" How? Through Sanctification! Sanctification is the process by which God brings the Christian to be the person God created him or her to be. We are sanctified. How? By the washing, cleansing, and purifying, through the Word of God. For the Word of God is the gospel of truth that leads to salvation. Sanctification includes a change of heart and a desire to love God and others. "And by that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ" (Hebrews 10:10). You are a child of God and you have been set apart for God's special purpose. Scripture tells us, "Sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be holy; for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statues, and do them; I am the LORD which sanctify you" (Leviticus 20:7-8). This piece of Scripture helps us to see that the word sanctification, is synonymous with holiness.
We have "A Divine Pardon! How? Through Glorification! Because we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we can look forward to that day when we shall see Him in our new state. Free from the sins of this world in our glorified bodies. We will be glorified at the last trumpet, when Jesus comes, and we will be instantly transformed. We will be changed, "in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:52).
Please remember, as a child of God, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). We no longer walk after our old nature, but in our new nature. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21), and "...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22). It was the precious blood of Jesus that made possible for us to have life and have it more abundantly. "So let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).