a life without condemnation…

most people really don't know how to live. they simply exist. or they vegetate. or endure. they float through life never really learning how to live.

and i think it's for that reason JESUS said in john 10.10 (tev), I have come that you might have life – life in all its fullness. JESUS did not say, “I have come that you might have religion” or “I have come that you might have rules” or “I have come that you might have regulations”. he said, I have come that you might have life – life in all its fullness. but most people really don't know how to live.

there is a guy named dr. martin seligman who is the study professor at the university of pennsylvania. he has studied thousands and thousands of people and come to the conclusion in his studies that people who are optimistic and people who are positive live longer, have better health, are happier and accomplish more than people who are not optimistic or positive.

another study i read proved that salesmen who are optimistic have 37% more sales than guys who are not optimistic.

people like to be around positive people. and i think CHRISTians, of all people, need to be the most positive, optimistic people there are. we have so much to hope for.

somebody called CHRISTians hope‑addicts. i think that's a good term. we have a lot to hope for. i think that a pessimistic CHRISTian is an insult to GOD. i say that because of what we find in romans 8. in this chapter there are some reasons why every CHRISTian ought to be the most positive person in the world. we're going to look at the lifestyle GOD intends for you and me to live.

now one reason is because as a CHRISTian (or because i am a CHRISTian) it is possible for me to live a life without condemnation.

romans 8.1 (niv), therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in CHRIST JESUS. notice the word no. the greek word for this no is the strongest word for “no” that you can use in greek. it means absolutely, positively, no, no! there is absolutely no condemnation if you are a CHRISTian. GOD does not condemn you.

that is a hard truth for us to grasp. intellectually we can get it. but emotionally it's just too good to believe. no matter what i do, GOD doesn't get mad at me. that is too good to believe.

just a thought from the front porch…