This is day 13 of a video series called 21 Days of Once Saved Always Saved Salvation Assurance. It’s January 2022 and, in honor of the new year, my church in Marietta GA has asked us to dedicate 21 days to the Lord to draw closer to Him.  Over these 21 days, I’m going through 1 passage of Scripture a day that proclaims our salvation assurance in Christ and shows how salvation can never be lost or forfeited but is held securely in place for us by our heavenly Father so we can have confidence that we are eternally saved.

Today’s passage is Romans 8:1-2:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2 KJV)

This passage is about our freedom in Christ, how Christ has set us free once and for all from the power of sin to condemn us. No more can sin cause a believer in Christ to suffer condemnation. The moment we place our faith in Christ, all of our sins (past, present and future) are nailed to the cross. We are forgiven and are then forever “in Christ,” where there is no longer any condemnation. If a believer can no longer be condemned because of sin, then that means they are forever saved. Once Saved, Always Saved. Let’s break this passage down beginning with verse 1.

Paul begins by saying,

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1 KJV)

The word “therefore” connects this passage to chapter 7, where Paul spoke at length about how, once we place our faith in Christ, we are free from the power of laws and commandments to condemn us. We are now dead to the law. 

“Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” (Romans 7:4 KJV)

The purpose of the law was not to save us but to show us as sinners before God, to show us that we need a Savior. Salvation has always been by faith. No one was ever saved by obeying laws and commandments, as Paul stated in Romans chapter 3:

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20 KJV)

Through the law, we learned that we are sinners before God and need a Savior. Salvation is not through the law but by God’s grace, or unmerited favor, through faith in Christ.

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” (Romans 3:28 KJV)

We are not saved by obeying commandments and we don’t keep ourselves saved by obeying commandments. Instead, we are justified by faith in Christ alone, without the deeds of the law, without having to obey laws and commandments for our salvation.

Paul goes on to say,

“But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” (Romans 7:6 KJV)

Through faith in Christ, we have been delivered from the power of the law to condemn us. The law is now dead for us in the sense that it has no power to condemn us anymore. Why does it have no power to condemn us? Because, through our faith in Christ, all of our sins (past, present and future), our violations of the law, have been nailed to the cross and paid for by Jesus. Therefore, we can no longer be condemned by the law because of our sin. Our sin has been forever dealt with on the cross. Therefore, we now serve God in the newness of the Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter, not by obeying laws and commandments.

That is why Paul begins Romans chapter 8 by saying:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1 KJV)

The moment we place our faith in Christ, we are saved forever and are from that point forward, “in Christ.” Our sins have been paid for, so we can never be condemned. 

Jesus also said this in John chapter 5:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24 KJV)

According to Jesus, the only requirement to be saved is to believe in Him. At that moment, you have everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, ever. You have already passed from death to life. 

That’s why Paul says in Romans 5,

“Therefore 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 KJV)

From this, we see three things happen when we place our faith in Christ:

1.  We are justified – This means, by placing our faith in Christ, our sins are forgiven, and we are declared forever just before God.
   
   
2. We have peace with God – This means God is no longer going to condemn us, but we are at peace with Him.
   
   
3. We have access by faith to God’s grace – We can boldly enter into God’s presence and receive His grace. From the moment we place our faith in Christ, we stand forever in His grace.

All of this happens because of faith, not our obedience. It is faith in Christ alone that saves us. 

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1 KJV)

If there’s no condemnation, then we can never lose our salvation and be condemned. That means, Once Saved, Always Saved.

I want to speak a bit about this next phrase that is only in the King James version of the Bible. It says,

“who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 KJV)

There are those in the Lordship Salvation movement who incorrectly point at this phrase saying, “See, only those who do not walk after the flesh have no condemnation. So, it’s up to us to obey commandments and rid ourselves of sin or believers could lose salvation and still be condemned.” This is total error and a butchering of God’s Word. They want to make this phrase a condition for having no condemnation. But the phrase doesn’t say “IF” you walk not after the flesh. It says, “who” walk not after the flesh. It’s not making a conditional statement at all but a descriptive statement, describing what someone who is already saved looks like.

As saved Christians, we ARE those who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit, though it may take us a lifetime of learning to do so on a consistent basis. Even Paul said he struggled with walking not after the flesh but after the Spirit on a consistent basis. We’re all at different levels when it comes to the Practice of righteousness. But our Position of righteousness never changes. Our position is one of perfect righteousness before God because of what Christ did, not anything we did. That’s who we are in God’s sight after we believe. That’s our new identity, one of perfect righteousness. We are forever “in Christ, “in the Spirit,” and no longer in the flesh. Or, as Paul says in verse 9: 

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” (Romans 8:9 KJV)

As Christians, we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit. That is who we are. Lordship Salvationists are wrong in saying we must obey commandments to keep our salvation. Paul specifically warns against this in chapter 8, verse 15:

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15 KJV)

When we place our faith in Christ for salvation, we do not receive a spirit of bondage again where we have to obey laws and commandments to keep our salvation, leading to fear over whether we could lose our salvation. Paul is saying we have been released from that bondage. Instead, in Christ, we are free from all condemnation by becoming a forever-forgiven child of God.

So, when Paul says in verse 1, 

“who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 KJV)

he’s just describing who we are, not laying out a condition for obtaining “no condemnation.” There is no condemnation because we have faith in Christ and are, therefore “in Christ,” not because we walk in obedience. It is our faith that saves us, and it is our faith that keeps us saved.

Continuing to verse 2, Paul says,

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2 KJV)

The “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” simply means the New Covenant of Grace, that we are saved by God’s grace through faith alone.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

Salvation comes by believing in Jesus. This is the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ.

So, when Paul then says that this law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus “hath made me free from the law of sin and death,” the “law of sin and death” refers to the power of sin to condemn us, as in Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death.”

Salvation through faith in Christ has set us free from the power of sin and death. This means sin can no longer condemn us to death. We are free from sin’s power. That doesn’t mean we can sin however we like. God will chasten us if we sin, as a good Father will chasten his children, but sin no longer has the power to condemn us to hell. That’s because sin has forever been dealt with on the cross. That means we can no longer be condemned to hell. Therefore, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

Hence, Once Saved, Always Saved.

But the real question is: Are you “in Christ?” Are you confident that you will not be condemned? The path to being saved and not being condemned is this:

Salvation = God’s Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Nothing more. Nothing less. There are no other requirements to be saved than to believe in Jesus. The question is: do you believe this? Or are you like those who are not trusting in the finished work of Christ but are trying to prove themselves worthy through your own obedience. Well, let me give you some help: You’re not worthy! You never will be. None of us are. It is Christ who is worthy. We stand in His obedience by faith, not our own. We stand in His righteousness by faith, not our own. He makes us worthy. He makes us righteous.

Once you believe in Him, you are born again, and you are forever a child of God. Our Father is a good Father Who will never abandon you but will preserve you in the faith. There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ.

If you are not certain about your salvation, time is getting very late. Don’t take the chance of missing out on God. Prophetically, the current “Age of Grace” where God is giving people time to turn to Him for forgiveness is almost over. When it ends, it will be too late. God’s judgment is coming. Those who are not saved will be separated from God for all eternity. Don’t take chances with God. Don’t play with Him. Take Him seriously.

If you are not 100% sure you are saved, don’t put it off any longer. You can know with certainty that you have eternal life today. Do it now before it’s too late.

Making Sure You Are Saved Is As Easy As ABC

Admit to God that you have sinned.

Believe that Jesus, God’s Son, died to pay for
your sins 100%, was buried and rose from the dead.

Call upon Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save you.

If you make that decision to call upon Him, God gives you this assurance:

“For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 KJV)

If you are still not sure, I’ll include a link to a video I did called, “What is the Gospel (in 6 Words)?”

Thank you for watching.