Now we come to Romans eight. This chapter begins with a declaration in the first verse. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” I like this term, “in Christ.” We all have been put into Christ, and now we are in Christ. In Christ there is no condemnation because in Christ there is nothing negative, dark or sinful. If we are outside of Christ, we will be full of condemnation. But in Christ everything is in the light. Therefore there is no condemnation. We should not look at ourselves or consider our situation. If we look at ourselves, we will be in real trouble. Therefore we must realize that we are in Christ. Just as Paul declared it, we must declare it. We all need to say, “Hallelujah, I am in Christ, and here there is no condemnation.”
There is no condemnation in Christ because in Christ there is a law. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). In Christ there is the law of the Spirit of life. A law is a natural governing principle. We all know that gravity is a law. If you throw anything into the air, it comes down. There is no need to pray to the Lord to send it back to earth. If we pray in that way, we are foolish. The law of gravity will take care of it. It is the same way in Christ. In Christ there is the law of the Spirit of life. The law, the Spirit, and the life are all in Christ.
More than thirty years ago I was deep in trial. I remembered the verse that said we must rejoice in the Lord. I was suffering very much; so I really needed to rejoice. But how could I rejoice? I tried to rejoice again and again, but I simply could not do it. Now I understand. To rejoice is not an act; it is a law. If we try to rejoice, that is just an act. It will never work. But if we keep the principle of the spiritual law, spontaneously we will be rejoicing. Rejoicing is a law that belongs to the Spirit of life, and the Spirit of life is nothing less than Christ as the life-giving Spirit. Christ Himself is the Spirit of life, and within Him there is such a law.
When I tried to rejoice more than thirty years ago in that situation, I failed. But now I have learned to call on the Lord. “O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus.” After calling for a few minutes, it is easy to rejoice, for the rejoicing One lives within me. That is the law. When we call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, we touch Him, and He is the Spirit of life. Within Him there is the law of rejoicing. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord that there is such a law within us!
Within Christ there is also the law of holiness. When we have Jesus living within us as our life, spontaneously it will be easy to be holy. This is because holiness is a law. Since Christ lives within us as our life and our person there is a law of holiness. Regardless of how many times the Devil casts us into a defiled situation, the law of holiness spontaneously keeps us from being unholy. This is the law of the Spirit of life. Christ living within us as our life, is the Spirit of life. In this Spirit of life there is an automatic law that frees us from anything of sin and death. Hallelujah! There is no condemnation in Christ for the law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death. This is the indwelling Christ with the liberating law within us.
According to many of the teachings in Christianity, it seems that it is very hard for a Christian to stand. I am afraid that there are still many that hold this kind of concept. But this is absolutely a wrong teaching. To fall is really hard. While you are standing, try to fall. It is not so easy. We can all stand so steadfastly because of the gravity of the earth. It is harder for a Christian to fall than to stand. Many times I have tried to fall away from the meetings. Even though I tried to fall, I still ended up in the meeting. It is not so easy for us to fall. Occasionally we may stumble, but immediately we will regain our footing. After stumbling, we will hate what has happened. This will make us more careful the next time concerning what caused us to stumble. A Christian has a standing law. Within all Christians there is the standing strength and the standing governing principle. This is the life of Christ as the standing law within us. The law of the Spirit of life has set us free.