Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4 NIV
There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That is such good news. As this passage says, God sent his Son to be a sin offering for us. By that, he condemned sin in the flesh. And the righteous requirements of the law have been fully met in us. As believers in the Lord Jesus, we do not need to fear what awaits us in eternity.
Live by the Spirit
But this good news is not applicable to all people. And not even to all church-going people. As Paul makes clear at the beginning, it is those who are in Christ who have no condemnation. And, at the end of this passage, he separates those who live according to the Spirit from those who live according to the flesh. The righteous requirements of the law are met only in those who live according to the Spirit.
While a distinction can be drawn between these two things, I do believe they go hand-in-hand. Those who are in Christ will live by the Spirit, seeking to follow his direction. While those who live to please themselves are not in Christ. Much of this chapter is making this contrast between those who live to please the Spirit and those who live to please themselves.
There is much more that could be said about this passage. But, at the very least, it is a challenge to seek to live by the Spirit. To follow his direction and look to please him rather than self. Do that, and you will live.
