A Sermon By Dr Charles S. Price 

 Why should there be condemnation when, in the first verse of this glorious chapter, we are told to "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God." The truth is that such condemnation generally comes by looking into and living in the past rather than in the present and the future. We spend too much time in contemplation of that which we have done, instead of looking at the grace of God in what Christ has done for us! If He does not condemn us, then why should we condemn ourselves?

 We cannot come into the presence of the Father with a load of condemnation on our own hearts. We can know His perfect will concerning us only as our soul enraptured sings, "CHRIST has set me free! No longer do I live under the fear of the result of my iniquity." Calvary was the blow that severed every chain and the weights and hindrances were all taken away!

 Why should our hearts condemn us when the second verse of this same chapter tells us that "we shall be like HIM; for we shall see Him as HE IS!" When we see HIM, we shall see the fulfillment of our identification with Christ. We shall see HIM as HE IS, because we shall be like HIM! We shall behold the glory of the Lord revealed in us, AND WE SHALL HAVE ENTERED INTO THE FULLNESS AT LAST!

 In the days of the earthly ministry of Jesus, the men of that day saw Him, but their eyes were dim and the veil that covered Him had not yet been rent in twain. The veil of His flesh hid the Anointed One from the gaze and vision of men.Once in a while one would put forth the hand of faith and the Lord would allow the curtains to be drawn aside temporarily and He would be seen as He was; but, even then, the vision was limited and the glimpse only temporary. For full sight, they needed not only the light to see Him, but the vision that could bear the sight.

 There was a time when, on the Mountain top, the glory burst through and so great was the manifestation of Divine Light with in that His very robes seemed to have been spun on the looms of Light and to have been fashioned with the radiance of Heaven!

 They received another little glimpse of His glory after His resurrection by the rolling waters of Tiberias. In their hearts they knew that they had seen the Lord and again He satisfied their hunger and ministered to their every need. "0, Christ, Thou art our all and in all!" All that we need is in Jesus, but it is the will of the Lord that we shall see Him as He is Then we shall be like HIM! The likeness - already begun - is to be made perfect and eternal!

Union With Him

 "Herein is love. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us!" We are not worthy now, and never shall be; but His grace has taken care of all that! Let not the sense of our unworthiness deter us from entering into the fullness of our possession in HIM! Why should we walk in the spirit of self-condemnation when we can enjoy the blessed privilege of UNION WITH HIM!

 If our hearts condemn us not, then we can come "in confidence" to God. If our hearts condemn us; it is, perchance, because we have not obeyed His commandment that we should "believe on the Name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another as He gave us commandment." It is our privilege to drop the ties of earth and enter into the celestial, spiritual realms in which we come to a recognition of our place in the Father's leading, and know the center of His will concerning us!

 There is, therefore, now no condemnation - none whatever - to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit! Let go the flesh - walk in the Spirit - and the condemnation will be gone! It cannot stand the light of truth nor exist in the revelation of the glories of grace and the infinite heights and depths of mercy!

No Condemnation

We may never come to the place where human beings will not condemn us. When Jesus Himself, a little Child in the temple, was thought by His earthly parents to be "a bad boy," He was about HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS. They were sincere but, nevertheless, they misjudged Him. We witness the tenderness of His rebuke when He said, "Did you not under stand that I must be about My Father's business?" (doing the will of My Father?)

 Joseph and Mary in their blindness and love had rebuked Him; but, in His heart there was no condemnation. Perchance, when we start letting the will of the Father operate within us, many people will criticize. We may be charged with "mysticism" and if we should be led to let go of some 'idol of the past,' we may meet with the condemnation of some with whom we come in contact. The condemnation we have to avoid, however is the condemnation of our own hearts! When that is gone, we can come with confidence before the Throne of Grace, knowing that whatsoever we ask we receive of Him. Let Go

This necessitates a coming out from among those that do the will of the flesh. That is what Jesus meant when He said, "Whosoever is not willing to forsake father and mother, sister and brother, and houses and lands for My sake is not worthy of Me!" We are to "let go"' of everything if we are going to walk in complete obedience to His Word and live a life of consecration to His will. Then every need is supplied - EVERY NEED - for spirit, for soul and for body!

 Nothing is left out. There is healing in Him. There is the wiping away of the tear. There is the oil of joy. for sadness and beauty for ashes! Then the stream of Divine Love flows unhindered through the channels which we are, and we drink at the fountains of an inexhaustible supply! We are conscious of our union with Gad and become partakers of the Divine Nature. Imitation stops and participation has begun!

 All that He has, we have! All that He is, we are! "As He is, so are we in this present world." As we died with Him, were buried with Him, rose with Him, and ascended with Him, so now we are participants in the glory which is His and which will be brought to full manifestation in the light of the revelation of the breaking of God's Eternal Day!

 Shall we hang on to the baubles of the 'three-score-years-and- ten' to the sacrifice of that? Shall we keep the idols of flesh and of self and forego the treasures of Heaven, the Crown Jewels of Eternity which are hidden within each one of us if only the life is surrendered to God?

The New Robes

 If we walk in the Spirit and not the flesh, the robes of the flesh will fall away from us as unclean things and we shall be clothed with the habiliments of the Spirit. We shall have the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness! We wear the robes of the imputed righteousness of Jesus instead of the unclean garments of sin, and the insufficient covering of self-righteousness.

 Thus the Lord is calling, "Come out from among them and be you separate. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will be a Father to you and you shall be My children!" Never mind how the world judges the external. The question is, "How is the heart?" Is it surrendered? Is it cleansed? Is it yielded? Is it HIS? Are we in love with the Lover of Our Soul? Have we really said, "Take the world but give me Jesus!"

 There is glorious freedom in this Spirit-filled life. All things may be lawful, but then all things may not be expedient. When we are in love with Jesus, the love of the world and the things of the world fade and pass away! The things which held us captive are no more. The captive has been liberated. Egypt is back of us and the Gates of the Promised Land stand ajar, inviting us to taste of the grapes of Eschol and enjoy the inexhaustible heritage of the Land that flows with milk and honey.

 Trails of ever-unfolding grace wind around the shoulders of the hills of Beulah! Christ is all and in all and as we walk daily with the Spirit, we let go of those things that might wound Him! We are so in love with Jesus that His desire becomes our purpose. His wish becomes our happiness and we can say, "We delight to do Thy will 0 Lord!"

 So the stream rolls on, and on its gentle bosom it bears us. Earth ties are left behind. We know no man after the flesh - no, not even Christ! Herein is liberty. Herein is wealth. Herein is rest and peace and joy! Sing it, Liberated One, until its anthem echoes through the corridors of the Glory World! Sing it to the wonderment of angels - Christ is all I need! ALL I need!