The Spirit of Sonship: Freedom from Condemnation and the Atmosphere of Death
Many believers, though justified by faith, live under a persistent sense of failure—a weight of condemnation that clings to the conscience and produces an atmosphere of death. This is not a minor issue, nor is it a matter of mere feelings. It is the very mechanism by which sin maintains its grip: condemnation is the tool of the law of sin and death, and it is the chief obstacle to the liberty and confidence that belong to sons of God.
The Real Nature of Condemnation
Scripture distinguishes between two kinds of condemnation. The first is the judicial wrath of God, which was fully satisfied by the blood of Jesus (Romans 3). The second, and the focus of Romans 8, is the internal sense of weakness, shame, and death that arises when the conscience, agreeing with the law, declares us failures. This is not simply a logical deduction; it is an oppressive atmosphere—a tangible weight that suffocates spiritual vitality.
This condemnation is not from God. God has already condemned us at the cross, crucifying us with Christ so that He would never have to condemn us again. In that act, He removed us as the source of righteousness and made Christ Himself our life. Yet, as long as we walk according to the flesh—relying on self-effort, striving to please God apart from faith—we remain vulnerable to this internal condemnation. The flesh, with its endless attempts at self-righteousness, cannot escape the law’s verdict. The result is always the same: condemnation, a sense of failure, and the reign of sin through weakness.
The Law of the Spirit of Life: The Only Escape
The answer is not to redouble our efforts or attempt to silence the law’s demands by sheer willpower. That path only deepens the sense of death. What is needed is nothing less than a spiritual resurrection—a deliverance that lifts us above the atmosphere of condemnation and seats us in the liberty of sonship.
This is precisely the purpose of the law of the Spirit of life. God has installed this law within every believer, not as a new set of requirements, but as the operative power of Christ’s resurrection life. Its effect is decisive: it drives out the atmosphere of slavery, condemnation, fear, and death, and replaces it with resurrection, sonship, liberty, and confidence. This is not a theoretical benefit; it is the present inheritance of every child of God.
Setting the Mind: The Critical Pivot
How, then, do we participate in this law? Scripture is unambiguous: “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). To walk according to the flesh is to set your mind on your own efforts, your own righteousness, your own ability to satisfy God. This is the sure path to death. But to set your mind on the Spirit is to occupy yourself with what God has accomplished in Christ—His blood, His righteousness, His victory, His life given to you as an inheritance.
This is not a call to ignore your failures or pretend the law does not exist. Rather, it is a call to agree with God’s verdict: you have been crucified with Christ, buried with Him, and raised to newness of life. The old man is put off; the body of sin is destroyed. You are no longer a slave to sin, nor are you under the law. God is finished looking to you as the source of any good. He wants you to be finished with it as well.
The Spirit of Sonship: Liberty and Confidence
When you set your mind on these spiritual realities—when you believe the gospel, not just as a doctrine but as your present position before God—the Spirit of sonship fills your heart. You move from fear and bondage to liberty and confidence. You stop obsessing over your performance and begin to acknowledge what Christ has accomplished. The law of the Spirit of life is activated, and the oppressive atmosphere of condemnation is driven out.
This is not a secondary matter. If you reject this truth and persist in seeking to please God by the flesh, you forfeit the experience of sonship, liberty, and confidence. Worse, you undermine the very foundation of justification by faith. The gospel is not a call to self-improvement, but to resurrection. To accept any other approach is to remain under the reign of sin and death, cut off from the inheritance that is yours in Christ.
What Is at Stake
If you accept the error that your standing before God depends on your own efforts, you lose everything that Christ has secured for you: justification, peace, sonship, liberty, and the boldness to approach the Father. You remain trapped in an endless cycle of condemnation, never tasting the resurrection life that is your birthright. The law of the Spirit of life is rendered inoperative, and the spirit of slavery returns.
But if you set your mind on the Spirit—on the finished work of Christ, on your position as a son, on the inheritance freely given—you will know life and peace. You will reign in life, not as a slave, but as a son who has been brought near by the blood of Christ. This is the atmosphere God intends for you: liberty, confidence, and the unshakeable assurance that you belong in His presence, not by your performance, but by His promise.
Do not settle for anything less. The Spirit of sonship leads you to recognize the Father’s encouragement, not His condemnation. Stand in the liberty for which Christ has set you free.
