So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you^] from the power of sin that leads to death.” Rom 8:1 – 2 NLT 

Romans 8:1 has two central ideas. Firstly, there is “no condemnation”. That is good news, particularly for those fighting the power and persistence of sin in their lives brought out in Romans 7. They may live lives of struggle and even fall at times but there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Why is there no condemnation? That is what Paul has been explaining ever since Rom.3:21. Carefully outlining how salvation by grace works, he has made it very clear that salvation is by grace through faith alone. 

Secondly, not everybody is free from condemnation, only those who are “in Christ Jesus”. Paul is especially clear that a person is either “in Adam” or “in Christ” (1Cor.15:22; Rom.5:12-21). “In Christ” occurs 164 times in Paul’s writings, it is a key to understanding Paul’s theology. Those who are ‘in Christ” are justified, sanctified, and eventually, if they stay in Christ, glorified when Christ returns.  People become “in Christ” when they consciously accept Christ by faith as Lord and Saviour. 

V2 tells us why there is no condemnation. V3 takes up the basis for that freedom. The focus of the Holy Spirit signals a major shift in Paul’s letter and is the focus of chapter 8. That transition is especially forceful when we contrast chapters 7 and 8. Rom.7 mentions the law and its synonyms 31 times, but the Holy Spirit only once. Chapter 8, by way of contrast, speaks of the Holy Spirit at least 20 times. 

The essential contrast between Romans 7 and 8, is between the law and the power of the Spirit. For over against indwelling sin, which is the reason the law is unable to help us in our moral struggle (7:17, 20), Paul now sets the indwelling Spirit, who is both our liberator now from “the law of sin and death” (8:2) and the guarantee of resurrection and eternal glory in the end (8:11, 17, 23).  

Romans 8 depicts the Christian life as life in the Holy Spirit. It is a life brought about, sustained, directed, and enriched by the Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the Christian life would be impossible.  

The Spirit through “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (that is, the gospel) sets us “free from the law of sin and death” (that is, the condemnation of the law). In v1 we find that we are no longer under the law’s condemnation, while in v2 we discover a certain liberation that Christians have in the gospel. That release is not, however, from the law itself (which is good, holy, just, and spiritual), but from both bondage to sin and from the law’s condemnation. Thus Paul proclaims Christian liberty that frees Christians from the negative and opens them up to the positive through the Spirit’s guidance and power.