WHO IS THE ONE WHO CONDEMNS? CHRIST JESUS IS HE WHO DIED, YES, RATHER WHO WAS RAISED: tis o katakrinon (FAPMSN) Christos (Iesous) o apothanon (AAPMSN) mallon de egertheis (APPMSN): (Romans 8:1; 14:13; Job 34:29; Psalms 37:33; 109:31; Jer 50:20) (Ro 4:25; 5:6-10; 14:9; Job 33:24; Matthew 20:28; John 14:19; Galatians 3:13,14; Hebrews 1:3; 9:10-14; 10:10-14,19-22; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:18; Revelation 1:18)

Who is he that condemns? - The only One Who can condemn is the Judge and the Judge, Who is not going to do this for as Paul has already declared...

There is therefore now no (Greek = absolutely no) condemnation (katakrima [from katakrino - see below] is the result of judgment and relates to the sentencing for a crime, the focus being not so much on the verdict as on the penalty the verdict demands) for those who are in Christ Jesus. (See note Romans 8:1)

Condemns (2632) (katakrino from kata = down, against + krino = to assess, then to separate or distinguish, then to give an opinion upon, judge, then to decide or determine and finally to judge (to judge one down [kata = down]), pronounce judgment or to condemn) means to give judgment against, pass sentence upon, pass judgment against and hence to condemn, this latter action implying there has been a crime. It means to pronounce sentence against or to adjudge guilty and always denotes an adverse sentence (to sentence to punishment).

Condemn = Old French condemner, from Latin condemnāre from con- (expressing intensive force) + damnare = to condemn, to inflict loss upon from damnum = loss, damage.

Katakrino in secular Greek was  a legal technical term for pronouncing a sentence after reaching a verdict or decision against someone. To declare an evildoer guilty.

In our modern parlance, the word condemn is often used with a "lighter" meaning such as to censure, to express strong disapproval, to denounce, etc. Most Biblical uses of katakrino are not "light" as evidenced by repeated use of this verb to describe Jesus being condemned to death. Similarly all who disbelieve will be condemned, which is not simply censured, etc, but sentenced to eternal separation from God (but see note on Romans 14:23 which describes condemnation by one's own conscience, not eternal condemnation or condemnation to death).

The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia writes that katakrino...

is to be distinguished from the previously mentioned words (krino) in that it refers either to the sentence or to the punishment following the sentence rather than to the simple act of deciding in judgment. Only the context can determine the precise nature of the sentence. (Pfeiffer, C, H. F. Vos & J. Rea, Ed The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia. 1975. Moody Press)

Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary writes that...

Condemn and condemnation are judicial terms, the opposite of Justify and Justification (Mt 12:37; Ro 5:16, 18). God alone is the Judge of people; in His demand for righteousness, sin leads invariably to condemnation and death. (Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology adds that...

From the standpoint of semantics, condemnation is part of legal terminology. When it is discovered that a crime has been committed, that the law has been broken, the process of investigation may lead to formal charges being levied against a defendant. The process of litigation leads to the outcome, a verdict of acquittal or guilt. The verdict indicates that the defendant is either free from or accountable to the law’s penalty for that crime. Thus the result is either vindication or condemnation. Condemnation can refer either to the legal status of liability to punishment or to the actual infliction of that punishment. At times the word is also used in a broader context to refer to negative evaluations of a person by peers or by one’s own conscience. This legal process is to some extent the background for biblical language about judgment and condemnation. (Click here for full article that goes into much greater detail) (Elwell, W. A., & Elwell, W. A. The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology . Baker Book House)

Here are the 24 uses of katakrino in the NT (only 2 uses in Lxx = Est 2:1, Da 4:1)...

Matthew 12:41 "The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 "The Queen of the South shall rise up with this generation at the judgment and shall condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Comment: In the passages above (and Lu 11:31,32, Hebrews 11:7 - see below) the idea is that by one's good example another's wickedness is rendered all the more evident and censurable. In other words the good conduct of the men of Nineveh, Queen of the South and Noah, when compared to the conduct of others would show that the latter to be guilty of misconduct and to therefore deserve condemnation.

Matthew 20:18 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,

Matthew 27:3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

Mark 10:33 saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him to the Gentiles.

Mark 14:64 "You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.

Mark 16:16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.

Luke 11:31 "The Queen of the South shall rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 "The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

John 8:10 And straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" 11 And she said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more."

Romans 2:1 (note) Therefore you are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

Romans 8:3 (note) For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

Romans 8:34 (note) who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Romans 14:23 (note) But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

Comment: As far as the weak brother is concerned, it is wrong for him to eat anything about which he has conscientious scruples. His eating is not an act of faith; that is, he has a bad conscience about it. And it is a sin to violate one’s conscience.

1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world.

Hebrews 11:7 (note) By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

2 Peter 2:6 (note) and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter

Spurgeon comments...

What, die for them, and then condemn them? Nobody can condemn them but the Judge; and if he is unable to condemn them, in consequence of what he has already done for them, then none can. But this is not all. Will he blow hot and mild, and first intercede for them, and then condemn them? It cannot be.

The only one who has the right to condemn is the Judge of all men, Jesus Christ (see note 2 Timothy 4:1) -- and Jesus died for us and condemned sin in the flesh (see note Romans 8:3). And more than that, He was raised to life for us, He is now at the right hand of God in power for us, and He is also interceding for us (see note Hebrews 7:25). And we are now identified and in union with Him (see notes Romans 6:2; 6:3;6:4; 6:5; 6:6;, see also In Christ) so it is unreasonable to think that He is then going to condemn us. And so Paul alludes to the power that we possess to lay hold afresh of the life of Jesus. Not only is our guilt set aside, but we have His power imparted to us -- His life in us, His risen life made available to us now. So we can rise up and say "No!" to the temptations that surround us and the habits that drag us down. We can be a victor over them. That is not mere dogma, for believers are in union with a living Person who dies, yes, rather who was raised. That is the glory of Christianity. The unique distinction of Christians is that we have Jesus.

Died (599) (apothnesko from apo = separation from that which one was previously united, from, away from + thnesko = to die) means to die off from and pictures death as not an annihilation but a separation, the separation being of the soul from the body. In spiritual death, apothnesko pictures separation (eg, from the power of sin in Romans 6:2 [note], from the Law Romans 7:6 [note], the elementary principles of the world Colossians 2:20 [note], etc).

Bengel comments that...

Our faith should rest on Christ’s death, but it should rather also so far progress as to lean on His resurrection, dominion, and second coming

Farrar adds that...

From the representations of the dead Christ the early believers shrank as from an impiety. To them He was the living, not the dead Christ — the triumphant, the glorified, the infinite, — not the agonized Christ in that one brief hour and power of darkness which was but the spasm of an eternal glorification

Raised (1453) (egeiro) means to waken, rouse from sleep, from sitting or lying, from disease, from death, from inactivity, from ruins. It means to lift up, raise up, arise again, stand up. Metaphorically, egeiro is used in the NT to describe to awaken from sluggishness or lethargy (see note Romans 13:11). It also refers as in the present use to be awakened up from death and so to be raised from the dead.

Another challenge rings out! Is there anyone here to condemn? No one, because Christ has died for the defendant, has been raised from the dead, is now at the right hand of God interceding for him. If the Lord Jesus, to whom all judgment has been committed, does not pass sentence on the defendant but rather prays for him, then there is no one else who could have a valid reason for condemning him.

WHO IS (continually) AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD WHO ALSO (continually) INTERCEDES FOR US: os kai estin (3SPAI) en dexia tou theou os kai entugchanei (3SPAI) huper hemon: (Mark 16:19; Acts 7:56-60; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 8:1,2; 12:1; 1 Peter 3:22)  (Romans 8:27; Isaiah 53:12; John 16:23,26,27; 17:20-24; Hebrews 4:14,15; 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1,2)

He it is to Whom all judgment is committed (Jn 5:22, 27 see note 2 Timothy 4:1).

The mention of His position at God's right hand of authority serves to stress the efficacy of His intercession and our security.

Denny explains that...

This is Paul's final security-- the last ground of his triumphant assurance: Jesus Christ, at God's right hand, with the virtue of His atoning death in Him, pleads His people's cause. Cf Heb 9:24, 7:25, 1John 2:1ff) (Nicoll, W Robertson, Editor: Expositors Greek Testament: 5 Volumes. Out of print. Search Google)

Intercedes (1793) (entugchano from en = in + tugcháno = to reach a mark, to get, to obtain) according to Vine means "primarily  “to fall in with, meet with in order to converse”; then, “to make petition,” especially “to make intercession, plead with a person,” either for or against others".

Entugchano was sometimes used of bringing a petition before a king on behalf of another.

Vincent writes that the verb entugchano...

means to light upon or fall in with; to go to meet for consultation, conversation, or supplication.

The idea of entugchano is first to meet up with or to encounter, then to meet with for the purposes of conversation or an interview, and then to approach someone with a petition. Entugchano thus means to make an earnest request through contact with the one approached. To entreat (in favor or against), to make intercession, to bring a petition to a king on behalf of someone, to ask for something with urgency and intensity, to plead, beg, appeal to or to petition.

Our Great High Priest speaks to His Father on our behalf and He is engaged in this gracious work continually (present tense) He is continuously interceding on behalf of His brethren.