Fear and condemnation reveal lack of faith. If we are so disappointed in our weakness then we are relying on our own strength. Rather than letting God's strength grant us the victory that he has won, we seek to attain it for ourselves continuously fail and then feel miserable. When we live in condemnation our hope is in our flesh and not in Jesus, who, 'takes away the sins of the world.' It is written, "Do not receive the grace of God in vain (2 Cor. 6:5)", for there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). For He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:9-10)!" When we truly surrender to Jesus, when we give up on ourselves, He 'condemns sin in the flesh,in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us (Rom. 8:4)."
Often times we fall under condemnation, or cause others to, because we do not see them from a heavenly point of view. Even after we have forgiven an individual, which of course presupposes that they have sinned against us, we often times still see them as tainted. We then hold them to a low standard (what we expect of them) merited by the sin that they had committed, even though we had supposedly forgiven them. This means we did not actually forgive them!!! It says, "Forgive as you have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32)." "If someone sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him (Luke 17:4)." Again: true forgiveness restores the standard, it keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus says, "Whom you forgive I will forgive, who you don't forgive I won't forgive (John 20:23)." Jesus puts great trust in us, that is those who have been forgiven, even to the point of giving us power over eternal forgiveness! This reveals that we can only truly forgive if we have actually accepted forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32). Have you received forgiveness? If there is condemnation in your heart, or you find it hard to forgive those around you, it is time for a fresh revelation of Christ's forgiveness for you. Not receiving forgiveness reveals pride in ourselves and confidence in our flesh.
In order to truly accept forgiveness we need to completely surrender ourselves. When we admit that we cannot attain to righteousness, no matter how hard we try, we throw ourselves at the feet of Jesus. He then is able to pick us up and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and then transform us (1 John 1:9). If we are still confident in our flesh, either believing it is too strong or too weak, transformation is not possible and we will continually live in disappointment, guilt, and abject mourning over sin that God has taken away. When we truly come before the Lord humbly and meekly, we will receive the gift that He has given us. This allows us to live with a Renewed Mind (Rom. 12:2), literally as new creations (2 Cor. 5:17)!! Forgiveness cleanses us from all unrighteousness; it restores our entire being, and no taint of that sin remains!! This means no shame, no regret, and no condemnation! If the old is not gone in your life, or you are not able to live in the new life of freedom God has given you by grace, then humble yourself and allow the forgiveness of Jesus to wash you clean and empower you as a new creation.
For where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Freedom (2 Cor. 3:17)", "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory (Rom. 8:15-17)." When we are in sin and we surrender to God he forgives us, but we don't need to believe him. Unfortunately unbelief feels a lot like humility..... but unbelief is actually a manifestation of pride and confidence in the flesh. Faith in God's grace and forgiveness brings about transformation, boldness, and confidence. Unbelief in this forgiveness brings about shame, guilt, condemnation, and unforgiveness in our own hearts.
Rise up church, rise up sons and daughters of God! Humble yourselves, do not consider equality with God something to be grasped. If you do this you will continually live in abject suffering and despair over sin that God has taken away and condemnation that He does not want you to experience! Accepting God's grace in vain, which means not allowing his forgiveness to reset the standard in your life, prevents you from living up to what has already been attained. You have a new identity in Christ! You are Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation!! As more than conquerors you are called and empowered to bring the Kingdom of Heaven here to Earth! Citizens of Heaven I call on you! To proclaim the reality of God's grace, forgiveness and power! The Kingdom of God is in you, and when you bring that reality to those around you, the same Kingdom draws near to them! God already won, victory paid for. I tell you now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:3)!!!
"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:16-21)."
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