God does not condemn you or anybody else for sin. Does that sound strange to you, it did to me at first. The law condemns sin in sinful man, but it is only because they do not believe in Jesus. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgement, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were veil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (John 3:17-21)."
Those who are against God are 'enemies in their minds' only. They are believing a lie. "For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven (Colossians 1:19-20)." He has reconciled all things to Himself!! All things!! But that doesn't mean we believe it. Paul explains this crazy reconciliation further, "And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in min, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach (Colossians 1:21-22)." The issue that the world faces isn't the power of sin, its the lie that sin still has power, and that it is still necessary to do something in order to reconcile ourselves to God. The truth is that we are already reconciled we just aren't agreeing with what Jesus paid for 2000 yrs ago!
It is common to not want to step into the light because of fear of condemnation. We feel bad for doing bad and not doing good, and so we are afraid to bring things to God because we are believing a lie about how he views us. Look at the woman who was caught committing adultery.
"But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?' They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, 'He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.' Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more (John 8:1-11)."
Do you see the lie? The lie is that if we expose our deeds we will reap condemnation, but the truth is we will reap forgiveness and the power over sin, to 'sin no more'. "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life (John 8-12)." Now that is good news!
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 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, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according tot he flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those whoa re according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself tot he law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:1-8)."
If we want to be free we just need to be honest before God and ask others to pray for us often.
ReplyDelete