Feeling Condemned?

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Feeling condemned?

Romans 8:34

Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Because the Lord Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God, interceding for us, we are no longer condemned. Condemnation is no longer a word for us to live in fear of. For because of Christ, the enemy cannot make us rejected by God. Now God accepts everyone who believes in His Son Jesus Christ and it does not matter if you slip into sin.

In Christ there is no longer condemnation. This of course does not mean that we are licensed to sin. In fact Christ did not die for us so that we can sin. He died to save us from the consequences of our sins. And when He did, He gave us the power to overcome sin. Those who believe in Christ and His resurrection power no longer have to be overwhelmed by sin. In fact in Titus 2:12, grace teaches us to deny ungodliness.

So why do we need to know that in Christ there is no condemnation? It is because directly or indirectly, we are naturally prone to live in condemnation. Take for example, if you fail an exam, are you still rested or do you feel condemned? If you fail to keep the ten commandments, do you feel condemned? If you fail to make a close one proud, do you feel like you have not done enough? All these are, to me, are examples of being condemned by your failures and mistakes. But fear not, everyone makes mistakes, everyone fails in life. To get to your success is to fail multiple times and learn from it.

What I am getting at is that our Lord Jesus Christ has already paid for you so that you no longer have to feel condemned. Because no sin on earth, nor failures you have made could separate you from the love of God. And as long as we know that, we can remain rested and stressed free because our God does not condemn us. In fact, He just wants to draw us closer to Him.

Hold onto the Lord

Thursday, April 08, 2010
Acts 4:23-31

There comes a point in time where we have to choose between going against man or going against God. Persecutions come and we have to be ready when it does. If you’re being persecuted right now, hold strong, because even the disciples of the first movement were persecuted. If you’re free from persecution now, pray for those facing persecution, and be ready for it when it comes.

The elders of the church were respected and feared. Even then, the disciples of Jesus Christ did what was right in the sight of God. They had to choose between fearing man or fearing God. When we get the perspective that we are only temporarily here on earth, then it is only wise if we choose to fear God even if it means going against men. Whether it be elders of the church, family, friends, relatives, we need to make a stand that God will come first. Everything else will fade away but the Lord will still remain.

Hold onto the right thing and the rest will be easy.