The Cure for Condemnation

*Condemnation= to think ill of/ blame/ to pronounce judgment/accusation*

Condemnation is something that I have lived with for quite awhile. The cycle would go something like this: God would reveal a particular sin pattern or instance of sin in my life. Instead of confessing it immediately, I would beat myself up for having sinned. I would wallow in the sin thinking of how horrible I was and how I should be over this by now. I’d lament the fact that spiritually, I was not where I wanted to be. (Notice my focus was “I” not “Him”). Confession and repentance were words I knew but didn’t experience daily. Condemnation and accusation however were familiar friends.
Recently I went through a bible study that God used to transform this area of my life. I realized that my penchant toward condemnation was a sign that I hadn’t fully grasped the Gospel – the fact that all of my sins were dealt with in Christ and have already been judged. Condemnation is from the enemy of our souls. Instead of conviction leading to confession and repentance, he wants conviction to lead us to a place of condemnation and despair. He is the accuser of the brethren and the father of lies. He might whisper things like:
“You’re still dealing with that? You should be over that by now. What kind of Christian are you?”
“You’ll never overcome that struggle. It’s hopeless.”
“This is the worst sin ever. You better not tell anyone…they will look at you differently.”

Through the bible study I mentioned earlier, God showed me that when there is a gap between conviction and repentance, condemnation and guilt enter in to take up that space. I learned that instead of wallowing in my sin, I can rejoice and express thanks to God that He has exposed the sin in my life. The Word says that that these two things lead to repentance: God’s kindness and godly sorrow (Romans 2:4 and 2 Corinthians 7:10). Oftentimes we feel the worst when our sin is exposed, but I think that is when we should rejoice. Why? Because God is being kind to us! Be thankful that the Holy Spirit is present in your life and that God has grown in you such a sensitivity to the Spirit that you can recognize the conviction that He brings. Godly sorrow is not something that we can conjure up on our own--it is produced by His Spirit, and it brings about a repentance without regret that leads to salvation. Mmmm…that’s some good stuff! Imagine what it would be like if you never knew the conviction of the Holy Spirit. You would continue in sin and conformity to Christ would not happen. So when conviction comes, acknowledge it with thankfulness and confess your sin—agree with God, call it what it is and then turn from it back to God. When those things happen immediately upon conviction, the enemy has no space to enter in.

The finished work of Christ on the cross frees us from guilt and condemnation. He bore our sin. He took in His body the penalty for every wrong we have ever done or will ever do. (It’s like if you committed murder and were sentenced to execution. Then Jesus comes into the courtroom and says no it was me. Execute me. You go free while the penalty for the murder you committed is placed on Him. He dies. You live. But we know that ultimately even though He died for our wrongdoing, He rose again. He dies, yet we both live. Does that make sense?) Colossians 3 gives a great image of what Jesus accomplished. It says that we had a certificate of debt that consisted of decrees against us, but the debt has been canceled because Jesus took it away and nailed it to the cross. Why wallow in something that God has already taken care of? My problem was that I’d get so focused on sin, that I’d lose sight of Christ and what He accomplished for me through his death on the cross. No more! There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The bible says that if we sin (which we will) we have an advocate in heaven—Jesus Christ.

I have noticed a marked difference in my life since I’ve begun confessing my sin immediately. One day recently, I told a sneaky little lie in order to make myself look better and to avoid exposing something wrong that I’d done. Almost immediately, I was convicted. And while my initial response was to wallow in it and beat myself up about it, that didn’t last long. Within a few minutes I confessed my sin, asked for forgiveness, repented (I went and told the truth), and rejoiced. It was sweet and I was able to continue my day without tormenting thoughts from the accuser. He was silenced while the reality of God’s grace rang loud and clear.

Praise God for this truth being made real in my life. It has been HUGE for me and I pray that it is helpful for you!!
(If you have any more insight or any theological tweaking, feel free to add. I hurried to post this cuz I was so excited about it, but it could probably use some more development)