For someone who is religious and does not know the ways of God, it’s easy to think that Guilt and Condemnation come from God. But they do not. Conviction is from God but Guilt and condemnation are from Satan.
As always, Satan wants to keep people in bondage so he will make it look like there is no solution to your problem. He will lie to you that God cannot forgive you for that sin you committed many years ago. He can even make you start working for your forgiveness by setting up a standard for you that you cannot reach.
For instance, he can lie to you that the only sins God will forgive are those you apologized for. He can remind you of people you must apologize to, and lead you to apologizing all the time, even for what you did not remember or know that you did wrong. He knows all men sin (Romans 3:9). Hence, it is easy for him to attack you with condemnation if you have not understood the truth of God’s Grace and the forgiveness that we receive through Jesus Christ.
I am going to write some important points here that one must understand in order to be free from condemnation:
- All men are under sin (Romans 3:9). Everybody sins. Whether it is in terms of thoughts, deeds, speech, not doing the good we are supposed to do, lying, stealing, hating, holding bitterness, getting angry, being proud, racist, jealous- no one is perfect who is still on planet earth. Christians and non-Christians sin!
- Therefore, no one is qualified to judge another person because all of us sin, one way or another (Romans 2:1). Only God can judge human beings because He is perfect. His sentence is final. Only God can forgive sins and justify a sinner. This is very important to understand. Even the Pharisees were surprised when Jesus told the paralytic that His sins were forgiven. They said He is blaspheming! Why? Because only God can justify or condemn a person. But Jesus is God. So, that should have been a sign to them.
- Because Jesus paid the penalty (the price) for our sins, by dying on the cross and resurrecting after 3 days, God demands no other sacrifice. He freely forgives all those who come to him, repent of their evil ways and accept to live and follow Christ forever. It does not mean that they become perfect but they are no longer under the law but under grace. He also demands that we forgive others who have hurt us because we have been forgiven. This does not mean reconciliation (because sometimes it is not possible) – but simply letting go of every anger and bitterness we have towards them. You can check my article on that.
- Most importantly, now that we believe in Jesus Christ we are considered righteous by God. We are justified before God, not because of our deeds (because we will sin again and God knows) but because of our Faith in Jesus Christ. This is written plenty of times in the bible. Our Righteousness is by Faith. God is Just and the Justifier of those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26). “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Our Justification is not by works, but because of our faith in Jesus Christ who died for our sins.
Therefore, in light of these statements, we should not allow anybody to condemn us. Whether it is Satan or people, nobody can condemn those who have already been justified by God. Because God is the Ultimate Judge. And He has forgiven us of our past, present and future sins (Hebrews 10:14).
“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” (Romans 8:33)
Be Blessed!
A Healthy You 