No Condemnation

Romans 8:1-2.. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

To condemn or condemnation is to express utter disaproval...to find guilty; convict; to doom. A very negative word but one the Lord spoke to me today. Think about the word and its definition for a minute. How many times a week do we, in our minds or through our words or actions find someone guilty...convict someone..or even express utter disaproval?

This morning in giving advice to someone else about responding in love not reacting in condemnation the Lord convicted me. I heard my own words, which really were the words of the Holy Spirit. My mind started thinking of all the times I engaged in the thoughts and words of condemnation...you know.."He/she did that on purpose just because he/she knows I don't like it!"..."I know they haven't done what I asked..they never do!"..."I know that's a lie.." and one in particular that stuck in my mind.."There, they did it again! How many times have we talked about that and there still is no change. They should have learned by now..I'm not putting up with that anymore!"

CONDEMNATION, CONDEMNATION, CONDEMNATION! Am I so perfect that I can be judge, jury and proclaim sentence without even one question? Am I so righteous that I am allowed to decide how long it should take for a soul to been transformed. Am I so heartless that I would rather judge than love as Christ did? Am I so arrorgant that I neglect my own sin but quickly point to how others should be sinless? Do I always want to be judged by the strictness of the law and be shown no mercy, grace or compassion?

Let me share what the Holy Spirit was saying through me, for my friend, but also for myself and maybe for you too! In relationships...in life for that matter we ALL have sinned and will keep on sinning. Just because you have conquerored something does not mean it is not a problem for someone else. And what might take you a day to overcome might take someone else years. And we will never be perfect...we will keep on sinning and God will keep using the Holy Spirit to teach us, mold us, make us more Christlike. If we could isolate a problem and then just change we would end up one day being perfect. Being Christlike is a day to day struggle...it is a path we are on, covered in God's grace, and it will not end until we leave this world. We, as christians, need to exhibit patience, understanding, trust, and forgiveness to the people we love to help them BE more Christlike and that shows also the transformation in us.

For instance, let's say that you are a husband and you seem to always come home from work late...you get off at 5 p.m., usually end up staying later but more often than not forget to call home. Your wife hates this and the two of you have talked about it. She watches the clock starting at around 3 p.m., counting down the minutes until you get home so that she can get a little help with the children. She also has dinner ready to serve at 5:15 p.m. because she is looking ahead at kitchen clean-up, baths for the kids, and can hardly wait to put them to bed so she can have a break....can't you tell that a woman, wife and mother is coming up with this scenerio!

Well, by the time you roll into the carport forty-five minutes late, humming a few bars of your favorite song, happy as a lark because you finished the project you were working on...your wife has judged you, the jury is in and you are condemned for a life of cold stone treatment! Now keep in mind that I am talking about christians, and a couple that has a good marriage, and a husband and wife that love each other and try their best. There is a problem and it needs to be addressed and worked on but in the law of the Spirit of Life which has brought us the freedom to extend mercy and understanding.

In our relationships we should be slow to judge the actions of another...out of love for that person we should expect that they are doing the best they can. Don't we want that from the people we love? We should expect that they want to and are trying to change those things that cause friction in our relationship. Leave the condemnation out on the side walk....don't convict him without even one question. Don't immediately express utter disaproval. It is right to bring problems out into the light. We need to illuminate our sin, our falleness, our shortcoming. The way to do that though is not through condemnation.

And in the book of Acts we find a good example of condemnation ..."When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him (Paul) and asked that he be condemned." Paul had committed no offenses but was judged and convicted and found to be guilty. CONDEMNATION. And then we have the greatest example of condemnation in the books of Matthew and Luke..."I have examined him in your pressence and have found no basis for your charges against him (Pilate speaking). Neither has Herod; for he sent him back to us; as you can see he has done nothing to deserve death." Luke 23:14b-15. Jesus was tried six times, by both Jewish and Roman officals but never convicted of a crime that deserved death. But yet he was CONDEMNED and suffer a horrible death.

Sinful, yes we are...held to the letter of the law and condemned without mercy or even a question..no, that is not what Jesus teaches us! What an honor that our Lord and Saviour loves me enough to bring this to me today. I can only praise him for showing me that I need to rid my mind and my heart of condemnation and replace it with compassion, patience, love and understanding. What a wonderful Father he is to show me that I need work on my "people skills" and start responding more instead of reacting. What a teacher he is to show me that I need to confront the problems around me but with prayer, love and the Holy Spirit. What a wonderful life I have in Christ Jesus with no condemnation!

Romans 5:16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

Romans 5:18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.