So last night I went to week 4 of our churches ‘Living Free’ Course (have mentioned this copiously before, but see here for more info). I won’t go on about it all again, but I love it. It’s quite a contraversial approach and I guess you have to believe in the devil/enemy/force of evil/insert other variant here, to get it.
Anyway last night the talk was partly about repentance and condemnation. So much of the talk spoke to me in ways the course hasn’t done before and particularly in relation to condemnation:
There is NO condemnation in Christ.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… (Romans 8:1)
Seems simple right? we don’t need to be taught this. but how many of us condemn ourselves for things we do wrong? Recognising we’ve done something wrong is usually the easy bit and even repenting isn’t that hard once we’ve recognised it. But then how many of us beat ourselves up about the initial wrong thing or sin? The girl doing the talk gave a great example of her own about shouting at her kids and then descending into a spiral of ‘oh I’m such a terrible mother’ and so on… how many of us Mums shout at our kids and then feel bad? Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t feel bad at all – I mean that is how we recognise what we’ve done wrong and try not to do it again. But we do not need to beat ourselves us about it. Repent, receive Gods forgiveness and it’s dealt with. simple as that!
In relation to repentance she then had a diagram of 3 doors. The first has a sign on saying ‘defensiveness and self-justification’; the second: ‘repentance’; and the third: ‘Condemnation & guilt’. When we sin and ask for forgiveness we can chose which door to go through. It is up to us, no one can make us go through one door over another. we chose. But only one is the right one, the path to true forgiveness.
3 Comments
Lesley Fellows
June 10, 2010 at 1:53 pmOh no.. I am such a useless person cos I don't do repenting correctly (joke) :)
Sorry..
I once heard that God convicts us of sin, the devil condemns us.. so how am I feeling when I do something wrong, and am I listening to God's voice or the voice of the devil? (Metaphorically, of course ;) )
Jules
June 10, 2010 at 3:39 pmLOL!
I think God can gently chide us and show us the 'error of our ways' but the devil (literally speaking ;) ) condemns us. As Christians, Christ lives in us so to recognise what is right and wrong should be a natural process and is for most people. But we are open to influence from the enemy so of course we sometimes fail and condemn ourselves…
Finally Free
June 12, 2010 at 12:39 pmHi Red,
This is one of my all time favorite verses in the Bible. For years I lived, even as a Christian, with guilt and condemnation. (shame) I would repent and the devil would condemn me in my mind. I started saying this verse over and over for years. Now, I finally believe it. The enemy is a liar and the accuser of the brethren.
I also heard another good way to speak back to the enemy. When He condemns us, we can agree that we are a sinner, BUT tell him that God has forgiven us. I thank God every day for the freedom He has given me over Sin and Death!
Hallelujah!
Thanks for sharing such a powerful post.
Blessings,
Tammy