Dealing with condemnation

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Ro.8:1). The condemnation that was due to us because of our sins has been taken up by our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Instead, when we placed our trust in Him as our Saviour, His righteousness is credited to us on the basis of our faith (Ro.4:24). God accepts us as His children.

What happens if we fall into sin afterwards? Jesus is our Advocate pleading for us with the Father (1Jn.2:1). If we confess our sins, He will forgive us, because His death on our behalf was the once-for-all atonement for the sins of the whole world (1Jn.2:2;1:9). Walking in the light like this will ensure that even our unconscious sins are forgiven (1Jn.1:7). But we need to remember that our sins are not taken care of automatically after we come to Jesus. There is provision for forgiveness, but we can receive it only when we own up to our sin and ask Him for forgiveness.

If we do not admit our sins or confess it, we show up to God as unrepentant people, as those who are not serious about wanting not to sin again. But starting from Adam and Eve, it has been our human nature to try and deny that we have sinned, or to make it as if someone else is responsible for it. Just think of it from God's point of view. He is willing to forgive our past and give us a chance to learn to stop sinning, but if we will not even admit that we have sinned, we cannot think that we want to stop sinning. Such behaviour is to take advantage of grace. In that case we only want to avoid punishment for our sins, but we are not really interested in overcoming sin.

When we fall into sin, it should give us a sense of guilt, disappointment and grief to realise that we have sinned against God. At this point we don't have to feel rejected or condemned by God. When He promises that He will not forsake us, it applies especially in the context of our fall. He is right there with us waiting to forgive us, lift us up and help us farther along the way.

But what seems to happen is that some people tell themselves that there is no condemnation for them, and then reject the feeling of guilt that their fall has brought them. They assure themselves that the blood of Jesus covers them and that they are justified before God, and refuse to reckon with the fact that they have failed God.

Some others claim that since everyone's sins for all time have already been paid for when Jesus died, they don't have to even ask for forgiveness when they fall! Here again what is lacking is a sorrow for their sins and desire to overcome sin.

A part of what drives us forward towards ultimate victory is the sorrow and guilt we feel when we fail (2Co.7:10,11). If we avoid feeling this sorrow because of wrong teaching, what we will miss is the forgiveness we could have got by confessing our sins. Ultimately we will also remain slaves to sin.

We must be honest about our sin and our sin nature if we wish to overcome it.