Living Free From Condemnation

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."  John 3:17

I want you let those words sink in for a minute.  Jesus was not sent by God to condemn you.  He was sent to save you.  

What does that word, "condemn" mean?  Well, the dictionary defines it like this:

1 express complete disapproval of, typically in public; censure2 sentence (someone) to a particular punishment, esp. death• officially declare (something, esp. a building) to be unfit for use• prove or show the guilt of• (of circumstances) force (someone) to endure something unpleasant or undesirable

So, now that you know what that means, this verse makes more sense.  Jesus wasn't sent to condemn you, but to save you! (As a quick side note, the Holy Spirit will convict you of sin and wrongdoing, but He will never condemn you)
So, since condemnation isn't from Jesus, we can simply conclude that it comes from the devil.  
Condemnation is one of Satan's oldest attempts to make Christians ineffective while on the earth.  When you are submitting to that condemnation, you are alloying the devil to be the lord over your life in whatever circumstance it is.  

For example, when you sin, you know you have been forgiven of that sin because of 1 John 1:9.  But, a little while later, the devil comes around to remind you of what you did.  Now, here's where "The rubber meets the road", so to speak.  

If you begin to feel bad, and get upset, and ask God for forgiveness again, the devil has gotten you into condemnation.  But, if you just sit back, smile, and say, "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Devil.  You're going to have to go talk to my Father about it.  But He doesn't remember it either," you go free.  

That's exactly what happened to Paul in the 28th chapter of Acts.  If you remember, he was being taken to Rome as a prisoner, but his real reason for going was to preach before Caesar.  He told them to Captain of the ship to stay in port at a particular location, but they didn't listen to him, and went headlong into a massive hurricane.  After a few days, an angel appeared to Paul, and told him that the ship would be destroyed, but there would be no loss of life.  They were then shipwrecked on an island.

So, Paul is building a fire in the 28th chapter of Acts.  In verse 3, it says, "But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand."  So, Paul has now been bitten by a poisonous snake.  

Now, watch this closely.  Verse 4, "So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”"

They called Paul a murderer.  Do you remember the beginning of the book of Acts?  Paul was a murderer, and held the coats of the men who stoned Stephen.  He was on his way to Damascus to kill more Christians when he was stopped by Jesus, and got saved.

Clearly Paul understood forgiveness.  He knew he was forgiven.  How else could he say to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 7:2, "Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man."

You see, he was forgiven, and he knew it, but the devil is trying to get him back over into condemnation. At one point, he had been a murderer.  But, when he made Jesus the Lord of his life, that murderer died, and a new creation was born.  

So, the devil was trying to get him over into condemnation here.  But, Paul refused to bow to the pressure of condemnation, and subsequently stayed on THE BLESSING.  When he stayed on THE BLESSING, he was able to shake that snake off, and not be affected by that poison one tiny bit.

Now, I am of the firm belief that if he had gotten into condemnation over this, he would have died from the snake bite, because he would have separated himself from THE BLESSING, and his connection to God.

Submitting to condemnation makes you subject to same penalty Jesus freed you from.

So, I want to encourage you to live free from condemnation.  Don't let the devil, or people, condemn you.

When they try, you just smile real big, and say, "I've been forgiven according to 1 John 1:9, and my God is faithful and just to forgive me of my sin, and cleanse me from all unrighteousness!  I refuse to be condemned.  I'm forgiven.  Now Satan, you get out of here and leave me alone in Jesus' Name!"  

You watch, he'll run so fast, he'll be gone before you know it.  

So, I want to encourage you this week-stay free from condemnation!  You don't need to live that way.  You go free, and live life the way God wants you to-overflowing in every arena of life.