Can God Really Help You?

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)

What is condemnation? Condemnation is a feeling of guilt or wrongdoing. It is usually caused by the perception that we are in some way being judged. This may be that we are judging ourselves or feel that others are judging us. Condemnation is the twin brother of fear. Between them they can ruin your life, preventing you from living in peace and happiness. We dealt with fear on day 3; today we are going to deal with condemnation.

Condemnation is a problem for most people, but particularly for overweight people. We live in an accusatory, judgemental world that reveres slim people. If we are not slim, we feel condemned. Not only do we feel condemned by the world, but we condemn ourselves out of a sense of failure. We beat ourselves up for eating too much, for not having the will power to resist. Many people have problems in their lives, in fact nearly everyone does if the truth be told, but when the problem is food, it is usually obvious. We know that people can see that we have a problem and we think that they are judging us for it. We also come under condemnation every time we step on the scales or put on tight fitting clothes, when we are reminded of our failure.

Condemnation is not a motivator, it is a de-motivator. You feel awful about yourself and eventually start eating more as a comfort, to ease the pain. Condemnation holds you back and today I hope to start you on a journey to help you become free from it.

As I wrote above, condemnation arises out of a feeling that we are being judged. We are afraid of this judgement. To deal with the feelings of condemnation we need to deal with judgement.

      Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. (Luke 6:37)

Jesus was absolutely clear that we are not to judge or condemn. This means that we are not to judge or condemn other people, or ourselves.

Most of you will be familiar with the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. She was brought to Jesus and he was asked whether she should be stoned. Jesus replied that if anyone was without sin, they could cast the first stone. When no-one threw a stone, Jesus asked her “Has no-one condemned you?” She replied “No-one, sir.” Jesus then declared “Then neither do I condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus did not say that it was okay that she had committed adultery. He referred to it as sin. In fact the seventh of the Ten Commandments is “You shall not commit adultery”. However, Jesus said that even though she had sinned he did not condemn her and he also showed that no-one else had the right to condemn her either.

Think about this for a moment. This woman had messed up. There was no doubt about her sin; the Bible is clear on where God stands in relation to adultery. It’s not acceptable. Why didn’t Jesus condemn her? Let’s go back and look at what we have learned on previous days;
1) On day 1 we learned that God loves us and he sent his son to save us, not condemn us.
2) On day 4 we learned that it is time to stop trusting in our own performance and trusting in what Jesus did instead.
3) On day 7 we learned that Jesus has paid the price for our sins, we are forgiven and we need to forgive others and ourselves.

Jesus didn’t condemn her because he loved her and came to save her. Jesus loves you and he came to save you. He didn’t come to judge you and make you feel guilty. You are not being judged. This also means that you have no right to judge yourself or anyone else. Nobody has the right to judge you.

Jesus set you free from condemnation. Believe it and receive it.

Today

As you go about your day, meditate on and speak out the following two scriptures:

      Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.

     Do not judge and you will not be judged, do not condemn and you will not be condemned.