Condemnation part 2
Let's look at our key verse for this Rant series and really dive into it. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). And I'm using the King James Version here because that's the version that (on my Bible app) is linked to the Strong's Concordance. "Condemnation," in said Strong's Greek Concordance, is number 2631 and it means, "an adverse sentence (the verdict): - condemnation." Which, ironically, is what religious folk would have you believe is what happened on the cross. They put forth the idea that God's verdict was a death sentence. That God killed His only begotten Son. That God... killed God? Jesus, God in the flesh, love in a body, made... Himself... so mad that He had to kill... Himself? I'm not sure that makes a lot of sense. Especially when it was MANKIND who hung Jesus on the cross. But even then, it wasn't mankind who KILLED Jesus. Nobody killed Jesus, because nobody could. God is life. How could anybody kill life? Jesus laid His life down so He could pick it back up. God's sentence wasn't a death sentence. God's judgment, or sentence, was a LIFE sentence! An abundant, everlasting, eternal life sentence! He raised His only begotten Son FROM the dead. And all of us in Him. That's what it means to "be in Christ"--it means that when Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the cross, He drew us all into Himself. And He planted Himself in all of us. Drew us out of the death that we were already in, and drew us into the life that He is! But here's the point as far as our daily walk, or daily life: Nobody, and I mean nobody, can bring an adverse sentence against you. Think about it: If God has forgiven your sins (and He has), what does anybody else possibly have to say about it? That would be nothing. Like the person at camp meeting who didn't raise their hand when asked "Who in here has sinned?". That wasn't me. That old man is dead and gone. Buried at sea in water baptism. That may be who I WAS, but that's not who I AM. A "sinner saved by grace" is not a sinner any more. Something happened. The cross happened. Once a sinnner... now a saint! Once a sinner... now a Son! We need to understand and embrace our "new" (TRUE) identity. And that comes not only with a clean slate (that could, you know, be dirtied up again) but with the glorious truth that we are, and will forever be, in right standing with God! You ARE the righteousness of God in Christ. And that's not dependent on anything. That's not just what you do. That's who you are. Even on your worst day. Even in the midst of your biggest screwup. When you make a mistake you are not disqualified. You are still the righteousness of God in Christ. Your behavior does not change your identity--but a revelation of your true identity WILL change your behavior! And here's the key: If there's no condemnation, that means you have grace to grow. That means you can live and learn. You can't learn from your mistakes if you never make any. So give yourself a break. Cut yourself some slack. Stop giving an adverse sentence... to yourself. You ARE perfect, or complete, in Him. So stop worrying so much about what that looks like. You're not lacking anything that you need. There is nothing anybody says about you that you need to listen to--except for the still, small voice deep inside you that says, "I love you, I love you, I love you" with every beat of God's heart in your chest. That's the judgment of God. That's what equips and empowers us to live and to love. That's what you ought to listen to. Because that is the ultimate truth of the universe!