Never postpone what has already being fulfilled and accomplished in Christ.
The word that aptly captures our living realities in Christ is NOW.
When you read the letters of Paul, you will observe that when he refers to us in Christ, it is always in the present tense or present continuous tense and with what God has done, it is in the past tense.
You must train yourself to appropriate these realities as NOW living realities and not things that will happen in the future.
Romans 8:1 ASV
There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
Condemnation is continuing to feel guilty about sin that has already been confessed or circumstances or occurrences out of your own control.
Some mistake conviction as condemnation. They are very different.
Condemnation is the Accuser's way.
God’s way is conviction, which is simply correction and guidance. It is leading you toward the right way.
Simple definitions of condemnation include feelings of guilt, shame, regret, fear and unworthiness usually stemming from a past mistake or experience.
These past sins could have been 6 years ago or 10 minutes ago. Anytime we miss the mark, and we all do from time to time, the enemy will try his best to bring condemnation on us.
Your conscience which some refer to as their heart is the part of you that condemns you and if you’re feeling unworthy, it’s almost impossible to receive from God.
I John 3:19-21 NKJV
19. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
20. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
21. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.
We’ll later get to how to train your conscience.
At the root of your problem is condemnation.
The LORD is revealing to us the secret to living a transformed life. It’s time to remove all the buttons in our lives that the devil constantly presses.
When there’s condemnation, there’ll be fear.
When there’s fear, there’s going to be stress.
And when there’s stress, there’ll be manifestations of the curse.
What you must know about our enemy is that his primary job is found in his name – Satan, which is the Hebrew word for “prosecutor at law” or “accuser”.
As an accuser, Satan never talks about your good points.
He will bring up all the dirty laundry and relentlessly accuse you till you feel condemned.
Condemnation in the Greek infers condemning sentence. The reason condemnation usually goes undetected is because you can justify it by reason of your failings or neglect or feeling of unworthiness.
THINGS TO NOTE
1. We are to believe and stand on the word of God.
Romans 3:4AMP
By no means! Let God be found true though every human being is false and a liar, as it is written, That You may be justified and shown to be upright in what You say, and prevail when You are judged [by sinful men].
Psalm 34:22 AMPC
The Lord redeems the lives of His servants, and none of those who take refuge and trust in Him shall be condemned or held guilty.
2. Be aware that Satan was disarmed at the cross.
Colossians 2:14-15 NKJV
14. having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
3.THE ONLY PLACE WHERE YOU FIND NO CONDEMNATION IS IN CHRIST JESUS.
The word “therefore” connects Romans 8:1 to the previous verses in Romans 7, where Paul talked about how he was condemned by the law that he knew so well.
The reason that you and I experience no condemnation today is that all our sins have been punished and condemned in the body of Jesus Christ!
4. The accuser has been cast down.
Revelation 12:10-11 NKJV
10. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
He has been defeated! The moment he has no power to accuse, the benefits and effects of the Death, Burial and Resurrection of our LORD Jesus Christ will manifest in your life!
What is it about Jesus’ blood that makes it so powerful?
The blood is for the forgiveness of sins!
The blood is there to ensure that you live in no condemnation!
That is what makes it so powerful!
Matthew 26:28 NKJV
For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
5. Train your conscience.
God didn’t originally create us with a conscience. He didn’t create us with an ability to judge ourselves and to constantly evaluate whether we’re right or wrong.
He created us in innocence.
The conscience came as a result of the Fall.
God intended for our consciences to help us see that we needed salvation; rather it condemns us.
That's necessary until you become a believer.
We should not stay in that place of condemnation, in fact, we need to go beyond condemnation to develop a good conscience, a conscience that is spiritually perceptive and full of light.
Matthew 6:22-23 AMPC
22. The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light.
23. But if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the very light in you [your conscience] is darkened, how dense is that darkness!
Have you ever felt like though you were giving God your best, you still felt as if you weren't doing enough?
You need to develop a healthy conscience. Confessing my faults is a good thing, but to keep confessing sin because I don’t understand I'm a new creation is darkness.
Hebrews 10:22 AMPC
Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.
Believe that “we have been sprinkled {with his blood} to free us from a guilty conscience”
This is the joy of our salvation!
Faith in the power of His blood will take away all condemnation and all shame; our consciences will fill us with light!
I had an experience some years ago, I was on a night road trip to Lagos from Abuja and while on the journey, the Luxury bus broke down. After several hours, the mechanics fixed the bus. On my return trip, I boarded a different bus company, also a night trip and whilst on our way, the bus also broke down. You can imagine the way I felt, thoughts running through my head of condemnation. However, I ignored those thoughts and was praising God that my eyes are full of light as a BLESSED man. As other Luxury buses were passing at that time of the night, one slowed down and I was singled out from the other passengers of over 60 persons in the darkness and offered a free ride. Glory be to God!
Today, God wants you to receive the gift of no condemnation.
This gift will cause you to walk tall and be a true success.
This gift will also save you from a life of stress, fear, restlessness, and even sickness and disease. That is because everything that happens in your soul—the seat of your emotions and reason—will affect your physical body if it is not properly dealt with.
Do you find yourself being judgmental and critical? It means that you look for flaws and failings in others and form a verdict or opinion about them.
Do you know it’s a symptom of one walking in condemnation?
Often, we judge people because we ourselves “feel” judged either by God or by people.
If you find yourself observing, judging and criticizing the faults in people - spouses, friends, family, co-workers, political leaders - or even pointing them out to others, the Word of God has some advice for you: Stop it now!
Matthew 7:1-2 AMPC
1. DO NOT judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. 2. For just as you judge and criticize and condemn others, you will be judged and criticized and condemned, and in accordance with the measure you [use to] deal out to others, it will be dealt out again to you.
When you find yourself being highly critical of yourself and comparing yourself to others, needing constant affirmation from people around you or craving compliments, while feeling threatened if others are complimented, pause in your tracks and remind yourself of God's Unconditional approval and acceptance.
1 John 4:16GNB
And we ourselves know and believe the love which God has for us. God is love, and those who live in love live in union with God and God lives in union with them.
Pray for people instead of criticizing them.
Refuse to spread bad news or speak negatively about others.
When you’re living free from condemnation, you’ll find yourself eager to build others up.
I know there's a lot of pressure on you to convince those around you and even God Himself, that you deserve the salary, the friendship and even the love they give you.
Why? It is because you feel unworthy.
You have to know and accept the truth: God considered you worthy enough to send Jesus Christ to die for you.
Romans 5:8 (ESV)
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Meditate on scriptures that talk about God’s love for you.
Ask God to reveal to you that He loves you.
To be loved by God and to believe it from personal experience, family, it’s a marvelous thing!
Begin taking a stand by speaking this daily confession of faith against condemnation.
1. This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it! His mercies are new every morning.
2. I am saved, I am forgiven. No matter what I’ve done or what I’ve gone through, the blood of Jesus is more than enough to cleanse and wash away the past.
I am a new creation in Christ Jesus, and He makes ALL things new in my life.
3. I refuse to live in the past.
I take authority over my thoughts, and I rebuke the enemy right now in Jesus’ Name from bringing condemnation on me.
I resist those thoughts. I will not give them any attention anymore.
I have the mind of Christ.
4. I will not criticize or tear down others, nor will I think more highly of myself than I should.
I will work to build others up, and to bless and encourage them.
I will not judge or speak of the shortcomings of others, but instead I will pray for those who are working to become more Christ-like, just as I am.
5. I choose today to forgive myself for anything and everything wrong I have ever done or ever been part of.
I receive the forgiveness Christ died to give me.
I do this out of honor and respect for what He has done and out of obedience to His Word. As I do this, I freely forgive those around me for any and every offense.
6. I choose today to say, “I am worthy” of everything Christ died to give me.
I am worthy of receiving forgiveness.
I am worthy of receiving healing.
I am worthy of receiving financial prosperity.
I am worthy of receiving a spouse and children.
I am worthy—not because of what I’ve done or not done—but because Jesus has made me worthy to receive everything God has for me.
7. I am a child of God, and I freely receive all He has for me.
I expect to live in the abundance of His riches and glory through Christ Jesus.
Great job! As you speak this daily confession against condemnation, begin to see yourself as worthy, forgiven and free from judgment.
You don’t need to be affirmed by others.
You don’t need to prove you are holy.
You are justified by faith and faith alone.
Now go…live free!
Glory be to God!
Awesome time we've had this evening.
I see a fresh lease of life for someone.
All the burdens you've carried all these years are gone forever, never to return in Jesus name.
Amen
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