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Life in the Holy Spirit An Empowerment Bible Study © 2003 by Terry A. Modica |
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Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
Living free of condemnation
John 3:16-21 makes very clear a truth that many of us don't fully believe: Jesus was not sent into the world to condemn anyone. Yet we feel condemned. Why is that?
Do you feel bad about yourself? Have you been unable to forgive yourself? Are you harder on yourself than you are on others? Are you trying to find your happiness in how others treat you because you don't feel happy about yourself? Do you fight with others or distance yourself from them because they never give you enough of the affirmation you're desperate to get because you're not hearing God affirm you?
These are all typical results from failing to grasp the meaning of this scripture. They are the normal consequences we get from believing that we're not good enough, no matter what we do, which translates to condemnation. Every time we sin, guilt confirms that we deserve the condemnation. When we innocently make a mistake, this too feels like proof that we deserve to be condemned (which is why we condemn ourselves for making mistakes). And every unjust, unfair, unkind situation that happens to us triggers this feeling of being condemned.
The truth is: We were freed from condemnation when we accepted for ourselves Christ's sacrifice on the cross. What we need to know in order to live in this truth is that there's a difference between guilt and shame.
Guilt comes from doing something bad. When we sin, we are guilty, and when we repent, Christ's love frees us from the condemnation we deserve. But shame comes from the false assumption that, due to our sinfulness, WE are bad. Shame continues long after we've been forgiven. Jesus doesn't condemn us, but shame does. Shame won't free us from guilt, won't allow us to enjoy the forgiveness of God, won't enable us to forgive ourselves. Guilt tells us the truth about ourselves and invites us to grow from it; shame lies to us and paralyzes our growth.
The truth is: Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, there is no shame in realizing our sinfulness, because facing it frees us to change and become holier. There is no shame in exposing our sins in the light of Christ, because He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us become who we REALLY are. Who are you really? You are holy! You are a wonderful masterpiece of God, made in His image, with His personality traits and His goodness!
By living out this truth, others see God when they look at us. The good we do is an earthly example of what God is like. We are in the light and our works are clearly seen as done in God. Made in His image, we are His hands and feet and vocal chords here on earth. The spirit of condemnation blinds with the darkness of the lie that says Christ's sacrifice doesn't free us from our sins; the Holy Spirit enlightens us in the truth of what it means to be made in the image of God.
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See also Holy Living: A Bible Study covering the Sermon on the Mount.
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