No Condemnation

Last night I realized that there may be something in my life that the Holy Spirit wanted to change. The church-y word for this is conviction. I felt convicted over my self-centeredness.

My natural response to conviction is condemnation. Now, I know that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1) I know that God doesn't condemn me, but sometimes I condemn myself. "Oh, Hannah, you should have seen this coming. How could you be so selfish? How can you give God the glory if you're always thinking about yourself?" But Romans 8:1 says there should be "no" condemnation, either from God or myself.

I think it would be wise to define condemnation right here, to fully understand the impact of Romans 8:1. The dictionary defines condemnation as "the act of condemning," with condemning meaning "to express an unfavorable or adverse judgement on; indicate strong disapproval of; the pronounce to be guilty." Condemnation is ugly. It had to do with punishment and sin. But we have no condemnation if we are in Christ. How? That's where the next verses come in.

"Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life had set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned the sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:2-4)

I struggle to find words to express myself here! I am free! There is no condemnation for me, not now, not ever, because Christ has taken my punishment and given me a new Spirit! Who am I to condemn myself when God had declared me righteous through His Son? That is putting myself above God. But because of His grace, I can give myself grace too, something I can struggle with.

So when God points out an area of my life that He wants to change, maybe He isn't saying: "Hannah, you have disappointed me. This sin problem you have must be taken care of. You need to work on it and fix all of your problems." Maybe He is saying: "Hannah, I love you too much for you to keep on living in the flesh. I have given you my Spirit to lead you in a better way. It will be hard to change the sinful nature in you, but I will be with you, and I will give you the strength and the grace to transform your life into something even more beautiful."

So I invite you to let go of any condemnation that you've been feeling. Because if you are in Christ, then there is not one bit of condemnation on you; Jesus had taken it all away! Stop trying to be "okay", to have it all together. Because we weren't "okay"; we were dead. And because of God's grace we are much more than "okay"; we are His. We are without blemish, holy in His sight (Colossians 1:22). So live in God's grace. Live in His freedom. Live in Him.

I know that I'm still going to struggle with self-centeredness and perfectionism. That isn't something that will disappear overnight. But I also know that I have a strong, loving God helping me every step of this journey. My hope is in Him. And He will never fail!

Hannah