Overcoming Condemnation
Romans 8:1 tells us that there is no condemnation for those in Christ. Paul says this right after he gets through telling us he struggles with longing to be obedient and yet his flesh is always there trying to prevent him. The order struck me as strange, but I think the reason this is so is because Paul knows that we will constantly be battling the flesh and its desires and that we will give into those desires at times. When we do, he doesn’t want us to beat ourselves up and give further opportunity to the devil to come in and have his way with us. If we at that time confess our sins and repent of that which Christ commanded us to do (or not do), then there should be no cause for us to beat ourselves up. I know I struggle with this more because I am somewhat of a perfectionist. Added to this is the fact that I know God is too in relation to sin. Couple those together and every time I give into my fleshly desires, I feel shame and guilt and think I am no longer able to be effective for God that day.
However, I just realized that this is very similar to the way my wife reacts when she screws up. We’ll be having a great time and she’ll get on to me for something and then realize she shouldn’t have done so and apologize and then beat herself up and say the whole night is ruined. However, from my end, I’m just so thankful that she realized she acted incorrectly and the second she apologized, I was overjoyed and forgave her instantly, even if its something she does all the time.
So is the case with God. When we sin, it automatically separates us from God (making it harder to seek forgiveness), but if we ask him for forgiveness, there should be no false feelings of guilt and shame because we should know that we have been forgiven. As long as we are sincere in our seeking forgiveness and desire to repent, from my example above, I see no reason why he shouldn’t be overjoyed to see us move on and be greateful for his grace.
Think about the implications. If I sin, realize it, and seek forgiveness and still feel guilt and shame, how will that keep me from sinning again? Won’t that just heap more and more condemnation on myself? So it’s really me who is doing the heaping, not God. But if I sin, seek God’s forgiveness and seek to repent, I should realize that I am forgiven and go and sin no more and be overjoyed that I have been graciously forgiven! In essence, I should feel elated that I am no longer condemned and give glory to God because of his grace. I should however realize that I should not go on sinning for then God would not be so willing to forgive me if I sinned on purpose.