We must never Condemn; Even Christ did not come to Condemn us!

We must never Condemn; Even Chrisrt did not come to Condemn us!

Condemnation is a critical adverse entity that comes from hatred towards a person or a specific indication of controlled laws held by dictators.  There is a misguided concept that God is ready to strike us down as soon as we disobey him.  That idea was well instructed by Fire and Brimstone preachers who tried to express conversion to sinners, but after much induction towards sinful people most turned away for a more casual life that wasn’t condemning them for every little mistake.  

If these supposedly well-meaning preachers had read the Gospel of John more diligently, they would certainly have found the verse that says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”  (Jn 3: 17).  Perhaps the ones who promoted condemnation wanted people to elevate their preaching and raise them up as holy people who never sinned themselves, in their own appearance.   

We may not hold up our successes of being saved, a term used by Evangelicals, as a sign of purity and holiness.  The Pharisee in the parable Jesus spoke about shows how quickly we can condemn ourselves by pride.  “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.  The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity - greedy, dishonest, adulterous - or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.”  But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”  I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”  (Lk 18: 10 - 14).

Whenever any of us believes that our supposedly holiness is due to what we do without the grace from God’s input, we need to take another look at what James said regarding works.  “Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works,” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.  For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.  (Jas 2: 18, 26).  

This becomes a reality that for some doing things regardless of faith is enough to gain grace from God.   However, as the tax collector asked God for mercy in spite of his weakness and failure towards righteousness became the essence of a need for forgiveness.  Herein is the ultimate pattern that each of us must follow that faith alone as well as reason alone are neither sufficient without the other.  When we combine faith and reason equally as one entity we absolutely become dependent upon the grace that God will embrace us with and we will see ourselves as co-dependent upon what is meant by inheritance through the Holy Spirit .  “So that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.”   (Eph 1: 12 - 14).

Ralph B. Hathaway