No Condemnation Part 2
Download MP3Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine encouragement. This is Joy In Every Step with your host, beloved preacher, retired teacher, and faithful faithful servant of the Lord, Sarita Bernadette. Each week, Sarita shares heartfelt messages rooted in the Word of God, filled with wisdom, joy, and the gentle reminder that God cares deeply for you. Whether you're walking through the valleys or dancing on the mountaintops, Sarita's voice will guide you back to his promises step by step. So open your heart, settle your spirit, and take the next step in faith with Joy In Every Step.
Sarita Bernadette:Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette, and welcome back to another episode of Joy In Every Step. I'm glad you're here. In the previous episode, I shared some thoughts on the topic of condemnation. Condemnation as it relates to guilt, shame, and blame for one's past mistakes. We're coming back to this topic for another episode or maybe even two, because I believe God wants us to be free.
Sarita Bernadette:Free to move on with our lives, unshackled from the things we got wrong. The Word of God tells us that He casts our sins far away. God's grace separates us from our past missteps. He is a loving and kind Father who extends mercy instead of condemnation. He does not hold our sins against us.
Sarita Bernadette:Full stop. Psalm 100 three:eight-twelve. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
Sarita Bernadette:For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him. As far as the East is from the West, so far he removes our transgressions from us. This Psalm, oh, this Psalm, is a splendid declaration of God's unfailing love and mercy toward us. It assures believers that God is not eager to punish us. When we are weak and sink into sin, he responds with compassion.
Sarita Bernadette:The Lord handles us with mercy and a whole lot of patience. And aren't you glad that he doesn't hold grudges? When we stumble, he doesn't lambaste us or make us pay the penalty for our sins that's already been done. Verse 11 again, For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him. Wow.
Sarita Bernadette:David is painting a picture for us here, beloved, showing us that God's love is vast and everlasting. That last part in verse 12, As far as the East is from the West, so far he removes our transgressions from us. That's complete and definitive forgiveness. And note this detail, beloved, I love this. North and South have absolute stopping points, right?
Sarita Bernadette:The poles, the North and the South poles. But East and West are directional loops that can be traveled indefinitely. East and West continue infinitely in their respective directions. My Lord, this means that our sins are forgiven and removed completely and forever. Micah seven nineteen reads, He will again have compassion upon us.
Sarita Bernadette:He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. He will again have compassion on us. God is so faithful. Let's be honest, we make mistakes repeatedly, and at times we even rebel.
Sarita Bernadette:But the Lord continues to show us mercy and loving kindness. He defeats our transgressions and stomps them out with his feet. You will cast our sins into the depths of the sea. Again, this is complete and total forgiveness. Beloved, in the Old Testament, King Hezekiah, the thirteenth king of Judah, suffered an illness that he was told would end his life.
Sarita Bernadette:When he heard the news, the king turned his face to the wall and prayed for healing. Hezekiah asked God to remember how he had served the Lord faithfully. God heard his humble appeal and extended the king's life by fifteen years. In the thirty eighth chapter of Isaiah, he reflects on his healing. Reflection is a good thing.
Sarita Bernadette:Take time to reflect on the good things that God has done for you, beloved. Isaiah 3eight 17 reads, Surely it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness, but you have held back my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. Hezekiah looks back on his illness and he realizes that his suffering served a higher purpose. His physical and emotional pain humbled him and it pushed him closer to God and ultimately increased his sense of peace. I've said this before, God wastes nothing.
Sarita Bernadette:This verse is a reminder that trials and adversity are often used by God for our spiritual good. In this verse, Hezekiah is grateful for his deliverance from the pit of destruction, as he calls it, or death. God saved his life and he allowed him to live on for an additional fifteen years. He also acknowledges the fact that God has forgiven him completely when he says, For you have cast all my sins behind your back. His sins have been left behind.
Sarita Bernadette:Beloved, once we've been forgiven, God no longer looks at or focuses on our sins, so neither should we. Believers do not need to dwell on past failures. In the fifteenth chapter of Luke, we find a familiar parable, the parable of the prodigal son. It's a story that many of us have heard and could probably retell with a decent amount of accuracy, right? For the sake of time, I'm going to read some of the portions of the parable and sum up others.
Sarita Bernadette:There are some details worth zeroing in on today. The parable begins at verse 11 in Luke 15. In the first part, Jesus tells the story of a man who had two sons, and the younger one decides he wants to take his inheritance early. So the father agrees to divide the assets between the two brothers, and the younger one takes his portion and moves far away from the family. Well, the young man parties too much and squanders his wealth.
Sarita Bernadette:He hits rock bottom when a famine hits the land he's in, and he has no food or shelter. He hires himself out to one of the citizens in the region, and he winds up feeding the pigs. The young man was so hungry that the slop the pigs were eating looked good to him. Let's pick up in verse 16. He would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no one gave him anything.
Sarita Bernadette:But when he came to his senses, he said, How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger? I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me like one of your hired hands. Beloved, that's remorse, guilt, shame, and self condemnation.
Sarita Bernadette:Verse 20. So he set off and he went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Note, the father was ready and willing to receive him.
Sarita Bernadette:It's almost like he was anticipating his son's return. The father was right there waiting. Verse 21. Then the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Sarita Bernadette:That's repentance, beloved. Verse 22. But the father said to his servants, Quickly, bring out a robe, the best one, and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, and get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.' For this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.
Sarita Bernadette:And they began to celebrate. Oh, beloved, I have to pause right here because many years ago, I was struck by the fact that the father never responded to his son's self condemnation. In verse 19, the young man rehearses what he's gonna say to his father when he sees them. Verse 18, And I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. Then verse 19, I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Sarita Bernadette:Treat me like one of your hired hands. Then when he's in his presence, he begins to say what he's rehearsed. He says, I'm no longer worthy to be your son. But he never gets to the rest of it because his father was prepared to extend grace and welcome his son back to the family. Beloved, that part continues to resonate with me.
Sarita Bernadette:Our father stands at the ready to receive us when we turn back to him. He wants to hear repentance and a contrite heart, but skip the self condemnation. If the son had not accepted his father's grace, he would have lived in self inflicted shame. He would have acted as a hired servant rather than a son. Remember, we want hearts that are sensitive to sin.
Sarita Bernadette:When we step outside the will of God, we want that nudge deep down. That's a gift from God. However, we want to be careful about sinking into condemnation or self degradation. And side note here, in the Word of God, self degradation is likened to pride or false humility because the focus is self. According to C.
Sarita Bernadette:S. Lewis, true humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking less, but thinking of ourselves less. I'm going to say that again. It's a quote from C. S.
Sarita Bernadette:Lewis. True humility is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less. Back to the parable. The last portion of the story addresses the elder son's anger at his younger brother's return. He hears the music and he hears the dancing and he learns that he's back.
Sarita Bernadette:He refuses to take part in the celebration until his father approaches him. In verse 29, he says to his father, Listen, for all these years I've been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours comes back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him. Then the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life.
Sarita Bernadette:He was lost and has been found. The father demonstrates something very important to his eldest son: self righteousness is dangerous. The older brother represents those of us who are rule followers, but tend to side eye those we think don't quite measure up because they're not always doing the right thing. We can become resentful if we're not careful. We can do all the right things and still lack a loving and compassionate heart.
Sarita Bernadette:The older brother's attitude was one of condemnation and judgment. Kind of reminds one of the attitude of the Pharisees who criticized Jesus for welcoming sinners, doesn't it? His father loved both his sons. He counters the elder son's criticism by showing compassion, and therefore, mimicking God's love for us. The father's heart was full of grace.
Sarita Bernadette:So many significant details in this story. I took note of a couple of the cultural details here that have spiritual significance. One is, in traditional Middle Eastern culture, particularly in the first century and earlier, an older patriarch, a man of standing, a landowner, or a family elder, never ran in public because it was considered highly unseemly. It was unbecoming. It was undignified.
Sarita Bernadette:But the father in this parable defied tradition. He ran out to greet his son. And another is a tradition called the the Kezazah ceremony. It was what a Jewish family or village would do if somebody left home and disrespected the family in some way. When they tried to return, the Jewish villagers would bring out a big clay pot and they would break it in front of the person.
Sarita Bernadette:It was symbolic of breaking ties with them. Listen, this part is huge. The Kezazah ceremony would happen just outside the village. So by running out to meet his son, the father intercepted the ceremony and protected his son and the family from the shame it would bring. Isn't that just like the Lord?
Sarita Bernadette:Instead of a broken pot or broken fellowship, the Father offers us his embrace. He wraps us in his loving arms, and it's in his arms that's where we find restoration. Psalm 3four 22. Again, The Lord redeems the life of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Sarita Bernadette:Friends, take refuge in the Lord. Allow him to wrap his loving arms around you. Remember, God loves you and so does our little crew here at Joy In Every Step. Thank you for listening. I'm Sarita Bernadette, and I'm grateful you chose to spend some time here with me.
Sarita Bernadette:Feel free to share this episode with someone you know would appreciate it. You can find Joy In Every Step wherever you listen to your podcasts and do give us a follow there. Check out our website at joyineverystep.org. See you next time.
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