No Condemnation
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. During the past couple of weeks, I've had the opportunity to speak with several believers about dealing with or confronting areas of struggle, whether it be sin or a crisis of some sort, beloved, we must guard our hearts during times of trouble. If we're not careful, the enemy of our souls will creep in and tell us we are not who God says we are. I say that because I noticed a common thread while engaged in those conversations.
Sarita Bernadette:What kept coming up as we sorted through the issues and addressed them with God's word was condemnation. The feelings of overwhelming guilt and shame for past mistakes. The feeling that one must deserve what's happening because of something one has done to offend God. As I prayed with these people, the Holy Spirit reminded us of some scriptures that refute the idea that we must pay for our own sin. There is a response to that kind of thinking, beloved.
Sarita Bernadette:It's simple yet nuanced. You see, I believe there are natural or earthly consequences for our actions. Salvation does indeed offer us spiritual redemption. It it wipes out the eternal penalty of sin. However, it doesn't always remove the earthly percussions.
Sarita Bernadette:Right? We may have to go through some things. But this word still stands as a reminder. It's Romans eight verses one through three. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Sarita Bernadette:For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do, by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and to deal with sin. He condemned sin in the flesh. Friends, Jesus paid the penalty for sin. He paid it all.
Sarita Bernadette:There is nothing we can do to earn the grace given to us. It's a free gift. We've been set free from the laws of sin. We are not governed by the flesh once we're in Christ. We are governed by the Spirit of God.
Sarita Bernadette:We're seen as righteous because of the finished work of the cross. So even if we have to endure some hardships or some tough situations, we do not have to spend the rest of our days paying the price for our shortcomings. I was led to, a couple of verses in the Bible that I believe demonstrate the fact that we are loved by God and worthy of freedom, freedom from shame, freedom from blame, guilt, or even condemnation. One of those verses really stands out. It's John nine and three.
Sarita Bernadette:Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned. He was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. So here in John nine, Jesus is coming from the temple in Jerusalem after having been confronted by a group of religious leaders who accused him of blasphemy and tried to stone him at the end of this previous chapter in John. And as he walked along, he encountered the man born blind and took the opportunity to correct a long held belief that sin and illness were directly connected. Did you hear that?
Sarita Bernadette:He took the opportunity to correct a long held belief that sin and illness were directly connected. The disciples had asked, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? And his response clarified the purpose for the man's blindness. He tells them it was no one's fault. It was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Sarita Bernadette:We have a tendency to look for a cause or something to blame when we're hit with vicissitudes. The Lord makes it clear that we must shift our focus and look at the way the situation might manifest God's mercy and His power and His glory. You see, God can turn a difficult circumstance into a witness of His divine grace. Beloved, not every trial is because of something you did or something your ancestors did even. Some things are allowed because the Lord knows that it will become a beacon of light and hope for someone else.
Sarita Bernadette:Also, consider this scripture from the book of James, James one:two-four. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face various trials, consider it all joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance complete its work so that you may be complete and whole, lacking nothing. This is a very familiar passage of scripture where James, the half brother of Jesus, encourages believers to view the hardships we encounter as opportunities for spiritual growth. Beloved, let's redirect our focus rather than fixating on the pain. Let's look toward the Lord for the lesson.
Sarita Bernadette:Let's look for the ways the trials make us stronger. Let's look for the ways in which the difficulty might make us more mature Christians. As it says in Hebrews twelve:six, For the Lord disciplines those whom he loves and chastises every child whom he accepts. This verse is a direct reference to Proverbs, Proverbs, three verses eleven and twelve. My child, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves as a father, the son in whom he delights.
Sarita Bernadette:I know I'm not alone when I admit that I grapple with the idea that a loving father would bring pain on his children. So it's wonderfully encouraging and reassuring to come to the understanding that any affliction he allows through is working for our good. Those verses prove that we belong to the Father and that he loves us. While some trials are corrective, this verse serves as a reminder that God is present, and he is fortifying our faith during our difficult seasons. There are a couple of passages of scripture found in first John that speak to our topic today.
Sarita Bernadette:One John was written from John the Apostle to a group of Jewish believers who were going through a crisis of faith. He was reassuring them of who they were. A lot of what he wrote echoes what was said in the book of John regarding love and how it is the foundation of our relationship with God. He loved us so much that he sent his only son, right? First John three verses 20 through 22.
Sarita Bernadette:Friends, I'm gonna stop just there for a second because here in those first two verses, John is reassuring us that when our hearts feel shame, guilt, or condemnation, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things. You've heard it before. God knows our hearts. He knows whether we're doing the very best we can to do his will, even when we feel unworthy. Knowing that he is a forgiving God enables us to go before him with confidence.
Sarita Bernadette:Then verse 22: And we receive from him whatever we ask because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. The confidence we're able to have before him allows us as believers to receive what we're asking him for. And note, John says, Because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him, our lives should follow a path obedient to and aligned with the will of God. This is a verse from a scripture in Ezekiel that's often quoted as one is focused on repentance. And I'm I'm I'm led to share this next verse from Ezekiel today because it aligns with the revelation that we are not to live our lives focused on our trans gressions.
Sarita Bernadette:It's Ezekiel 3six 26. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. We want hearts which are sensitive to sin. Beloved, when we step outside the will of God, we want that nudge down deep, right?
Sarita Bernadette:That's a gift from God. However, when our hearts are so grieved, they can get stuck there. As we grow in Christ, God works within us to help us produce fruit that reflects him, and we need to take time to recognize our growth. We're making progress every day to become the vessels God wants us to be. If we spend all of our time zeroed in on our infractions, we'll miss the wonderful ways that God is changing our hearts.
Sarita Bernadette:Back to that verse in first John three and twenty. This is the B clause. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. To drive this point home, John is telling us that God is weighing all of the evidence. He sees it all.
Sarita Bernadette:And he includes the good parts, beloved. Again, take the time to examine the Holy Spirit's work in your own life. Remember Peter? We focused on him in a previous episode. In the twenty first chapter of John, we see that Peter returned to his former profession as a fisherman.
Sarita Bernadette:This was after the death of Jesus and his resurrection and the appearances he made. Peter was feeling shame, guilt, and condemnation. He was focused on the fact that he denied knowing Jesus three times. Jesus subsequently appeared to him while there on the Sea Of Galilee. And we know the result was not only that huge haul of fish, it was the reinstatement of Peter as a beloved disciple.
Sarita Bernadette:Jesus considered all the evidence. He knew Peter's heart. He had been transformed by the Holy Spirit. Peter went on to share the gospel, and many were converted after hearing his preaching. John three seventeen.
Sarita Bernadette:Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. This verse makes clear the mission was to save humanity and not to condemn it. Psalm 3four 22. The Lord redeems the life of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Sarita Bernadette:Friends, God loves you. And so does our little crew here at Joy In Every Step. Thank you so much for listening. I'm Sarita Bernadette, and I'm grateful you chose to spend some time here with me. Feel free to share this episode with someone you know would appreciate it.
Sarita Bernadette:You can find Joy In Every Step wherever you listen to your podcasts and give us a follow there. Do check out the website at joyineverystep.org. See you next time.
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