No Condemnation

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”  Romans 8:1

It’s good to know that the only One whose judgment counts is the One who does not condemn.  Yes, Jesus does condemn sin because all sin is against His Father.  My Dad has been in heaven for nearly 18 years, but I would fight anyone who ever said or did anything against my Dad while he was on this earth.  However it is not in Jesus’ sinless nature to fight, but rather to show folks the right way to live, not through condemnation, shaming, or putting someone on a guilt trip, but by example.  Jesus said that His Father had sent Him into the world not to condemn it, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3:17).  He went on to say that not believing in Him puts those folks under condemnation by His Father (v.18).  Remember the woman who was caught in the act of adultery by some arrogant, self-righteous men?  They were all set to stone her, but they brought her to Jesus for Him to condemn her.  They were trying to trick Him either by forcing Him to agree with them, that she deserved stoning, or condemning Him if He decided to let her go.  Jesus is so cool.  He always knows how to handle any situation.  He told them that whoever of them had no sin to cast the first stone.  So now who looks guilty?  They all walked away leaving the woman standing before Jesus.

We have to wonder what was going through her mind at this time.  Was she fearful that Jesus would stone her, or, by His response to her accusers, did she think she was off the hook?  If she was thinking either of these thoughts, they were both incorrect.  He asked her where her accusers were.  Did they condemn her or not?  She answered that none of them had condemned her.  Jesus then said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”  (John 8:1-11).  This was the end of the account in scripture.  We don’t know what the woman did after that.  I would hope that she understood that her sin had caused a separation between God and herself, and thus would have given up the life of an adulteress or a prostitute and had become a believer in Jesus Christ.  He saved her life physically, and assuming that she had repented and trusted Him as Lord and Savior, Jesus also saved her spiritually.  Had those angry men decided to take matters into their own hands, she would be dead and in Hades.  It is important to note that Jesus did not condemn her, but He did not condone her sin.  He didn’t pat her on the back and tell her that what she had done was not all that bad, but try to do better.  I remember my former pastor from years ago would say that a person just can’t take a “do better pill” and think that he or she will be in good standing with the Lord.  If a person has not repented of sin and placed faith in Jesus Christ, then he or she will be held accountable for his or her sin.

Going back to this thing about condemnation:  it seems that the world is full of folks who enjoy bringing condemnation upon others.  People are condemned for being too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short, where they live, what kind of car they drive, what kind of clothes they wear, how they wear their hair, and a million other things.  Their are condemned for their faith in the Lord or if they have no faith.  Who made other folks judge and jury over everyone else?  We can’t please everyone so why try?  There’s only One we should aim to please.  Just think what a different world this would be if everyone decided for themselves that it would be in their best interest to leave all judgments to the Lord and spend their time doing good to others rather than condemning them.  I think folks would be happier if they followed that advice.  Rather than condemning, believers should strive to mind the things of the Spirit which leads to life and peace.  Since believers are the “salt of the earth”, maybe we can make others thirsty.