Conviction yes....Condemnation no!

Are you a Christian struggling with condemnation? Well I have some good news for you! Romans, the eighth chapter begins with one of the greatest promises in all the Bible. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." --- If you have ever struggled with guilt and condemnation as I have, the above verse is for you as much as it is for me. This verse should be a great comfort and assurance to all of us who have experienced the pain of guilt and condemnation after we have sinned. 

 
Now please understand that by that statement Jesus is condoning sin because if there's one thing we know is NOT the will of God, it is sin --- and no matter how much we believe and try to obey, we sin. But we also shouldn't see it as and excuse to cover over our sins and not take ownership or responsibility for the things we have done. But, as Christians, there are two feelings we can experience after we’ve sinned: conviction and condemnation. But, there is a BIG difference between condemnation and conviction. Conviction is from God. Condemnation, on the other hand comes from Satan. Conviction is something God brings to lead us to repentance and change, and condemnation is something Satan uses to deceive, discourage and destroy us. As a Christian, I have struggled with condemnation, guilt and shame in my life...and though we are commanded not to sin, it is not uncommon for us to feel guilty after we've sinned. From my own experiences, I was harder on myself than anyone else ever could be, and Satan would inspire feelings of condemnation and guilt by whispering something like, “You aren’t good enough! You're a mess! You're a failure! You are hopeless! You’ll never change!” ... But, I have learned from a great deal of personal experience that God is not a condemning God! Ever. AND, one question we must learn to ask is: If God does not condemn us, as promised in Verse 1, why do we condemn ourselves or let others condemn us? God’s Word proclaims.....

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” Romans 8:1-2 NLT

As we see here, we all need to refuse to condemn ourselves because God says to every believer,---“there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  BUT, first, we as believers have to believe that what God says is true. If God says “there is now no condemnation,” then there is no condemnation. The work of the Holy Spirit is not to condemn us; but to convict us of sin. Conviction comes to a believer whose heart IS RIGHT, and has done wrong. They quickly turn and repent. Condemnation comes when a heart is NOT RIGHT. So if we are being drawn closer to God, we are feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit. John 16:8 tells us,

“And when he (Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”

Conclusion
As Christians we will sin, BUT, a real Christian doesn't want to sin! We may stumble, fall, trip, make a thousand mistakes, sin and we do, get off the path, go astray, have a thousand problems, but for the believer in Christ Jesus, there is NO CONDEMNATION because God has said it is so. “For those who are in Christ Jesus, now, today, not tomorrow, not next week, not next year, but NOW, there is no condemnation.” John 8:11 also says: "Neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." Let us remember, condemnation shows us the problem, but conviction shows us the answer!!! God's purpose for conviction is to draw us TOWARD Himself. On the contrary, Satan tries to condemn us in order to lure us AWAY FROM God.

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18) 

Overcoming Fear!

Fear. We all experience it from time to time; and I believe that every Christian, at one time or another has had an issue with fear. It is the single biggest problem that most of us face. Anyone who knows God knows fear means to be afraid). Some of our fears are obvious. Some of us have fear of failure, fear of not living up to some standard, fear of the future, fear of judgment, fear of criticism, fear of man, fear of everything.

I don't know about you, but I have fears to overcome; and when it comes to fears, I tend to avoid the situations or things I fear. But this doesn't help me overcome fear — in fact, it can be the reverse. But another fact we must consider is that fear is also a spiritual matter --- and the Bible has much to say about fear. But the biblical story of Gideon encourages those of us with fears that keep us up at night.

Scriptural example: Gideon

In the book of Judges, Gideon himself had some fear. Gideon as a fearful man hiding from the marauding Midianites in a wine press when the Angel of the Lord appeared to him. ¹¹ Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. ¹² And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”  Judges 6:11-12 (NKJV)
 
As we read about Gideon, we see that he himself had some fear. Gideon feared the Midianites. But God loved Gideon and saw he was fearful, but did not criticize him for his fear. God knew that Gideon was filled with fear because of the enemy. Fear is also one of the great enemies of God's work in our life. Fear is an enemy of faith. But in 2 Timothy 1:7 we read, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." From this verse, the word of God is saying that He has not given us a spirit of fear. If God has not given us a spirit of fear, then someone has. That is the enemy of God. But, later, Gideon finally overcame his fear, in part because he asked for signs that God was indeed speaking to him. Gideon overcame his fear by trusting in God. Gideon, who came from a place of great fear to become the deliverer of Israel. 
 
Conclusion
 

We all have fears. But God does not want us to live in fear. But those of us that live in fear, we can overcome our fears just as Gideon did. The way to overcome any fear is to place our full trust in God. God is worthy of our trust! The Bible is also full of "fear not's" spoken to those who will trust Him. God not only told Gideon to fear not, but he also told Abraham to fear not, for He the Lord, was His shield. God also told Moses to fear not; and He also told Joshua to fear not, but to have courage. Let me also say that God doesn't want us to fear everything, but He does wants us to fear the right things. Having a fear of God is a right thing! The fear of God is good. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10 NKJV).

A New Year, A New You!

At the beginning of a new year, many people all over the world will make New Year’s resolutions. Making New Year’s resolutions takes the New Year seriously as a new start. If you’re like most people, you’ve probably made a few resolutions for the new year. Perhaps, you'll quit smoking, stop drinking, manage money more wisely, spend more time with family, and lose weight, in conjunction with exercising more and eating more healthily. For many of us, we also make spiritual resolutions like to pray more, to read the Bible every day, and to attend church more regularly. While I believe New Year's resolutions are worth making because we all need change --- New Years Resolutions don't do any good if our source of strength is anything other than the Holy Spirit.

Zechariah 4:6 declares

“It’s not by power, not by might, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty ”

Here we see it is through God’s Spirit that we are to accomplish our purposes and goals. Every year, probably since I was a teenager, I was determined to do better in the New Year --- to do something or to not do something. I can remember making a list and keeping them a few weeks into the calendar year and then abandoning them altogether. I then quickly realized it was a new year but it was the same old me ... but that was because the Holy Spirit wasn't live within me.

Conclusion
New Year's Resolutions are good things because with a new year come new resolutions to change and better ourselves. But, when we desire change, we have the perfect example to follow – Jesus. When we are ready to implement change we have His Son, His Word, and His Spirit! This is one reason why we need Jesus. When we put our lives into His hands, he comes to live within us by his Holy Spirit and begins to change us from within. He gives us a new desire to do what’s right, and a new power to carry it out. Romans 8:26 tells us, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness”. Last but not least, its important to make sure we invite God to help us change, because with His strength and power we can. Remember Philippians 4:13 tells us, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Jesus can make all things new within us - and continue His work of making all things new through us.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”