Feeling condemned

Imagine something. You have just sinned against God and you are standing in His presence and He is looking at you. What kind of facial expression do you think He would have when you both know that you have committed that sin?

Your answer will reveal something about you.

We feel condemned when we sin or doing something wrong.

Briefly: John 8:1 - Jesus is at the mount of olives praying to God. He came down and the pharissess brought to Him a woman who was accused of adultery. They were testing Him. Christ wrote with His finger in the dirt and replied "He who is without sin let him throw the first stone" Jesus asked her where everyone went and He told her to go her way and sin no more. He did not question the fact that she had been caught in adultery, He did not bring it up at all. Does it mean He condones this behaviour? Of course not. He probably condemned her behaviour, but He didn't condemn her.

Why do we feel condemned?
1. First of all because of sin. our concience hits us and convicts us
2. Accusation of others. people who see you committ a sin or who know something about your life, quick to accuse you or judge you whether the accusation is true or not
3. When a person sins against God, knowing they sinned in His presence and that He knows, naturally we would feel bad

Are these feelings legitimate? Yes
What is it that condemns us? our concience?

Lets limit this only to believers who are still being condemned for sin they committed 20 yrs ago, 10yrs ago or 1 week ago.

John 16:7 (before Christ is crucified). He is talking about the receipt of the Holy Spirit, the Counsellor. 'the work of the Holy Spirit is to condemn' the work of the Spirit is to enlighten our minds and hearts so we can see our disobedience and feel convicted and make us aware and bring us to accountability so that we can repent, confess and learn from our failures. Not to condemn us!

Christ didn't condemn the woman, he may have condemned her behaviour but not her. What did He do? He died for that woman! At Calvary, He took all of our judgements and accusations and sins so that every single believer could stand in the presence of God and know that we have been redeemed and are not being condemned.

If your heart is right, you won't go out and sin against God's love, grace, mercy, compassion etc. you will not live in guilt, worry, depression, failure etc You will apply His teachings to your life. You will use your failures and accusations to benefit your life knowing the Spirit is in you and God is by your side. But human nature says 'you are guilty before God' but God said that the whole world lies guilty before me hence the arrival of His one and only Son. He suffered for us, so why do we let others make us suffer with their accusations of our sin or of something we may have done against them a long time ago?

You feel guilty because of your past. When you sin against the Lord God, you repent and confess, make restitution if possible, look for the lesson in your failure but DON'T go out and try to do to do it on your own or to pay God back, He only wants you to walk obediently for His sake so that others may see Him in your life. Lay down the issues and deep wounds you have in your life, lay them down to Him. Do not hold onto those scars from your past because if you do they will stop you from knowing others and others knowing you BUT more importantly it will stop you from knowing God intimately.

If your past has haunted you for years and years, you can lay it down rght now by faith if you simply believe not your feelings, but the testimony of God, He tells you you have been washed and cleansed, He doesnt condemn you but wants you to walk upright.

But remember one thing, do not deny people the chance to know you, for that person may be placed in your life by God for a reason, God uses us in His own glorious way and if we deny those people, we are in turn denying God.