- Part 1. Theories on the Atonement
- Part 2. Christus Victor
- Part 3. His victory over the Condemnation Identity
- Part 4. Life Without the Condemnation Identity
- Part 5. Romans 7, the end of the law
Imagine living a life where or how you feel is never changed by how people treat you.
Ephesians 1:4-6 TPT
[4] And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence. [5-6] For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace-for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure!
This verse from Ephesians is a hard one to handle. How could God love us with the same love he had for Jesus? Aren’t we the reason Jesus died? How could God not blame us for that?
If you think that it is just an anomaly found in the passion translation look at this verse found The American Standard Version
John 17:26 NASBS
[26] and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
There is so much that God is promising to His sons. Most people struggle to believe even the basics, that he would choose us. The Lord once told me that condemnation is anything that lowers your value below the level that God has decided it should be. Based upon this definition, we are all living under condemnation because we can not fully embrace the love that God the Father offers to all of us. In this article and the next, I want to help you move past this condemnation, to finally fully embrace the position that God wants for you, that you be his beloved son or daughter, His chosen possession.
2 Corinthians 3:7-9 NASBS
[7] But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, [8] how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? [9] For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.
Romans 8:1-4 NASBS
[1] Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. [3] For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, [4] so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
John 3:18 NKJV
[18] “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
These three scriptures tell us that condemnation is normal for unbelievers, but not for the Christian. Most Christians in America wrestle with condemnation for two reasons. The first one we have already discussed, that being the failure of Penal Substitution Atonement theory to describe the transformative power of the cross and God’s heart for us.
The second is called Total Depravity. This theory says that mankind is totally evil and unable to choose anything that is good. It postulates that even after the cross, man will continue to struggle. It goes on to state that you will always be a sinner until you die and it is impossible for a human being to live a life free from sin, and by extension, it is impossible for us to truly be like Jesus. This belief actually stems directly from the heretical doctrine of gnosticism condemned by the New Testament.
This theory stands directly opposed to Paul’s statement that’s a born-again believer has become a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
The theory also introduces a legalistic thinking into believers as they try to manage a sin nature believing it will always control them. Galatians 5:24 NASBS “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Romans 6:6-7 NASBS “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” Yet believers are left to think that we will be slaves to sin till we died. Or they believe that they must figure out how to better agree with the death of Christ. This is not the promise of freedom from sin that scripture declares.
While the possibility of sinning will always remain, if you are under the persuasion that we are locked into a sin nature till we die, I have written a separate article specifically about Romans 7 to deal permanently with this lie. Romans 7 and 1 John 1 must be taken completely out of context in order to support such a belief. I know you probably heard many messages supporting this theory, yet when you see the Scriptures in context you will recognize that this theory has no real foundation in Scripture. Click here to read about the problem with Romans 7.
It is not your job to fix yourself. It is your job to enjoy God‘s delight over you and allow Him to prune you. Not accepting this simple truth is the reason why so many still struggle with sin instead of finding the freedom that God promises.
For clarity, if you never leave the presence of God, will you ever sin? The answer is always NO, of course not. Yet, this is your true destiny, to never leave the presence of God. Galatians 5:16 NKJV “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” God is calling us to spend the rest of our lives in his presence being led by the Spirit of God. While living and walking in the Spirit does not remove the potential to sin, it does move us into a life full of light and makes sin unlikely. But first we must deal with this identity of condemnation that says such a state of being is impossible. Whether we believe the lie mentality or emotionally, we must let it go. We must lose the legalistic focus we’ve had in trying to be good enough for God and worrying about our struggles. Instead we must put our focus solely on Him and His goodness.
John 3:19 NKJV
[19] And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
When you read that verse did your first opinion conclude that it was saying that men love evil? The word darkness here actually means shadows or obscurity. When we hold onto our belief that we will always have a little darkness in our life, we are ultimately saying to ourselves that we can never come fully into the light. This is condemnation and it is the identity that God desires to set you free from. The verse above actually means that men love to keep part of their life in shadows for “…fear that his deeds will be exposed” (verse 20). Embracing darkness is easier then facing the fear of rejection.
Isaiah 54:9-10 NASBS
[9] “For this is like the days of Noah to Me, When I swore that the waters of Noah Would not flood the earth again; So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you Nor will I rebuke you. [10] “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” Says the LORD who has compassion on you.
You are actually already living within God‘s covenant of peace if you are a believer. This is why 1 John 4:18 NASBS tells us, “…but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” You can be perfected in love if you are willing to face the lie of God‘s rejection.
2 Peter 1:3-4,10 NKJV
[3] as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, [4] by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. [10] Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
This identity of condemnation has been with you since the fall of man. It was man’s first response to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is really the tree of legalism. It is why Paul calls the foundation of the law the ministry of condemnation. Right and wrong have been ministering condemnation to you your whole life.
Everyone has lived under condemnation because everyone is striving to prove themselves, find acceptance, fame, justification, love, or just a little peace. We have all been sold on the idea that we can never truly be spiritual beings that function in dominion power, and be perfect expressions of God’s will; living bountifully in God‘s love and joy over us. All of us have fallen short of God‘s glory. While this may have been our past experience, it doesn’t have to remain our future condemnation.
The life of the Spirit that you are called to is not governed by right and wrong. Although, the one who lives life in the Spirit looks like they’re living perfectly. The person who lives by the Spirit will be focused on the heart of God, they don’t worry at all about whether or not they’re pleasing to Him. They already know they are pleasing to him. They know that His pleasure in them has nothing to do with their performance but rather their DNA. For they are new creations born of the Spirit of God. Their hearts are perfect reflections of His nature.
Performance orientation is still the legalistic thought process. God is more interested in the innocence of creative expression. He leaves man free to choose their life path and is not disappointed by any choice except the choice not to trust Him with our heart. God’s perfect will is that you know Him. If you add anything else to that, then you are under legalism. True sons of God don’t find their acceptance in perfect obedience, they find their acceptance in beloved identity. I realize this is hard to understand, but God teaches us who we are, and then we “be” only what He says we are, and in “being” we end up only doing what He would be doing, because we have become like Him.
The whole point is that we take on the nature and image of God. Once we have done this we don’t have to strive to act like Him, instead we will just “be” like Him. God gives me the freedom to do whatever I want knowing that in my doing I will always be expressing His nature.
Can you see how this is in stark contrast to the constant “striving and never measuring” up you have been living in? God is calling you out of the condemnation identity and into the beloved identity. He is calling you out of the fear of judgment and into the boldness of full acceptance.
Romans 8:32 NASBS
[32] He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
I want to explain to you that the condemnation identity is the real reason you are still sinning. It doesn’t matter what your pet sin is; be it anger, pride, judging others, self justification, sexual sin, addictions, depression, worry, whatever; it all comes from the same source. You are not fulfilled in God’s love. Your heart is not fully satisfied by His acceptance. All sin is coping with the fear that “you might not matter.” This all reflects on the fact that you have accepted that your value is lower than what God has decided it to be. You are insecure and unfulfilled. God has not yet become your source.
Yet, He stands with His arms open wide, waiting to hug you in the midst of your fear and your filth. Are you willing to let yourself hear Him speak His adoration over you?