Does God Condemn us? Understanding the Concept of Condemnation vs. Grace in the Bible
First, it's important to understand that God does not hate us. He hates sin, because in His eternal knowledge, He knows that sin is the only thing that separates us from Him.
Secondly, had Jesus not loved us with all his heart, mind, and soul, He would not have volunteered to come to Earth and pay for our sins on the cross.
In the spiritual world, sin can only be paid for, by the shedding of pure, innocent blood, as confirmed in Hebrews 9:22. Because we have chosen to sin, our blood is stained with sin, so we cannot pay for our own sins. This is why we need a Savior, and Jesus, in His great love for you and I, volunteered to sacrifice Himself, in order to pay for our sins.
Now you might ask, why doesn't Jesus just save everyone? That was His utmost desire and mission, but not everyone accepts nor appreciates His sacrifice as payment for their sins. Some even say they have never sinned, but that is not being honest. It is sad that not everyone realizes they must prepare their souls for eternity, while they are still on this side of Heaven. Once we cross over into eternity, there are no second chances. God said there is no reincarnation. You won't find it anywhere in His Word. In fact, it says just the opposite. It is appointed unto man only once to die...then they meet and stand before God. Hebrews 9:27
Some don't understand that when they leave the destiny of their soul to chance, they are gambling with their own souls, and without forgiveness of sins, they cannot expect to drag their sins into a holy heaven, or it could not be called "heaven". Further, not everyone wants to be saved from the condemnation that sin brought to us. That is, they don't believe they need a Savior and therefore, want nothing to do with Jesus. Their choice, breaks God's heart, because without the redemption and forgiveness of sins, our sins condemn us to an eternity separated from God the Father. This was definitely not God's will. God wants us to know that Salvation is not dependent upon our performance. It's dependent upon God's promise to save our soul.
When we say we want nothing to do with God or His son, Jesus, our only hope of redemption, God has no choice but to give us the desires of our heart. He will not force salvation on us. He DOES, show us the way, so that we won't have to be separated from Him for eternity. However, when we refuse His offer of salvation, we tie His hands in saving us. He will not go against your will. He can offer you a spiritual life jacket, but if you refuse, that was your choice and He will honor and abide by your wishes.
God is fair. Sin is not. God desires forgiveness and Redemption for all people, through Jesus Christ. Jesus never came to condemn the world, but to save us from the condemnation that sin placed on us...John 3:17. God is more focused on offering salvation to each and every person in this world...John 3:16. Jesus' teachings emphasize God's love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness... not condemnation. God's grace, which is unearned favor from God, is His free gift to us. We don't have to earn salvation nor God's love. He already loves us! He proved that, on the cross. No one will ever love you like Jesus. Those wanting Jesus' free gift of salvation, have only to come to Him in prayer, asking for forgiveness of their sins, and He is more than willing and able, to save us. He turns no one away.
In contrast, Satan always condemns us, pointing an accusing finger to make us focus on our failures, rather than God's strength and promise to save us. Satan is an accuser, who attempts to persuade us that we have to earn God's love and favor because according to him, he wants us to believe that we don't deserve to be saved or blessed by God. Satan is the father of all lies, but Jesus says the exact opposite:
Therefore, there is now, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life, has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans, chapter 8.
The gospel is a message of good news about Jesus Christ, while religion can be a way of life that focuses on following "rules" or achieving certain goals. The gospel is centered on God's free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, while religion can be self-centered and lead to pride.
Whom will you place your trust in? Satan's lies or God's sure promises? Your decision determines where you shall spend eternity. This is something we don't want to miss nor get wrong.
In contrast, Satan always condemns us, pointing an accusing finger to make us focus on our failures, rather than God's strength and promise to save us. Satan is an accuser, who attempts to persuade us that we have to earn God's love and favor because according to him, he wants us to believe that we don't deserve to be saved or blessed by God. Satan is the father of all lies, but Jesus says the exact opposite:
No matter the stage of our Christian walk, this is such an easy trap to fall into and Satan will work overtime when we are growing. Well put. No matter where we are, God's word is the solution.
I get it, I know God's love and forgiveness for my soul....But yet I am constantly being accused by schizophrenics that I've done everything wrong, most of the time they are right, but it was so long ago, but they are telling my kids all of my dirty secrets from when I was young....I really don't care about what satan has to say about my life, but what God does, but how do I approach my kids?
@saintsong Tell people who judge you, to pluck the beam out of their own eye, instead of spying and gossiping about you. If they think that's Christ-like, then they better think again. That's nothing but judging. They need to know that. If God does not accuse you, then neither should they. It just shows that they're insecure that's all. Ignore them. You know your life is right with Christ and that's all that matters. Let them judge away. They'll be judged for the way they judged you. Your kids see you day after day and they know that you do not live in sin. People who love you will not accuse you. The other toxic people, stay away from. I'm really sorry you're going through this. I will pray for you. You don't deserve this type of treatment. As long as God is proud of us and loves us, that's all that matters. We don't have to answer to anyone who's agenda is to do nothing but judge us. That's a waste of time. The Lord would tell us to leave toxic people, but pray for them.
@IM5688 Thank you. I wish the world would ask itself, what exactly did this man, Jesus, do that was so bad, that he deserved to die so horribly for it? What did he do that was so bad, that it called for us to kill him? Even the Emperor could find no fault with him, but he was more worried about his popularity so he gave the people what they asked for..... Kill Jesus....when all Jesus had done, was come to heal people, love them, help them, and save them. There's nothing "just" about His punishment. He was purely innocent. After Jesus died on the cross even one of the soldiers that nailed him to the cross, repented and said "Surely, this was the Son of God!"
@LadyGrace I don't think it was the Emperor's popularity that concerned him. I think the emperor was more concerned with either the Jewish population rising up against Roman authority or the new Christians rising up against Roman authority. After Christ's death, when Christianity didn't fizzle out, Rome combined Christianity with the beliefs of Rome and in their own way, took over what they called Christianity which later became the RCC.
@IM5688 That is absolutely true, but in addition, don't forget the elections. He wanted to stay favored by the people for those reasons. Have you seen my latest?
@kodiac I understand. It's understandable to feel that way, as many people struggle with the concept of God's wrath.
In the Bible, 'hating' sometimes means strongly disapproving of certain actions... not necessarily having a personal hatred towards individuals. Does that make sense?
God's love is immense, and even when there is strong disapproval, the potential for forgiveness and redemption is always present.
Many don't realize how horrible and tragically Jesus suffered on the cross to save us from hell. He's not willing that any should perish and so he took it upon himself to pay for our sins, so we wouldn't have to suffer hell. But He can't save us if people are not willing to trust him to. This literally breaks his heart. He doesn't want to lose even one of us, to the desires of the devil.
'God's hate' refers to sinful actions he knows can send people to hell for eternity. Think how serious that is. It has eternal consequences and that's what God wants us to avoid. His hatred is not a personal hatred towards people. If it were, he would not have died to pay for us sins and do His best to save us all. Somebody took it upon themselves at all costs, even unto death, to save me and you from hell. It doesn't get any more real or serious than that.
We can show God our love, and realizing that even though we have sinned, God's ultimate nature is love and forgiveness. Nobody else can bail us out of what the devil is trying to do to us, except Jesus.
God's thinking is so much superior and righteous, than our thinking. The Bible says He is perfect and righteous. Not willing that any should die and end up in hell. Where there is good and evil in the world, there has to be judgment. Even in our world, man's laws demand that justice be served and carried out by our law enforcement and judges. Evil does not and cannot go unpunished. But so much more righteous is God's judgments, because they are perfect. God is "just" in hating sin. He is without sin. He cannot sin. He is Holy in every way, but sin brings condemnation to this world. Jesus came to save us from that. The Bible says His is a righteous anger. God hates sin, not people. He hates the devil trying to take the souls of men and women to hell with him. He suffered and died on the cross so that we could have forgiveness of sins and be in heaven with him forever.
No man in history has suffered like the Lord and he was innocent and didn't deserve to take our sins on to himself, but he wanted to because he loves us so very much and he went to the greatest length to prove it, to make sure we could have heaven. He didn't have to do that, but he did. I am very grateful for that.
People come down on Jesus, when the man did nothing but love us, and He proved it on the cross. If it were not for Jesus, we would all have ended up in hell, because sin deserves punishment. That is justice, even in man's laws. It must be punished. I wish the world would ask itself, what exactly did this man, Jesus, do that was so bad, that he deserved to die for it? What did he do that was so bad, that it called for us to kill him? Even the Emperor could find no fault with him, but he was more worried about his popularity so he gave the people what they asked for..... Kill Jesus. When all Jesus had done, was heal people, love them, and help them. There's nothing "just" about that.
