© 22 Colin Melbourne
Q: I’ve been born again for several years, and I know the bible says there’s no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, why do I feel condemned when I sin? Even after repenting and confessing the sin I still feel ashamed. Does this mean I’m not really saved yet?
A: No, it doesn’t mean you’re not saved: Feelings; good, or bad, have no part in salvation.
Sinners become saved when they repent and believe on the risen Christ as LORD, and begin to confess and follow Him in spirit and truth. Here’s what the Holy Ghost says, Rom. 10:9-10 KJV;
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
-
-
- Heart belief on the risen LORD Jesus Christ
- Confessing Him as your Lord
- Your actions corresponding with your confession.
-
Feelings have no part in this matter
We are saved by believing and confessing the Living Word of God: The LORD Jesus Christ.
Therefore, you believe on Christ when you feel wonderful, and when you feel miserable as sin.
Heart Trust in The LORD Jesus Christ
You wholeheartedly trust His Words, His Name, His integrity, His Faith, His faithfulness, His Righteousness, and His Sacrifice for you.
When you are doing that… God’s word declares the fact: There’s no condemnation for them which are in Christ Jesus. Rom. 8:1-2 KJV;
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Halleluia!
We know we are in Christ Jesus, not because of our feelings, not because of our faithful obedience, but because His written word declares this eternal fact of born again believers, 1 Cor. 1:30-31 KJV;
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
That’s your boasting grounds no matter how you feel; make it personal, Of Him I am in Christ Jesus! Halleluia!
Shout that when you feel depressed, and when you feel deliriously happy.
It is God’s eternal word.
Here’s more on the Fickle Mistress
Why Do I Feel Condemned?
You ask, I’ve been born again for several years, and I know the word says there’s no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, why do I feel condemned when I sin? Even after repenting and confessing the sin I still feel ashamed.
Every Christian knows what you describe from their own experience. We each miss the mark of our high calling, sometimes even knowingly, and get the same feeling.
But you are mistaken in calling it condemnation, because it is actually conviction of sin.
Conviction of sin is the precious work of the Holy Ghost to our hearts, gently letting us know that we’ve boobed, displeased Father, and need to put it right, and get back in fellowship with Him.
That’s God convicting: Not God condemning you.
It’s not possible for God to condemn His children because His written word declares there’s no condemnation for believers in Christ Jesus.
Praise God for conviction of sin, we need His rod and staff to correct, and comfort, us as we walk through this valley of the shadow of death.
Any condemnation you are feeling is not God, it is your own heart, your own spirit, here’s scripture for that Bible fact, 1 Jn. 3:18-24 KJV;
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Isn’t this just glorious?
Our inbuilt heart-monitor, lets us know precisely what we must do to please Father, and receive whatsoever we ask of Him, as we walk in step with Him
Do what you know in your spirit you need to do, then your self-condemnation will lift, and you’ll get whatsoever you ask of Father God.
So there’s your answer.
When Shame is A Good Thing
A word about shame; To become conscious of our rebellion, and so be ashamed, is a good thing.
Without that sense of shame you’d be just as you were before you were born of God, when you walked in shameless sin and ignorance of The LORD Jesus Christ.
Notice Adam and Eve were ashamed of themselves as soon as they disobeyed God’s command.
What did they do after they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Gen. 3:7 KJV;
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Adam and Eve began the first religion, by clutching at fig-leaves and cobbling together a futile attempt to redeem themselves.
That’s religion for you… forever pathetic and useless.
Man’s efforts to conceal his iniquity are ridiculous no matter what the religious format: God has already paid for the redemption of every sinner, by the Sacrifice of His sinless Son: The LORD Jesus Christ.
Accept Him and your redemption through His Blood, or forever remain outside of God’s kingdom, Rev. 22:13-16 KJV;
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Only God, through Christ, can take away your sin and forgive you.
Righteous Shame
When Christians sin, they break fellowship and intimacy with Father God.
They bear the shame long after they have repented and confessed it to God, because they know they blew it of their own choice.
Wise believers remember the disgrace, and learn to avoid that trap in future.
Righteous shame is part and parcel of discipleship and growing in Christ.
As an example think of Saul participating in the killing of Stephen in Acts 7:58; we know he later repented and believed on Christ, so was forgiven every sin, but do you think he, as the Apostle Paul, was ever able to shrug off the shame of his actions before he knew Christ?
The answer is plain to your conscience: So how much more ought we as Spirit-filled disciples therefore honour God, and when tempted, choose righteousness over selfishness to delight our LORD?
© 22 Colin Melbourne
Tract image © Chick Publns. Used by permission
You may also wish to read;
Click to read All through life we make choices. But there is one choice that is more important than all the rest.