Who He Says I Am

February 18, 2020

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 NLT

Living with condemnation is a rough way to live. Some sad souls live it every day on death row or lesser places, still filled with pain and horror. Many are desperate and spend their free time incarcerated in the prison library, searching books and legal writings to see if there is some loophole that would enable their condemnation to be lifted.

It’s easy to live outside prison walls in condemnation as well. Guilt and shame are a prison of its own. This word condemnation means the penalty after being found guilty. All of us have experienced the suffocating feeling of condemnation, the sense that we will never be all right, we will never get past what we have done.

However, when we get a new heart through forgiveness and a relationship with Jesus Christ, the record has been wiped clean! The past is the past, and we are forgiven and set free. There is no need to keep looking back at the past, to worry about it, or feel condemned by it. There is no more judgment or penalty.

The Bible calls Satan “the Accuser.” When you hear or feel troubling voices that bring up your past, remember that Jesus Christ has forgiven your past and you are no longer condemned by the only One who has a right to do so. Don't let the Accuser lie to you, steal your confidence, or rob you of the peace and power that is yours right now because of Jesus. Your God is so powerful and committed to you that He will even use your past to make you stronger. Paul himself said that he was formerly the worst of sinners, but now he joyfully affirms, “There is no more condemnation!” From time to time our past can remind us of where we were when Jesus saved us and what He has done for us, but never live in the past. Condemnation lives there, and that no longer belongs to you. If you have been saved through Christ, you are no longer in bondage to your sin, and no longer condemned. Praise Him!

Free at last, He has ransomed me, oh, His grace runs deep
While I was a slave to sin, Jesus died for me. Yes, He died for me!
Who the Son sets free, oh, is free indeed! I'm a child of God, yes, I am!
In my Father's house there's a place for me! I'm a child of God, yes, I am!
I am chosen, not forsaken, I am who You say I am!
You are for me, not against me, I am who You say I am!
Hillsong Worship

• Be confident! He says you are free and no longer condemned. If you are not experiencing freedom, it is God’s deepest desire for you. Ask Him now for forgiveness of your past, and begin to live in your new present—no condemnation.