From Condemnation to Celebration

Have you ever dealt with those awful thoughts of past sins that seem to haunt us even though we know good and well they have been covered by the blood of Christ? I know that there have been plenty of times where I might rest in bed at night and there are humiliating moments that I just can’t seem to get over. And thus…we condemn ourselves. We may even feel the urge to confess the same sins to God over and over. The thing is, if you have confessed sin in a truly remorseful manner and truly repented, there is no longer a need to confess previously forgiven sins. So what do we do? We must change our perspective!

Before we answer how we change our perspective, we first need to get a greater understanding of our sins. Let’s first ask the question that has been asked before: if God knew Adam and Eve would sins, why did He create them? Better yet, if God knew the Devil would fall, why did He create him? Does God not have foreknowledge? He certainly does! So then how could a good and loving God create persons that He knew would fall? In this question is a hidden diamond waiting to be discovered.

Let me ask a question to probe a thought: how do you know the mercy of God? Imagine if you were never to have sinned in the first place…imagine you were perfect right from the beginning. Would you have ever known the attribute of God that we call “mercy?” Is it possible that God so desired to share eternity with a people that know Him in the fullness of His attributes? What do I mean? Angels are different creatures than human beings. There is not a fleshly temptation that they face in the same manner as we do in this world. Human begins have a “sin nature.” So then, angels that sinned against God receive no mercy. They, as 2 Peter 2:4 says, are reserved in chains of “gloomy darkness” as they await the judgement. On the other hand, we have a means by which we may receive grace.

Angels know God by so many of His attributes. He is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, good, holy, and so much more. But do they know God to be merciful? Perhaps they do but in what manner? I asked you earlier if you would ever know God’s mercy if you were sinless. What if God was patient with us, enduring the sinfulness of mankind so that He may fully demonstrate His own goodness, grace, mercy, kindness, and love? Paul asks a similar question in the book of Romans.

What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Romans 9:22-24 ESV

That may appear a bit of a harsh response to some people. Why would God let so many be disobedient to Him just to later cast them in Hell so that the “good people” would know His mercy? This is a misunderstanding of the majesty of God. God gives people free will and He has NO PLEASURE in the death of the wicked (see Ezekiel 33:11) but desires ALL MEN to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (See 1 Timothy 2:4). God is patient with the unrighteous for the sake of the righteous. Let us not forget that there was a time when we ourselves were unrighteous.

So how does this change our perspective of our past sins? This gives us reason for celebration rather than condemnation. How so? Because God has so greatly demonstrated His love for us in that He saved us from the horrible wretched nastiness that lies in our pasts. God desires that WE would know Him in the fullness of His character and nature and so allows us to be disobedient children for a short season so that we may forever and ever reflect back on the wonder of His mercy and grace. When we receive our glorified bodies, we will no longer have a “sin nature.” Therefore we will never again sin! Praise God for that! But I believe that for all of eternity, we will be able to look back on our brief time in this world where the greatest of all beings saved us from our wretched sinfulness!

Consider the time Jesus was invited into a Pharisee’s home and a woman came and wept at the feet of Christ and washed His feet with her tears, wiping them with her hair. What did the Pharisee see? A sinful woman. But Jesus saw something beautiful. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little,” (Luke 7:47 ESV). It was the redemption of her greatly sinful past that gave her a greater love for Jesus than what the Pharisee could understand. That remains true today. That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be an ex-murderer forgiven by God to love Him the most. But we need to understand the state of our sinfulness. Outside of Christ, we are awful. Thank God for the precious blood of Christ that cleanses us of all our sins!

So then, it is the great mercy of Christ that allows for us to love God to a greater extent! Because we have been forgiven, we can love much! So when condemnation begins creeping in about those past sins, you can say, “Thank God for the blood of Christ that cleansed me from such wretchedness! Now, because He has redeemed me from (such and such sin), I love Him more than ever before!” The Devil wants to remind you of your sinfulness to pull you away from God. I challenge you to see your sinfulness in such a way that you remember the cross of Christ and are driven to such a greater depth of love for Him because YOU HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN MUCH! So instead of condemnation, have a redemptive celebration!