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 8:1-2 [NIV]
Do you believe that? Do you really? That we are free from condemnation, set free from “the law of sin and death”? If you are like me, you will be familiar with the voice in your head which starts a sentence like this: “Call yourself a Christian, how could you…” or something similar. The voice, as we learned a few weeks ago from “The Screwtape Letters” is something we might not recognise as coming from Satan – it is our own human nature, the part of us that wants to put ourselves at the centre of life, the universe and everything. It comes across as the voice of reason, the voice we have grown up with, the person who knows us best, with whom we are very familiar.
Jesus did not condemn – nor does he today. There is a difference between conviction and condemnation. The Holy Spirit convicts us, so that we are aware of what we are doing or have done wrong. After we are convicted, we can confess and repent – keeping a short account with God. Rather than looking at the balance of your overdrawn account with God (which is always written off though repentance and forgiveness) Satan would have you trawling through the historic account of every sin committed in your life.
Sometimes the voice of our own nature is so much louder than the still small voice that truly speaks with reason and love. Listen to the voice of the Spirit, and learn to recognise the false and accusatory voices that say the opposite. Use the gift of discernment to tell the difference.
Lord, thank you for setting me free from the law of sin and death – help me to live like a free person, not a slave. Amen.
Dave MacLellan
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