Day 123: Free from Condemnation

3 May, 2021

The Daily Word: Monday, May 3rd, 2021
Judges 17:1-18:31
John 3:1-21
Psalm 104:1-23
Proverbs 14:20-21
For full text click here.

Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. – Jn. 3:17

Condemnation. Have you ever felt it? Condemnation is the “expression of very strong disapproval.”[1] You’ve experienced it when other people judge you for doing something with which they don’t agree. You probably felt it from your parents! You may have even experienced it in the church. But if it causes condemnation, it’s not Jesus.

Jesus did not come to condemn the world. He came to set us free! When God sent Jesus into the world, the world was already condemned. We were lost in our sin, unable to find God. We chose darkness instead of light (v 19) and ignored God. At best we pretended He didn’t exist; at worst we denied His Word even though we knew it was true!

But Jesus came to set us free. He came so that, when we believe in Him, “through Him [we] might be saved” (v 17). You were hopeless. But Jesus brought hope. You were a dead man walking! But Jesus brought life. This is a simple truth, but it bears repeating and remembering daily. You were lost but now you are found. You were dead but now you are alive! Jesus came, not to condemn you, but to save you.

Today is the day you walk in freedom from all condemnation. Jesus was condemned to the Cross so that you could walk free in Jesus’ name!

Prayer:

Father, thank You for the Cross! Help me to take joy in the simple pleasures of life today. I am so grateful for salvation. I am so grateful that You saved me! I will never go back to a life of guilt and condemnation and shame, in Jesus’ name.

© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.

[1] Oxford Language Dictionary. https://bit.ly/3ePXj0h