No Condemnation

I want to talk today about the spiritual gift of Discernment. 

Discernment simply means: to see, and understand.

Of course, in the context of spiritual life, it is seeing and understanding what God is doing, what the Holy Spirit is saying, and where He is leading, as well as, what Satan, the enemy, is up to in His evil plans to kill, steal and destroy.

Recently I had a discussion with an individual who was struggling with feelings of guilt. He was trying to Discern what this was all about as he knew he was living right and not in sin.

I would like to draw a contrast between Godly Conviction and Satanic Condemnation.

When we sin, as Christians, our Born Again spirits in communion with the Holy Spirit will convict us for our sin. We have all experienced this. Our God-given conscience will not let us rest until we make things right with the Lord by confessing our sin so that He may cleanse us and forgive us. (1 John 1:9)

However, even after confessing and receiving forgiveness, there can be those lingering feelings of shame, and a reminding in our thoughts of our sin.

This is NOT God. These are feelings of condemnation. The Bible says in Romans 8:1 that there is NO CONDEMNATION  for those who are in Christ Jesus! That is us who are Born Again, living for Jesus, pursuing His Kingdom!

Satan is called, "the accuser of the brethren." (Revelation 12:7-12) He loves to throw our past failures up in our face in an attempt to shift our Identities from a child of God to a powerless sinner.

I came across this Psalm that really spoke into this truth:

Psalm 32 (NKJV)

The Joy of Forgiveness - A Psalm of David. 

32 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,"
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

King David is expressing first how joyful one feels knowing God has forgiven their sins!

Then he describes the feeling of living with unconfessed sin, as his "bones growing old." He talks about the Conviction of the Lord, as a "heavy hand" upon him. We have all experienced this when we are walking in the flesh and disobeying the Lord.

As a Good Father, He chastens and disciplines those He loves! (Hebrews 12:6) 

The Good News is, there is a solution! In verse 5, David gives us the answer!

Acknowledge our sin.

Confess it to the Lord.

Receive His forgiveness!

There are many topics and subjects in our Christian walk that require Godly Discernment. Get in His Word and grow in your seeing and understanding!