“Then, neither do I condemn you”
I have only met few teenagers who embraced Jesus wholeheartedly as this young girl in my church. Also, I have not seen someone so ashamed and in tears over her past sin. She was introduced to lesbianism at a pretty young age by her neighbor. So, even though theoretically she felt forgiven, but like every sin, the scar occasionally brought doubts. Like this girl, there are many Christians who struggle with guilt. A sense of guilt is not bad -- if that helps us remember how unworthy we were before we received forgiveness (Luke 7:44-48). However, there are two issues with guilt.
Firstly, in my experience, I have seen that past guilt hardly draws us closer to God for grace (Matthew 27:3-5). This is very deadly. But more troubling is that dwelling in past guilt is a sign of unbelief – which is sin. Our text shows us the beautiful grace of our Lord Jesus to that woman. He was without sin and thus, was qualified to condemn her.
However, Christ said to her – “I do not condemn you”. Thanks to Christ’s death on the Cross, we now can receive forgiveness for our sins when we confess to God. Therefore, if we still wallow in guilt, we fail to see what Christ has done, or we accuse God of being unjust or unfaithful.
Meditate on Romans 8:31-39.
Bible Reading: JOHN 8:1-11 PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to realize that you bore all my sins, and guilt on the cross.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS Kindly write down your personal reflections and questions from reading this portion.
