No Condemnation

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

I have heard people say, “I know that God forgives me, but I’m just not able to forgive myself.” Maybe there’s a reason for that. The bible never commands us to forgive ourselves. Our forgiveness is not self-generated, it must come from an external source, namely God. The bible tells us to seek God’s forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 teaches, “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”  

Could it be that feeling of not being able to forgive ourselves is actually the inability to fully accept God’s forgiveness? If you are feeling the weight of guilt and condemnation after receiving God’s forgiveness, you might consider releasing those things to him in prayer. Romans teaches that “there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” 

God not only forgives, he takes it a step further. Psalm 103:12 says, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” The east and west are in opposite directions, never to intersect. When God has forgiven you, he will never come back and say, “remember the time you did ___?” 

Although we seem to be proficient at remembering our own sins, in Jeremiah 31:34 God says, “I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” This means that once forgiven, God will never again hold you accountable for that sin. It’s as if he has forgotten it altogether. 

Through Christ, God has made us worthy to receive forgiveness. Our hearts have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus. We don’t need to forgive ourselves, we just need to trust in his whole and complete forgiveness because there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.