Today's Scripture: John 8:10-11, and John 1-14
After Jesus stood up and and diffused the crowd by making the women's accusers look into their own hearts, He could have simply stopped there. But as the women stood before him waiting on a verdict, wanting to know what this man / leader had to say about her actions, she knew that she was guilty of the crime. Jesus responded with grace "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more." Jesus forgave her, set her free from her past, and set her on a new path of change. Jesus' whole ministry in a nut shell is a fine balance of offering grace and giving people the truth.
Jesus wants more for our lives, but we have to take responsibility for thoughts, actions, desires and temptations. We will always be given forgiveness, but that doesn't mean that we can continue on in our sin and make the same mistakes over and over. God sent Jesus to the world to save His people from sin. Because of His love for us He wants to protect us from the damage sin causes in our lives.
There are two main topics that I really wanted to talk about in this chapter Conviction and Condemnation. Many many Christians (especially those who are new to Christianity) struggle with differentiating between the two.
Conviction: An internal voice of God gently calling us to a better life accessible through change.
Condemnation: An internal voice (a combination of the voices of others, our selves, and the devil) that breaks up down, strips away our worth and condemns us to fail over and over.
There are two versus that can really help us during these times of conflict where we might be struggling with conviction vs. condemnation.
John 3:17
Romans 8:1
Jesus offers us the freedom from condemnation, a change to break free of rut and have a new future. It's up to us to take the offer and through God receive the knowledge and help to move toward that future!
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