CONDEMNATION, CONVICTION & CORRECTION

Introduction

In October, we discussed how our enemy, Satan, brings accusations against us. One of the reasons he does this is to make us feel condemned. When we agree with these feelings of condemnation, we allow a wall of shame to separate us from the love of God. But we need to remember that through Christ, “there is now no condemnation,” we are “free from accusation,” and nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Colossians 1:22, Romans 8:1, 8:39). In this devotion, I'd like to continue this theme by talking a little bit more about what all of this means.

What is Condemnation?

John 3:18 says, “Whoever believes in [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” If we believe in Jesus, we are not condemned by God. In fact, I don't believe anyone in this world is truly condemned by God, because He has reserved condemnation for the Day of Judgment. As Jesus says, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). And in John 12:47-48 He says, “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.”

ccc According to http://www.biblestudytools.com/, the words translated as “condemn” and “judge” in the passages above are the same word (krino, krinw), which means—among other things—“to pronounce judgment.” In Romans 8:1 (“there is now no condemnation”), a different word (katakrima, katakrima)—meaning “damnatory sentence”—is used. Although the latter is more clear, both Greek words mean essentially the same thing. Jesus did not come to make sure that mankind paid the price for their sins; He came to pay the price for us, and to extend God's hand of mercy, forgiveness, and grace. We were like condemned buildings, destined for destruction. But Jesus came to redeem us from the demolition that is reserved for the “last day,” and now we—who believe in Jesus—are being rebuilt in Him. And if you don't yet believe, consider this: There is not a single person on this earth that God desires to execute damnatory sentence against. Instead, He “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). No matter who you are, God wants YOU to be in heaven with Him forever!

What is Conviction?

Jesus did not come to condemn us, but the Bible says that “When [the Spirit of God] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). In legal terms, conviction is “the judgment that the defendant is guilty and a sentence shall be imposed” (link). So, is this Bible verse saying that the Spirit brings condemnation? No! The word translated as “convict” in this verse (elegcho, elegcw), means—among other things—to expose, to find fault with, to correct, to admonish, and to reprove. Although “punishment” may be implied by this word, it is with the intent to teach and correct—i.e., to discipline (Hebrews 12:5-7)—rather than to condemn. When the Spirit of God convicts us of our guilt, He is not pronouncing final judgment. Instead, He is inviting us to change our course from the “way of death”—the “Road to Perdition”—to the “way of life” (see Jeremiah 21:8).

ccc Although the Spirit convicts both believers and (as of yet) unbelievers, I'd like to begin by focusing on how conviction works in the lives of those who already believe. Colossians 1:22 says that those who believe in Christ are “free from accusation.” However, this statement does not mean that no truthful accusations can be brought against us. Since we are not perfect, we know this cannot be true. Instead, it simply means that we are not held accountable for our sins so long as we are covered by the blood of the Lamb. Being covered involves trusting in the saving power of Jesus' blood by bringing our sins before Him, through confession, with the intent to stop sinning. Intentional, unconfessed sins are not covered and will continue to separate us from God, potentially to the point of spiritual death. So you see, believers are not free from sin. However, if they continue with confession and repentance, then they are free from accusation. If Satan tries to accuse such a person, God will simply show him the blood-stained receipt that says, “paid in full.” So long as we remain in this world, our need for continual confession and repentance remains. Our sinful nature wars against us but, through conviction, the Holy Spirit brings our sins to light and works to make us more and more like Jesus. As children of God, this is our destiny (Romans 8:29): “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son...”

ccc So we see that there is a distinct difference between Biblical condemnation (judgment of sins) and conviction (revealing of sins). For those who don't believe in Jesus, conviction is the lifesaver thrown to the drowning man or woman. They can grab hold of it or refuse it as they wish. To grab hold of the lifesaver is to “accept” what Jesus did for all mankind. It is to admit, “Yes, I am sinful. Yes, Jesus died to pay the price for my sins. Through Him I am saved from eternal condemnation.” And when we “accept”—take hold of—this lifeline, God draws us in closer, and a new kind of conviction begins. For the person who has taken hold of Christ as their Savior, the purpose of God's conviction changes from a saving lifeline to a refining fire. The closer we get to God, the purer and holier we must be. And as God's children, it is our destiny to become more and more like our perfect Savior... “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24). He burns up the dross within each one of us.

The Problem with “Correction”

The Bible tells us that God is our judge. It is His role to convict and, when the time comes, to condemn (if necessary). This is why the Bible says, “Do not judge [krino], or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2). However, in terms of the application of this Bible passage, I have witnessed two common mistakes. (1) The first mistake is to always speak up to provide correction whenever you see someone doing something wrong. (2) The second mistake is to count all correction as “judging.” Let's try to determine what this well-known passage of Scripture really says.

1. Attitude Adjustments

ccc First of all, this passage is not saying that we cannot speak the truth. As Christians, it is our duty to speak the truth (see Matthew 18:15-17). However, we must always be careful of the attitude with which we speak. We are not simply to speak the truth, but to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). If our attitude is such that we are looking down upon another person, then we are, in essence, elevating ourselves above them and judging them to be more sinful than us. This is nothing more than arrogance, or pride. Luke 18:9-14 provides a good example of this holier-than-thou attitude: “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."” We must beware of the attitude with which we offer correction.

2. A Lack of Vision

ccc The second problem is that any judgment we make is inevitably based upon our limited knowledge. We see one moment of a person's life, but God sees the whole. We see the external things, but God sees the heart. How is it that we often assume the worst of others, but then expect them to give us the benefit of the doubt? Have you ever acted upon an incomplete understanding and ended up regretting it? I have. Here's an example: One time I was at a musical concert. A man behind me was whispering. I found it to be distracting, so I glanced back at him, hoping that he would stop talking. I don't think I glared at him, but my attitude was not good. I had already judged him in my heart. Then he kindly explained that his wife was blind and he was describing to her what was taking place on the stage. I thought I knew enough to judge the situation, but I was clearly blind to the reality. I needed God's vision of the situation. Once I had all of the facts, I was not so eager to judge. We must be aware that we rarely have all of the facts. As Jesus said in John 7:24, we need to “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”

3. Measuring Up—Biased Baselines?

ccc The parable of the unmerciful servant provides us with another picture of the problem of human judgment: “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:23-35).

ccc This parable highlights our tendency to be more lenient on ourselves than we are on others. We want mercy for ourselves and justice for others. Our baseline—or standard—is biased. In short, we want a higher standard for others than for ourselves. This is what Matthew 7:2 is addressing. According to this verse, “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” What this means is that if we—using a finely graduated measuring stick—judge others harshly, God will apply the same harsh “metron” (metron), “rule or standard of judgment,” back to us. This verse brings new meaning to the beatitude that says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

ccc It is not wrong to speak the truth in love, and indeed sometimes that is exactly the right thing to do—though we may end up being accused of “judging” the one to whom we are speaking. However, we must try to avoid the dangers inherent in speaking aloud the faults of others. Sometimes the best course of action is to keep silent and learn from their mistakes. That's what I wish to talk about in the next section.

The Plank Principle

The further danger of speaking to the sins of another person, is that we ourselves are also sinful. When one sinful human being speaks to the sins of another, hypocrisy is a real danger. (For an interesting example, read 2 Samuel 12:1-7.) In order to avoid hypocrisy, we must always be careful—before we speak to others about their sins—to first take a good look at ourselves. This is what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7:3-5: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

ccc Over the past few years, God has taught me a basic principle—I call it the “Plank Principle”—about how to use this Bible passage, Matthew 7:3-5, to cooperate with Him in the process of being “conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:29). The “Plank Principle” is applied as follows: Whenever you observe someone doing something wrong—especially if you personally find what they are doing to be irritating—reflect it back on yourself by asking, “Have I ever done anything like this?” Chances are you have done something similar and, if it's something you still struggle with, then—rather than chiding the person who made the mistake—use the experience as a lesson for your own life. I have discovered that, if I pay attention to these kinds of circumstances, God will use them to teach me something about myself. Let's look at an example below (a slightly modified excerpt from my journal).

Today I went to the coffee hour and—without pushing anyone out of my way—claimed the last cupcake among several other snack selections. I heard some people behind me lamenting that only one was left and heard depressive sighs as I picked it up. I had waited while others claimed their snacks... Did I do something wrong? I was being judged for taking the last cupcake! Someone has to do it or the last one would always go to waste. Maybe I should've turned around and handed the cupcake over, but I didn't think I could do that with a kind spirit. It would've been spiteful, because in my heart I would've been thinking, “There! Are you happy now?!” And even if I had a smile on my face and really meant no harm, the recipient of the cupcake (who had just made me feel guilty for what they would've done if I hadn't) probably would've felt guilty when they realized I'd heard what they had said. All of this made me want to always be polite and kind, displaying a generous, nonjudgmental attitude, because overhearing this person complain aloud made me feel bad. Do I really want to make people feel bad?

Applying the Plank Principle, I have to admit that I've done this kind of thing before. (I.e., I've spoken snide remarks and other complaints within earshot of the subjects of my complaining.) It would've been easy for me to have condemned these people for how they acted when I took the last cupcake—and it probably would've felt pretty good to my sinful nature (at least for a little while). But I would be a hypocrite to condemn these people for doing something that I myself have done in the past. As Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 says, “Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you—for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others...” The experience I described above taught me—in a more real way than ever before—that I need to be careful of what I say. It also taught me that I need to show restraint in reacting to the words and actions of others. I'm sorry to say that I have not yet learned to do this perfectly... I'm not a Christian because I'm a pretty good person—I'm a Christian because I am in desperate need of Christ's help!!

ccc When we attempt to see a bit of ourselves in the mistakes of others, our self-learning is accelerated. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to apply the lessons we've learned when we're faced with a decision in the heat of the moment. There is certainly a difference between knowing the right course of action and taking it. Maybe this is why, in Ecclesiastes 7:23, king Solomon said: “All this I tested by wisdom and I said, 'I am determined to be wise'—but this was beyond me.” I am determined to become a better, wiser person—but this is most certainly beyond me! We must remember this fact lest we begin to think we can accomplish any of this on our own. However, as we learn more about our own failings and weaknesses, we can pray about them and give them over to God. We can cooperate with the Holy Spirit in our journey towards Christ-likeness. I hope you will join me in this great adventure!