Free from condemnation

If only I had done things differently.

If only I had not behaved the way I did.

If only I could go back and start all over again.

If only I had been there more for my children when they were young.

If only I had made more time for my elderly parents, before they passed away.

If only I had learnt to control my anger earlier.

Many people in our world today live under the weight of condemnation.

Even people who do not confess to believe in God, struggle with feelings of guilt.

We can project our guilt and condemnation on others, choosing to believe that they were to blame - but it never really solves the problem.

Perhaps you have found yourself saying:

If what could have been . . . had of been . . . I might have been . . . but I’m not . . .

Blaming our parents, our school, our society, or even our church, may seem appealing, but it will not bring us freedom!

Sometimes we feel guilty about what we consider to be the "big things" that we have got wrong in our lives.

But actually, every wrong word spoken, every wrong action taken, and every wrong thought that passes through our heads, affect us.

This is what the Bible calls sin, and it ruins our relationship with God and our relationship with the people around us.

The bad news:

Most of us find it hard to confess our sins to each other and to God.

Admitting that we have been wrong goes against our human nature - and it hurts.

Some of us really resist saying sorry. But that just prolongs the agony.

The good news:

When we do confess our sins to God he really does forgive us.

He sets us free from guilt and condemnation.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

  1 John 1:8-9 (NIV)

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

  Romans 8:1 (NIV)