Who condemns you?

1. John 8:10, 11

The first concern of Jesus in this passage was not that the woman felt contrite but that she felt safe. He wanted her to know that he didn’t condemn her, nor did he believe that her sins were worse than the Pharisees who threw her at his feet. Jesus wanted her to say it, right out loud, “No one, sir. No one condemns me. You don’t, they don’t, and I don’t.”

Only after we establish the answer to that question does the matter of going and sinning no more matter to God. Otherwise, our choice to “go and sin no more” is rooted in white-knuckled performance, aimed at winning the approval of God, others, and ourselves. Only when we are free from condemnation is our endeavor to change for the better rooted in the freedom Christ offers.

The way we answer this question in our own lives says everything about what we believe about God. Jesus is more concerned with our security in him than the surety of our standing before him. Jesus is more concerned with his approachability than the posture of our approach.

Who condemns you? Or more precisely, who could possibly condemn you without also condemning themselves for condemning you?

The answer for this one matters.

Do you believe that all who come to Jesus can live free of condemnation, in the fullness of grace?