Father's Love: Living in His Forgiveness

I was recently been struck with the reality that our forgiveness by our Father through Jesus Christ is so critical to our freedom and living in Father's Love.  In an article by Joseph Prince he says, "Recently, the Lord told me, “Son, what I showed you some time ago—that condemnation kills—it’s time to take it seriously. You’ve been preaching to the church about the dangers of stress, but there’s a deeper root than stress.”  In this article Joseph points to a deeper enemy that operates within and that is condemnation which is behind much of our fear.  If we are living in fear, than we are not experiencing His perfect love even though His love is an ever present reality.

When we fear something or someone in our future, it can begin to make us avoid situations and people to appease our fear.  We may be afraid of failure, abandonment, rejection, sharing our heart, or fear success.  Yet at the root of these fears is the largest fear which is one of condemnation or punishment.  In 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."  So there is a vital connection between fear and punishment, so where does punishment come from.  Glad you asked.  Punishment comes from our breaking or transgressing the Law (or an internal law), thus sin and then what follows sin is condemnation then punishment.

In Genesis 3:10 Adam feels afraid (the first recorded time fear enters in) but why, because he has eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil sinning against God, Eve, himself, and all of Creation.  The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was choosing a type of law, rather than the Tree of Life which was eternal and complete communion with God (relationship vs. law).  God did not intend for us to know good and evil only good which is God.

It is very intriguing that Satan, in Hebrew, means "prosecutor of law" or "accuser", which is what he is called in Revelation 12:10-11.  Yet these verses give us a clue to overcoming, "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.  And theyovercame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death."  In Matthew 26:28 we are told that the blood of the Lamb is for the remission of our sins, Jesus taking our sin upon Himself as us and also taking the condemnation and punishment because of the sin.

How much condemnation is left for you as a born again, blood bought, new creation, child of God?  None.  Most believers understand this on a mental ascent level but very few walk in the fullness of this revelation where the enemy has nothing on them.  This is the power of Father's Love and why Paul announces in Romans 8:1 "Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..."

Free from condemnation "in Christ",
Bret