Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CONDEMNATION
By Joseph Prince
This message is a reminder to all of us who have been listening to the gospel of grace for some time now. The Lord is revealing to us the secret to living a transformed life. Its time for us to remove all the buttons in our lives that the devil constantly presses. Lets get to the deepest root that causes all our problems. God did not give the law for man to live by or to make man holy. God gave the law so that we know were sinners and we see our need for a Savior.
you some time ago that condemnation kills its time to take it seriously. Youve been preaching to the church about the dangers of stress, but theres a deeper root than stress.
is condemnation. When theres condemnation, therell be fear. When theres fear, theres going to be stress. And when theres stress, therell be manifestations of the curse. Now, if you disagree with me that the root cause is condemnation, let me refer you to Genesis, the book of beginnings. Do you know that Adam was planted in the midst of a finished work? Everything was prepared for him. But the devil told him that he needed to do something to qualify for all the things he had already qualified for. The devil gave him a mistaken identity. He said, You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:45) The truth is that Adam was already like God! But Adam believed the devil, ate the fruit and fell. And the curse came. Before there was poverty, sickness and death in Adams life, there was stress. How do we know that? Well, God said, In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread (Genesis 3:19) And sweat speaks of stress and self-effort. But if you go deeper, you will find that there was fear. Do you know what Adam said to God when God asked
him where he was? He said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. (Genesis 3:10) Adam was afraid. He was fearful. So the deeper root of stress is fear. But before he was fearful, he felt condemned.
Dont think of the law as doing right or not doing wrong because God did not give us the law for that purpose. The law condemns. (2 Corinthians 3:79)
So the devils name tells us that he goes straight to the root of your problems. He doesnt come to you and say, let your business slide or Neglect your children. On the contrary, he comes to say things like, How can you let the business slide? or Call yourself a Christian! Call yourself a good father. Youre a lousy father! He accuses you till you feel condemned.
And he uses the law, which is holy, good and just, to condemn you. That is why condemnation the root cause of all your problems is so subtle. That is why condemnation usually goes undetected.
I have realized that the devil hasnt changed his tactics even with a church like ours where I preach so strongly against condemnation. Do you know why? Because he has no other tactic! He has no other weapon! The devil cannot enforce the curse in your life apart from condemnation. The devil cannot make you sick apart from condemnation. You have to cooperate with him and receive the condemnation first.
and He nailed it to the cross! Yes, God has triumphed over the devil and all his demonic principalities and powers! Thats why I often tell the church that we are not fighting for victory. We are fighting from victory. The victory is already ours through the finished work of Christ at the cross.
Jesus came and He was condemned for our sins at the cross. When He hung on the cross, God took all our sins of our entire lives, and He heaped them on Jesus. Then He unleashed the vengeance of His fury against lawlessness and sin on the body of Jesus Christ until Jesus cried, It is finished! The reason that you and I experience no condemnation today is that all our sins have been punished and condemned, but in the body of another in the body of Jesus Christ!
10
Many Christians know that we overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb. We know that there is power in the blood of Christ. But what is it about Jesus blood that makes it so powerful? Now, what did Jesus say of the blood when He instituted the Lords Supper? He said, For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:28) The blood is for the forgiveness of sins! The blood is there to ensure that you live in no condemnation! That is what makes it so powerful! Notice also what is said in verse 10, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. The devil is called the accuser of the brethren. And he relentlessly accuses Gods people day and night. But the good news is that he has been cast down! He has been defeated! The moment he has no power to accuse, salvation, strength, the kingdom of God and the power of Christ will manifest in your life!
11
12