Condemnation: Enemy of Our Faith
"Sin has been preached to us so long and we have been told so often that we are unworthy and unfit, that it has kept us with a sense of inferiority which has been destructive to a life of faith," said E. W. Kenyon.
Much of my Christian life was spent powerless and faithless because I could not understand that condemnation was affecting my identity. Our identity is crucial for a walk of faith. "For as a man thinks in his heart so is he." (Proverbs 23:7)
Our faith, power, and actions will flow out of who we think God is and who we think we are. Satan had me convinced that God could not use me because of my lack of maturity in so many areas. It seemed that if I prayed one hour, he said I should have prayed two; or I should have read my Bible ìjust a little more.î I always fell short of perfection and felt like I lacked in something.
In Romans 10:3 it says that we must submit to the righteousness of Christ. We not only submit to His righteousness but we must resist the voices of accusation, guilt, and unworthiness. In James 4:7 we are told to submit to God and resist the devil. Remember that in Revelation 12:10 it identifies the accuser of the brethren as the devil.
One day I realized that according to ìthe accuser of the brethrenî I would never measure up. I had allowed Satan to render me powerless and ineffective for Godís service.
The enemy continually attacks our identity with accusations of our failures and our sins until we become demoralized, paralyzed, and sterilized.
We cannot have a low grade feeling of guilt - it must become an enemy. We tend to think it is better to err on the side of holding onto our guilt, imperfections, and unworthiness rather than err on the side of being fully forgiven, clean; and called holy and righteous.
Guilt is an enemy that is very powerful and destructive. It robs of faith, intimacy, and energy.
Our new covenant says we have right standing with God. We are not just barely tolerable to Him - but welcomed with passion!
I have seen brand new Christians with more power and anointing than ten year old Christians who were still trying to measure up to some impossible standard.
Satan is the accuser of the brethren, but Jesus is our defender. We make an agreement with the accuser whenever we look at our past apart from the blood of Christ. When we agree with the devil, we empower him. When we agree with God, we are empowered to become what he says we are.
Your past is bought and is no longer legal to visit.
Your sin is under the blood and it is important to let it go.
Guilt and condemnation must become an intolerable enemy that is rebuked and recognized for what it is - the voice of the accuser, satan himself. We fight and resist his voice by replacing his voice with the declaration of Godís Word in our mouth.
