Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…
In Christ, we have no condemnation. Jesus has taken all our condemnation on the cross. Before Jesus gave up His Spirit and died on the cross, He said, ‘It is finished!’ It’s by this finished works on the cross that our condemnation has been taken away. We are now therefore forgiven, loved, and accepted. This is great news, my friend!
"Any example in the bible, pastor?"
Yes, let's look at Luke 19:1-10, Jesus was passing through a place called Jericho, where a rich, but notorious chief tax collector, Zacchaeus was staying. Zacchaeus was known to ‘extort’ people’s money by accusing people falsely. When Zacchaeus heard about Jesus coming to town, he sought to see who Jesus was (Luke 19:3). As he was short in height, and the place was crowded, he climbed up a tree to have a better view of Jesus.
As Jesus passed by, He saw Zacchaeus, and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down, for today I must stay in your house.’ But the crowd complained, because Jesus accepted this ‘sinner’, and even wanted to stay with him. They must have thought, ‘How could this be? Jesus is going to 'fellowship' and stay in such a terrible sinner’s house!’
Notice when Jesus met Zacchaeus, He never said, ‘Zacchaeus, you terrible, condemned sinner. Burn in hell, and receive your punishment!’ Instead, Jesus showed His love and acceptance for him. He never approved of Zacchaeus’ sin. But He loved this sinner.
Zacchaeus’ heart was touched and changed by Jesus' love and acceptance. That day, he received forgiveness. This wouldn’t have happened had Zacchaeus not allowed Jesus to ‘come into his house’. As a result of the transformation in him, he told Jesus he’s going to give half his wealth to the poor, and restore four-fold to anyone he has taken anything from by false accusation (Luke 19:8).
Beloved, Jesus wants to enter your life too, just as He did in Zacchaeus’ life. You are too precious for Him to ignore. He really does love you. He wants to see you healed from your past. We are never too ‘filthy’ for Him. In fact, Jesus has come ‘to seek and save you and me’ (Luke 19:10). He specializes in people like us. So, if you have been feeling condemned, guilty, 'dirty' or ‘bad’ about how terrible you’ve been, or if there’s this voice saying “I’m not good enough, I’m too filthy for God to forgive and accept me again”, don't condemn yourself any further. I have good news for you. Christ has died on the cross for you. He has taken all these guilt, and condemnation of yours. He has taken them all. Allow Him, just as Zacchaeus did, and receive your forgiveness and healing now.
