Has No One Condemned You?
Lisa Cooke
“You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross” (Colossians 2:13-15, NLT).
In John 8 we have the woman caught in the act of adultery. The scribes and Pharisees brought her to Jesus, accusing her and stating the punishment for adultery, judging and sentencing her for her “crime.” Jesus cleverly turned the spotlight on them by saying “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” In the end, it was just Jesus and the woman left and Jesus said to her “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” (Berean Study Bible).
In this story, Jesus “disarmed” and even “shamed” the rulers and authorities of that day, in effect cancelling the charges that were brought against the woman. She was free to “go and sin no more” as Jesus urged her. To me, this story is a shadow of the comprehensive work of the cross that Jesus would soon accomplish for those who would believe in Him.
When we are born again, becoming one with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, we find ourselves in this same position as the woman found herself in: surrounded by no one with the right to accuse us, the record of the charges against us being canceled because those charges were nailed to the cross of Christ.
Yet how often in our lives does the enemy of our souls endeavor to bring up charges against us, to accuse, critique and demean us every chance he gets? Are we as helpless against the condemnation as that woman surrounded by scribes and Pharisees? Of course not! We have the same advocate (a legal representative) with the Father that comes to our defense as she had. Her encounter with Jesus was an act of mercy. Our everlasting encounter with Jesus is based on our relationship with Him. His advocacy is our inheritance as children of God.
Even in the Old Testament we have a word from the Spirit of God concerning these matters.
“But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me, I the Lord, have spoken” (Isaiah 54:17, NLT).
These voices that raise up to accuse us can come from enemies, culture, sometimes friends unfortunately, from demonic spirits, or even from our own souls. Our great need is to be vigilant with discernment so that we can quickly recognize any anti-redemption comment, thought, or accusation. Sometimes this can be confused with conviction, so we need to be mindful of the content of the word spoken to us.
The Holy Spirit when speaking to us is never condemning, but emancipating! Any voice that has our best interests at heart should be listened to. But any voice with the ulterior motive of killing, stealing or destroying should be silenced with the word of Jesus, just as happened with the woman caught in adultery.
Everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God over our lives is to be resisted and declared powerless to influence how we think about ourselves. We always want to agree with what God says about us in the face of opposing judgments. God always speaks of who we are becoming as He works His transformative power within us, so don’t hesitate to embrace what He has declared over you. Life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21) and we have the blood purchased right to choose life over death every time.
Our accusers, stripped of their right to accuse, will have to walk away in disgrace while we are free to live a life that honors all God has said about us.
Jesus will say to us with joy, “Where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” And we will say with equal joy, “No one, Lord!”
