Casting Stones at Self-Condemnation

Recently, as I considered an old truth in a new way, God struck me with fresh insight. It was simply this: deeper beneath our anxiety we often propagate self-condemnatory thinking which is always based in a lie. It can only damage us.

The truth is, theologically speaking, we can only and do only ever condemn ourselves. We may try to condemn others, but, in that act, we only end up condemning ourselves.

But condemnation is a ruse.

In Christ, condemnation was vanquished long ago. God condemns us not. Nor are we to condemn others. So, why do we go the unscriptural route of condemning ourselves?

And, still, we do so. We judge ourselves and render unreconcilable things resolvable through scapegoatism. We take too much responsibility because others don’t take their share, and such a ‘resolution’ costs us anxiety, because we condemn ourselves. Into the convent of victimhood we go, to be shut up in insufferable silence indefinitely.

Until we see we’re living an anti-relational lie. Self-condemnation only ruins relationships.

Biblically, we can no sooner condemn ourselves than anyone else. The purpose of the gospel spreads far beyond the inner intrusiveness of self-condemnation, because the gospel is outwardly oriented, ever convicting lives of the purpose beyond condemnation.

We disobey God when we suffer ourselves to the extent of self-condemnation. It’s such an unjust paradox. We feel our guilt justifies in God’s holy sight, when the opposite reality is what He seeks.

God cannot give us the peace we pray for in our anxiety, if what’s feeding our anxiety is self-condemnation.

If we’re given to anxiety, we should quickly make a thorough precis of whether we’re self-critical of ourselves or not. Many Christians actively engage in this. They don’t understand that God’s kindness leads us to repent — and thereafter, no guilt and no condemnation is to be felt. We’re to feel forgiven, knowing that we are. God never condemns us, ever, because of Christ.[1]

Into freedom we’ve been reborn through Christ, to flourish within His Kingdom that restores us.

We cannot live freely when we’re tormented by guilt replete with self-condemnation.

The Lord implores us to move on in the resurrection freedom He died for to give us.

It is wrong to cast stones at sinners, but sins are to be pelted with them.

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[1] Now, people may ultimately condemn themselves for not accepting Christ. There is no condemnation this side of death.