As long as you live under the unbearable yoke of guilt and shame, you will never be able to walk in faith and holiness, because the enemy convinces you that it doesn’t do any good for you to believe because you don’t deserve for God to honor your faith. Holiness feels like a lost hope because your record is always there screaming at you saying, “Who do you think you are.” I’ve been talking some lately about the woman caught in adultery in John 8. I’m just fascinated with the fact that before Jesus told her to go and sin no more, He first let her know that He didn’t condemn her. Can you imagine how shocking, and life changing those words were. He actually said, “Go your way, neither do I condemn you.” Just amazing this Jesus we love and serve. She was free, not just in a legal, spiritual sense, but in her heart, to hope, to love Him, to love herself. It wasn’t that she hadn’t sinned, but she could by His unchanging love put that behind her and “go her way,” believing the banqueting table was fully available to her too. He believed in her. That was all she needed to know. She had something to live for. He loved her. She was allowed, no, welcomed to love Him back, and live for Him without any reservations on His part, thus none on hers.
