Musings on Condemnation

It Won't Win a Single Soul

“Neither do I condemn you.” Jesus, John 8:11

This is how Jesus responded to the prevailing religious spirit of his day when the religious leaders brought before him the woman caught in the act of adultery, and would I say unjustly accused because she was only half of the equation of the act of adultery. (You hypocrites – it takes two to “adult” in that manner!) And previously, Jesus had already said:

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:17

It’s abundantly clear therefore, that condemnation was not a tool Jesus used, whether to gather or restore lost souls back to the Father or to welcome new ones into God’s Kingdom. Rather, condemnation and judgment, particularly unjust judgment, were tools of the religious spirit. And Jesus saved his harshest words for the religious folk of his day - not those he was welcoming in to become his brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God. So why does the church still fall into the snare of operating in a religious spirit?

For here we are two-thousand plus years later, and the religious spirit is alive and well. Unjust accusations flying here and there in social media, as members of the Body of Christ put one another under the microscope of unrighteous and unjust examination instead of examining the unrighteous flecks in their own eyes. How is that we are so quick to give ourselves the benefit of our intentions and not our actual actions, but not extended the same grace of courtesy to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Do we need to be reminded again of the words Jesus spoke to his disciples as part of an intimate conversation he had with them right after He washed their feet? And told them of a new commandment he had for them? – to love one another as He had loved each one of them?

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35

I understand there are things coming to light in the Body of Christ that need to come to the light and be dealt with. I understand “judgment begins in the house of God.” I also understand the need for accountability, correction, tough love even, but the mud-slinging, over the smallest of disagreements and differences of opinion has become so prevalent that the mud has gone from our feet to our faces. I say “we” because in Christ we are one body, and one body in process of becoming One New Man if we believe the Word of God (Galatians 2:15).

“She should not have said this” and “he should not have done that” – the world is watching and it’s not an enticement “that the world might know Him.” Rather, it’s a repulsion. How can the world be reconciled to Jesus if we can’t be reconciled to one another? So let’s stop “shoulding” all over one another and let’s learn to prefer one another. “How shall we then live? Frances Schaeffer once asked. I propose we learn to mind our own business well and purpose in our hearts to defeat the religious spirit instead of one another.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. Romans 8:31

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. Romans 12:9-10

Post-Script:

Things continue to come to light since I first wrote this in the fall of 2025, but t’s only as things come to light they can be dealt with. And as I see it, the continued shaking of the Church and the dismantling of ministries is that the Church may be reformed, restructured, and re-mantled according to the proper foundation of apostles and prophets and through those who seek to build God’s Kingdom, not their own. And let’s remember, when our faith is anchored in Jesus, it will not be shaken by any failure on man’s part. Man will always disappoint, but God will not.

I’m not against righteous judgment, but the world is watching how we handle both our failures and our disagreements. And speaking only for myself, it’s my aim to make sure I’ve always got eye-salve properly applied to my own eye first, before I attempt to remark about or attempt to remove and splinter or beam in anyone else’s eyes. There’s a Scripture about each day having trouble enough of its own so as not to worry about tomorrow. I see a parallel principle in my own life – I have enough on my one plate not to be excessively concerned about what’s on everyone else’s plate. And if I am biased, and it’s likely I am, my perspective is that of one who was forgiven much. If it wasn’t for God’s mercy I would have been stoned in my twenties.