Not Condemned
Today C31 is delighted to share a special guest post from beloved bestselling author Ann Voskamp.
Before Ann begins, she invites you to read all of John 8:1–11.
You are not condemned. Discover how Jesus’ words to an accused woman reveal His tender love and life-changing grace.
Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:10-11 NIV)
You are not condemned.
It reverberates off the walls of the deepest pits, straight across the universe, from the very throne room of God’s heart, quaking your heart awake.
You are not condemned, though you are guilty of the hidden thing, the unspoken thing, the proud thing, the gossiping thing, the thing you keep doing again and again, the thing you would do anything to take back and get a do-over for, the thing about you that you’d never want shared at any dinner table, from any microphone, or in any headline. You are not condemned, even though there are people you ended up failing. Even though there are wounds you’ve caused and damage you’ve done but didn’t intend. Even though there are all those things you desperately wish you could undo.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NIV), because the love of your life, Jesus, takes all the condemnation on Himself.
These seven words, “You are guilty, but you aren’t condemned”—this is the perfection of the gospel. Write them up the walls of your cerebrum, across your forehead so you see them in every mirror you’ll ever look into.
The Accused Adulterous Woman
“In the story of the woman taken in adultery, we are told Christ bent down and scribbled in the dust with His finger,” writes C. S. Lewis. “Nothing comes of this. No one has ever based any doctrine on it. And the art of inventing little irrelevant details to make an imaginary scene more convincing is a purely modern art. Surely the only explanation of this passage is that the thing really happened? The author put it in simply because he had seen it.” Who knows what Jesus wrote in the dust, but what we know is that this happened, that there were eyewitnesses who saw the fingers that handmade the heavens etching words in the dirt of this earth.
Is it possible that Jesus scrawled across the granules the sins committed by her accusers? Were her accusers cut to the quick with all their own sins as His fingers cut through the dust?
“Throw a stone,” Jesus said, straightening up. “Just make sure that whoever throws that stone hasn’t ever done anything worthy of having a stone cast at him.”
Hasn’t it been true across all the ages? The heart always enlarges the sins in another heart while shrinking the sin in its own.
Without another word, the Word knelt and scrawled more in the sand. And one by one, the woman’s accusers fell away, dominoes of pride and power knocked down.
The woman looked around. The woman looked down. The tender face of Jesus, His compassionate eyes searching hers, was below her.
The God of the heavens has lowered Himself to be the floor of love under your shame, the sureness of love under your humiliation, the love that goes lower than your most devastating low.
Jesus Takes Our Stones
Wherever we find ourselves, God goes lower to be the lifter of our chins, the catcher of our tears, the loving arms underneath us, holding us and carrying us through.
Jesus holds your story in gentle hands because He never stops holding your need for gentleness at the center of His awareness.
He holds our eyes, holds our chin, and whispers, “Neither do I condemn you . . .” because He will take all your condemnation.
The stones that should be cast at you—He takes them.
The arrows that should be turned on you—He takes them.
The shame, the humiliation, the guilt—He takes them all. Because He takes all of you.
Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world—so He can take you and love you to life.
He is your rescue, your shield, your Lamb, your love forever-sealed. He kisses you with grace and says, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Go, and sin no more.
Entering into the depths of His love is how you leave behind a life of sin.
What turns the human heart around is not shame, not guilt, not anger, not accusations, not bigger bootstraps, not some self-help plan; what turns the human heart around is simply what the human heart is made for: love.
Jesus knows it is perfect love that casts out fear, perfect love that casts out cravings, perfect love that casts out hang-ups, perfect love that casts out sin.
This is the way of the life-giving love of God: Jesus completely embraced people before they completely embraced changing.
The way of Jesus is to scandalously love people before they change their scandalous ways.
The pilgrimage to change is always through entering into the passionate love of God.
Ann Voskamp is the wife of a farmer, mama to 7, and the author of the four New York Times bestsellers, The Broken Way, The Greatest Gift, Unwrapping the Greatest Gift, and One Thousand Gifts. Millions do life with her at her daily photographic online journal, annvoskamp.com.
This post was adapted from Ann’s upcoming book Loved to Life: A 40-Day Pilgrimage with Love Himself That Will Change Your Life. This beautiful devotional includes 40 original woodcut illustrations and is available for preorder wherever books are sold.
Club31Women thanks Tyndale for their partnership in today’s post. This is a sponsored post, but please know that we will only ever recommend books and resources which align with our mission. (See our full disclosure here.)
