This is entry 4/5 in a series on discouragement.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1, ESV)
One way Satan tries to discourage us is to get us to look more at our sin than on our Saviour, especially when we fall into the same sin again and again. Then the enemy not only accuses us, but also whispers in our ears: “Something must be wrong with you! There is no proof of grace in your life.”
The result is not only doubt or fear, but also discouragement. We are not so confident in our ministry anymore, not so excited and eager as before and do not delight in God as we usually do. Satan’s dart of discouragement has done its work. Sometimes it even makes us more willing to give in to temptation, because we think: Why even try in this battle against sin? I know I won’t win.
Our verse does not teach that those who are in Christ are free from the presence of sin nor that they cannot backslide. What it does promise is, that we are free from the condemning power of sin. We are also free from the dominion of sin (Rom 6:14). Sin can still bother us a lot, but it shall not reign in us. Sin reigns when we willingly and readily obey its commands. Sin reigns when we find pleasure in following our lusts. But it does not reign in us when we hate the wrong we do or the bad habit we have and confess it to God and long to be free from that sin.
The Bible comforts us by reminding us that we have a God who pardons iniquity
(Micah 7:18). A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench (Isaiah 42:3). Thomas Brooks says: ‘This is the most certain truth, that God graciously pardons those sins to His people – that He will not in this life fully subdue in His people.’1 God allows the ongoing presence of sin in us to keep us humble, to make us seek all the help Christ offers and to greatly desire heaven, where there is no sin anymore.
We take the shield of faith against the darts of discouragement, when we firmly belief that our sins are accounted to Christ and that His righteousness is credited to us. A child of God can truly say to the accusations of the law and the demands of God’s righteousness: “If I owe you anything, go to my Christ, who has paid for me.” To continue to sit down discouraged when the debt is paid for, is a sin of which we need to repent. This is how we overcome discouragement!
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 2:1-2)
