Don’t Beat Yourself Up!

“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 8:1

How many of us regularly beat ourselves up over our shortcomings? Me! It’s me! Did I say, “It’s me??!” Being hard on ourselves when we fall short, sin, or miss the mark is a double-edged sword. On one hand, the word says, “Godly sorrow leads men to repentance,” and that’s good! On the other hand, because the enemy knows the rules of the book, he often dupes us into being harder on ourselves than we ought be. Sometimes we allow the weight of religion and law to keep us from thriving in and learning from the unforced rhythms of God’s grace. You know, the Him is us. It’s a struggle that creates tension between our desire to grow and the pressure of meeting every expectation of the word. This kind of thinking is plain and simple self-condemnation. Romans 8:1 guarantees us that condemnation is not our portion—so how do we effectively live that truth?

It is by faith that we are saved, not of works, lest any man should boast, right? Correct! I’m glad you agree. There is nothing we can do to be good enough; Jesus did that for us. Faith really means that you are completely persuaded that what God has said is true! This persuasion is always a gift from Him! It doesn’t mean simple belief; it’s about having complete trust in the Father and fully entrusting ourselves to Him. This faith comes by our hearing of His word. God freely gives Himself to us in this way, and that is grace, my friends! This means that whatever He says carries with it the power to perform it! Yes! So if He said it to you, and you received it, it will happen as you agree! Just like Mary saying, “Yes! I agree! Be it to me according to your word,” and voilà! Christ was born!

The power of His word received in faith says that there is no more condemnation to those who are in Christ! Don’t beat yourself up! Learn. Repent. Grow. Move forward. This is not to say that sorrow over missing the mark is all bad. On the contrary, godly sorrow is an indicator of a relationship with Him! A direct result of a life reborn in His Spirit. If it doesn’t break our hearts when we fall short, I would question whether we are engaged in relationship with Him or not.

Here in Romans 8, Paul continues, saying that if you have received the Spirit of Christ, you are alive and walking by the Spirit. I often hear people say that they have sinned against God because they are walking in the flesh, not in the Spirit. While I understand the sentiment, the context of Romans 8 makes it clear that if you are born again, you are walking by the Spirit. Anyone who is in Christ no longer has a sin nature! However, it is common for us to yield to sin within us and disobey the Spirit, but that doesn’t mean you are a sinner. How, you ask?

Paul said earlier in Romans 7, “I find myself doing what I do not want to do, and not doing what I want to do.” He said that when he did what he didn’t want to do, it wasn’t him that did it, but sin that was within him. The truth is, we no longer have a sin nature. We have been born again of incorruptible seed: The Holy Spirit! But, as Paul also said, because our body of flesh is condemned to death and eventually we will get a new and glorified one, until we are free from it, sin is in this body of decay!

Part of salvation is having our minds renewed. It is in the mind of our flesh where the seeds of sin arise. It is the remnant of sin within our body of death! This transformation of renewing our minds happens through our relationship with the Father via the Holy Spirit in us. When we feel sorrowful after sinning, it is the result of walking in the Holy Spirit. Part of His ministry is revealing the truth that renews our minds by faith and leads us to repentance: a change of mind. To think as God thinks. A good thing, and the design of God at work in us!

We are all gonna fall short because of this bag of flesh we are in. The carnal or fleshly mind is at war with the things of the Spirit. Don’t beat yourself up! Lean into the truth of who you are: your identity in Christ. Just like Jesus did in the hardship of being led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted. In everything He faced there, He relied on the last thing He heard from the Father: “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” All of His answers to the battle in front of Him came from that statement of identity.

Embrace the ministry of the Holy Spirit! Listen to Him, learn, repent, and lean into the grace of God! Trust and allow the Spirit to lead you even when you think you can’t hear Him. When we are convicted or convinced of our shortcomings, it is the goodness of God renewing our minds! You are not a sinner! You are the righteousness of God in Christ! Live, love, and walk in big faith! Our confidence is in Him, not ourselves. Let His finished work have its perfect outcome, don’t beat yourself up! God loves you!

Kingdom living doesn’t happen by accident.

#hardchargingkingdomseekers

In the passionate pursuit of His Kingdom,

Pastor Jason

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