Letting Go of Condemnation [an interview with Dr. Joel Muddamalle]

A couple years ago, I sat in an Airbnb in Denver with three dear friends and fellow writers. We’d flown in from around the country to laugh, cry, and eat good food with each other. But most of all, we came together to write and make each other better writers.

Over the course of the weekend, each of us had a session where we could workshop our own project with the rest of the group. At that point in my own book writing process, I had about three chapters written, but I needed help putting flesh on the skeleton outlines I had for the others. Together, the four of us jotted down story ideas and relevant Scripture passages. They helped me eliminate redundancies and think through my theology.

When we got to talking about my chapter on condemnation, I felt a knot in my chest. Not a bad knot, not the kind of knot that makes you want to curl up in a ball or hide from everyone. It was more like a burning, maybe even a burning in my bones, as the prophet Jeremiah would say.[1]

“If there’s one chapter I want people to read, it’s this one,” I told the group. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, because this chapter told of truths I’d held onto for dear life, truths I desperately wanted others to hear. For years, condemnation had weighed so heavy on my soul that I wondered if I should just succumb to its darkness.

But God.

Paul’s words in Romans 8:1–“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”–have become a life raft for me that’s pulled me to shore. And as I’ve talked with friends, family members, and readers, I’ve come to find out that I am not alone. I’ve heard your stories, read your emails, watched your tears fall. Condemnation is an impossible weight to bear.

The burden of condemnation says that our failures are too great for the grace of God. And dear friends, that is a lie from the pit of hell. Yet for so many of us, even if we profess faith in Jesus, we still struggle to battle the accusations of the evil one.

In All Who Are Weary, I share a piece of my own story of battling condemnation. But I also know I’ve barely scratched the surface of this topic–and every time I dig a little deeper, I come to find God’s grace that much sweeter.

In an effort to better understand and fight condemnation, I invited Dr. Joel Muddamalle to talk about what condemnation means, how it’s different from guilt or shame, and how we can experience the freedom and rest God offers.

I hope this conversation encourages you. And I hope it helps you know and believe that God’s grace is far, far greater than all our sin.

Amen?

[1] Jeremiah 20:9

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