"Well, Jesus said neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more..."
Yes that is true but He also said:
"A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you." - Matthew 12: 33-37 (NLT)
Presenting one without the other is an incomplete picture. I know that "Neither do I condemn you" sells much better than the Matthew verses but ignoring them doesn't remove them from Scripture. You may say that was just Jesus speaking to the Pharisees. That is right. The Pharisees were the group in charge of the religion of Jesus' day. They enjoyed the perks of being in charge of the religion. They bristled when anyone questioned their religiosity. In modern times they would be the ones on TBN, holding Praise-athons, and building mega churches. When Jesus cleared the Temple He did so because of the money they were making off of people seeking God - sound familiar? We need to ask ourselves where we find ourselves today. The Matthew verses were for us just as much as they were for the Pharisees.
Our heart determines what we say and our words will either acquit or condemn us one day. There is nothing wrong with "Neither do I condemn you." It is a beautiful portion of the Gospel that shows the unending grace of God. Likewise so is this a beautiful picture of the love God has for us:
I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. - John 15: 15 (NLT)
A glorious reminder of the friendship we have in Christ. The "Friend of God" theology permeates modern churchianity today. Entire generations are now being raised in churches that push man centered worship music, preach man centered sermons and assure them beyond their wildest imaginations that God is their friend who only seeks to bless them at every waking moment of their lives. But while this verse is a great picture of the friendship we can have in Christ - it also is incomplete:
"So why do you keep calling me "Lord, Lord!' when you don't do what I say? - Luke 6: 46 (NLT)
A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison--your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14: 25-27 (NLT)
