2 Timothy 2:24-26
We have all heard the phrase, “The devil made me do it”. We know that free will is not tampered with, neither by God nor by the enemy, but it is obvious that there are many people doing things that they don’t really want to do. Apostle Paul said, “For I do not understand my own actions – I am baffled, bewildered. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe (which my moral instinct condemns)” (Romans 7:15, Amplified).
Paul’s struggle was in living victorious over sin and all vice. He wished to walk free from the dominion of the enemy, and his opening to the 8th chapter is the glorious good news that he had been looking for, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The knowledge that he was not condemned gave him the liberty that he so desired, making him “free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
If you and I are free from condemnation from our heavenly Father because of the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross, then we should never listen to the voice of condemnation in our life. If He has freed us from condemnation, who else could possibly condemn us? When we dwell in guilt and condemnation, it is either of our own devising, or it has been planted there by the enemy intent on destroying us.
In Paul’s closing lines to young Timothy, he tells him that a preacher must not strive or “argue”; “but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient” (2 Timothy 2:24). This patience is so that we can instruct those who “oppose themselves” (2:25). “Oppose” is not the correct translation here, for the Greek word is “condemn”. Paul is referencing those in the church who condemn themselves. This self-condemnation leads them into the “snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:25, 26).
The devil cannot override our will and force us to sin, but according to this statement by Paul he can hold us captive and make us miserable. We give him the right to do so when we condemn ourselves, which ignores the finished work of the cross. When the believer lives in condemnation, they do not cease to be a believer, but they cease to walk in peace and happiness and they are a whipping boy for the whims of the enemy. Oftentimes, we wonder where God is during these moments, even going so far as to ask if He has deserted us. His work is finished, but if we do not accept it as so, we will live in condemnation over our inability to “please God”. Satan swoops in and takes advantage of our ignorance, and as they say, the rest is history.
Accept the gift of no condemnation, just as the woman caught in the act of adultery did in John 8. When Jesus says, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more”, you have been provided with all of the equipment that you will ever need to live beyond the grip of sin. Silence the voice of condemnation by feasting on the loveliness of Jesus and His love for you. Change your mind about what God thinks about you if you have felt that He was distant and uncaring. Be removed from Satan’s snare and live at peace in your wonderful Savior.
We have all heard the phrase, “The devil made me do it”. We know that free will is not tampered with, neither by God nor by the enemy, but it is obvious that there are many people doing things that they don’t really want to do. Apostle Paul said, “For I do not understand my own actions – I am baffled, bewildered. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe (which my moral instinct condemns)” (Romans 7:15, Amplified).
Paul’s struggle was in living victorious over sin and all vice. He wished to walk free from the dominion of the enemy, and his opening to the 8th chapter is the glorious good news that he had been looking for, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The knowledge that he was not condemned gave him the liberty that he so desired, making him “free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
If you and I are free from condemnation from our heavenly Father because of the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross, then we should never listen to the voice of condemnation in our life. If He has freed us from condemnation, who else could possibly condemn us? When we dwell in guilt and condemnation, it is either of our own devising, or it has been planted there by the enemy intent on destroying us.
In Paul’s closing lines to young Timothy, he tells him that a preacher must not strive or “argue”; “but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient” (2 Timothy 2:24). This patience is so that we can instruct those who “oppose themselves” (2:25). “Oppose” is not the correct translation here, for the Greek word is “condemn”. Paul is referencing those in the church who condemn themselves. This self-condemnation leads them into the “snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:25, 26).
The devil cannot override our will and force us to sin, but according to this statement by Paul he can hold us captive and make us miserable. We give him the right to do so when we condemn ourselves, which ignores the finished work of the cross. When the believer lives in condemnation, they do not cease to be a believer, but they cease to walk in peace and happiness and they are a whipping boy for the whims of the enemy. Oftentimes, we wonder where God is during these moments, even going so far as to ask if He has deserted us. His work is finished, but if we do not accept it as so, we will live in condemnation over our inability to “please God”. Satan swoops in and takes advantage of our ignorance, and as they say, the rest is history.
Accept the gift of no condemnation, just as the woman caught in the act of adultery did in John 8. When Jesus says, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more”, you have been provided with all of the equipment that you will ever need to live beyond the grip of sin. Silence the voice of condemnation by feasting on the loveliness of Jesus and His love for you. Change your mind about what God thinks about you if you have felt that He was distant and uncaring. Be removed from Satan’s snare and live at peace in your wonderful Savior.
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