Presumed Guilty

That very phrase rubs us the wrong way—especially since our legal system assumes that a person is “presumed innocent until proven guilty.” That assumption is appropriate in man’s court of law. No doubt most people you meet on the street wouldn’t happy with the assumption of guilt. After all, isn’t it wrong to “judge” another person? I would have to agree, and I take my cue from the apostle Paul who stated, “. . . it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.” (I Corinthians 4:3) So there you have it: judging another human being is wrong. In fact, God is a God of love and sent Jesus to express His love to us. The most famous verse in all of the Bible confirms God’s love for the world and is followed by a verse with Jesus telling Nicodemus that he didn’t come to condemn the world. What a comforting thought. It just confirms how wrong so many Christians are for being so judgmental and almost makes me want to go watch a Joel Osteen sermon to be reminded again that I really am a special person and was created to live a victorious life.

But alas, there’s bad news in all of this—really bad. Jesus continued talking. The bad news surfaces when He explains why He didn’t come to condemn the world. It’s because—ready for this?—we’re already condemned. Uh oh. Now I’m offended. You see, I have the same problem every other human being has. I like making my own rules (e.g., I want to be my own god) and therefore, I’m not going to allow anyone else to “condemn” or “judge” me. After all, aren’t I a good person by nature? The last thing I need is to be sent on a guilt trip.

Herein lies the problem. Despite our determination to play by our own rules, we all have different rules. Don Richardson explains in his book, Peace Child, that the cannibalistic Sawi people of Irian Jaya esteemed deception to be virtuous. It goes without saying that our western economy wouldn’t work real well under that kind of system. Like it or not, someone has to be the final authority and make the rules, and according to God’s rules, we’re condemned if we don’t believe in the name of the only Son of God.

This notion of condemnation (or, as Charles Spurgeon explained, damnation is a more accurate term) doesn’t jive with the popular view of God as a loving God. Or does it? When you read the Bible, you come to find out just how great God’s love is for us, and the price He chose to pay to remove our condemnation was the condemnation of His own Son. Chris Tomlin correctly wrote,


I’m forgiven because you were forsaken
I’m accepted; you were condemned

As it turns out, the bad news that I’m condemned turns out to be good news if I believe in the Son of God, because God not only placed my condemnation on Him; He gives me His righteousness. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (II Corinthians 5:21)

So, the next time someone tells you not to judge, simply agree with them. After all, they’re already condemned and don’t need you to pile it on. Just make sure to follow it up with the good news that they can stand justified from all condemnation if they play by the right rules.