(Clip) Condemnation is Our Greatest Enemy — Derek Prince

No Condemnation in Christ

But you'll notice as we turn to it that Paul returns again to this theme of no condemnation with which he began this chapter. You remember the first verse, there is therefore now no condemnation. You see, our greatest enemy and the greatest tool of Satan against us is condemnation, being made to feel guilty.

Conviction of Sin Versus Guilt

I need to tell you there's a great difference between being made to feel guilty and conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin. He's specific, he's practical, he says, you did this, you shouldn't have done it, this is what you've got to do to put it right.

The Endless Spiral of Guilt

And the moment you've put it right, it's all over. But guilt is something you can never fully define. Did I say the right thing? Maybe I didn't say the right thing. Maybe I haven't done enough. Maybe I didn't treat her right.

Maybe what she said about me was right. Maybe I'm not really true or sincere. You see, there's no end to guilt. And the further you go into it, the deeper you sink. It's totally different. Guilt comes from the enemy, conviction comes from our friend.

The Holy Spirit Reveals Danger

There's a Portuguese proverb which says the friend is the one who shows you the danger. That's what the Holy Spirit does. He shows us the danger to get us out of it. Let me say to you, and I can't go into the reasons for this, be very cautious about anybody who makes you feel guilty.

Because very seldom what they say is from God. God is not in the business of making people feel guilty. As a young and ardent preacher, I used to tell my small congregation how bad they were. And I mean, I did a good job of it.

From Condemning People to Showing Righteousness

And every Sunday I would just put them down and they'd walk out and say, thank you, wonderful message. And I'd think to myself, did they really hear what I said? How could they call that a wonderful message?

But one day God in his mercy spoke to me and he said, I want you to understand you're doing the devil's work for him. I didn't call you to make people feel guilty. I called you to show people how they could be made righteous.

And I realized that the devil and his aides were doing the job well enough without my help. And I ceased to become one of the devil's little helpers.