I DO NOT EVEN JUDGE MYSELF — A CALL TO LIVE BY GRACE, NOT SELF-CONDEMNATION

In your walk with God, there comes a season where He calls you to take your eyes off yourself and fix them entirely on Him. This is especially important if you desire to grow and serve Him effectively. Too much inward focus — particularly on your past sins, weaknesses, or perceived failures — can hinder your spiritual progress.

This is something I personally struggled with in the early days of my salvation, and many believers still do. You sincerely want to please God, yet you often feel like you’re falling short. You repent, but then you doubt if God has really forgiven you. You feel unworthy, unclean, and disqualified from being used by Him. That constant inner voice says, “God is done with you. He can’t use someone like you.”

The Apostle Paul addressed this very struggle — not with self-help, but with divine revelation. He wrote:

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me 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. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

 1 Corinthians 4:1–4, ESV

Paul understood something profound: our sense of guilt or innocence is not the ultimate standard — God’s judgment is. Even if your conscience is clear, that alone doesn’t make you righteous before God. And likewise, if your heart condemns you, that doesn’t mean God has rejected you.

For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

 1 John 3:20, NKJV

Paul didn’t let other people’s opinions or even his own self-evaluation determine his standing with God. His confidence was not in his ability to live perfectly, but in the grace of God given through Christ.

Grace Over Guilt

This principle reflects the heart of the gospel: We are justified by faith, not by works (Romans 5:1). Our righteousness is not based on personal perfection, but on Christ’s finished work on the cross:

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV

When you are in Christ and walking in repentance and faith, there is no condemnation:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

 Romans 8:1, NKJV

But take note: this promise is not a license to continue in deliberate sin. Paul warned about this too:

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Romans 6:1–2, NKJV

Don’t Excuse Sin, But Don’t Live in Shame

If you are deliberately living in sin — especially in ongoing sexual immorality, which Scripture names specifically (Galatians 5:19–21; Hebrews 13:4) — then you are not walking in the light. This is no longer a matter of weakness; it is willful disobedience. The Bible is clear:

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment…

Hebrews 10:26–27, ESV

If that is your case, repentance is urgent and necessary. But if you are walking in Christ — truly desiring to live righteously, resisting temptation, and relying on the Holy Spirit — then reject the inner voice of false guilt.

That voice might say, “You’re not good enough. You’ve failed too many times. God is finished with you.” When those thoughts come, test them: Has God actually said that? If not, then why believe them?

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

Instead of dwelling on your flaws or listening to condemning voices — whether from others or from within — look to Jesus. He is the One who called you. He is the One who justifies you. He is the One who has given you gifts for service.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…

Hebrews 12:2, NIV

If you’ve made a mistake, correct it and move on. Learn from it, but don’t stay stuck in shame. Repentance is meant to lead you forward, not backward.

Keep walking in the grace of Christ. Keep using your God-given gifts. Don’t let anyone’s opinion — not even your own — stop you from fulfilling your purpose.

Even if someone reminds you of your past and says, “God can’t use someone like you,” ask them this: “Did God tell you that? Because He hasn’t told me.”

Don’t accept any curse or negative word that contradicts God’s calling on your life. Keep your eyes on Christ, and continue your journey of faith.

Shalom. Stay in grace, not in guilt. Serve boldly, not in fear. You are His.

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