Theoretical Community (2)
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 NASB
No condemnation – The classical Greek meaning of krima includes “dividing out,” “sifting,” “judging,” and “deciding.” It is connected in the LXX to the Hebrew idea of restoring “the legal relationship which has been disrupted.”[1] But as we learned yesterday, this repaired relationship is intimately connected to mercy and grace. We are no longer condemned because God has acted on our behalf.
With that in mind, the intensified expression, katakrima, moves beyond simply judgment to condemnation. The distinction between judging and condemning is important. Judgment, that is, distinguishing and deciding, is a crucial function of the community, just as it is an essential characteristic of YHVH. We are expected to sift our world, to recover what is of value and reject what is not. But katakrima goes beyond sifting. Condemnation is not a human prerogative within the believing community. In fact, Paul argues that as a result of YHVH’s redemptive plan, those who are followers of Yeshua cannot be condemned because YHVH Himself has restored them.
There are two important lessons here. First the historical one. What Paul claims has direct and immediate impact of the early community’s struggle with the question of the Gentiles. Paul argues that Gentiles must be accepted into the community because God has established relationship with them. The demand that they first convert to a Jewish way of life is now irrelevant. What God accepts men cannot reject. You can imagine how challenging this claim was to the established Jewish synagogue community.
The second lesson is derivative. Have we not followed the path of those who demand conformity with established protocols before acceptance? Are we not just as stringent as those “Judaizers” who wanted evidence before admission? I don’t mean theological correctness, although that is also a potential problem. What I mean is that we hold up a standard and expect others to conform to it before we welcome them as God’s chosen. We keep others at a distance because they don’t conform with our actions and ideas, even if, by the way, we ourselves struggle to meet such a standard. We aren’t transparent, and as a result, we fear possible transparency in others. If someone else shows me who he really is, I will have to confront my unwillingness to show who I really am. Better to demand some version of perfection in another person’s life than admit my own failures.
The result is relationship destruction. Oh, we can still “get along,” but we can’t find the intimacy of connection we were designed to experience. That connection requires risk, the frightening possibility of exclusion. And this is the last lesson. Since the world really is broken and human relationships really do struggle with transparency and intimacy, the only real foundation of no condemnation is God’s full and uninhibited acceptance. This is the internal bulwark of identity. The more time we spend basking in His acceptance, the more we will be able to recognize the glimpses of it in this broken world. If we expect our very human connections to provide the same consistency and reliability, we will probably be disappointed. It might happen. Sometimes it does (David and Jonathan). But in general, the fear of rejection creates walls of protection. Tearing them down is a difficult and scary process; one that probably can’t be fully accomplished without knowing that God has overcome katakrima.
Topical Index: katakrima, condemnation, risk, transparency, Romans 8:1
[1] TDNT, Vol. 3, p. 923.
Hello Skip,
I did a word search on “condemn and condemnation” and wonder if you would clarify a couple terms in light of your two articles.
The Hebrew word for condemn or condemnation, “resha” (Biblehub.com dictionary) is said to act wickedly. Another resource refers to the Hebrew word “chaqar” to condemn: find out, examine, to which I surmise incessant probing.
The Greek Equivalent is said to be “kataginosko.” Thus, would there be different words in Hebrew and Greek to define a given word? We call wind, air or breeze for example. I believe you use the words “krima” and “katakrima.” Thanks!
David R
~ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the Name of God’s one and only Son. And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness more than light, because their deeds were evil..~
~ Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life ~
~ This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him ~
~ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name ~
“I wonder who will be brave enough to ask. We’ll find out tomorrow. ” From yesterday’s TW
Did someone ask? Have I missed something?
Is transparency the same thing as openness? In your book, Guardian Angel, you say shame is being found out. Shame is being discovered without a relationship with the Lord. p 185.
So transparency is the willingness to tell another individual or share our “true” self. I was just sharing about this recently. Even in our own families, this can be difficult. It seems that for some people a relationship with God means we don’t struggle or if we do, we certainly don’t share this. It is just between me and God. Forgiveness seems to be a problem, too. If you say you’re sorry to someone, they see that as a weakness. Yes, for sure, being transparent with another individual is risky! But, there is healing in this. I was fortunate years ago to be part of a group where people could share about terrible abuse they had experienced. There is overt abuse. And then covert which can be more difficult to get a handle on.
These people that had undergone such terrible abuse were experiencing healing I these groups. A safe place to share and trust that it was okay to share made this possible. It was one of the most important experiences in my life but more than that, one of the most transformative. There was a beauty and intimacy in that group that Instill miss to this day.
I did not experience overt abuse. I would say covert. Issues of neglect and abandonment. Not intentional by any means. But as a child you “experience” things. You don’t rationalize. A child doesn’t develop logic until around the age of 8? Maybe 9 or 10. So I’ve read.
Community is something I believe we all long for but also fear at the same time.
If you’re building community and relating to each other a lot; in small groups, one on one, house to house… It’s been my personal experience that it’s a lot harder to hide stuff. And not for the reasons you might think. When there’s relationships with vulnerability and acceptance it’s a beautifully persuasive invitation for others to be vulnerable. In that kind of community people who still want to hide just don’t stick around. Experiencing this kind of faith community has been a life changer for me. They seem to require a variety of purposeful interactions over a long period of time.
Simply, judging with the loving/kind intention to correct to align with Torah, helping to rightly divide between clean and profane, “to recover what is of value and reject what is not.”
“Condemnation is not a human prerogative within the believing community.” !!!!
What audacity for Believers to condemn others, forgetting where/ when / what they have been delivered from themselves, and what YHWH is continually doing / perfecting their own lives, when they aren’t as transparent themselves. in desiring intimacy/ bonding, a crucial relationship element with other Believers.
“God has overcome katakrima”!!!! Accept it!
Thank you, Skip.