Creflo Dollar - Only Believe
If you have your Bibles, go with me to the Book of Mark chapter 5, and verse 36. Pretty big deal, this teaching this morning, kind of started from Bible study this Wednesday. How many of you were at Bible study Wednesday night? It was a life check, right? So I wanted to develop this, this morning, and do a series on this. Mark chapter 5, and verse 36, he says, «As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe». In every situation in our lives, you’re gonna either be in fear or you gonna believe, and when you’re not believing, you’re being afraid. And the number one fear for Christian people is the fear that what God promised in his Word won’t work, «I’m afraid that this thing that I’m standing on might not work».
And there is an attack especially on Christians where you believing is concerned, and we’ve got to make sure that we are not believers who are no longer believing. That was mostly understood for people who were not born again, that obviously they don’t believe because they hadn’t made Jesus the Lord of their life, and that’s true, until I began to look at just believers and wondering if we are believing. So I wanna start off with this issue of condemnation, because it keeps creeping up, we’ve done a series on condemnation, but it seems like it is going to be the result of you not believing. A person that’s not born again is already in condemnation because they didn’t believe to make Jesus the Lord of their life.
And so, let’s look at this carefully, let’s define it, condemnation, and then I’m gonna show you, you know, some ways to figure out if you are walking in condemnation still. Condemnation means to pronounce unfit, it means guilty, unusable. Ever felt like you were unusable? It involves judgment, condemnation involves punishment, it involves disapproval. If I had to take a couple of words to define condemnation, it would be the feeling that you’re not enough, feelings that you’re not enough. You know, when you condemn a building, it’s no longer usable, it’s been judged, it’s not up to par to be able to do what it’s supposed to do. And there are lots of people that feel like that, they feel like they’re just not enough, «I just am not enough to do this or to accomplish this or to walk like this».
It’s almost like you’re stuck in inferiority. Inferiority and condemnation goes hand in hand, a man who is inferior is the same guy who just, they don’t feel like they measure up. An inferior person feels like they just can’t measure up, and so they have to become superior to cover up their inferiority complex. To be inferior means to fall short, not enough, it falls short, and let me give you an example. In Romans chapter 3, verse 23, in the King James and then the TPT, let’s look at it in the King James first. He says, «For all have sinned,» and then what’s the result of, «All have sinned»? «And come short,» coming short is inferiority. «All have sinned, and come short,» coming short is that condemnation. «All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God». So, when Adam did what he did and caused this curse to go everywhere, it affected everybody in inferiority, and the only antidote for inferiority is believing Jesus.
Look at this in The Passion Translation, he says, «For we all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God». «We all have sinned and we are in need of the glory of God». The reason why this issue of condemnation keeps coming up, ladies and gentlemen, is because it is the root of a lot of things. Condemnation will lead to fear, so we we have to examine this, condemnation leads to fear. The Bible says, «God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear,» but please understand something, that fear that is tolerated is faith that is contaminated. What are you afraid of? Sometimes when you go off and you cut somebody out, you start fussing and stuff like that, it may not be, it’s not ultimately, it’s not really an anger problem more than it is a fear problem, your anger is an expression of what you are afraid of. I’m afraid of something, so my anger is expressing that fear.
Job said, «The thing I fear the most has come upon me». Fear operates like faith in the negative. God needs faith in order to bring his Word to pass in your life, Satan needs fear in order to bring his words to pass in your life, fear is the faith of the enemy. But please notice, fear doesn’t show up without condemnation giving birth to it, condemnation is the root issue here. When condemnation gives birth to fear, then fear is gonna give birth to stress, and ladies and gentlemen, the number one killer in this world today is stress. So condemnation gives birth to fear, fear gives birth to stress, and if you don’t know how to overcome the stress, the stress now will go ahead and open the door to the ministration or the manifestation of the curse. The manifestation of the cursed in your life, on your body, all started with condemnation.
Do you walk around the house feeling like you don’t measure up, do you walk around the house feeling like you’re not enough, do you walk around the house feeling inferior? Do you go to school or college, and you constantly comparing yourself with somebody else, like you have to compare yourself with somebody else because you have not yet come to understand how awesome you are? And it’s time for you to realize that you don’t need to be like somebody else, you’re awesome because you are authentic, and God made you authentic and threw away the mold, and you keep trying to give away your authenticity for a cheap copy. You’re trying to be like somebody else when there’s something about you, maybe you’ve not discovered everything about you, but there’s something about you that doesn’t exist with the person you’re comparing yourself with, and you gotta stop the self-hate.
I know I’m talking to somebody here, today. You gotta stop the self hate, you are awesome, you are beautiful, you are beloved, you are authentic, you are unique, and condemnation kills. It’s not as simple as people have led us to be, «Oh, condemnation». No, condemnation kills, it robs, condemnation causes the fear, the fear shows up and it causes the stress. And there are kids in high school, today, they stressed out, it’s too much. Social media, you see what everybody doing. Before they had social media you couldn’t see, you could see just a few people at school. But you stressed out trying to do and be and act, and you’ve left the authentic you behind in your pursuit of trying to be like somebody else, as you deny the awesome you.
Okay. People who don’t feel like they can measure up or people who feel like they don’t measure up at all will start saying and thinking about what they need to do to measure up. When you are in condemnation and you feel like you don’t measure up, you feel like you’re not enough, your focus is you, which is not good, your focus is all about you, you can’t see nobody else but you. You start saying and thinking things like, «I need to improve, so I’m gonna pray more,» so now your prayer is now being motivated by your self-need to, eh. You start thinking things like, «If I just try harder, then the breakthrough will come». It’s hard to believe when you’re thinking that if you can try harder, the breakthrough will come, because it’s all on you. «If I can just get more faith, my miracle will come».
Again, it’s all you, you, you. «My problem is this, so if I fix it, I’ll be all right, if I can only do this, then I’ll be all right, what I need to do is this,» your focus is entirely on yourself. You got to see this plan of the enemy, the plan of the enemy that he has unleashed, like right now, where we are today, the entire human race came under the condemnation of death by one sin, by the one sin of Adam. Now, follow me very carefully here. Go to Romans chapter 5, and verse 18, Romans chapter 5:18. So by one man, condemnation came on all the earth. Verse 18 says, «Therefore as by the offense of one judgment,» «By the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation».
So there was like only one law in the garden, I don’t know if you realize that, one thing he asked them to do, «Don’t eat from the fruit of this tree,» that was it. He says, «Now all of the trees in the garden, you can have all of them, but don’t eat from this». Think about it, the real sin wasn’t that they ate from the forbidden tree, the real sin is they didn’t eat from all of the other trees that were available to them. How many things has God made available to us, and we’re focused in on that one wrong thing? Are you listening to me now? This condemnation that started with Adam was intensified when the law of Moses came in. Look at Romans 5:20, it was intensified, it was made greater, which made condemnation greater. He said, «Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound». That word «abound» means to increase.
So the law entered, so, that offense, which was condemnation, it increased, it increased because the law came in and intensified it more. And then, in James chapter 2:10, check this out, he said, «For all of you who are going to live by the law,» he says, «let me tell you,» «For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in just one point, he’s guilty of breaking all of the law». In other words, if you try to keep all the law and you eat pork ribs, if it’s forbidden by the law, on the 4th of July, you guilty of breaking all 613 laws. Who does that? The condemnation, that just says, «I can’t do it, it’s not enough, I’m not enough,» wow. Under the law, condemnation is because man does not do all that the law demands and does do that which the law forbids, that’s the condemnation.
The condemnation is, «I can’t do everything that the law demands, I’m not enough, I end up doing all the things that the law forbids, I can’t keep these 613 laws, and every time you break one, I’m condemned,» and most of those people were condemned to death. But look what happened, Galatians 3:13, Galatians 3:13. The condemnation that showed up because men couldn’t keep the law, and they broke it, basically, it was based on what a man could do and what a man didn’t do, this condemnation came on all men because of their actions, their performance. But Jesus came, Galatians 3:13, here’s the good news, verse 13 says, «Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law». Some of y’all got it, thank you, Jesus. Christ has delivered us from the curse that comes because you can’t keep the law. There was a curse that came on man because he couldn’t keep the law.
You remember, in verse 15, Deuteronomy 28? He says, «And if you will not do these things, then cursed will you be here, cursed will you be there». And so Christ showed up and he delivered us, redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us. Actually, the only one that could keep all of the law was Jesus, so Jesus took it upon himself to do what we couldn’t do. But now, listen, here’s what I want you to get, when Jesus gave his life, we were delivered from the curse of the law, and in essence, we are delivered from condemnation. We’re delivered from condemnation because of what Jesus did. Romans chapter 8:1, we’re delivered from condemnation, were delivered from condemnation. The woman who was caught in the act of adultery, Jesus gave her the gift of no condemnation, because he knew he was about to die to deliver all from condemnation.
Now, listen to me carefully. Look at this verse 1, «There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit». That’s interesting, because that was added, some of your Bibles have that in italicize. What he means is there is, «Therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus,» period. If you are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation, period. Now, I want you to say this out loud, «I am free from condemnation». That’s not exactly the whole truth; you are free from condemnation that is caused by what you do or don’t do. Under the law, you were condemned because of what you do or don’t do. But is it still possible that condemnation can enter in a person’s life even after what Jesus did?
So there’s the new condition for condemnation, there’s a condition for condemnation I knew about, I don’t know if I’ve ever taught you, in relationship with the condemnation that we’ve been delivered from. But the new condition for condemnation is in no way related to what man does. What Jesus has delivered us from was related to what men do or what man does, but the new condition of condemnation is because of the failure of man to believe and to depend upon the Son of God. Let me show you something, John chapter 3, verse 17 through 19. I’m headed somewhere.
John chapter 3:17–19, «For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be,» what? «Saved». Watch carefully, «He that believeth on him is not condemned». Now, how many of you say, «Yes, Pastor, I believe and depend on him»? Listen, I didn’t ask you to say you’re perfect, just say, «I believe and I depend on him,» you believe that? I believe and I depend on him. So, according to this scripture, you are not condemned, but uh-oh, «He that believeth not is condemned already».
Mainly referring to people who haven’t believed enough to get born again, he says they’re already condemned. People who are not born again, people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ, they are already in condemnation, they already feel like they’re not enough, they already feel guilty. Let me tell you something, when people are not born again, they feel guilty, they feel guilty, they feel, you know, like condemned, they feel like they’re not enough, they got issues, they go see a therapist, he tries to talk them out of it, it does pretty good for a minute. But then, the only way you’re gonna be able to get out of this condemnation is Jesus is the only way to deal with it, and you feel inferior. And you go and you take some medication to try to help you not feel inferior, but you do.
There is only one, there’s only one antidote for inferiority and condemnation, and that’s Jesus. So, he’s talking about those who believe not, they’re condemned already, but could it also mean the believer, who for some reason no longer believes? Because I’m telling you, when you say, «I’m a Christian,» you say, «I believe,» and then something comes up, something happens, and for some reason you don’t believe, you know what’s gonna come your way? Condemnation, I’m not enough, I’m not enough for God to bless, I don’t have enough faith, I’m not praying enough, because you’re not believing, just simply believing in Jesus.
Are you focused on you, focused on what you got to do, focused on your performance? Is all the attention, all the attention given to you? And in fact, in a moment, we’re gonna find out, if you have been walking in condemnation, even as a Christian, Jesus has delivered you from being condemned because of what you do. So, even when you do something crazy, because you believe Jesus, you say «Father, I believe that you have set me free from my sins, and I believe that I have the free gift of no condemnation,» and you keep walking.