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Did Jesus come to condemn or not? Did He contradict Himself?

John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn (judge) the world, but to save the world through Him.
John 9:39 Jesus said, "For judgement (condemnation) I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Evan B on October 5, 2009 at 8:37am

read those verses again. John 3:17 isn't talking about Jesus doing any judging or saving. It talks about God doing the saving THROUGH Christ. God is saving the world by Christ setting the standard. Christ laying down the law, and the absolute truth. For judgment, Christ has to come, so that we might be saved to be with God, and share the connection with him that Adam once did at creation. I believe that Christ came to set the record straight about absolute truth. I believe that Christ did, by definition, come to judge.
But, I do not believe Christ has come to condemn. Look it up in the thesaurus. Judge and condemn, although they are similar, they are not completely the same. To condemn is to reprimand, find someone guilty. Its a one way street. No one is condemned to something good. To judge is a two way street. To judge is to condemn, OR praise. Christ came to do both. So to say God condemns is leaving so much of his character out of the picture. God, nor Christ, is a condemning God. God is a just God. Reward will be given where justified, as will punishment. Condemnation is an end to the means of judging. It's only a half truth. Along with reward, God is a just God! Amen?

Did Jesus come to condemn or not? Did He contradict Himself?

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