Become New with John Ortberg

There is now no condemnation...but if we’re honest, sometimes condemnation feels effective.

In this episode, John Ortberg explores what Dallas Willard called the law of reciprocal condemnation — the almost unbreakable cycle where judgment breeds counter-judgment, attack breeds counter-attack, and anger multiplies itself.

It’s extremely rare, Willard observed, that anyone who is condemned responds by changing in the desired way.

Instead, condemnation produces:
- Counter-condemnation
- Passive aggression
- Perfectionism
- Procrastination
- Rebellion
- Or quiet relational death

Jesus warned about this in the Sermon on the Mount:“As you judge, so you will be judged.”
Not as a threat from God — but as an observation about how relationships work.
So how do we break the cycle?

Paul gives a shocking alternative in Romans 12:Do not repay evil for evil.Leave room for God’s justice.Overcome evil with good.

Justice is real.But it is not ours to manage.

📚 Today's Resources:
Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy 
C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer 

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Music Credits:
Believe Me by Glass Echoes - MB01UU8HNMQ8GT0
Frost on My Window by Coldbrew - MB01IZWASF1DYPO

In this episode, John Ortberg offers what he calls “two cheers for guilt and shame.” Drawing from the book of Judges, John explores why justice matters, why moral reality is woven into the fabric of existence, and why a world without any sense of guilt or shame would not be more humane — it would be more dangerous.

From the brutal story of Adoni-Bezek to the violent cycles of Judges, we see a profound truth emerge: no one ultimately gets away with injustice. As Jesus says in Luke 8:17, nothing hidden will remain hidden.

John traces a major turning point in human history — what C.S. Lewis called the moral law — the moment when ancient Israel connected two ideas that had often been separated:There is one God.And that God is good.

Justice is real. Accountability is real. And judgment, properly understood, is good news — especially for the oppressed.

But here’s the deeper turn:
- Guilt and shame can either crush us… or redeem us.
- Healthy guilt points out where we have done wrong so we can confess and be cleansed. Healthy shame invites us out of hiding into relationship and grace.
- And ultimately, Jesus steps into the story and absorbs the consequences we could not.
- “The wages of sin is death.”The sin is ours.The death is his.
- The cycle of Judges is broken at the cross.

Justice is upheld. Mercy is given.And condemnation does not win.

📚 Today's Resources:
Tom Holland, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World 
C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man 
Tomas Sedlacek, Economics of Good and Evil: The Quest for Economic Meaning from Gilgamesh to Wall Street  
Sabrina B. Little, The Examined Run: Why Good People Make Better Runners 

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Music Credits:
Believe Me by Glass Echoes - MB01UU8HNMQ8GT0
Frost on My Window by Coldbrew - MB01IZWASF1DYPO

John Ortberg builds on a surprising Lenten invitation echoed even by the Pope: fast from harsh words. Disarm your language. Refuse contempt.
John revisits what condemnation actually is — not discernment, not moral clarity — but a toxic mix of malice (ill will) and disgust (repulsion) toward another person.

Then he offers one simple, powerful practice that makes condemnation nearly impossible while you’re doing it:
Listen.

Drawing from Scripture, including Acts 7 (where Stephen’s accusers literally cover their ears), and insights from The Lost Art of Listening by Michael Nichols and Martha Straus, John explores why we overestimate our listening ability — and why the higher our emotions run, the less we tend to listen.
It turns out it’s very difficult to listen deeply and condemn someone at the same time.

James writes, “Be quick to listen.”
That might be the most subversive spiritual discipline of our time.
Because curiosity softens judgment.Listening interrupts contempt.And blessing grows where condemnation used to live.

There is now… therefore… no condemnation.

📚 Today's Resources:
The Lost Art of Listening by Michael P. Nichols and Martha B. Straus
Leo XIV, “Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion,” 13 Feb 2026

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Music Credits:
Believe Me by Glass Echoes - MB01UU8HNMQ8GT0
Frost on My Window by Coldbrew - MB01IZWASF1DYPO

Condemnation comes easily when we quietly assume we earned where we stand.

In this episode, John explores two truths that change everything about how we see other people: we do not know their full story — and we do not know their future.

Drawing on Psalm 103 and the classic film Angels with Dirty Faces, John tells the story of two boys who run from the police. One clears a fence. One doesn’t. That single moment sends their lives in opposite directions. Years later, one is a priest. One is a criminal.

How much of what we call character was shaped by circumstances we did not choose?

You’ll discover:
- Why condemnation assumes too much
- What Psalm 103 means when it says “we are dust”
- How curiosity disarms contempt
- Why only God sees the whole arc of a life
- How to bless someone you’re tempted to judge

John closes by inviting you to bring to mind the person you’re most tempted to hold in contempt — and to pray for them instead.

Because there is now no condemnation.

📚 Today's Resources:
Angels with Dirty Faces starring James Cagney and Pat O'Brien
Tim Keller — reflection on the film in The Reason for God

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

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Music Credits:
Believe Me by Glass Echoes - MB01UU8HNMQ8GT0
Frost on My Window by Coldbrew - MB01IZWASF1DYPO

Today, John Ortberg uses Les Misérables by Victor Hugo to explore two ways of living:

• the condemning life (Javert)
• the blessing life (the Bishop)
• and the transformed life (Jean Valjean)

Drawing on Romans 8, 2 Corinthians 3, and insights from Dallas Willard, John explains:

- why condemnation feels powerful
- what the “ministry of condemnation” really does
- how grace humiliates before it heals
- why pride resists light
- how blessing rewires the soul

Through the unforgettable moment of the candlesticks, we see how self-giving love defeats condemnation. One man bends the knee and is transformed. One refuses grace and collapses under its weight.

“To love another person is to see the face of God.”

That is the blessing life.
That is the transformed life.
And there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

📚 Today's Resources:
Victor Hugo, Les Misérables 

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.
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Music Credits:
Believe Me by Glass Echoes - MB01UU8HNMQ8GT0
Frost on My Window by Coldbrew - MB01IZWASF1DYPO