What do you do with your guilt? How do you deal with the feelings of remorse over sin? How do you manage the lingering thoughts of sorrow and shame? Guilt is like that awful neighbor who’s always poking his head up over the fence to tell us how terrible our garden looks.
All of us have experienced guilt; it often tries to get the best of us. Where do you turn when you feel burdened with guilt or shame?
The world has several options. Many people have tried to shut out feelings of guilt by lowering their own moral standards. Some will flat out deny the existence of God and the belief that there is a right and wrong. Another route takes people to drugs, religion, and therapy. We will try anything that offers us help! Yet none of these paths we take actually have the ability to relieve us of our guilt. None of them can pardon us from our sin. The good news, however, is that Jesus can!
God gave us the solution for all of our guilt, all of our sin, and all of our shame by giving us a Perfect Savior. Jesus Christ. For us, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” — Romans 8:1-2
These are not my words, but the very words of God Himself. He has taken extreme measures to relieve us from the bondage of our sin. God has declared us forgiven because of the perfect righteousness of Christ. He took all of our guilt upon Himself and nailed it to the cross. That’s the truth for all who belong to Jesus. There is no guilt that can condemn us, no shame that God doesn’t cover and no sin that Christ can’t atone for.
Brothers and sisters, whenever you have those feelings of guilt that won’t relent, cry out to Jesus to deliver you. Confess your sin, and give it to the One who has set you free. Cling to this Precious Savior, and rest in His promise that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 8:39
Guilt is an awful neighbor. Don’t invite him in.
Bryan
Posted in A Word from the Pastor