One of our greatest challenges as Christians isn’t sin, but the recovery from sin.
John 10:10-11 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.
GUILT: 1) The state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously. 2) A feeling of anxiety or unhappiness that you have done something wrong or immoral. 3) Feelings of deserving blame especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy.
- Guilt is a MESSAGE.
- Guilt is a DEBT.
- We have all been found GUILTY.
Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 3:19-20 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.
20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
Galatians 3:19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.
Galatians 3:23-26 Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.
24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian (tutor) until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. 26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
- Guilt reveals our need for a SAVIOR.
Romans 3:23-24 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
2 Corinthians 7:10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
- Guilt was never meant to be held onto as it BINDS us to our past sin and mistakes.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down (GUILT), especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
1 Corinthians 15:34 NKJV Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
- We’ll either turn our pain into purpose or we’ll see guilt as PROOF we have no purpose!
- Two voices of guilt: 1) CONVICTION by the Holy Spirit. 2) Condemnation from Satan.
- Conviction brings TRUTH. Condemnation brings deception.
John 8:32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
- con·demned: 1) sentenced to a particular punishment, especially death. 2) officially declared unfit for use. EX: A building is condemned.
- con·dem·na·tion: 1) the expression of very strong disapproval; censure. 2) the action of CONDEMNING someone to a punishment; SENTENCING.
- con·vic·tion: a formal declaration that someone is guilty of a criminal offense, made by the verdict of a jury or the decision of a judge in a court of law.
- Conviction leads to GRACE. Condemnation leads to DISGRACE.
- Conviction DRAWS us to Christ. Condemnation PUSHES us from Christ.
- Conviction is loving. Condemnation is DEGRADING.
- Conviction prompts us to confess our sin. Condemnation leads us to CONCEAL our sin.
- Conviction leads us to repent and turn our lives around. Condemnation leads us to feel remorse.
- Conviction leads us to surrender to Christ. Condemnation causes us to try harder.
John 16:8 And when he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of its sin and of God’s righteousness and of the coming judgment.
Romans 8:1-2 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
- God declares us NOT GUILTY!
Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
Colossians 2:13-14 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Romans 5:8-11 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.
10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Psalm 103:12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
Ephesians 3:12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.
*All verses are NLT (New Living Translation) unless otherwise noted
- What guilt has been weighing you down?
- How can you personally distinguish thoughts of condemnation versus conviction in your life?
- How can you help others distinguish the difference between guilt and conviction?
- What is pushing you from Christ (through condemnation) and what do you need to do to deal with those thoughts?