Do you feel dirty? Shameful? Undone? Do you feel the weight of guilt on your shoulders? David said in Psalm 51 that his sin was always before him. He was constantly aware of his sinfulness and his sinful tendencies. The apostle Paul himself proclaimed in Romans 7:15-25, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”[1] I am sure that all believers in Christ can identify with David and Paul. I love what First John chapters 1 and 2 teaches. We are sinners and we have no excuse. But, we have an advocate with the Father and His name is Jesus. Through Jesus there is forgiveness from all our sin. Because of what Jesus did for me on the cross, I stand before God clean and pure and holy. I am declared as righteous by the blood of Jesus even though I am not righteous! This does not give me an excuse to sin. On the contrary, since I have been forgiven, I should strive to walk according to His Word and live according to His will.
However, the guilt of sin is real. Our sin has a tendency to haunt us and to follow us everywhere we go even as we age. The sins I struggled with as a young man, I still struggle with those same things today. When sin raises its ugly head and manifests itself in my life, I am filled with guilt and shame as I have made a mockery of the cross of Christ. Does God want us to live with that guilt as a way of punishing us? Of course not! It is His desire that we live free from sin and guilt. So, what do we do when we sin? What do we do when we fall into old sinful practices that has haunted us our whole life? What do we do when we commit the same sin yet again? Allow me to share with you several principles in dealing with sin and the guilt of sin.
- Your sin does not define who you are.
If you have put your faith and trust in Jesus, you are a child of God. Your sin is not who you are. Your sin is that old nature, your flesh, which is not who you are. You have been born-again. You are a child of God. Never forget that. Being born into God’s family is a Jewish metaphor. In the Jewish world, a person’s standing is based on his birth. This why Jesus said you must be born again. You must be born into the family of God to be a part of His family. How are we born again? Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Adoption is a Roman metaphor. Unlike Jewish culture, adoption was very common in the Roman world. Those who were adopted became an actual child of the one who adopted them and they received all the rights, privileges, and inheritance awarded to a blood-related child. As Christians, we are adopted into the family of God. We are His children. Therefore, we have all the same rights as Jesus Himself! Once we are a child of God, nothing can separate us from Him. No matter how bad we mess up or how far we fall, we will always be His child! Your sin does not define who you are. Your standing in Christ as a child of God defines you, not your sin.
- Confess your sins.
Though our salvation is secure and nothing can take away our standing with God, our sin does hinder our relationship with Him. Just as when a child does wrong, it causes a strain in his or her relationship with their parents, so our sin causes a strain in our relationship with God. Therefore, we must confess our sins, not for God’s sake, but for ours. 1 John 1 :9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”[2] The purpose of confession is not to appease God and deter His wrath for that was accomplished on the cross. The purpose of confession is to free ourselves from the guilt of sin. This why we should be quick to confess. When I have my prayer time every morning, I ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me my sins so I may confess them. The moment I sin and realize I have done wrong, I immediately pray and ask God to forgive me. The key to living free from guilt is to constantly confess your sins.
- Today is a new day.
The mercy of God is new every morning. Every day is a new day. When you sin and make a mess of things, always remember, you do not have to stay in your sin. You can start over. You do not have to live in the guilt and shame. You can hit the reset button and start over. Don’t wallow in your guilt and shame, but move on. Confess your sins, clean yourself off, get back up, and keep going.
Trust me, I know what it is like. I understand what you are going through. I have the same battles every day. We all live with the constant pull of our sin and guilt. It is a battle we face every single day. However, we can live in victory! Sin has no hold on us! We are children of the King!
[1] The New King James Version (Ro 7:15–25). (1982). Thomas Nelson.
[2] The New King James Version (1 Jn 1:9). (1982). Thomas Nelson.
Pastor Chris Noland 