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OVERCOMING
GUILT
In Genesis we find that man became a living being as God
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
Christ’s creative work continues as we accept Christ
and He breathes into us spiritual life.
This is a life found through faith in Christ Jesus.
At this point, many Christians stumble and never
fully recover. This
comes as sin re-enters our life through our own
disobedience. We
discover that as sin separates man from God prior to
conversion, so sin separates us from fellowship with God
after conversion.
This broken
fellowship brings guilt.
The progression goes something like this:
1.
We become
new believers; we are forgiven and clean.
2.
We sin
again! (it’s
inevitable; happens to every one of us)
A.
We try to
pray but our prayers don’t seem to get through.
B.
We try to
read the Bible but it has lost its sweetness.
C.
Guilt
grows.
3.
Satan
accuses us.
A. We try
to defend ourselves against Satan’s accusations.
(A mistake)
B.
We try to
turn over a new leaf to conquer our sin problem;
(our focus is on our sinfulness)
C.
We try to
prove ourselves worthy of God’s love.
4.
The cycle
continues, leading to greater frustration and defeat.
LIFE GETS A
LITTLE EASIER ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND.
YOU ARE
ACCEPTED!
Ephesians
2:8, 9 tells us, “For by grace are you saved, through
faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not
of works, lest anyone should boast.”
As we were saved by grace through faith, so we must
continue to live the Christian life.
This is not a new problem.
In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he accuses them in
5:4 of ‘falling from grace’.
He did not mean that they had lost their salvation,
but they had lost sight of being accepted by grace through
faith and were living like they had to keep the law to merit
or maintain their relationship with God.
1John 2:1
tells us that we should not practice sin but “if we sin”
we have an advocate and HE is righteous.
As Jesus hung on Calvary he said, “It is
finished.” The
sacrifice for our sins was complete.
We cannot add to what he has already done.
We cannot be ‘good enough’ for God; we cannot earn
our salvation!
For some reason, God Loves You!
For some
reason, God values you!
For some
reason, God accepts you!
That reason
is Jesus!
Satan’s lie
is: You’ve got to
live a life worthy of your calling.
The Truth
is: God requires
confession (agreement with HIM) regarding your sin and
fellowship can be restored.
Satan
accuses you; Satan tells you that God can’t use you; that
you’re unacceptable,
But God’s
truth exposes Satan’s lie and delivers you from the defeat
of guilt.
The truth
is:
1.
1John 2:1 –
When we sin again, (and we all do) we have an advocate and
HE is righteous.
2.
John 19:30
– On Calvary Jesus said His sacrifice was complete.
I am accepted because of what HE did, not what I can
do.
3.
1John 1:9 -
I can restore fellowship by agreeing with God regarding my
sin.
To Overcome
Guilt:
1.
Confess
your sin
2.
Focus on
Jesus – not your sin problem
3.
“Praise”
your guilt away!
(When Satan accuses you, use that as an opportunity to
praise God for His salvation; for His deliverance; for His
forgiveness; for His acceptance; for your adoption into His
family.) This is
based on the realization of our position in Christ.
Guilt prior
to confession is of God.
This is conviction.
Guilt after
confession is of Satan.
This is condemnation.
AuThor
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