LETTING GO OF OUR GUILT

Romans 8:1 (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

               This past Sunday, the worship leader at our church began the service by reminding us of Romans 8:1. He invited us to enter worship as forgiven sinners who are welcomed into God’s presence with open arms. His words hit home for me, because I am one who tends to hold onto guilt.

               Guilt is a real thing. It is not something to be denied or ignored. Many people today claim that feelings of guilt are inappropriate and that we should never allow guilt to enter our minds. Yet, we all feel it from time to time. Even the person with a hardened heart, in the dark hours of the night, when they cannot sleep, feels nagging guilt.

               Guilt is actually a gift from God. Guilt alerts us that something is wrong. In fact, applying guilt to our lives is one of the roles of the Holy Spirit.  When he comes, (referring to the Holy Spirit) he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: John 16:8 (NIV) One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to awaken us to our sin and to all of the ways that we have failed to live up to God’s standards. To deny our guilt is to live in a false reality. As it says in 1 John 1:8 (NIV), If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Those who want to deny the reality of guilt or hide from it are deceiving themselves.

               Making us aware of our sin is the positive side of guilt. It motivates us to do something about it. It challenges us to see things as they really are and not as we wish they were. Guilt serves a very important role in our lives.

               But here is where things can get out of balance. We can allow guilt to immobilize us. We can wallow in our guilt and become introspective in an unhealthy way. That was the case for Martin Luther before he embraced the reality of God’s grace. But guilt can also harder our hearts. If we rationalize our guilt or try to bury our guilt, our hearts will become hard and unresponsive to God’s grace.

               The healthy way to deal with guilt is to recognize it, own it, and then take it to God. I John 1 continues with the good news for all of us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV) God’s purpose for guilt is to lead us to repentance and restoration. God does not want our guilt to be a burden we carry throughout our lives. He wants it to be a catalyst for spiritual renewal. We can escape the burden of guilt by honestly bringing it to God by faith. God’s promise is that He will replace our guilt with His forgiveness and restoration.

               We can see this illustrated in our human relationships. If I have offended another person, I can choose to ignore it or rationalize it away, but that only keeps me separated from that person. But if in humility I confess my wrong and ask for forgiveness, my relationship with the other person can be restored. That is exactly what God is offering to us.

               But with God, He takes it one step farther. When Christ died on the cross, He died for the sins of the world, past, present and future. When a person puts their faith in Christ, what He did on the cross is applied to that person’s life. So, as it says in Romans 8:1, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Ultimately, all of our sin and failures have been covered by the blood of Christ. When we stand before His throne in eternity, we will be declared not guilty. Not because of anything we have done, but because of what Christ Jesus did for us on the cross.

               As follows of Christ, we still need to deal with our guilt. But we can do it from a place of confidence. Another person may or may not forgive us, but God, in Christ Jesus, always will. When we fail, and we will, we can come back to God in faith, knowing that He will accept us with open arms. We do not have to live with guilt hanging over our heads. We do not have to carry that burden. We can experience the release that only Jesus can give.

               So when you experience the feelings of guilt, don’t deny them, don’t wallow in them, confess them to God and allow Him to embrace you with His love and grace.

Romans 8:1-4 (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

 

PROMISES, PROMISES

 

Isaiah 38:7 (NIV)
This is the LORD's sign to you that the LORD will do what he has promised:

               We have all made promises that we failed to keep. We have all had promises given to us that were not fulfilled. It is easy for us to become skeptical about promises in general. It doesn’t take many times being disappointed to start not believing people’s promises. It is not a very large step to not trusting God’s promises.

               There are many promises made by God in the Bible. Some of these promises are very specific to specific people. Some of these are more general to all believers. We can grab ahold of these promises and expect certain things from God. If our expectations are not met, we can begin to doubt God’s trustworthiness.

               Most of God’s promises are conditional. They depend upon our response to God and to what God has asked us to do. If we fail on our side of the equation, we invalidate the promise. God’s promises are not blank checks that we can cash in whenever we want to. But if we do our part, we can be assured that God will be faithful to what he has promised.

               We tend to grab ahold of the promises that seem to offer us the most immediate benefit. We expect God to protect us, prosper us, and heal us. Although these are promised by God, they are all qualified by what God’s will is in any particular circumstance.

               God is the great healer, but he has not promised to heal every sickness that we encounter. God has promised to provide for us, but it may not be in the ways that we expect. God has promised to protect us, but that doesn’t mean that he will shield us from all hardship or difficulty. When we make God’s promises black and white, we set up false expectations that will always disappoint us.

               When we submit our expectations to God’s will, we can experience the fulfillment of his promises in our life.

               Here are just a few promises that we can hang upon no matter what the circumstances of life may be.

               God will forgive our sins.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV) Notice the condition of this promise; if we confess. We have a part to play, but we can be assured that when we come to God in genuine repentance, he will forgive us.

               God will give us peace.                                                                                                                                    Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 (NIV) This is a promise directly from Jesus. The peace that he promises us is not the temporary peace that the world offers. It is a lasting peace that reside deep within our soul and will stabilize us even in the most difficult situations.

                              God will lead us through life’s journey.
 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Here we have another conditional promise. If we will put our faith and trust in the Lord he will guide our life. It is a matter of trusting that God knows what is best for us and then taking the path set before us.

               God will never leave us.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 (NIV) The promise of God’s abiding presence is throughout the Bible. Psalm 139 tells us that there is nowhere we can go where we will be separated from God’s presence. Romans 8:35-39 assures us that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ. We may be abandoned by other people, but never by God. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:20 (NIV)

               God will always answer our prayers.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV) Notice again that this is a conditional promise, not a blank check. If we ask according to God’s will it will be done. Jesus invited us to boldly bring our requests to God. We have to trust him with the answer that he gives to us. When Paul prayed to be healed from his thorn in the flesh, God offered him something better, his grace to endure.

               God will give us eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV) This is another conditional promise. It is for all who believe in Jesus. The promise is that God will place his very life within us. Eternal life is not just living forever. It is living in the power and life of God.

               God will give us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV) One of the greatest gifts that God gives to those who believe in Jesus is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When a person puts their faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in their life. He becomes their companion, teacher, guide, and confidant.

               There is an old hymn titled Standing on the Promises. It invites us to consciously and intentionally take our stand of the promises of God. The promises that other people make may or may not be fulfilled, but we can be sure that whatever God has promised He will fulfill. In these unsettling times, there is a solid foundation upon which we can stand. It is the promises of God.

Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

 

EPIPHANY

 

Matthew 16:15 (NIV)
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

               Traditionally January 6 is known as Epiphany; a remembrance of when the Magi traveled from the east and found the infant Jesus, proclaiming him to be the one born king of the Jews.

               The word epiphany means an awakening or a divine appearance. Sometimes, when a person makes a discovery, they will say that they had an epiphany. The Magi had an epiphany when they believed the prophetic signs and traveled to Bethlehem to find Jesus. When they saw him, they knew that he was the one that had been foretold.

Matthew 2:9-11 (NIV)
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

               Each person who encountered Jesus at his birth had a different kind of epiphany; a different response. The Magi responded to Jesus with genuine worship. Herod responded to Jesus with anger and malice. The religious leaders responded to Jesus’ birth as if it was the answer to a religious trivia question. The shepherds responded to Jesus’ birth in awe and wonder. Mary and Joseph responded to Jesus’ birth with amazement.

               Many years later, Peter had an epiphany of his own. Jesus had posed the question to his disciples, who do people say that I am. The disciples gave a variety of responses.

Matthew 16:13-14 (NIV)
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

               Then Jesus posed the most important question of all. Who do you say that I am? At that moment Peter, speaking for all of the disciples, voiced his epiphany.

Matthew 16:16-17 (NIV)
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

               Jesus is still asking the same question to us today. Who do you say that I am? Many people are willing to see Jesus as a good, moral teacher. Others see him as a prophet or spiritual leader. Still others see Jesus as a threat to their way of life. But many still take their place alongside of Peter and declare that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

               Traditionally, Epiphany is the end of the Christmas season. It is the wrap up of the story for another year. This week we began to take down all of our Christmas decorations. They will go back into boxes to be stored for another year. But Epiphany is not the end of the story, only the beginning.

               For many people, as they box up their Christmas decorations, they will put Jesus away for another year. They will not give much thought to the significance of his coming into the world. But for those who have had a genuine epiphany, the journey of faith is just beginning for another year. It is a reminder that Jesus came not to be a religious leader or a good moral teacher, but to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus came to change the course of human history forever.

               Each year, at Epiphany, we are faced again with the question, who do you say Jesus is? The Magi knew the answer. Mary and Joseph knew the answer. Peter and the disciples knew the answer. How about you? Have you had your own personal epiphany?

Romans 10:9-13 (NIV)
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."