Free from Guilt
As a Pastor, I talk to many people who beat themselves up for how they are living.
They are upset that they can’t seem to get it right. We try to fix ourselves, and when we can’t, we fall into guilt.
We want to become more patient with our families, more loving to our neighbor. We want to quit an addiction - porn, drugs, approval, food…. We try and fail. When we fail, we become discouraged, and the enemy begins to lie to us:
“You are a failure.”
“You will never be free.”
“You will always struggle with this addiction.”
“You should give up.”
We become upset with ourselves. We blame ourselves. We wonder why no one else seems to struggle. Most often, this leads to us quitting and falling even further into our sin.
I wanted to quit smoking when I became a Christian. Every day I woke up determined to stop, quickly followed by failure as I bought a pack of cigarettes and puffed one down. I then proceeded to throw the entire box away. The next day, I found myself buying another pack of cigarettes, smoking one down, then throwing the package away. This pattern went on for a while.
Every time I failed to quit, I heard the voice of self-condemnation:
“You are a failure.”
If I had listened to that voice, I guarantee you I would still be smoking today. I refused to listen to that voice; I refused to walk in guilt.
Romans 8:1 states: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
We are free from guilt because of Jesus. When we mess up (which we all do), we need to say: “Lord forgive me, that’s not who I am, I am a new creation in Christ, by Your power, I will live from my new nature, thank you for forgiving me!”
We must not dwell on our mistakes or failures. If we do, we will walk in guilt, and miss out on our calling.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Because of Christ, we are a new creation. We overcome because He overcame.
Freedom from guilt does not mean we are free from all the consequences of past sins. To some degree, we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). But as long as we are beating ourselves up and living in guilt, we will never be free of our sin.
If you are struggling with guilt today, I challenge you to do two things, first, repeat: “I am a new creation in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I will overcome. God does not condemn me, and I will not condemn myself.”
Secondly, feed the new nature (who you really are). Such as:
Read the Word of God - It’s food for your soul.
Listen to worship music and build up your spirit.
Surround yourselves with godly people who will build you up.
As you do these things consistently, the pull of the old life with all its habits and vices will become weaker and weaker, and you will walk in TOTAL freedom.
