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How to Get Rid of Your Guilt
Colossians 2: 13-14
The late baseball legend Gil Hodges
told this story. Once, when he was managing the Washington Senators, he
discovered four of his players had broken curfew the previous night.
Immediately, he called a team meeting and said, "I know who you are but
I do not wish to embarrass you. You know the rules; you will each be
fined $100. I have placed a cigar box on my desk. I expect the four of
you who broke curfew to put your money in the box by 3:00 p.m." At the
end of the day, Hodges found $700 in his cigar box!
What Gil Hodges discovered is that a lot more people are struggling with
guilt than he imagined.
Guilt plagues everyone to some degree, for we all have to lay our heads
on our pillow at night and accept the fact that we have not done as well
as we could have done. One Christian psychologist recently stated that
"Guilt is the most difficult problem in the whole realm of psychological
therapy."
Guilt has been a problem since the beginning of time.
It was guilt that caused Adam and Eve to hide when God came walking in
the cool of the day.
It was guilt over his adulterous affair that caused David to say, "When
I kept silent, my bones wasted away from my groaning all day long."
It was guilt that caused Isaiah to cry out "Woe is me for I am a man
with unclean lips" when he came into the presence of the Living God.
When the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery, Jesus looked at
the angry mob and said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be
the first to through a stone at her." It was guilt that caused the men
to drop their stones, one by one, and walk away.
It was guilt that caused Judas Iscariot to take his own life after he
betrayed Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And Guilt continues to haunt the human race. Guilt has been a companion
of mankind from the beginning.
Tonight, let’s look the subject of guilt.
First, how do some people respond to guilt?
Some people rationalize their guilt.
Do you ever listen to what people say when they are caught in the act of
doing something wrong?
Not too long ago, the newspaper reported that a man was arrested for
stealing a car parked at a cemetery. When he stood before the judge, he
said, "Since the car was parked at the cemetery, I just assumed that the
driver was dead."
Insurance companies hear the best rationalizations. Here are some
explanations people have given when filling out accident reports.
Coming home, I drove to the wrong house and collided with a tree that I
don’t have.
A truck backed through my windshield into my wife’s face.
A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.
I pulled away from the shoulder of the road, glanced at my
mother-in-law, and then drove into the ditch.
In my attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole.
The pedestrian had no idea of which way to jump so I ran over him.
Now before we laugh too much at these attempts at rationalizing
mistakes, I wonder what our excuses must sound like to God when we are
guilty of sin.
Some people deny their guilt.
There is a perfect example of that in the Old Testament.
Israel was at war with another nation, and King Saul was instructed by
Samuel the prophet to destroy all of the property belonging to the king
of the enemy nation. However, Saul looked at the sheep and cattle this
king owned, and began to estimate its worth. Finally, he decided to
disobey God and keep the king’s possessions for himself. He forgot that
God sees everything we do. God sent the prophet Samuel to confront Saul
with his guilt.
So what did Saul do? He tried to fool Samuel into thinking everything
was great! He greeted the prophet and said, "Look I have done everything
God told me to do!" And Samuel said something to the effect of, "Oh
yeah? Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t I hear the sound of sheep and
cattle in the background?" and Saul said, "Oh that. Well, yeah, we did
take some of their sheep to use as a sacrifice." Samuel then told Saul,
"To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15).
Isn’t it amazing that people have the capacity to deny guilt when the
evidence before them is unquestionable?
Some people run from their guilt.
Bars are filled with people trying to run away from their guilt.
Judas ended up on the end of a rope.
Jonah ended up in the belly of a fish.
Peter ended up back in a fishing boat.
The problem with running from our guilt is that it follows us wherever
we go. We cannot run away from our guilt. We cannot drink our guilt
away. We cannot hide our guilt. Until we take care of our guilt, then we
will be plagued by it. What do these three so-called solutions to guilt
have in common?
Most significantly, they don’t work. Some of you here today know
firsthand that what I am saying is the truth. You have tried to
rationalize, deny, and escape your guilt and you have learned that no
matter what you do, you still feel guilty! Well, this is where the story
gets good. There is a solution to the problem with our guilt. We don’t
have to keep fighting a losing battle. We can be guilt-free.
So, how do we get rid of our guilt?
The first thing we need to do, to get rid of our guilt, we must accept
and embrace God’s forgiveness.
If we are Christians, our guilt and our sins have been taken care of by
Jesus on the cross!
Paul writes in Ephesians 1:7 "In Him we have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s
grace…"
Then he also writes in Colossians 2:13-14 "When you were dead in your
sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive
with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written
code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed
to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross"
And finally, in the book of Romans 8:1 "Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"
And as beautiful as these words are they don’t compare to what David
writes in Psalm 103:12
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our
transgression from us"
When we like David, beg of God, "Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me
from my sin," we can be assured that His cleansing does make us "whiter
than snow.” God has said that our guilt has been removed; He has said we
are clean. When we surrender in faith to Jesus, we no longer have any
legal guilt before God. When He wipes a slate clean, there are no
erasure marks. The sin is gone; the guilt is gone. The record of the
crimes no longer exists--no matter what human record may be kept.
When God forgives, the sin is totally annihilated. It doesn't exist in
you and me any longer. It doesn't exist in heaven. Guilt is gone. It can
only exist in our memories. Once the sin is confessed, it is gone! I am
not teaching once saved always saved, I am simply teaching God's
wonderful forgiveness!
Although people receive God's forgiveness, some people do not forgive
themselves. They walk around forgiven in the eyes of God, but yet are
guilt ridden. They feel guilt for the sins that they have committed in
the past. If you feel this way, please listen very carefully.
In Luke 5:8, Peter fell at Jesus' knees crying, "Go away from me, Lord;
I am a sinful man!” Peter was so guilt ridden for the life that he had
led that he didn't feel worthy being around Jesus. At times, isn't this
how we feel--unworthy!
Although Jesus knew of Peter's condition, what did Jesus say to him? Did
Jesus say, "You good-for-nothing worthless sinner--get away from me, you
will never enter into the kingdom of heaven?"
No. Instead, Jesus replied, "Don't be afraid" Luke 5:10.
Even though we may have committed some terrible sins in our past, when
we have been forgiven by God, we have nothing to fear! For Jesus is
telling us, "Don't be afraid.” When we accept, believe, and trust in the
forgiveness of God, God uses our faith to defeat our personal guilt. The
way to be healed of guilt is to believe what God tells us about His
forgiveness. Embrace His forgiveness not only today, but everyday so
that you can begin to live guilt free.
The next step we must take is to confess our sins, not only to God but
also to one another.
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.
According to this text, it is very important that we confess our sins to
God. When we do, we receive forgiveness and our guilt is wiped away.
Unfortunately, we at times commit sins that we fail to confess. Does
this mean that our unconfessed sins are not forgiven and will result in
condemnation and guilt?
No, John has already said in verse 7 "But if we walk in the light, as He
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of
Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”
The word translated as "purifies" in the New International Version is
translated as "cleanseth" in the King James Version and "cleanses" in
the New American Standard Version.
John tells us that if our intent is to live a faithful godly life, then
all of our sins are being forgiven through the blood of Jesus.
Notice, that he didn't say "purified," meaning something that happened
once and doesn't happen again. He purifies. It keeps on happening
throughout our walk with Jesus.
When Jesus died on the cross, He not only died for every sin we
committed before our conversions. But He also died for all the sins we
commit after conversion. He not only forgives what we were. He keeps
forgiving what we do. He promised it to all of us who are living in His
light.
Keep in mind that God doesn't want us to think that continual cleansing
offers some kind of license to live godlessly. After telling us of the
remarkable, continual forgiveness, John pauses to say, in 1 John 2:1 "My
dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin"
We must not take advantage of God's grace, instead, we need to value and
appreciate that our confession not only cleans us from our sins, but it
also takes away our guilt. Confession is a vital part of living
guilt-free.
But not only are we to confess our sins to God, but we should also
confess our sins to one another.
James writes in James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other
and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a
righteous man is powerful and effective"
There are those of us tonight that are living with guilt because they
are hiding sin from their loved ones or from their church family, while
trying to put on the charade of being perfect. They have done something
that they should not have done, but instead of owning up to it and
confessing it, they are hiding it. And trying to play the role of
perfect is killing their relationship to with the body of Christ.
If you are hiding sins which are causing you extreme guilt, today you
can receive healing if you would just confess your sins and ask for
forgiveness. If you do, your burdens will be lifted and you will feel
much better.
Not every sin needs to be named but the confession of sin in your life
allows you to know what we already know by inspiration, that “All have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Lastly, to get rid of our guilt, we must stop engaging in sin.
Although we receive forgiveness of our sins when we are walking in the
light, at times we still experience guilt because we are living and
participating in blatant sin. One of the many benefits we enjoy from the
Holy Spirit is that He convicts us of sin.
Jesus says in John 14:8 "When He comes, He will convict the world of
guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment..."
When we sin, the Holy Spirit is gracious enough to tell us about it. He
tells us about our sins by pricking our hearts and sending us guilt. We
need to understand that some guilt is good and is designed to help us in
our walk with God.
But the best way to get rid of guilt is to stop sinning! At this moment,
you may be experiencing guilt because you are blatantly doing something
that God does not want you to do. If this is the case, then stop it! It
is amazing how guilt disappears when the sin disappears.
If you experience a lot of guilt, then please be aware that you can
begin living guilt free if you embrace and follow three principles.
To get rid of guilt, we must accept God's forgiveness; we must continue
to confess our sins, not only to God, but also to one another; and
lastly, we must stop engaging in blatant sin and start living righteous
and holy lives.
God doesn't want us to walk around in guilt. He wants us to live in
victory. He wants us to live guilt free lives.
Again, Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”
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