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Freedom from Guilt And Shame


There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)

Do you ever struggle with guilt? Are you ashamed of something you did in the past? When we struggle with our guilt, we need to ask ourselves: Is this a Biblical guilt, or a false guilt?

A Biblical guilt is the Holy Spirit within us whispering to us that we have sinned. This is not a feeling, but a reality. We have trespassed against God, and need to confess. Once we humbly confess our sins to God, we are forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness.


If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(I John 1:9)

A false sense of guilt is a tool the enemy uses against God's children to cause us to doubt God's love, His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness. It is a feeling we often get, a feeling that weighs us down with shame, destroying our confidence, our peace, and our joy. It keeps us from being effective workers in the kingdom, because it makes us feel unworthy.

Now we know none of us is worthy, for we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23) But He promises us that forgiveness – complete and total forgiveness – is ours when we confess our sins. We never have to doubt that, we have God's own promise to us.

And God promised not only to forgive us, which is wonderful enough, but He also promised to never remember our sin again – not ever! (Jer. 32:34) It is completely forgotten, as far away as the east is from the west! (Psalm103:12)

When we humbly repent and confess our sins before our Heavenly Father, we can rest assured of His forgiveness. And when God has forgiven and forgotten our sins, we should no longer have any guilt, because we are no longer condemned by God. (Rom. 8:1) We are justified in His sight, because the precious blood of Jesus covers all our sins, and makes us righteous in God's eyes. (Rom. 3:24-25)

The Holy Spirit will never bring to our mind the sins we have repented of and confessed – they are forgiven and forgotten! So if we still have a feeling of guilt about these things, we can know that it is a false guilt, not a Biblical one. Remember false guilt is a tool used by the enemy against us, and don't fall into his trap. Don't replay past sins in your mind, condemning yourself. No one - not other people, not Satan, not even we ourselves - no one has the right to condemn us when the Lord Jehovah God Almighty has forgiven us!


What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?
(Romans 8:31)










 






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