HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 156
page A154
Guilt continued
This is a wonderful example of the grace of God. All we have to do is accept God’s free gift
of salvation. This means believing that God sent his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins so that
we are no longer guilty for them.
• NU MB E R S 1 4 :4 0 -4 1 | “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the
land the Lord has promised us.” But Moses said, “. . . It won’t work.”
We must be sincere in admitting guilt.
• J E R E MI A H 3 :1 3 | “Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord
your God.” (See note on page 667.)
There is a high cost to acknowledging guilt and admitting sin, but there is an even higher
cost if we don’t.
• J O B 6 :2 9 | Stop assuming my guilt.
Job’s friends kept assuming he was guilty for some sin that caused his trouble. There are
two lessons here: (1) Sometimes we are not guilty of wrongdoing, but we feel guilty. We
must learn to discern between true and false guilt. (2) We can better deal with our own
guilt if we develop an attitude of not assuming everyone else is guilty.
• 1 J O H N 1 :9 | But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
Prayer and confession free us from guilt. Don’t let guilty feelings over sin keep you from
prayer, your only means of confessing to God and restoring your relationship with him.
G
• R O MA NS 3 :2 3 -2 4 | For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus
when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
HelpFinder
This is the gospel in a nutshell: God knows you are guilty and knows you cannot save
yourself. He has done for you what you cannot do for yourself. He sent Jesus Christ to pay
the penalty for your sin. When you trust in him, the ultimate punishment for your sin is fully
removed and you are freed from guilt.
How do I handle lingering feelings of guilt even after I have confessed
my sin?
• A C T S 1 0 :3 6 | This is the message of Good News . . . there is peace with God through Jesus
Christ, who is Lord of all.
• R O MA NS 1 :1 6 -1 7 | For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power
of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This
Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight.
News that seems too good to be true is sometimes the hardest thing to believe. God’s
Good News is the best news you’ll ever hear, and best of all it is true! Every person is
on death row—doomed to an eternity of being separated from God. We all have been
declared “guilty.” Escape might seem impossible, especially if you have done some terrible
things. But to everyone God offers the most amazing gift—freedom from eternal death and
life forever in heaven with him where all is good and perfect. All you have to do is believe
this Good News by accepting the truth that Jesus died for your sins. When you do, your
guilt is gone completely and your life is so changed you’ll gratefully follow Jesus and live
the way he asks his believers to live. God doesn’t want you to feel guilty about being free;
he wants you to enjoy your freedom and make the most of it.
• PSA L M 5 1 :7 | Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter
than snow.
Trust God’s truth, not your fickle, fluctuating feelings. Most of your guilt may really be
shame and regret over what you have done or the lingering consequences of your actions.
Along with confessing your sins, you need to embrace God’s promise to forgive you and
cleanse you from shame and regret as well.
• MA R K 3 :2 8 -2 9 | “I tell you the truth, all sin . . . can be forgiven.”
• PSA L M 1 0 3 :3 , 1 0 | He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. . . . He does not
punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.