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Introduction: Imagine, if you will, taking a backpack full of
sand or rocks and carrying it with you while trying to carry on
your daily routine. It just will not work. Allow me to suggest to
you that this is what a Christian does every time he allows
himself to be bogged down with guilt. We read (1
John 1:9) numerous passages throughout the N. T. how we have
been set free from the bondage of sin, yet we allow ourselves to
become overburdened with guilt. Yes, guilt is “God given” and set in place to convict us of the wrongs we commit but it was never meant to be baggage we carry after we have asked God to forgive us. Why, may I ask do we do this to ourselves? Discussion: Listed below are
some reasons I think we allow guilt to become an infectious
disease. 1. We actually feel better about our sin if we punish ourselves. 2. We may have been raised with “guilt trips” as a means of punishment. 3. We have mixed up
“guilt” and “consequences”. (These are two totally
different trains never meant to run down the same tracks.) Guilt, left unattended can lead to all sorts of
“spiritual diseases”. 1. It causes really good parents not to discipline their children as they
should. 2. Guilt causes older people not to enjoy life. (Bitter and angry). 3. It is a leading cause of depression. 4. It destroys relationships. 5. Worst of all it renders us useless to God. Listed below are
three points that hopefully help us dispose of the excess
“guilt” baggage in our life. God is not trying to fail
us. A. Life is a test, but not a test that can’t be passed. B. Look at “the heroes of faith“ in Heb.
11. Noah drank wine and exposed himself- Abraham lied - Isaac
& Jacob invented the dysfunctional family- Moses disobeyed
& Rahab was a prostitute. They are not listed as heroes of
guilt but heroes of faith. * I discovered something while doing this lesson I had previously missed.
Who was Rahab`s son? Boaz.
Yes the same Boaz who was so kind to Ruth and eventually married
her. Do you think Rahab could have raised a son of such character
living by guilt? C. Look at the numerous examples of God’s longsuffering with his chosen people in the O.T. Do we really think God would do any less for us? We have a false idea about the judgment to come. A. We sometime think judgment will be like our wireless phone bill. Page
after page of calls we have made (past sins we have committed). I
find nowhere in my bible that our sins we have asked God’s
forgiveness for will be mentioned at the judgment. B. The sins we commit come with consequences, but
not probation. We have brothers and sisters in prison facing the
consequences of their sins, but they are not on probation with God
if they have asked his forgiveness. The Christian walk is to be a thing of joy not despair. A. 1
John 1: 1-4 (Read) B. If any Christian ever had a right to keep himself guilty it was the
apostle Paul. Look what he says in Phil.
3:13-14 (Forgetting I Press on). C. How do we get rid of guilt?
1
John 1:7-9 Conclusion: When we keep ourselves guilty we are saying Christ’s blood did not do enough. This is as wrong as the original sin.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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