Freeing Ourselves from Guilt Part III

We have been talking about guilt for the past week.  We have learned that we face two different types of guilt: false and true.  Today I am sharing the incredible solution to all guilt!

Here is the solution:  THE MARVELOUS NEWS of JESUS.  He is the Price Paid for our guilt.  But in order to “pay the ticket” with Jesus’s blood, several things have to happen:First, you need to agree with God that you have sinned, that you are imperfect.  That could be a specific prayer of confession, such as: “Lord, I am sorry that I knowingly sped in that village. I know I am guilty and am responsible.”  Or I might say, “Lord, oops, I didn’t know this was a speed zone.  Please forgive me any way.  And I’m aware that I am still responsible.”  Basically, I  am saying, “Jesus, I know now that am not perfect like you.”Second, you need to admit that you are expected to pay the price for these sins, but you are not able to.  The cost I would have to pay for my guilt is too high, too burdensome, and too continuous.  This fact is especially true, because the Bible teaches that ANYTHING THAT IS NOT OF FAITH IS SIN. Any time I am not responding to a situation in faith, or making a decision tuned into God, I have sinned! Wow, I’d be reaching into my pocket book or going to the bank minute by minute, and paying for my sin would be impossible.Now that I realize that I am a seriously flawed person (a “screw-up” to use slang) I’m really worried about not being perfect. Since I am a sinner I will never be able to achieve that perfectionism that I so desire. Now, what do I do?Here is the solution:  I identify the imperfection.  I name the source of my guilt or my “sin”.  Then I release it to God.  In releasing it, I admit that I fall short of God’s perfection. Indeed something has to be done to make me right with God.That is when I turn to Jesus, and proclaim that he is the Price Paid for my sins. The Almighty Lord took care of the people’s sin in the Old Testament when priests offered up guilt offerings, usually in the form of animal sacrifices.  In the New Testament, that same God, Our Heavenly Father, wiped away our guilt through Jesus’s death on the cross.  God offers Jesus as the Lamb of God, the final sacrifice, to do away with guilt forever.There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Because of Jesus’s death, we can be perfect.  This perfection is not of our own doing.  But God views us as perfect. He sees us covered in the Blood of Jesus.  Therefore, in God’s eyes we are righteous and complete.  Jesus desires us to be perfect, “even as my Father in heaven is perfect,” he said.So whether I struggle with false guilt or true guilt I can be freed from it. I can be made perfect. This liberating process requires self-examination.  When the feeling of guilt crops up, I have to ask:  where is my guilt coming from?Is this false guilt based on a lie that I believe about myself or another person?  Is it stemming from a false expectation, someone else’s opinion, or a self-centered goal?  Is it an unnecessary “should” on my to-do list?Or is it true guilt?  Did I knowingly break one of God’s laws?  Or did I unintentionally do something wrong, and God is revealing it to me after the fact?  More fundamentally, is what I am doing  failing to be a faith-based response?  Once I know that answer I speak this truth to God. I tell Him I’m sorry.  Then I receive the forgiveness He offers me through Jesus.In the last step I accept the gift of the Holy Spirit so I can be cleaned out and powered up before I move on.  Now I can live unburdened and guilt-free. I throw off my cloak of perfectionism. Now God sees me as perfect.  Thank you, Lord.