Why Do I Feel Guilty? (2)

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”  And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. (Psalm 32:5 NLT)

Another source of guilty feelings is our enemy the accuser.  We read lists of good and bad behaviour in the Bible -- passages such as Galatians 5 -- and we are sometimes overwhelmed with feelings of defeat.   Sometimes our life seems more described by the “deeds of the flesh” than the ”fruit of the Spirit.” Condemning thoughts flood our mind such as, “You will never really be free from those sins. You will never really be what God wants you to be. God is deeply disappointed in you. How long can you expect Him to put up with you? “   These assaults are a vicious accusation from the devil who seeks to devour us.

Christ stands in front of us and says, “This one is my child! I shed my innocent blood for him, for her.” Though inadequate in ourselves, Jesus sacrifice on the cross for our sin is our adequacy. When Satan tries to defeat us by pointing out how far we have to go toward maturity in Christ, we must boldly state it is God's work to complete what He has begun in us and to make us strong, firm and steadfast.

And I am sure that God, who began the good work with-in you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again. In His kindness God called you to His eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.  (Philippians 1:6, 1 Peter 5:10 NLT)

If you are struggling with guilt and uncertain of the source, you need to ask yourself some of the following questions: Does this guilt drive me into God's arms for mercy and restoration, or drive me away from Him? What words of accusation and condemnation do I need to reject?  Is there a command in the Bible that I am not obeying and therefore my disobedience is making me feel guilty? Will I receive the cleansing and forgiveness Jesus is offering me today?  Will I accept what God's word says and act accordingly?

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  (Romans 8:1 NKJV)

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