Guilty
We all know what it feels like to be guilty of doing wrong. It is a universal feeling, because God wants us all to know that sin is wrong. It is his warning to us that we need to do something about our sin. Joseph's brothers still felt their guilt, even though it had been years since they sold him into slavery.(Genesis 42:21) They connected their punishment with their sin, and they remembered the feelings of hearing Joseph plead for his life and release. Guilt is a powerful force in our lives.
We are guilty of sin every time we break God's will, whether we fully know His will or not. Ignorance of sin is no excuse. God always punishes all sin, so that we know the seriousness of doing things the wrong way. When we sin, God wants us to know it was wrong, so we can repent of that sin. That means we change our minds, and we decide not to do that any more. We change our behavior, too. If we do not repent and ask forgiveness, the guilt remains, and it even grows. The feelings do not go away. Sometimes, they get stronger. We feel punished by God for things that are not even related to our sins. All of this is because God loves us, and He does not want us to destroy ourselves with sin.
Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins, so that they can be washed away permanently. When we trust Him, and ask Him to forgive our sins, He removes the guilty feeling. We know that we are clean. After we are cleansed, and we sin, we still need to repent and ask for Jesus to remove that sin from between us and Him, or it will hinder our relationship with Him. That is why we can still feel some guilt after we are saved. God wants us to have a close relationship with Jesus all the time, not hindered by sin. However, we can be sensitive to what the Spirit tells us, and deal with our sins quickly any time we feel guilty. Then, the Lord will take the guilt away. The more we grow to be like Jesus, the less guilt we have in our lives. It is a huge blessing to be able to live life free from guilt.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 44-46.
We are guilty of sin every time we break God's will, whether we fully know His will or not. Ignorance of sin is no excuse. God always punishes all sin, so that we know the seriousness of doing things the wrong way. When we sin, God wants us to know it was wrong, so we can repent of that sin. That means we change our minds, and we decide not to do that any more. We change our behavior, too. If we do not repent and ask forgiveness, the guilt remains, and it even grows. The feelings do not go away. Sometimes, they get stronger. We feel punished by God for things that are not even related to our sins. All of this is because God loves us, and He does not want us to destroy ourselves with sin.
Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins, so that they can be washed away permanently. When we trust Him, and ask Him to forgive our sins, He removes the guilty feeling. We know that we are clean. After we are cleansed, and we sin, we still need to repent and ask for Jesus to remove that sin from between us and Him, or it will hinder our relationship with Him. That is why we can still feel some guilt after we are saved. God wants us to have a close relationship with Jesus all the time, not hindered by sin. However, we can be sensitive to what the Spirit tells us, and deal with our sins quickly any time we feel guilty. Then, the Lord will take the guilt away. The more we grow to be like Jesus, the less guilt we have in our lives. It is a huge blessing to be able to live life free from guilt.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 44-46.