Guilt

Guilt

My Question for God

How will my life change if I accept God’s gift of salvation and am set free from guilt?

A Moment with God

When a certain immoral woman from that city heard [Jesus] was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. . . . “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” . . . And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Luke 7:37-38, 47, 50

If we confess our sins to [God], he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

1 John 1:9-10

You might know the experience of confessing your sin to God but still feeling guilty. If so, the problem is not with God but with you. God does not want you to atone for your sin by feeling guilty and miserable. Rather, you are to trust that he forgives you. Like a judge pardoning a guilty prisoner, God pardons you, and you accept his forgiveness by faith.

The immoral woman demonstrated the life-changing power of the pardon that comes from God’s grace and mercy. She knew that God not only welcomed her but also forgave her. Her actions expressed her faith and her gratitude. Faith is not simply a matter of believing in the mind; it is a matter of trusting and responding to God’s grace in every aspect of your life. God’s love breaks the power of sin so that you are free to worship him gratefully, make costly sacrifices willingly, serve humbly, and express your faith boldly.

Divine Promise

Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

1 John 3:20