Guilt

Good Morning,


Christians face a great deal of guilt.  Some guilt is from their own memory, regrets of the deeds they have done.  Some guilt comes from the devil’s accusing, slandering, and trying to create the illusion of defeat.  We must face guilt in a Scriptural manner, no matter what the cause.  

David acknowledged his wrong: 

Psalm 51:3 “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.”


Guilt creates defeat and needs to be dealt with in order to find peace.  

Psalm 51:1 “...blot out my transgressions.”

vs. 2 “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”

vs. 3 “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”


Thus far, these verses have used the words and phrases: blot out, wash, cleanse, purge, clean, and whiter than snow. Collectively, these words define cleanse.  Read through the chapter and observe how many adjectives the Bible uses to describe cleansing and how many words are used to explain the state of the man who is now forgiven (such as joy, a right spirit, delivered, etc.). 


Somehow, David exchanged his days of fasting, guilt, grief, and sorrow after adultery and murder to being restored.   His transition was made just as all believers should do.  Regaining the joy of salvation is a path all sinners should travel.  Understand that each day, David woke up and saw Bathsheba, his wife: the lady with whom he had committed adultery, the lady whose husband he had killed, the lady who lost her baby because of his wrong.  Yet being reminded of his wrong, David still had peace, joy, and victory. How did he do it?


Sometimes the reminder of our wrong drives us back into guilt; David must have faced that potential daily, yet God restored his joy.  

vs. 12 “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”


Rather than be driven into guilt, we should be driven into the wonder of God's mercy and forgiveness.  Rather than wallow in our shame, we should revel in the mercy and forgiveness of God.

Forgiveness and restoration is much like salvation and living by faith.  We have to be willing to accept the truths the Bible states and have faith enough to believe God.  


First, let us not side-step the process of forgiveness. David claimed the sin, he confessed it, and he did not try to make it appear better than it was. 

vs. 3 “For I acknowledge my transgressions:”


David confessed that he had wronged God, that his sin was against the commands of God, and that no matter what men thought or how the situation ended on earth, he had broken the commandments of a righteous God. 

vs. 4 “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight”


David took all the blame and admitted he had been a sinner from the beginning. This was not a slip up; he sinned and he had been doing it since childhood. 

vs. 5 “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me”


David did not just stop the sin and hope to be better, he called the sin wrong and asked God to forgive and to cleanse him.  The couple living in adultery who finally gets married does not usually confess their wrong; hence, they miss some of the joy and peace they could have had.  The couple who conceives a child out of wedlock often marries but fails to confess the wrong; and again, they miss some of the rest and restoration God could provide.

vs. 7 “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me,”


David was willing to take the punishment.  David accepted that God knew how to clean him up; he did not beg for life without repercussion, and he accepted that God might need to punish him.  For a week, David fasted and prayed for the life of the child.  Next, he simply said, “Do what you think best to clean me up.” 


David planned to live for God:

vs. 13 “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee”

vs. 14 “…and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.”

vs. 15 “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise”


David had a broken heart; tears had poured from his eyes, and he was truly sorry. The time had come for him to decide to go on and make the day count for God.


vs. 17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”


No victory exists in ruining tomorrow, as well as yesterday.  We can not fix yesterday. We can only confess and forsake the wrong of the past.  Tomorrow can be ruined by guilt, so why give Satan such a victory?  Live for God, and make tomorrow glorifying to God.  


The pattern of forgiveness presented here is simple (much like 1 John 1). By faith, we all must accept that God is not a liar and that He forgave us, cleansed us, and that our sins are no longer on His mind.  Only Satan wants to defeat us by reminding us of our shameful past.  


1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

God said He would forgive and cleanse us, so the question is, “Are we doubting God?”  Are we saying God is not honest?  Or are we willing to get up today and consider ourselves cleansed?    Are we willing to claim God’s promise of forgiveness as we claimed His promise to save us? Are we willing to use today to please the One Who forgives and cleanses?   The question is one of faith.  

Pastor