In order to be effective, believers in Jesus the Christ and citizens of the Kingdom of God, must understand the difference between feeling guilt, conviction or feeling nothing when we have sinned.
When we sin or feel we have done wrong, guilt is a tool Satan uses to separate us from God. Picture it this way: Sin is a wedge between you and God, but guilt is the hammer the enemy uses to drive that wedge in and create a wide divide between you and the Father. Guilt does not come from the Holy Spirit that is within you. Guilt comes from the enemy and you must know how it feels and rebuke it. Don't let it get a foothold in your soul (your mind, your emotions and your will). 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. We aren't "under the law" because the Holy Spirit is supposed to be our governor. But when we don't listen to the Holy Spirit within us, we inevitably fall short and sin. When we do, what we should feel is conviction.
While guilt causes you to run and hide from God (as Adam and Eve did), conviction causes you to run to God. Satan cannot win when we feel conviction and repentance. No matter what you have done, if you run to God with a repentant spirit, He is faithful to forgive, heal and restore. Satan is already defeated, but he continues to use his tricks to win battles through us. Never allow ANYTHING to come between you and God. Another problem is that without feeling conviction and repentance when we sin, in time, we develop a seared conscience to remove the sting of guilt. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? Can believers embrace sin as a lifestyle and not have our consciences seared?
Here is an example of a seared conscience that will relate to far too many Christians today: A couple (who consider themselves believers in Christ) who are dating, are having sex. Though it's not talked about much in today's church (because it is so common) that is the sin of fornication. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites Now, for example, let us say that the couple wake up in the morning and go to church together. They sing, praise the Lord, worship and believe they are right with God. Not only are they deceived, but their consciences are seared. Over time, they have felt guilt over it, not conviction. Then, in order to continue doing what they want to do, their consciences have become seared to stop the guilt! Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.
I am not here to point fingers or condemn. I am here to encourage you! Never feel guilty, but always feel conviction which bring repentance when you fall short and sin. Never be so comfortable with sin that your conscience becomes seared. We are a work in progress and God loves us with an everlasting love. Keep a humble heart and a teachable spirit. Learn Kingdom principles and standards through God's Word, get them down in your spirit. Repent to the Father when you sin and strengthen your resolve to resist Satan's temptations next time. In time it will become easier and you will grow to be all that God created you to be.
Now search your soul--your mind, emotions and will. What is the sin that traps you so easily? Until you bring it under submission to the Holy Spirit within you, you will continue to be a puppet of the enemy. Remember that the next time sin beckons you.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Romans 8:1 Proverbs 6:27-28 I Corinthians 6:9
I Timothy 4:1-2 Hebrews 12:1-2
~~Arlene Luchie
When we sin or feel we have done wrong, guilt is a tool Satan uses to separate us from God. Picture it this way: Sin is a wedge between you and God, but guilt is the hammer the enemy uses to drive that wedge in and create a wide divide between you and the Father. Guilt does not come from the Holy Spirit that is within you. Guilt comes from the enemy and you must know how it feels and rebuke it. Don't let it get a foothold in your soul (your mind, your emotions and your will). 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. We aren't "under the law" because the Holy Spirit is supposed to be our governor. But when we don't listen to the Holy Spirit within us, we inevitably fall short and sin. When we do, what we should feel is conviction.
While guilt causes you to run and hide from God (as Adam and Eve did), conviction causes you to run to God. Satan cannot win when we feel conviction and repentance. No matter what you have done, if you run to God with a repentant spirit, He is faithful to forgive, heal and restore. Satan is already defeated, but he continues to use his tricks to win battles through us. Never allow ANYTHING to come between you and God. Another problem is that without feeling conviction and repentance when we sin, in time, we develop a seared conscience to remove the sting of guilt. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? Can believers embrace sin as a lifestyle and not have our consciences seared?
Here is an example of a seared conscience that will relate to far too many Christians today: A couple (who consider themselves believers in Christ) who are dating, are having sex. Though it's not talked about much in today's church (because it is so common) that is the sin of fornication. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites Now, for example, let us say that the couple wake up in the morning and go to church together. They sing, praise the Lord, worship and believe they are right with God. Not only are they deceived, but their consciences are seared. Over time, they have felt guilt over it, not conviction. Then, in order to continue doing what they want to do, their consciences have become seared to stop the guilt! Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.
I am not here to point fingers or condemn. I am here to encourage you! Never feel guilty, but always feel conviction which bring repentance when you fall short and sin. Never be so comfortable with sin that your conscience becomes seared. We are a work in progress and God loves us with an everlasting love. Keep a humble heart and a teachable spirit. Learn Kingdom principles and standards through God's Word, get them down in your spirit. Repent to the Father when you sin and strengthen your resolve to resist Satan's temptations next time. In time it will become easier and you will grow to be all that God created you to be.
Now search your soul--your mind, emotions and will. What is the sin that traps you so easily? Until you bring it under submission to the Holy Spirit within you, you will continue to be a puppet of the enemy. Remember that the next time sin beckons you.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Romans 8:1 Proverbs 6:27-28 I Corinthians 6:9
I Timothy 4:1-2 Hebrews 12:1-2
~~Arlene Luchie
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