Volunteers Of Christ Institute of Leadership RESOURCE Compendium of Sermons– Vol 1

Your Guilt and God’s Love

Freedom from Your Fears: A Ten Part Series Sermon 7 of 10

Focus: Finding Freedom from Guilt by Receiving God’s Forgiveness

Motivation: It is typical for people to carry around life debilitating guilt in their life
Aim: How do we obtain God’s forgiveness and find freedom from guilt?
Psalms 32:2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit
is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For
day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Selah 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my
transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Dave and John head out for their usual 9 holes.

Dave offers John, "Let's say we make the time worthwhile, at least for one of us, and spot $5 on the
lowest score for the day."
John agrees and they enjoy a great game. After the 8th hole, John is ahead by 1 stroke, but cuts his
ball into the rough on the 9th. "Help me find my ball -- you look over there,"
he says to Dave.
After 5 minutes, neither has had any luck, and since a lost ball carries a four-point penalty, John pulls
a ball from his pocket and tosses it to the ground.

"I've found my ball!" he announces triumphantly.

Dave looks at him forlornly, "After all the years we've been friends, you'd cheat me on golf for a measly
five bucks?!?"
"What do you mean cheat? I found my ball sitting right here!"

"And a liar, too!" Dave says with amazement.

"I'll have you know I've been standing on your ball for the last five minutes!"
What Do We Usually Do About Guilt?

From Mr. KNOWALOT off the Web

If you feel guilty:
1) Realize that it is merely an emotion. Whatever you did, no matter how despicable, can’t be
changed. You’ve got to live with it ... or him or her.

2) While you can’t change things, you can apologize to the person you harmed. When I finally told my
little brother I was sorry for breaking his balloon, this tremendous weight was lifted off my shoulders.
Then, after he got off my shoulders, my brother put me in a very uncomfortable headlock. Eventually
he accepted my apology.

3) Try thinking about people who really have something to feel guilty about ... such as Adolph Hitler,
Lee Harvey Oswald, and Richard Nixon. Then you can also remind yourself that you’re still alive while
they, on the whole, are dead.
Since we think it is an emotion and we really want to get rid of it…
We Try to Bury It
Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men
who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them,
because God has made it plain to them.
How do we suppress?
· By Denying It
John 9:39
Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will
become blind."
JN 9:40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind
too?"
Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see,
(while you are really living in denial) your guilt remains.
1 John 1:8

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Volunteers Of Christ Institute of Leadership RESOURCE Compendium of Sermons– Vol 1

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
· By Minimizing and Compromising It
“It’s not so bad”
· By Rationalizing It
“I am not as bad as other people”
PR 21:8 The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
3) Try thinking about people who really have something to feel guilty about ... such as Adolph Hitler,
Lee Harvey Oswald, and Richard Nixon. Then you can also remind yourself that you’re still alive while
they, on the whole, are dead.
We Blame Others
Genesis 3:12-13
The man said, "The woman you put here with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
GE 3:13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said,
"The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
We Torment Ourselves
We beat ourselves up by our talk about ourselves; how we treat ourselves, have a permanent poor
self-image of ourselves
Guilt invokes in us the deepest, most terrible feelings of loss, horror, anger, and helplessness.
Why did I do what I did?
Why couldn't I have done more?
Did I not do enough?
Did I do too much?
Did I put him/her down too soon?
Did I wait too long?
If only I had noticed sooner.
If only I had waited longer.
If only I had more money.
If only I had known more at the time.
If only I had listened to my gut feelings.
And we beat ourselves up for all these questions and "if-onlys". Why do we do this?
This is not too different from what Satan wants us to do with Guilt
He wants us to share it with others
He wants us to hold on to it because he knows what it does to us.
He is the great accuser
What Should We Do About Guilt
Where does Guilt Come From?
Guilt is a condition that originates from an action which Violates God’s Laws
Guilt has many different emotional results. Shame, Fear,
But it is based on the realization that you have done something, an act that hurt someone.
Whether you hurt yourself, your family, and your friends. Your God, you damaged, tore down,
degenerated that which God and all of life wants to build up.
John 16:8
When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
True Guilt – breaking God’s moral and spiritual law
based on the understanding of Supreme Judge and Moral law giver in the universe
False Guilt – not receiving God’s forgiveness
Taking responsibility for something that was not our responsibility
based on the understanding of No Supreme Judge of the universe, “anything or nothing goes” If it
feels good, do it. If it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it.” If you don’t do what feels good, you ought to be
guilty. But since guilt doesn’t feel good, then you should feel nothing.”
Meier and Minirth go so far as to say; "A true Christian will not be able to willfully continue in a known
sin for a very long time without developing guilt and depression."
What Did David Do About His Guilt?
Psalm 32:5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my
transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

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Volunteers Of Christ Institute of Leadership RESOURCE Compendium of Sermons– Vol 1

Acts 24:16
So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
Instead of Denying It
We Should Admit to God What We have Done
“I DID it”
Psalm 51:3
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Psalm 51:4
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right
when you speak and justified when you judge.
Jeremiah 14:20
O LORD, we acknowledge our wickedness and the guilt of our fathers; we have indeed sinned against
you.
Don't minimize it. Don't bury it. Don't ignore it. Don't push it down. Don't deny it. Simply own up to it.
I admit it, "That was wrong. That was sin. It was stupid, dumb and I willfully chose to do the wrong
thing because it was what I wanted to do at the time."
Instead of Rationalizing and Minimizing It
We Should Agree with God About What We have Done
“It was WRONG”
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness.
Psalm 51:4
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right
when you speak and justified when you judge.
Homolegeo – “to say the same thing” or “agree”
When we start saying the same things about the activities of our life that God says, then we start
looking at life from God’s perspective.
This is where Repentance comes in
Repentance – Change of attitude and behavior
Luke 17:3
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in
a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, `I repent,' forgive him."
2 Corinthians 7:11
See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear
yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice
done.
Be Honest to God
Instead of Blaming Others for It
We Should Accept Responsibility for What We Have Done
“It was MY fault”
Psalm 51:3
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Psalm 69:5
You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.
Psalms 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
What Does God Want To Do About Our Guilt?
He wants to Forgive
Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
I am still looking through the scripture for where God wants us to ask for forgiveness. IT is easier to
ask for forgiveness than to admit and agree with God about what you have done. It’s like asking God
to be with us. He already promised that He would be with us. If we simply agree with God about what
we have done and what he says to do about it in the future, he says He forgives us.
Ephesians 1:7

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Volunteers Of Christ Institute of Leadership RESOURCE Compendium of Sermons– Vol 1

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God's grace.
How Does He Forgive?
He Forgives Instantly
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness.
Christian Maturity
A measure of our Christian Maturity – how quickly we accept God’s forgiveness based on the fact that
He forgives us instantly, the moment we admit and own up to our sin.
Isaiah 55:8
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than
your thoughts.
Psalm 32:3
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah 5 Then I
acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions
to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Myths
“If I feel guilty, then I will be a better person.”
That is the penance that some people pay. They hold on to their guilt the rest of their life.
Reality is all it does is rob you of the joy that is available.
Martin Luther – chastising himself with a chain
What Does Guilt Really Do?
· Guilt destroys happiness…guilt is a major cause of clinical depression
Psalms 38:4
My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.
· Guilt devastates our physical strength
Psalms 32:3
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
32:4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of
summer. Selah
Gary Collins suggests, "Whenever tension builds in a person and is not released, the body weakens
and eventually breaks down."
· Guilt damages relationships
Drains you of the energy it takes to make a relationship work
He Forgives Completely
Colossians 2:13
God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
Psalms 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
I never worry about the bills in my life that I have paid for.
A Catholic priest was tormented by a sin he committed while in seminary many years ago. He was in
the Philippines and secretly carried this burden of guilt of this sin buried deep in his heart. No one else
knew of the sin. He had repented and suffered many years of remorse, but he still had no peace, no
inner joy, and no sense of God’s forgiveness.
There was a woman in the priest’s parish who loved God very much and claimed that she had
visions and spoke with Christ personally and He spoke with her. The priest was skeptical of her
claims, so he put her to the test. He said, “Since you say you actually speak directly with Christ in
your visions, let me ask you a favor. The next time you have a conversation with Him, ask Him what
sin your priest committed while he was in seminary many years ago.” She agreed. When she
returned to the church again the priest asked her if she had a conversation with Christ.
She said, “Yes I did.”
“And did you ask Him what sin I committed in seminary?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Well, what did He say?”
He said, “I don’t remember.”

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Volunteers Of Christ Institute of Leadership RESOURCE Compendium of Sermons– Vol 1

If you don’t grasp this, then every time something goes wrong in your life you’re going to think God’s
getting even with you. He doesn’t do that. Christ made it all even.
He Forgives Freely
Isaiah 55:7
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
Romans 3:22
There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
· We do not have to do penance. The price has already been paid.
· It is free because God’s grace is free. You will never be able to earn it. It is a gift!
Ephesians 1:6
To the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

He Forgives Repeatedly
Hebrews 7:23
Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24
but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save
completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
So he, Jesus, tells Peter
Matthew 18:21
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins
against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven
times.
Myths
“I should always feel guilty about something.”
That’s not what grace based living is all about. Grace based living is living with the knowledge that
God freely forgives me. While it is free, it wasn’t cheap.
When God Does Not Forgive
There is only one instance when God cannot forgive us…
when we refuse to forgive others.
This stops up the forgiveness flow that we can repeatedly receive from God.
Matthew 6:14
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if
you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Oh, I forgot to mention the last part of section two. Did some of you miss that?
Well here it is and I want to end with this.
Instead of Tormenting Myself Because of It
I Should Accept God’s Forgiveness In Spite of What I have Done
1 John 1:9 (Phillips)
"If we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable. He forgives our sins and makes
us thoroughly clean from all that is evil."
About the year 1830, a man named George Wilson killed a government employee who caught him I
the act of robbing the mail. He was tried and sentenced to be hanged. However, President Andrew
Jackson sent him a pardon. But Wilson did a strange thing. He refused to accept the pardon and no
one knew what to do. So the case was sent to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Marshall, perhaps
one of the greatest justices ever, wrote the court’s opinion. In it he said, “A pardon is just a slip of
paper, the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is
refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.” And so he was.
Psalm 32:2
Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit…
4 and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Father,
I know without a doubt there are people here listening that are suffering under an immense load of
guilt and shame and regret. For some, it's been eating at them for years. Would You let this day be
their day of release? Their day of relief? Let them to experience the freedom that comes from Your
forgiveness. Make this a day of freedom.

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