Sermon from April 13

As Far as The East is From the West

1 John 2: 12 - 20

1. Our sins are not forgiven because we have become good people. The only reason our sins are forgiven is because we accepted Jesus' gift of salvation.
2. This is important because it keeps us from walking in guilt.
3. One of ­­­­­­­­Satan's favorite weapons is guilt. He will make sure we remember every thing wrong we’ve ever done. He’ll even lie to us about things we could not help.
4. Satan will whisper in our ears that we are not good enough. It’s okay to want to become a better person, but it’s not okay to live in a guilt trip.
5. God does not undo the consequences of sin, but he forgives us and allows us to enter into his presence as if we had never sinned.
Psalm 103:12, Romans 8:1

I fear many Christians walk around feeling guilty. Guilty because they are not good enough or because of the past. I tried to explain that the Holy Spirit convicts us, but that is different than laying a guilt trip on us. Conviction is about the present and future, much like discipline. Guilt is about the past, much like punishment. Guilt is a terrible motivator because feeling guilty makes us want to give up. When 1 John 1:9 says God is faithful and just to forgive us, we need to believe that. We are forgiven when we accept Christ. We are declared not guilty.