Faith Expels Guilt, Greed, and Fear

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Paul is aiming at love. And one of the essential sources of this great effect is sincere faith. The reason faith is such a sure source of love is that faith in God’s grace expels from the heart the sinful powers that hinder love.

If we feel guilty, we tend to wallow in self-centered depression and self-pity, unable to see, let alone care about, anyone else’s need. Or we play the hypocrite to cover our guilt, and so destroy all sincerity in relationships, which makes real love impossible. Or we talk about other people’s faults to minimize the guilt of our own, which love does not do. So, if we are going to love, the destructive effects of guilt must be overcome.

It’s the same with fear. If we feel fearful, we tend not to approach a stranger at church who might need a word of welcome and encouragement. Or we may reject frontier missions as a vocation, because it sounds too dangerous. Or we may waste money on excessive insurance, or get swallowed up in all manner of little phobias that make us preoccupied with ourselves and blind us to the needs of others. All of which are the opposite of love.

It’s the same with greed. If we are greedy, we may spend money on luxuries — money that ought to go to the spread of the gospel. We don’t undertake anything risky, lest our precious possessions and our financial future be jeopardized. We focus on things instead of people, or see people as resources for our material advantage. So love is ruined.

But faith in future grace produces love by pushing guilt and fear and greed out of the heart.

It pushes out guilt because it holds fast to the hope that the death of Christ is sufficient to secure acquittal and righteousness now and forever (Hebrews 10:14).

It pushes out fear because it banks on the promise, “Fear not, for I am with you. . . . I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

And it pushes out greed because it is confident that Christ is greater wealth than all the world can offer (Matthew 13:44).

So when Paul says, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from . . . sincere faith,” he is speaking of the tremendous power of faith to overcome all the obstacles to love. When we fight the fight of faith — the fight to believe the promises of God that kill guilt and fear and greed — we are fighting for love.

John Piper 

Faith Expels Guilt, Greed, and Fear

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Paul is aiming at love. And one of the essential sources of this great effect is sincere faith. The reason faith is such a sure source of love is that faith in God’s grace expels from the heart the sinful powers that hinder love.

If we feel guilty, we tend to wallow in self-centered depression and self-pity, unable to see, let alone care about, anyone else’s need. Or we play the hypocrite to cover our guilt, and so destroy all sincerity in relationships, which makes real love impossible. Or we talk about other people’s faults to minimize the guilt of our own, which love does not do. So, if we are going to love, the destructive effects of guilt must be overcome.

It’s the same with fear. If we feel fearful, we tend not to approach a stranger at church who might need a word of welcome and encouragement. Or we may reject frontier missions as a vocation, because it sounds too dangerous. Or we may waste money on excessive insurance, or get swallowed up in all manner of little phobias that make us preoccupied with ourselves and blind us to the needs of others. All of which are the opposite of love.

It’s the same with greed. If we are greedy, we may spend money on luxuries — money that ought to go to the spread of the gospel. We don’t undertake anything risky, lest our precious possessions and our financial future be jeopardized. We focus on things instead of people, or see people as resources for our material advantage. So love is ruined.

But faith in future grace produces love by pushing guilt and fear and greed out of the heart.

It pushes out guilt because it holds fast to the hope that the death of Christ is sufficient to secure acquittal and righteousness now and forever (Hebrews 10:14).

It pushes out fear because it banks on the promise, “Fear not, for I am with you. . . . I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

And it pushes out greed because it is confident that Christ is greater wealth than all the world can offer (Matthew 13:44).

So when Paul says, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from . . . sincere faith,” he is speaking of the tremendous power of faith to overcome all the obstacles to love. When we fight the fight of faith — the fight to believe the promises of God that kill guilt and fear and greed — we are fighting for love.

John Piper 

A Gift for the Guilty

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

ROMANS 10:1-4

 

PONDER THIS

Many in the world believe salvation is rooted in the merit of Man. If you were to walk up and down the streets of any city and ask people, “Are you going to Heaven?” many will say, “I hope so.” And if you were to ask, “Why?” they would likely say something like, “I’m trying to live as best I know how.” They think salvation is a reward for the righteous. But salvation is not a reward for the righteous; salvation is a gift for the guilty. If you don’t understand that, you are never going to receive salvation. Paul wrote about his brothers in the flesh, people of the Jewish nation, that they were very religious and zealous but still misunderstood righteousness.

Many people in our culture are strutting to Hell—not because they’re drunkards, not because they’re thieves, but because they think they’re too good to be condemned. They trust in their own religion and good deeds. You are not good enough for Heaven. You need Jesus, not just for getting to Heaven but for every day you live on Earth.

What is dangerous about depending on your good merit for salvation? How does the fact that salvation is a gift for the guilty give you hope?

Who is someone who needs to know this hope? How can you share this with that person?

PRACTICE THIS

Share the hope of this gift with someone who is struggling. Pray with and for that person and share your testimony of putting your trust in Christ.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Be Quiet and Plead Guilty

PRAY OVER THIS

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:21-26

 

PONDER THIS

The law cannot save you. God has given His holy law, but the law is given to show us we’re sinners. What is the wisest thing you could do today? Shut up and plead guilty. That’s what Paul is saying. This phrase has been used a lot in the wrong sense, but here’s what he’s saying: “That every mouth may be stopped” (Romans 3:9b). Essentially God said, “Shut your mouth!” Then Scripture says, “That all the world may become guilty before God.”

We won’t know the mercy and forgiveness of the King until we admit our sin. So many times, we want to strut to Heaven. But here is the verdict of the court: All have sinned. God says, “Be quiet.” Paul says, “Be quiet, every mouth, shut up, plead guilty.” All have sinned, but thankfully all can receive grace.

Why do we struggle to plead guilty before God?

When did you admit your guilt before God? How did that change your relationship with Him?

PRACTICE THIS

Consider anything you may be thinking or doing that does not meet God’s standard. Plead guilty before God; repent and receive His forgiveness.

LWF Dr, Adrian Rogers 

Your Guilt Is Forgiven

1. Don't listen to the guilt poured out on you from Satan.

If you are in Christ, you are forgiven.

Galatians 3:26-27

[26] for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. [27] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Galatians 5:24-25

[24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

[25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Romans 6:6

[6] We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Romans 7:5-7

[5] For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. [6] But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

The Law and Sin

[7] What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

2. Satan uses guilt to convict.

Your guilt has been satisfied by the blood of Christ.

You are no longer condemned.

Romans 8:1-4

Life in the Spirit

[1] There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. [3] For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

1 John 1:7-10

[7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. [8] If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

3. Continually seek God.

Your past is past.

Your future is assured by Christ.

Look toward heaven.

1 Chronicles 28:9

David’s Charge to Solomon

[9] “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

James 4:6-10

[6] But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” [7] Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Corinthians 3:11

[11] For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:16

[16] Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 3:23

[23] and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Are You Free from Guilt?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.” Zechariah 3:3

 

PONDER THIS

Joshua was the high priest; as such, he stood for the people. And we can view him as standing for us. Joshua, as the accused, must plead guilty. Satan has a good case against Joshua—no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Scripture doesn’t say he might be in filthy clothes, or that the clothes only appear to be filthy. He is dressed in filthiness. And that is a picture of all of us who are not dressed in the righteousness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Joshua has no defense. He’s obviously guilty. That’s what the Bible says concerning all of us. Romans 3:19 says, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” The very first thing you must do with your sin is admit your guilt. Without this, there can be no forgiveness and healing.

Ironically, freedom from guilt is found in admitting our guilt before God. Where do you need to admit guilt before God today?

Is there a friend to whom you might confess your sin for the sake of healing?

PRACTICE THIS

Schedule time to talk with a trusted friend and confess your sin for the sake of freedom and healing.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How Do You Deal with Guilt?

PRAY OVER THIS

“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10

 

PONDER THIS

It is important to know the difference between accusation and conviction. The Holy Spirit is the convict-er; He will convict you of sin. The devil is the accuser; he will accuse you of sin. Accusation comes from Satan and causes you to feel hopeless and helpless. Judas was an example of this: he betrayed the Lord and was filled with remorse, which led him to suicide. His remorse did not draw him back to Jesus; it drove him from Jesus. True conviction draws you to the Lord. True conviction causes brokenness that leads you to be broken over your sin and to be broken from your sin. Simon Peter was convicted of his sin when he denied the Lord; he wept bitterly, and God restored him.

Satan accuses you not only before God, but he also accuses you to your face. He wants you to focus your attention on anything but Jesus. He wants you to live under the dark cloud of guilt and despair. When I teach about sin, I will not harp on guilt because that is not what brings true conviction and repentance. Guilt only brings remorse and beats people down; it becomes a tool of the devil.

When have you experienced conviction? How did you respond?

How have you seen the pain of guilt in your own life?

PRACTICE THIS

Consider the last time you beat yourself up for something God has forgiven you of. Talk to God in prayer about that now.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Satan Uses Guilt to Enslave You

PRAY OVER THIS

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Romans 3:19

 

PONDER THIS

What is guilt? Guilt is a reality; it’s the result of the filthiness of our sin. And guilt can cause all kinds of emotional and physical baggage. Guilt brings anxiety and depression. The soul becomes a window covered with the dirt and grime of guilt, and, therefore, everything we look at is colored or discolored by the guilt in us. And guilt can make you sick. If you carry around a load of guilt, it can make you physically ill. David said in Psalm 32:3, “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long.”

The man who is haunted by the ghost of guilt is not driven to God. You would think he would be. But the truth of the matter is that a person with unresolved guilt is driven further and further from God. So many people today, who are into things they ought not to be into, are there simply because of guilt. Satan is the accuser. He wants you to sin and then suffer the consequences. He wants to cripple you and then blame you for limping. He wants you to be doubly defeated. He is the accuser and also the enticer.

When have you been overwhelmed with guilt?

How do you typically respond when you are overwhelmed with guilt?

PRACTICE THIS

Confess your sins, turn from the sinful practices that are promoting guilt, and walk surrendered and free.

LWF Adrian Rogers 

Are You Guilty of Sin?

PRAY OVER THIS

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

 

PONDER THIS

Many people, believing the good they’ve done in their lives outweighs the bad, are convinced God will accept them. But, 1 John 3:4 says, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” Now if you have broken even one of God’s commandments, you’re a sinner. If you get stopped for running a red light, you don’t tell the police officer, “Let me tell you all the stop signs I did stop at and all the times I did obey the speed limit.” No, it doesn’t matter how much good you’ve done, you have transgressed the law, and if a man is hanging over a cliff by a chain of ten links, how many links in that chain have to break before he falls. All ten? No, just one. James 2:10 makes this point abundantly clear: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” Is there anybody who would say, “I have never once broken God's law?” Sin is the transgression of the law.

How does today’s devotion give you a new perspective on your sin before God?

How might you use the illustration of being pulled over by a police officer to share the Gospel with someone else?

PRACTICE THIS

Share today’s illustration about a police officer with someone close to you to describe how it helps us understand the way our sin affects our relationship with God.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Gift For The Guilty

Christ Alone, by faith in His ability to impart righteousness to sinners.

Undeserving?

Yes we are.

We have been found guilty.

God demands payment.

We have nothing worthy to offer.

But Christ did!

Father God excepted Christ as a substitute, highly worthy, sinless man-God.

Accept His gift!

Psalm 32:1-2

A Maskil of David.

    [1] Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

        whose sin is covered. 

    [2] Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,

        and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

2 Corinthians 5:19

[19] that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Romans 4:7-8

    [7] “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

        and whose sins are covered; 

    [8] blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Romans 11:6

[6] But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Colossians 2:14

[14] by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Faith Expels Guilt, Greed, and Fear

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Paul is aiming at love. And one of the essential sources of this great effect is sincere faith. The reason faith is such a sure source of love is that faith in God’s grace expels from the heart the sinful powers that hinder love.

If we feel guilty, we tend to wallow in self-centered depression and self-pity, unable to see, let alone care about, anyone else’s need. Or we play the hypocrite to cover our guilt, and so destroy all sincerity in relationships, which makes real love impossible. Or we talk about other people’s faults to minimize the guilt of our own, which love does not do. So, if we are going to love, the destructive effects of guilt must be overcome.

It’s the same with fear. If we feel fearful, we tend not to approach a stranger at church who might need a word of welcome and encouragement. Or we may reject frontier missions as a vocation, because it sounds too dangerous. Or we may waste money on excessive insurance, or get swallowed up in all manner of little phobias that make us preoccupied with ourselves and blind us to the needs of others. All of which are the opposite of love.

It’s the same with greed. If we are greedy, we may spend money on luxuries — money that ought to go to the spread of the gospel. We don’t undertake anything risky, lest our precious possessions and our financial future be jeopardized. We focus on things instead of people, or see people as resources for our material advantage. So love is ruined.

But faith in future grace produces love by pushing guilt and fear and greed out of the heart.

It pushes out guilt because it holds fast to the hope that the death of Christ is sufficient to secure acquittal and righteousness now and forever (Hebrews 10:14).

It pushes out fear because it banks on the promise, “Fear not, for I am with you. . . . I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

And it pushes out greed because it is confident that Christ is greater wealth than all the world can offer (Matthew 13:44).

So when Paul says, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from . . . sincere faith,” he is speaking of the tremendous power of faith to overcome all the obstacles to love. When we fight the fight of faith — the fight to believe the promises of God that kill guilt and fear and greed — we are fighting for love.

John Piper 

God Removes Your Guilt

BIBLE MEDITATION

“To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him…. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies” Daniel 9:9, 18

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Daniel is saying, “O God, please forgive us. Remove the guilt.” Why does Daniel believe he can bring this passionate petition before the Lord? Not because of “our righteous deeds” but because of “Your great mercies.”

Isn’t it wonderful that to God belong mercies and forgiveness? You see, just as Daniel prayed, the basis of our prayer is the greatness and the mercy of God. It is impossible to see the greatness of God and the mercies of God and not pray with confidence.

ACTION POINT

We need to pray, “God, cleanse us, restore us, revive us, renew us, refresh us. We need revival in America. Remove our guilt.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Can Anything Remove My Guilt?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away”... 

(Isaiah 64:6)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

What a beautiful, wonderful life Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden. But when they disobeyed the Lord, immediately they were stricken with guilt. They hid themselves from His presence when God came walking through the Garden. They tried to cover their guilt by making clothes of fig leaves. But what looked good to them as a suitable covering could not stand under the gaze of a holy God. He knew they required something else, so He shed innocent blood to make them coats of skin (Genesis 3:7-8), and for the first time in His perfect Creation, innocent blood was shed. Their covering is a picture of the covering of righteousness we receive in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us.

So many of us have tried to dress ourselves in the rags of our own self-righteousness. We are helpless to cover our sin. We need the blood of Jesus.

ACTION POINT:

Examine your heart. What fruitless efforts are you making to sew a fig leaf covering for yourself? What is the only thing that will wash away sin and bring you purity, cleansing and righteousness? Apply that to your heart today. Ask Jesus to cleanse you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Haunted by the ghost of guilt?

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Jude 1:21

Guilt dogs the footsteps of mankind. It gnaws. It growls. It eats away at the joy God intends for us. Warren Wiersbe has well said, "Before you sin, Satan whispers, 'You can get away with it. You can get away with it.' And after you sin, he shouts, 'You'll never get away with it.'"

That's just the way Satan does. He will encourage you to sin before you sin; after you sin, he accuses you. He's the adversary, the prosecuting attorney pointing his bony finger of accusation at you.

Is there no peace from guilt? Will the ghosts of our guilt always lurk nearby? Not with the convicting work of the Holy Spirit and the healing power of our Lord in you! The Holy Spirit is not the accuser; He’s the Convictor. In love, He convicts, to lead you to confession, drawing you to Jesus Christ, and to forgiveness, freedom and liberty.

When you come to honest brokenness over your sin, the Holy Spirit gives you such comfort that your sin is forgiven. When you need help, when you fail, the Holy Spirit stands close to the broken. We can confidently come to God and ask for cleansing. No psychologist or psychiatrist can take away guilt. Only Christ Jesus can.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Release Your Load of Guilt

We sin!

We are guilty.

It weighs heavy on our hearts.

We have forgiveness through repentance in Christ Jesus!

Are you repenting?

And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. - Acts 2:38

19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,

21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. - Acts 3:19-21

testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. - Acts 20:21

to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' - Acts 26:18

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, - Hebrews 9:27

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)

12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.

17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.

18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.

19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you."

21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.

22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,

26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. - Hebrews 9:11-26

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

6  who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. - 1 Timothy 2:5-6

There are many false religions that offer so called ways to so called gods.

Those paths leads to destruction.

Those false gods offer nothing.

The tombs of those so called gods contain bodies of mere mortals, who deceived lost souls, who lived and died and will be judged by their wickedness.

You are still in your sin and condemned to stand before Father God the Creator who will judge.

Be washed in the blood of Christ.

Be assured that your sin is forgiven by the only true God who gave power to His only Son through His resurrection. 

There is an empty tomb!

Hallelujah and praise God!

Is a guilty conscience bothering you?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men. Acts 24:16

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

What does it mean to have a clear conscience? It means that, as far as you know, there’s nothing wrong between you and God, and there is nothing wrong between you and anybody else.

Do you cringe when you see a police car approaching you? Do you jump every time the doorbell rings? In Psalm 51:3, David knew the hounding of a bad conscience when he said, “My sin is ever before me.” Trust me, no torture the poets have named can match that fierce, unutterable pain of a bad conscience. You know you’ve sinned and yet you’ve done nothing about it. 

The trials of life are easier to face when you have a clear conscience. Then when something bad happens, you know it’s not because you’ve done anything wrong.

ACTION POINT:

Is there something nagging at you—something you know you need to confess to your Heavenly Father? What about something between you and someone else? There is no better day than today to make it right.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Your Guilt Nailed To The Cross

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. - Titus 2:11-15

1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst

4 they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.

5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?"

6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

10 Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."]] - John 8:1-11

Important questions

Who entices you to sin? 

Satan

But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. - Genesis 3:4

Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." - Genesis 3:13

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." - John 8:44-47

3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. - 2 Corinthians 11:3-4

Who then forever accuses you?

Satan

1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

2 And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?" - Zechariah 3:1-2

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.

2 And the LORD said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it."

3 And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason."

4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.

5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face."

6 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life." - Job 2:1-6

and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." - Matthew 27:40

Who eternally forgives you?

Almighty God

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, - Hebrews 1:3

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

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

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. - 1 John 1:8-10

By what eternal method are you forgiven?

God's Mercy through the blood of Christ

who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, - 2 Timothy 1:9

23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. - Hebrews 12:23-24

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. - Colossians 2:13-14