The Jesus Message for the Guilty
Acts 2
Introduction
The Day of Pentecost is one of the most important events in Bible.
-It is the birthday of the church.
-It is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
- It presents the promise and hope for an ongoing presence of God in the life of the believer.
- It reminds us of the international flavor of the Gospel as people from all nations were gathered in Jerusalem for this event.
- It is the first Gospel Sermon after the resurrection of Jesus!
The sermon that Peter preached is built around three themes:
- Prophecy: Joel prophesied that Jesus was coming. (13-20)
- Profession: (21)
- Plan: God’s Deliberate Plan (22-24)
- Prevail: No matter what they did, Jesus is Risen! (36-37
This provoked an important question: What Shall we do? This is the Jesus Message to the Guilty. If you’ve ever felt guilty - you’ve asked that same question. The Bible is full of examples of men and women who disregarded God in order to follow their own willful ways. They were captive to feelings of guilt and remorse. (Baxter)
Sir Arthur Doyle sent this note to twelve of his friends as a practical joke: “Fly at once, All is discovered.” Within 24 hours all twelve of the famous men had left the country. (Turner)
Shakespeare: “The mind of the guilty is filled with Scorpions.”
Charles Stanley: “No matter how much I read the Bible, I felt I could have read it more. No matter how much I prayed, I felt I could have prayed more. I felt certain that God was keeping score on every aspect of my behavior. And the end result was the heavy emotional baggage of pervasive guilt.”
1. Three Types of Guilt.
False guilt - guilt that appropriately belongs to another person. False guilt has us accepting blame when we didn’t do anything to be sorry for, still we say “I’m sorry”. False guilt tells us we have failed, we have disappointed others, and that we are responsible for their poor behavior. As parents, husbands, wives, - in all relationships - we should never accept blame for the actions and attitudes of someone else, if we have not been the cause. “ False guilt is a feeling, not a fact. It is the condemnation that whispers, ‘You are not enough. You’re not doing enough. You never get it right.’” (Burton) We should not engage in false guilt - it is unrelated to us.
Genuine Guilt - Dr. Paul Tournier, “God uses genuine guilt to stir our conscience when we act irresponsibly.” Genuine guilt is meant to be a positive motivator. It brings us to our knees before God’s throne of grace.
It brings us to repentance, getting right with God. It is the sense of damaged fellowship with God that
motivates us to return to Him. (Prodigal). This is the kind of guilt we should have.
Unresolved Guilt - When we ignore guilt, We Suffer from …Self Condemnation. We should resolve, but we do not - and it makes us feel bad about ourselves. Physical Illness. Negative behaviors—addictions, excesses, and a general failure to pursue health. Loss of joy and peace. Guilt steals our inner contentment. Feelings of insecurity. We do not feel right with God/others. We suffer unnecessarily - because these can be resolved.
We all deal with guilt on one level or another. Is there a Jesus Message for the guilty? Yes! The Gospel message on the Day of Pentecost provoked Genuine guilt to wonder what they should do. If you are struggling with guilt over the sin in your own life, hear Peter’s liberating Pentecost message!
2. Good News for Addressing Genuine Guilt (Acts 2:38-41)
Turn Away from Your Sins (Repent)
2 Corinthians 7:9 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Turn Toward Forgiveness (Be Baptized)
1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
Turn To the One Who can Save (in the name of Jesus Christ)
Acts 2:21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Turn in your old life for a new one (be baptized for forgiveness of our sins)
Turn Over Your Life to God (And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit)
Turn Outward to help others (39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off…)”
Turn up the volume of God’s Word (40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save
yourselves from this corrupt generation.”)
Acts 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Conclusion
1. How much will God forgive? Can He handle my guilt?
Three Guilt-Destroying Truths:
-You Are Cleansed! 1 John 1:7 ESV 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.
-You are not Condemned! Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now
no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
-You Are Saved! 1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy
saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
2. To close our lesson today I would like for us to read together the
crushing guilt, repentance, and forgiveness of King David after his
sin with Bathsheba. This reading is from Psalm 51:
L: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
C: Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
L: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
C: Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your
sight…
L: Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
C: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit
within me.
L: Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from
me.
ALL: Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing
spirit, to sustain me.
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Resources
Burton, Valerie. https://faithgateway.com/blogs/christian-books/authentic-guilt-vs-false-guilt
Stanley, C. F. (1998). Developing inner strength (pp. 52–62). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Stanley, C. F. (1997). Dealing With Life’s Pressures (electronic ed.). Atlanta: In Touch Ministries.
Stanley, C. F. (1997). Becoming emotionally whole (electronic ed.). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Turner, J. J. (1983) How to Win Over Emotions. Quality Publications.
Williams, Steve. (1985) A Thorn in Your Flesh. J. C. Choate Publications
