Getting Past Your Guilt From Your Past
May 1, 2005
If we could somehow step on a scale today that measured the weight of our spiritual baggage, some of us would break the machine. So many people are groaning under the strain of the baggage in their spirits. That weight is called guilt. We all have it to some degree, and some are in the super heavyweight division. Your guilt is like a cancer eating you up on the inside, unless you do something about it. Some of you have become numb to the pain and energy your guilt causes you, and you have gotten used to dragging your stuff around, into every relationship, every challenge to try something new, and every chance to move forward with your life. Guilt holds you down, and guilt holds you back. It’s kind of like wearing ankle weights; at first, you’re keenly aware of the extra weight, but after awhile, you forget that you’re wearing them, even though it slows you down. You just get used to the “new normal”. There’s a lot of guilt in this room today, and I promise I haven’t been reading your e-mail; I just know that to be true because we’re all human, and we all have done stuff to make us guilty. Boy, aren’t you glad you came today to hear that? I bet that makes you feel really good about yourself.
Here’s some very good news:
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:1 (NIV)
Webster’s says this about condemnation: it means “to declare guilty, to inflict a penalty upon, to doom, to declare unfit for use.” The Word of God says NO condemnation for those who are in Jesus, who have trusted Him to remove their sin and guilt.
Any time you read the word “therefore”, you should ask yourself, “What’s it there for?” the first seven chapters of Romans lay it all out: holy God, sinful man, coming wrath, perfect Savior, Jesus Christ crucified and risen, made right by faith, made holy by faith. Then Paul says, in view of all that- he sums up the message of God’s love: "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." That’s the essence of who Jesus is and what He did. That’s the central, foundational message of God’s love to the world. This is the good news we announce. This is what we share, with the nations and the neighborhoods: No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. How does that sound? I bet that sounds really good to those of us who are ridden with guilt.
How do you get past your guilt from your past?
1. Stop beating yourself up
You know what they say; guilt is the gift that keeps on giving. We keep guilting ourselves, and we make ourselves feel lousy. We condemn ourselves, and criticize and berate ourselves and say, "I shouldn’t have done that!" And we condemn and condemn ourselves. Instinctively we try to pay for our own guilt, but it just doesn’t work; it backfires.
My guilt has overwhelmed me; like a load it weighs me down.
Psalm 38:4 (NCV)
There are a lot of forms of self-punishment. Illness is one- you can make yourself sick. Depression can be a form of self-inflicted punishment. You wallow in your pity until you can’t get out. Maybe this is you- you setting ourselves up for failure, because you fell this is your just reward. Just ask a counselor how often they see that in dating relationships. Have you ever heard somebody say, "I don’t deserve to succeed.” That’s saying, "I’m guilty, therefore I’ll fail." The ultimate form of self-punishment is suicide. Suicide is now the number one killer of college students and the number two killer of high school students. Why? Because people feel condemned even at that young age.
We have to begin by seeing that we can be our own worst enemy. Beating yourself up doesn’t fix your pain. It just reopens the wound. Through Christ, we can find the relief we’re looking for. We don’t need to beat ourselves up. Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross so you could stop nailing yourself to a cross. Jesus Christ was crucified so you could stop crucifying yourself. Ask God to help you stop hurting yourself.
2. Stop letting others beat you down
Is there some one person in your life that is keeping you stuck in your guilt? If you have someone like that in your life, you won’t have to look far to find that person. It’ll be someone close- chances are it’s a parent, a sibling, a girlfriend or boyfriend, a spouse or ex-spouse.
You have the authority and the ability to end the misery. The may never change what they say or do to you, but you can change how you respond to them. Determine today that you will not let anyone steal what rightfully belongs to God- the determination of your value. Only God can say what you’re worth, because He is your Creator, and He says you are His own.
He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
1 Peter 1:19 (NLT)
God gave His best because you are worth it, regardless what anyone says. Who are they in comparison to the Almighty God? Don’t give anyone permission to determine your worth. God demonstrated how much you are worth. He died on the cross for you. How dare anyone devalue you!
You can decide to let other’s attacks roll right off of you. Tell yourself, “That won’t work on me any more. I will not give them the ability to do what only God can do. I will not let them make me feel I am inferior.” Ask God to give you a strong mind and spirit to withstand people who attack you. Ask God to give you a new response.
“Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
“Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
“Guilt and blame will try to shame, but Christ declares I’m worthy.”
Maybe you’re thinking, “I wish I could believe that. I feel so unworthy. I know what I’ve done.”
3. Stop resisting God’s love for you
Guilt only serves one good purpose, and that is to drive us to repentance. After that, nothing else good can come of it. Instead of letting your guilt drive you away from God in embarrassment and shame, let it do what it is supposed to do: drive you to the embrace of a loving God who wants more than anything else to free you from your sin, your shame, and your painful memories.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
John 3:16-17 (NLT)
It’s not about what you’ve done; it’s about what God’s done. He’s made the first move, and He waits for you to respond to His love. He knows who you are and He still loves you- that’s the amazing grace we sing about! No one deserves to be declared not guilty! We deserve to be declared guilty, but instead, there is no condemnation. Stop resisting His love for you. Stop feeling like you can’t go to Him because of your shame. What are you thinking, that you’re going to surprise Him with the dark secrets of your life?
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Romans 5:8 (NLT)
You have no chance of being declared “not guilty” in God’s eyes unless you are in the shelter of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross for your sin. You will never be able to get rid of your guilt unless you are in Christ. You will never be able to stop beating yourself up unless you are in Christ. You will never be able to stop letting others beat you down unless you are in Christ.
“Therefore now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
The word for condemnation in this verse is an interesting one. Not only does it have to do with judgment, it can also refer to a piece of land on which there is a prior claim. Sometimes we feel like that. We feel that perhaps the title search was not thorough enough in our lives when we committed ourselves to Jesus. Maybe there is still a lien on our lives. There is none. Your life is free and clear from every thing- everything- once you trust Jesus Christ to be your Forgiver and Leader.
Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (Message)
That’s far better than living with the old guilt. So where are you? In Christ, or outside Christ? Free from condemnation, or under condemnation? You don’t have to stay under condemnation. Christ is the Way. Christ is the Truth. Christ is the Life.
Where do you need to start today? Maybe you need to stop resisting God’s love. Give up. Just give up. Give up your guilt for His grace. Say, “Jesus, I need you to take away my sin and replace it with your grace. Forgive me and heal me, even for eternity.” Maybe you need to ask God’s help to stop beating yourself up. He’s already forgiven you, why can’t you? Are you somehow smarter than the God of all creation? Maybe you need to ask God for the strength to stop letting someone beat you down. Ask God for a new vision of who He created you to be.
Anointing time
