Guilt - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ himself. Why did they hide they felt guilty so I got comes in the garden. Adam where are you, you know that story and then notice what they did when God asked him to acknowledge their sin because of the belief said the God allowed the serpent garden and he deceived me confused me. That's why since Adam was even worse. He said woman you gave me no and that's what we do instead of handling guilt by knowledge and yet we don't joining us today on this additional fellowship of the word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana Pastor Bill Gebhardt now again he shows us of God's word meets our work. Almost all of our product, almost all begin in our that's our problem. We always think it's external but it's not necessarily external, it usually internal and in our heart. The reason is that we have, even though we are new creatures in Christ, we still have a hard heart of our flesh and it has a different approach to our faith than what I gotta have. For example, we don't see life the way God sees. We see life externally.

Almost everything we talk about her external things.

Remember, God said, he said I don't look at man away you look at him. I look at his heart.

You see what's really happening in a person's heart is all that really matters to God. If you remember last week I even said look really doesn't matter whether you sing poorly or well God doesn't care means nothing to what he does care about is what your heart, refocusing him or not focus on you see is there is your motivation if you worship your second name we underestimate the destructive power of our heart.

Jeremiah said that our heart is deceitful above all things. That's an amazing statement and he said it's desperately sick.

We don't we don't see it that way we see ourselves as generally just fine people with fine arts but are can be really deceitful and 30 the words of Jesus out of our hearts come all of our actions and our attitudes and so what I wanted to talk about was that God wants to do open heart surgery on ice and that's what Hebrews chapter 4 tells us how the word of God is alive powerful, sharper than any tiered two-edged sword, piercing asunder the soulless okay in the spirit God's word does surgery on a heart and so what I want to talk about today is one aspect of our lives to come small hard and all of us need to hear what God has to say about it. Some of us more so than others. I want to deal with the word guilt anybody in here ever felt guilty, no guilt.

It's as old as mankind. What did Adam and Eve do right after they sent was a response to get themselves why did they hide themselves.

They felt guilty so will hide in God comes in the garden. Adam where are you, you know that story and then you'll notice what they did when God asked him to acknowledge their sin because of their guilt.

Whether they do believe said the will. God and are you allowed the serpent to come into the garden and he deceived me confused me and that's why send them. Adam was even worse. He said well what was the woman you gave me you know I'm and that's what we do instead of handling guilt by acknowledging that we don't we we find a way of kind of excusing it if we possibly can. So today that's what I want to talk about.

I want to talk about true guilt, not false guilt. Petruchio you've done something wrong and you feel guilty and you should is nothing wrong with feeling guilty for a short time. The real question is how do we deal with it.

Some of you probably dealt with it by just stuffing it you feel guilty about something you just stuffing you keep it inside. The problem with that is wherever you go there. It is some of you so much that you can carry guilt through your whole life and that means up becoming a way of defining you. You start seeing yourself is this guilty person who did this terrible thing and you allowed to define you. Others of us. We sort of just make a false narrative up a block things we do. If you ever had teenagers I know all of you were teenagers. But if you've ever had teenagers wanted teenagers to why wasn't the only one I did all the guys that it why you know that I mean you you views that we've used it and it lots of different ways. Some of us use other extenuating circumstances. Why was only 20.

When I get that.

That's why did on some 20 II really didn't know good for me. I didn't know that I that's why we rationalize our own sin and we do it because we feel guilty, but we don't want to do with our guilt. That's what happens so guilt can become an unsurmountable problem. I mean just think about it, you can undo it. In some really terrible and really terrible to someone said something really terrible. You can undo it.

You cannot say it stun and so we know we've heard others and we know we've taken something someone when you sin against the person you take something from you.

Take the trust from you could take your self-esteem from you.

Take your time. From there, something you take from somebody and once you feel guilty, whether you know it or not you start having a debt debtor relationship with someone you feel that you owe someone you for having ever said that I/O him or her an apology. I got going. It's an interesting way of putting it.

That's the way this works or how about this. How can I make it up. How can I make this up. Some of us are pretty superficial and you break somebody's heart because an enormous pain and then sort of flippantly you say I'm sorry it's move on.

Is that easy to do. I don't think so be so the people come to me in marriage counseling dosing the same thing so and usually are one am simply said I was sorry and I so how does it make you feel not that good.

I still got a lot of pain.

I'm trying to deal with. So this whole idea of how we handle guilt becomes a very very important thing. Even if you say I'm seeking restitution.

How easy is that she had a how do you how do you give someone restitution.

How you been married for 15, 20 years and then one of them betrays the marriage and they still want to make their marriage working so how can I make it up is easy to make that up now. It's not easy to give restitution for that.

That's hard for us when were doing something like guilt, and so God says look, I like to do some open heart surgery. I wanted to find go for you and give you a little bit better biblical perspective of guilt. I want to begin the book of Romans chapter 2 and verse 14. Romans 214.

It's interesting what Paul writes here and just follow what it might seem a little bit confusing to you, but it should. He says 41 Gentiles who do not have the law, like the Jews do do instinctively the things of the law, those not having the law, a lot of themselves.

The next verse to make it clear he said in that they show the work of the law are written in their hearts notices the heart issue again written in their hearts, their conscience, bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.

Well, what happens when your thoughts accuse you, what are you feeling when your thoughts accuse you guilt.

That's why your thoughts accuse you notice is not followers of Christ is talking about. It's not Jewish people.

Restocking about it to the Gentiles. In other words, I do see this guilt is part of God's gift as man's moral compass. Guilt is a gift from God. In other words, when you sin you feel guilt and that's okay. He said even the Gentiles feel the same way. That's just the way this works in his it's a general thing but no, it can be sometimes changed. For example, if your heart gets hard enough tour guide, you can become what modern society. Our society calls a sociopath heard the term yeah what's unusual about a sociopath. They feel no guilt and almost always mass murderers, people like that they feel no guilt. You can just tell when it they don't feel it the hard and become that hard that they can't feel guilt, but by and large, most of us feel guilt and the question is okay. I know God has a remedy for sin. Does he have a remedy for guilt. Yes, he does affiliates the same remedy. I would go back with me to Genesis chapter 3 Genesis chapter 3 and verse 21. This is after the fall. He's about to turn them loose out of the garden in verse 21 Moses writes this, he said the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and he closed them so put some clothes on, for they went out, he made garments of what skin what's that mean something that I he killed something and it covered them while the Bible says the wages of sin is death, so if anything is going to look like December is going to die. That's what God said and from there on in the Old Testament hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of sheep and goats bullocks died, over and over and over again died whenever you sin you went to the priest.

He made a sacrifice of what happened, something God there's all this dying going on, but when you get to the New Testament in John chapter 1 verse 29 John the Baptist is doing his ministry. And Jesus comes to be baptized in by Ammon.

John says behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, all the animals who ever died before Christ never took away sin. They just covered it. That's with the writer. New Testament says they only covered the sin, but they never took away the Lamb of God came and died and he took away the sin.

That's what John the Baptist says here that's the way this thing work. I meant to say this morning, but he not only took away your sin, but he takes away your guilt and that's a very important part of this to go with me to Hebrews chapter 9, and he will explain this a little bit clear. I'll be getting verse 11, Hebrews 9 and verse 11.

Here the writer of Hebrews says, but when Christ appeared as high priest of the good things to come.

He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is the same out of this creation and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood he entered the holy place once for all, having obtained the eternal redemption.

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, set them apart or sanctify them for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, and then he says this claims your what conscience what is guilt start conscience knowing died for your sins.

He cleanses that death cleanses your conscience from dead works to the living God, he's in for this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant.

Verse 16 for where a covenant is there must of necessity be death of one who made it. Jesus died not only to cover our sins not only for our sins to be forgiven, but the cleaner conscience. That's a very important part now because of my old heart. My conscience will betray me and so one ends up happening is we constantly and inappropriately will handle the guilt of our sin. As I said earlier, we should feel guilty when we sin, but we should not stand guilt at all. And yet we do we start identifying ourselves from the guilt and by the way, we even react to other people who sinned against us and we want them whether we want to admit it or not we want them to stay in guilt for the rest of their life because of what they did lots. It's not true, Jesus died to cleanse your conscience. That's what he says that's the way this whole thing worked well next place I want to look at Romans chapter 8 Romans chapter 8, this a great chapter Christians. If there's one chapter in Romans. Most Christians I know. Finally, when they read it enough want to hold onto its Roman seven.

You see, because Roman seven. Paul talks about his sin and have disappointing years and we all identify with that. You know when your use of the someone euros what look like. You may say what I did was simple and hurt, but all send all the time says right there Roman seven. He's a sinner. Well yes, but maybe not in the way you think the Paul says in verse 14 for we know that the law is spiritual, but I'm of the flesh sold in Bonnie's decision.

I know that is if what I am doing. I do not understand for what I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I'm doing the very thing I hate, for if I do the very thing I do not want to do. I agree with the law confessing that the laws good. So now no longer my the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me, for I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not for the good that I want. I do not do what I practice the very evil that I do not want but if I am doing the very thing I do not want.

I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil was present to me the one who wants to do good.

I joyfully concur with the law of God in my inner man, but I see a different on the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Conclusion wretched man that I am going to set me free from the body of this death, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, so that he sin on the one hand, I myself with my mind. Observing the law of God, but he said on the other with my flesh the law of sin. Paul says here what all of us know even though you became a Christian and your sins were forgiven, how many all everything and pastoring the president being in the future. But Paul said but sin remains in me my sins are forgiven, but sin remains and is that I find and by the way, when Paul is talking about this.

He's talking about something a little differently. You might think Paul is saying that I have moments that I don't do what I know I should be doing in and of doing things I shouldn't know them, you rest your mind. I don't think he's committing adultery, murdering people, robbing banks, I don't believe that I don't think that's a Paul is talking about at all.

He's talking about what he knows to be sin, so I've heard people want to use up all send all the time. In one sense, but not in the way you want to use it. It's different, I can illustrate this.

I've done it many times in the past, many years ago.

Here we brought a man named and Alden Gannet who was the president Southeastern Bible College and he preached on first John 19 if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us more rights and see preach that verse so is standing up here the pulpit and he said, and this very morning he was staying at a house of a couple in Lakeview. He said this very morning when I was in my I send and I had to use first. On one night. Now all the people at and on the way hey hey this is a something and I was sitting right over there with my wife.

And he said, as I was reading the Bible. My mind wandered and I immediately confessed his sin to God and everyone over here went and looked at me like that sin that that sin you have for him is is a godly man that sin. That's what Paul's talking about you not usually talking about the stuff were talking about we talk about sin in our lives is and I know I should be doing that and he says oh wretched man that I am, how my going to be delivered from this and then he gives us the answer. He says thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's when delivered, but then he says something even better. Chapter 8 verse one. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus Melanie on my sins forgiven, but there's no condemnation. Let me put it this way there's no guilt you see what the skill due to you condemns you. That's what guilt does he see guilt am guilty I been condemned. He said there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I mean I think that's just an amazing thing when you think about it.

Christ, I not only for your sins.

He died for your guilt there's no condemnation. I don't have to be condemned.

He says it is an interesting thing when you think about it because often in the context here. There's a lot of accusing whenever you sinner disappoint you accuse yourself we have an enemy is called Lucifer and he is also called the accuser and so you could end up finding yourself in a battle all the time when he keeps and you're not worthy you're guilty you're not really a follower you're guilty who you really are as a person is guilty he said I have to worry about that. There's no condemnation for me. Remember the book of Hebrews spells a lot not only to Christ as the sacrifice but he's our high priest, and it says that he intercedes for us so every time Satan, the accuser accuses you before the throne of God. What does Jesus do shows God the father's hands and said paid for what this is what the like paper intercedes for us. In other words, every single sin, you could be accused of is already been paid for, so there's no condemnation that goes along with your sin or there shouldn't be Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcasting or maybe you just like to listen to the message one more time.

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