I’m a bit of a student of church history. I’ve read that great men and women of God have battled with something that we all face too. I have battled with it. And I’ve counseled untold numbers of people who say, “You’re right, that’s one of my issues.” What is this struggle? How to live guilt free.

Guilt is a heavy-duty thing. Another word for it in the Scripture is “condemnation.” We’ve all done things wrong, and we also continue to sin—yes, even Christians. The Bible says that if anyone claims to have no sin, he’s a liar, and the truth is not in him (see 1 John 1:8).

So how do we reconcile with that? We think, “I’m a Christian. I’m a brand-new creation. Oh, why did I tell that lie? Why did I talk harshly to my spouse?” Then we live with a cloud over us. Our joy and peace are affected. It’s hard to witness for Jesus Christ when we’re thinking, “Oh, Lord, I’m so sorry.”

Now we know doctrinally that our sins are gone. But most of us have this idea: “Christ came into my life. He washed away my past sins. Now let me show Him that I’m serious about pleasing Him.” Then we start trying to build up enough good works so we can feel good about ourselves.

But we fluctuate, depending on what temptations hit us. Sometimes we’re hyper happy. Other times we’re secretly morose.

What contributes to all this is one of the names of Satan: the Accuser. Satan is always working to rob us of our joy, peace, and effectiveness for God by condemning us. He’s always accusing us: “You’re a rat. You’re not what people think you are.” Then we think, “There’s some truth to that. People think I’m all that, but I’m not.” Then comes guilt.

Yet Romans 8:1 says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (NIV). We’re supposed to live guilt free. But how?

We run to the Bible. Philippians 3, particularly. People have held to these verses on their deathbeds. Some of the greatest saints who have ever lived have run to these words.

In this chapter Paul was writing about his religious pedigree. He had been a strict Jew, faultless according to the law. He had thought, “I’m somebody.” He had been so dedicated to his religion that he had even persecuted Christians. He had been proud of these things. And then he’d met Jesus—and understood salvation by grace through faith. So he said this:

Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (Philippians 3:7–9, NIV)

Paul, our model Christian and follower of Jesus, said, “I’m not going back to how I used to live—obeying enough to feel good about myself and gain peer approval. Satan wants me to go back to that, but I never will live that way again.”

If doing good is the way to get saved, then Jesus died in vain.

We’ve got to keep our eyes only on Jesus. We look at ourselves and ask, “How am I doing?” Then, if we’re not doing well, we start to doubt our salvation because we see our imperfections and failures. But God gave us righteousness as a gift. It’s not our righteousness, because we didn’t earn it. But it is our righteousness, because it’s a gift from God.

Picture it this way: I look in my bank account, and I know I’ve got nothing there. Then the teller says, “Congratulations. I see that somebody put ten million dollars in your account last week!”

I say, “No, no, you have the wrong name.”

But the teller insists. I didn’t work for the money, but the teller says, “I know, but it’s yours—someone gave it to you. It doesn’t matter how you got it. Rejoice in your ten million dollars!”

That’s what God is saying to us: “Rejoice every day!”

Yes, we should confess our sins. Where we see disobedience, we should ask the Lord to forgive us. But that is not our right standing with God. Our right standing is a gift from God. It’s the righteousness of Jesus Christ given to us.

So we must always go back to this: “Satan, you’re a liar. Get out of here with that accusation. Don’t try to bring me down. I’m not going down. I’m going up because of Jesus. It’s not about me. It’s about Jesus.”

What a great salvation God has given us through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ!

 

Prayer

God, thank You for the gift of righteousness. We could never be good enough for it, but You freely give it to us. Jesus, help us to overcome our guilt. Help us to live each day in the power of Your righteousness. 

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