Virtual Service February 5, 2023
A Guilty Conscience
Psalm 51:1-2
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, cleanse me from my sin!
–What We Usually Do With Our Guilt
We Bury It
Psalm 32:3-5 When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Proverbs 28:13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
We Blame Others
Genesis 3:12 —Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.“
Proverbs 19:3 —A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD.
We Punish Ourselves
Psalm 38:4-8 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
–What Jesus Wants Us To Do With Our Guilt
Admit It!
Proverbs 20:27 The Lord gave us a mind and a conscience. We cannot hide from ourselves.
1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine our ways and test them . . .
Accept Responsibility for It!
Psalm 51:3 — For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me
James 5:16 Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
Ask For Forgiveness!
1 John 1:9 If we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable . . . He forgives your sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil.
Romans 3:23-24 …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
–What Jesus Does With My Guilt
HE FORGIVES ME INSTANTLY
Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly forgive.
HE FORGIVES ME COMPLETELY
Colossians 2:13-14 He has forgiven ALL your sins. He has utterly wiped out the evidence of broken commandments which always hung over our heads, and has completely annulled it by nailing it to the cross!
HE FORGIVES ME REPEATEDLY
Hebrews 7:24-25 …because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.
HE FORGIVES ME FREELY
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
Psalm 32:1-2 Happy the sinner whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven. Happy those to whom the LORD imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no deceit.
Psalm 38:1-22