“Are There Any Verses For Me To Help Me Through The Wrong Things I’ve Done?”
Yesterday someone asked me the question that is in the title of this post.
Anyone ever struggle with “the wrong things” from the past?
Ever wonder where those, often times, self condemning thoughts come from?
Is that Jesus…OR…is it the devil?
AND…why can’t you seem to shake that one thing…that one night…that one mistake? (Or series of mistakes?)
Haunted?
There are two words to keep in mind when it comes to wrestling with sin. The first is…
CONVICTION!
Conviction is what I feel, as a Christian, when there is sin in my life and God, through His Holy Spirit, is trying to seize my attention.
You see, the “bad” news is…as a Christian you and I can no longer truly enjoy sin because Jesus, who is now inside of us, just can’t stand it when there is “crap” in our lives.
Let me illustrate…when Charisse drops a weapon of mass destruction in her diaper it is SO obvious! And, while she can continue on with life as normal after doing the deed…I can’t allow her to remain with crap in her pants.
So…I interrupt her. I pick her up and take her to a place where she can be cleaned. She doesn’t like it…she often cries and tries to get away…but I just can’t allow her to remain in her filthy condition. Why…because I’m her father and I love her so much!
That’s the way it is with us and God…if their is “crap” in our lives that He doesn’t approve of then He will interrupt us…He will draw us to Him…He will do anything possible to get our attention to get us to a place where we can be cleansed. He doesn’t want us to live in filth…He wants us to live in freedom!
So, if we are a Christian but not actually following Jesus then God will convict us until we repent and fully embrace what He’s calling us to do. (Please see II Corinthians 7:10 & Ephesians 4:30)
And then there’s…
CONDEMNATION
THIS is the feeling that I know a lot of Christians have!
We’ve received Christ…we’ve repented of sin…but thoughts of “that thing” or “series of things” keep popping into our minds over and over again—along with thoughts of, “God couldn’t love you after doing THAT,” OR, “do you REALLY think you’re forgiven for THAT…LOOK at what you did!”
These feelings often bring heavy guilt, shame and pain! And…I’ve seen good people who love Jesus be driven to immersing themselves into “good works” and thinking that they could work off all the bad stuff that they did…not understanding that full payment was made for their sin on the cross.
The verse that I memorized early on…the verse that helps me so much is Romans 8:1, there is NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ.
I’ve seen people misuse this verse and try to attempt to manipulate it to justify their sinful lifestyle.
That’s not what it means!
It was written by a guy named Paul, who, in Romans 7 gets BLUNTLY honest about his own struggle with sin. BUT then says that the reason he can live in victory is because He knows that Christ didn’t come to condemn him but to set him free.
Jesus said in John 3:17 that He didn’t come to condemn the world…so…if those thoughts about the past are not coming from him…then the only other option we have is satan!
WAY too many Christians give the devil too much airtime in regards to their past.
If you are in Christ…He knew all about your past…He knew about it before you were even born, yet the moment you cried out to Him for salvation your sins were covered, all of them—even “that!”
II Corinthians 5:17 says that we are made brand new!
We are not condemned!
If you are wrestling with conviction then your only choice is repentance! If God is convicting you that something is wrong then I promise He isn’t going to change His mind.
But, if you are wrestling with condemnation then your only choice is recognition of what Christ did on the cross…complete payment…and in Him you and I are brand new!!!
Hope that helps someone!