How To Turn The Sharp and Bitter Pangs Of Guilt and Regret Into Lasting
Peace, Joy, and Rest by Greg DeHart
Is there such a thing as a
person who in the core of his being has never experienced the sharp pangs of
guilt, and/or regret? I am personally persuaded that no such person exists that
can, if he is honest with himself, truthfully admit that he has never
experienced the pangs of guilt and regret, and that most of us, (again, if we
are honest) deal with these two negative spiritual realities on a frequent
basis.
Why Do Men Deal
Continually With Guilt and Regret?
First of all I would suggest to
you that you need to be thankful that because of conviction of sin you do feel
guilt, shame, and regret. Yes, I know that this may sound morbid, but the truth
is, if you do not deal with guilt and regret, it means either you are a perfect
person with no faults, and who offends neither God or man, or that your heart is
hard, and you do not have conviction of your failings, whether they are large
or small. I have long ago determined both by the Holy Scripture and by my
personal observation of life that there are no perfect people, but that all men
are born sinners, and practice sin. In short terms, that means that we are all
by nature corrupt, and therefore sin against both God our creator, and our
fellow man. This truth is reality in the earth today. It has been reality since
our father Adam sold us into sin about 6,000 years ago, and will continue as a
reality until that age that is to come, when we who are hidden in Christ shall
see Him at His coming, and we shall be changed. Hallelujah to the Lord, how I praise Him for this sure hope that one day
I will be free from all the limitations of this mortal body. I can
not describe to you the exceeding hope and desire that resides in my heart to
experience that ultimate of all experiences, to see Christ our Lord with my own
eyes, and at that time to put aside mortality with all of its corruptions, and
to receive from Him a complete new body made like unto His very own. To be at
that point without sin, all the limitations of this mortal body, and not even
tempted by sin. Amen, that will be the day!
If We Are Sinners
By Birth and Deed, How Can We Live Free From The Pangs Of Guilt and Regret?
This my friend has been a
universal question from the beginning, every since our father Adam sold all of
his children (the human race) into sin. It is a universal question that all
religions in one form or another attempt to address. I do not believe that the
answer to this question can be found in any, or all the philosophies of men,
nor can it be found in "religion" per-say, (which all add up to man's
attempts to either bring God down to them, or lift themselves up to God) but I
do believe that God our Savior has prepared an answer for this problem, and the
answer is revealed by the Holy Spirit as we look into the Scripture. The answer
is found purely and only in the face of Jesus Christ. The answer is what the
Scripture refers to as the EVERLASTING GOSPEL. Gospel meaning, "good
news". Both the religious traditions of men, and the many common and
individual philosophies of men attempt to cover up, or put aside the pangs of
guilt and regret, but I say to you only Jesus can completely take these
negative qualities away, leaving absolute complete peace, joy and rest in its
place.
So What Is This
Good News?
I will offer to you a one word
answer to that question, and that word is JESUS. The Bible reveals that He, and
He alone is the answer for a guilty conscience, and He, and He alone can
ultimately take away the pangs of guilt, shame, and regret. Oh yes, men have
invented an exceeding number of ways to "cover up" guilt, shame, and
regret. However, you will find all of them to be man centered, and not God
centered, and you will find that although they may temporarily take your mind
off from your guilt, shame, and regret, they can not, and will not take these
negative realities away. For these negative spiritual realities to taken from
you, leaving in their stead peace, joy and rest, this can only happens when one
calls upon the name of Jesus, placing their faith wholly upon the promise of
God to receive forgiveness of sin. At that time the Spirit of God (the Holy
Spirit) enters the new Christian, taking up residency in his body. The new
Christian has become a house for the Spirit of God. The new Christian's spirit
has come alive, in that before this time it was dead because it was cut off
from the life of God because of the person's sins. The new Christian has
experienced what the Scripture refers to as being born again.
If One is Born
Again, Does That Mean That He Will Never Feel The Pangs Of Guilt and Regret?
No, not at all. But it does mean
that when a Christian fails (sins) he can go back to Jesus by faith and lay his
sins down at His feet, receiving from Christ forgiveness. The Christian can
then by faith (I should add that the Holy Spirit who lives within the Christian
will aide him in this process) again accept from the Lord the qualities of joy,
peace and rest. All of which are beyond human comprehension. For the peace,
joy, and rest that the Holy One offers are all completely beyond a person's
ability to understand. How the Holy Spirit ministers these qualities to the
Believer can not be understood, but they sure are both good and sweet. You
might say that this "washing" is like unto a person's continuing need
to bathe his body. We, as Christians need on a continuing basis to come back to
the Lord, and have our sin "washed away" by the application of the
blood of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit cooperating refreshes our spirits with
renewed joy, peace and rest. We who have come to Jesus by faith are truly saved
and belong to Him, even though we have to continually deal with our sin, and
when we do, we experience again and again the sweetness of His forgiveness.
Yes, our hearts cry out and mourn over our sins, and we wish we did not sin,
and that we did not have to over and over again go back to Jesus to be again
washed in His blood. Be
encouraged, we need to remember that we have not yet experienced
the fullness of our salvation, but that the complete consummation of our
salvation cannot, and will not be experienced by the Believer until Christ
returns. At that time the dead in Christ shall rise to occupy a new and
spiritual body, and those that belong to Him at His coming who have continued
alive until that time will be changed. Mortality and corruption will at that
point become a thing of the past, and we will forever put on immortality and
incorruptibility, all of this according to the promise of God, and is because
of His great love for us.
I have spoken in these few
paragraphs of great and profound realities, but these words, and these truths will
do you no good unless you by the application of faith receive these realities
into your life, by first receiving Christ our Lord as your
Savior, and then beyond that by keeping His word in your heart. Then, as you
are convicted by the Holy Spirit you can by faith go to Christ and be cleansed
from sin. This is the true bottom line of how to experience real and lasting
freedom from guilt, shame, and regret, and I should add there is no sin to
dirty, or to great for Jesus to forgive. There is no pit to deep that Jesus can
not reach down and lift the sinner out of his own filth and failure, cleansing
him, so that the Christian might be presented spotless and pure before Christ
at His coming. Amen!
A Watchman,
Gregory A. DeHart
consider: Ro 3:10, Ro 3:23, Heb
9:14, Ps 51:6-12, Ro 5:12, 1Jh 3:13, 1Co 15:51-54, 2Co 5:14-21, Rev 14:6, Acts
4:12, Jh 14:6, Jh 3:1-13, 1 Co 6:11, Rev 1:5, 1 Jh 1:7-10
About the Author Gregory A. DeHart, the sponsor of http://AnAmericanWatchman.blogspot.com, which is dedicated to speaking of social issues, the preaching of righteousness, and the practical unveiling of how Christ and the Church are illustrated in the man woman relationship (expressly that of marriage) If you have been moved to consider playing apart in this ministry please feel free to contact us. 907-373-0355, or gregoryadehart@yahoo.com.
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