It is essential to know who we are in Christ. If the devil can confuse your identity, he can confuse your life, purpose, and fulfillment. If you are in Christ and have a relationship with Him. If you believe in what Jesus has done for you, that Jesus died on the cross, and that He was buried and that He rose again, then Jesus who lives in you determines who you are.
The vision of salvation includes the tremendous and incredible reality that you and I are completely transformed. We are lifted, and we have become united with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. That by His grace we have His nature, we have His substance, we have His character, we have His life, we have His righteousness, we have His holiness, we have His victory, and we have His mind. We have the fullness of Him, Jesus, dwelling in us.
TWO ENEMIES OF OUR IDENTITY ARE GUILT AND SHAME
Two feelings that often get in the way of understanding our identity are guilt and shame.
Sometimes we look at our natural life, and we get focused on what we are not. We see all the past mistakes we have made. We get focused on the struggles we have, and these things take all of our attention and energy. Sometimes we aren’t free in prayer; we don’t feel like praying because we don’t feel good enough. Sometimes we may think many of the hardships we are dealing with is the punishment we deserve, and we don’t even realize the plan and purpose that God has for us.
Until we see who we are in Christ, guilt and shame can rob us daily of the plan and purpose of God for our lives.
HOW TO OVERCOME GUILT
FOUR CAUSES OF GUILT IN OUR LIFE
-A failure or mistake in our past.
-An overly religious background that emphasizes sin, but not salvation. Many religions teach people to feel tremendous guilt but don’t or can’t give an answer. So people are left to carry these feelings.
-People who were very critical and condemning of us.
-A repeated sin that we want to stop, but it appears to have you beat.
We also need to understand that guilt is one of the devil’s primary tools or weapons against Christians. His very name, Satan, means “the accuser.”
Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
Sometimes we confuse conviction and guilt.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BIBLICAL CONVICTION AND GUILT
1. Conviction leads to us realizing our failure, lack, and looking for help. Conviction brings repentance which leads to life and peace and draws us to God.
2. Guilt leads to condemnation and hopelessness. No solution. Guilt pulls us away from God. We are scared of Him, and we want to hide. Remember how Adam sinned and then hid from God. Genesis 3:10 - He said, “I heard Your voice in the garden and was afraid (knew he sinned and felt guilty) because I was naked, so I hid myself.”
Satan, other people, and even ourselves use guilt, which leads to condemnation and shame. The Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin to draw us to God.
John 16:8 When He comes, He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
The Holy Spirit does convict of individual sin, but the primary sin the Holy Spirit will convict of is not having faith in Christ. The reason is faith in Christ brings the change that leads to all other sin being dealt with.
Sometimes in the church, we get so absorbed with the individual sins that people commit. We concentrate on trying to get people to stop those things so much that we forget that if we help people get their attention on Christ, in their relationship with Christ, that this faith and relationship in Jesus will be what brings change to that person’s life.
JESUS IS THE REMEDY TO GUILT
The attacks of the Accuser in Revelation 12:10 and the Remedy in Revelation 12:11.
They (believers) overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the lamb (Jesus) and by the word of their testimony. Our testimony is the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, the truth of Jesus Christ. These declarations of the promises of God are a powerful tool in defeating guilt/shame and rejection.
To apply the remedy, we must know what the Bible says about what the blood of Jesus has done for us.
BECAUSE OF JESUS, WE ARE REDEEMED.
Ephesians 1:7 - In Him we have redemption (salvation) through His blood and the forgiveness of sins (mistakes, shortcomings) according to the riches of His grace.
Understand today, your sins are not just covered over, but they have been dealt with and are gone. Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. When God deals with your sin, it is done. Don’t try to bring back what God has removed from you.
BECAUSE OF JESUS, WE ARE JUSTIFIED.
Romans 5:9 – How much more then, being now justified by His blood, shall we be saved from wrath through Him.
Justified means we are not guilty, and we have been made righteous. Some Christians are still living feeling guilty of things from 5, 10, 25 years ago, and they don’t realize that God has made them free. They always think they have to repent.
BECAUSE OF JESUS, WE ARE SANCTIFIED.
Hebrews 13:12 - Therefore Jesus also, so that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
We are made holy. You have been made holy. You are a saint. You have also been set apart unto God and away or apart from sin.
BECAUSE OF JESUS, WE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT NEAR TO GOD.
Ephesians 2:13 - But now in Christ Jesus you who were formerly far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
We have been brought near and can be bold and full of faith in the presence of God.
In the Part 2, we will look at - How To Overcome Shame.
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