Releasing the guilt

Let’s get this out of the way and state that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Even after we are saved and working hard to be pleasing to God; we will have the occasional and infrequent missing of the mark. This can sometimes cause us to feel embarrassed before God and allow incredible disappointment to fall upon us. While we should not depreciate sin’s effect on our lives, we should also not allow Satan to overemphasize it into overwhelming and constant condemnation. He will do everything he can to prevent you from releasing the guilt and receiving the restoration purchased for you on the cross at Calvary.

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” (1 John 2:1).

First, the scriptures state that “… if any man sin” rather than “… when any man sin.” Our first goal is to avoid sin in our lives and be holy, for he is holy (1 Peter 1:16). But if we fall prey to sin, we are not abandoned without hope but have an advocate with the father.

advocate – a person who pleads on someone else’s behalf

Not only is he our advocate, but he also became the propitiation for our sins:

“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

Also, consider the following:

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

propitiate – win or regain the favor

So we find that Jesus is both judge and defense attorney in our case. He pleads with himself to grant us forgiveness for our sins. But he does not stop with forgiveness alone. He also appeased us so we could regain favor with him. Jesus desires to give each of us total victory over the sin in our lives. He pleads our case before himself (and Satan), declaring that we are forgiven, the sin is eradicated from our lives and the books, plus we are restored to our rightful position of having a guilt-free relationship with Jesus.

“THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit” (Romans 8:1 [AMP]).

I urge you today to allow Jesus to fulfill his role as an advocate in your life. Let him restore your favor with himself, allowing you to enjoy your life and your relationship with him.