Renewal – “Embracing Forgiveness”
Text: 1 John 1:8-10
Sermon Focus: resolving our sense of guilt by rediscovering God’s gift of forgiveness.
We are all guilty before God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.
Forgiveness is when God erases our guilt by dismissing our sin and not holding us responsible or accountable for it. We are forgiven because Jesus paid the price of our sin (death). The result is salvation.
Forgiveness doesn’t just set us free from guilt and shame. It sets us free to walk in the light. It transforms our lives in the most literal way possible. To be forgiven is to truly be free.
“If that’s true, why do I still feel guilty?”
Context: John explains that forgiveness leads us to walk in the light of God. Spiritually speaking, light and dark deal with our spiritual understanding and way of life. To be in the light is good – to be in the presence and power of God. To be in the dark is to be spiritually deprived.
Darkness brings doubt. Sin. Guilt. Shame. The very things forgiveness could heal.
“If we could convince patients in the mental health hospitals that their sins are forgiven, 75% of them would walk out the next day.” Karl Menninger, psychiatrist and founder of the Menninger Foundation and Clinic.
A lot of people struggle with false guilt. We are forgiven, but we still feel guilty. We get stuck in our guilt. We think, “I know God has forgiven me, but I can’t forgive myself.” We keep beating ourselves up.
What about you? What’s holding you?
What about that “one thing” in our lives that we just can’t forget? What about that one thing that still haunts us because we just can’t get past it? Why can’t we feel forgiven?
That “one thing” distorts our view of life, colors how we see the world, God, and ourselves. We feel like a burden. We feel ashamed and hope no one ever finds out.
We walk in the dark when we should be in the light. How can we embrace God’s forgiveness when we can’t get past what we’ve done?
Three Steps to Fully Embrace God’s Forgiveness
1| Confront Your Guilt – v 8
Don’t ignore it. Face it.
Guilt and shame are related, but not the same.
Guilt is a tool that both God and Satan will use in your life. God uses it to bring us closer to Him. Satan will use it to drive us away. Learning to see how God can use your guilt is a powerful tool to letting it go.
Confronting Your Guilt and Shame:
- What is causing your guilt?
- Where is my guilt taking me?
- Am I still sinning?
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” 2 Cor. 7:10
2| Confess Your Sin – v 9
Confession is more than just acknowledging your sin. It’s acknowledging our sinfulness.
Sometimes, when we do not fully confess our sins, we struggle to find forgiveness because God is still pointing out the real issues to us. Our sin is more than what we’ve done. It’s why. It’s how. It was in our motives and goals.
Confession opens the door for God to work within us.
- Bring your sin to Jesus. Talk openly about it. Deeply.
- Deal with the sin, not the consequences or outcomes you hope to see.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to search you – Psalm 139:23-24.
- Believe on Him for Forgiveness.
Trust in God’s faithfulness over yours. His justice was satisfied in Jesus. God isn’t letting you “get away with it.” Your sin was paid for. You have been set free.
3| Change Your Thinking – v 9-10
If we’ve confronted our guilt and confessed our sin, now’s the time to move on in faith. See life through a new lens.
This is repentance. Jesus cleanses us so that we can walk in the light again. Make the choice to live whole and stop recycling the pain.
- Stop listening to the enemy.
- Set the right expectation. You aren’t perfect and won’t be until we’re with Jesus.
- Learn to see how God can use the circumstances that your sin caused.
- Share His forgiveness.
Repentance is living in what God has made true. You are clean. You are whole. Don’t let guilt and shame have you back. Embrace God’s forgiveness and walk in the light again.