It's a fairly commonly used phrase, that we all have sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God; yet, as much as I hear this phrase, I
routinely see Christians living under a cloud of guilt and shame that
provides no freedom and joy in their Christian walk. On one hand, it
seems good that someone cares enough about their spiritual walk that it
bothers them deeply when they sin; but on the other hand, it can't be
good for us to live under such a yoke of bondage, never feeling worthy
of being used by God--of living up to our potential.
Here's a fact: There isn't a person among us who is truly worthy of the rich grace that God consistently bestows upon us. From the pulpits to the doors, from the parsonage to the gutters, no one deserves to take upon themselves the name of Christ, or to experience the blessing of His presence. Yet, we do. So, what gives?
We have a tendency to think that our generation is the only one that has struggled with these types of issues. Surely, those who came before us weren't quite as bad as we are, so they don't know the magnitude and quantity of things we have to repent of constantly. Scripture can't really speak to us in a way that's relevant and relate-able, can it?
Actually, it not only can, but it does. We fail to realize that with all of our technology and advancements, we really haven't invented new sins. We've only created new and inventive ways to go about doing it. Internet porn is just porn via a new outlet; but the Romans were drawing porn in books and on frescos well over 2000 years ago. Prostitution is commonly called the oldest profession. Murder dates back to the second generation of humans. In fact, guilt and shame go back as far as the first humans, Adam and Eve, who hid in shame after sinning against God's single command. So, we definitely don't have a monopoly on any of this. Surely then, Scripture addresses the matter in a way that can help free us from this cloud.
Some of us from a holiness tradition (Pentecostal, Apostolic, etc.) may assert that the way to be free of guilt and shame is to stop sinning! Their emphasis on "living right", though not in error, often skirts the reality of sin--that it shall persist both in the world and in our individual lives until "this corruptible put on incorruption, and this mortal puts on immortality" (1Corinthians 15:53), i.e. until we are transformed into morally perfect beings at the end of this age. So, although we must all pursue holiness (Hebrews 12:14), what do we do when we screw up, especially when it happens more often than we'd like to admit? What do we do when we continue to have to ask forgiveness for the same things over and over again?
Once again, there are those who would claim that if we continue to sin in the same way again and again, we must not truly have repented. But, I beg to differ. Repentance is, by definition, a change of mind. To repent of sin means to change your mind about it, or to turn your back on it. But, just because you've turned your back on something in your heart does not mean that your flesh is not still weak and susceptible to it.
For example, you could be promiscuous and repent of it, yet your body can still crave sex to the point that you give in repeatedly, even though it's the last thing you want to do in your heart. It doesn't make your repentance insincere, and it certainly doesn't mean that God has stopped forgiving you. It just means that you need to start building up the discipline that it will take to overcome sin in the practical realm, so that it can align with how you've already overcome it in the spiritual!
But, how does this affect our spiritual walk in the here and now? Are we, for all intents and purposes, useless to God until we've overcome in the practical/natural realm? Again, many would say yes, if not with their mouths, certainly with their actions. The Christian Church is chock-full of examples of people being defrocked, removed from their offices or positions, kicked out of their auxiliaries, or even excommunicated because of the sins (or even the perceived sins) they commit. So, even if sin doesn't make us useless to God, His people certainly do all they can to make us useless! What a tragedy.
Let's leave the Church's oftentimes hypocritical and judgmental approach to sin, and examine what Scripture itself teaches about it. While we're in the process of what one may call "deliverance," how does that impact our spiritual walk, or our usefulness to God in kingdom ministry?
Here, we have the man who wrote more books in the Bible than any other individual; yet he was also a man of unconquered passions. Like all of the other people God used, he was a mess, both before and after God anointed him. He was David, having Uriah murdered after God had already declared him to be after His own heart. He was Peter, contradicting Jesus to His face just because he didn't want to believe what Jesus prophesied about His death. He was the everyman--a flesh and blood human being who, like the rest of us, was an imperfect sinner, wholly dependent upon the grace of God. In fact, when it came to being a sinner, Paul considered himself chief amongst us all (1Timothy 1:15).
While it's true that misery loves company, and it's wonderful and encouraging to see an example of an anointed man of God being so phenomenally used while simultaneously being so phenomenally jacked up, what we can learn from his example doesn't end with that single point. We must ask how Paul could even stomach being used by God when he still hadn't conquered certain areas of sin in his life. Why did not guilt and shame hold him back, making him cower in the dark corners of his spiritual existence, as it does for so many of us?
The last verse of the reference is the key. Paul came to realize that even though this internal conflict between sin and righteousness was taking place, it was ultimately not the "real him" who was sinning. You see, Paul remembered that he was born again. Spiritually speaking, the old man had died in his conversion; so even though he lingered in the natural realm, the spiritual reality was that only righteous Paul existed. It was not, therefore, Paul--the born again new creation (2Co. 5:17)--that was sinning, but that old man, still clinging to whatever vestige of life he could find. The great part about it was that his old man was continually being crucified daily, and eventually, he would be forced into the grave, never to rise again! It was just a process, and Paul wasn't going to allow the fact that he hadn't finished the process prevent him from being used by His God and King in the "here and now."
It was precisely because he was born again and wasn't truly the one committing those sins (spiritually speaking) that he could continue his thought in the next chapter...
People often quote Ro. 8:1 without considering that the word "therefore" is there for a reason. The antecedent is what we just read in chapter 7. The real Paul--the born again inner man who was born of the Spirit (John 3:5)--wasn't committing those sins, but rather, the sinning nature of the old man; therefore, he was not condemned! Therefore, he could hold his head high and not let his sins plague him and cover him with a cloud of guilt and shame. Therefore, he could let God use him without feeling so unworthy that he would allow the body of Christ to go lacking because his rich and wonderful gift and anointing wasn't rising to its fullest potential.
You see, this is why Jesus warned us to stop judging one another. We don't know people's hearts. All we know is the external that we see. So, we judge them as unholy or unrighteous because they sin; yet we never hold ourselves to the same standard. But, Jesus warned that even if we don't hold ourselves to the same standard we dish out on others, He will! Even later in Scripture, we're told that when someone is overtaken with a fault, those who are spiritual should restore that person in a spirit of gentleness and humility (Galatians 6:1). Instead, we convene councils or investigative committees and prevent such people from continuing to serve. This isn't God's way. In fact, it's the devil's way, and it has infected God's Church for far too long!
We have to understand that guilt and shame are tools of the devil. That bastard may already be defeated, but we don't need to underestimate him. He's very cunning and deceptive--the father of lies (John 8:44). Not only does he tempt us to sin, but when we do, he turns it back on us, using our desire to live right against us. He exploits it by accusing us, goading us into guilt and shame, which will ultimately paralyze us spiritually. He then uses the self-righteousness of so many Christians against us, causing them to judge and condemn us so that the great jewel of God's glory resident on the inside of us will be hidden from the world, if not forever, at least for now.
We cannot... We must not allow this age-old tactic to continue to work. Sin has an impotent, powerless state. It barks loudly, but only we can allow it to hold us back. Since Christ has already given us the victory over sin (1Co. 15:56-57), let's stop handing that victory back... and let's stop allowing Christians to try to wrest that victory out of our hands and give it back to sin. Let us pursue holiness, as we are commanded; but let us also realize that although we will falter, we will not be defeated. For that matter, we will not even be slowed down. We who have suffered the violence of our adversary for so long must recommit to taking kingdom territory by the force of our faith--full of boldness and confidence, knowing that the love of Christ is infinitely greater than the sins we commit on this journey to moral perfection.
So, child of God, be free from the dark clouds of guilt and shame. Know that God uses us not only when we are at our best, but even when we are at our worst. What He wants is honesty and humility--being honest with ourselves, and being humble toward others. If we can offer that, there's nothing that can prevent us from reaching our fullest potential in Him, not even the sins we may habitually struggle with.
Be free, in Jesus' name!
Here's a fact: There isn't a person among us who is truly worthy of the rich grace that God consistently bestows upon us. From the pulpits to the doors, from the parsonage to the gutters, no one deserves to take upon themselves the name of Christ, or to experience the blessing of His presence. Yet, we do. So, what gives?
We have a tendency to think that our generation is the only one that has struggled with these types of issues. Surely, those who came before us weren't quite as bad as we are, so they don't know the magnitude and quantity of things we have to repent of constantly. Scripture can't really speak to us in a way that's relevant and relate-able, can it?
Actually, it not only can, but it does. We fail to realize that with all of our technology and advancements, we really haven't invented new sins. We've only created new and inventive ways to go about doing it. Internet porn is just porn via a new outlet; but the Romans were drawing porn in books and on frescos well over 2000 years ago. Prostitution is commonly called the oldest profession. Murder dates back to the second generation of humans. In fact, guilt and shame go back as far as the first humans, Adam and Eve, who hid in shame after sinning against God's single command. So, we definitely don't have a monopoly on any of this. Surely then, Scripture addresses the matter in a way that can help free us from this cloud.
Some of us from a holiness tradition (Pentecostal, Apostolic, etc.) may assert that the way to be free of guilt and shame is to stop sinning! Their emphasis on "living right", though not in error, often skirts the reality of sin--that it shall persist both in the world and in our individual lives until "this corruptible put on incorruption, and this mortal puts on immortality" (1Corinthians 15:53), i.e. until we are transformed into morally perfect beings at the end of this age. So, although we must all pursue holiness (Hebrews 12:14), what do we do when we screw up, especially when it happens more often than we'd like to admit? What do we do when we continue to have to ask forgiveness for the same things over and over again?
Once again, there are those who would claim that if we continue to sin in the same way again and again, we must not truly have repented. But, I beg to differ. Repentance is, by definition, a change of mind. To repent of sin means to change your mind about it, or to turn your back on it. But, just because you've turned your back on something in your heart does not mean that your flesh is not still weak and susceptible to it.
For example, you could be promiscuous and repent of it, yet your body can still crave sex to the point that you give in repeatedly, even though it's the last thing you want to do in your heart. It doesn't make your repentance insincere, and it certainly doesn't mean that God has stopped forgiving you. It just means that you need to start building up the discipline that it will take to overcome sin in the practical realm, so that it can align with how you've already overcome it in the spiritual!
But, how does this affect our spiritual walk in the here and now? Are we, for all intents and purposes, useless to God until we've overcome in the practical/natural realm? Again, many would say yes, if not with their mouths, certainly with their actions. The Christian Church is chock-full of examples of people being defrocked, removed from their offices or positions, kicked out of their auxiliaries, or even excommunicated because of the sins (or even the perceived sins) they commit. So, even if sin doesn't make us useless to God, His people certainly do all they can to make us useless! What a tragedy.
Let's leave the Church's oftentimes hypocritical and judgmental approach to sin, and examine what Scripture itself teaches about it. While we're in the process of what one may call "deliverance," how does that impact our spiritual walk, or our usefulness to God in kingdom ministry?
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. [15] For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. [16] But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. [17] So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. [18] For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. [19] For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. [20] But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. [21] I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. [22] For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, [23] but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. [24] Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? [25] Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. (Romans 7:14-25)In my view, this is one of the most profound passages in all of Scripture. In it, Paul defies the Christian propensity to present ourselves as having it all together spiritually. He exercises commendable transparency and speaks plainly about sin, not simply to his close friends or mentors, but to the very people he's charged with leading spiritually. He is an apostle, yet he openly acknowledges that even he has areas in his life that he has not conquered. It's not just a matter of him generically saying, "Hey, I sin, too." He confessed to habitual sin--committing the same sin over and over again, even though in his heart, he didn't want to. This is a perfect case-in-point for the reality that the presence of habitual sin neither delegitimizes one's repentance, nor prevents one from being anointed of God for kingdom service.
Here, we have the man who wrote more books in the Bible than any other individual; yet he was also a man of unconquered passions. Like all of the other people God used, he was a mess, both before and after God anointed him. He was David, having Uriah murdered after God had already declared him to be after His own heart. He was Peter, contradicting Jesus to His face just because he didn't want to believe what Jesus prophesied about His death. He was the everyman--a flesh and blood human being who, like the rest of us, was an imperfect sinner, wholly dependent upon the grace of God. In fact, when it came to being a sinner, Paul considered himself chief amongst us all (1Timothy 1:15).
While it's true that misery loves company, and it's wonderful and encouraging to see an example of an anointed man of God being so phenomenally used while simultaneously being so phenomenally jacked up, what we can learn from his example doesn't end with that single point. We must ask how Paul could even stomach being used by God when he still hadn't conquered certain areas of sin in his life. Why did not guilt and shame hold him back, making him cower in the dark corners of his spiritual existence, as it does for so many of us?
The last verse of the reference is the key. Paul came to realize that even though this internal conflict between sin and righteousness was taking place, it was ultimately not the "real him" who was sinning. You see, Paul remembered that he was born again. Spiritually speaking, the old man had died in his conversion; so even though he lingered in the natural realm, the spiritual reality was that only righteous Paul existed. It was not, therefore, Paul--the born again new creation (2Co. 5:17)--that was sinning, but that old man, still clinging to whatever vestige of life he could find. The great part about it was that his old man was continually being crucified daily, and eventually, he would be forced into the grave, never to rise again! It was just a process, and Paul wasn't going to allow the fact that he hadn't finished the process prevent him from being used by His God and King in the "here and now."
It was precisely because he was born again and wasn't truly the one committing those sins (spiritually speaking) that he could continue his thought in the next chapter...
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:1-2)
People often quote Ro. 8:1 without considering that the word "therefore" is there for a reason. The antecedent is what we just read in chapter 7. The real Paul--the born again inner man who was born of the Spirit (John 3:5)--wasn't committing those sins, but rather, the sinning nature of the old man; therefore, he was not condemned! Therefore, he could hold his head high and not let his sins plague him and cover him with a cloud of guilt and shame. Therefore, he could let God use him without feeling so unworthy that he would allow the body of Christ to go lacking because his rich and wonderful gift and anointing wasn't rising to its fullest potential.
You see, this is why Jesus warned us to stop judging one another. We don't know people's hearts. All we know is the external that we see. So, we judge them as unholy or unrighteous because they sin; yet we never hold ourselves to the same standard. But, Jesus warned that even if we don't hold ourselves to the same standard we dish out on others, He will! Even later in Scripture, we're told that when someone is overtaken with a fault, those who are spiritual should restore that person in a spirit of gentleness and humility (Galatians 6:1). Instead, we convene councils or investigative committees and prevent such people from continuing to serve. This isn't God's way. In fact, it's the devil's way, and it has infected God's Church for far too long!
We have to understand that guilt and shame are tools of the devil. That bastard may already be defeated, but we don't need to underestimate him. He's very cunning and deceptive--the father of lies (John 8:44). Not only does he tempt us to sin, but when we do, he turns it back on us, using our desire to live right against us. He exploits it by accusing us, goading us into guilt and shame, which will ultimately paralyze us spiritually. He then uses the self-righteousness of so many Christians against us, causing them to judge and condemn us so that the great jewel of God's glory resident on the inside of us will be hidden from the world, if not forever, at least for now.
We cannot... We must not allow this age-old tactic to continue to work. Sin has an impotent, powerless state. It barks loudly, but only we can allow it to hold us back. Since Christ has already given us the victory over sin (1Co. 15:56-57), let's stop handing that victory back... and let's stop allowing Christians to try to wrest that victory out of our hands and give it back to sin. Let us pursue holiness, as we are commanded; but let us also realize that although we will falter, we will not be defeated. For that matter, we will not even be slowed down. We who have suffered the violence of our adversary for so long must recommit to taking kingdom territory by the force of our faith--full of boldness and confidence, knowing that the love of Christ is infinitely greater than the sins we commit on this journey to moral perfection.
So, child of God, be free from the dark clouds of guilt and shame. Know that God uses us not only when we are at our best, but even when we are at our worst. What He wants is honesty and humility--being honest with ourselves, and being humble toward others. If we can offer that, there's nothing that can prevent us from reaching our fullest potential in Him, not even the sins we may habitually struggle with.
Be free, in Jesus' name!
Romell Weekly is a Christian pastor and teacher whose areas of special concern center around the controversial and difficult issues of life and Scripture. He has committed his life to the objective reading of Scripture, divorced from agenda, ideology, or tradition. Although it has earned him many theological adversaries, it has also help a great many Christians realize their potential in Christ.
To learn more about Pastor Weekly and his ministry, connect with him on Facebook and Twitter:
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