Guilty Feelings?

 

We all have a million different kinds of feelings.  You may have feelings of depression, fear, shame, doubt, anger, jealousy, hate, or envy.  You may feel inadequate because of debt, your parenting skills, or because of past sins.  The BIG feeling we all have is guilt!  But you are not what you feel!  Jesus doesn’t see what you did in the past, but who you are.  You are not your circumstance or your past sin.  Remember you are not perfect.  We all mess up from time to time, but God always forgives.  God knows who you are, not what you’ve done.

Feelings can be irrational.  They can be childish and can even be a sign of weakness.  Feelings can interfere with getting what you really want.  They are not always reliable.  They can take away your joy and your happiness.  All people even Christians experience all kinds of feelings and emotions both good and bad. 

The Bible tells us that even God and Jesus showed emotions.   Jesus wept in John 11:35 and God and Jesus were angered by what people did on earth.  There is a list of positive emotions in Galatians 5:22-23 – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The emotional life of a Christian should be shaped in response to God’s character.  We should feel peace, joy, love, and hope from knowing God’s mercy, grace, love, and faithfulness.  We know that God is slow to anger.  We know He loves us and gives us grace and mercy, which makes us not want to continue in sin.

The Bible tells us how to change those bad feeling into good ones by telling us to transform our minds.  “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” – Romans 12:2.

The devil likes to separate you from your spirit.  He tells you over and over you are what you’ve done.  He likes to accuse.  He is a liar, a deceiver, a thief who comes to steal and kill and destroy.  He wants you to relive your past sins, but Jesus already paid for those sins on the cross.  You are not your sin so don’t buy into that lie.  Don’t continue punishing yourself for what Jesus already paid for.

Principle:  Satan wants us to feel guilty for forgiven sins.

Jesus forgives our sins and they are gone! 

They are out of sight – “You have put all my sins behind your back.” - Isaiah 38:17b.

They are out of mind – “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” – Jeremiah 31:34b.

They are out of reach – “You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” – Micah 7:19.

They are out of existence – “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” – Isaiah 43:25.

If you believe and follow Jesus, you are saved through grace.  You can’t receive His gift of grace if you are still looking at your past.  You don’t have to live that way.  Don’t let the devil rob you of what God has given you.  Ask God to take away any guilt and doubt and strengthen your faith.

Principle:  God remembers our sins no more.

Join me here next time -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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What is the Gospel?

 

Gospel literally means “good news” and it concerns the good news of Christ and the way to salvation.  You can find the answer in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – “...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”  His resurrection is the foundation of the Christian faith.  If He didn’t rise, His death rest has no meaning.  But He did come out of the grave and is risen.  So we can rejoice in that fact.  “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” – 1 Corinthians 15:17-18.

There is historical evidence of the Jesus’ empty tomb and eye witnesses.  The fact that Jesus was buried verified His death and the fact that He appeared to others verified His resurrection.  He offers salvation which comes through Him and His work on the cross.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 – Jesus is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (died).  Death will come to us all and it started with one man, Adam who brought sin into the world.  Resurrection comes through one man, Jesus who brought life into the world.  Everyone will die sooner or later.  That’s part of life.  If you have been born again, you will die twice.  If you have been born twice, you will die only once.

There are three resurrections:

1.      The Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

2.     The Resurrection of the saved.  That is when Jesus comes to get the believers.  All the dead believers will rise and along with them the living believers, who will skip death, will meet Jesus in the air to be with Him forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:17).  We call this the rapture but should not be confused with Jesus’ Second Coming.  Believers will get perfect resurrected bodies.  The church age will end and a seven year Tribulation period will begin.  During this time there will be the greatest revival that the world has ever seen.  There will be two witnesses (some believe this is Moses and Elijah) and 144,000 Jews who will be evangelists.  They will be witnesses to the unsaved and many people will be saved.

3.     The Resurrection of the unbelievers.  After the Tribulation ends we will see Jesus’ Second Coming.  Then all unbelievers will be raised from the dead and will be judged along with all living unbelievers.  This judgment is called The Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11).  If you are unsaved or if you die without Jesus as your Savior, it’s all over.  You get no do-overs.  Lastly death will be destroyed and Jesus will rule.

In heaven there is no more dying.  Death is not the end.  We don’t have a dead Savior.  We have a living Savior.  Have you put your trust in Him?  If you haven’t, why not?  When death comes to you, your eternal destination will be sealed.  It will either be in eternal hell or eternal heaven.  Trust in Him will take away all the guilt and the shame of your past.  He will give you peace and reassurance of His love and salvation.

To be sure you are going to heaven to be the Jesus, you must admit your area sinner, confess your sins, repent of your sins, and believe in the Gospel.  But remember you will not live a perfect sinful life, because you are not perfect.  Only Jesus is perfect.  You will sin daily, but sin will not be the controller your life.  God will be with you to forgive.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” - Matthew 18:3.  “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me” - John 14:6. “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” - John 3:3.  “… unless you repent, you too will all perish”. - Luke 13:5

Once you believe and put your faith and trust in Him, God will not condemn you.  “There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” - Romans 8:1.  “Through Him everyone who believes is justified … - Acts 13:39.  Through His love and grace you are saved.  He will protect and provide for you.  You are His and a part of His family.  He is saving a place for you in heaven.

Summary

What is the gospel?  It’s the message of the good news of salvation offered through Christ’s finished work on the cross.  It’s a message for eternal life.  It’s the total plan of God to redeem people from sin, death, and Satan.  It’s comes to you not only in words, but in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction and much assurance (1 Thess. 1:5).

Resources:

The Holy Bible – NIV

https://davidjeremiah.blog

https://bible.org

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope to see you here next time.  I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Are You Like A Pharisee?

 

What is a Pharisee?  First we need to know what a Pharisee is.  In the New Testament we learn that the Pharisees were an ancient Jewish group who laid the foundation for the Rabbinic Judaism.  They were a religious sect, a political group, and a social movement.  They were very self-righteous, legalistic and hypocritical.  They were all about the Torah, (Jewish Law), but they were missing the key instructions on how to obey God.  They believed the Law that Moses gave, but also believed he gave oral laws.  They believed Jews were supposed to practice rituals and the Law was the only way to God.

The Pharisees had a prominent position in the synagogue during Jesus’ day.  They viewed themselves as the most righteous, the holiest and the leaders of the people.  They took the laws of the Old Testament covenant and multiplied them in ridiculous ways.  Their entire lives revolved around proving to themselves, to God and to the people just how great they were because they kept the laws.  They looked like men who honored God.

They were Jesus’ greatest human enemies.  They misjudged him but they really misjudged God and themselves.  They thought Jesus was a false teacher and were constantly trying to entrap Him.  The Pharisees didn’t like who Jesus hung out with.  They didn’t like that Jesus did miracles on the Sabbath.  They were simply jealous of Jesus.  They were rule keepers and didn’t like it when Jesus broke the rules.  They had 613 rules and commandments.    

The Pharisees didn’t get along with Jesus at all.  Jesus said they missed the big picture.  They neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  Jesus said they abused the Law.  He criticized them and gave them seven woes in Matthew 23.   He called them hypocrites six times.  He called them children of the blind, “whitewashed tombs”, and a “brood of vipers”.  He accused them of leading people astray, straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel, and cleaning the outside of a cup and dish while the inside is full of greed and self-indulgence.

Jesus criticized the Pharisees many times.  It’s very clear as to why the Pharisees wanted to get rid of Jesus.  In their minds by Jesus publicly criticizing them.  They thought He was drawing the Jewish people away from the true Judaism.  So they wanted to get rid of Him by any means necessary.  They followed the law to the letter and wanted to keep people in a right relationship with God, but unfortunately they didn’t recognize that He was God standing right in front of them.

They had lots of faults and Jesus called them out on them:

They were all about long prayers pretending that they were righteous (Matt. 23:14; Mark 12:40). 

They didn’t want people to be healed on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:2). 

They loved the highest seats and public greeting in the market so as to be seen by people (Matt. 23:5-10). 

They threw aside God’s commandments and made the commandments of men and turned traditions into doctrines (Mark 7:7-9).

They did a lot of talking, but didn’t practice what they preached (Matt. 23:3).

They praised God with their lips and their hearts was far from Him (Matt. 15:8).

They were fools, blind guides and hypocrites (Matt. 15:16, 23:15).

They loved to tempt, accuse and oppose Jesus (Matt. 16:1; 19:3; Mark 8:11; 10:2; 12:14; Luke 6:7).

They asked for a sign to believe when many signs had already been given, but would not believe (Matt. 12:38-42).

Are you like a Pharisee?  You might want to ask yourself these questions:

Are you prideful? 

Are you self-righteous? 

Do you do good works just for others to see? 

Do you care more about appearances than reality?

Do you see what’s wrong with others, but not what’s wrong with yourself? 

Has your heart drifted far from God like a Pharisee? 

Are you a hypocrite? 

Do you practice what you preach?

Does your life line up with biblical doctrine?

Does your life match your convictions?

Do you judge people for what they wear, what they drive, where they go to church, or how often they pray?

Do you practice your faith to be seen by others?

Do you just look like you honor God or do you actually honor Him?

Do you take pride in your knowledge of the Bible?

Do you like praise and recognition?

Do you add your convictions or traditions to the Word of God?

Do you lack love and compassion for people in need?

Do you cover your sin instead of confessing and repenting?

Do you refuse to believe? 

Do you give God only partial obedience?

Do you always need to justify yourself?

Do you tend to look down on those you think are worse sinners than you?

Do you compare your spirituality to others to see if you how well you’re doing?

Is it hard for you to be happy for others when they are honored and praised?

Do you recognize any of these symptoms in yourself?  Knowledge is not the key to reviving your heart.  God is.  Knowledge is good but doesn’t open eyes and hearts.  God does.  Humble yourself like a child and come to Jesus.  Tell Him you’re willing to change your life.  Pray that He opens your heart.  Ask Him to help you see your sin clearly and to see others as He sees them.  Allow His Word to soften your hardened heart.  Serve without seeking applause or thanks from others.  Bless someone anonymously. 

Resources

The Holy Bible – NIV

Overviewbible.com

Revelantbibleteaching.com

Reviveourhearts.com

 Join me here next time -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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