By now, it has probably already happened to you. You messed up. You sinned, and you are feeling guilty. Could you lose your salvation? Could the knot unravel between you and God? Have you jeopardized your possession of eternal life and your full acceptance in Christ?
Often it goes like this: things are going fine. You’re reading your Bible and praying, and enjoying your relationship with the Lord. The language of your heart is: “Thanks, Lord Jesus for loving me so much that You would die for a sinner like me. Help me to surrender everything to You. I want to be a bright light in a dark world for You.”
It could be almost immediately after you were having such thoughts about Jesus – or it could be the next hour or later that day. You caved in to pressure from your old friends. Or some inner secret desire got the best of you, and you did it. Or something upset you, and you said words you never wanted to say again.
Now what? Your knees still bend, but you don’t feel like praying. The Bible is on your desk, but you don’t feel like picking it up. Your vocal cords still work, but you don’t feel like singing. The muscles in your face are still there, but the smile won’t work. What happened?
You might find this paragraph from one of the Apostle Paul’s letters insightful:
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give Grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32
Remember the uneasy and tense feeling you had around your mother when you displeased her? Her hurt and disappointed look was plain to see. “How could you let me down like this? I brought you up differently than that. You knew it would upset me. I’m hurt – deeply wounded that you would do something like this.”
The verse above uses the word ‘grieve.’ To think that God could ever love us so much that we literally grieve Him when we sin! When a criminal breaks into your home, you’re not grieved – you’re plain angry. You don’t experience grief or hurt. That’s because no loving bond exists. We only grieve people who love us. Our wrongdoing makes them sad.
The Holy Spirit, who now lives permanently inside you, loves you and wants to work within you, to empower you to achieve all God has in mind for your life. When you sin, He is saddened. He grieves, but He never-ever leaves! It’s an eternal relationship you have through good days and bad ones. His Presence does not depend on your performance.
The Bible teaches that until we are at home with Christ, we will always have to contend with our sinful flesh. It never improves. (Romans 7:19-21) It is the sin-energy inside every person. Thank God, we are not left alone to battle our sinful desires. The Holy Spirit within gives us new desires to please God and He also fights against the flesh. (Romans 8 and Galatians 5:16-17)
How can happiness and communion be restored after you have sinned? Here’s what the Word of God says about the process after a Christian has sinned:
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 1John 1:8-10
No Christian is perfect. No Christian ever has lived a sin-free life. Not on this planet. The Apostle John couldn’t have been more explicit. But, never treat sin lightly. Sin was the cause of Christ’s death! Sin is an accident in a Christian’s life – not our lifestyle.
The more you mature in Christ, the more aware you will become of God’s holy character, resulting in a greater awareness of your own failures and sensitivity to sin. This maturing process will help you walk humbly with contrition before your Lord.
When you sin, quickly get alone with the Lord. Confess your sin. Don’t beat around the bush. Name the sin in His holy Presence and don’t make excuses or try to rationalize your failure. Sin is offensive to the Holy character of God – your Father. Confess it and then hear Him silently whisper to reassure you: “Forgiven!” Quote 1John 1:9 in His Presence. It’s a promise.
And remember – you only need to confess it once. In your sincerity and remorse, He hears you the very first time. Satan will try to whip you with your failure or hound you with guilt, even though you’ve confessed it. He will do his best to hinder you in your life of glorifying God. When that happens, just say to yourself (and, to the Lord) an assertive ‘FORGIVEN’ and move forward.
Ask the Lord for strength to walk with Christ more closely so you will experience the power to say ‘no’ the next time. Some things will be more of a struggle, and sadly, you will find yourself repeating the same sin – even though, when you confessed it the last time, you told the Lord you never wanted to do it again. Go back to 1John 1:9.
Godly King David in the Old Testament committed a series of dreadful sins. Psalm 51 is the poem he wrote as he confessed his sin to the Lord. Sometimes, I get on my knees and read Psalm 51 as my own prayer.
Don’t run from the Lord when you have sinned. Run to Him in your sorrow, and He will wrap His loving arms around you in forgiveness and restoration. Matthew 11:28 Read about the Father’s heart in Luke Chapter 15:11-23.
Assignment for Today
- Can you think of any sin (small or big) that you haven’t yet confessed to the Lord? No sin is too small to confess. Keep your conscience clean and clear before God.
- Memorize 1John 1:9
