(show picture)
How does your guilt affect you?
“guilt before God”
the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives was to convict us of our sin and the guilt before God
Romans 7:7-10.
What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
… reminds us of the depths of God’s grace and the healing it brings to the guilt we have before God
1) Good news for the guilty
… three words for sin
– ‘transgressions’… our rebellion against what we know to be right.
– ‘sin’ = missing the mark
– ‘Sin’ = crookedness
…three words for forgiveness
– ‘forgiveness’ = huge weight being lifted off you.
-‘covered’ = atoned for our sin
– “not counted against them” = God has not charged our account
How does the guilty lay hold of this sort of forgiveness from God?
…the person in whose spirit there is no deceit
2) A personal example (v3-5)
… when he tried to hide his sin, the guilt of his sin ate away at him.
… the burden of his guilt is not lifted until he confessed his sin to God
So, what does David do with God’s grace? He receives it … it fixes his own problem of guilt …proclaims it to others
3) News too good to keep to ourselves
… a message King David wants other people to know about.
4) Instruction for the way ahead
… our need for instruction in the right ways to live.
For us today
1) Are you struggling with guilt?
2) Heed the warning
3) Keep singing songs of deliverance
4) For those who do not know Jesus.