Blog post August 26, 2026

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. Romans 5:9

Justified by His blood:

He canceled your record of debt, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:14

He sent His Son to be the propitiation (wrath-removing agent) for your sins. 1 John 4:10

He bore your sins in His body on the tree. 1 Peter 2:24

He was pierced for your transgressions. Isaiah 53:5

The Lord has laid on Him your iniquity. Isaiah 53:6

He became a curse for you. Galatians 3:13

It is possible to know all of this and yet carry feelings of guilt for pre-conversion sins as well as post-conversion sins. We need to make a distinction between the feeling of guilt and guilt. Scripture makes it unmistakably clear that our guilt has been taken by Christ and removed from us never to be found or brought up again. That is a fact for the child of God.

Feelings of guilt however, as much as we don't like them, serve a purpose. They cause us to remember why Jesus Christ was crucified for us and serve as a springboard for praise and worship.

I like John Pipers council in regards to the feelings of guilt:

Pray - Father, take out of my guilt feelings every impulse that makes me feel hopeless, because I know hope is commanded, and You have given us every precious and very great promises to feed our hope on.

Pray - Father, take out of my guilt feelings, every impulse that makes me feel useless and without purpose, because I know You promise that none of our works is in vain in the Lord.

Pray - Father, take out of my guilt feelings, every impulse that makes me feel fearful and timid, because I know you said, fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God.

Pray - Father, take out of my guilt feelings all anxiety about being found out, because You already know everything about my sin and how ugly it was, and You don't flinch at loving me.

Pray - Father, take out of my guilt feelings, the impulse that I need to feel worthy of grace, since You have taught me there's no such thing as being worthy of grace. Deserved grace is not grace. Help me realize that feeling unworthy of grace is the only proper way to receive grace. So, purge my guilt feelings of this craziness of thinking that I need to be worthy of grace.

While we will forever have guilt feelings, everything debilitating, everything hopeless, everything that destroys a sense of purpose and courage, everything fearful, everything that diminishes our glory in grace will be taken out of our feelings of guilt. And all that will be left will be a miraculous new heart of humble, happy, thankful praise to the glory of the grace of God.

That means we shouldn't despair of having guilt feelings, they are necessary. Instead, we should spend our life purifying them of every thing that keeps us from happy, thankful worship and obedience.

Heavenly Father I needed this today. The Devil uses condemnation to shackle us continually. Thank You for helping me sort out the difference between guilt and the feelings of guilt. Having that go from my head to my heart has been a struggle for me for years. Your word promises there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Our identity is defined by Christ's finished work, not by our latest failure. Thank you in Jesus name. AMEN.