By Rick Liggin
So you are about to do something you KNOW you should not do. You already feel your guilty conscience turning on. You feel tempted beyond your control though. You’re teetering on the line of should I or shouldn’t I? You ultimately convince yourself that you can’t say no to the temptation at hand and engage in sinful and worldly behaviors. Immediately after giving into the temptation and engaging in sin you are ashamed of yourself. You are fearful of others finding out and judging your character. You feel guilt.
I believe sometimes we do not take advantage of the ability to feel guilt. God gave us each free-will, a conscience, and the ability to judge for ourselves if we should be involved in something or not. But did you know God gave us the guilty emotion as well?
Paul said: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). I believe our way of escape sometimes is just our innate ability to feel guilt. In the above scenario you can already see the guilty conscience kicking in even before the individual has committed sin. Why then is he ultimately overpowered and prevented from listening to his guilt?
We often times convince ourselves that we will not being able to resist certain temptations, when what we should do is Listen to Our Guilt. Take advantage from the beginning, before sin has actually occurred, to wisely interpret “God’s way of escape” for us! Think of how many avoidable situations and circumstances could be prevented if we, as God’s people, longed and looked for “God’s way of escape” BEFORE it’s too late! Listening to our guilty conscience is certainly the place to start.
We all know, however, that guilt most definitely comes after we sin (cf. Ezra 9:6-7). How unfortunate if we wait that long before listening to our guilt. But we can take comfort in knowing that, even then, if we repent, God is quick to forgive and will clean us from the guilt of sin. “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalms 32:5; cf. Psalm 51:1-2; 30:5, 10-12; 86:4-5). Even though this is true, wouldn’t it be better if we listened to our guilt sooner rather than later?
We all know, however, that guilt most definitely comes after we sin (cf. Ezra 9:6-7). How unfortunate if we wait that long before listening to our guilt. But we can take comfort in knowing that, even then, if we repent, God is quick to forgive and will clean us from the guilt of sin. “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalms 32:5; cf. Psalm 51:1-2; 30:5, 10-12; 86:4-5). Even though this is true, wouldn’t it be better if we listened to our guilt sooner rather than later?
This bulletin is being published for the purpose of encouraging a further study of the Word of God. Editor – Josh Liggin
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