The Creeper
Have you ever been around a person who seems to have a cloud around him or her? It's really impossible to know sometimes what the cause of it might be. Perhaps it could be a cloud of discouragement or depression. The problem could be the pain of divorce, loss of job, or some form of habitual sin which only they understand. But I want to talk about another kind of cloud today that many people carry around with them and even many Christians carry around with them as well.
For the unbeliever to have have to deal with the silent burden of shame and sorrow for unforgiven sin is entirely normal and understandable. However, for the believer in Jesus Christ to carry burdens of shame because of past sin is not ok, in fact it is highly destructive and sinful. Jesus' message to us before we became Christians was,
Come to me all you who labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28)
In the following verse Jesus said,
For my yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matt 11:30)
So if rest is the legacy of the Christ who saved us, why are so many of us as followers of Jesus so often burdened down with the hidden enemy of shame? Why are we, the forgiven, so weighted down with the very things for which we have already received forgiveness? Why do we constantly tend to rehash the same old sins, decisions, and events from our sinful past? Like drudging up the remains of the buried dead, believers are continously trying to reevaluate or change their forgiven past.
Worse yet, Satan, our spiritual enemy, constantly works to accuse us from our past sins or even accuse us of sins which we have never even committed! Let me tell you how this happens. First, you might be entertaining a sin or sins from your past. Perhaps there is an old habit that you have never shaken or quit. When you allow this habit or sin to remain in your life, it brings back the old sense of shame you once felt before you came to Christ. There is only one way to end this and that is to break the habit once and for all. This is just as much true with sin that exists in the mind or our emotions. We have to learn to:
...take every thought captive to obey Christ. ( 2 Cor 10:5)
But when we do allow sin to dominate us in some way in every day life, we have to recognize that our enemy is called a liar, accuser, and the father of lies. (Jn 8:44, Zech 3:1). Satan knows that he has lost the battle for your soul. So what's left? Your victory over sin! Your effectiveness as a witness for Jesus Christ! Your peace as a believer! All of this is up for grabs once you come to know Christ as Savior.
Let me challenge you today to stop carrying the burden of your sin now that you have been forgiven. God wants you to rest in Him which means to enjoy the freedom He gave you in Christ. After all,
If the Son sets you free you will be free indeed. (Jn 8:44).
Live in your freedom not your old forgiven sin!
For the unbeliever to have have to deal with the silent burden of shame and sorrow for unforgiven sin is entirely normal and understandable. However, for the believer in Jesus Christ to carry burdens of shame because of past sin is not ok, in fact it is highly destructive and sinful. Jesus' message to us before we became Christians was,
Come to me all you who labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28)
In the following verse Jesus said,
For my yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matt 11:30)
So if rest is the legacy of the Christ who saved us, why are so many of us as followers of Jesus so often burdened down with the hidden enemy of shame? Why are we, the forgiven, so weighted down with the very things for which we have already received forgiveness? Why do we constantly tend to rehash the same old sins, decisions, and events from our sinful past? Like drudging up the remains of the buried dead, believers are continously trying to reevaluate or change their forgiven past.
Worse yet, Satan, our spiritual enemy, constantly works to accuse us from our past sins or even accuse us of sins which we have never even committed! Let me tell you how this happens. First, you might be entertaining a sin or sins from your past. Perhaps there is an old habit that you have never shaken or quit. When you allow this habit or sin to remain in your life, it brings back the old sense of shame you once felt before you came to Christ. There is only one way to end this and that is to break the habit once and for all. This is just as much true with sin that exists in the mind or our emotions. We have to learn to:
...take every thought captive to obey Christ. ( 2 Cor 10:5)
But when we do allow sin to dominate us in some way in every day life, we have to recognize that our enemy is called a liar, accuser, and the father of lies. (Jn 8:44, Zech 3:1). Satan knows that he has lost the battle for your soul. So what's left? Your victory over sin! Your effectiveness as a witness for Jesus Christ! Your peace as a believer! All of this is up for grabs once you come to know Christ as Savior.
Let me challenge you today to stop carrying the burden of your sin now that you have been forgiven. God wants you to rest in Him which means to enjoy the freedom He gave you in Christ. After all,
If the Son sets you free you will be free indeed. (Jn 8:44).
Live in your freedom not your old forgiven sin!
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