Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. (Heb. 10:17)
Working through feelings of guilt does not remove the guilt; it only deals with symptoms. It’s like turning up your car radio to cover the pinging sounds in your engine. You may feel better because you can’t hear the problem, but when your engine gives out, you are stuck on the side of the road without transportation.
Jesus has come to us in our stranded position. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). God’s Son solves every difficulty we have with guilt. He not only works through our feelings but goes to the root of the problem and removes our sin.
If we trust Jesus, our guilt is gone forever, all of our sins are forgiven, and the matter is completely settled. And if the matter does come up again (and Satan loves to do this; his name means accuser), it cannot be the voice of the Holy Spirit because He says, “I will remember no more.” This truth gives us assurance that Jesus will never again bring up our sin.
Satan would love for us to turn up our radio and end up stranded on a desert road somewhere; but when we listen to God’s Holy Spirit, we are saved from the trouble that denial causes, and our problem with sin is fixed.
Ask God to improve your listening skills and help you recognize and ignore the accuser.
Susan Browning Schulz is a wife and active mom of three grown children. She lives riverside in northwest Georgia and loves leading her small group.