Guilt and shame are plagues affecting the souls of millions every day across the globe. Guilt is the acute awareness that you are legally guilty of having come short of God’s perfection of character as demonstrated by your actions and attitudes. Guilt is judicial. Shame is the understanding that you are not good enough compared to the glory of Who He is as your Creator. Shame is relational. In both cases, you rightfully deserve condemnation as long as you remain in Adam. The essence of who you are is defective. The effort from who you are is damnable.
However, the cross of Jesus provides great news! Our guilt and shame died with Him on His cross! They no longer exist! They have been replaced with forgiveness and a new, perfect identity. God’s forgiveness in Christ means you have been released from your sin debt, and you will never be legally guilty before God again. God’s formation of your new, perfect identity restored your worthiness because your old, imperfect identity died with Jesus.
What about when we blow it and sin? We can confess that sin to our Father, thanking him that we are ALREADY forgiven in Christ, because of the good news of the Gospel.
When we feel shame, meaning we don’t feel we are enough to God, people, or ourselves, we can rely on the Gospel truth that we are now enough because we are God’s sons or daughters.
Let’s hear the crescendo of this great news from Colossians 2:13, “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.”
Your guilt and shame died on the cross with Jesus forever! In His resurrection, your forgiveness and completeness are resurrected forever! You can’t reverse either of these, but you can learn to enjoy God more because of them!
