Christian Guilt – Romans 8:1-15 (Sermon Notes)
1. Purgatory – Guilt is our attempt to pay for the wrong we did by feeling bad for it. (1-4)
- Purgatory states that there are some sins which we must go through purgation for, because Christ did not pay for all my sins.
- This is my problem with the doctrine of purgatory: if Christ didn’t pay for all of my sins and bridge the infinite gap between God and us then there still is an infinite gap between us, because one step from the infinite is an infinite step.
- While we may not have the doctrine of purgatory in evangelical Christendom, we have guilt. Somewhere subconsciously we believe that if we feel guilty enough, if we say we’re sorry enough then we earn forgiveness.
2. Penance – Guilt is our attempt to ensure that we’re still spiritual by feeling guilty, when it’s a faulty license to sin. (5-8)
- You think, because you feel guilty everything’s alright in the midst of sin and that somehow you’re connected to God because you feel guilty.
- Guilt draws you back to the old but you are transformed for newness. It reminds you of the old ways and in your defeated state you succumb to sin.
- Romans tells us that we can not have the flesh and the spirit co-exist. There is a struggle yes, but guilt confuses us into thinking that so long as we feel bad we must be doing something right.
3. Prevention – Guilt is our attempt to avoid the wrong we did in the past we did by missing out on the future. (9-11)
- Christ died not only to set us free from sin, not only from death, but the fear of death. That’s exactly what guilt is, a fear that we aren’t enough. Hebrews 2:15, “And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.”
- Guilt convinces you that you’re dead but you are alive in Christ. The same spirit that brought Christ back from three days dead is making you alive every moment.
4. Problem – Guilt is our attempt and that’s what got us here! (12-17)
“So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us-an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him! ”
- Romans 8:12-14, The Message
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