God's Best-Kept Secret by Mark Maulding

Author:Mark Maulding
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Living/Spiritual Growth;REL012120;REL012000
ISBN: 9781493407811
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2017-07-27T04:00:00+00:00

God Is Not Waiting for You to Ask for Forgiveness

For many years I beat myself up with tremendous guilt whenever I sinned. This self-imposed guilt sometimes led to deep self-loathing. In my counseling experience, I have found that many Christians beat themselves up just as I did, and maybe you wrestle with this very problem today.

Here’s the way I used to struggle.

Earlier in my life, I had only a partial understanding of my forgiveness as a Christian, and I didn’t quite know what to do when I sinned. For example, in college one of my friends, Gary, started dating a girl right after I broke up with her. Her name was Andrea. I was livid with Gary. I got so angry that I couldn’t sleep. I’d wake up and walk around campus in the middle of the night, boiling with inner rage.

As my anger continued, the Lord began to show me I was sinning. I had no right to ask Gary not to date Andrea. She was no longer my girlfriend. I had become angry because I believed I had the right to his loyalty.

When God showed me this attitude, I thought, I need to ask God to forgive me and to show him how sorry I really am for my sins of anger and bitterness. If I feel guilty long enough, I’m sure he will forgive me completely and I will be back in fellowship with him.

I continued to beat myself up for days, repeating, I’m such a failure as a Christian. Look at how long I allowed that anger and bitterness to control me. God must be disappointed with me.

I didn’t realize there was no need for me to ask for forgiveness and certainly no need to beat myself up. God doesn’t want any of his children to hate themselves when they sin. We don’t need to prove to God how sorry we are. God wants us to talk with him when we sin, confident that he has already forgiven us.

Because I now understand this gospel called the New Covenant, my response when I sin is very different from what it used to be. I certainly tell God I’m sorry when he shows me I’ve sinned, yet I do it not hoping I’ll get more forgiveness. I do it with a confident belief that I am already forgiven because I am in Christ. This strengthens the peace I have underneath the sadness I feel. This sadness is because I did not act like who I am in Christ, a child of my Father. I know that grieves the Holy Spirit, meaning he feels sad but not mad. We see this in Ephesians 4:30, which says, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (NASB).

After I tell God I’m sorry, I thank him that Jesus died for that sin and that I am forgiven. Then I repent, which means in the Greek language to change your mind. This does not mean I commit myself to try harder not to do that sin again.

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