Guilty As Sin – Part 1

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Pastor Kyle finished up his “Let Go” sermon series this last Sunday with a message on letting go of guilt in our lives. Let’s face it, it’s easier to conceal than to feel, so we get hurt and then shut people out rather than deal with the pain. We make the choice that we will not and thinking that we cannot let go, therefore live we the guilt; maybe buried deep, but its still there. We may be “guilty as sin” and know in our heart that Jesus Christ paid for it all on that cross and set the captive free, but we continue to hang ourselves on that cross by not letting go of guilt. We won’t let go, so we carry the guilt. We don’t have to carry this load of guilt around with us, because the child of God is forgiven. The Apostle Paul explains to us in Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” But Bible Scripture knowledge can be merely head-knowledge that needs to move to the heart to be cherished and lived out every day. We do need to read and know the Word of God; not be ignorant of teaching of Holy Scriptures, but the head is only half the equation. Yet, the longest journey a man must take is the 18 inches between his head and his heart. If the heart is not “in it” and doesn’t desire to “do it”, then the heart will redirect the mind and won’t. The Lord let’s us out of jail, but we remain in prison in our mind, will and emotions by choice.

Psalm 51:1-2 Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your loving-kindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."

My trusty 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “Guilt” as Criminality; that state of a moral agent which results from his actual commission of a crime or offense, knowing it to be a crime, or violation of law. To constitute guilt there must be a moral agent enjoying freedom of will, and capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, and a willful or intentional violation of a known law, or rule of duty. The guilt of a person exists, as soon as the crime is committed; but to evince it to others, it must be proved by confession, or conviction in due course of law. Guilt renders a person a debtor to the law, as it binds him to pay a penalty in money or suffering. Guilt therefore implies both criminality and liableness to punishment. Guilt may proceed either from a positive act or breach of law, or from voluntary neglect of known duty.

Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”


We’ll hear what Pastor Kyle has to say about “Letting Go of Guilt” in the next post. Blessings, in Christ, Brian