The Gospel's Answer To The "Guilt" Of Sin - Part One

The Gospel Of Christ And The Problem Of Sin
The Gospel's Answer To The "Guilt" Of Sin
(The Remission Of Sins)

We have been examining how the gospel saves us from the problem of sin in this series. Our last three lessons dealt with commands found in the gospel which, when obeyed, effectively answer several specific problems of sin. The command to believe, when obeyed, solves the problem of the love of sin. The command to repent, when obeyed, solves the problem of the practice of sin. The command to be baptized, when obeyed, solves the problem of the state of sin. In this lesson and those to follow, we shall turn our attention to the promises of the gospel.
Again, bear in mind that the gospel of Jesus Christ contains:
Facts to be believed
Commands to be obeyed
Promises to be received

We have seen how keeping the commands of the gospel deal with the problem of sin. Now we want to be sure to appreciate how the promises we receive upon obeying the gospel are also effective in dealing with sin.

In the first lesson of this series, we touched briefly upon the guilt of sin. Let us first elaborate on this point, the "guilt" of sin. The Bible declares all are guilty regarding sin. This was Paul's first main point in writing the epistle to the Romans - Ro 3:7-11 "Since your lies bring great honor to God by showing how truthful he is, you may ask why God still says you are a sinner. You might as well say, "Let's do something evil, so that something good will come of it!" Some people even claim that we are saying this. But God is fair and will judge them as well. What does all this mean? Does it mean that we Jews are better off than the Gentiles? No, it doesn't! Jews, as well as Gentiles, are ruled by sin, just as I have said. The Scriptures tell us, "No one is acceptable to God! Not one of them understands or even searches for God." Even if a person breaks only one commandment! - Ja 2:10-11 "If you obey every law except one, you are still guilty of breaking them all. The same God who told us to be faithful in marriage also told us not to murder. So even if you are faithful in marriage, but murder someone, you still have broken God's Law."

This guilt refers primarily to "legal" guilt in the sense of having violated the law of God. In this way, everyone has sinned - Ro 3:23 "All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory." This makes them "transgressors" of the law - 1 Jn 3:4 "Everyone who sins breaks God's law, because sin is the same as breaking God's law." Other synonyms are used to describe those who have violated God's law:
"lawless"
"disobedient"
"workers of iniquity"
"ungodly"

This "legal guilt" is real, whether or not a person is aware of their actual guilt (ignorance does not excuse one of guilt before God) feels any sense of emotional guilt (more on this shortly). They are still held accountable before God as "guilty" of sin - 2 Co 5:10 "After all, Christ will judge each of us for the good or the bad that we do while living in these bodies."

This lesson will continue with looking at another facet of guilt. For many there is also the emotional guilt. But this is really only a side effect of the "legal" guilt of sin.

God Bless,
Jim Newsted
Shamrock, Tx
The town that turns green for a week every year

Join my Bible Study Group at internet-bible-studies-subscribe@yahoogroups.comor http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet-bible-studies/join
Even though you can't see the air, It doesn't stop you from breathing
Even though you can't see God, It doesn't stop you from believing
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