Friday, August 04, 2006

Those who trust in God are no longer guilty

On the Sabbath [Paul and Barnabas] went to the synagogue for the services. After the usual readings from the books of Moses and from the Prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: "Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for us, come and give it."

[After recounting God's plan from Moses to Jesus, Paul said] "Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God—something the Jewish law could never do. Be careful! Don't let the prophets' words apply to you. For they said, 'Look you mockers, be amazed and die! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it.'"

Acts 14:13-41 NLT

About this promise

Have you ever had a guilty feeling about something? Perhaps you did something wrong and felt guilty about it. Perhaps you have magnified the feeling of guilt beyond the "wrongness" of the act that precipitated the guilty feeling. Or perhaps you feel justly guilty for a sin, and you don't know what to do about it. The best way to relieve justifiable guilt is to confess the sin to God and ask him to forgive you. Forgiveness is the only cleansing agent that can remove both guilt and a guilty feeling about a sin.

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