Have you sinned lately? This morning? this afternoon? A minute ago? The reality of the Christian life is that while it is God's will that we do not sin, as long as we are here in this body of ours we all still sin. The apostle John clearly spells this out for us.
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. .. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 1:8-10; 2:1-2).
Does not this describe your life? We sin. We confess our sins. We know that we should not sin. But we do and when we do we have our advocate and propitiation, Jesus Christ. So how does God look at us when we sin? "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1) Do you believe that? The devil hates this truth and he hates the finished work of Christ. So his mission is to keep you in the place of guilt, shame, and darkness through lies, deceptions, accusation, and condemnation.
Frequently when I do sin, in spite of 1 John and Romans, even after I have confessed my sin and repented, I still feel guilt, shame, condemnation, and insecure in my perspective of God and how He views me and my sin. I find it hard to accept His mercy and feel that He does not want anything to do with me. I now know that is exactly the enemies tactic of keeping me distant in my communion with God because of my own guilt and shame.
Micah 7:8-9 is a picture of what you say to your enemy when he scoffs at your defeat. This is a description of what we do when there is "no condemnation" and yet we have sinned. How do we think and act?
Here is what you say. My summary of these words is to call them like John Piper calls them, gutsy guilt. I call it that because when I sin I must admit that I have done wrong and that God is dealing with me. But even in a condition of darkness and discipline, I will not surrender my hold on the truth that God loves me and is on my side (Romans 8:31-38).
Listen to these amazing words. Mark them. Memorize them. Preach them to yourself. Use them whenever Satan tempts you to defeat, discouragement, guilt, shame, condemnation, and despair.
"Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication." (Micah 7:8-9)
This is what victory looks like after defeat. reflect on this deeply, frequently, and faithfully. Learn to take this truth and speak like this to the devil, yourself, or anyone else who tells you that Christ is not capable of using you mightily for His kingdom purposes.
Here is what you say to the devil after you have confessed your sins and he accuses you:
“Rejoice not over me, O my enemy.” You celebrate and rejoice over my failure? You had better think again Satan!!
“When I fall, I shall rise.” Do you know why? Yes, it is true that I have fallen and I hate and despise what I have done. I grieve at the dishonor I have brought on my Lord Jesus and my God. But hear this, my enemy, I will rise. I will rise. (Proverbs 24:16, "...for the righteous falls seven times and rises again")
“When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” When I sin, I feel as if I am sitting in darkness. I feel miserable. I feel guilty because I am guilty. But that is not all that is true about me and my God. The same God who makes my darkness is a sustaining light to me in this very darkness. He will not forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).
“I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me.” It is true that when the devil tells you that you have sinned, he is right. Until I confess my sin I am bearing the indignation of the Lord. But that is where the devil's using the truth against me stops and my theology begins: God, the very one who is indignant with me, will also plead my cause. The devil lies and says that God is against me and that I have no future with him because of my sin. That is a lie from the pit of hell and Satan is a liar!(John 8:44) My God, whose Son’s life is my righteousness and whose Son’s death is my punishment, will execute judgment for me. For me! FOR me! And not against me.
“He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.” This I know for sure, as sure as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is my punishment and my righteousness, God will bring me out to the light, and I will look upon his righteousness, my Lord and my God.
Now that is a picture of how to think and act when you sin against God whose whole disposition toward you is almighty mercy, free grace, and omnipotent love. He will not always handle you gently. But he will always love you. And always be for you and not against you (Romans 8:31).
So we must take our sins seriously. We hate them because God does. We must see them as a contradiction of who we are in Christ and a contradiction of our Father's love. We must confess our sins (1 John 1:9). We look to the cross where all our pardon and righteousness was fully secured. We accept the Father's displeasure and discipline, and may dwell in darkness for a season. But if our enemy rejoices and says to us in our sorrow, "See, God is against you. He is angry. You are guilty and under his condemnation," then we will say, with the authority of Romans 8:1 and on the basis of Jesus Christ's death and righteousness, and in the words of Micah 7, "Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will see His righteousness."
That is what I mean by gutsy guilt. I do not know any other way to persevere in the Christian life in view of my constant failings. I do not know any other way to stay on course for the cause of Christ. I do not know any other way to live with God, others, and myself in peace, assurance, and rest in my soul. I do not know any other way to maintain hope, faithfulness, and fruitfulness in ministry, than this gutsy guilt: When I fall I will rise . . . though I have sinned, the very one against whom I have sinned will plead my case and execute justice for me - not against me, but FOR me!
Oh, love this truth, dear reader! Love and live this truth with all your might and all your faith. Do not let the devil have the final word over your sin.
Resting in the finished work of Christ,
Pastor Bill
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