True Identity | Sermon Five

True Identity | Sermon Five – Grace Over Guilt

Chip Ingram,  Discover Your True Self “Shame and guilt go hand in hand, one feeding the other. They are partners of destruction, eroding our lives. And as we do with shame, most of us carry guilt around for years. Few emotions can distort our mirror and make us feel as dirty, ugly, unworthy, and unlovable as guilt does. And we all struggle with it – no exceptions.”

Grace is God’s antidote to guilt.

Ephesians 2:1-9 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”

The problems of the world begin in the human heart.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of  God.”

Because until you accept your need to be saved, you won’t accept the Savior.

Guilt is a poison disguised as a mood swing.

IMPACTS OF GUILT:

Guilt robs joy.

Guilt intercepts gratitude.

Guilt fogs memories.

Different types of guilt: 

Literal definition: guilt is the state of having committed an offense. Opposite of innocence.  Missing the mark of a standard or ideal. You mess up, you are guilty. 

Psychological definition: guilt is an emotional response to the perception that we have broken a  prohibition or fallen short of a standard. Thus, guilt can be both a fact and a feeling, and the two  are not necessarily related.

You don’t have to feel guilty to be guilty.

Romans 8:1 “There is now no condemnation for those who are IN Christ Jesus.”

Handling Guilt:

1. Identify guilt.
2. Seek forgiveness.
3. Release the burdon.
4.  Repeat