This song fits perfectly with this week's "Sunday Preaching" broadcast. It's "You're Not Guilty Anymore" by Aaron Keyes. The lyrics are beneath the video. (Thanks to Beverly Daniel for making me aware of this song.)
Not Guilty Anymore
It doesn’t matter what you’ve done;
It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from
Doesn’t matter where you’ve been,
Hear me tell you I forgive
You’re not guilty anymore, you’re not filthy anymore,
I love you, mercy is yours
You’re not broken anymore, you’re not captive anymore,
I love you, mercy is yours
Can you believe that this is true, grace abundant I am giving you
Cleansing deeper than you know, all was paid for long ago
You’re not guilty anymore, you’re not filthy anymore,
I love you, mercy is yours
You’re not broken anymore, you’re not captive anymore,
I love you, mercy is yours
There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Jesus.
You’re not guilty anymore, you’re not filthy anymore,
I love you, mercy is yours
You’re not broken anymore, you’re not captive anymore,
I love you, mercy is yours
You are spotless
You are holy
You are faultless
You are whole
You are righteous
You are blameless
You are pardoned
You are mine!
You’re not guilty anymore, you’re not filthy anymore,
I love you, mercy is yours
You’re not broken anymore, you’re not captive anymore,
I love you, mercy is yours
Steve;
ReplyDeleteI realize that God has forgiven my sins and I shouldn't feel condemnation...but what should a person do when the consequences of your sin is staring you in the face every second of every day and you know that because of a sin you commited your life as you know it could end at any moment. It's fine and dandy that God has forgiven me but my circimstances will not allow me to forget what I have done and I feel guilty.
That's a very good question, Dave. It points to the reality that forgiveness doesn't necessarily exempt us from the consequences of our actions in this life. We don't forget the things we've done, nor does God forget. The Bible says that He doesn't "remember" them. There's a big difference. To not remember doesn't mean to forget. "Re" means to do something again. "Member" means "to join together with something." If I accidentally cut off my finger, a doctor may be able to "remember" it. God promises to never remember our sin again - to not join it to us nor Himself.
ReplyDeleteA key in dealing with our own sins is to realize that He will never hold us accountable for them again. Others may and there may indeed be a price to pay THEM for what we've done. But we can choose to forgive ourselves and not re-member those sins in our own lives again. Our mind is renewed when we forgive ourselves as we remind ourselves that our Father has forgiven us and so we may now live in self-forgiveness. If there are consequences to bear as a result of our past choices, He will give us the grace and strength to fact them moment by moment.
As to feeling condemnation, the answer is to look to His acceptance and to learn that if He accepts us, we can accept ourselves. God gets the final verdict on our lives - not ourselves and not others. And He has said, "There is NO condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." It is as we see ourselves through His eyes that we begin to experience that in our own emotions and thoughts. It may be a gradual thing but it will happen as He renews our minds to the truth.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteSimply and purely wonder-filled, our Father is!
Thank you so much for this.
Now that's a confession of faith I will shout from the rooftops!!
ReplyDeleteI spent way too many years in a denomination that made a corporate confessions of sin weekly as part of the worship service. Standing together we'd recite a confession how unrighteous, unholy, wretched and disobedient we are and had been the past week. We'd then each silently before God do some introapective, broken and contrite housecleaning of your heart's landfill, confess your sins of omission and commission and vow (in God's strength) to do a better job next week. Then we'd recite a corporate confession of faith giving glory to God for His grace and mercy to us in Christ and then hear a declaration of assurance of salvation.
In 2007/2008, while doing an in-depth study of Galatians while also reading Grace Walk and Gracr Rules(I truly was desperate to know, understand and live in freedom from a failure-focused Christian life), my mind, heart and ears became so sensitively fin-tuned to God's love, grace and mercy to His adopted children in and through Christ Jesus AND to messages of legalism and self-righteousness. Once finding true freedom, who wants to continue to live in or near the prison of a self-driven effort to obtain what God offers freely in Christ!
Thank you so much Ste4ve for sharing this song. I will be sharing this mwith many people who need to hear this message in song. I am a Grace Warrior!! To Bod be the glory!!