Episode 10 - Discernment
Welcome back to Proverbs 9:10 Ministries Podcast, No Trash, Just Truth! We’re your hosts and founders of Proverbs 9:10 Ministries, Chris Paxson and Rose Spiller. If you were with us last time when we talked about the work of the Holy Spirit, you may have wondered why didn’t talk about the fact that one of the things He does is convict us of our sin. We are going to deal with that subject today, as well as talk about the guilt and shame that comes with sin, and where we can find hope, and where hope is not found. Chris, I think the place to start with this is to say that there are two aspects of guilt we call guilt: the guilty feelings, and our actual, or objective guilt for breaking the commands of God.
When it comes to our objective guilt, everyone has broken God’s law and, therefore, all are guilty. It doesn’t matter whether we’ve ever read or been told God’s law or not, whether we’ve ever held a Bible in our hands, or not. All men are guilt of breaking God’s law. Romans 1 tells us that no one is without excuse because God as revealed Himself – His eternal power and Divine nature – in creation, so everyone is without excuse.
Exactly. And, because every person is an image bearer of God, both believers and non-believers can and do (at least sometimes) feel guilt. Humans have a conscience – a sense of right and wrong. Even non-Christians acknowledge this.
But we have to remember, what our feelings are telling us (or not telling us, as the case may be) has nothing to do with our standing before God. Having feelings of guilt does nothing to save us, and not feeling guilty about something doesn’t mean that we aren’t guilty! Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” If we haven’t asked God to forgive our sins and trusted in what Jesus has done for our salvation, we’re not Christians, and God has not forgiven us! Likewise, 1 John 1:8-9 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness.”Rose, you mentioned our conscience. Can you talk a little about trusting our conscience?
Our conscience is not always something we can rely on to tell us right and wrong. It has the basics of the moral law, but our consciences have been affected by the Fall, and are not 100% reliable and trustworthy when it comes to knowing God’s law. Our consciences must be aligned with Gods Word. This is what the Holy Spirit does working in us as we read, study and hear God’s Word shaping us and growing us. So as we grow, our conscience will more and more be aligned with Gods Word and will more and more respond correctly.
However, sometimes our conscience can become seared and we can be hardened by sin to the point where we will ignore our conscience and do what we want! The Apostle Paul says that sin can make our consciences totally unreliable and can even make us suppress what we know is true.
. We can become more and more hardened, and actually begin to call evil, good and good, evil! Sin ruins everything!
Sin can be kind of sneaky. Sometimes we start out doing something we know is not right, but at the same time it doesn’t make us feel that bad either. But after while, even things that didn’t seem that bad at the beginning can bring guilt and shame (the baggage of sin) and it can get pretty weighty!
You’re right, Rose. You know, sin often feels “okay” or even “good” at first, but after while you feel like you can’t even move any longer. The burden of sin, and the guilt and shame it can bring, is like my neighbor and I who used to walk together every morning. We used to walk our dogs together, and then go back out for another round to get some real exercise for ourselves. One day, we decided on round two to take some money and stop at the Amish produce stand to get a few things because the stand is only about a half mile from our houses. When we got there, I got the bright idea to buy a watermelon. Not a big one, a small one that they could fit in a grocery bag. Rose, I have to tell you….by the time we got to the end of their long lane, I wanted to ditch that watermelon and we still had a quarter of a mile to go! It seemed fine to carry the watermelon at first; and like I said, it wasn’t very big – but the farther we carried it (my neighbor helped me carry it) the heavier it seemed to get, and it felt like we had ten miles to carry it, not a half mile! Our sin can be like that!
That brings up another point we should talk about. Some believers feel plagued with guilty feelings, even after having repented. Sometimes it’s like they just can’t let it go, or like they can’t forgive themselves.
The Holy Spirit is the One who convicts us of our sin and often uses our guilty feelings to do it.If a Christian has repented of their sin and turned to Christ, he or she should not have persistent feelings of guilt and condemnation. Satan is called “the accuser of the brethren” in Revelation 12:10. In fact, that verse goes on to say that he “accuses them day and night before God.” But the Holy Spirit does just the opposite for the believer.
Absolutely! If we’ve repented and believed in Jesus’ work for forgiveness, the Holy Spirit give us hope, joy and peace in believing, according to Romans 15:13. At times when we don’t feel forgiven and our guilt is getting the best of us, we must believe the words of Scripture. God’s promises to us in His Word trump Satan’s lies – so don’t buy into them!
Rose, that’s a great point for Christians to remember! But let’s move on now and talk abut an unbeliever who feels his or her conscience being pricked, or who is feeling guilt and shame over thing’s they’ve done wrong. Where can they go to have their sense of peace restored?
Genesis 2:25 tells us Adam and Eve walked naked in the Garden of Eden and “were not ashamed,” even in front of God. But once they sinned, they felt the need to cover themselves. In the moment they sinned, something inside of them changed, and they felt the need to cover themselves. Everything changed in their relationship at that point. They felt they needed to hide things from each other – the freedom of being open with each other and letting it all hang out was gone. The feelings of guilt and shame caused by their sin, like you said, ruined it. And when God comes into the picture, they feel something else in addition to guilt and shame – they are terrified!
And they try to hide from God. We want to hide the sin in our lives from each other and from God. We can do a pretty good job hiding it from each other, but God knows everything and like you said, it terrified Adam and Eve, and it should terrify us!.
And, Chris, I think this would be a good time to say that if any of our listeners are feeling the weight of their sin, or guilt that they can’t get rid of, we’d encourage you to pray and ask God for that forgiveness right now! Don’t wait!
I’m so glad you mentioned that, Rose. And we know that He will forgive, 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness.”
Chris, People walking around with the weight of unnecessary guilt and shame is exactly why it’s so important that to get the gospel message right. But one thing we haven’t touched on yet is the question a lot of people have – “How do we know Christians are the ones who get it right when it comes to God
Lets talk about that. Lets also answer the questions do all paths lead to Heaven? – and someone “believing in God”, save them? So, Rose, let’s start by talking about other religions. Do all religious paths lead to God?
Well, the truth is, yes! No matter which religious path you take, and even if you don’t follow any religion, one day you will stand before your Creator. The thing that matters is, what will He say to you when you get there. Will He say “Come, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Or will He say, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” in John 14:6. It doesn’t get much clearer than that. Like we’ve said in previous episodes, asking God for forgiveness and believing in and trusting that Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross in your place satisfies the wrath of God you deserve, is the only way to have eternal life in Heaven and escape punishment.
For those of you who are listening who are already saved by Jesus, we’re going to take a few minutes now and talk about out witness. How do we evangelize to people who are very different from us. Those from“every tribe and language and people and nation” according to Revelation 5:9.
Here are principles to use in tailoring your witness to unbelievers or people from other faiths from By Freddie Davis of Market Faith Ministries:
Have a clear understanding of Biblical doctrine. Focus on Biblical teaching about God and the work of Jesus Christ, the plan of salvation and life after death. Take the initiative and establish a friendly relationship with the person. Listen carefully to see what they believe. Establish the sole authority of the Bible. Define all terms clearly. Focus on basic issues – don’t get sidetracked by specific issues or arguments over specific denominations. Share your testimony of faith in Jesus. Explain carefully the Bible plan of salvation (the Gospel). Pray and trust the Holy Spirit to lead you in your witnessing.
Like we said in an earlier episode, what we are taught about salvation is what we will rely on for salvation. What we are taught about God or not taught about God will become our foundation of who He is. How well we know and understand the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament, and understand it’s theological and doctrinal truths will affect every aspect of our lives
There are a lot of false gospels out there today. Some are completely devoid of the truth. Others are half-truths, not the complete Gospel message. To end this episode, we’ll briefly mention some things being taught today that are NOT the Gospel.
Declaring that “Jesus is Lord” alone is not the Gospel. Jesus is both Lord and Messiah. If you claim He is Lord of your life, you will want to make sure He is your Savior first!
We talked about this one in episode 2 - “Just ask Jesus into your heart” is not the Gospel.
Did you know that this phrase is not anywhere in the Bible? It’s confusing, it tells the person absolutely nothing they need to know to be saved, and it’s even been called “the greatest heresy in the American, Evangelical, and Protestant church.”
Getting people to say the “sinner’s prayer” without letting them know why they need a Savior is not the Gospel. People need to know that they are sinners and enemies of God who need to trust in Jesus’ finished work on the cross.
We’ve mentioned this one before, too, but your testimony is not the Gospel. Testimonies are wonderful ways to share what God has done in your life and may be a great lead in to sharing the actual Gospel, but your testimony is your experiences, and you can’t save people with your story alone. The Gospel message is what people need to hear to respond and be saved.
Doing deeds of mercy and justice are not the same as spreading the Gospel. While these good works are important and a great way to forge a relationship with someone, you have to actually use words to tell them the Gospel message. That old adage, “Preach the Gospel at all times, use words only when necessary,” is a lie. Just doing good deeds for someone does not tell them that they are in need of a Savior.
Transforming the culture into a moralistic society is not the Gospel. Legislating God-honoring laws is a good thing to do, but legislation doesn’t produce heart change, and morals never save anyone.
Partnering with God to bring the Kingdom to Earth is not the Gospel. Helping the poor in tangible ways is important and helping people should be an outworking of the Christian life, but no matter how much good work we do on Earth, it is not the same as sharing the Gospel, and it will not bring the Kingdom here. God does not need us as a partner to do anything!
Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” Let’s make sure we do the work of the Great Commission fully by spreading the correct and complete Gospel message. For without it, there is no salvation.
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