16 - Guilt Free | Pastor Jim Cymbala | The Brooklyn Tabernacle

About this sermon

…I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. – Philippians 3:8-9 “The torment of guilt has been a recurrent problem for great men and women of God down through the ages and remains a challenge for every Christian today. Living with guilt causes us to live under a cloud—our joy and peace are affected, and we find it difficult to share the good news of Jesus with others. As Christians, we know doctrinally that our sins are gone, because of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. But after we come to Christ, we often revert to doing good works in order to feel good about ourselves and to show God that we are serious about our new life in Christ. The result is that our feelings end up fluctuating, depending on the temptations that come our way and the situations we are thrown into. What contributes to this roller coaster of emotions and guilt is the fact that Satan, who is also called the Accuser, looks to rob our joy and our effectiveness for God by condemning us. He accuses us to God, and he also accuses us to ourselves. And we listen. Then comes guilt. Yet Romans 8:1 says, ‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ So we’re supposed to live guilt-free. But how? The apostle Paul, writing to the Philippian church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, let us in on the secret. Paul said that he didn’t want a righteousness of his own that came from striving to do good works and looking inward to see if he was good enough; for if we are saved by the law, then Jesus died in vain. Paul said that he wanted instead the righteousness of Christ that God gives to every Christian as a gift on the basis of faith. It’s not our righteousness, because we didn’t do the good works to earn it; but it is our righteousness, because God gave it to us. So we see that our right standing with God has nothing to do with how well or poorly we do on a given day. Once we repent of our sins and put our trust in Jesus, we have his righteousness. It’s not about us; it’s about Jesus. No wonder Scripture speaks about the great salvation God has given us through faith in his Son Jesus Christ.” – Pastor Cymbala Why do we battle guilt even after we are saved? How does it affect our Christian life? What is the trap of good works that we can all fall into? Why do Christians fall into this trap? How does Satan contribute to our guilt? What is the apostle Paul’s secret to living guilt-free? Where does our right standing with God come from? ________________________________________________________________________ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfmIDNINOUtmEzL4Hqgstxg?sub_confirmation=1 Stay Connected: https://www.brooklyntabernacle.org/ https://www.facebook.com/TheBrooklynTabernacle/ https://twitter.com/jimcymbala https://www.instagram.com/thebrooklyntabernacle/ Give: https://www.brooklyntabernacle.org/giving Request prayer: https://www.brooklyntabernacle.org/prayer #BrooklynTabernacle #JimCymbala #BrooklynTab

Topics

• Forgiveness
• Leadership
• Overcoming Obstacles