At last night's LIFE group meeting we picked up the thread again of our studies through Romans 5-8 with a reminder that the Christian will still struggle with the lingering presence of forgiven sin while at the same time experiencing a revulsion against its seductive influence in our lives: "what I hate, I do" (Rom 7: 15).
Anyway, as we dipped into Romans 8:1, the conversation turned towards the 'guilt' that we needlessly carry around as believers, a real problem for young Christians and those who don't fully appreciate the security of 'no condemnation' (at all, ever) for those who have been justified entirely by God's grace. Bryan Chapell's counsel is so helpful:
"We won't discover the joy that is our strength for Christian service if we have not claimed the mercy that frees us from all guilt at the cross. Thus, Luther taught that remorse prior to the cross is of God [MG: 'true guilt'], but after true repentance beneath the cross such self-reproach is of Satan [MG: 'false guilt']. Our Adversary wants us to believe that Christ's blood is not sufficient to
cleanse confessed sin. We become susceptible to his lie when we begin to doubt the power of the cross fully to cancel our guilt, for then we will begin to live (and fall) in the strength of our own efforts."
Holiness By Grace (Crossway), p.192.
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