WHAT IF?

                                                        WHAT IF?


INDEX:
- WHAT IF?
- WHAT IF WE DID REPENT, ASK FORGIVENESS, BUT STILL FEEL GUILTY OR CONDENMED?
THE DEVIL'S FOOTHOLD
- THE YEAR OF JUBILEE
- TRUE AND FALSE GUILT
- DISCERNING BETWEEN WORLDLY GUILT AND THE CONVICTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
  1 - IS IT BREAKING THE LAWS OF GOD?
  2-  SOCIETY'S LAWS
  3- WHAT ABOUT RELIGIOUS LAWS?
A - GODLY SORROW
B - WORLDLY SORROW
- WHAT IF I KEEP FALLING AT THE SAME THING?
- WHEN WE HAVE FAILED, WHERE DO WE START?
-WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE REALIZE THAT WE HAVE BEEN UNDER OUR OWN YOKE, AND OR THE YOKE OF MAN, AND NOT OF GOD?
- WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FORGIVENESS, AND REAPING WHAT WE HAVE SOWN? 
- WHAT IF WE HAVE SINNED SO GREVIOUSLY?
- CONCLUSION


WHAT IF?
Typically, Biblical teachings are often discussed from more of an idealistic perspective, the way we think things should be. But the New Testament approaches life from a redemptive perspective since many lives have not been ideal, whether by their fault, or no fault of their own. Some have traveled the hard road, done things that they not only regret, but cannot change. Some may have failed the Lord terribly and made bad choices and are now reaping the consequences. Marriages have failed, and either one or likely perhaps both parties were at fault. And the list goes on… Dear friends, all of us have failed in some way or other “There is none righteous, no not one...all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3:10,23.  I realize that may be of little consolation to those who have suffered much distress, nor does it ease their conscience or relieve their doubts and fears, but there is Fantastic News. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost Luke 19:10, “to preach the Gospel (Good News) to the poor,...to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind and set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19

 Jesus Christ has accomplished all this for us, and in Him and Him alone is complete forgiveness, healing, and redemption (buying us back from our sinful/lost state), any of us who have known the Lord can testify to this by experience.
THE FANTASTIC NEWS!!!

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, died on that cross for our sins and rose again from the dead three days later as a declaration of complete victory for us over all our sins, the devil, death, and the grave. This is the GOSPEL, the GOOD NEWS!!! 1 Corinthians 15, Colossians 2:14-15.

“Behold, the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

 Dear friends, this is not religious cliché, this is the REALITY.

WHAT IF WE DID REPENT, ASK FORGIVENESS, BUT STILL FEEL GUILTY OR CONDENMED? 
“For if our heart condemns us, God is Greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart condemns us not , then have we confidence before God.” 1 John 3:20-21

 We lay hold on the promises of God by faith in His unfailing Character Who honors His Word “…Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, and He was called the friend of God.” James 2:23 - We are to take our stand on the Promises of His Word, and move ahead accordingly by faith and obedience. Remember, we have an adversary, the devil, who is the accuser of the brothers (Revelation 12:10), and we must resist his lies and accusations. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?...” Romans 8:33-35
 In other words, if we have genuinely repented and believed the Gospel, yet we let our feelings rule us, the devil will torment us with the past until we stand on and believe the promises of the Word of God.


THE DEVIL'S FOOTHOLD
NOTE - Jesus said something interesting, "...for the prince of this world is coming, and has nothing in Me." John 14:30 Sometimes the devil has a hold on us perhaps because there is something that we may be secretly, or even ignorantly, holding on to. As long as we are holding on to something we should not, like a lust, or unforgiveness, he can still torment us. If this is a possibility, we are to pray about it and find out if it be so and repent. The Lord does not play games with us. If there is truly something between He and us, He will let us know. If we seek Him earnestly about it and can find nothing, then the devil is just tormenting us and will do so until we take our stand in Christ.

THE YEAR OF JUBILEE

 In the days of the Old Testament, under the Law, every fifty years was the YEAR of JUBILEE, from the Hebrew – a joy, a rejoicing… Leviticus 25. During that year all debts were completely forgiven/cancelled and every Israelite who lost their land or was sold into slavery was to be released. When Jesus came He ushered in the Acceptable Year of the Lord, the Jubilee where all sinners’ debts were cancelled before God in Christ Jesus. Mind you, it came at an unimaginably high price - He paid for it through His suffering and death, but with unfathomable LOVE!

 What does that mean for you and I? As we come to God the Father through His only Begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ, our sins have been forgiven, the debt against us has been paid in full and cancelled before God, and we have a brand new start.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12 (the east and the west never really meet when travelling in the same direction).

“You will AGAIN have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19 NIV

 So what did you do that Jesus' Sacrifice was not enough and that God cannot forgive when you make your stand of faith in Jesus Christ?

NOTE: In return God expects us to cancel/forgive the debts that others may owe us. “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors…For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive you.” Matthew 6:12,15, 18:21-35 NAS

TRUE AND FALSE GUILT

 Before we pursue the issues for recovering from sin and error, we must first establish the difference between genuine guilt and false or man-made guilt. Obviously we are not referring to the guilt we should experience if we kill, commit adultery, lie, steal, blaspheme…

FALSE OR MAN-MADE GUILT

“Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men…’” Mark 7:6-7, Isaiah 29:13

 Religion, or man-made efforts to be pleasing to God produces all kinds of laws, traditions, regulations and binds their adherents to them believing that these will please God, and of course keep them faithful to their religion. The Truth sets free John 8:32,14:6, and when we know the Lord, His Word, and experience His amazing grace, all guilt falls by the wayside when we turn to Him by faith. Thomas Kempis said it like this; “He to whom the Eternal Word speaks is set at liberty from a multitude of opinions.”

 

DISCERNING BETWEEN WORLDLY GUILT AND THE CONVICTION OF  HOLY SPIRIT

1 – IS IT BREAKING THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD?

 There are scores of man-made rules and regulations, including our own that can enslave us, and woe be to us if we should violate even one of them.  What I am saying here is that just because you broke a self-made law or anyone else’s, does not mean that you sinned against God. How does this law or ritual fit in the commandments of the God of the Bible and in the covenant of the New Testament? When we come to the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus our Lord and SAVIOR, the liberty we find frees us from the slavery of not only the heavy yokes, but also from the guilt they can bring when we do not obey them. Jesus said that His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. Following Jesus is not built on a list of traditions and do's and don'ts, but a grace that enables us to live a holy and godly life that does not in any way break God's laws, but frees us from yokes of duty that we cannot bear.

 In 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 the apostle Paul explains the difference between godly sorrow/remorse, and a worldly guilt. “For sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong. In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.” NAS

 So, is the guilt you feel the result of disobeying man, or disobeying God? What does the Bible say about it?


2 - SOCIETY'S LAWS

IS THERE A TIME TO HAVE VALID GUILT FOR DISOBEYING MAN’S LAWS?

  Absolutely! The Bible teaches us to “Submit to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake.” 1 Peter 2:13. Depending on the laws and regulations, who is implementing them, and their purpose, we must be careful to obey. In Romans 13, the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul is admonishing us to be careful to obey the authorities of the land because the rulers and police are the servants of God who are to carry out His laws in the land. And most of those laws are for our good, like the traffic laws. If we break them we should expect to be punished accordingly, aside from the actual danger that the law is trying to prevent. And, as the Scriptures here state, to disobey them is to disobey the Lord who gave them that responsibility. True, not all the laws they implement are of God, but that is another issue. All the other laws we are to comply with, we do as unto the Lord.

3- WHAT ABOUT RELIGIOUS LAWS? -  Here we are referring to manmade religious rules, rituals, and regulations that are not the commandments of the Lord, but more the traditions and assumptions of men. In the Book of Acts 21:23-26, we can see how Paul would submit to traditions that he himself personally did not bind himself to, but for the sake of winning the confidence of those to whom he was serving, he willingly submitted.

 In every church there are traditions that are not an issue with God, and whichever one you are attending should be no issue with you. If you are feeling guilty about failing in one of these, go (prayerfully) to the Scriptures of the NEW TESTAMENT, because that is the covenant we are under with God, and see what the Lord has to say about that particular situation. All we need to do is to remember that our righteousness (right standing with God) is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in Him alone, and not according to any of our works. We then walk in love. So if you so chose to partake of these rituals or traditions, remember that they in themselves do not make us any more righteous with God than if we do not do them, nor a sinner if you do not unless you bind yourself to it. Jesus Christ is our righteousness. 1 Corinthians 8:8

One word of caution; be ever so leery about making vows.
“Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37

 

A - The godly sorrow/guilt leads to a genuine and zealous repentance. The heart of our Heavenly Father is to ever keep us in right relationship with Him. In various ways He brings it to our attention when we have transgressed His commandments. Perhaps by the conviction of His Holy Spirit and or by hearing the Word of God via any number of ways on that particular topic, we begin to feel the guilt and even the shame of transgression. We then lose our peace with Him and a wall begins to grow between us. Hopefully we seize the opportunity and turn back to Him with all our heart. Like the prodigal son (Luke 15) we humble ourselves, make it right at any cost, and run back into His loving arms.

B - Worldly sorrow/guilt leads to death because it is condemning and provides no HOPE. It is a device of the devil who comes “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” John 10:10, and our flesh, like a whipped dog, tags along. This guilt is destructive, and if we have actually broken one of God’s laws, it is a reaped guilt, but one that disregards the unfathomable mercy and grace of God in Christ Jesus. It places a sensation of an inescapable penalty, or a costly or even an unmanageable retribution with little or no hope for reconciliation offered, and a constant reminder of your sin. But Friends, we have JESUS!!!  He came to give us another chance time and again on terms and conditions that He Himself paid for and provided, and that includes the repentance and faith we need to escape with. GLORY TO GOD! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!? NOTE!!! - This is not a license to play games with the grace of GOD!!!

 

WHAT IF WE KEEP FAILING AT THE SAME THING?

If we keep failing at the same thing there are at least two likely causes:

1 – We actually love our sin, but may hate the consequences.  We may even be aware that it is a sin against God, but cannot let it go because of our attachment to it. Therefore, our repentance is not fully genuine, nor will we, in that condition, be able to find the grace to escape it. Hosea 7:14

2 – There may be a root cause that we are not identifying. We may be striking at the fruit of our actions, but not removing the actual motivating force. For instance a person who struggles with unforgiveness may not be able to break free from alcoholism. In Acts 8:23, the apostle Peter identifies the root sins of Simon, who formerly practiced sorcery but then believed the Gospel through the preaching of Philip. Yet he still coveted power by wanting to purchase the ability to give the Gift of the Holy Spirit when he watched Peter and John lay hands on the believers so they could receive the Holy Spirit. This attitude is an affront to God, and by the word of knowledge Peter called him on it and showed him the root of his sin, "...for I perceive that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity." Because of these he was still stumbling into a lust for power though he had formerly turned to Jesus.

 

 WHEN HAVE FAILED - WHERE DO WE START?

“He that covers his sin shall not prosper, but he that confesses and FORSAKES shall find mercy.” Proverbs 28:13

“I acknowledged my sin unto You, and my iniquity have I not hid. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord.’ And you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” Psalm 32:5

  We need to come to the point where we stop in our tracks, HUMBLE ourselves, admit we are wrong, and surrender UNCONDITIONALLY and WHOLEHEARTEDLY. We take God at His Word and respond accordingly.

 One weekend I was exhausted and needed some undisturbed sleep. Not only was I living in the church at the time, but I was working night shifts as a custodian. Getting a rest in a busy public building can be difficult. There were two bachelor friends who were sharing an apartment and I asked if I could crash there for a couple of hours one afternoon. I was hoping that if I hid no one would bother me. One of the men of the church went looking for me because his son who was in his twenties was in trouble. My friends disclosed where I was (thanks buddies). He came to the apartment and knocked boldly on the door. I tried to ignore him but he persisted. When I finally yielded, I asked him what he wanted. He told me that his son Jim was arrested for theft and vandalism. He asked if I would talk to him about the Lord. I was deeply annoyed but I consented to have him bring him over considering the urgency of the request.

 Due of my lack of patience I was a rather curt with him. I asked him if He believed in Jesus. He said he did. “Do you believe that He died on  the cross for your sins and rose from the dead?” He said he did. “Do you want to ask Him to be the Lord of your life?” Again he agreed. So I had him confess and surrender his life to the Lord in prayer then and there.

 Being the skeptic that I had become after seeing a number of people go through the motions I told him. “If you have really repented of your sins and turned your life to Jesus, then this is what you must do. You must turn yourself in to the police, admit your guilt, make restitution for the damage you caused, and accept whatever consequences that are laid on you.”

 I really doubted he would do it because it seems so many people want an easy out by giving lip service to God just to escape the consequences of their actions. Well, to my total surprise he went and did everything that I told him to. But the impact of his conversion did not stop there. Sometime later, while I was working at the church school, the principal (a super good brother) came and told me that there was someone who wanted to see me, it was Jim’s girlfriend. She was in tears. I took her aside to hear her out, but was fearful that I was going to get blasted. She said, “What happened to Jim? Whatever he has, I want it too.”

 In my unworthy honor I also got to lead her to the Lord. Shortly afterwards they were married.

  When we turn to the Lord after a confession of faith, the fruits of a genuine repentance should follow. Remember Zacchaeus the tax collector mentioned in Luke 19. He did not stop at having the Lord in his house, but followed through by promising to give half of his goods to the poor, and if he had taken anything from someone by false accusation he would restore it fourfold. It must have been a genuine confession, because Jesus took him at his word. You see, he followed through by doing what is right. Rightly a man may say, “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you min faith by my works (the things I do, how I live my life).” James 2:18 

WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE REALIZE THAT WE HAVE BEEN UNDER OUR OWN YOKE, AND OR THE YOKE OF MAN, AND NOT OF GOD?

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36, “…only use not your liberty as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13

FOLLOW HIS LEADING

 As in everything it is so critical that we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and keep growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, especially through His Word. The Lord knows what we need and what we need to do, because frankly, we rarely know ourselves. What I am trying to say here is that some people can continue in the state they are already in, like their particular church, and still abide in the liberty of the Lord, but others may need to get a new start somewhere else because of the tendency of falling back into the same old bondage. Read Galatians and watch how Paul addresses that church for falling back into religious legalism after finding the liberty in Jesus Christ. Not to worry, He loves you and you will know what to do at the time. Beware of pride. It is a great hindrance and deceiver. The Lord will show you the direction you should take and will make a way for you. Stay humble and teachable. If He is prompting you to make a change, do not delay. The longer you wait makes it harder to embrace the change you need.

 DO NOT START A CAMPAGNE

 A common tendency we can fall into when we find out we have been deceived, is  to begin to attack what we found to be in error. By doing so, we not only hurt many people unnecessarily, but also hinder some of the work and grace that the Lord was trying to do through you. We are to love people, especially His people, and leave the church to Him.

WHEN WE NEED TO SPEAK OUT

“Let your speech be always with grace, and seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man.” Colossians 4:6
 There are times when we must speak the truth and declare the Word of the Lord, but it must be done in humility and the fear of the Lord. You can the assertive if you are speaking the truth of the Word of God, but at the same time watch your spirit. I myself am learning the hard way that the Lord’s greatest concern at this point is to win the lost, and to protect His sheep. The things that are wrong He will deal with in His time and as He sees fit. If we are not walking in step with Him we may find ourselves working against Him and scattering instead of gathering.

"...but set  an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FORGIVENESS AND REAPING WHAT WE HAVE SOWN

“Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man sow, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. But he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Galatians 6:7-8

 When we have repented before God through Christ Jesus, we are forgiven and there is “now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…” Romans 8:1. What we need to understand is that the punishment we deserve from God has been paid for by His Son, so that we need no longer fear His retribution; however, we may have to still reap in this world from the bad fruit that we have sown. If we realize this it can be a useful deterrent from making a bad choice. I remember watching a film regarding an Indian (first nations) uprising. When the leader was captured by the white men he was thrown into prison awaiting his trial. He was a God fearing man, and when he asked his companion if the white man’s God would forgive him his friend answered, “The white man’s God will forgive you, but not the white man.” I am not relaying this to make some kind of social or political statement, but to point out that our actions not only may be a sin and hurt the Lord, but likely will hurt people as well, and they may not be so forgiving. In fact almost all our sins have hurt others, that is what sin does.
 There are also the laws of the land that must be upheld as previously mentioned. Furthermore, there are the natural laws that carry consequences which we also may reap when we break them, like contracting communicable diseases if we engage in sexual sins, drugs, and so on. Dear friends, this is not a game we are in, and we must take life and eternity seriously at all times. A short ‘SLIP UP’ can be ever so damaging and vastly harmful, and not only to ourselves. Look at the danger of drinking and driving as an easy example. Oh by His grace let us all be diligently careful!

WHAT IF WE SINNED SO GREVIOUSLY?
- FIGHT THE URGE TO HIDE - Adam and Eve tried to hide from God when they disobeyed and had eaten of the forbidden fruit. Sin causes us to want to avoid God. We need to do the opposite and flee to Him. He is the Only One Who can cleanse, help, and heal us.
- GET HELP - There are godly men and women who can help you find the grace of God, and counsel you in Christ for your situation. You need not face it alone; however, if you are in a situation where you cannot find help, Jesus has given you His Holy Spirit, the Comforter, Who will guide you into all truth, and the Bible which contains all the information you and I need to live before God in His grace.
- YOUR SITUATION IS NOT HOPELESS - If you are tempted to believe you are unredeemable, look at this verse, "AND BY HIM (JESUS CHRIST) ALL THAT BELIEVE ARE JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS, FROM WHICH YOU COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW OF MOSES." ACTS 13:39 
 This is amazing news!!! Under the law of Moses there were no sacrifices that could atone for breaking any of the first seven laws, and that includes murder and adultery. The death penalty was the only answer. In Christ Jesus, even the murder and adulterer can be completely forgiven. You sill may have serious consequences that you will reap from your actions, but before God in CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR, you can be completely forgiven and cleansed. Run to Him, surrender to Him, and abide in Him! You can be SAVED, FORGIVEN, CLEANSED, and have a new start. How people will respond, well he have to leave that to the Lord and trust Him.
- MOVE AHEAD! - God forbid, but if we fall, we reconcile with God and then move ahead. Look at King David. He had committed adultery and basically murdered her (Bathsheba's) husband by having Uriah exposed in combat. God forgave David, but he paid ever so dearly, and not only him, but the nation because that was his sphere of responsibility. What is amazing about David's faith is that he humbled himself, confessed he was wrong, and took the consequences. Still, while facing all that, he continued to keep moving ahead in his responsibilities in spite of the guilt and shame incurred by his transgression. That takes tremendous faith and trust in the grace and mercy of God. "LET US THEREFORE COME BOLDLY UNTO THE THRONE OF GRACE, THAT WE MAY OBTAIN MERCY, AND FIND GRACE TO HELP IN TIME OF NEED." HEBREWS 4:16


- CLEAN UP THE ISSUES THAT LED TO  YOUR FAILURE- TAKE OWNERSHIP AND BE RESPONSIBLE
This is especially important for those whose marriages have failed (I am in no way promoting divorce as a solution to marital problems "'For I hate divorce,'" says the Lord, the God of Israel). If there was anything in you that caused or helped to contribute to the failure of your marriage, deal with it before you get into another relationship and bring that baggage of perhaps selfishness and inconsideration, and unleash it on another unsuspecting victim. 
- FORGIVE AND RELEASE OTHERS THAT HAVE HURT YOU
Perhaps there is genuine fault in the actions of others, like parents, or your spouse, or it may be assumed. Regardless, in order to move ahead you  must absolutely and completely forgive and release them from all guilt and responsibility, or you will remain in bitterness and bondage until you do. What is more, if the memories fester again, they can cause you to fall back into old practices.
 - MAKE AMENDS WITH THOSE YOU HAVE HURT - This may not be so easy if a trust has been breached, or even possible; nevertheless, a wholehearted effort in humility may help heal severe wounds and damage. Again there may be situations where it may be best not to try, at least for the time being. Keep it in earnest prayer, and even seek godly, wise counsel. Taking ownership of our actions is not only admitting we have sinned..., but also asking forgiveness from those who  were affected or even suffered in the wake of our actions.
- TAKE UP THE CROSS AND FOLLOW JESUS  -
This time start off on the right foot. Live the life of freedom, faith, and love, by denying yourself, taking up your cross, and follow Jesus every day until He takes you home. What could be better?!


CONCLUSION - Our 'What if's' are no problem to God our Heavenly Father if we take them to the cross of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and leave it with Him. He loves us so much!