Forgiving Yourself

Forgiving Yourself!

Psalms 103:10-14 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
14 For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. NASU

1 John 3:19-21 We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him
20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;
NASU

Introduction:

Samuel Johnson “How guilt, once harbored in the conscious breast, intimidates the brave and degrades the rest. “

Today I would like to concentrate on the unwarranted sense of Guilt that many Christians feel. I’m not talking about the guilt of sin produce by un-confessed sin but the feeling of guilt we have for mistakes we made in our past that haunt us still even after we bring them to God.

Guilt we experience as a result of un-confessed sin in our lives is a proper response. Sometimes this guilt may linger for a while as a consequence of grieving the Holy Ghost. That is a proper guilt. To ignore that kind of guilt is as dangerous as harboring unforgiveness against yourself. Guilt is made by God to guard the conscience. They become callous Eph 4:19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

However, there are those that may understand that God forgives us and they may even have forgiven those that have wronged them. But the freedom of forgiveness escapes them.

They feel no peace as a result of holding unforgiveness towards themselves.

1. Consequences of Not forgiving ourselves

The problem is that some of us seem unable to forgive our self. We think we are beyond forgiveness for what we have done. What we feel is a disappointment in ourselves. We feel like the greater our sin the less our chance of forgiveness. Remember sin is sin before God. So if all sin is the same in God’s sight, none bigger or smaller so when he forgives us he forgives all our sins. Nowhere in the bible does it says after salvation God forgives us of all our sins except….But when we choose not to forgive ourselves as he does, the consequence will be a self directed unforgiving spirit.

Amputees often experience some sensation of a phantom limb. Somewhere, locked in their brains, a memory lingers of the nonexistent hand or leg. Invisible toes curl, imaginary hands grasp things, a "leg" feels so sturdy a patient may try to stand on it. For a few, the experience includes pain. Doctors watch helplessly, for the part of the body screaming for attention does not exist.
One such patient was my medical school administrator, Mr. Barwick, who had a serious and painful circulation problem in his leg but refused to allow the recommended amputation. As the pain grew worse, Barwick grew bitter. "I hate it! I hate It!" he would mutter about the leg. At last he relented and told the doctor, "I can’t stand it anymore. I’m through with that leg. Take it off.