Why are we so afraid of confessing sin? Why are we so afraid of people seeing our sin? It blows me away how so many people who confess Jesus as their risen Savior, still hide their sin. The whole point of Jesus Christ dying our agonizing death was so we can be free from our sin, but it is hard to see how free we are if we are so captivated by fear. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love”. So you have to ask, “what is perfect love”? The answer is, THE CROSS!
If you believe in the crucified Savior, why are you so afraid of your sin? I know that God isn't afraid of your sin. Or moreover, God isn't trying to figure out what to do with your sin, because he crushed his Son for our sin. So it amazes me that we, as professing Christians, have so many tumultuous conversations over how we are to be careful around people’s sins. If you profess Jesus Christ as your crucified Savior how dare you be afraid of your sin? Jesus was not afraid to take on your sin! Jesus, who was perfect in every way took on your filth and was never afraid! Jesus, who took your shame and was nailed to the cross, He was never afraid. Not to mention he took all of your sin from birth to death so you don't have to bear the burden of sin. Being afraid of your sin is bearing the burden of sin. What I'm saying is, if Jesus wasn't afraid of your sin why are you?
Have you thought much about what exactly you are afraid of? I believe it to be shame. Thankfully as Christians we don't have permission to be ashamed by our sin because Jesus took our shame upon Himself. In Isaiah 50:6-7, Jesus faced shame and said, “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced.” The whole epicenter of the Cross was intended to shame Jesus. From the crowd asking for Barabbas, a filthy murderer, to be freed instead of Jesus to the Centurions beating him and asking him to prophesy who had hit him, to mocking worship, and the crown of thorns. He had to carry his own Cross. He was disrobed, naked, nailed to the Cross. The ungodly threw everything at Jesus to shame Him, but they could not because Jesus knew who He was. Hebrews 12:2 describe Jesus as despising the shame of the Cross, meaning that shame was to no avail, shame had no effect. He was not shamed. The reason why he was not ashamed is because he knew who he was; in the same way we need to know who we are.
A practical example can apply to how you see your past—evil that you have done and the evil that has been done to you. Have you ever looked at your past and cringed in shame? I believe that the power of the Cross has healed even your past. What you or someone else intended for evil, God redeemed (Genesis 50:20). God has not just healed you from today and into the future. God shows us that He redeems all things, including your past. How does this happen? 1 Corinthians 1:18 states that the Cross-is the “power of God.” In the story of Thomas in John 20:24–29, he says he will not believe that Jesus is alive again until he puts his fingers in Jesus’ side. Seeing the holes would make it real for Thomas. For Jesus, in, are the holes a reminder of the shame attempted on Him? Or is it a reminder of the power of God? It is a reminder of the power of God. Jesus is not ashamed of the holes left in His side, hands, and feet because he knows that the Cross-is the power of God. In the same way, is you’re past a reminder of how bad you were or how bad it was for you, or is it a reminder of God’s power? The Cross of Jesus Christ can redeem the evil that was placed on you or the evil that you placed on others. I am not saying that God changes the past; I am saying He changes the effect it has on you. So, allow me to pray this blessing on you: “May the Cross of Jesus Christ remind you that your past no longer tells the story of shame. May it tell the true story of God’s redemption, your life, void of shame.”
Oh Christian believe in a big cross and confess and repent your sin to glory of our Father!
By the way, just saying "I messed up" isn't confessing sin. You have to see your sin the way God see's it. God did not crush His son, on the bases of us "messing up" God crushed His son on the bases of us being un-redeemable, because of the depth of our dark, dark, filth.
ReplyDeleteYou have to feel the weight of sin, before you can experience the weight of God's glorifying GRACE!