Reflections by: Pastor Jeffrey T. Jo
I recently bought two units of anti-burglar alarm gadget. It is powered by three triple A batteries & you can place it anywhere where burglar entry is possible. It has also two levels of sensitivity- one low & one high. Any unusual sound or movement, it will surely sound an ‘irritating’ alarm enough to wake up the whole family & even the surrounding neighbors. God created in our soul a conscience. It is a sin or fault’s alarm. It will surely ‘trigger it’s sound’ every time we fail morally & spiritually.
The guilt of past sin can be a stubborn & nagging problem even for a believer. Regrets, disappointments, blaming thoughts and the like can easily creep in & paralyze us with anxiety. What’s the cure for all of these? Drugs, sex & alcohol? Surely NO! God’s answer for our guilt is the cross of Jesus Christ, where He bore the punishment that we deserve. As God in human flesh, His sacrifice satisfied God’s holy wrath against our sin, so that God could be both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). Because He paid our debt, Paul proclaimed (8:1), “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
The Swiss commentator, F. Godet (Commentary on Romans [Kregel], p. 330), suggests that as Paul wrote these verses, he may have been remembering the cries of the believers whom he had dragged out of their homes & thrown in prison when he was persecuting the church. Perhaps he could still see Stephen just before he died, with his head bloodied from the stones, crying out (Acts 7:60), “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Whether Paul was thinking of those shameful events from his past or not, he knew that even those who have trusted in Christ for salvation often have to wrestle with guilt, whether from distant or recent sins.
Surrender all your ‘reversible’ & ‘irreversible’ past sins & failures at the cross of Christ. Believe on his promise that declared, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
I remembered you in prayer today. God bless us.
