Romans 5:16 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
After Adam sinned once, he was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. His free gift came after many sins, and it makes people right with him.
Romans 8:1 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty.
Romans 8:1 New King James Version (NKJV)
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…
Through faith in Jesus – the Gift of God – God has justified you, declared you innocence and declared you to be not guilty! That’s God’s verdict over your life! Jesus has paid the penalty for your sin and as a result, you do not have to and could never pay for it. It’s been paid in full and that means that there is no more debt held against you. You are now justified; made just-as-if-you’ve-never-sinned; perfect before Almighty God. We are justified by faith and therefore have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). When you put faith in Jesus and what he’s done for you, God declares you innocent; not guilty. God declares that you are now 100% right with him. There is no charge against you from heaven. Your records have been wiped clean. God has forgiven you and made you perfect before Him! Every shred of condemning evidence that was against you has been destroyed and God has declared you innocent! And if God declares you innocent, who is anybody else to say that you’re guilty? Who are you to make yourself feel condemned?
Often we’re our own worst enemies. We go around making ourselves feel bad for something we’ve done wrong. When, yes, you made a mistake and you sinned and you shouldn’t have done it. It was wrong and it may cause pain and suffering; it may cause some consequences, but God Almighty has forgiven you and no longer remembers it. That should free us from guilt and cause us to live guilt-free lives which will cause us to live in perfect peace. This will result in health in our bodies because a lot of guilt and shame that we carry causes sickness in our bodies.
A good friend of mine who has since passed away and gone on to be with the Lord was a medical doctor. He shared a great story with us: His father was a pastor and went to go and visit this old lady who was on her deathbed, but she was just really not dying. She was old and frail but was just not dying. Everyone was expecting her to die, but she just wasn’t. My friend’s dad (the pastor) was at her bedside and was praying with her and ministering to her. The pastor felt that there was something holding her back – some guilt or shame. He said to her that if there was something weighing her down and playing on her conscious, or anything that she feels guilty for, she should feel free to share it with him. This woman then opened up and shared with him that at about the age of, I think 17, she had had an abortion. She had fallen pregnant out of wedlock and in order to avoid the shame from family and society, she had an abortion. Ever since that day, she could not forgive herself and she lived in fear that God would not forgive her. He ministered to her from scripture that God had completely forgiven her of all sin and encouraged her to forgive herself. And so they prayed together. She received the forgiveness of God and chose to forgive herself, and very shortly after that, she passed away. Condemnation, guilt, shame and fear have the ability to dominate our lives and even our destinies. Jesus has paid a huge price for us to be able to walk in freedom from these negative emotions.
As long as you feel bad for something, you’re not going to experience perfect peace. You need to receive the forgiveness and the unconditional love of God. You need to have a revelation of what Jesus has done for you, and as you do you should be restored to the place where you no longer feel guilty or ashamed. You are completely forgiven. God is not holding anything against you and if God is not holding anything against you, who are you to hold anything against you? Who am I to be ashamed of something that’s already been forgiven by God?