Guilt Strengthens Conviction

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.

John 15:22 (RSV)

Twenty years after accepting Christ, growing in ministry, and persevering in the faith—a man, whose faith and humility were held in high esteem by all, declared himself unworthy of God's grace. He spent seven days fasting and withdrew from church activities, in which he had played a pivotal role. His church leaders summoned him to a meeting to help him navigate this spiritual struggle; however, they could do nothing for him because, in his own estimation, he had rejected Jesus by having doubted His divinity for a time.

This is a situation we have all faced, at one time or another following our conversion: the conviction that we do not deserve God's grace because we have committed a sin or harbored a dark thought—and this, despite our knowledge of God's Word on the matter. When Jesus said that had He not come and spoken to them, the religious leaders would not have sinned, He did not mean that they were without sin before seeing Him and hearing Him preach the Kingdom of God. Rather, He meant that their act of rejecting Him—He, the Son of God who came to save the world—had led them to commit an even graver sin. One could even say that they had also rejected the work of the Holy Spirit.

You may feel guilty before God because of a sin, feeling unable to enter into His presence to confess it. This is the work of the Holy Spirit within you: to convict you of your sin and make you feel unworthy. Yet, regardless of the gravity of your sin—insofar as it constitutes disobedience to God's Word—you always retain the choice to return to Him. The only sin that carries such a risk—the only sin capable of bringing condemnation upon you before God—as Jesus clarified in Matthew 12:31–32, is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It is He whom Jesus sent to guide us, to reveal the heart of God to us, and to convict us of our sins. It is natural to feel overwhelmed by guilt, but that is no reason to believe that God will reject you. That is not part of His divine nature.

May the grace and peace of God be with you.