This is the good news we read in Romans 8:1. If you are in Christ, you will not be indicted for your sin; it was condemned and punished in the flesh of Jesus, and his righteous living was counted as your law-keeping! Whatever your crimes against God and people, you are free from guilt and need no longer feel any shame. So given this glorious reality, why do we still talk about sin so much? And when we do, how am I supposed to feel about my own sin?
Those who are in Christ no longer stand condemned for sin, but they still do have sin. We are becoming more like Jesus as the Holy Spirit progressively makes us more and more holy. But it doesn’t happen all at once. Christians can still do some really awful stuff. It doesn’t mean that they aren’t true Christians even if sometimes it seems like their behavior is worse than that of non-Christians! But the real test is, “Are they changing?” If there’s zero change, year after year, or someone actually seems to be getting worse, well, then there’s not much evidence that they are in Christ at all. But if the years reveal a softening, a warming, less of self and more focus on others, a gradual shrinking of blind spots – however slowly – then there is every reason to trust the person’s confession that they are “in Christ.”
And as we walk with Christ, we increasingly long to live in purity. We want to please our Father! We want to be like our big brother, Jesus. It’s thrilling to put on the new humanity and live as citizens of the eternal city. And so we want to learn about the ways in which we’re currently not. This is why we plumb the depths of all of Scripture – we want to remember our salvation, we want to gaze at God’s ways in this world even more closely, AND we want to learn more about His character which he intends for us too (1 Peter 1:16).
So there has to be a category in our minds for it being GOOD to learn about ways in which we are not faithful, we are not holy, we are not yet like the character of Jesus. Does it make us feel bad? Yes, at first. But it’s the kind of pain that comes with a shot, or some other helpful medical procedure. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret…” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
So we talk about sin so that the Holy Spirit can grow us out of it. And how do we feel about it? Initial godly shame, followed by a conscious turning from it before God, followed by all shame being lifted as God reminds us of the good news. That sin is paid for in Christ. We don’t pretend we haven’t sinned (1 John 1:8-10). We don’t hide from our past. We confess our sins and pray for one another (James 5:16). We are free to talk openly about it because it is a memorial to God’s victory in our life. It is a signpost to point people to his grace. The more familiar we are with these truths, the more eager we will be to press into God’s word, to hear all the uncomfortable ways it confronts us, and to take hold of the mercy that is there for us as the Holy Spirit reveals each new area of correction in our lives.
Are you holding onto guilt about the past or wallowing in shame because you’ve sinned in ways that to you feel more horrible than what others have done? You are not unique and you are not alone; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). In Christ, your verdict is “Clean!” “Forgiven!” “Set free!” Don’t forget to celebrate what Christ has done; share the story with others. And let the theme of your emotions shift from condemning yourself to rejoicing in His victory!