Free From Guilt
By Dr. Delores W. Jones

Why guilt? It is an area where the enemy has so cleverly attempted to hold the child of God in bondage. In order to talk about guilt, let’s find out what it means.

Guilt:(a) A sin, offense, the act or state of having done a wrong or committed an offense; culpability, legal or ethical (b) a painful feeling of self-reproach resulting from a belief that one has done something wrong or immoral (New World Dictionary)

This is the reason why God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to redeem man from the sentence of death, and from the guilt associated with it. Jesus Christ paid the price for mankind.

Galatians 3 says:

	13	Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),
	14	that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

1 John 2 says:

2

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

He becomes the sacrificial lamb for all those who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. For all the wrong things one may have committed prior to receiving Jesus Christ, the Lord takes His big eraser in heaven and wipes the chart clean. The past is gone. Now what you have to do is to receive it by faith and begin to walk in newness of life. It is the enemy, the devil, who will try to bring back to your remembrance past failures and defeats. This is why the Word of God is so important.

John 10:10 says:

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

Understand that you cannot change what happened in your past. However, you can change your attitude and not allow your past to dictate your future. These are choices you must make up your mind to do or not to do.

Deuteronomy 30 says:

	19	"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore chose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
	20	"that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Question: How can you begin to walk in the freedom that the Lord has already given you?
Answer:

1.	First, make up in your mind that you are going to do this and succeed.
2.	Second, confess with your mouth that all that has happened is in your past.
3.	Third, confess that Lord has made you free. (Read John 8:31,36)
4.	Fourth, purpose to walk in your freedom.

Question: How can you overcome the negative thoughts the enemy brings to your mind?
Answer: Any time a thought comes, it must be evaluated and calculated. The question you must ask yourself is: "Is this thought in line with the Word of God?" (Read 2 Corinthians 13:5)

1.	First, submit to the authority of the Word of God. (Read James 4:7).
2.	Second, immediately address the thought by saying outwardly, "I do not receive this negative thought in the name of Jesus." (Read Luke 10:19)
3.	Third, know that the enemy will always bring doubt, fear and confusion in order to get your focus off the Word of God. Though you are not obligated to except the thought, you must address it.
4.	Fourth, the enemy would love to hold you captive in your mind. He'll feed a dumb thought to get you to meditate upon it. Should you ponder the thought, he'll feed more negative thoughts to try and hold you captive. (Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Remember, you are in charge of what you think. It is your responsibility to reject the junk the enemy would try to bring to your thought life. You feed information into the computer and when you realize you've made a mistake you are the one to make the correction. It does not automatically happen. Take charge; take your liberty and continue to walk in the freedom that God has given you.