Freedom From The Weight Of Guilt (Full Sermon)

The experience of fear, worry, depression, and anxiety—prevalent in the end times—can often be traced back to sin consciousness, a destructive state that originated in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned, their first reaction was fear (“we were afraid because I was naked”). This feeling of being uncovered stemmed from the loss of the glory of God that originally clothed and protected them.

Sin consciousness destroys relationships, peace of mind, and causes individuals to avoid God. When man sinned, the religious way of thinking suggests God turns His back, but the Bible shows that God immediately turned toward man, seeking fellowship (“Adam, where are you?”).

Understanding and embracing the abundant grace offered through Jesus Christ is the solution to escaping the weight of guilt and fear.

The Eternal Quality of Life: Zoe

Adam’s sin brought spiritual death, which eventually leads to physical death. Sickness and fatigue are defined as a form of death begun, ultimately stemming from the law of sin and death.

In the Garden of Eden, God intended for man’s “inner eyes” (spiritual eyes) to be opened, but by eating the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, man became independent of God, creating his own formula for morality and plunging into the mother of all sins.

God desired man to eat from the Tree of Life instead, which pictured Jesus Christ. The Tree of Life imparts eternal life, or Zoe in Greek. Zoe is not merely living perpetually (since even the lost live forever) but is the quality of life that God Himself lives by. When the life of God resides within a believer, they receive the promptings and desires of God.

Right Believing Leads to Right Living

The central truth of the Gospel is that righteousness by faith is the foundation for overcoming sin consciousness.

• The Problem with Sin Consciousness: People who carry the perpetual consciousness of sin are often deemed “holy,” but they are often the ones who criticize others because their souls are branded with the marks of sin (the Greek cauterazo or “seared with a hot iron”). This branding is the devil’s ownership mark.
• The Power of Grace: Grace destroys sin. The lack of preaching about grace is what causes believers to struggle with sin. Right believing—that Christ’s single sacrifice is sufficient—will always lead to right living, but erroneous, unscriptural thoughts will result in a lying lifestyle and limit the glory of God in life.

Escape from Legalism: Doctrines of Demons

The Holy Spirit warns that in the latter times, some people will depart from the faith—meaning they depart from the truth of justification by faith. This departure comes through heeding deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.

These doctrines often appear religious and subtle, rather than urging gross immorality, exemplified by:

• Forbidding marriage.
• Commanding abstinence from food/meat (advocating for extreme diets or fasting).

Such teachings are dangerous because they are preached by people with a sin consciousness who believe food or marriage can defile their spiritual communion with God. God, however, created these things to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

Christ’s Single, Perfected Sacrifice

Jesus offered a single sacrifice for sins forever. He then sat down at the right hand of God, indicating that His work is finished. If there were even one sin left unforgiven in a believer’s life, Jesus would not be seated; He would have to rise and die again, but He will not. Believers must know that even their future sins have been forgiven because of the worth and value of Jesus, which far exceeds the scope of all human sin combined (“much more grace”).

This single offering perfected (or completed) believers for all time. This perfection is specifically in regard to the conscience. The Law’s sacrifices could not perfect the conscience, which is why they were offered continually. Because Christ’s offering was once and for all, worshippers should have no more consciousness of sins.

The Call to Full Assurance of Faith

The goal for believers is to live free from the weight of guilt, trusting completely in Christ’s finished work.

1. Come Boldly: We are instructed to draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Anything less than full assurance is considered an insult to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
2. The Light Reveals Perfection: When a believer approaches God, the divine light does not reveal their sins; rather, it shows how perfectly the blood of Jesus has removed their sins. Like precious stones sparkling against a dark backdrop, believers shine when they draw near to God.
3. Heart Sprinkled from Evil Conscience: The instruction to have our hearts “sprinkled from an evil conscience” (Hebrews 10:22) refers to cleansing us from a guilty conscience (NIV) or a conscience full of labors. A guilty conscience causes people to labor (working hard to be right with God) and to withdraw from Him, similar to avoiding a friend to whom one owes a debt.
4. Repentance is Changing Your Mind: The Apostle Paul preached “repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,” emphasizing that repentance is a call to change your mind about God. When one has a bad opinion of God (e.g., He is angry or withholding supply), faith cannot operate, and they shun the very source of their power, healing, and provision.

The ultimate message is one of strong consolation. When we confess Jesus as Savior, we receive eternal life and are perfected in conscience. The Lord desires believers to come near, seeing them through the finished work of Christ, which is always worth more than enough.