Guilt

How much more will the Blood of Christ . . . cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. (Hebrews 9:14)

It’s easy to recognize a child with a guilty conscience. He avoids making eye contact and stays away from his parents and the “scene of the crime.” If he can’t make a quick getaway, he’ll put on a fake smile and try to get back into his parents’ good graces.

Most parents know what the child has done and have already forgiven him, but often the child will still try to “fix” what he has done. Sweeping up the pieces of a broken plate won’t repair the plate or make things right, but still he tries!

How often do you relate to God your Father like a guilty child? Maybe you walk around with your head down, convinced that he is unhappy with you. Even after you have confessed your sin and received absolution, you may still carry it around like a burden. You may try to ease your conscience by doing as many good deeds as you can to try to balance out the bad ones.

So you work hard—really hard. But try as you may, your efforts only obscure the central issue: you have broken something that only God can fix.

The writer of Hebrews understood that it’s not only about what we do; it’s about what Jesus has already done! By shedding his blood, Jesus has already won our forgiveness. Even more, he has already cleansed our consciences of that nagging sense of guilt that says, “I must be better. I must try harder.” We don’t have to convince him to forgive us or to welcome us back. Our good deeds are meant to be a response of gratitude for what Jesus has done, not an attempt to muster up enough goodness to please God. 

By shedding his blood, Jesus has made us a new creation. His blood—his very life—changes everything it touches, even us! We can walk in freedom because we have already been made children of God, forgiven of every sin and washed clean by the power of Jesus’ blood.

What a loving God we have! What a merciful Savior too! How can we help but worship him with our hearts?

“Jesus, thank you for your blood, poured out for me!”

from wau.org