Freedom From Guilt

How we treat people is the evidence of what is in our heart. The fruit of the Spirit are the character qualities of Christ in us.

Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Matthew 7:15-20
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.

We can know the heart of a person, not by one act, but by many acts and habits. We can know a person's heart by their response to correction or instruction.

A person with bad fruit will always rage at any suggestion that there needs to be a change in their heart. These people never grow until they have been broken and confess.

A humble person will feel hurt at first at a rebuke, but will be grateful for the information and improve as they make a heart change. Joy will return to them as they engage in another growth spurt.

There are many people who claim to be Christian but lack the love, kindness and selflessness of Christ in their heart. If someone lacks this, learns of it through correction, then they can confess it and ask the Lord to cleans their heart to become more like Him.

James 5:16 "16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."

Want to be cleansed by Christ? Admit that you have sinned, that you have offended God and others, then ask Christ to cleanse you of that sin and even reveal any others that linger there because of pride, then your spiritual growth will soar, the joy will flood in.

Each time we confess, each time the sin is dealt with, there is strength to more easily confess the next thing that needs attention. It gets easier as we learn how wonderful it feels to be free of guilt and one more sin.

We are not free of guilt by denying our sin, nor are we free of guilt by getting others to absolve us by accepting our sin. We are free by confessing it, being cleansed by God and moving forward in holiness. Hallelujah!