Jesus was born as a man and lived among us in order to share our sin and our guilt; to take it to himself; to relieve us from its burden; to enable us to be free!
Hence, the Bible says that for those who are in Christ Jesus there is no longer any condemnation (Romans 8:1). In the Greek New Testament, this is a strong text. We could render it, ‘There is not even any condemnation…’ None at all!
When we come to God through Jesus Christ, all guilt is removed. We stand whole and upright before him. Only God has the right to bring any charge against us and he is the one who justifies (Romans 8:33). Only Christ can condemn, but he died for us, was raised to life for us and now intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:34).
In Christ we are totally forgiven and God’s grace is lavished upon us. We have a new sense of dignity. We stand tall before God. So guilt need never again put us under pressure. All this simply means that when we can’t change the circumstances, we can change ourselves! If we really trust God, we can relax and stop worrying.
To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.