John 8:1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Caught in the act !!

Guilty !

Don't deceive yourself-- God knows all about YOU also. He knows your deepest wicked thoughts, and he knows every sin you have committed. Now, I must make this very clear. This statement is true, but ONLY if you are not a born again Bible believer in The Lord Jesus Christ. If you ARE born again, the first two sentences in this paragraph is a lie. And, every preacher who tells you the same is a liar.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

And, what does he do with our confessed sins?

Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

GOD CANNOT REMEMBER YOUR SIN.

NEITHER DO I CONDEMN THEE, GO AND SIN NO MORE.

God hates guilt.

Jesus hates guilt. It was guilt that made Adam and Eve take action and hide from God. God missed his two best friends.

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Christian, God is calling to you, "Where art thou.....?"

But, you, in shame, are hiding from him. Maybe you are hiding in good works. You no longer believe God forgave you of some really wicked sin, so you work and work so God will love you. All the time he is wondering where you are.

Perhaps you are hiding at an altar at a Bible believing church. Instead of walking in the cool of the day with your God who loves you, you flee time after time to weep away your shame. Maybe the preacher helps keep you guilty by inviting you to imagine that God is still mad at you. Does some preacher have you in such bondage? God is outside the church house waiting to go for a walk with you, and you are hiding at the weeping rail.

Tell me, friend, did the precious Blood of Jesus really wash your sins away long ago at Calvary?

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

We are told, over and over, that we need revival. I think that many saints wonder, for years, if they will ever make it into God's perfect will-- into that place of real victory with God. I believe much preaching drives saints away from the mercy and love of God, for revival yearnings have caused us to wait and wait for that magic moment when some sort of fire falls on each of us. Nothing happens. Why?

We confess our sins, but the preacher digs them up again, and we resign ourselves to the notion that revival, victory, comes only about once every 100 years when some great Moody, Finney, or Torrey hits town with a revival in their brief case.

Meanwhile; Jesus cannot even remember the sins we keep confessing over and over. Jesus waits to just go for a walk with us in the cool of the day. Revival, story book revival, is a myth. This moment, right now, is the greatest opportunity you ever will have to be with Jesus. He is NOT hanging back. I think a lot of saints have made the revival myth into a kind of ever present purgatory. Through tears and self-flagellation, hey are trying to pay for a little bit of peace of mind, when in fact, JESUS PAID IT ALL.

Psalms 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

He is FOR you, dear Christian.

I recall the story of Japhthah in Judges 11. This man was born a bastard, and he was put out of his family and disinherited. Israel shunned the man until one day they were desperate for a mighty leader. They went and asked Japhthah to be their captain. There must have been something about this man that was ominous, and he was a warrior in character and physical visage. Japhthah was not very impressed and told the Israelites so. They shunned him all his life-- a bastard who was despised by his father. Good for nothing. Oooops, but we need your strong right arm now.

Japhthah set his bitterness aside, took up the cause of God, challenged the enemy, and lead Israel to thrash them. He did one very stupid thing though. He promised God that whatever came out of his house first when he came home from victory, he would sacrifice it to God in thanks. To his dismay his daughter was the first thing that came out of his house, singing and dancing and praising God and Daddy. The Bible does not tell us if he, in fact, did sacrifice her, but to this day Jewish girls mourn for Japhthah's daughter one day a year.

Now, we could really use Japhthah to preach a great sermon about stupid talk, stupid pride, stupid sins of rash promises, on and on. But, did God keep the folly of Japhthah as his principle memorial of the man? Did God see Japhthah as a fool? Here is where Japhthah ended up:

After all the mighty heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses, the writer, under the breath of the Holy Ghost, said............

Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

There you are, saint. Whores, fools, liars, pimps, homos, murderers, flakes and fakes of all sorts-- add yourself to the list. Make it as ugly as possible. But, they turned from sin and served God. So did you, right?

If there was a day when you turned from it all, repented of your sin, and came to trust in Jesus Christ as you Lord and Savior, you have stepped from your terrible past right into the company of these men and women of faith-- right onto the page in Hebrews 11. They were sinners, in some cases, worse than you. But, Jesus Christ said:

John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Let me tell you something, and I suspect you have not heard this from many preachers lately.....

IT IS EASY TO FOLLOW JESUS

Oh, you don't like that do you? I will tell you why. You have not turned lately and looked into the face of your precious Lord Jesus. Once you see the sweet love of God in the face of Jesus Christ, you will find it easy to stay right there with him. Look at him there. Jesus Christ sits there by the right hand of the Father telling Father what he thinks of you.

"Father, that is Mary Lou-- I died for her. Look how pure she is, washed in my Blood. Father, I know she has sinned lately. She is in great doubt, but I died for that sin too. She will catch on pretty soon, and she will win her friend to salvation in me. She has great things to do for me.... She just needs to look at me and see how much you, Father, and I, love her."

"Father, do you see Joe Handley there. My, what a lot of sin went away long ago on Calvary over him. But, I cannot remember it, for I have removed it as far as the East is from the West. Father, Joe is going to raise me up two missionaries and three good godly wives from his children. He is pretty low lately. This hireling evangelist got Joe to thinking about his past sin, and I cannot even remember it. How I long to have Joe back in the yoke with me. Father, can we cause that wicked evangelist to die? He brings doubt and sorrow to my sheep, Father. Father, can we send Joe's church a tired old sweet preacher who loves sheep-- who will help Joe come back and enjoy his fellowship with us?"

Jesus likes you.

Jesus died for you.

Jesus is your best friend.

Jesus knew he would have you for eternity, and yet he elected you unto salvation before the world was even made. He knew all about you, your sin, your rebellion, and the messes you would make, before and AFTER you were born again.

Guess what?

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

You are going to, one day, for endless eternal day, sit there in heaven, God on one side and Jesus Christ on the other side. You will be the trophy of Jesus Christ. You, and all his children, will be the eternal display of how much he loved sinners. Verses 8-9 are almost always quoted alone in soul winning. The context is meant to convince you, saint, that YOU ARE LOVED. Look at verse 10. You are his workmanship.

Have you ever seen a glass blower at work? He puts his blow pipe into the furnace, collects molten glass on the end, and removes it. Under total and intense concentration, he then turns the pipe, blows a bit, turns some more, and the glob of molten glass expands and forms. Soon, he adds a bit of glass and pulls at it and then attaches it again. There is a handle. Finally he sets the end product on a small table, squeezes it with wooden tongs, holds it still a while, and finally he taps it with something, and VOILE, there sits an exquisite pitcher sparkling in the light. He turns it to look at all sides, a bit of a smile comes to his lips, and he lifts the vase up on the nearby shelf for all to see. One more piece of immaculate Waterford crystal.

That is you. God has taken you out of the fire of sin because you accepted the salvation he offered. Ever since that day, God has been working on you, turning, puffing on you with his Holy Spirit, molding, pulling this way and that, all so gently, so that one day, up in Glory Land, he can set you down between himself and Jesus and say, "Look what I can do. Look what I made."

Sin!

Is that it? Well, whatever it is, down on your knees, and leave it once and for all at the cross. Stop picking it up over and over and keeping it fresh. God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost DO NOT REMEMBER YOUR SIN. YOU are the only one who will not forget the sin. Why do you let your mind, preachers, alleged friends, and whoever, keep coaxing you to confess and fret over the sins Jesus died for and cannot remember?

Again,

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

FREE

Read the verses again until you BELIEVE you are free from the bondage of sin.

Now, go get in the yoke with your precious Jesus, and ENJOY.

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

The past............ forget it !!

Every day, every step, every way, is forward, in Christ Jesus, your Lord. Don't ever look back again.

When some preacher, saint, or evangelist tempts you to look back and dig up the dead dogs of your sin, rejoice, laugh, and just ignore those creeps who try to bring the saints into bondage of guilt and the past.

The chimes of time,
Ring out the news,
Another day is through;
Someone slipped and fell,
Was that someone you?

You may have longed,
For added strength,
Your courage to renew;
Do not be discouraged,
For, I have news for you.

It is no secret what God can do,
What he's done for others,
He'll do for you.
With arms wide open,
He'll pardon you;
It is no secret,
What God can do.

James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure.
Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the
end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Do you know what you have not done in a long time?

Guess?

Laugh !

Modern people in this sorry world don't laugh much anymore. God says a merry heart is good like a medicine. Research recently has proven just that. You need to laugh.

We laugh a lot as a family. It helps when one of us is troubled of soul. Laughing with other saints who have a merry heart is better than ice cream and soda pop, though that is not a bad idea either.

Have you been to the local cafe for a cup of java with your old high school friend lately? Maybe they need some distraction even more than you do. Besides, you might get to talk about Jesus to some sinner and give them the old old story. Honey, ain't nothin better for yer soul than talkin about Jesus Christ.

Something else-- You have not cried lately.............

For a friend, WITH a friend.

Modern people, and many preachers, think weeping is only for the weak.

Go visit someone who is hurting and weep with them. Stop this pity party you are having for YOU.

The most deadly thing missing these days, and I don't ever hear anyone worry about it. No one whistles anymore. Sit down, and whistle your favorite hymn.

Whistle a happy tune.

Finally, LET'S SHOUT MORE-- SHOUT, I SAID--

I KNOW, WE AIN'T PENTECOSTALS

BUT

NEITHER WAS KING DAVID, BUT HE SAID, UNDER INSPIRATION:

Psalms 32:11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Psalms 47:1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

Psalms 35:27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

A READER WRITES:

What a relief!!!

I've just recently found your whole website and tonight visited the much-assurance site. This self condemnation has been ongoing with me for so long.

When I accepted the Lord, I thought for sure something would drastically change in me overnight. That I'd be automatically a "good" person. Well that didn't happen. It was more of a gradual 6 year change. In 2000, I was inspired to read the bible, by the Holy Spirit. I read it in 2 months flat and at THAT point I rededicated my life to the Lord . This was indeed the Holy spirit and I felt I had been touched and led. Then more years went by, depression, frustration, and then DOUBT.

I really began to doubt that I was saved at all. All the testimonies that I'd heard from other people were so Spirit-filled and life-changing. And well, my testimony was just kind of--there. The only time I felt different was when I had read the New-testament during those two months. I couldn't get enough of it. Then after, it was just gone. The motivation, the curiosity, everything.

Its been 5 years since then. And we are ever so close to the second coming-- I can feel it in my stomach and this little nagging sense that says "na you're not really saved, and the end is coming, your going to hell".

Now I feel like scales have been peeled off my eyes and now I see. I am saved and Jesus loves me. I have also realized that he has been working in my life like that glassblower for the last 12 years molding me ever so gently here and there. Kind of like a slow work-in-progress, haha. I have indeed changed looking back through the years. Your encouragement and the right passages through my tears of the last 10 minutes have been, well, a great relief and have truly given me "assurance" and insight.

I like your site and most of your bluntness. But I truly like your encouragement and knowledge of the scriptures. I'm not that skilled in the scriptures but definitely have deep thoughts and questions and share your quest for good conversation. Although my conversation would truly fire up some opinions and snarls, ha.

Thanks again

Believer,

Melanie

=============

Steve Comments:

Peter spoke his assurance:

John 6:69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

Once you are sure, never look back. Your Lord heard these words of Peter's, and his next words are perhaps the most powerful words for the Church Age in which we now live:

Matthew 16:17-18 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

When you become "SURE" Jesus is the Son of God, YOU did not figure that our on your own. God the Holy Ghost was sent by God the Father to reveal this unto you-- that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. So, your confidence and assurance is built on the foundation of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, working in YOU.

Your salvation and confidence is eternal and undefiled and fadeth not away. Now, did some wolf in sheep's clothing try to convince you that you lost your salvation, or did they destroy your joy with doubts that God is IN you and LOVES you?

Let me be very blunt and very vicious here:

That peacher or meddling alleged Chrsitians is doing Satan's work. God NEVER CALLS YOU TO DOUBT. Do whatever it takes to shut of that filthy attack on your eternal soul. You are more precious to God than you will ever understand. He who gave his only Son to die for you is not about to turn away from you at this point.

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Just came across this site by accident or may be not. Well I am a mature student studying for my engineering degree. However, I have a big sense of guilt because I committed sin. I was a born again christian about 15 yrs ago but then I strayed from God. This feeling of guilt and unworthiness has really affected the way I approached my studies. Apart from following what you have noted in this article..do I also have to confess to a priest or talk to a Pastor about my sin and guilt in order for it to be fully removed. What I am saying is do I need a witness to share my problems with or do I just go direct to God. Do you have any ideas.

Regards

N______

=============

Steve Comments:

Our reader has done the first thing right-- he has not denied his sin-- he has owned up to the fact that he is a sinner.

Now, here is step two:

1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

That is ALL we do. Jesus died on the cruel cross to pay the penalty of our sin, past and present. When we confess our sins, he cancels them forever.

Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

WHAT A GOD

WHAT A PLAN

FROM ETERNITY PAST

HE DID IT ON PURPOSE

HE DIED ON THE CROSS

HE ROSE AGAIN

HE SITS NEXT TO THE FATHR
IN THE GLORY NOW

FOR THE READER ABOVE

FOR ME

FOR YOU

BROTHER AND SISTER:

...thank you for your website, which was a great comfort to me today. I was hurting and it's raining and my children are having some problems, and I found your website by "chance" while looking for the words to "I Could Not Do Without Thee" (which I found, by the way, and was much blessed by.) Some sweet young ladies played it for the offertory last night but I was longing to read the words to Frances Havergal's wonderful hymn. Thank you for your lesson on "Quiet Without Guilt." Although now about to turn 49, I am from a broken, abusive home and have struggled all my life with terrible feelings of guilt and worthlessness. Thank God for salvation and for the Word, or I would surely be dead. Instead the Lord saved me when I was 14 and I have tried to be faithful to Him through the years. HE has certainly been faithful to me. I thank God for my wonderful Christian husband of 26+ years, my four precious children, my fundamental, Bible-believing church and my dear preacher, but all too often I feel that shame is continually heaped on us to get us to "do" something -- anything! -- and we are constantly enjoined to raise our hands, trot down to the altar and get right you wretch, et cetera. Although I understand that the preacher has to give it to us straight for our own good, sometimes I just feel as though I go to church to be shamed. ANYWAY, thank you for your study on "Quiet Without Guilt" which was a great blessing to me today. I will visit your website often and maybe stop by and see you sometime when I'm in the neighborhood to visit my children at Crown College of the Bible. God bless you today!!!

__________

Steve Van Nattan: This is sweet and sad. The lady has a very bibilcal hope and submission to her role as a wife and mother. I am delighted to see her confidence is enlarged. But, did you notice that she believes it is a pastor's task to thrash and shame the sheep? This is wicked, for some hireling has convinced this dear lady that she is ordained by a sovereign God to be whipped to be right with God. If you are a preacher, and if this is your manner, you are damned to hell. Jesus told Peter, "Feed my sheep." Only a damned fool would whip sheep in the name of the Good Shepherd.

Dear Fellow Believers,

Thank you for Quiet Without Guilt. It is very refreshing to be reminded of the Simplicity of the Gospel and the complete forgiveness of sins through the Blood of Jesus Christ... "Behold the Lamb of God, which TAKETH AWAY THE SIN of the world." John 1:29.

Though raised in church, the Lord saved me 30 yrs ago through a radio Gospel program. The Lord is real in my life. Though I fail Him, He never fails and is ever faithful.

I remember so well when I first was saved and the joy and peace of having my sins FORGIVEN and the definite awareness of the presence of God the Holy Spirit within me. But after years of preachers who try to do the work of the Holy Spirit, and discouragement & self-condemnation because of my own ups & downs in my Christian experience, I'm tired of feeling that I can never do enough to please God.

I left one KJV church whose new BJU pastor turned out to be a lord over God's heritage. At another KJV church, the pastor said he is 'Calvinist with grace' (whatever that means).

A pastor bemoans that he feels like a dog before God. Yes, I must be a Guilty dog, too....Wait! Am I a dog before a holy God as the Syrophenician woman spoke of in Mark 7, or rather am I a child of God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ, forgiven of all my sins, washed in His Blood, ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED?

I'm tired of being discouraged in prayer by hearing preachers say, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me"... (Oh well, why bother try to pray because I can't measure up so God won't hear or answer! They don't tell me what 'iniquity' is, yet I feel I must be Guilty of it.) Wait! That's just half of the sentence! ..."But verily God hath heard me; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer." Ps 66:18-19 "Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor His MERCY from me." v20

Thanks for a Quiet Place to visit and feel refreshed.
Sincerely In Christ,
J________

Guilt Article

Just read it today. Superb, uplifting and thank God you put it there.

Thank you my friends

Dave C_________
UK

Brother Steve,

I cannot think of ways and descriptions to tell you how much your sermon "Quiet without Guilt" did for me. Oh, how wonderful and awesome a GOD we serve! The very things you mentioned have been draging on me for a time. Thanks for the uplifting and I have given Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ of Nazareth the Glory.

A Brother in Christ.

Wayne C________