Read: Psalm 98
Godly grief over sin is a good thing (2 Cor. 7:9-11). To be convicted of one’s sin by the Spirit is a tremendous gift of grace from the Lord. Our conviction, shame, and disgust over our sin are means by which God drives us to repentance with the strong desire to put that sin to death and thus never have to feel that guilt again.
In addition to this, as we mature in Christ, we are going to become more sensitive to our sin (Rom. 7:7-25). If we felt nothing regarding our sin, or if we even loved our sin and saw it as a moral good, that would be a clear indicator to us that either our heart needs some drastic correction or that we aren’t saved.
Combining that truth with the reality that even as Christians we are going to sin in this life, it is understandable when a believer goes through a period when the weight of their guilt is pressing down upon them and they feel far from God.
That reality is all over the Psalms, like when David cries out to God in repentance and describing how far he feels from him due to his sin (Ps. 51:11). Again, godly grief over sin is expected in the Christian life, but we must not think that it is the entirety of the Christian life. There are some Christians who seem perennially downcast over their guilt.
Are Christians meant to always be sad? Is that the picture of God’s people that we get throughout the Old and New Testament? Absolutely not!
While grief over sin is a part of the Christian life, those who are in Christ are a people who may be sorrowful, but who are always rejoicing (2 Cor. 6:10). Yes, we have sin that we still struggle against, and yes we should grieve over it, but more than that we have been forgiven of all of our sins in Christ.
We are a forgiven people saved by God’s grace! Though we were dead in our sins and trespasses, utterly subjected by Satan and our own sinful flesh, we have been redeemed and rescued from our former masters and have been transferred to the kingdom of God’s glorious light.
Christ the King has triumphed where we failed and has conquered death for us, so that when we become united to him through faith we become more than conquerors through him. And our salvation in him is so secure that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ (Rom. 8:39). That includes our own sin.
Is our sin wicked and vile and abominable? Absolutely. Does it deserve condemnation? Absolutely! But that condemnation has already been paid for by Christ. Thus, when the believer sins, yes there is guilt and grief that leads to repentance, but there is no condemnation that remains (Rom. 8:1).
When our hearts condemn us, we know that the God who gave His own Son to save us is stronger than our hearts (1 John 3:20).
We have been saved from our sin and from the eternal condemnation that it deserves. That is something that we will be rejoicing over for all eternity. We’ll never plumb the depths of how magnificently merciful God has been toward us through Christ. And so, like Israel singing songs of praise over God’s deliverance of them from their national enemies, we should be singing to the Lord new songs that praise him for our spiritual deliverance.
How does it reflect on Christ and his sacrifice if his people are always parading around in veils of sadness over the guilt of their sin? It makes his sacrifice look insufficient and ineffectual.
Has Christ truly saved us? Has His death on the cross completely paid for our sins? Have our sins been cast from us as far as the East is from the West? Then we should be celebrating! Our songs to him who delivered us from life to death should carry on through the night and into eternity.
