hidden sin (subtitle: Returning Guilt)

[Evie]

have you ever gone through something in your life that just only you knew about until you heard God speaking to you through scripture or better yet your Pastor. How do we truly repent of hidden sin,how do we lay it at the altar and then walk away and truly know that our God is truly gonna take of that? What if we get up from the altar, walk out of the church and start from point A again. Argh! so just how do we truly repent without looking back,,,

 

[peaglej]

If we look at the life of King David...we see his triumphs and his sins...how he dealt with his sin...and it is such an example to us of a repentant heart and the Mercy and Love of God..


Psalm 32...
I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord [continually unfolding the past till all is told] - then You [instantly] forgave me the guilt and iniquity of my sin...Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
For this [forgiveness] let everyone who is godly pray-pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely when the great waters [of trial] overflow, they shall not reach [the spirit in him].
You are a hiding place for me, You, Lord, preserve me from trouble, You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
I [the Lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will cousnel you with My eye upon you...Psalm 32:5-8 - Amplified Bible.

Psalm 51
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to the multitude of Your tender mercy and loving-kindness blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly [and repeatedly] from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin!
For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in [a state of] iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me [and I too am sinful].
Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart.
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean [ceremonially]; wash me, and I shall [in reality] be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness and be satisfied; let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt and iniquities.
CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART, O GOD, AND RENEW A RIGHT, PERSEVERING, AND STEADFAST SPIRIT WITHIN ME.
Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit...
Psalm 51:1-12...Amplified Bible.

 

[nhzname]

Amen. We can trust that when we come before the Lord in repentance, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we don't want the guilt ridden seperation from the Lord that sin creates, we will find the sorrow in our hearts will make us want Him above anything else. This is the repentance that humbles us before Him, knowing we are nothing without Him. Sometimes, the hard part is US forgiving US.

 

[Evie]

Amen. We can trust that when we come before the Lord in repentance, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we don't want the guilt ridden seperation from the Lord that sin creates, we will find the sorrow in our hearts will make us want Him above anything else. This is the repentance that humbles us before Him, knowing we are nothing without Him. Sometimes, the hard part is US forgiving US.

that's it, it's our stupid flesh,it's the us forgiving us.

 

[Peter]

This is what confession is for.

Peace.

Rdr. Peter

 

[IKTCA]

Sister Evie,
I learn from your sincerity in seeking complete forgiveness of sin. As you encourage me with your sincerity, let me also encourage you with my experience/thought.

(Sister In-His-Name, I ask you to forgive me if I seem to present a different approach.)

I read a brief testimony of a woman who used to be a street girl. After finding Jesus, she wanted to pass the gospel on to her friends on the street. After much preparation, she felt ready. On her way to her old street, she saw a policeman coming from the opposite direction. She was arrested by him before. Shame and guilt came. She prayed to the Lord not to let the policeman recognize her. He didn't recognize her, and her shame and guilt was removed from her permanently. The lingering guilt that she was a streetgirl never disturbed her again during her ministry to the streetgirls.

Bible describes forgiveness of sin as "as east is far from the west." That's how far sin and guilt are removed from me. If I settle for anything less, I have not received the best.

If guilt returns to me, there always is a good reason. But whatever the reason may be, I cannot remove the guilt myself. It is because I cannot forgive myself. Built must be removed by the Lord.

When guilt returns, I lose peace. Then I go to the Lord to restore peace in me. Always, he restores peace.

But there was one guilt that kept returning. (This was a few years after I was found by the Lord.) Each time I prayed about it, peace returned. But the same guilt kept returning. This tormented me greatly.

After much petition, I realized that the Lord wanted me to apologize to the person I sinned against. I apologized to the person with much shame and guilt. Since then, the shame and guilt have been removed from me permanently. When I remember the shame and guilt, I still have tears in my eyes, knowing that I was forgiven.

Sister Evie,
You cannot forgive yourself. You must seek the Lord. Only he can free you permanently from the guilt. Then you will say, "The Lord's goodness is comforting me."

{I am not saying that you sinned against someone. I only want to say that you need to learn why the guilt is returning from the Lord, and do as he commands you to. I say this since your search for complete pardon is sincere.}

Rupert

 

[HomeBound]

EVIE, I'm not saying you have a lack of faith, but a lot of us find it tough to believe how forgiving, unconditionally loving God really is. It's one thong to tell it to others, but we often doubt when it comes to our own forgiveness.

No additional rituals are needed. Ask for God's forgiveness, then believe that you have recieved it. BECAUSE YOU HAVE!

There is nothing secret to God, he knows the quilt we feel, he knows the remorse we feel. That is a major part of repentance.

 

[Pilgrim1951]

Sister Evie,
I learn from your sincerity in seeking complete forgiveness of sin. As you encourage me with your sincerity, let me also encourage you with my experience/thought.

(Sister In-His-Name, I ask you to forgive me if I seem to present a different approach.)

I read a brief testimony of a woman who used to be a street girl. After finding Jesus, she wanted to pass the gospel to her friends on the street. After much preparation, she felt ready. On her way to her old street, she saw a policeman coming from the opposite direction. She was arrested by him before. Shame and guilt came. She prayed to the Lord not to let the policeman recognize her. He didn't recognize her, and her shame and guilt was removed from her permanently. The lingering guilt that she was a streetgirl never disturbed her again during her ministry to the streetgirls.

Bible describes forgiveness of sin as "as east is far from the west." That's how far sin and guilt are removed from me. If I settle for anything less, I have not received the best.

If guilt returns to me, there always is a good reason. But whatever the reason may be, I cannot remove the guilt myself. It is because I cannot forgive yourself. Forgiveness must come from the Lord.

When guilt returns, I lose peace. Then I go to the Lord to restore peace in me. Always, he restores peace.

But there was one guilt that kept returning. (This was a few years after I was found by the Lord.) Each time I prayed about it, peace returned. But the same guilt kept returning. This tormented me greatly.

After much petition, I realized that the Lord wanted me to apologize to the person I sinned against. I apologized to the person with much shame and guilt. Since then, the shame and guilt have been removed from me permanently. When I remember the shame and guilt, I still have tears in my eyes, knowing that I was forgiven.

Sister Evie,
You cannot forgive yourself. You must seek the Lord. Only he can free you permanently from the guilt. Then you will say, "The Lord's goodness is comforting me."

{I am not saying that you sinned against someone. I only want to say that you need to learn why the guilt is returning from the Lord, and do as he commands you to. I say this since your search for complete pardon is sincere.}

Rupert

Rupert, I feel that what you have said about forgiveness is a truth that I need to grasp. It really rings true in my spirit. Are you saying that if we have repented and asked God to forgive us, that if the guilt continues to come back, there is still something we need to deal with in this particular sin?

I too, in the past have believed the "you have to forgive yourself" thinking. But after reading your post, a light came on in my head, and I don't believe that there is anything in God's word about forgiving yourself. I wonder if it is one of those teachings the world gives us and we think it is of God?

I really want to understand completely what you are saying, because I believe it is truth. I have been going through such a time of repentence, and I think that what you are saying in this post is part of what I need to learn.

 

[nhzname]

that's it, it's our stupid flesh,it's the us forgiving us.

Evie, I just wanted to further comment on this, if you don't mind.

Sometimes, although we have done all that the Lord has asked, we may still sin again, or feel guilty for past sins. Once the Lord has forgiven us, it's done. He doesn't remember anymore, and we need to let it go too.

Further condemnation may come from the enemy though. He's the one that gets in our face and reminds us of past sins. He's the one that stands before the Father continually accusing us. God reads our heart and forgives when we come before Him in repentance. We need to learn to speak to the enemy as Christ did in Matt. 16:23 when He said, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me ..." Satan's just doing what he does best - causing us grief.

If you find you don't have peace and you know you're clean before God, ask Him to reveal to you what more you need to do. Sometimes its just a matter of not letting Satan steal your victory, and telling him to buzz off ... under the blood, of course.

 

[Evie]

something recently has come up in my life,and I just can not come to terms with the whole "forget thing" I feel very troubled over. I can't sleep and now it's bothering my health. I feel that Jesus forgave me,but then I can't past that. This hidden sin is something that no one should have to deal with but unfortantly we all truly go through these hard times in our lives that we can't forgive ourselves and this one has been bothering me for months. Can not get into detail-He knows that I am trying,it just may take me awhile.

 

[nhzname]

something recently has come up in my life,and I just can not come to terms with the whole "forget thing" I feel very troubled over. I can't sleep and now it's bothering my health. I feel that Jesus forgave me,but then I can't past that. This hidden sin is something that no one should have to deal with but unfortantly we all truly go through these hard times in our lives that we can't forgive ourselves and this one has been bothering me for months. Can not get into detail-He knows that I am trying,it just may take me awhile.

I know what you mean by not being able to forgive yourself. Been there, done that, especially with sins committed that are not so readily known by others. As I've grown to trust the Lord more, I've learned to accept His forgiveness and allow it to heal me, albeit it a slow ongoing process. Whenever I start beating myself up, I try and turn my thoughts around to seeing myself as God sees me, spotless and clean, and under the blood of Christ. I find that reading the Word really helps me think from His point of view, and overrides old thought patterns as well. I'll be praying for you ... n hz name.

 

[IKTCA]

Sister Evie:

I started praying for you. You are right that once you confess your sin to the Lord, then the sin is wiped off. Even if you die today, you will not see the consequece of the sin when you stand before the Lord on the judgment seat. Be assured, not by my words or the words of any sisters, but by the words spoken by God and recorded in the bible.

Please do as Sister n his name suggested. Read the words in the bible. He will lift this burden from you soon. Persevere and you will be rewarded with the joy of knowing the Lord.

Rupert

 

[Evie]

Sister Evie:

I started praying for you. You are right that once you confess your sin to the Lord, then the sin is wiped off. Even if you die today, you will not see the consequece of the sin when you stand before the Lord on the judgment seat. Be assured, not by my words or the words of any sisters, but by the words spoken by God and recorded in the bible.

Please do as Sister n his name suggested. Read the words in the bible. He will lift this burden from you soon. Persevere and you will be rewarded with the joy of knowing the Lord.

Rupert

thanks Rupert,
I do read my Bible alot actually! I have what I call "HIS TIME" , where I study for about an hour a day and then pray. My prayer life however also consists of praying without ceasing.

I read today in Psalms 40,it was remarkable to me,it made me cry.
His Words can be like no others! ..........................

 

[IKTCA]

Rupert, I feel that what you have said about forgiveness is a truth that I need to grasp. It really rings true in my spirit. Are you saying that if we have repented and asked God to forgive us, that if the guilt continues to come back, there is still something we need to deal with in this particular sin?

I too, in the past have believed the "you have to forgive yourself" thinking. But after reading your post, a light came on in my head, and I don't believe that there is anything in God's word about forgiving yourself. I wonder if it is one of those teachings the world gives us and we think it is of God?

I really want to understand completely what you are saying, because I believe it is truth. I have been going through such a time of repentence, and I think that what you are saying in this post is part of what I need to learn.

Sister Pilgrim:
When one accepts Jesus as Savior and calls him the Lord, his sins are forgiven. He becomes a different man, clothed in the beauty of the Lord Christ. God assures complete forgiveness of all sins, confessed and unconfessed, by giving the Holy Spirit as the seal and evidence.

But as we recall our baptism of the Holy Spirit, we will notice that cleansing continued beyond the baptism. In a sense, cleaning started at the baptism. Lies, anger, bitterness, resentment, lust, and all other forms of evil were removed from me after I was baptized. In fact, some roots of evil are still being removed from me.

Though I had anger and lustful thoughts, I didn't have guilt since my sins were all forgiven.

Returning guilt is something else. It is not necessarily because I have a hidden sin that I refused to confess. By the way, with a hidden sin, I cannot repent.

The title of this thread, Hidden Sin, is not representative of our discussion. Hidden sin is the sin I refuse to admit to the Lord. Our subject is, in fact, Returning Guilt.

I know a man who had an extramarital affair. After accepting Jesus as the Lord, guilt for the affair kept returning. He confessed the sin to his wife and they were restored in spirit into a perfect union. In this case, he not only sinned against God, he also sinned against his wife. One can say that the Devil had a ground to torment the man with guilt. But I would say that God allowed the Devil to torment the man in order to put the husband and wife together into a godly union.

I know a man who faulted on a loan from a friend. After receiving Jesus as the Lord and Savior, this memory returned. It started to torment him. The friend's wife had a cancer and the money was her medicine money. He intended to return the money but his business went bankrupt. He knew he might not be able to return the money because the business was not doing well.

He was so tormented. The grace of becoming a child of God was completely lost. I explained to him that Jesus was a complete sacrifice, not only for the sin but also for the guilt. He went to the Lord and promised that he would return the money when he could save enough money. (he still is poor, very poor). Since then, the guilt was removed. Looking back, God was leading him into that decision, in order to restore him to his old friend.

I will continue in another post later.

 

[whatseekye]

Go to Jesus with all of your self and all of your life. DOn't hold anything back. If you find a sin in yourself that you can't let go of or can't change on your own, then just ask God to help you overcome it. Whatever it is, it will get broken up and softened through this humbleness of going to God and admitting that you can't handle it on your own. Also, learn a little about spiritual warfare and how Satan tempts and accuses. Perhaps you are feeling condemned because of a spiritual attack. I have heard that even the conviction of Sin by the Holy Spirit will never feel like a condemnation because there is always hope. My pastor pointed out in a recent sermon that there are two different kinds of sorrow:

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."
2 Cor 7:10

 

[Evie]

how can he forgive my future sin?

 

[IKTCA]

Sister Evie,
Please disregard that statement. I deleted that from my previous post.

I read today in Psalms 40,it was remarkable to me,it made me cry.
His Words can be like no others! ..........................

An old hymn echoes your praise:

No other voice but thine can peace afford.

Rupert

 

[IKTCA]

Sister Pilgrim:
This is my experience. I shared it previously but let me repeat it. Years after I was found by the Lord, suddenly I remembered how I rejected Jesus. I remembered the setting, place, and the people to whom I said I would not follow Jesus.

That I betrayed my Lord caused me an unbearable guilt, pain, and shame. I could not read the Bible nor continue devotion. But on the next day the Lord spoke to my inner man that he was without the scars of my betrayal and invited me to the joy of his resurrection. Immediately, I understood his resurrection.

I still do not know if it was the Lord or the Devil who brought that painful memory back to me. But in the end, I learned the Lord's resurrection.

I can share other experiences of mine. But what I learn from these experiences and testimonies is that when guilt returns, all I have to do is to seek the Lord. And I will get closer to the Lord than before. When the guilt trip started, the Devil seemed to be winning. But in the end, a believer wins in Christ. Who then will regret the temporary guilt and sorrow?

I am not certain if returning guilt is the accusation of the Devil. If it is Devil's condemnation, a believer can say, "Away from me, Satan. I say this in the name of Jesus," and he has to leave. But if the guilt does not disappear, it is not coming from the Devil. It is rather coming from my own conscience, which was cleansed by the Lord and can see right from wrong clearly. A man is in a deep misery when his own conscience condemns him. Who can deliver this man from this misery but the Lord?

I still do not know how and why guilt returns on forgiven sins. But I know one thing: the Lord is all powerful and all loving, he alone can deliver me from sin and guilt, and he does. He never fails to bless me through all sorrows. Amen.

PS: Sister Pilgrim, this is all I know about returning guilt. As the Lord gives you understanding, please share it with me.

 

[IKTCA]

Go to Jesus with all of your self and all of your life. DOn't hold anything back. If you find a sin in yourself that you can't let go of or can't change on your own, then just ask God to help you overcome it. Whatever it is, it will get broken up and softened through this humbleness of going to God and admitting that you can't handle it on your own. Also, learn a little about spiritual warfare and how Satan tempts and accuses. Perhaps you are feeling condemned because of a spiritual attack. I have heard that even the conviction of Sin by the Holy Spirit will never feel like a condemnation because there is always hope. My pastor pointed out in a recent sermon that there are two different kinds of sorrow:

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."
2 Cor 7:10

Sister W:
I give thanks to God for giving you this wisdom. I ask you to review my posts. If you find me lacking in wisdom, please teach me. I will learn from you.

I also believe this returning guilt is not a conviction by the Holy Spirit. Rather, I think it is self condemnation, condemnation of self by his own conscience.

But one thing is certain. This sorrow is a godly sorrow for the merciful God allowed this sorrow to be in a believer's heart. And through this sorrow God will lead the believer to a closer fellowship with the Son.

See what eagerness this godly grief has produced in you, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! (2 Cor 7:12) Amen.

Who will regret this sorrow?

 

[LegomasterJC]

From my experience. You keep on praying for freedom from that sin, pressing in to His presence, on to his glory, repenting... Then one day you just don't want to do it anymore. You may still be tempted but have no want to give into it.