It’s Not Hopeless!

Every once in a while I encounter someone whose life is filled with guilt.

“God can’t love me anymore,” they argue. “I’ve been too wicked.” My heart goes out to these folks. They desperately want to rid themselves of their burden, but they see no hope. Unable to forgive themselves, they reason that God cannot forgive them either. But, there are no hopeless cases.

The apostle Paul argued that he was the worst of sinners, yet he obtained mercy (1 Timothy 1:15).

If God could forgive him, God could forgive anyone. What could be worse than what Paul had done before his conversion? He had consented to the execution of Stephen (Acts 7:58) and had dedicated himself to the task of eradicating Christianity from the earth. He could not imagine a crime against God or man more serious, yet, he wrote: “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:16). If Paul could find forgiveness, then so can we.

There is hope.

Sin and guilt can be washed away, but there are specific steps which must be taken.

• We must understand our need for salvation. We are all sinners in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23).
• We must recognize Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins and man’s only Savior (Acts 4:12).
• We must act on our faith and repent of our sins (Luke 13:3).
• Repentance will be followed by a public confession of Jesus (Matthew 10:32, 33).
• Our confession will be followed by baptism for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38).

At that point, rising up from the water of baptism, we become “new creatures” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old life and all of its sin is forgotten. We make a fresh start. Forgiven by God, we must forgive ourselves.

Guilt is one burden none of us have to bear.

There are no hopeless cases. God loves us, no matter what. He longs for our salvation.

But, will we come to Him? No one can answer that question for us. We must answer it ourselves.