When The Door Slams
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. A tyrannical ruler practices extortion, but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign. Anyone tormented by guilt of murder will seek refuge in the grave; let no one hold them back. The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit. (Proverbs 28:13-18 NIV)
These words from the Lord should end the controversy once and for all. Each adult is responsible for his own behavior, and that of no one else. The person who sins is the one who will die. A child will not be punished for a parent's sin, and a parent will not be punished for a child's sin. (read: Ezekiel 18:1-24 NIV)
The results of sin were immediately evident in the Garden of Eden.... The significance is that Adam and Eve were brought to a realization of what they had done. They began to feel afraid and to feel guilt--and well they might, for their guilt feelings were rooted in the true guilt. When a man has sinned against God, he or she not only has guilt feelings, he has true guilt; and he has true guilt even if he does not have feelings of guilt.
"And the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees in the garden" (read: Genesis 3:8-10 NIV).... In the garden in the cool of the day, there was open fellowship, open communion--open propositional communication between God and man before the Fall. But now that which was his wonder and his joy, the fulfillment of his need, an infinite, personal reference point with whom he could have communion and communication became the reason for his fear. He was going to meet God face to face! Once man had shaken his fist in the face of God, what had been so wonderful became a just reason for fear, because God was really and truly there.
Think about this: We notice here when we...try to pass the guilt from ourselves to another, and we have, therefore, the division which is at the very heart of our relationships with man from this point on.... We do not have to wait for modern psychologists to talk about alienation. Here it is.... However, this "self" conscious world is in desperate straits. Each new promise leads only to a frustrating paradox.... Decades of seemingly limitless affluence have succeeded only in sucking our culture dry, leaving it spiritually empty and economically weakened. Our world is filled with self-absorbed, frightened, hollow leaders.
Amid these debilitating paradoxes of modern life, men and women search for some shred of meaning, some understanding of self. But the obsessive search leads only to the narcissistic destruction of what is so avidly sought. Once man had shaken his fist in the face of God.
Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His Forgiveness.
Never Rest Ministries
