SESSION 2: INNOCENT!
WELCOME
Which Road sign would best describe where you are on your journey with God right now (eg, stop, steep gradient, diversion/detour, crossroad)?
WORSHIP
In John 14:6 Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.
Sing Worthy is the Lamb - Thank You for the cross, Lord
PRAYER & DECLARATION
Father, by Your Spirit, please show us life-changing truths that will set us free to experience Your gift of life in all its fullness. Amen.
WORD
Focus verse Colossians 2:13-14 13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
Focus truth: No matter what we have done (even as Christians) and no matter how guilty we may feel, the truth is that our guilt has been completely and utterly paid for by Christ’s death on the cross so that we can stand confidently before God, who is pure and holy.
Introduction
Many of us walk around with the sense that we are failing miserably as sons and daughters of God.
Carrying a load of guilt makes us like the elder brother: our motivation to do good and avoid sin is so that we will somehow gain or maintain God’s love rather than first resting in the unconditional love of God and being motivated by love.
What is guilt
True guilt has nothing to do with feelings. It’s about hard facts.
Guilt is a legal term, used when a judge or jury pronounces a defendant guilty
Guilt is defined in relation to the legal authority which has laid down the laws. If we break the laws of that legal authority, we are guilty. If we do not, we are innocent. True guilt and guilt feelings are not the same thing.
Are you guilty?
We may well be law-abiding citizens, innocent before the laws of the land. But where do we stand before the heavenly Judge?
God’s holiness
God’s holiness is such that it would be impossible for Him to tolerate sin, to gloss over it, to say it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t be God if He did.
God chose to give us free will. So our ancestor, Adam, was created perfect and innocent, yet with the capacity to choose good or evil.
The consequences of sin
Adam chose to disobey God, and that disobedience is what the Bible calls sin. Romans 6:23 says: The wages of sin is death.
Adam incurred true guilt before God because he had broken God’s law.
In many languages the words “sin”, “debt”, and “crime” are the same. Explain in the blue box below what is the difference.
If you are found guilty before a human/civil court, payment is usually demanded either in the form of a financial penalty (a fine), or time that you have to serve in prison. Once that debt is paid, you are again declared free. You have paid your dues or served your time.
Paul says in Romans 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. When Adam sinned, one of the consequences is that you and I and all descendants were made guilty before God too.
There are three ways guilt can come. First, by our natural bent for evil passed down from Adam. Second by outright rebellion against God, and third by missing the mark when we try to do good.
Watch now the 18:21-minute video.
PAUSE FOR THOUGHT 1
Share with the group what the word “debt” brings to mind. Have you ever had a debt you couldn’t pay?
What happened that caused us to begin our lives owing God a huge debt we couldn’t pay? How do you feel about that?
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