The Continual Relentless Consciousness of Sin

[Nicodema]

What does God want us to do with the continual, relentless consciousness of sin? Of our sinfulness? Of the exceeding sinfulness of our sin? Obviously scripture says to confess it, forsake it, repent of it, etc. but when the consciousness of it simply won't go away, what then? What's the magic button or magic bullet, so to speak, to get it to go away?

If my question makes any sense, that is ... and I'm just asking in a general way. This isn't asked as personal about me specifically.

[Robert]

Accepting God's love...accepting that we are justified by faith is very easy compared to Christian living for it is hard. We all struggle with the flesh, if there are no struggles we should question our conversion. God's not looking at your performance, He's looking were your heart is at. He looks at our desires and motives. Look at the CONVERTED Paul:

Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, 23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin....There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

The context reveals that Paul is speaking of the spirit of the law. As a Pharisee he had no problems keeping the letter. He kept the right day; he didn't kill, steal or lie. Yes, we know he stoned blasphemers, but he was honestly following the law. Hence he did it in ignorance. But when he became a Christian and viewed the law as God does, he exclaimed the above.

[olger]

Hi Nic. Often there are consequences that must be removed from the heart to purge our conscience.

I heard a person say once, I prayed for 20-years for God to take that issue away." You know what the trouble is?-- God doesn't take away our problems. What He will do is reveal the root cause of the problem and lead us to resolve it. Then it goes away.

I had to learn this years ago.

Hope that helps,

olger