Freedom Papers

A convicted heart can not go unchanged, but a guilty soul can go on forever.

I remember hearing those words drop into my heart like sinking stones as I listened and witnessed a child of God have a complete emotional breakdown. I had no words to voice, only ears to listen as she ranted and raved about the injustices in her life. I had no words for though I understood her plight, no words would have brought clarity nor peace to the table. She was a sinking soul who made her house on sand.

The second barrier that inhibits us from experiencing abundant relationships with others is guilt. There exists two distinct types of guilt in the Scriptures. First there is Godly sorrow that leads a person to repentance. This humbling experience is known as conviction and it comes to us through the Holy Spirit. The washing that comes to our soul through the process of our repentance brings great relief lifting the guilt and allowing the ushering in of joy. And then there is another type of guilt that robs us of all joy, faith, and confidence in Jesus Christ. It creates a dirtiness within us that we are completely unable to get clean no matter how hard we try. This type of guilt is called condemnation which is accusations from the devil himself.

The enemy loves to torment God’s people by reminding them of their pasts, and continually holding their sins before them even after their sins have been forgiven. This type of guilt is cultivated when we allow ourself to dwell on how badly we have messed up, our pasts, and the sins we have committed against The Lord. The enemy works so very hard to remind us of our past failures so that he can keep us dwelling in our pit. By allowing the enemy to do this we are keeping the role of pit-dweller on our spiritual resume. And if we allow ourselves to fall for this tactic, it allows the enemy to build a stronghold in our minds.

A stronghold is a lie that is believed which results in an incorrect thinking pattern. Think of it like a kink in the synapse of our spiritual system. In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a nerve cell to pass a signal to another cell. A stronghold is the kink in our spiritual system that blocks the truths of God to be passed from our heads to our hearts. If these kinks continue to accumulate within our spiritual system, they will eventually leads us to a spiritual death.

2 Corinthians 7:10, For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

The stronghold of guilt is often not alone for it is usually accompanies an incorrect perception of ourselves, or an incorrect perception of our Heavenly Father. Those souls who have a stronghold of guilt rarely see Christ for who He really is and His awesome forgiving nature. Often those who struggle with a stronghold of guilt do not see themselves the way the Heavenly Father sees them.

But through our spiritual transformation we are made new creations in Christ. Our past has been washed away. There exists a document of adoption in our back pocket that is signed by Jesus’ blood and stamped by the Father Himself. Whenever we find ourselves struggling in an emotional war of guilt and condemnation, we must remember that piece of paper and all of its power. Walk on, walk away. Those papers are our freedom papers. Signed, sealed… and delivered.

Father, when we are hit by blunt force with a sin from our past, let us not be shamed for that person no longer exists. It is Jesus who stands before your throne and pleads our case, presenting our papers to your court. May we be delivered from all condemnation and freely experience the conviction that changes us for your plans and great purpose. In Jesus name, Amen.

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