A Guilt Trip - You know it when someone does it to you. Sometimes its your boss, your roommate or your mom or dad who lay it on. You can hear it in their voice, you and feel it in your gut. Before you know it you hear yourself say, "Okay, Okay - I'll do it!"
Many churches and religions function on this same principle. They twist your arm, try to persuade your conscience, hammer you with guilt and shame - all with the hope of getting you to stop doing bad stuff and to behave how they want you to. “Don’t you know you shouldn’t do that?” “I can’t believe you would do such a thing.” “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Religious leaders are playing a great “wack-a-mole” game with your sins. But every time they wack one down - another pops up. The problem is the mallet that their using is guilt and shame - not the gospel.
If guilt is a mallet, the gospel is a stick of dynamite. What do I mean by gospel? The Gospel is the one word that describes the heart and soul of the entire Biblical story. It is one word that captures the heart of who God really is. It means simply: “good news.”
In the gospel Jesus shows up and says that He is not going to hold your wrongs against you. He wants to be restored with you. Because of His great dedication to you He has dealt a death blow to what was between you and Him - your sin & rebellion.
The bible says that Jesus nailed your record of wrongs to his bloody cross. The warrant for your arrest was sealed in his grave. He paid for your wrong - so you could go free. It cost him everything. It costs you nothing - just draw near, accept it & believe. No shaming, no guilt trip, no arm twisting, no yelling and screaming for you to behave yourself. You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. He accepts you, cleanses you, and redeems you - when you simply come to him.
That’s the good news. That’s the gospel. It’s dynamite for your wack-a-mole games. When you come to Jesus and begin to understand how much He suffered on your behalf, and you see how He freely extends life and forgiveness to you - it will change the way your heart works. Not because of guilt - but because of the gospel. Then the moles will start dropping like flies.
