Bible Studies

How to Stop Sin Consciousness that Leads to Fear, Worry, Guilt and Condemnation

by Michael Edwards 
02/10/18
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We can learn a lot about the condition of a believer from their symptoms. Doubt, worry, fear, guilt, condemnation, lack of peace and depression in a believer, is always a clear sign of a mind that has not been renewed to the truth of the gospel. These symptoms come from a wrong belief that leads the believer to meditate on the wrong thoughts. This article will help you if you apply the truth it holds in renewing your mind.

What Are You Conscious Of?

Sin consciousness for a believer is a symptom of doubting the sufficiency of Jesus sacrifice. Doubt has other symptoms too - fear, worry, guilt and condemnation. If this is describing your life, you are not alone. This is where most Christians spend their lives, one foot in the Old Covenant of law and one foot in the New Covenant of grace and truth. The good news is that it can be changed. The work has already been done; you just need to have your mind renewed to the truth.

There are two kinds of righteousness spoken of in the Bible, self-righteousness and His (Jesus) righteousness. They cannot be combined. A Christian is either still prideful and trusting in Jesus plus their own self-righteousness or they have completely set aside any reliance on the flesh, symbolically crucified the flesh with Christ as the Bible teaches, humbled themselves, and by faith are trusting His finished work and in His righteousness exclusively. There is zero reliance on self and law keeping.

Sin consciousness is a form of self-judgment, eyes on self, judging your self-righteousness, how you are doing compared to God’s perfect standard. This always leads to guilt and condemnation because we always eventually fall short.

Judging others is another symptom of sin consciousness. If we feel like we are being judged, we will judge others, when only God is equipped to judge.

If we are still sin conscious, feeling guilty over our sins, have a conscience that is perpetually focused on our sin debt to God, it is a sign that we are still walking in the flesh, still trying to be right with God by our own self-righteousness. This for a Christian is a dead work, because we are already righteous in Him when we believe. God wants your mind renewed to the truth, at a place where you are no longer have a conscience of sins.

…because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. Heb 10:2 KJV

If it scares you to think about no longer being conscious of your sins, this is another sign you are trusting in your own self-righteousness. Like he does with all worry, Satan wants us to think that if we are not sin conscious, worried about our sin, we are being irresponsible and will fall deep into sin. This is a lie to keep you relying on yourself, relying on your flesh that was crucified with Christ, relying on your dead flesh that is trying still trying to keep a law that Christians are no longer under.

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Rom 6:14 NAS

The Bible calls a conscience that is perpetually focused on sin, an evil conscience. In the Old Testament, whenever a lamb was sacrificed for a person’s sins, the person was sprinkled with the blood of the lamb by the priest. If we believe the shedding of Christ's blood worked, our conscience has been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience by the blood of Christ. If we doubt the sufficiency of Christs finished work, we retain an evil conscience along with the guilt, condemnation, fear, and worry that accompany it.                             

let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Heb 10:22 NAS 

Continued reliance on self-righteousness and law-keeping perpetuates an evil conscience. It indicates doubt in the sufficiency of Christ's work, in the gospel, and separation in our minds from the grace of Christ. Separation from Jesus grace in our thoughts leads us to live a life of fear, worry, guilt, and condemnation as a believer.

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. Gal 5:4 NAS

This is just the opposite of the righteousness, peace and joy that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit want for you.

We are supposed to see our flesh as already crucified and walk by the Spirit of the law, not the letter of the law. By faith, we are supposed to see ourselves as righteous, holy, sanctified and perfected spirits in Christ. This is the way God sees all who believe the gospel. They are safe and sound in Christ and should no longer have a conscience of sins.

The Fix

Those who have established in their minds and hearts that Christ’s sacrifice completed the work, are no longer conscious of their sins. They are trusting 100% in Jesus and see themselves as God sees them, righteousness in Christ.

The key to the Kingdom of God and the peace and joy it holds is His righteousness.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matt 6:33 NAS

The solution is found in dividing the word properly and a deep study of the New Covenant of grace and truth that is explained in depth in the book of Hebrews.

The following verse does not say to take only evil or bad thoughts to the obedience of Christ. It says every thought. Therefore, it is telling us victory is found in a constant focus on Christ's obedience that makes us righteous. We are supposed to change the song in our head and be conscious of His righteousness, not sin conscious. We believe His sacrifice was all-sufficient, all we will ever need to be right with God.

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Cor 10:5 NAS

In other words, we renew our minds and replace our sin conscience with a consciousness of His righteousness in us. We are to captivate our mind and thoughts on Christ's obedience, His finished work and our righteousness in Him.

The New Covenant of Grace and Truth fully replaced the Old Covenant of Law. Freedom comes when we renew our mind with the New Covenant. Here are some of the key points.

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 NAS

After saying above, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “BEHOLD, I (Jesus) HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first (covenant) in order to establish the second (covenant).  Heb 10:8-9 NAS (emphasis mine)

We have been sanctified and perfected already by the blood of Christ one time for all sin. To be sanctified means to be made holy. God sees a believer as holy because they are in Christ.

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Heb 10:10 NAS

but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Heb 10:12-14 NAS

God also tells us that what He has made holy, can never be called unholy. This is because you are not sanctified and holy based on your self-righteousness so you cannot lose it by sinning.

Again a voice came to him a second time, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy." Acts 10:15 NAS

and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. Acts 10:28b NAS

If you have placed your faith in Jesus, God has forgiven all of your sins and lawless deeds and is remembering them no more. In other words, He is no longer conscious of your sin. He is conscious of your righteousness in Christ. Should you do any different?

     16“THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM

            AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:

            I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART,

            AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,”

            He then says,

      17“AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS

            I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.”

18Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. Heb 10:16-18 NAS

A conscience that is focused on our sin debt is a conscience that has not been renewed to the truth. It will keep a believer doing dead works as an offering for sin. A dead work is a work that is of no effect. Trying to be right with God when you are already right with God by the blood of Jesus, is a dead work. It grieves the Holy Spirit who convicts the believer of their righteousness in Christ, not their sin.

and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; John 16:10 NAS

We hold fast to our hope, Jesus righteousness, which allows us to enter the holy of holies with confidence. Confidence to approach God boldly will never come from self-righteousness or a divided mind that claims to rely on Christ alone but then adds the law back in as an attempt to perfect oneself. Any reliance on self will result in fear, not boldness before God.

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope Jesus) without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; Heb 10:19 -23 NAS

We have been perfected by the blood of Christ. To try and perfect ourselves by the works of the law is foolishness, a dead work.

You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?  This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Gal 3:1-5 NAS

The only unforgivable sin is unbelief. Therefore, anyone who keeps on sinning by willfully rejecting the gospel is trampling on the blood of Christ.

 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? Heb 10:26-29 NAS

We live by faith, the law is not of faith.

 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH;
            AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. Heb 10:38 NAS

and whatever is not from faith is sin. Rom 14:23b NAS

However, the Law is not of faith; Gal 3:12a NAS

Your freedom awaits as you let go of the Old Covenant of Law given by Moses and fully embrace the New Covenant of grace and truth realized in Jesus Christ.

Study the book of Hebrews and the New Covenant in depth for a year, and then you will understand how to read the Old Covenant that is filled with shadows and types of Christ.

Many more New Covenant Bible Studies HERE. Jesus poured out His blood for the New Covenant of grace and truth, replacing the Old Covenant law of Moses. Believers are exclusively under the New Covenant, the last will and testament of Jesus that began after the cross.

And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. Luke 22:20

More New Covenant studies.

How to Take Thoughts Captive to The Obedience of Christ

Holy Spirit Does Not Convict a Believer of Their Sins

New Covenant Study Book of Hebrews

The New Covenant of Grace Replaced the Old Covenant of Law

How Christians Dilute the Power of the Gospel in Their Lives

Seek First His Righteousness,