The Upper Register Blog

John Piper has a great article in Christianity Today yesterday on how to deal with guilt and shame when you fall into sin. He calls it Gusty Guilt. In the venerable tradition of Martin Luther, he shows us how to use the weapon of the gospel to talk back to the Devil.

You have a tremendous weapon against the Devil when you know your punishment for sin has already been paid in Christ and your righteousness before God has already been achieved in Christ, and you hold fast to these truths with heartfelt passion.

With this passionately embraced theology—the magnificent doctrines of substitutionary atonement and justification by faith (even if you don’t remember the names)—you can conquer the Devil tomorrow morning when he lies to you about your hopelessness.

What will you say to him? Micah 7:8-9 is a picture of what you say to your enemy when he scoffs at your defeat. I call this practice “gutsy guilt.” The believer admits that he has done wrong and that God is dealing roughly with him. But even in a condition of darkness and discipline, he will not surrender his hold on the truth that God is on his side.

Here is Micah 7:8-9 (NASB):

     Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy 
     Though I fall I will rise;
     Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me. 
     I will bear the indignation of the LORD
     Because I have sinned against Him,
     Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me 
     He will bring me out to the light,
     And I will see His righteousness.

HT: In Light of the Gospel