After finding Christ, many of us feel convicted about the sins we commit, even when just a short time previous, we felt completely comfortable in committing those same acts. We feel a sort of disconnection between us and the Holy Spirit which has taken up residence in our hearts. At those moments it can feel as if God has left us due to our willing participation in breaking His commands. The reality is that God has not condemned us for our sins nor has he left us, but that by our own actions, we have (temporarily) separated ourselves from our Heavenly Father causing us to feel this disconnection.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. – Isaiah 59:2
What we all must understand is that no matter what we do, as long as we have received Christ as Lord, we are forgiven immediately, but that does not mean that we get the benefits of our salvation on earth if we choose to willingly and willfully commit sin.
It is impossible to fully obey the Law and fortunately God understands that we aren’t capable of doing so. When Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and brought sin into the world we ceased being able to resist the temptation of sin that is all around us. For the unsaved, this sin causes spiritual death and a disconnect from God. This separation creates a myriad of different problems such as lack of purpose, depression, and a general emptiness that cannot be explained. The fact that God sent His Son to earth so that we could obtain salvation through Christ’s work on the cross shows that God wants to be close to His children, but no matter how much we wish it to be so, the fact that we are creatures of sin does not change when we become saved, only the way we feel about those sins.
In those who are truly saved, the Holy Spirit pushes us and compels us to do what is right, but due to our ability to resist the Spirit and the fact that God gave man free will, we do not have to listen. Even though salvation can make it possible to resist sin (no longer slaves to that sin), we are still foreigners living in a place that is rife with not only sin, but an enemy that wishes for us to turn our backs on God and our salvation.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. – Ephesians 6:11
When we make the conscious decision to sin it is us who make the decision to step away from the influence of the Holy Spirit and not the other way around. God does not condemn us for our sins but it does pain and hurt the Spirit inside of us. This separation and this pain can make many people doubt their salvation and the atonement that they have received in believing in what Christ did for them, which is exactly what Satan and his hordes wish us to think.
The good news is that God is waiting for you and will never abandon you. He is good, He is present and he is listening. As long as you have received Christ your savior, God will forever have you in his arms and just like any parent who watches their kids make bad decisions, God is patient. So no matter how bad you feel and no matter how convicted you are about your sins, understand that though our actions might pain the Holy Spirit, God is waiting for you to return to Him and will forgive you for any transgression as long as you come to him with repentant faith. That is the glory and the unbelievable grace of our Heavenly Father. We who deserve the righteous judgment of God have been given a reprieve. This is not an invitation to sin, but are simply words meant to comfort and to tell you that if you are in Christ, you are loved more than you can possibly understand and you are forgiven by the God of the universe, even if you have a hard time forgiving yourself.
