Second: Feeling More Like a Sinner
As a new believer in Jesus, you may feel like you are sinning more now than you were before you accepted Christ! You may have what Bill Gothard calls a new awareness of right and wrong. You may feel more guilty now than you did before you accepted Christ. You may have the feeling that you can’t do anything right. This may also lead you to doubt that you are saved at all!
The truth is that this is one of the truest signs that you are a child of God! That may sound contradictory, but what is happening to you is that, now that you are a true child of God, your new Father is correcting you, just like any other good father would do with his children. God does not want you to continue to act in ways that are not good for you, so He corrects you.
“When he comes, he will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment”—John 16:8 (ISV)
At first, you may feel guilty often. For a time, you may even feel like you can’t do anything right. Don’t let this get you down. Don’t be discouraged. You will get through this! God is the very best Father that you could imagine! It is necessary for Him to bring correction to you now so that you can avoid destructive consequences and be fully prepared to fulfill your life’s purpose in the future!
“But you have forgotten that the Scriptures say to God’s children,
‘When the Lord punishes you, don’t make light of it, and when he corrects you, don’t be discouraged. The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own.’
“Be patient when you are being corrected! This is how God treats his children. Don’t all parents correct their children? God corrects all of his children, and if he doesn’t correct you, then you don’t really belong to him. Our earthly fathers correct us, and we still respect them. Isn’t it even better to be given true life by letting our spiritual Father correct us?
“Our human fathers correct us for a short time, and they do it as they think best. But God corrects us for our own good, because he wants us to be holy, as he is. It is never fun to be corrected. In fact, at the time it is always painful. But if we learn to obey by being corrected, we will do right and live at peace.”—Hebrews 12:5-11 (CEV)
When you are corrected by your Father God, respond quickly. Acknowledge your faults. Ask Him to forgive you. Stop doing wrong things. Replace those wrong activities with activities that please God.
“If we say that we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done.”—1 John 1:8-9 (ERV)
Reference: Gothard, B. (1988). Basic seminar textbook: Research in principles of life. United States: Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts.
