Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

If you have your Bible, you can open it to John 19. This is message #6 in our Dying to Live series. In each message in this series, we’ve listened to one of the seven statements that Jesus made as he hung on the cross. Today, we have made it to the second to last statement from the cross.

Let’s pick it up in John 19:28. You’re going to recognize the first part of this passage from our message last week. “Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." (John 19:28-30, NIV)

Last week we listened as Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” The next statement from the cross came just seconds later. Remember that we are now in the last few minutes, if not the last few seconds, of Jesus’ life. After Jesus had received a drink of wine vinegar, he said, “It is finished.” Actually, this statement was one word. It reads a sentence in English, but it was one word in Greek.

The ancient Greek language was a much more descriptive language than modern-day English. They could pack an ocean of meaning into a drop of language. This word that Jesus spoke from the cross was no different. The word was Tetelestai. The word can be translated, “It is finished. It stands finished. It will always be finished.” There is a completeness, a finality in this word.

When you dig a little deeper into the culture that Jesus lived in, you find out that this word, tetelestai, was also an economic word. Archaeologists have unearthed ancient invoices that have this word written across them in big, bold letters. The word means, “Paid In Full.”

So let’s put all of this together. Tetelestai means it is finished and it always will be finished. It also means paid in full. When Jesus cried out this word from the cross, he was telling us that the price for our sin had been paid in full, and that this payment will never be rescinded. It will never have to be paid again because the payment is forever finished.

The cross means tetelestai for us. Because we chose to sin, there was a ransom that God demanded; a ransom price too high for us to ever pay. But when Jesus chose to die for us, He took our punishment and paid our debt. And the payment was total. It was complete. The signature was on the dotted line. When Jesus died for your sin, there was a stamp on your life that said, “Paid in Full Forever!”

This truth should have a radical impact on our lives. Because of this full and forever payment for our sin, we can live our lives with no more guilt.

Did you know that the IRS has a program set up for people to pay their back taxes anonymously? The idea goes like this: Someone cheats and their taxes and gets away with it. They’re free and clear. No one is the wiser. But all the while, their conscience is killing them. They’re eaten up with guilt. They know what they’ve done is wrong. The IRS has a program where that person can send in the amount they owed completely anonymously. There is no penalty, and their conscience doesn’t hurt anymore. And in case you’re wondering, there are thousands upon thousands of dollars every year paid into this program.

Because guilt is quite a burden to lug around. Guilt has the power to derail our lives. The whole idea of a guilty pleasure really is an oxymoron. When you experience real guilt, it is no pleasure.

And a lot of you know that because you’re trudging through life carrying a lot of guilty baggage with you. It may something that happened yesterday, it may be something that happened 40 years ago…but the guilt over past decisions haunts you. That word you spoke, that choice you made, hangs over you all the time. Maybe other people know about it, maybe they don’t…but that’s really irrelevant because you know about it. You can’t forget it. This guilt is a spiritually paralyzing force in your life.

When you understand tetelestai, everything about your guilt changes. The cross is a full and forever payment for your sin. The cross is also the change agent you need to overcome a guilt-ridden life.

The Bible tells us, “Since we have confidence…by the blood of Jesus…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience…” (Hebrews 10:19, 22, NIV)

Do you see the progression? Because of the blood of Jesus, we can confidently come to God, leaving our guilt behind. So why do some people think it is more spiritual to choose guilt over grace? The thinking goes like this: If I never allow myself to be released from the guilt of past sins, that means I am a more mature Christian because that guilt means I understand the magnitude of my sin. It keeps me miserable. It prevents me from being happy. How can I allow myself to be happy when I have sinned? Even though it sounds ludicrous when we say it out loud, there are a lot of us who live this way in reality. It just seems more spiritual to choose guilt over grace.

But in fact, if we constantly allow guilt to rule our lives, that is a demonstration of spiritual immaturity. Why would I say that? Because if we allow guilt to wreck our lives, it means that we don’t truly believe what the Bible says. It means that we don’t really believe that God’s grace is enough. It means that we really don’t believe that the cross has any power at all. Scripture tells us that the blood of Jesus frees us from our sin. It is a tetelestai forgiveness. Total, complete, and forever. The part that we tend to miss, though, is that after God has forgiven us, we have to learn to forgive ourselves.

I had a girl in my student ministry in Indiana that was involved in cutting. If you’re not familiar with cutting, it is when a person decides to harm themselves, usually cutting themselves with a knife or other sharp object. This particular girl always wore long sleeves and long pants, even on the hottest summer day, to hide the cuts on her arms and her stomach and her legs. This self-mutilation phenomenon is a lot more common than a lot of people realize. It is an actual addiction, usually affecting teenage girls. The girl in my student ministry talked extensively with her small group leader and with me, but she was never really willing to allow herself to be helped. Cutting herself was the way that she coped with the pain in her life. It gave her the feeling that she was in control of something. It broke my heart because I knew what she was actually doing. She was destroying her life…and the destruction was self-inflicted.

If you are a Christian, the guilt you are feeling over past decisions doesn’t come from God. Did you hear that? God is not the travel agent that booked your guilt trip. Your guilt does not come from God. It is a self-inflicted wound…and it has the power to destroy your life. The next time that this guilt starts to crop up in your heart and mind, stop. Stop right where you are and say out loud, “I choose grace over guilt.” Don’t just stop and think it. Don’t say it to yourself. You need to say it out loud. “I choose grace over guilt.” If the guilt catches up with you in your car, say the words out loud. Lying in bed, say the words out loud. You might wake your husband or wife up, but they’ll survive. In the middle of the mall, say the words out loud. The people around you may think you’ve lost your mind, but if you can rid yourself of guilt once and for all, your mind and your heart and your life will be more right than ever before.

Jesus said, “It is finished.” Take out the word “it” and insert the word “guilt.” Because of the cross, your guilt is finished…if you allow it to be finished. If you decide to believe that God’s grace is enough. It is sufficient.

David Faust is the president of Cincinnati Christian University. Several years ago, he wrote an article in the Lookout which is a great reminder of this truth about grace.

He wrote, “Somewhere today a child feels unloved and insecure—and wonders if there really is a God who cares.

Somewhere a senior citizen stirs his coffee and ponders the things he would have done differently if only he’d known then what he knows now.

Somewhere a new believer feels deep pangs of guilt as he realizes the depth of his sin and the strength of his old habits. And someone who’s been a Christian for years feels amazed at the still-powerful tug of secret sins like arrogance, lust, selfishness, and worry.

Somewhere a prisoner sits alone in a cell, regretting his crimes and unsure about his future.

Somewhere a preacher drives home from church, suffering silently because deep in his hear he knows all too well that he doesn’t always live up to everything he said in today’s sermon.

Somewhere a parent ponders the painful realization that her inadequacies and mistakes—even well-intentioned ones—have made life harder for her children.

Somewhere a teenager cries herself to sleep as she remembers what she did last weekend.”

And then David writes, “Guilt is a powerful emotion…But thanks to our Father, the misery of guilt can be replaced by the marvel of grace. Far more than a list of rules we’ve failed to keep, the Bible overflows with glorious gifts we do not deserve. A bloodstained cross. An empty tomb. Slate-clearing forgiveness. New birth. The Holy Spirit’s power to change and grow.

And from the throneroom of Heaven, the Father’s voice resounds: “My grace is sufficient…for you.” (Lookout, March 16, 1997)

God’s grace is sufficient. It is enough. But it requires our choice. God chose to extend his grace to us, but it’s up to us to accept it. For those of us who are in Christ, God has chosen to forgive us, but it’s up to us to forgive ourselves. Jesus did not die so we could continue to lead a guilt-ridden life. He died so that he could eradicate this paralyzing guilt from our lives! The cross is not a question mark to leave me wondering if God really can forgive a sinner like me. The cross isn’t a question mark. It is an exclamation point! It is God saying, “Yes, I do love you. Yes, I am enough for you. Yes, I do forgive you!”

And not only does he forgive, but then he forgets. Try to wrap your mind around this paradox: an all-knowing God who forgets my sin. God said, “I will forgive their wrongdoings and I will never again remember their sins.” (Hebrews 8:12, NLT)

Do you remember that sin that is just tearing you up? That outburst of anger. That click of the mouse that took you back to that side of the Internet you swore you’d leave behind. That one lie. That one date that went further then you ever intended. That one time when you really could have helped someone but you chose not to. Do you remember that? God doesn’t.

This is what tetelestai means. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “It is finished.” Your forgiveness is forever. God won’t change his mind. Grace forgives. Grace forgets. On the other hand, guilt remembers. But if we are in Christ, God has declared us not guilty. He promised to forgive and forget all of our sin. Max Lucado said that God has “a graciously terrible memory.” Aren’t you that’s true?

The problem is that we’ve grown up believing in reward and punishment. You do a good job, you get rewarded. You study and you get good grades. You work hard and you earn a paycheck. That seems right and fair.

But the flip side is also true. You do something wrong, you get punished. You commit a crime, you go to jail. That also seems right and fair.

So when we look at our lives in a very practical and concrete way, we can see a lot of bad stuff. We see the wrong, and our conventional wisdom, common sense upbringing reminds us, “Do wrong, get punished.”

This is why grace can be so hard to accept. It sounds too good to be true. We believe that we’ve done wrong, so we get punished. Grace simply forgets the wrong we’ve done. “I will forgive their wrongdoings and I will never again remember their sins.” (Hebrews 8:12, NLT) You do not have to be a prisoner of guilt anymore. You can finally be released from the shame of your sin. If you have committed your life to Christ, God has forgiven and forgotten that sin.

Several years ago I invited a group of ladies to come and speak to the students in my youth ministry. These ladies called their group M.A.G.G.I.E.’S. Friends. M.A.G.G.I.E.’S. is an acrostic that stands for My Abortion Grief And Guilt Is Ending Soon. Every one of these ladies had had an abortion. And now they speak about how Jesus is working and changing their lives. And I remember every one of them talking about the process of overcoming the guilt that they felt about their abortion decision. They stressed that leaving guilt behind doesn’t happen overnight, but it can happen.

Through the grace of God, the power of His Word, and the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit, you can be released from the guilt of your abortion, or your selfishness, or your sexual mistakes, or your hurtful words, or your wasted opportunity, or your (fill in the blank).

God’s grace is the change agent you need to finally rise above the guilt of your past. God’s grace forgives and forgets, and then gives you another chance to get it right.

If you’ve come this morning carrying a load of guilty baggage, God would love for you to go home without it. Jesus is dying for you to live free of guilt. If you’ve never accepted his loving forgiveness, He’s inviting you to come and meet him at the cross. Allow Him to wipe your sins and away and then watch as He totally forgets them.

Even if you have accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord, you may still be struggling to leave the guilt junk behind. Will you allow him to release you today?

Mike Edmisten