Overcoming Guilt

I mentioned "In the beginning" that I have been a Christian for twelve years at this point and have not yet obeyed Him by having myself baptised. Here is what I have to say about disobeying His clear command for so long.

Confirmation that now is the right time.
After this entry was drafted, I considered how to finish it this morning. When I turned on the TV to distract one of my children, Dr. Charles Stanley (InTouch.org) was giving a full thirty minute program on the necessity of being Baptised. Can there be a better more humble sign from God that being baptised and publishing about it are the right things for me to do at this time?

What is Baptism?
The Bible is very clear that no mere ceremony, words, or sacrifice by men can influence the Creator. To think the Creator of the universe is ridiculously subject to human "magic" like that is incredible arrogance. Baptism according to the Bible is a ceremony that publicly symbolizes obediently identifying oneself as a believer belonging to the company of all believers.

How you can influence the Creator.
To influence the Creator of all things you must begin by letting Him change your heart, by persistantly and humbly pursuing Him through His words yourself. Persist until you begin understanding it and loving Him because you do, without needing "special" teachers.

Why haven't I been baptised before?
While I have many times experienced the Reality of God in wonderful, unexplainable ways, I am still doing some things God doesn't want, and failing to do what He does want. For my family who know this best of all, I have been a poor example of a Christian. By doing what God does not want I mean primarily computer gaming, which steals time from my family and has made me feel guilty. By not doing what God does want I mean primarily not publishing about the many ways God has made His word real to me - which is the worst sin of all since God's words are "life to those who find them" (Proverbs 4:20)

Overcoming Guilt.
What held me enslaved for so long is the normal guilt trap many of us fall into. Too guilty to feel worthy of God's blessing, and unable to become better by self-improvement. That leads to frustration and retreating into another cycle of fantasy / addiction that makes us feel guilty. The problem begins with focus on self.

The only true freedom is to know God's truth for yourself, beyond what any "special" teacher may say. Then one need not be enslaved by guilt because:

• - Messiah as God in the flesh paid the entire price on the cross for every sin every man will ever do - just as the Prophets David, Isaiah, Daniel and others said He would a thousand years before.
  
• - What God has already done on the cross is far more worthy than anything any man has ever done or will do.
• - To find real freedom we must dwell on and worship what God has done and Who God is, and then do something in return as a thank you gift to God's creation - such as publishing important truths, or caring for the ill for example.
  
• - To dwell on guilt assumes one might do something more worthy than God - which is self-worship.
• - It doesn't matter if it is ourselves or someone else we need to forgive. When we don't forgive what God has forgiven, we are attempting to be more righteous and worthy than God - which is also self-worship.

Last Thoughts.
Before he became an Apostle, Paul was a Pharisee, a leading persecuter of Christians (then named Saul). While on his way to ensure more Christians were stoned to death, the risen Messiah in person called Paul as a witness to God's power to transform sinners. The Apostle Paul endured severe whippings and stoning, plus imprisonment in dire conditions. Despite that he led establishing churches in much of the Roman empire, and authored almost half the books of the New Testament (which is mostly interpretation of mysteries in the original Scriptures we call the Old Testament). Finally rather than bow down to the Roman emperor as a god, Paul went willingly to die for the truth that God is more worthy than any man.

Yet even as an Apostle, Paul repeatedly found himself doing evil.

So now I am no longer the one doing (evil), but it is sin living in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Romans 7:17-19 HCSB